Fishin'

[steve garro]

IMG_1506.JPGIMG_1504.JPGIMG_1572.JPGIMG_1567.JPGIMG_1555.JPGIMG_1546.JPGIMG_1531.JPGIMG_1370.JPGIMG_1509.JPGIMG_1573.JPGAny of you guys getting out?
Just back from a week in WI on the mighty Mississippi - flood conditions, but we still got some.
....Including some big ones......
- Garro.

[Eddie]

Just walked in from some pond largemouth on bead head buggers in VT. Dog managed to nab one on the line. Will work on some pics when the sun starts to set and the feed pics up. Too hot right now.

[rowdyhillrambler]

Just loaded up the subaru, getting ready to head down to the gulf. Taking my 2 gals on a little vacay, our lady starts kindergarten in a couple of weeks, and my wife just finished her occupational therapy program.

Perfect time for vacation.. Rods and reels are in the thule box, and tackle is in the back!! 8 days of bummin' and fishin'.. I am going to take some photos and try and learn how to post them.

Ride, fish, beer, repeat.

[rowdyhillrambler]

We are leaving out in the morning, after we eat this barbecue.. Gonna try and bring back enough for the freezer

[rowdyhillrambler]

Garro, the fish being fileted, is that a Northern Pike? Not familiar with them, not any down here.. What are they like? I know a lot of folks catch them while trying to catch catfish.

Please report.

[steve garro]

Garro, the fish being fileted, is that a Northern Pike? Not familiar with them, not any down here.. What are they like? I know a lot of folks catch them while trying to catch catfish.

Please report.

Yep - that's a Northern - 39"er x 17lbs
They fight like crazy, will bite the shit out of you (see toothy pic) gush slime, and are apex predators.
Your friends must be catching big cats with something like live sunfish for big flatheads or something?
basically a freshwater barracuda.
- Garro.

[Too Tall]

That picture takes me back. I used to paddle Boundary Waters into Quatico every year before college was in session. We would paddle/camp/fish every night on a different lake for 2 weeks. Northern are boney mofos but good eats over a campfire in tinfoil roasted. Mostly we got Walleye which are really really good. Well done AGAIN Garro you dog ;)

[steve garro]

That picture takes me back. I used to paddle Boundary Waters into Quatico every year before college was in session. We would paddle/camp/fish every night on a different lake for 2 weeks. Northern are boney mofos but good eats over a campfire in tinfoil roasted. Mostly we got Walleye which are really really good. Well done AGAIN Garro you dog ;)

My bro-in-law you see there does just that every year.
The way he is doing the filleting there they have NO BONES - I was really honed it to pick up the technique - you take off that big back fillet like he is there on top of the "Y" bones, then fillet down the outside of the Y's yielding another big boneless fillet per side - I yielded two 1/2 gall ziplocks worth of fillets.
= How it's done.
Each fish has it's trick.
Halibuts come off in four fillets.........
- Garro.

[Too Tall]

Learn something new everyday. We ate them straight from the foil like the starved voyageurs we were pretending to be.
Is the water still safe in Quatico? We had to pack/treat for a couple days out of MN, after that were were good to go.
Ask me someday about almost getting busted by the Candians on a remote outpost island. I guess we did look like filthy commie hippie scum ;)

[steve garro]

Is the water still safe in Quatico?

My bro-in-laws went last year, said the Smallie fishin' was off the charts.......
- Garro.

[ron l edmiston]

[QUOTE=Too Tall;524079]That picture takes me back. I used to paddle Boundary Waters into Quatico every year before college was in session. We would paddle/camp/fish every night on a different lake for 2 weeks. Northern are boney mofos but good eats over a campfire in tinfoil roasted. Mostly we got Walleye which are really really good. Well done AGAIN Garro you dog ;)

--"walleyed pike" skillet lake shore fried, potatoes (sikn on) sliced/fried, franco american out of the can (sliced onions, with wild sage & rooms), left over fist biscuts/smashed wild blue berries warmed & a sip of wild turkey to ward off transmitted diseases..
then back to fish'n & canoe'n..
---- those were the days in northern canada, --"just bout as-good-as-sex.."

ronnie

[steve garro]

IMG_1407.JPG[QUOTE=ron l edmiston;524132]

That picture takes me back. I used to paddle Boundary Waters into Quatico every year before college was in session. We would paddle/camp/fish every night on a different lake for 2 weeks. Northern are boney mofos but good eats over a campfire in tinfoil roasted. Mostly we got Walleye which are really really good. Well done AGAIN Garro you dog ;)

--"walleyed pike" skillet lake shore fried, potatoes (sikn on) sliced/fried, franco american out of the can (sliced onions, with wild sage & rooms), left over fist biscuts/smashed wild blue berries warmed & a sip of wild turkey to ward off transmitted diseases ---- those were the days in northern canada, --"just bout as-good-as-sex.."

ronnie

Yep.
100%
- Garro.

[steve garro]

Can't help it.
- Garro.

[caleb]

My bro-in-law you see there does just that every year.
The way he is doing the filleting there they have NO BONES - I was really honed it to pick up the technique - you take off that big back fillet like he is there on top of the "Y" bones, then fillet down the outside of the Y's yielding another big boneless fillet per side - I yielded two 1/2 gall ziplocks worth of fillets.
= How it's done.
Each fish has it's trick.
Halibuts come off in four fillets.........
- Garro.

That's exactly right. You'd be amazed how many Minnesotans and Cheeseheads don't know how to fillet northerns and so throw them back because they're convinced that they're "too boney." Filleted right (boneless), they're one of the best eating fish with fine texture, firm flesh, and mild flavor.

Glad to see you had a good trip, Steve.

[Erik B]

Lunker 2s.jpg
My buddies picked these up last weekend, My son and I had to be satisfied with keeping a couple 14 inchers out of the same lake which ended up being darn tasty when fried up.

[WadePatton]

yes, i've been. knocked all the dust off my rods and ...

i bought a boat. a friggin kayak...how in hell i ever lived without a kayak i don't know. Canoes work, but the 'yak rocks. Me and my brother-by-a-different-mother did a great paddle (canoe) trip a couple of weeks ago. I've been out in the 'yak once. I'm trying to fix my trailer and build a cart between rain showers. Was supposed to fish this weekend on some semi-private water, but the rain has made everything mud and the water is too high. We're a bit over on our rainfall this summer and got about 3 inches yesterday with more coming. like Seattle i rekon.

and i gotta get to riggin the 'yak. planning on hitting some bigger water eventually-still learning to paddle properly yo (anybody want to trade a 240 for a 220? mine is carbon shaft/plastic blade Stingray).

Canoe in June:

HPW atop Cummins Jeep.jpg


at the put in. a nice hole we fish before launching.

Morning on a Stream Somewhere.jpg

i taught him

Getting the Party Started.jpg

we celebrated this fish as 20-ish inches. no scale-so we use the rod. a good solid 3.5-4# smallie. which was released as a trophy-to-get-bigger.

Very Good Brownie.jpg


the middle-sized fish are not so lucky when we have a freezer devoid of pescetarian fare.

stringer.jpg


we fished upstream to here, cooled off, ate disgusting corner-mkt canned vittles (a tradition) with cold sorta fishy beers.

i was there.jpg

then-at the middle spot, where a large, tail-walking brown had rejected Kenny's hook on the way up...EFF ME if he didn't hook into that bad boy again. 22.5 inches as best we could translate-which equates to 6# - a tremendous fish for such small water, a genuine trophy-which was released.

superfish.jpg

my new outdoor triple-basin fish station.

dumbasses.jpg

and these fish eat just fine-and fight like hell.

drumandchannelcats.jpg


notes:

the smallish fishes we kept were gut-hooked, which is a risk of fishing with real bait. we don't throw plugs/jigs/spoons/spinners/flies anymore. fishing time is too precious for dicking around...we catch and bait from the stream we're fishing-minnows in cast nets mostly. BFM's (big fat minnows) WORK. and also-that big smallie, hit a stone dead minnow that had fallen off the hook and been re-hooked. go figger. We quit counting at around 20 fish each.

[WadePatton]

So i already had the hots to get a fishing 'yak before the trip posted above. Got one a couple of days later. Put it on some nearly local water the next day--first time i'd fished that water. BFM's caused Redeye and Smallies to keep coming into the boat. I snapped a couple of pics--but was trying to keep the phone dry. Just a couple of pics:

Collins River

Collins.jpg

A fat brownie-about the 8th fish boated that day (after being told at the ramp that they weren't biting)

15inch.jpg

A fatter brownie- 17inches. I saw it chasing the two 15's i pulled from the same section-a thrill in itself.

17inch bronze.jpg



Tight lines make happy faces- and i released all fish that day, was just checkin' the boat out you know. I did lose a rod. LEASH it or LOSE it is the rule...yep

fish is good.jpg



pic of boat by previous owner-rigged to fish and camp.


r135camp load.jpg

going back out when the floods recede. also-this river has Muskie...pretty sure i heard one smash the water and saw another one...yes of course, but not just yet as i'm still loading the freezer and it's highly frowned upon to take a muskie here-so that's all "play fishin".

[steve garro]

i bought a boat. a friggin kayak...how in hell i ever lived without a kayak i don't know. Canoes work, but the 'yak rocks.

Are those fresh water drum, yeah? Other then the smallies?
In WI they call them "Sheepsheads" and don't eat them, I tell them they are nuts, we catch drum in the ocean all the time and they are delicious - you?

Nice kayak - they are way better for point & shoot & trolling = cram as much gear as you can in the cockpit - they handle better.
Nice score!
- Garro.

[WadePatton]

Floods keeping me out of the water this weekend. (i could practice padding on the track there hidden by the chocolate water) and i've heard of good fishing in overflows, but haven't tried it.

Dillon Park.jpg


I plan to learn more of the local waters. Try some small reservoirs and put that puppy in Salty waters when i get the chance.

Yeah Steve, freshwater drum-not much unlike the great Redfish, but closer to home. Folks don't eat 'em around here either. But my buddy had-and we were short on fish for a camping cookout a couple of years ago and dressed one out...and it's fine eating-not bony like sucker/carp, but firm flesh like swordfish or shark. GREAT texture for smoking. Flavor is mild-and usually better than largemouth (what isn't). I don't throw them back any more and when you're pulling 20+ inchers out of a hole in the creek, you're freeing up habitat for the big Browns--a freakin' win/win if there ever was one. Three channel cats and about 7 drum in that styrobox. everything likes a BFM.

Next "unpopular" fish i'm going to try is Gar. Once you get the armor plating off them, (i've seen machetes, axes, hacksaws, and cutoff wheels used so far.) everyone claims to like the meat. Very gatorish they say. The drum is gator-ish too btw.

W Eat-it-if-it-Swims P

[steve garro]

Floods keeping me out of the water this weekend. (i could practice padding on the track there hidden by the chocolate water) and i've heard of good fishing in overflows, but haven't tried it.



I plan to learn more of the local waters. Try some small reservoirs and put that puppy in Salty waters when i get the chance.

better than largemouth (what isn't). Next "unpopular" fish i'm going to try is Gar. Once you get the armor plating off them, (i've seen machetes, axes, hacksaws, and cutoff wheels used so far.) everyone claims to like the meat. Very gatorish they say. The drum is gator-ish too btw.

W Eat-it-if-it-Swims P

I love eating LM's!
Just gotta get all the bloodmeat & skin off them & they have to be from clean water - I eat the hell out of them.

We were fishin' flood waters in WI & stinkbait for cats dawn & dusk was killing it hard, and really big-ass loud spinners (think Mepp's #5 in chartruse) or topwater poppers = high visiblilty for looking-up predators......

I got a tip for tough skinned fish (ever see a file skin triggerfish?) I got from the Mexican Pescadores - cut a tiny hole in the skin, insert air gun tip, hit the air & FRRRrrrriiiiiiiipppppppp! - it inflates like a ballon = remove your fish!
- Garro.