Fishing Tales !

[RiverBoi]

Has anyone ever caught an Alligator Gar? What is the strangest fish you have ever caught?

[Hollylane]

Originally Posted by June

When I was little throughout my teens, my Granddad (AKA - The Tank) would take me salmon and steelhead fishing on the Columbia River. Sometimes we went to the Bonneville Dam, and sometimes to a place called Draino Lake.

I would sit quietly in the rocks and listen to the sometimes bawdy stories he and his friends would tell. We had an open faced tent and a kerosene heater for when it was cold and I remember that smell vividly.

The poles were big, set into holders pounded deep into the ground. They had bells on them, so when a fish would strike, not only would you see the pole dip sharply, but the bell would ring and whomever's pole it was would sprint over to "set" the fish and begin the long arduous process of reeling it in while their friends readied the long-handled net to scoop it out once it was close enough to shore.

I love the bells idea. Were the bells attached to the poles or somehow to the line? I would love to try this!


Hayden and I fish every year. Since I have been ill this year we haven't been able to get out there and do it.

We should be taking a trip next month for Hayden's birthday. We will be down in the Seaside/Astoria areas. I am looking forward to casting my line in my favorite spot on the Brownsmead slough. I have caught some whoppers there (big mouth bass).

When we are not camping, we fish at Hagg Lake. When we lived in SE Portland we had to get up at about 3am to make it to the lake by sunrise and get our favorite spot. Since we now live in Beaverton, it will make for a much shorter trip.

Hayden has a love/hate relationship with my fishing poles. He can be pretty impatient, casting and re-casting. I have two poles (both are pink!) and I generally pick a spot on instinct and cast once, set it, and put it in the holder. We generally catch our double limit by 10 am there. So, I will never share our prime location! The reason Hayden gets frustrated is because he generally catches one fish to my ten. I think the fish can feel him fidgeting with his pole, but who knows. He does enjoy the excitement of my multiple hits/catches, but would rather he caught more then one or two each time.

Sadly, it is a rare occasion that I actually like to eat the fish we catch. I generally only like it if I can catch it, clean it, and eat it off the campfire immediately. Hayden is not a big fan either. What we end up doing is finding people who love fish, and bring them our catch. In our new community, there is a community pantry and freezer, so we can share them with people anonymously who may be in need.

Wow, I can yap when it comes to fishing! Who knew? Happy casting people!

[AtLast]

Twenty-eight years ago today, my Dad passed away. Although I miss him for many reasons and have oodles of fine memories of a fine human being, fishing with him is at the top of the list.

He taught me to fish at a young age- probably starting at 4-5 or so. We were a camping and fishing kind of family and also did abalone and eel fishing back in the day when the SF Bay was clean and abundant with fish and sea food.

On Saturdays my Dad took me and sometimes my brother (he was a lot older and usually wanted to do teen-guy stuff with his teen-guy friends by then) fishing so my Mom had at least a morning off without kids around. I loved going to our favorite fishing rocks off Tiburon's then working railroad station (this was back when Tiburon was pretty much a dead little place with a couple of local bars and the train station and was completely working class). Of course, we had my Dad’s hunting dog with us (always a German Short-Haired Pointer that he rotated naming Queenie or Junior throughout the years). Queenie Number One went fishing in Tiburon with us in those early days.

Eventually "our rock" had a small deck built around it with a bridge to walk over to it and was proclaimed as a kid's fishing area. My Dad and some of the other neighborhood Dad's built it and there was a small dedication.

The best fishing story for me was when I didn't have my own fishing pole yet (I was about 4-5, I think) and we were on a family camping trip in the Hope Valley area near Lake Tahoe. My Dad picked-up a fairly long willow branch and just attached some line and a hook and sinker with a worm for me to use. I think he was just trying to give something to do so he could fish. BAM- within a minute of my sticking the line down in a craggy area of the brook we were near, I pulled out a big German Brown trout! My Dad almost fell over laughing as I ended up with the biggest fish caught that day. That year, Junior Number One was right there with us taking in some sun shine on the bank. For our next camping trip, I had my own rod, a small tackle box and a spinning reel along with a fishing vest and a net! I was in seventh heaven!!

I think of my Dad often and am so grateful to have wonderful memories of him and our time together doing things like this. I do miss him even now.

[RiverBoi]

I attempted bank fishing today at a lake. It's so hot though, that the fish are moving deeper during the day. Which means I need to just wake up really early or get back into night fishing lol! Anyone had any good luck so far this year?

[RiverBoi]

Has anyone had much luck with planning fishing around full moons ?? Such as on fishing calendars?

[Medusa]

Dude! THE BITE IS ON at Woolly Hollow! We went up there yesterday and Tuesday and couldnt get our poles in the water fast enough! They were catfish (just rats, nothing huge) about a pound or two but were in a frenzy on the dock! As soon as we'd drop a line, we'd get hit. I think I caught 15 cats, 8 or 10 hand-size breem and several crappie. Jack caught as many!

[TIMBERWOLF]

Mr Jennie(DC's half) and I went out on the Deep Sea boat for my BD and caught Red Snapper and Triggerfish. About 6 on the boat caught the Large 30+pound class Red Snapper.I have been trying to catch the Red fish but haven't yet.I hear they hit a lot at night especially the large Bull Reds. We have a great couple of new piers at Galveston they rebuilt that are real nice.
TIMBER

[RiverBoi]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Dude! THE BITE IS ON at Woolly Hollow! We went up there yesterday and Tuesday and couldnt get our poles in the water fast enough! They were catfish (just rats, nothing huge) about a pound or two but were in a frenzy on the dock! As soon as we'd drop a line, we'd get hit. I think I caught 15 cats, 8 or 10 hand-size breem and several crappie. Jack caught as many!

Well hell.... One evening or night, when you guys are going, text me and we will come meet ya at Woolly Hollow. ANYTIME for that matter lol! Miss seeing ya'll.

[RiverBoi]

Originally Posted by Medusa

Dude! THE BITE IS ON at Woolly Hollow! We went up there yesterday and Tuesday and couldnt get our poles in the water fast enough! They were catfish (just rats, nothing huge) about a pound or two but were in a frenzy on the dock! As soon as we'd drop a line, we'd get hit. I think I caught 15 cats, 8 or 10 hand-size breem and several crappie. Jack caught as many!

We are babysitting tonight in Conway. And should be done by 6 at the latest and are going to Woolly Hollow to fish. If you know of a nice honey hole there, text me ))))