|
DixielandDelight posted:Hey all, been seeing some pike in the last few pages reminded me to ask y'all about catching fish in the northern US. I'll be in Michigan and Ontario in late July to early August and I'd like to catch some new fish! Namely pike, walleye and smallmouths. I'm from the South so I'm used to catching LMB and channel cats. I'm going to talk to locals about individual places, but I come here looking for general advice on lures and where to fish on a body of water for pike,walleye and smallies. I befriended a guy with a boat last summer and I caught some lake trout but I didn't find trolling around Grand Traverse Bay too much fun. Also I was wondering if my gear would be suitable - I've got a 6'5" baitcaster with 14lb test mono. Would this hold up to pike and walleye? Unfortunately I can't help you much on the pike/walleye stuff but I've always heard drop shotting around structure and bait columns is a great smallmouth tactic. Here's pretty much everything you would want to know about the rig if you're not already familiar with it: http://www.richz.com/fishing/articles/dropshot.html DixielandDelight posted:Typically in the summer you want to stick with mornings or late evenings when fishing for bass. Yeah this is pretty much the summer rule to fish by. Granted you can catch'em in mid-day but it just gets real slow. Last year on Guntersville temperatures were getting up into the 110 degree range so people were bass fishing lighted docks at night (~9-10pm) with black spinnerbaits and had decent success.
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2013 08:05
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 22:08 |
|
|
DixielandDelight posted:Hey all, been seeing some pike in the last few pages reminded me to ask y'all about catching fish in the northern US. I'll be in Michigan and Ontario in late July to early August and I'd like to catch some new fish! Namely pike, walleye and smallmouths. I'm from the South so I'm used to catching LMB and channel cats. I'm going to talk to locals about individual places, but I come here looking for general advice on lures and where to fish on a body of water for pike,walleye and smallies. I befriended a guy with a boat last summer and I caught some lake trout but I didn't find trolling around Grand Traverse Bay too much fun. Also I was wondering if my gear would be suitable - I've got a 6'5" baitcaster with 14lb test mono. Would this hold up to pike and walleye? During summer times, you should fish for pike early mornings or evenings, as hot sunny weather makes pike less active. When its cooler pikes hunt more actively and are closer to the surface. A bit wind is also good, as the pike dares to go closer to the surface as the waves doesn't blow their cover as easily. The big pikes are more pelagic during summertimes, and especially if you're fishing during daytime, try trolling in deeper waters with your boat. Big pikes during the day are better caught by trolling in pelagic waters. Try also fishing in reefs and bays with alot of reed, the big ones don't usually hang around there, but plenty of regular sized ones do, and those are the best ones from a culinary perspective IMO. Fishing in reefs is best done during the evening or early morning, as said, if its in the middle of the day and sunny they don't bite in those places in my experience. Do you have a nautical chart? It's very useful to know the layout of the water, to find reefs, or to find shallows which are adjacent to deeper waters, which also is a good spot for finding pikes (where they hang around to ambush small fish in the shallows. As for bait, i use wobblers and big spoon lures with garish colors, works pretty well where i'm from. I fish pikes in Sweden so what attracts pikes may vary from your Canadian pikes. Falukorv fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Jul 13, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 13, 2013 10:22
|
|
|
Caught my personal best smallie on a Hula Popper today:
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 04:07
|
|
|
Just got back from the Florida cost doing some salt water fishing the last two weeks, to bad I didn't have my kayak with me, regardless had a blast and caught some great fish. Now to get the kayak out on the lake and fish in fresh water, at least in fresh water I have a general idea of what I am doing. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and chase some Sand Bass or deep crappie for dinner.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2013 05:02
|
|
|
fknlo posted:Caught my personal best smallie on a Hula Popper today: Nice catch! Those Hula Poppers seem to be consistently good lures. I just picked up some of that Spiderwire Glow-Vis braid they introduced during ICAST. Seems like it'll work quite well from what I've seen of it on the reel. I was using moss green PowerPro and it was pretty hard to see against the water for my old eyes. Hopefully this works as well as advertised! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVzfJYnbLeA PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 03:14 on Jul 25, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2013 03:11
|
|
|
We had some pretty major flooding this year in Calgary and everyone was concerned it ruined the river, pulled a few real healthy lookin little rainbows out tonight and was glad they seem to be doing okay! Gonna do some walleye fishing on friday, anyone have any tips for shore fishing for walleye? I've always gone trolling for them.
|
|
#
?
Jul 25, 2013 04:14
|
|
|
I would like to upgrade my catch storage from a styrofoam cooler to something a bit sturdier and easier to clean. I've been looking at this one, does anyone have any experiences with that one or alternative recommendations?
|
|
#
?
Jul 26, 2013 23:07
|
|
|
Welp, ended up using pickerel rigs most of the day, couldn't NOT bring in walleye on them. Caught around 15 small to medium size walleye and we got a seagul to take a livetarget mouse and he also ended up taking a wooly bugger. That second one was a little scary. After that we decided to go for pike in a nearby lake. I'd never topwater fished for pike before, and I don't know if I'll ever want to fish another way for them. Holy poo poo is that a good time!
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2013 04:46
|
|
|
DixielandDelight posted:Hey all, been seeing some pike in the last few pages reminded me to ask y'all about catching fish in the northern US. I'll be in Michigan and Ontario in late July to early August and I'd like to catch some new fish! Namely pike, walleye and smallmouths. I'm from the South so I'm used to catching LMB and channel cats. I'm going to talk to locals about individual places, but I come here looking for general advice on lures and where to fish on a body of water for pike,walleye and smallies. I befriended a guy with a boat last summer and I caught some lake trout but I didn't find trolling around Grand Traverse Bay too much fun. Also I was wondering if my gear would be suitable - I've got a 6'5" baitcaster with 14lb test mono. Would this hold up to pike and walleye? I'm in northern Minnesota and most of what I catch is pike, regardless of whether or not I want them. Don't spend a ton of money on lures. I catch all my pike with the bright fluffy jigs that you can get a pack of ten for a few bucks. Definitely make sure your jig has the hook with three prongs because they fight a lot and can get themselves loose if you have any less. The best advice I can give for catching pike is: -Bring some gloves with a good rubber grip for when you're getting them off your line in the boat. They are really slimy and hard to handle with bare hands. -Because they are so slimy, filet them in an area where it's not an issue to get very dirty. -If you want to cut down on the slime factor, bring some vinegar and salt and create a brine with a bit of water to soak them in or rub them down in prior to cleaning them. -Watch a video about how to cut out Y-bones. This is a good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkamOetxH7o If you're feeling adventurous, take some time to scout out a lake that's rather secluded. There are a ton of lakes in this part of the world, and I've had the most success and most catches in lakes that are less popular. The weedier the better. Edit to add: I'm going to the Boundary Waters at the end of August for eight days. Can't wait to be totally alone in the wilderness, catching and eating fresh fish every night, paddling and portaging and camping, palling around with birds and bears, making gritty coffee from lake water, watching the sun rise and set.... arrrrrgh I can't wait! Will take pictures. Koivunen fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Jul 27, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2013 05:05
|
|
|
Jasper Tin Neck posted:I would like to upgrade my catch storage from a styrofoam cooler to something a bit sturdier and easier to clean. I've been looking at this one, does anyone have any experiences with that one or alternative recommendations? As long as you can keep enough ice in your cooler to keep the fish cold you shouldn't have a problem with your standard cooler options. I use this cooler in my kayak.  (I put the rod holders on separate to add some additional storage/flexibility.) I fill this cooler half full of ice and I can normally get about 6 hrs of fishing in the middle of the summer before the ice melts to much and that is with a dozen or so 12inch fish inside of it too.
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2013 06:30
|
|
|
My father wants to take me on a guided fishing trip to Canada for my thirtieth birthday. I'm from San Francisco, and am fairly experienced fishing for trout, and some ocean fishing, but have no experience in fly fishing, or fishing in Canada. My father wants me to do the research but I haven't had much luck finding solid reviews on various fishing trips. We are looking to go this September, or maybe October. We also don't have any preference on the type of fish we are going for. Any advice, or recommendations on a decent guided fishing trip in Canada?
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2013 17:50
|
|
|
Do you have specific species you want to target? What kind of fishing do you enjoy most? Fly, casting, trolling? If you're interested in fly fishing you should look at floating the bow river in Calgary. We had a bad flood this year and the fishing isn't as on fire as usual but people are still pulling 24+ inch rainbows and browns out pretty regularly and there are some great guides here who will help teach you and hook you some absolute pigs. DocMcgillicuddy fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Aug 7, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2013 19:48
|
|
|
DocMcgillicuddy posted:Do you have specific species you want to target? We have no preference in species right now, although it would be fun to real in a big one. I'm only experienced in casting and spearfishing but would love to learn fly fishing, if that's whats catching the fish. I'm always down to try something new.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2013 20:03
|
|
|
For shore-based salmon fishing in Washington, what kind of setups seem to be working right now? Someone told me they're running "humpie jigs" from shore out by Port Townsend with some sort of steelhead bobber. What exactly is this rig? Also, does anyone have any interesting suggestions for what to put inside superbait fake cut plug herring?
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2013 20:13
|
|
|
Noni posted:For shore-based salmon fishing in Washington, what kind of setups seem to be working right now? Someone told me they're running "humpie jigs" from shore out by Port Townsend with some sort of steelhead bobber. What exactly is this rig? A humpy rig is a squid behind a flasher. Humpy is a type of salmon. Not quite sure about the bobber addition.
|
|
#
?
Aug 7, 2013 22:14
|
|
|
Going to chime in here I live in Houston and you Northern fishing guys have me real jealous posting those lake photos and what not. I fish both salt and fresh, but since the day time temps are near 100F activity is really limited. I see lots of spinning rods, am I alone in my bastard baitcast love? My typical set ups are a Abu Gracia (revo) on a 7.6 carrot stick( was a gift from a friend and Its pretty light weight) For bass And a 6.6 castaway med-heavy with an Abu Garcia 5500C3 for saltwater
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 01:43
|
|
|
Timbo posted:I see lots of spinning rods, am I alone in my bastard baitcast love? Most definitely not, I love my Lew's tournament pro and I also use some random Bass Pro Shops one I bought on sale. Both on 7' castaway m/h rods. I've got a Quantum spinning reel for lightweight stuff like crappie lures and things like that but otherwise I'm likely throwing with a baitcaster. I feel way more accurate with it. Speaking of photos, I hit up Guntersville this morning and it was gorgeous out right up until the thunderstorms started rolling through. Ducked into an empty dock til it passed, fished a bit more and just couldn't find a pattern for the life of me so I packed it up when I saw another round of lightning moving my way. 
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 01:58
|
|
|
Mantis, do you like the buff that you have on? I am on the fence as to purchase one? They say they are breathable but I have tried one out yet. Thoughts?
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 02:32
|
|
|
Timbo posted:Mantis, do you like the buff that you have on? I am on the fence as to purchase one? They say they are breathable but I have tried one out yet. Oh yeah I love it! I wear it every time I go out fishing. I went with one of the UV blocking ones since I'm a baldy and one burnt scalp and neck was enough for me. It's pretty versatile and does a real good job blocking the wind when you're shooting across the lake or just dip it in the water to cool down on the real hot days. It's a bit stiff when you first get it but after a couple of washings it loosens up a little bit but remains tight enough that you won't have to fidget with it much at all. edit: yeah, they're quite breathable. I find it easier to breathe with one of them on while in a moving boat than without it. I also use it for yardwork since it's a heck of a lot easier to breathe without dust and grass flying up into your face. 
PREYING MANTITS fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Aug 11, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 02:47
|
|
|
I've only managed one trip this year since the birth of my first child in January, but it was fruitful
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 15:04
|
|
|
Also got this bass
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 15:06
|
|
|
Industrial posted:I've only managed one trip this year since the birth of my first child in January, but it was fruitful Nice pike! I've only been able to get out a handful of times for pike this year. Just got my first baitcasting setup (Abu Revo S and a MH Abu Vendetta) and I can't wait to get out again. It's too tough to haul them out of weeds with my walleye and trout rod.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 17:04
|
|
|
I spent the week with a close friend and his parents summer house in lovely Hälsingland, a bit north of Sweden. The house is by the Ljusnan river and we were lucky with the weather, so we went out with a rowing boat and caught this 3 kg Pike: If the picture looks weird, it's because i cut my friend out of the picture. I'm pretty conservative when it comes to posting pictures willy nilly of people i know all over the web.
|
|
#
?
Aug 11, 2013 21:15
|
|
|
Falukorv posted:I spent the week with a close friend and his parents summer house in lovely Hälsingland, a bit north of Sweden. The house is by the Ljusnan river and we were lucky with the weather, so we went out with a rowing boat and caught this 3 kg Pike: Nice catch! That is an awesome fish scale you've got there. I don't think I've ever seen one like that. Also, you're a good guy for being cautious about posting pictures of your friends. I wish more people would consider that.
|
|
#
?
Aug 12, 2013 06:10
|
|
|
I finally found time to get my license renewed and am planning on going fishing off a jetty this sunday. I'm planning on targeting spanish mackerals mostly, but will probably do some bottom fishing as well. Any advice for jetty fishing? I only have saltwater experience fishing in the intracoastal off a dock and a little bit of surf fishing.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 14:52
|
|
|
Drunkboxer posted:I finally found time to get my license renewed and am planning on going fishing off a jetty this sunday. I'm planning on targeting spanish mackerals mostly, but will probably do some bottom fishing as well. Where will you be fishing? General jetty advice would be to be on the jetty before sun comes up, fish love to come up close before daybreak and at sunset. Live bait works best but DOA shrimp and paddle tails can produce as well.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 16:20
|
|
|
tesilential posted:Where will you be fishing? I was going to try to hit the Surfside Beach jetty in Freeport TX. I wasn't planning on messing with live bait, since it'd be one more thing I'd have to carry. I was planning on dead shrimp or cut bait on the bottom, then mirrolures or some heavy spoons on top with my spinning gear. I have some paddle tails that I could try, but I thought mackerel liked to hit shiny things. Drunkboxer fucked around with this message at 16:32 on Aug 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 16:30
|
|
|
Finally broke down and ordered an anchor trolley and drift chute. I was going to put it off till next year, but I'm sick of not being able to fish how I want because it's always windy here. Any tips for installation?
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 17:07
|
|
|
Drunkboxer posted:I was going to try to hit the Surfside Beach jetty in Freeport TX. I wasn't planning on messing with live bait, since it'd be one more thing I'd have to carry. I was planning on dead shrimp or cut bait on the bottom, then mirrolures or some heavy spoons on top with my spinning gear. I have some paddle tails that I could try, but I thought mackerel liked to hit shiny things. Duh, totally ignored the part about mackerel. They hunt by day so I would get there at daybreak and fish where you see birds or bait. Silver spoons or anything will work. IME they only hit fast moving lures. I've caught them when I was just reeling hard and yanking hard (like setting the hook during the entire retrieve) while trying to snag bait. If I were specifically targeting Macks I would look for the birds first and foremost. If you still aren't getting hit a topwater may help draw strikes. Never fished bait for macks. Personally I'd still get there really early and toss a paddle tail down the length of the jetty and retrieve along the rocks. Vary from just off the bottom-slow to steady and quick. May surprise yourself with flounder or reds.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 18:15
|
|
|
tesilential posted:
That sounds good, the reason I was gonna have a rod with shrimp on the bottom is the off chance of catching a red. I didn't think flounder would be out by the jetty, that would be a nice catch. Aren't they more common when its a little colder? I caught a couple in the intracostal back in November.
|
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 18:26
|
|
|
I'm in Florida (gulf coast) but beach piers are the easiest place to catch keeper flounder basically year round. During the night and early morning flounder come up very close to shore, as it heats up they head deeper. You are right that cooler temps are generally better (for almost all fish in the gulf) but I caught a flounder way up in Tampa bay in 95* weather a couple weeks ago. And that was about 20 miles inland from the coast in 90* water temps. A couple guys on https://www.theonlinefisherman.com exclusively fish the jetties between 5am-9am and get nice sized flounder, snook and reds almost everytime. They say the bite almost always dies as the sun gets up high.
tesilential fucked around with this message at 18:59 on Aug 14, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 14, 2013 18:55
|
|
|
fknlo posted:Finally broke down and ordered an anchor trolley and drift chute. I was going to put it off till next year, but I'm sick of not being able to fish how I want because it's always windy here. Any tips for installation? Just check youtube, there are plenty of great videos on there on rigging your kayak and especially for installing additional gear, that is what I typically do too. As for jetty fishing, just be careful out there, I have fished on those a lot on the east coast of Florida. The jetties I fished where a good size, went out pretty far into the ocean, they could be slippery where the waves managed to splash on top of and had big giant gaps at times between the rocks so just watch where you are walking and be safe.
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2013 17:58
|
|
|
Rythe posted:Just check youtube, there are plenty of great videos on there on rigging your kayak and especially for installing additional gear, that is what I typically do too. I was worried about that so that's why I picked babby's first jetty here https://www.google.com/maps?q=Surfs...xas+77541&z=18. It has a sidewalk, so hopefully I won't die.
|
|
#
?
Aug 15, 2013 18:11
|
|
|
 Pike fishing tomorrow! Finally get to use my new baitcasting setup! Fuuuck I love topwater fishing!
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 03:45
|
|
|
DocMcgillicuddy posted:
Looks like a solid arsenal, good luck with the fishing! There's a Spro-only frog tournament on Guntersville in a couple of weeks so I gotta practice my frog fishing. Frogs have such a sketchy hookup ratio but when they attack those it's the best sight ever. What frog is that in the middle? Those legs look pretty solid while still kicking a bit. I was thinking of picking up that Lunkerhunt Lunkerfrog they just put out last month but apparently the legs are really fragile and fish can rip them off with very little effort.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 04:36
|
|
|
It's the Rebel Buzz'n Frog. Weedlessness isn't great but those legs make just the right amount of noise walking the dog. Had some mean hits on it, it can take a beating. Little worried about his man to the left there and how mashed up he'll get tomorrow but such is life. Really wanna pick up a mouse for kicks but I just believe in the frog and can action it realistically much better. Leftmost frog SHOULD hookup real easy. I'm going to swap out the lead treble for a a cutting point owner hook once I get sick of pulling weeds tomorrow. DocMcgillicuddy fucked around with this message at 04:54 on Aug 17, 2013 |
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 04:48
|
|
|
DocMcgillicuddy posted:It's the Rebel Buzz'n Frog. Weedlessness isn't great but those legs make just the right amount of noise walking the dog. Had some mean hits on it, it can take a beating. Nice, thanks a bunch! I think I'll give that a try because that looks exactly like it would irritate the hell out of bass on a foggy morning. I've never been pike fishing but I'm sure they can do a nasty number on lures. Especially soft ones like a hollow bodied frog. I had a ~4ft alligator gar rather viciously hit a bronzeye frog a couple weeks ago and it didn't do a whole lot of damage surprisingly, though it did pull some skirting loose. Pike are probably a completely different ballgame.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 05:15
|
|
|
 Caught 3 others smaller than that. The buzz'n frog was the only frog they took  . Another took the scatter rap clown and that one tried to swallow a 4" walleye swimbait whole. While we were out there we saw a 20ish inch pike swimming around some weeds. Normally this wouldn't be cause for alarm but it was jet black with scarring all on one side of his face. He was the most badass looking pike I've ever seen and I'm gonna keep going back until I can get a photo with him.
|
|
#
?
Aug 17, 2013 23:33
|
|
|
DocMcgillicuddy posted:
Nice catch and that is one manly as gently caress beard. I'm envious. That jet black pike sounds like a total badass. Similarly, on one of the local boards around here there's been some sightings of two albino alligator gars. Some aquarium dude registered just to post that they're worth like a grand if you can catch one while it's small enough to be released into an aquarium. Apparently they don't do very well in the wild since the white ruins their ability to blend in and the albino gene causes terrible eyesight so they're easy prey.
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 03:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 13, 2024 22:08 |
|
|
Did y'all see the record halibut? http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/17/515-pound-halibut-marco-leibenow-norway_n_3772878.html (hope this doesn't count as leeching)
|
|
#
?
Aug 18, 2013 06:25
|
|
