The fishing thread

T.J. wrote: I gave in and bought a rod and reel today (and my fishing license). I caught 7 or 8 croakers off my dock in about 35-40 minutes. All were pretty little with the biggest may 10-11". (Some were half that). They love shrimp. I'm going to install a rod holder on my kayak and fish from it soon. I was inspired by a real fish story. A few days ago I was out kayaking and I noticed a guy on the public dock four docks down from mine motioning frantically at me. Then I saw him climb over the fence into the backyard of the house next to the public area. Then he was out on the dock. I know the people who live there and they are in MI for the summer, but they have a house sitter and her dog staying there. I paddled over to ask him what he was up to and it turned out he asked and got permission to come over from the house sitter. He had something big on the end of his line. He was using a normal looking spinning reel but had 85# test line on it. What ever he hooked would run for a while and then hang out on the bottom motionless for a while. It went around a boat lift piling and that's why he was waving for me to come over in the kayak. I took his rod and went around the piling and then passed the rod back up to the dock to him. The thing ran over the next dock. Those folks only rarely come (it's their second home) and the neighbor on the other side saw what was going on and told him to go ahead into their yard and dock. Again the thing ran and of course went under the dock. Kayak T.J. to the rescue. Then it ran again and the guy had to go to my next door neighbor's dock. Still couldn't make much progress bring the monster in (or even to the surface to see it). It went under my neighbor's dock, so I tool the rod and paddled under the dock and passed it back to him. Then he was on my dock. It was tired and so was the guy. He had been fighting the thing for over an hour at this point. The fish didn't run anymore and it seemed like it was tiring out, but his rod was nearly bent in half trying to bring the fish to the surface. The water was only about 4-5' deep at this point so I tried to catch it in the net from the kayak, but couldn't get him. I made contact with the fish a couple times and he didn't seem to appreciate it. He went to deeper water (10-12' or so) and sat on the bottom again. Then disaster struck when the dude's rod snapped. He fought on valiantly with about half of his rod for another 10 minutes or so, neither side gaining any ground. Then after a total time of about 75-80 minutes of battling, the line broke and the fish was gone. All the man had was a broken rod and a few pictures on his cell phone a bystander took with his rod all bent for jesus. After seeing that, I knew I had to start taking advantage of the opportunity of living on the water and get off my butt and start fishing. I'm assuming that he had hooked a ray since I've seen a few of them from my paddle board that were a good 3-4' across. What ever it was I want to catch it, if nothing else just to see what it is.

You're describing a ray, probably a decent sized one.

Those are actually decent size croaker for around here. We commonly call them bait. Yak fishing saltwater needs to be done carefully, especially if you get something large. We call it a Florida sleigh ride around here when you hook a decent size shark on a paddleboard or yak, it's not a fight. It's a hang on till they get tired then reel yourself to it.

Also make sure you're using gear big enough for what you're catching. I usually use a 2000/2500 size spinning setup on a Med/light rod for inshore fishing from a boat or land. From a yak it's usually a 35-4500 setup. Redfish get the same 35/45 setup. Anywhere that there is a good possibility for running into sharks they get minimum of a 4500, especially if I want to release it or keep it.(They also have the backbone to keep your catch away from the grey suited tax man) The bigger reels have the drag to stop most fish and when paired with the right rod, the backbone to turn bigger fish and end the fight early or without completely wearing out, likely killing the fish.

Don't get me wrong, you can catch big fish on light tackle, you just have to be willing to wear them out and follow them. Last time I was out fishing from the shore I hooked a ~4' Bull shark, I was using my usual trout rod, (2000 Battle II combo) with 10lb braid and 20lb flouro. I got to play with him for about 20 min before he finally got the leader. (circle hooks are great!) Point is, I was into the mono backing (after almost 150 yards of braid) several times in that 20 min time frame and the drag was about maxed out.

Brett_Murphy wrote: Those are some serious hooks. I picked up some 100# wire leader. After seeing a 6' blacktip devour a bluefish I returned to the water last year, I've decided I'm in the mood for some cajun shark steaks.

(homer) MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Blacktip......ohhhh (/homer)

That's some good eating there sir.

Spinout007 wrote: (homer) MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM Blacktip......ohhhh (/homer) That's some good eating there sir.

I often have an internal debate over if the eating is the bonus and the aerial display is the primary attraction, or if the jumps are the bonus and the eating is the primary attraction.

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

Funny thing is, I've yet to figure that out myself. They make a fine dinner for the family, I tend to cut the bigger ones loose just because they're so awesome to see.

Speaking of aerial displays, have you caught a Spinner shark yet? Or are they a FL thing. ignore the idiots They're nuts when you get em hooked.

Edit: Checked out wiki.... it claims they're mainly a gulf species. Still NEAT as hell to catch. wiki

In reply to Spinout007:

Thanks. I need something bugger. I have a 3000 with 10# test line. That's good for the croakers I can't stop catching, but I hooked a ray or something this evening while testing out the rod holder I just i stalled in my kayak. I eventually got bored and it was getting dark so I gave it one last try to get the thing in and the line broke. I played around with him ( or he played around with me) for about 30 mins before I gave up.

In reply to T.J.:

Are you fishing with bait or artificial lures? I'm a HUGE fan of spoons, I've got about 5 or 6 different colors/sizes in the box. Smaller lure/bait tends to get smaller fish. Just an FYI. There are times, though a smaller bait will get the bite when a larger bait won't even get a second look. If you try out a spoon I would suggest borrowing/using a lighter setup just so you can get the feel for how fast your fishing the lure, when it's "right" you will feel the lure fluttering with the lighter setup.

Don't get blindsided by the whole "braid is the best!" movement. Braid has it's place, and when fishing cast and steady retrieve, trolling diving plugs, or fishing heavy cover/abrasive areas. The learning curve is steep with it, lots of failed knots, wind knots, backlash. Fishing topwater with braid on a spinning reel is a sure fire way to hate yourself by the end of the day.

Mono has been used for years, and is still a very viable and CHEAP line, A LOT of big fish have been landed on mono.

I have been using dead shrimp for bait. I have braided line because that's what came on there. Seems like the Berkley Braid Knot works well for it and is not hard to tie.

I haven't tried any topwater stuff yet. Just bottom rigs.

The great thing about braid is that you can get a lot of strong line onto a reel.

Yeah but casting into the wind, or reeling a bunch of slack line is the perfect recipe for wind knots. Mono doesn't care.

@ TJ the Palomar is what I use for 90% of my knots for non lure setups. other 10% is an old school clinch knot. Are you using anything for a leader or just tying the hook straight to the braid? Pick up some 20lb test flouro leader, use a uni to uni leader connection with 2' or so worth of leader. I tend to go with about 4-6' just because I tend to change lures a lot and keeps me from having to retie the leader. Uni knot is small enough to reel through the guides, and when it's done right it won't hang up when casting.

When using lures, find a loop knot you like and can tie easily while seated like you're in a yak, use the smallest loop possible that still gives the lure free movement. You're good to go.

If you were tying straight to the braid when you broke the line, it very likely just chewed it's way through it, or the knot failed. Protip: a drop of superglue on your braid knots will help make sure they don't come undone. Tip 2: leave your tag end of the braid a little longer if you're not using glue. Longer tag has more of a chance to dig in to itself and hold. Tip 3: Moisten the area of the line you're tying into a knot, spit, water, whatever is handy. Or you can just go old school and just use a wire leader with everything. My grandfather did that, and caught PLENTY of fish.

In reply to Brett_Murphy:

Though I will add that braid is beautiful when you're yak fishing and some jerkoff in a motorboat doesn't give you any space and runs over your line. Just open the bail and let that motor eat a spool of abrasive resistant fishing line that ends up wrapped around their prop shaft next to the shaft seal.

Not that I've ever done something like or condone those kind of actions.

Of course not, Spin!

I never have any problem casting into the wind, but I use a pretty heavy flouro leader that tends to pull the line straight fairly well. I also feather the line just before it hits the water to pull it tight.

A crucial thing with braid is to never let your bail close by turning the reel handle. Always close it by hand and get the line tight, that way you're not reeling slack. It also helps to maintain a little tension on it if you can while you're reeling it in.

This is the haul of walleye my two boy and I caught with a couple of my friends on Saginaw bay.

I see butter, lemon and dill in your future. Well done!

we had some tonight it was very good!

Got out for the first time this year, just some bank fishing in a small lake that's warming up faster than the rest of the water. I managed three this size.

Anyone here done any fishing in Hawaii? We're flying into Oahu Thursday till Monday night. Splitting time between Honolulu and Kailua and was thinking about trying to find a fishing activity for Monday morning.

I got down to the coast and managed a trout and flounder as well as some non-target species, like shark, croaker and stingray. In fact, there were so many stingrays I had to switch to using 100% artificial lures. My phone was in the dry box in the back of the kayak, so no pictures since the trout and flounder were short.

I also saw juvenile sea turtles swimming around. Sea turtles are pretty dang neat, but I worry that the only reason I see them in the area (Ft. Fisher) is because the water is too shallow and full of oyster beds for commercial fishing.

Brett_Murphy wrote: I got down to the coast and managed a trout and flounder as well as some non-target species, like shark, croaker and stingray. In fact, there were so many stingrays I had to switch to using 100% artificial lures. My phone was in the dry box in the back of the kayak, so no pictures since the trout and flounder were short. I also saw juvenile sea turtles swimming around. Sea turtles are pretty dang neat, but I worry that the only reason I see them in the area (Ft. Fisher) is because the water is too shallow and full of oyster beds for commercial fishing.

Last time I was out fishing a shoreline I saw someone hook one of those baby turtles letting shrimp soak on the bottom.... I gave them about 10 seconds of watching them try and get the barb on their hook back out of it's mouth before I walked over and took over. Snip the barb, hook comes out, pissed off turtle goes back in the water, and I hand them a new hook. Some people are idiots.

Yes. The turtles need all of the help they can get.

They are getting bull reds at the shore right now, I have to get down there.

Just read through the entire thread. Since I bought a power boat I've been feeling the urge to do some fishing again. I've fished a little now and then but never been good at it. looks like we've got our first slightly cooler days coming up this weekend and I need to get the boat out to test a few repairs. I need to put some new line on the old rod and go through the tackle box, then try my luck. I generally have no idea what I'm doing though.

In reply to ultraclyde:

Put last night's left overs on a hook, throw it in the water. Sit in the boat and drink beer until the bobber goes under. Repeat as necessary.

Brett_Murphy wrote: Yes. The turtles need all of the help they can get. They are getting bull reds at the shore right now, I have to get down there.

Thanks for reminding me! The bull run in Jax should be here in the next few weeks!

Some friends just took me out in MN on a great little lake. It's been a long time since I went fishing. Total blast. I landed about 5-6 crappies, 2 small perch and nice sized pike. The pike was a bit of a fight on 4 lb test and an UL rod, all in all.. Great fun.

Back in the day, I had a 12' plastic boat with a crappy 5hp outboard. Would go out in South Biscayne Bay with an ultralight rod, 4 pound test, and catch bonnethead sharks. Baby hammerheads. Good times. Now that we are on the Gulf I am anxious to get fishing again.

" />A photo from  march 2014 Catalina Island California