Lets talk about fishing

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by Duchess

Ok everybody, we're all going with Boots!!

Does that mean we'll have to wait until he retires to his cabin on a river?

[NJFemmie]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

The term must be an east coast thing because growing up in Chicago, we just called it fishing without a boat, lol.

Mare and I tried surf fishing when we were in Virginia. It's not easy and it's a bit of a pain in the ass. It's not quite the same as casting off of a pier. You are literally standing at the edge of a shoreline and casting out into the ocean. All I caught was a few shells and tons of seaweed.

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by NJFemmie

Mare and I tried surf fishing when we were in Virginia. It's not easy and it's a bit of a pain in the ass. It's not quite the same as casting off of a pier. You are literally standing at the edge of a shoreline and casting out into the ocean. All I caught was a few shells and tons of seaweed.

Gotcha, I think I saw someone doing that in California once. Didn't know it had a specific name.

[NJFemmie]

Yes, Mare baits my hooks if we are using worms, lol. If we use fishies or squid, I can do that myself. She suggests I try fly fishing because I love casting the rod over and over and over and over *gasp* and over again ...

Hell, I don't even eat the stuff but I sure love playing with mah pole.

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by NJFemmie

Yes, Mare baits my hooks if we are using worms, lol. If we use fishies or squid, I can do that myself. She suggests I try fly fishing because I love casting the rod over and over and over and over *gasp* and over again ...

Hell, I don't even eat the stuff but I sure love playing with mah pole.

I'm the lazy, patient fisherman. I cast out, leave it and pay close attention to my line. Catfish like to play with the hook, so you have to bait it well and tease them once your line starts to move. Every now and then, I get a surprise and pull in a bass. I usually use a #2 hook, so the fish has to open up wide to suck it and the worm in. The exciting part is the yank and knowing the fish is secure on that hook as it fights with all it's might to stay in the water. When we catch enough fish, we have a fish fry.

[Duchess]

Originally Posted by NJFemmie

Mare and I tried surf fishing when we were in Virginia. It's not easy and it's a bit of a pain in the ass. It's not quite the same as casting off of a pier. You are literally standing at the edge of a shoreline and casting out into the ocean. All I caught was a few shells and tons of seaweed.

You are so right. It's not easy, but I do love to feel the waves crash against me..

Duchess

[Boots13]

Dont wait til I retire, c'mon up ! The cabin is rustic, but the setting is gorgeous. And the general store is just a mile down the road...kind of a funky artsy little place.

Not sure if I could surf-fish...I'd probably be swept out to sea because I'm just that talented (snarking myself).

[Duchess]

I feel a road trip coming on..

Duchess

[WolfyOne]

Originally Posted by Duchess

I feel a road trip coming on..

Duchess

Me, too......we got us an invite to a cabin on a river. Getting there at the moment is the problem. Should wait for warmer weather since we don't have to wait for Boots to retire.

[Linus]

I haven't fished in years and likely won't but someone sent this to me and it made me think of those of you that do fish. I'm sure similar situations have happened elsewhere:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_BLggf-mqs"]YouTube- The best bloopers ever[/ame]

[sharkchomp]

Linus, thanks for posting that video!!! I laughed my ass off!!!! My favorite part was where the trolling motor came off the mount!!!! HA!!!!!!!

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[WolfyOne]

Linus that was cute, thanks. I liked when him and the bait went in the water together. Never let go of the only bait you have no matter what, lol.

[sharkchomp]

So what kind of reels does everyone like to fish with? I've never been able to master using a baitcaster reel (open face), although I own a nice one. Perhaps I need to practise, but I lose all patience when I'm on the water and I've got a bird's nest of fishing line hanging out of my reel. lol I mostly use spinning reels. The best reel I've got a Pleuger President. I got it on sale at Bassproshop for $50. I've got the smaller of the two models offered. It's the smoothest reel I've ever had!!!!

I like light/medium rods. I've tried medium and medium/heavy and they have their applications but mostly I don't need anything heavy unless I'm catfishing, but even then I usually use one of my good ultralight combo's.

Of all my setup's, I probally use my ultralights more than anything as I'm usually fishing for panfish. For bass and catfish I'll throw my Pleuger. For fishing line, I'm sold and have been sold on braided line since the first year spiderwire came out. I lost two big cats in one night on mono and the next day I tried the braided and that was all she wrote. I've never lost a fish due to my line breaking since!! I have lost a big cat due to my hook straightening out once grrrrrrrrrrr!!!! I've read tons of articles about flurocarbon lines and might consider using one as a leader, but that would only be in extremely clear water (such as Dale Hollow Lake).

I've spent thousands (not an exaggeration) of dollars on lures but my go-to, almost never fail lure is a white with a red tip or a green with a orange underbody - rooster tails. In fact, I bought so many lures I had to make myself stop - it was becoming an addiction and I wasn't using the lures. Or I'd spend the day tying on lure after lure, and not mastering a damned one of them! lol

I try to do one week long fishing trip every year (usually with my family). We've gone to many lakes but the best trips have always been to Ontario, Canada. That's a whole different fishing than fishing in the south. Different lures all together!! Although the tactics are pretty much the same - cast! cast! cast!!!!! We usally come home more tired than when we left - 14 hours of hard core fishing everyday the weather allows.

My favorite trip is Reelfoot Lake, TN. I've been there twice (stayed at Bluebank Resort and I highly recommend it!). The first trip was fairly unsuccessful, although I did catch a load of catfish on our last day!!!! The second trip we hired a guide. Again, totally differant fishing than what I'm used to. The guide had us use a small hook with a little jig head with a few fly-type feathers - in fact it looked like a fly on steroids lol. Then you put a cricket or a wax worm on the hook. And then we had to cast them right against the trees, let them fall, set a minute. If you didn't catch a fish in a few minutes, cast to the next. You never fished anyone place longer than 10 minutes. Our second trip was much much more successful and we had two coolers of fish to bring home!

Well, I've kept on long enough - good luck and tight lines for all!!

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[hippieflowergirl]

so i'm too intimidated by all the know-how in this thread to participate much but i had had a blast learning to flyfish this summer. i could do it for hours and i dont even care if i catch anything. (how stoopid is that?!) and this autumn, for the first time, i took the fish off the hook my own self too!
(b'cuz i'm tuff like that)

[sharkchomp]

Hey Hippieflowergirl! Congrats on learning how to fly fish and taking the fish off of your hook! You really shouldn't be intimidated here. Even though I've read tons of books and mags on fishing and have bought tons of gear, there's nothing I love more than using my $12 zebco ultralight and a dozen nightcrawlers to catch bluegills all day long! We're all on the same playing field here, in the never ending search for the thrill of that tug on the end of our lines!!

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[hippieflowergirl]

Originally Posted by sharkchomp

Hey Hippieflowergirl! Congrats on learning how to fly fish and taking the fish off of your hook! You really shouldn't be intimidated here. Even though I've read tons of books and mags on fishing and have bought tons of gear, there's nothing I love more than using my $12 zebco ultralight and a dozen nightcrawlers to catch bluegills all day long! We're all on the same playing field here, in the never ending search for the thrill of that tug on the end of our lines!!

~~~shark~~~~~~~

zebco! i know that name! yaaaaay me!

all i could catch this autumn were sunfish (i called them "pancake fish" when i was little). it wasnt fly fishing but it was still lots of fun. i figured the pancake fish werent too intimidating (unlike the bass other people seemed to be able to catch) and i should be able to get one off the hook and leave others to their fun. so i just tried it and it worked okay!

i was also so pleased with myself when i did it the first time i just stood there grinning and forgot to throw the fish back in the water right away! (poor fish) fortunately no one was looking!!!

[sharkchomp]

That is awesome Hippie!!!!! I don't really care how I'm fishing or what I'm using as long as I'm catching fish!!!

A few years ago my family and I went to Dale Hollow Lake in TN. It's a gorgeous lake with ultra clear water and alot of fishing pressure. My contention was that we needed to get a guide to help put us on the fish. But did we do it??? Noooooo! So while everyone was up at the cabin complaining cause we weren't catching any smallmouth bass (what the lake is reknowned for), my nephew and I were down at the marina catching tons and tons of bluegills!!!!

There are some folks out there that are purists - searching for one species of fish, or only fishing with one technique, but I don't really care as long as I am reeling something in!! At the end of the day it's really about having fun, that is always my fishing goal!!!

~~~shark~~~~~~

[hippieflowergirl]

Originally Posted by sharkchomp

That is awesome Hippie!!!!! I don't really care how I'm fishing or what I'm using as long as I'm catching fish!!!

A few years ago my family and I went to Dale Hollow Lake in TN. It's a gorgeous lake with ultra clear water and alot of fishing pressure. My contention was that we needed to get a guide to help put us on the fish. But did we do it??? Noooooo! So while everyone was up at the cabin complaining cause we weren't catching any smallmouth bass (what the lake is reknowned for), my nephew and I were down at the marina catching tons and tons of bluegills!!!!

There are some folks out there that are purists - searching for one species of fish, or only fishing with one technique, but I don't really care as long as I am reeling something in!! At the end of the day it's really about having fun, that is always my fishing goal!!!

~~~shark~~~~~~

isnt that funny? i dont even care if i catch fish so much. for some reason i just like what i'm doing more than whether or not i catch anything. especially when casting. that's the part i love! i'm not saying i'm any good at it mind you. i dont think it's fair to call what i do "flyfishing" because i'm making some of it up as i go! but damn if i dont love it! dont get me wrong, i like catching something, but i just like fishing period. i've been going, on and off, since i was 10.

i never even considered learning to fly fish before last summer but a friend was really into it and i'm game when it comes to making a fool out of myself in good company. i'm perfectly happy to wade right out and give it a shot. it was funniest when i discovered that i was more willing to get wet than he was. we laughed about that for a long time.

[sharkchomp]

Hi Hippie
I think that's what it's all about - having fun!!!! Casting is fun for you and catching is the bonus! For me, learning is a huge amount of the fun for me. Why are the fish HERE or THERE? What are they eating? How is the weather affecting them? Etc, etc, etc.

For me, there is great satisfaction in finding the SPOT aka the honey hole. One time in Canada we stopped at this pile of rocks in the middle of the lake. We all tied on our lures and I found the spot. After I had caught four fish everyone wanted my lure (an orange and yellow swirled curly tailed grub). Now we were all fishing with the same lure, same rocks, same spot. Perhaps it was my retrieval but I outfished everyone. Basically I put dinner on the table that night My family dubbed the rocks "Shark's Island" heh heh

Same trip, we were fishing a very small private lake after a cold front came thru the day before. The wind was steady and hard. My Dad and Uncle were in one boat, my bro and I in another and we weren't having any luck. I told my bro I wanted to fish this one point and we wore em out!!! Yeeee haw!!!!!!!!

One thing I thought was interesting was that my brother and I were using the same exact lure in size, even same company but he had a copper colored blade and mine was white with a red stripe. He caught twice as many fish as me!! It's amazing how color affects fish so much

~~~shark~~~~~~~

[Mindy]

Originally Posted by WolfyOne

I'm opening this thread to anyone that likes fishing. Tell us about your favorite kind of fishing? Do you prefer lakes, rivers, streams, oceans or just good old fashioned ponds? What kind of rod and reel do you prefer to use? Would you rather fish from a boat or from the shore? These and other like questions can and should be posted here. I'm interested in learning about all kinds of fishing techniques. What works for you, what doesn't? Ok, I think ya'll get my drift.

You know me, I'm great to take along if you need sticks cleared out of the area you desire to fish! haha.. I bet you will miss fishing for fishsticks with me this summer!