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Has anyone been catching snake head recently, in my area you are highly encouraged to kill them upon catch.
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Sep 11, 2013 23:32
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Elmnt80 posted:What were you using to catch the snook? I don't use live bait much but busted out the cast net since baits been around all summer. Bait has been super plentiful as of late and we threw greenbacks and small pinfish, all around 2-3" which is smaller than average. Casting one of those white bait belly or lip hooked under a small old school popping cork. I use the styrofoam cone shaped corks with the pin in the middle. I prefer these as i can adjust without retying knots or leader like I have to do with a Cajun popper. Its also more minimalist and causesess disturbance in the water and casts easy. I tied 1/0 circle hooks on 30 lb fluorocarbon with a palomar knot. White and glow colored DOA cal shads on 1/8th and 3/8ths mission fishing weedless jig heads caught a rat red and almost as many fish snook as the live bait. These are my preferred jigs even when there is no grass. Actually I'ved used that specific jig/plastic combo for 90% of all my saltwater fishing this year. Last fall and winter I was throwing Mirrorlure lil jons almost exclusively but the paddle tails are retrieved quicker which makes them my most effective search bait. If I get hits but can't hook up, I tend to jig them by raising and lowering the rod tip 4-8" and slowing the retrieve. This past trip I was pitching them deep into the mangroves and letting them fall then jig a bit if I didn't get hit.
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Sep 12, 2013 00:37
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brettster55 posted:Has anyone been catching snake head recently, in my area you are highly encouraged to kill them upon catch. I've tried several times (Northern Virginia area) but haven't ever had any luck. I mostly go to the supposed hot spot for them too.
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Sep 12, 2013 01:09
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I returned from Lake of the Woods and forgot to post a report. We were able to fish all day Friday, and only for about 2 hours on Saturday because of the wind. We left the harbor Saturday morning and instantly we were taking water OVER the windshield of our 20 foot boat. Not fun. Anyways, I think our count was at 35 for Friday, that's combined walleye/sauger. We each kept our 6 fish limit and had an ice fish fry later that night. Saturday we got 15 in the two hours we were able to fish. We just pulled crankbaits on downriggers the entire time, the fish were scattered out in the mud flats, we'd troll for awhile and not see anything and then all of a sudden we'd find a bait ball and pick up a couple fish around it. I'd never used downriggers before so that was kind of fun, it gets pretty hectic in the boat though when you are trying to keep 4 of the riggers going and only two of the four people can help!
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Sep 17, 2013 18:48
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Armed Neutrality posted:Practice in a field first too, with a piece of yarn at the end of your tippet. If you're fishing stillwaters, especially with choppy or rocky shores, consider using a stripping basket around your waist, homemade or otherwise, to control your line, makes it much easier.
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Sep 17, 2013 20:04
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Any advice for trout fishing in western NC for a middling baitcasting/spinning gear saltwater fisher who doesn't really have the time or funds to take up fly fishing on short notice? I also didn't bring any of my stuff, and wouldn't really want to blow a lot of money or redundant spinning gear. Just went on a short hike today and started salivating at some of the rainbows and brookies I saw swimming around. I'll probably do something regardless, but on the off chance someone had some great idea I thought I'd ask.
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Sep 23, 2013 01:31
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I have been surf fishing with a borrowed shimano reel and 11' foot pole for the last few days. With all the traveling I do to Florida I have been debating buying my own. Any suggestions for a reasonably prices surf casting rig, is there such a thing?
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Sep 23, 2013 02:11
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How does lake fishing change during the next few months as temps start to drop? Do I need to use different lures or what?
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Sep 23, 2013 02:45
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SERPUS posted:How does lake fishing change during the next few months as temps start to drop? Do I need to use different lures or what? I target different species that are still active in colder water (perch, trout, pike) and give up on bass. Smaller presentations (wax worms, mealworms, small spoons, jigs etc.) also seems to be a good idea as their digestive systems slow down which causes them to not be interested in larger meals. I think this kind of depends on your location though.
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Sep 23, 2013 14:00
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SERPUS posted:How does lake fishing change during the next few months as temps start to drop? Do I need to use different lures or what? I think this definitely depends where you are fishing. Up here in Minnesota habits definitely change as the fish prepare for winter. I'm not an expert, but a lot of trophy walleye and northern are caught in the fall up here, as they are probably trying to gorge themselves before the lakes freeze over. People generally start switching from crankbaits to live bait for walleye, not too sure about northern. One example is Lake of the Woods, a large population of walleye follow the shiners as they run into the river every fall. It doesn't happen every year, but when it does I guess the walleye fishing is outstanding as they just stack up where Lake of the Woods flows out into the Rainy River. The next couple months are prime time to catch some hog walleyes on the Mississippi River, I can tell you that. I think Ensign has it mostly right though, I know most of the big walleye caught out of the river come on small jigs and minnows(or soft plastics). Of course you asked about lake fishing so this is a pretty bad post.
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Sep 23, 2013 20:02
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Ropes4u posted:I have been surf fishing with a borrowed shimano reel and 11' foot pole for the last few days. With all the traveling I do to Florida I have been debating buying my own. I've been using a custom made 10.5' rod that I got in 1988, so I'm not positive on current surf rod opinions, but I suspect something in the 10-11 foot range by one of the big manufacturers like Penn or Daiwa should be fine. As for reels, I've been using Penn saltwater reels for years and can't say enough good things about them. They last forever. Just make sure to rinse off the rod and reel thoroughly with fresh water when you get back from fishing.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:23
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Slow Graffiti posted:I've been using a custom made 10.5' rod that I got in 1988, so I'm not positive on current surf rod opinions, but I suspect something in the 10-11 foot range by one of the big manufacturers like Penn or Daiwa should be fine. As for reels, I've been using Penn saltwater reels for years and can't say enough good things about them. They last forever. Should I get a spinning reel or one of those "other" reels? Braided or mono?
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Sep 23, 2013 22:47
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Ropes4u posted:Should I get a spinning reel or one of those "other" reels? Spinning is the way to go in my opinion. It's funny, I ordered some braided line after using mono for the last 30 years just to try it out. I hated it. I got nothing but snags from the word go. I couldn't switch back to mono fast enough.
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Sep 23, 2013 22:57
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Slow Graffiti posted:Spinning is the way to go in my opinion. Agreed on spinning gear. Could not disagree more on braid. It has some definite annoyances like wind knots, line wrapping around the guides and the wind blowing your line into the mangroves after making a perfect cast, but overall it's vastly superior to mono. Much better casting distance, sensitivity and strength. Hook sets are as simple as a flick of the wrist. That said I've been thinking of getting a spare spool to put mono on for when I'm wading at night. It would eliminate wind knots and having to retie leaders in the dark. I'm in no hurry though, a lot of times you have a tangle with braid you can just pull the line really tight and it will straighten out. I'm not saying everyone should use braid, but definitely give it a fair shot. I lost a few lures with flouro to braid knots failing, but once I perfected my technique I knew there was no going back.
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Sep 23, 2013 23:13
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The wind knots were the worst part of it. Given that when surf casting there is almost always some sort of brisk, if not heavy, wind this was an immediate deal killer for me. I'm just not sure it holds any real benefits when you're going for blues and striped bass.
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Sep 23, 2013 23:21
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Slow Graffiti posted:The wind knots were the worst part of it. Given that when surf casting there is almost always some sort of brisk, if not heavy, wind this was an immediate deal killer for me. I'm just not sure it holds any real benefits when you're going for blues and striped bass. Again to each his own, if you're happy with the performance you are getting stick with it. Check out https://www.stripersonline.com it's a huge community of surfcasters, the majority of whom throw braid, mostly on reels which were designed before braid got popular. John Skinner, author of Mastering the Bucktail among other books, posts there and has put up some cool underwater videos of his fishing techniques. They're pretty sweet actually. Anyways give it another shot! Like I'll be giving mono, which I haven't used in years. Hopefully it's improved go where line memory doesn't resemble a slinky and the stretch doubles my line capacity.  Serious question though, what brand/model mono do you recommend? I'm using suffix braid and like it, and I already have some cheap suffix mono, but im interested in a more modern performance mono if it's available.
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Sep 23, 2013 23:55
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How do I cast a 1/16th ounce lure more than 10 feet?
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Sep 24, 2013 01:00
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SERPUS posted:How do I cast a 1/16th ounce lure more than 10 feet? Really really light line and a really long rod maybe? That's a pretty light lure though, tough to cast those. If you are using it with a bobber you could buy a weighted slip bobber that can help.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:11
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Thanks for the help and the link!
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Sep 24, 2013 01:22
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tesilential posted:Again to each his own, if you're happy with the performance you are getting stick with it. Thanks for the link. I'll definitely check it out. Perhaps I just got so frustrated by my initial encounter that I swore it off too soon. It didn't help that I was getting wind knots whilst there were snapper blues breaking the surface all around our boat. As for mono brands I use the random spools that I picked up at the local tackle shops on Nantucket years ago. Not sure what the brand is, but they're still going strong for restringing years down the road. Perhaps they were Stren, but I'm not sure. For my smaller 8.5 foot rod I use 12lb test and usually throw a 1.5-2oz lure. For the 10.5 footer I use 15-20lb test and throw a 3oz lure.
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Sep 24, 2013 01:29
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I wanted to chime in and thank whoever in the thread recommended The Scientific Angler by Paul Johnson. I think I learned more about fish behavior reading that than in 10 years of fishing with my grandpa (sorry, grandpa). Does anyone have a recommendation for a more modern follow-up to that book? It's almost 30 years old now, and while the basics are the basics, he's got a lot of "there will be more research to learn if this is true" in there. Still haven't caught poo poo after a month of getting back into fishing (except for bluegills on a bobber and worm with my kid, which I'm not going to count). Still don't care. 
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Sep 26, 2013 20:55
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After watching a guy pull in a flounder the size of a bath mat, I'm hooked. He lent me a rig and said "buy the other ones to replace the one you lose here." Gave me some choice spots, his live well, a couple of filet knives, and a rod, reel, and knowledge. I'm gonna blow up some flounder. Reds, snapper, drum, jack. If it eats mullet or shrimp, I'm eating it.
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Sep 27, 2013 00:41
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SERPUS posted:How do I cast a 1/16th ounce lure more than 10 feet? I've heard of people wrapping hooks with solder to add some weight.
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Sep 27, 2013 03:56
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Been pounding the shores again since spring for the first time since I was a kid. I've come a long way from fishing curly tail jigs under a bobber, lol. I caught my first couple fish on lures the last couple weeks, but live bait is still my go to, but I want to improve because it is a lot easier and enjoyable to cast and retrieve than to f around with nightcrawlers. I love fishing though!
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Sep 28, 2013 05:50
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Caught a nice tarpon on a giant top water bait this morning, then left my phone on the roof of the car so all proof is destroyed. Will hopefully catch more next week ...
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Sep 29, 2013 02:23
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Drunkboxer posted:Any advice for trout fishing in western NC for a middling baitcasting/spinning gear saltwater fisher who doesn't really have the time or funds to take up fly fishing on short notice? I also didn't bring any of my stuff, and wouldn't really want to blow a lot of money or redundant spinning gear. Just went on a short hike today and started salivating at some of the rainbows and brookies I saw swimming around. I'll probably do something regardless, but on the off chance someone had some great idea I thought I'd ask.
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Sep 29, 2013 16:25
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Caught a 22" bull trout fishing streamers yesterday. First fish on my Vapen! Also first fish on a streamer. Had. 30" snap my tipped when I grabbed my net in the same hole. Had a killer day on the water!
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Sep 30, 2013 17:34
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Snook seasoned opened up after a 3 year closure on 9/1/13. Slot is 28-33" and I finally got my bad boy last night after 10 min of fishing. First first fish on an Aqua dream 1/4 spoon (white), second fish ever on any spoon. Talk about building confidence in a bait. Caught a bunch of slot reds and shorter snook last week, but this was the prize:  My longest red at 33" I'm super lucky to live 2 miles from my favorite inshore flat. I get to fish any day of the week after work and pick and choose when to go based on the tides.
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Sep 30, 2013 19:30
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tesilential posted:Snook seasoned opened up after a 3 year closure on 9/1/13. Slot is 28-33" and I finally got my bad boy last night after 10 min of fishing. You guys that take fish pictures with the lure still in the mouth freak me out! I watched my friends dad get a treble hook through the thumb doing that a few winters ago. Awesome pictures though! I don't know much about either of those kinds of fish but they look nice! That's awesome!
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Sep 30, 2013 20:32
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tesilential posted:Snook seasoned opened up after a 3 year closure on 9/1/13. Slot is 28-33" and I finally got my bad boy last night after 10 min of fishing.
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Sep 30, 2013 23:08
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Finally got some semi-pro instruction on what I was doing wrong this weekend. Bad knotwork, and hooks that were less than optimal. The result: 4 11" Gray snapper and a 15" Crevalle Jack. Also some pinfish and a pigfish. Guy next to me got a 27" Jack. I'm eating snapper that was in the water an hour ago. The taste is amazing.
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Oct 1, 2013 02:32
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Man I haven't been fishing in such a long time. Every start of a new summer I am like "I am going to do this!" and now its fall and I already so busy with stuff I haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for posting about it, its nice to read about other people's questions and stories
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Oct 1, 2013 13:09
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I'm picking up my girlfriend's dad's boat this weekend to bring up to the Twin Cities, I am absolutely giddy! I'm hoping to get all over the Mississippi River pool 2 fall walleye bite in the next couple months. Here's hoping his boat can handle the river okay, I think it should, but it's not the biggest boat.
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Oct 1, 2013 15:12
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DoctaFun posted:I'm picking up my girlfriend's dad's boat this weekend to bring up to the Twin Cities, I am absolutely giddy! I'm hoping to get all over the Mississippi River pool 2 fall walleye bite in the next couple months. Here's hoping his boat can handle the river okay, I think it should, but it's not the biggest boat. Oh nice, you are from the twin cities? Good luck on the river, I would enjoy hearing how that goes, I've never fished it. Ive done most of my fishing on the northern inland lakes and lake superior, but always wanted to try fishing the Mississippi just never had the chance.
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Oct 1, 2013 15:40
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droneboat609 posted:Oh nice, you are from the twin cities? Good luck on the river, I would enjoy hearing how that goes, I've never fished it. Ive done most of my fishing on the northern inland lakes and lake superior, but always wanted to try fishing the Mississippi just never had the chance. I'm not super experienced on the river, I went a few times last year with a buddy of mine last year who's kind of a river rat. He has a really nice boat though, Ranger Reata 1850, he has the i-pilot trolling motor which makes staying in one spot super easy with the virtual anchor feature it has. I will not be so lucky with my 25 hp Evinrude . I might just try trolling cranks or something. If you have a boat, the Mississippi River is THE place to fish walleye in the twin cities. No one fishes pool 2 because it's catch and release only, and a lot of people are intimidated by the river, but there are some HOGS in there. Last year we caught a 27.5" and a 26.5" walleye back to back, within 1 minute of each other. I'll be sure to post in here if I'm able to get out there.
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Oct 1, 2013 15:48
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DoctaFun posted:I'm not super experienced on the river, I went a few times last year with a buddy of mine last year who's kind of a river rat. He has a really nice boat though, Ranger Reata 1850, he has the i-pilot trolling motor which makes staying in one spot super easy with the virtual anchor feature it has. I will not be so lucky with my 25 hp Evinrude
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Oct 4, 2013 00:30
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Went out again today. Pulled in a 18" drum, 18" sea trout, and 21" sea trout. Woulda been nice if they were MY fish, but at least our group caught some. This evening, one of our lunch crew went to cast net for some shrimp and ended up with a 16" sheepshead in his net. Totally crazy. Myself, I landed a whole lot of under-limit croaker, red, snook, snapper, and trout. We still ate well, but it'd be nice if I (for once) could land an edible fish.
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Oct 4, 2013 02:49
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babyeatingpsychopath posted:Went out again today. Pulled in a 18" drum, 18" sea trout, and 21" sea trout. Woulda been nice if they were MY fish, but at least our group caught some. When I lived in florida for a couple years I loved fishing down there so much. We fished off the beach, caught our own bait with nets, or fishing off old railroad bridges, etc. I hate the heat down there but the fishing is so fun, esp. if you find the "less pretty" beaches, sometimes we would be the only ones there, great times. Sheepshead are fun too.
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Oct 4, 2013 16:42
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I don't think there's anything more addicting than buying fishing lures…I just bought about 20 new crankbaits in the last couple days and I can't stop!
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Oct 4, 2013 23:29
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droneboat609 posted:When I lived in florida for a couple years I loved fishing down there so much. We fished off the beach, caught our own bait with nets, or fishing off old railroad bridges, etc. I hate the heat down there but the fishing is so fun, esp. if you find the "less pretty" beaches, sometimes we would be the only ones there, great times. Sheepshead are fun too. Cast net + time = finger mullet. Finger mullet + time = Mangrove snapper. Mangrove snapper + garlic butter = awesome. A successful day. I spent $0 on new tackle and got a free dinner!
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Oct 6, 2013 01:48
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