Fishin'

[caleb]

Funny story about an Arizonan and stocked fish. A couple years ago I took one of my wife's law school friends from Phoenix up to the Boundary Waters. We're laying into the northerns and smallmouths when he stops and turns around in the canoe with a confused look on his face.

"If the portages we took are the only way into this lake, how did they get all these fish in here?"

[steve garro]

figure i can pull all the blue gill i want out

doubt there will be any bass large enough to pull just yet

Only makes the rest healthier

You would be surprised + see 1st line.

- Garro.

[caleb]

Driving down a couple miles of logging road, paddling across three lakes, poling through a beaver pond, and portaging in between to get back into a tiny, inaccessible lake paid off yesterday afternoon.

[steve garro]

Sweet LM but boy I love those crappie.......been way too long.

When I was just in WI we got into a back cove at sunset & a whole school of white bass were chasing minnows on the surface (so cool!) and we got 4-5 and one I got was a good 14" - beautiful fish, my 1st white bass, like a striper with a crappie head/mouth.
Such perfect little minnow vaccums........easy to tear out a lure, best to net them.

At last light I pulled a SM bass out of the WB school.......

Jonesing for some fishin' - bad.
- Garro.

[caleb]

Sweet LM but boy I love those crappie.......been way too long.

When I was just in WI we got into a back cove at sunset & a whole school of white bass were chasing minnows on the surface (so cool!) and we got 4-5 and one I got was a good 14" - beautiful fish, my 1st white bass, like a striper with a crappie head/mouth.
Such perfect little minnow vaccums........easy to tear out a lure, best to net them.

At last light I pulled a SM bass out of the WB school.......

Jonesing for some fishin' - bad.
- Garro.

There's nothing like bass on the surface. Last night I was fishing with a small floating Rapala and the bass were taking it right off the surface before I'd get a chance to start my retrieve. Toward sunset the fish were hitting nearly every cast. Nothing really big, but fast and furious action. I was thinking about heading back with a float tube, fly rod, and a bunch of little poppers.

I've never eaten white bass. Are they any good? I used to fish with a buddy below the Ford Dam in St. Paul, and we caught piles of them. That's the only place I've ever caught them, and I assume it's the northern extent of their range. Fun fish.

[christian]

Steve - are you paddling an AEII or a Long Haul MKII in those pics? I had an AEII for a while, but swapped it on a Moots MTB about a year ago. Fantastic boats! I'm getting a rotomolded hardshell double to replace it though -- for local paddling and fishing with the kids, it's easier to just pull it off the roof and throw it in the water.

[steve garro]

I've never eaten white bass. Are they any good?

Oh, they are!
Fishy in a very good way, white, flaky, easy to fillet.
One of the coolest fish I have caught in a while.
- Garro.

[steve garro]

IMG_1938.JPG

Steve - are you paddling an AEII or a Long Haul MKII in those pics? I had an AEII for a while, but swapped it on a Moots MTB about a year ago. Fantastic boats! I'm getting a rotomolded hardshell double to replace it though -- for local paddling and fishing with the kids, it's easier to just pull it off the roof and throw it in the water.

Good eye!
One of the finest items i own, my MKII - how do you know about them?

They are the creme de la creme of folders along with feathercraft - I have all the add-ons - it's so fun to use.
I hear ya on the rotomolds, I'm up to:
The MKII
Michicraft 18' aluminum lake canoe
Two Necky Zoar 14'ers sea kayaks, rotomold
Old town 10' kayak, rotomold
Two NRS tandem duckies.
- Garro.

[christian]

Grew up on the Baltic at our summer cottage in northern Sweden. We didn't have running water at the cottage until the nineties, so when I was a kid, my folks would send me across the bay to get water at the municipal dock. 10 years old maybe, driving a 17-foot wood clinker-built rowboat with a tiller-steer 1962 Gale Buccaneer 5hp. Memories like that never fade even a little, do they?

The boat was a real traditional Swedish "eka" rowboat - clinker build out of pine/fir and treated with an even mix of linseed oil, turpentine, and what we called "Roslags" tar. No idea what it's called in English. Gale was the Montomery Ward version of the OMC/Evinrude/Johnson outboards, and we still have that 5hp - never had the engine apart in 50 years. Just run it dry of fuel in a 55-gallon drum of fresh water at the end of the season...

I remember in about 1982 we got a Yamaha 8hp and put it on our plastic boat -- and it would plane! First boat I'd ever known that did that - I was blown away by the sheer speed... Seems funny now.

Anyway, with that background, about 10 years ago, I stumbled on Tom Yost's kayak pages (looking for a bike rack for my motorcycle), which led to the Ralph Diaz book, to Kleppers, and so on. Obviously, being a fan of wood boats, and seeing a Aerius without the skin... it didn't take long....

Anyway, here's my Chief Mate:

6256034282_cf8465b5ba_z.jpg

[maunahaole]

Can't imagine how strong a 230lb ahi would be. Trivia: ahi is the Hawaiian word for fire. The fish got this name because they would pull so hard that there would be smoke at the interface of the fishing lines and the rails of the boats.

Ahi Tuna Capsizes Hawaiian Angler’s Boat, Drags Him Underwater | Fishing Articles & Stories

[j44ke]

Speaking of kayaks, my sister-in-law ordered a couple of these. Local NYC product evidently. I saw one on display at the end of my block a few hours ago. Looks pretty well thought out - strapping system, ribs, seat - even if it does not look like the quickest paddling craft I've seen. And I'd pack it full of float bags to maximize buoyancy. Not sure how it would be to fish out of them, but I like the idea of having one stashed in the car trunk just in case!

[christian]

I used to joke with my wife when we lived in the City that when the excrement hit the fan and the National Guard were posted on the bridges, we'd sneak out of the City in our Klepper under cover of darkness. Just in case, as you say!

[j44ke]

BTW roslag is a mix of boiled linseed oil and kiln-fired wood tar. Seems like the Swedes have been making it forever.

[rowdyhillrambler]

I got into a mess of black nose crappie thursday night. Those guys are fun to catch on light tackle, and i would say that they are about as good eating as any freshwater fish. Pulled 12 out in about 45 minutes, then turned off like a switch.

Taking my gals out in the RV for the weekend in a little bit. 125,000 acres, 80 miles of ATB trails, and plenty of gravel roads. The southern fork of the Cumberland River will have me in it before dark! Large, smalls, redeye/Kentucky, and hopefully some rainbows.

Camping, riding, fishing, eating. Who needs heaven in the sky, i got me some right here.. Spoiled, good days

Sweet LM but boy I love those crappie.......been way too long.

When I was just in WI we got into a back cove at sunset & a whole school of white bass were chasing minnows on the surface (so cool!) and we got 4-5 and one I got was a good 14" - beautiful fish, my 1st white bass, like a striper with a crappie head/mouth.
Such perfect little minnow vaccums........easy to tear out a lure, best to net them.

At last light I pulled a SM bass out of the WB school.......

Jonesing for some fishin' - bad.
- Garro.

[Erik B]

AndrewsLaker.jpg
One happy camper.
Beautiful fishin' day till the winds came in, and the wife was slaying the blueberries. So EVERYBODY had a good time

[Cookietruck]

went fishing finally
no weeds in the tank so threw a little jig and gave the lady a spoon to throw
we caught about 7 fish in an hour and a half or so
all bass, except one catfish that hit the spoon
the spoon is what they liked, the lady caught more fish than me
they were about 9-10" long, were fingerlings a year ago
the catfish was a bit larger than all the bass, and it grunted at me when i took it off the hook

didn't keep any this time, will probably go back out there in a few months when it's a little cooler and keep some

funny, i talked to one of my uncles about fishing some of the more mature tanks, he says oh yeah, sure you can fish them
are you keeping or throwing back
my reply is oh i might want to keep one or two
then all the sudden his story is oh, well the drought has hit all these tanks pretty hard these last few years and the populations are dwindling
not sure you'll have much luck
so we just hung out and he showed us around some of the land i haven't been to in years and years
and he gave us some of the beef jerky he was cold smoking, was real tasty
good time for a half day trip and i found out how large the fish are in the tank at this point

[ElvisMerckx]

My kids had a successful day at the pond. Starting with this 16" catfish:


My youngest snagged this 23" catfish:


Surprisingly, he also hooked a bullfrog:

[steve garro]

Surprisingly, he also hooked a bullfrog:

Those are amazingly easy to catch - they will grab anything that moves that will fit in it's mouth......
Cooks up good, too!
You know how to clean catfish?
- Garro.

[rabo]

Just started fishing on Harbour Island SC. The water is muddy, and you can walk 1/2 mile in the ocean and still stand. The Kayak did not bring a single bite so I walked over to the inlet. Must have been 500 pelicans hanging out on the sandbar.
Throwing a Gulp shrimp with the baitcaster I suddenly was looking at a reel that was emptying the 20 lbs braid.
Must have been 30 minutes before I landed a stingray with the hook in his wing. That's why he was so strong I guess.
Just this morning I was able to free up the drag that got stuck. Even if you don't believe on even hooking a crab; never enter the ocean without adjusting your drag. Biggest kick in surf spinning is staring at an emptying spool!

[ElvisMerckx]

You know how to clean catfish?
- Garro.

Yep. My method involves a hammer & nail, a 2x4, a razor blade, and skin pullers. Sound about right to you?