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PREYING MANTITS
Mar 13, 2003

and that's how you get ants.
Well it took 25 years (I was 7 and caught a 5lb even bass on a snoopy pole..) but I finally set a new personal best.

22" and weighed in at 5 1/2 lbs. I was actually crappie fishing but brought my bass rod just in case. The crappie weren't biting so I picked that rod up and cast between two docks. About halfway back to the boat this one just slammed my lure. I was surprised to see it was bedding already so I just took a quick pic, weighed it and released back where I caught'em as quick I could.

Of course my celebration was short lived since the guy I borrowed the scale from told me a 12lb'er was caught two days ago just up the way from where I was. In small worldness, I found a photo of it:

edit: better picture, also he confirmed that he released it. 12.14lbs.

the release :3:

PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 05:39 on Feb 26, 2013

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Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

Water temperatures are hovering right around 50 degrees in North Texas right now, took the kayaks out with a buddy of mine to see if we could find and prespawn LMB. Managed to catch 4, 2-3 lb LMB, all in 10 feet or less of water using a crank bait off the bottom of the lake. I am thinking they where all males too, getting ready to establish their territories for the spawn, tried to work the drop offs and the rocky deep points with some big, fat plastics, trying to nab the big mommas, but there was nothing going on with the females right now.

Going to head out next weekend to see what else we can find, I love this time of the year, the fish are getting active and starting to feed. Plus the crappie are starting to move out of there deep holes and starting to creep there way back into the shallower parts of the lake over the next month or so.

Caramaline
Aug 4, 2006

Takin' a dirt nap with baby Jesus
I caught the biggest perch I've ever seen ice fishing at East Shoal lake in Manitoba. I caught 4 and my husband caught 6.



I normally hate ice fishing, but since we did so well before I let him convince me to go to East Shoal again. This time we didn't get so much as a nibble.

I hate ice fishing so much.

Drunk Badger
Aug 27, 2012

Trained Drinking Badger
A Faithful Companion

Grimey Drawer
I've never been one for ice fishing. I love fishing on a boat in open water, but I can never seem to catch anything when the lakes are frozen.

coyo7e
Aug 23, 2007

by zen death robot

Caramaline posted:

I caught the biggest perch I've ever seen ice fishing at East Shoal lake in Manitoba. I caught 4 and my husband caught 6.



I normally hate ice fishing, but since we did so well before I let him convince me to go to East Shoal again. This time we didn't get so much as a nibble.

I hate ice fishing so much.
You have much to learn about taking pictures of the fish you catch - the proper stance is "arms fully extended toward camera, so the fish looks huge and you look tiny". ;)

tesilential
Nov 22, 2004

by Fluffdaddy

coyo7e posted:

You have much to learn about taking pictures of the fish you catch - the proper stance is "arms fully extended toward camera, so the fish looks huge and you look tiny". ;)

That is a surefire way to show other fisherman you are an amateur ;). When judging pictures, we anglers only give credit to pictures where the fisherman has his elbows bent, therefore we know it's the true size. I do take a pic with my arms out on some nice fish, just to show to non-anglers, but when I post on fishing websites or show other anglers I show the real photo, usually holding the fish almost to my body, like the poster in question.

Hilariously I have a picture with my ex holding a 7" speckled trout so far in front of her that it appears to be larger than her. The mirrodine on it's lip gives away it's true size ;)

fknlo
Jul 6, 2009
Probation
Can't post for 6 hours!
Fun Shoe
Holy poo poo I'm spending so much money to get back into this. So excited though! At least it will give me something to do on the days I'm furloughed over the next few months :v:

I really can't wait to get everything all together and get back on the water. Like it's all that's on my mind kind of excited.

fknlo
Jul 6, 2009
Probation
Can't post for 6 hours!
Fun Shoe
Put a deposit down on a kayak today!

Jackson Cuda 12 in black widow. I'll throw the rest down when it starts to get warmer and I can actually use it.

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

fknlo posted:

Put a deposit down on a kayak today!

Jackson Cuda 12 in black widow. I'll throw the rest down when it starts to get warmer and I can actually use it.



Nice kayak there and welcome to the addiction. You are going to have a blast fishing out of your kayak once you get the hang of it (if you are new to the sport that is) once you do, you are going to want to be on the lake all the time. Post some great pictures of your first fishing trip when you can.

fknlo
Jul 6, 2009
Probation
Can't post for 6 hours!
Fun Shoe

Rythe posted:

Nice kayak there and welcome to the addiction. You are going to have a blast fishing out of your kayak once you get the hang of it (if you are new to the sport that is) once you do, you are going to want to be on the lake all the time. Post some great pictures of your first fishing trip when you can.

Thanks! I'm definitely new to kayak fishing but have fished from bass boats off and on for years. I've wanted to get back into it for a while now and once I discovered kayak fishing I knew it would be the best way. Once water temps go up a bit I plan on going out and tipping it a few times to see what I can get away with and figure out the best way to get back in it. Then it's time to fish! There will definitely be pictures.

I still have a couple things to sort out, but I'm most of the way there.

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

Let me know if I can lend a hand advice wise at all, I have been fishing out my Outback for 6+ years now, and while I am still learning some tricks here and there I have figured out some good things by trial and error for kayak fishing.

fknlo
Jul 6, 2009
Probation
Can't post for 6 hours!
Fun Shoe
My only real remaining "issues" are transportation and storage. I've got crossbars on my Golf, but the OEM kayak attachment apparently only has a weight rating of 55lbs. I'm pretty sure the Cuda 12 is over this without the seat in it. It also says "max length 8'2" but I'm pretty sure tying down the bow and stern would help with any issues due to length. I've had a bad experience using non-OE attachments, so I'm hesitant to go with something else. Right now I'm just leaning towards foam blocks on the crossbars with lots of tie down straps to get me by for now.


Then there's storage. I don't know if the kayak will fit in my elevator. If it won't, I can try and store it in the basement of my building where I won't be able to hang it on J cradles. I might be able to keep it at my moms in her garage, but that would be somewhat of an inconvenience.

fknlo fucked around with this message at 00:27 on Mar 10, 2013

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

fknlo posted:

My only real remaining "issues" are transportation and storage. I've got crossbars on my Golf, but the OEM kayak attachment apparently only has a weight rating of 55lbs. I'm pretty sure the Cuda 12 is over this without the seat in it. It also says "max length 8'2" but I'm pretty sure tying down the bow and stern would help with any issues due to length. I've had a bad experience using non-OE attachments, so I'm hesitant to go with something else. Right now I'm just leaning towards foam blocks on the crossbars with lots of tie down straps to get me by for now.


Then there's storage. I don't know if the kayak will fit in my elevator. If it won't, I can try and store it in the basement of my building where I won't be able to hang it on J cradles. I might be able to keep it at my moms in her garage, but that would be somewhat of an inconvenience.

I use aftermarket car rack bars from a company called Yakima and I put my 12 ft kayak on my little 4 doors Kia hatchback and have never had an issue while keeping it properly secured to my car. All you really need is 4 ties downs to secure your boat properly, one in the bow, one in the rear and have two go across the middle of the kayak and secured to the car racks. I have done this for 6+ years, I have traveled for 3 hrs at 80 mpg with no issues concerning movement and lack of security. Invest in a good set of ratcheting tie downs for the front/rear and a good set of locking tie downs for the middle of the kayak, buying the good ones will prevent you from losing your kayak from your roof.

Storage is a bit of a issue when it comes to boats that big, try not to store it on its side over long periods, I find that method has a habit of warping the kayak slightly. If you can not get it off the ground with the J cradles, try to at least store it on some foam noodles so the kayak is not resting on the ground, this is the method I use in my garage.

coyo7e
Aug 23, 2007

by zen death robot
Dang I'm jealous, I'd love a kayak but I don't think that my knees could take it. I really miss having a canoe.

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

coyo7e posted:

Dang I'm jealous, I'd love a kayak but I don't think that my knees could take it. I really miss having a canoe.

There is really not much strain at all on your knees in today's fishing kayaks, I am 6'3 and i can fit comfortably in almost every kayak, with plenty of room to stretch and fish for hours without worry. If you ever get a chance to borrow a buddies or do a test paddle from a local shop, jump all over that, you will be amazed at how nice kayaks are.

Tadhg
Aug 5, 2007

AUT MORS
AUT GLORIA

:hist101:
It's not kayak chat, but I've started fly fishing this year and holy hell is it awesome. I've done a lot of bait/lure fishing using a spinning reel when I was younger, but fly fishing was always this mysterious thing that grownups did and I wouldn't get to try it until I was older.

Now I'm older, and I can see why grampa wanted to keep this to himself. I'm still working on my accuracy with my casts, but I can at least avoid hooking myself and other poo poo around me.

Any other fly fishers in SoCal have recommendations on fly patterns? I'm a field biologist, and this is giving me a great excuse to pay more attention to insects than I have in the past. Our seasonal temperatures are pretty weird, though, and I don't yet have a handle on what's hatching around here and when it does.

KiddieGrinder
Nov 15, 2005

HELP ME
Question for anyone:

Is there such thing as a totally safe lure? No barbs, no hooks, no sharp staby bits, no nothing like that. Nothing that could hurt the little fishies?

I'm guessing no, but I figured I'd ask here.

I don't want to hurt the little fish. :ohdear:

Armed Neutrality
May 8, 2006

BUY MORE CRABS
You're really weird.

There are some fly fisherman who clip their hooks and fish for the strike. But you're not going to catch a fish without hurting it somehow. Theoretically you could fish with a gorge, which is just a stick upon which you'd put some bait, let the fish swallow it, haul it in, and do whatever it is you want to do to/with the fish, but it the end that's probably worse than hook so I really don't know how to help you. I minimize pain by using small, barbless hooks while fly fishing, but there's no way to really eliminate it. Again, you're weird. :)

Armed Neutrality fucked around with this message at 15:03 on Mar 25, 2013

beefnoodle
Aug 7, 2004

IGNORE ME! I'M JUST AN OLD WET RAG
Learn to make fishing weirs. That would be weird, too.

Unperson_47
Oct 14, 2007



Even most nets will do more harm to a fish than a hook. Holding a fish improperly can kill it. Honestly, I'm wondering what your goal is if you're trying to fish while trying to prevent 100% of the harm that's going to be inevitably caused to the animal. I pinch down the barbs of all my flies to minimize harm as much as I can, as well as to make fly fishing less dangerous to my own self. Pretty sure a percentage of the fish I return still die, though.

I guess you could get one of those RC cameras that you cast out and just observe fish?

Unperson_47 fucked around with this message at 15:16 on Mar 25, 2013

KiddieGrinder
Nov 15, 2005

HELP ME
I guess regardless of the way it's hooked it's traumatic for the fish to be handled and taken out of the water.

Ok I'm weird, never mind. :downs:

(and no I didn't want to have sex with it)

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

One of the better things you can do it have hooks that are barb less and I have seen other people remove the three prong hooks from their lures and replace with single hooks. All of this just minimizes the chance of hurting the fish any more than you will by catching it.

hypersober
Mar 27, 2006
...
I love fishing, but sort of hate it at the same time. After years of not getting my permit, I'd gotten it the last 2 years. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I've never had a bite. I've asked for tips, talked to others etc.

I'm jealous of others who catch fishes. :smith:

causticBeet
Mar 2, 2010

BIG VINCE COMIN FOR YOU

hypersober posted:

I love fishing, but sort of hate it at the same time. After years of not getting my permit, I'd gotten it the last 2 years. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I've never had a bite. I've asked for tips, talked to others etc.

I'm jealous of others who catch fishes. :smith:

What area are you fishing in geographically?

Drunk Badger
Aug 27, 2012

Trained Drinking Badger
A Faithful Companion

Grimey Drawer
I'm thinking about updating my tackle box from more than some plastic powerbait and a plastic frog (found wrapped around a weed last year). Anyone around northwest MN have some bait suggestions for walleye or bass?

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

Drunk Badger posted:

I'm thinking about updating my tackle box from more than some plastic powerbait and a plastic frog (found wrapped around a weed last year). Anyone around northwest MN have some bait suggestions for walleye or bass?

Bass will hit a variety of lures from plastic worm, crank bait, spinner baits, rattlin traps and sometime just about anything you can toss at them depending on the fishes mood and weather conditions. I keep a variety of lures, including colors in my box just for bass, sometimes they can be very picky and you have to present different options. My go to baits are always a shad colored 6 ft crank bait and a classic Texas rigged plastic worm though.

As for walleye, I always did great in the upstate NY area on those using nothing more than the classic silver spoon. If you can find what depth the walleye are hanging out in, you can suspend a spoon at that depth and do pretty well on walleyes.

causticBeet
Mar 2, 2010

BIG VINCE COMIN FOR YOU

Rythe posted:

Bass will hit a variety of lures from plastic worm, crank bait, spinner baits, rattlin traps and sometime just about anything you can toss at them depending on the fishes mood and weather conditions. I keep a variety of lures, including colors in my box just for bass, sometimes they can be very picky and you have to present different options. My go to baits are always a shad colored 6 ft crank bait and a classic Texas rigged plastic worm though.

As for walleye, I always did great in the upstate NY area on those using nothing more than the classic silver spoon. If you can find what depth the walleye are hanging out in, you can suspend a spoon at that depth and do pretty well on walleyes.

Could you elaborate on weather conditions vs. lure type? I've read about colors and finishes relative to sunlight/water conditions, but never the actual lures themselves. Totally anecdotal, but I feel like some of the days I've had best luck with catching bass on crank baits have been cloudier and choppier days in the early/mid spring.

Meat Mitts
May 28, 2012
I've been fishing for muskie since I was 13 (I'm 25 now), and I've caught 7 over this 12 year period. This doesn't sound like a lot, but when you factor in that I only actually go fishing one week out of the year on family vacations I'd say its a fair amount. Now why would you bother fishing for muskie, when for some people it literally is a fish of 10,000 casts? Because they are hella fun to catch! If you hook a muskie, you're guaranteed its going to fight and fight hard all the way to the boat. I've seen muskies jump out of the water, attempt to go deep to try and snag my line on weeds, scrape the lure on rocks, and try to snag the line on our motor props. They're smart fish, especially the ones that have been caught before. I much prefer muskie over northerns (Pike), because from my experience, northerns hit hard, but give up quickly until after you bring them into the boat to try and unhook them, then they go in full on panic mode and flop around, throwing razor sharp hooks at you in the process. Muskies tend to expend most of their energy during the fight and are much more docile once you get them out of the water.

I view muskie fishing as being more of an "advanced" level for freshwater fishing. Their rarity and elusiveness means you'll need throw everything you got at them and then some to reliably catch them. Also, the heavier duty equipment needed is more costly than say bass fishing equipment. The lures and bait are bigger, the rods are thicker, and the reels are stronger. Since budget will likely be a factor, I'll give a quick rundown of the equipment my family and I have and use.

Reels - We like to use Abu Garcia Ambassadeur series reels, usually with 20lb test line, or something equivalent.
Rods - Essentially heavier duty bass rods, usually we have at least 3 rods per person in the boat, with varying degrees of action for each rod.
Bait - This is where it gets pricey. Luckily my uncle makes his own muskie lures. We have a wide variety of colors (light to dark) and sizes of surface baits, crank baits, deep diving baits, jerk baits, and every kind of permutation of lures. We have about 3-4 full sized tackle boxes with us in the boat at all times. You can use live bait, but we prefer lures.
Weather Monitoring - The key is changing weather. Whether that be pressure, temperature, or wind speed and direction, these are the best times to fish. We bring a barometer, thermometer, and a scanner to listen to the NWS weather broadcasts.
Lake maps - since my family has been fishing on the same lake for 50 years, we've got the lake memorized. But if you're going to a new lake, you will want to make note of weed bars, rock bars, etc as well as sharp drop offs as these are all places were muskies will be found. There will be good spots to fish not found on a map, but that comes with experience. The good fishing spots not found on maps are generally the best, since less people know about them.


:siren: CATCH AND RELEASE :siren: For the love of god, please practice catch and release with muskies! Muskies are apex predators, but they tend to get beat in the reproduction department by northerns, who spawn before muskies and eat the muskie fry on lakes that have both northerns and muskies. Even on lakes without northerns, they don't reproduce at a fast rate, so removing one muskie is much more impactful than pretty much every other lake fish. I get the muskie back into the water as quickly as possible, and then hold it at the surface, moving it forward and backwards to get the water flowing through the gills better. After a few minutes it should regain enough strength to break free from your grip. If it doesn't, having a live well to keep it in for a few hours comes in handy to ensure the muskie doesn't become easy food for a turtle or other predators while its regaining its strength.


-edit-


Forgot to mention, besides changing weather patterns, the best time to fish is around dusk and dawn, though you can fish at any time of the day, including night and still catch muskies. In fact, I think I've caught more muskies at night than during the day. Sticking to surface baits is advisable at night, as its harder to know where all the snags are. Imagine being out on the lake at midnight, there's no wind, everything is calm. You're starting to doze off a bit and wonder why the gently caress you're still out on the lake. Suddenly, the silence is broken by an explosion on the water, right by where your lure should be. You feel the weight of something heavy on your rod and set the hook. No way in hell this is a northern, since they don't have night vision so they don't feed at night. Sure enough, once you finally wrestle the lake monster up to the boat, its a 40+ incher.

Here's some quick tips on lure selection (its not 100% true all the time)

-Use bright lures on bright days, and dark lures on darker days.
-On calm days, use quieter surface baits, and on windier days use louder surface baits.
-The sunnier the day the deeper you want your lure to dive.
-Use lures with spreaders in murky waters and at night. I've had so many blowups that could have been a fish in the boat if only I had spreaders.

Meat Mitts fucked around with this message at 15:28 on Mar 26, 2013

EnsignVix
Jul 11, 2006

^^^ Nice post, should be helpful thank you.

hypersober posted:

I love fishing, but sort of hate it at the same time. After years of not getting my permit, I'd gotten it the last 2 years. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I've never had a bite. I've asked for tips, talked to others etc.

I'm jealous of others who catch fishes. :smith:

We'd be glad to give you pointers, we need more details though. Where, what type of bodies of water, what are you going for, what are you using, method, anyone else around you catching fish?

Rythe
Jan 21, 2011

Meat Mitts posted:

Here's some quick tips on lure selection (its not 100% true all the time)

-Use bright lures on bright days, and dark lures on darker days.
-On calm days, use quieter surface baits, and on windier days use louder surface baits.
-The sunnier the day the deeper you want your lure to dive.
-Use lures with spreaders in murky waters and at night. I've had so many blowups that could have been a fish in the boat if only I had spreaders.

This pretty much sums up what I would have said as a basis for weather, the only thing I would add is time of the year/weather effects my lure selection, especially when I am targeting pre-spawn bass coming off the winter into early spring in Northern Texas. I have found out over the last few years that as the days warm up and the water temp starts to get above 50 degeree the bass are going to move more shallow towards the rocks that are absorbing all the suns heat and the fish tend to be a bit more aggressive on the bite. On the reverse side of it, if a cold front is moving in, that tends to cause the fish to move deeper in the water and the fish seems to slow down on their bite so I tend to work bigger, slower plastics at depths.

hypersober
Mar 27, 2006
...

EnsignVix posted:

^^^ Nice post, should be helpful thank you.


We'd be glad to give you pointers, we need more details though. Where, what type of bodies of water, what are you going for, what are you using, method, anyone else around you catching fish?

I live in the Bay Area, CA.

Rio Vista and the Delta (between Sacramento and Stockton) - Fresh water. Common catch are stripe bass. I use anchovies for bait. Yes, other people in my group catch fish (no keepers yet though).

San Pablo Reservoir - Lake (they reportedly released about 2200 lbs of trout 2 weeks ago). Fishing for trout. I use power bait. This past weekend, guy maybe 20 feet from me caught two in 4 hours. He was using a combination of worm and power bait so I might try that this weekend.

Line setup: Line, three way swivel, sinker on side, lure on the other (about 2 feet of line). Hope that makes sense.

edit: Method? Not exactly sure what this is asking, but I cast and wait.

hypersober fucked around with this message at 21:50 on Mar 26, 2013

Meat Mitts
May 28, 2012

Rythe posted:

This pretty much sums up what I would have said as a basis for weather, the only thing I would add is time of the year/weather effects my lure selection, especially when I am targeting pre-spawn bass coming off the winter into early spring in Northern Texas. I have found out over the last few years that as the days warm up and the water temp starts to get above 50 degeree the bass are going to move more shallow towards the rocks that are absorbing all the suns heat and the fish tend to be a bit more aggressive on the bite. On the reverse side of it, if a cold front is moving in, that tends to cause the fish to move deeper in the water and the fish seems to slow down on their bite so I tend to work bigger, slower plastics at depths.

Fair point. Pre-spawn fishing in WI is called ice fishing :unsmigghh: By the time I fish for bass its mid summer or fall. One of my favorite lures to use when bass fishing is a rattling mouse or frog shaped lure with weed guards on the hooks. Cast up into the lilly pads and skip it across the top. The bass up in the shallows can never resist it.

Drunk Badger
Aug 27, 2012

Trained Drinking Badger
A Faithful Companion

Grimey Drawer

Meat Mitts posted:

Fair point. Pre-spawn fishing in WI is called ice fishing :unsmigghh: By the time I fish for bass its mid summer or fall. One of my favorite lures to use when bass fishing is a rattling mouse or frog shaped lure with weed guards on the hooks. Cast up into the lilly pads and skip it across the top. The bass up in the shallows can never resist it.

How fast do you move your frog on top of the pads? I haven't tried using one much, but I've gotten a few fish around the edges of lilly pads, including a Northern Pike that grabbed it while it was underwater a few feet off my boat as I was bringing it in.

Meat Mitts
May 28, 2012
I vary my twitching speed up quite a bit in one cast. I tend to twitch faster when its on top of the pads, and go slower when its in open water, especially right at the edge. I'm trying to lure the bass out to the edge of the weeds, then give them ample opportunity to strike at the weeds edge, because you can get snagged real fast if the bait is still in the weeds.

EnsignVix
Jul 11, 2006

hypersober posted:

I live in the Bay Area, CA.

Rio Vista and the Delta (between Sacramento and Stockton) - Fresh water. Common catch are stripe bass. I use anchovies for bait. Yes, other people in my group catch fish (no keepers yet though).

San Pablo Reservoir - Lake (they reportedly released about 2200 lbs of trout 2 weeks ago). Fishing for trout. I use power bait. This past weekend, guy maybe 20 feet from me caught two in 4 hours. He was using a combination of worm and power bait so I might try that this weekend.

Line setup: Line, three way swivel, sinker on side, lure on the other (about 2 feet of line). Hope that makes sense.

edit: Method? Not exactly sure what this is asking, but I cast and wait.

I fish mostly a stocked lake for trout (rainbow/brown) and find, at least here, live minnows to be the best bait followed by a cut worm. I tried power bait and salmon eggs with very little success. I'd recommend not being afraid to switch it up. Bring multiple baits and try them all at different depths and locations. Maybe try some small to medium sized spoons or inline spinners. Try not to sit in one spot with the same bait for too long if there is no action. Fish deep on hot days and shallower on cool. Maybe consider using a slip bobber to control depth. I'm not familiar with your line setup but I thought the whole idea of three way swivels was to connect two lines for double presentations not as a way to attach a sinker (not saying this is wrong just that I'm unfamiliar with it). You can get sinkers that attach directly to your line which I'd think would be easier. Trout tend to target smaller prey in cold waters due to their slowed digestion, so consider maybe waxworms or mealworms if the water is still cool/cold there. Use smaller hooks, a goon here suggested that which helped me with my hook up rate a ton.

Maybe another poster can help you with the stripers, I've only caught a couple of them in saltwater and don't really have any experience outside that.

It's great that you are keeping with it! I really hope I have that willpower if I ever get a dry run like that. Keep plugging away and good luck.

hypersober
Mar 27, 2006
...

EnsignVix posted:

I fish mostly a stocked lake for trout (rainbow/brown) and find, at least here, live minnows to be the best bait followed by a cut worm. I tried power bait and salmon eggs with very little success. I'd recommend not being afraid to switch it up. Bring multiple baits and try them all at different depths and locations. Maybe try some small to medium sized spoons or inline spinners. Try not to sit in one spot with the same bait for too long if there is no action. Fish deep on hot days and shallower on cool. Maybe consider using a slip bobber to control depth. I'm not familiar with your line setup but I thought the whole idea of three way swivels was to connect two lines for double presentations not as a way to attach a sinker (not saying this is wrong just that I'm unfamiliar with it). You can get sinkers that attach directly to your line which I'd think would be easier. Trout tend to target smaller prey in cold waters due to their slowed digestion, so consider maybe waxworms or mealworms if the water is still cool/cold there. Use smaller hooks, a goon here suggested that which helped me with my hook up rate a ton.

Maybe another poster can help you with the stripers, I've only caught a couple of them in saltwater and don't really have any experience outside that.

It's great that you are keeping with it! I really hope I have that willpower if I ever get a dry run like that. Keep plugging away and good luck.

Thanks for the tips. I guess I'm used to not catching any fish so I go to just hang out with my family or friends. Plus, it's relaxing to me.

I got the 3-way swivel idea so that I can freely switch sinkers freely, 1/2 oz - 1 oz and vice versa. I'm still trying to figure out how to set up a bobber properly.

PREYING MANTITS
Mar 13, 2003

and that's how you get ants.

KiddieGrinder posted:

Question for anyone:

Is there such thing as a totally safe lure? No barbs, no hooks, no sharp staby bits, no nothing like that. Nothing that could hurt the little fishies?

I'm guessing no, but I figured I'd ask here.

I don't want to hurt the little fish. :ohdear:

I realize this is from awhile back but I just saw this gif and thought of your post.

Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

Anyone know anything about catching crappies in NC?

PREYING MANTITS
Mar 13, 2003

and that's how you get ants.

Dik Hz posted:

Anyone know anything about catching crappies in NC?

I don't know about NC specifically (check out the NC board on crappie.com for local reports :)) but the past couple of weekends I've been out crappie fishing in Alabama and have had decent success. Last weekend the water hit about 57 degrees and they started moving shallow to spawn. I hit my limit without going into water deeper than 8ft. They were schooled up in a relatively current free cove with a bunch of bream mixed in.

Gear wise I usually just stick to a single line (4-6lb) with one or two 1/32 or 1/16 jig heads about 1 to 2 feet apart. Orange, blue and unpainted are my usual head colors and I pair those with bobby garland baby shads in monkey milk, blue ice or on cloudy days chartreuse & white colors.

I only fish for them from a boat so my technique is to go back and forth over the area I feel they're in, looking for something like this on the finder then give the line a small jerk/twitch every 10 seconds. I caught four in this spot before the bite quit and I had to repeat the finding process.


For shore fishing, I see tons of people who pull over on the side of the road and fish under small bridges with slip bobber setups.

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Dik Hz
Feb 22, 2004

Fun with Science

PREYING MANTITS posted:

I don't know about NC specifically (check out the NC board on crappie.com for local reports :)) but the past couple of weekends I've been out crappie fishing in Alabama and have had decent success. Last weekend the water hit about 57 degrees and they started moving shallow to spawn. I hit my limit without going into water deeper than 8ft. They were schooled up in a relatively current free cove with a bunch of bream mixed in.

Gear wise I usually just stick to a single line (4-6lb) with one or two 1/32 or 1/16 jig heads about 1 to 2 feet apart. Orange, blue and unpainted are my usual head colors and I pair those with bobby garland baby shads in monkey milk, blue ice or on cloudy days chartreuse & white colors.

I only fish for them from a boat so my technique is to go back and forth over the area I feel they're in, looking for something like this on the finder then give the line a small jerk/twitch every 10 seconds. I caught four in this spot before the bite quit and I had to repeat the finding process.


For shore fishing, I see tons of people who pull over on the side of the road and fish under small bridges with slip bobber setups.
Thanks.

I tried this Friday, but the water temp wasn't high enough for them to be shallow. And the rental boat had no electronics of course.

Also, any place that can be fished from shore is going to be loving mobbed this time of year. crappie.com seems to be more oriented to tightliners with boats.

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