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 Thread! Rise from your grave!  Live, dammit!  All critters are released with as minimal hand contact as I can manage (Exception is for documentation and when they are tired and need some help getting enough energy to swim off again, seen here). If there's a better way to do this that doesn't involve outright grabbing them I'd love to know.  This little guy seems like he has a little scoliosis in the tail? I'm just impressed he's survived this long.  And this fella is blind in one eye.   Bonus angry not-fish. We can't use live bait in CA, so catching them is just for fun. 
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Oct 3, 2019 20:02
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Trouties! I'm 28 days from the start of the season here, took the day off to get my 5.
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Oct 3, 2019 21:42
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Chaosfeather posted:
Heads up, that looks like Whirling disease. Major trout parasite in some areas. Any more you catch should be disposed of, as in plastic bag in the garbage. One by itself could be a spinal injury fish, more than one and you’re likely looking at infestation. If you see any more in that area, let your Fish and Wildlife folks know about it. It can be spread by felt soles on waders and other fabrics, so make sure and wash your waders if you’ve been in the water there.
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Oct 3, 2019 23:50
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Dr Ozziemandius posted:Heads up, that looks like Whirling disease. Major trout parasite in some areas. Any more you catch should be disposed of, as in plastic bag in the garbage. One by itself could be a spinal injury fish, more than one and you’re likely looking at infestation. If you see any more in that area, let your Fish and Wildlife folks know about it. It can be spread by felt soles on waders and other fabrics, so make sure and wash your waders if you’ve been in the water there. Thank you for the information, I didn't know that and would have disposed of them. Is there a symptom on the brown trout, too? I'm having trouble identifying it since the brown trout seemed to have a normal spine/tail when I was handling it, but if it's on both of the fish you quoted I will definitely call the Fish and Wildlife, as it's two different lakes in the same general region. I know there's a fish farm nearby that they use to stock rainbow trout, so that would definitely be something they would want to look into if they have a breakout there. I also generally give the gear a rinse between waters but will do a more thorough cleaning so I don't worsen the problem. Chaosfeather fucked around with this message at 00:19 on Oct 4, 2019 |
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Oct 4, 2019 00:15
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Chaosfeather posted:Thank you for the information, I didn't know that and would have disposed of them. Is there a symptom on the brown trout, too? I'm having trouble identifying it since the brown trout seemed to have a normal spine/tail when I was handling it, but if it's on both of the fish you quoted I will definitely call the Fish and Wildlife, as it's two different lakes in the same general region. I know there's a fish farm nearby that they use to stock rainbow trout, so that would definitely be something they would want to look into if they have a breakout there. The brown looks like he’s fine. It’s usually easy to spot, that crooked-up tail is the giveaway. If you see one bent like that and it’s got signs of scarring or a bite wound in the same spot, it’s probably traumatic. If it’s bent but not wounded, then it’s best to assume it’s Whirling. I usually dispose of them either way, since the crippled trout is still just going to be food for something soon.
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Oct 7, 2019 16:04
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Dr Ozziemandius posted:The brown looks like he’s fine. It’s usually easy to spot, that crooked-up tail is the giveaway. If you see one bent like that and it’s got signs of scarring or a bite wound in the same spot, it’s probably traumatic. If it’s bent but not wounded, then it’s best to assume it’s Whirling. I usually dispose of them either way, since the crippled trout is still just going to be food for something soon. Thanks, I'll keep an eye on this in the future and dispose of fish that look infected properly. Don't want that to spread in any waters, much less my favorite spots.
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Oct 7, 2019 23:09
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I caught the biggest brook trout I have ever seen on the Nantahala today. She was a little the worse for wear, so I'm gonna assume hatchery brooder rather than 3 season holdover, but man, whattafish
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Oct 10, 2019 04:30
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That looks way too huge to be a brooky...
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Oct 10, 2019 05:01
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CHUCK WAS TAKEN posted:I caught the biggest brook trout I have ever seen on the Nantahala today. She was a little the worse for wear, so I'm gonna assume hatchery brooder rather than 3 season holdover, but man, whattafish Holy hell what a monster! How long did she fight you for? Beautiful fish, good job landing her!
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Oct 10, 2019 05:07
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Chaosfeather posted:Holy hell what a monster! How long did she fight you for? Beautiful fish, good job landing her! Maybe 3 minutes, but that fish seemed really tired, and I just felt a lot of respect for it in the end, and gratitude. Cause that's a senior citizen. She got down stream of me by sheer girth vs 6x tippet, but I was able to tuck her in to a current break behind a big rock and hit her with the big net. I think we were both glad when it was over. Prolly as much time on the revive as the fight, but that was definitely a personal best for brook trout CHUCK WAS TAKEN fucked around with this message at 06:30 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 06:18
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LingcodKilla posted:That looks way too huge to be a brooky... It may very well be! It has yellow spots like a brooky and apparently an adult can weigh over nine pounds, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. Regardless, beautiful fish!
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Oct 10, 2019 17:03
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What a hog. Well done. Question for the other fly tyers here (particularly western tailwater folks): When you tie a batch of multiple sizes, do you usually go in single size increments or skip sizes? For example, if you’re tying a baetis pattern, would you do #16, #18, and #20, or spread it to #14, #18, #22 and assume a single hook size difference is negligible?
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Oct 10, 2019 17:42
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I caught a stocked rainbow last night at about 10 inches and the hook nicked the eyeball. It wasn’t bleeding so I decided to toss him back. Went he took off he immediately did this bizarre surface run and went under the dock and beached himself like a homing torpedo right on this little 4ft wide sand beach between a cement wall. Tonight I’m having trout.
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Oct 10, 2019 18:53
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Dangerllama posted:What a hog. Well done. When I sit down to turn out a bunch of flies, I typically tie a particular pattern in just 2 sizes. 12 and 14, 14 and 16, or 16 and 18. I don't do a whole lot of dry fly fishing, though, but if I did: I would probably want to hold 10, maybe 14, 16 and maybe 18 just depending on the pattern. Around here in Appalachia at least, 16 is definitely the most versatile size for imitative dry flies, and I tie stimulators and large caddis from 10-12 for dry dropper use. I can't imagine trying to tie anything smaller than 18 if it wasn't like a midge pattern. If you like to fish with more finesse than I do, that's your prerogative. Basically just observe bugs flying around where you fish and consider what hook sizes you need to get close enough. Cause unfortunately size matters more than probably color or pattern if you're trying to match the hatch, but I'm sure if the bugs are looking size 20 and all you have is 18 that you'll be fine. From where I'm sitting, a 14 looks way fuckin bigger than a 16, and so on, so I wouldn't skip sizes like that personally. I'd just pick 2 or 3 sizes for a particular pattern with a single size increment A Pack of Kobolds posted:It may very well be! It has yellow spots like a brooky and apparently an adult can weigh over nine pounds, so it's not out of the realm of possibility. Regardless, beautiful fish! That's 100% a (really big [stocked, northern strain]) brook trout from the Upper Nantahala Delayed Harvest. Based on her skin condition and color, I'm pretty confident she was a hatchery brooder that they threw in with the 10-12 inchers for some fools to luck out and catch. I have been hearing stories from this week from my guide friends of rainbows that they threw in there in excess of 2 foot. NC WRC is pretty cool CHUCK WAS TAKEN fucked around with this message at 07:53 on Nov 22, 2019 |
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Oct 10, 2019 23:55
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Went fishing for a quick 2 1/2 hours this morning. Tried a new pond in the park I've been fishing. I had some luck.  Hooked 6, landed 3, lost 3, only got pictures of the first two.   They were definitely feeling frisky. 5 of them smacked that crankbait, one hit the 5" swimbait rigged on an underspin. Almost all the strikes came in the same area and I didn't figure out why until I went further down the bank.   I was casting across the mouth of that little pocket and getting bit as I came over the end of that submerged point. Once I got to the other side, I could see bait stacked up in the small area between the bank and the underwater point. Obviously the fish were hanging out on the other side of the point waiting to ambush their prey as it came over the submerged point. A+ day, would happily fish again. Sadly my box had only shallow (1-3ft) cranks, because I'd bet if I was dragging a crank around 5-10ft down, I'd be setting the hook on some bigger fish. I can let the swimbait drop down, but it wants to climb in the water column too quickly. Elmnt80 fucked around with this message at 04:12 on Oct 13, 2019 |
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Oct 13, 2019 04:04
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Had a new one today. Fishing a section of water on the South Platte when a guy appears about 40 yards or so downstream of me. It’s the same run-ish, but toward the end of it. On a crowded summer weekend it wouldn’t be a huge deal, but I’m surprised he’s that close on Columbus Day. No problem, there are a lot of bushes and a bend in the river. And I’m re-rigging on the shore, so he probably didn’t see me. Then he moves up into the next pocket. I cough, and make a kind of show of what I’m doing. He doesn’t notice me, or doesn’t pay attention. Then he moves up into the next seam. Eventually the guy is about 15 yards from me, and clearly fishing into water I’m working. “Do you mind giving me a little room?” I ask. “Oh, are you fishing this?” he gestures towards water within casting distance. “Yes. I’m fishing this.” “Okay. Well, good luck.” The guy finally moved on. In retrospect I don’t know if he was a bit clueless, or just didn’t care, but I suppose I should consider myself fortunate this doesn’t happen more often. Anglers around here are generally pretty considerate. I’ve certainly never had to tell someone to take a hike before.
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Oct 15, 2019 02:02
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Dangerllama posted:Had a new one today. Fishing a section of water on the South Platte when a guy appears about 40 yards or so downstream of me. It’s the same run-ish, but toward the end of it. On a crowded summer weekend it wouldn’t be a huge deal, but I’m surprised he’s that close on Columbus Day. Been there. For me it's usually people letting their dogs splash in the water right in front of where I'm casting, or people letting their kids huck rocks in the water without a care in the world. Comes with the territory finding fishing spots in a well-populated area though. Thankfully my new favorite spot is pretty uncrowded because it takes a bit of a hike. Water's starting to get cold though!
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Oct 15, 2019 03:30
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Dangerllama posted:Had a new one today. Fishing a section of water on the South Platte when a guy appears about 40 yards or so downstream of me. It’s the same run-ish, but toward the end of it. On a crowded summer weekend it wouldn’t be a huge deal, but I’m surprised he’s that close on Columbus Day. This is why I rarely fish the South Platte at this point. I'd rather take my chances on the Eagle, or take a weekend on the Yampa/Colorado/Arkansas. I also have the luck of living five to ten minutes away from three spots along South Boulder Creek.
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Oct 15, 2019 18:01
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FISH PIX: The tuna are still hanging around within range of the full day boats. My best friend, first time tuna fishing  My cousin drove down from central California, here are our fish  Here's one of just my feesh, I went 3 for 4, lost a big one when I got impatient and tried to force it in  Bonus pic, my first conventional reel 
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Oct 18, 2019 18:28
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Your pics have convinced me to find a way to go tuna fishing. I'm super jealous.
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Oct 19, 2019 00:43
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joem83 posted:
Is that a Fathom? Before you know it you'll be hiding Talicas from the wife
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Oct 19, 2019 01:40
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:Your pics have convinced me to find a way to go tuna fishing. I'm super jealous. I'm itching for JUST ONE MORE HIT, I'm gonna try to go on the 29th when my wife takes my kids to Disneyland. See you then!? It really is a lot of fun, just expensive. A full day boat trip will cost ya $160 before you drink 6+ Coors Lights and eat burgers from the galley, then there's the tip for the crew, and the extra cost for filleting your fish...... gay picnic defence posted:Is that a Fathom? Before you know it you'll be hiding Talicas from the wife Yup! Fathom 25. I hid this one from my wife, lol. I was actually thinking about this on the way home, what benefit does a more expensive reel like a Talica or a Trinidad have over something like the Fathom? This thing free spools like a mother fucker and has enough drag to fish some pretty heavy line. Speaking of heavy line... the magic test this year has been 20 lb for the yellowfin. I'd love to catch one of these school sized yellows on like 40lb and just short pump that fucker in super fast. I've hooked some on my Lexa 300 and Komodo 400 on inshore bass style rods, and while it's fun it is just absolutely exhausting. They dump all that line so easily, especially the skipjack. Those things put up such a good fight. EDIT: I was looking at the drag rating on this Fathom on Penn's website just now and they're on sale. 186.95 for the Fathom 25, and I paid 190 for a brand new one 2 days ago from a guy I found on Craigslist, lol. Oh well. They're obviously clearing out the old star drag Fathoms to make way for the Fathom 2's that are available this week or the next. I would have waited and got the newer model or waited for a someone to offload one of these for cheap but I wanted it before I went out yesterday. joem83 fucked around with this message at 02:15 on Oct 19, 2019 |
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Oct 19, 2019 02:11
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joem83 posted:
For smaller fish it probably wouldn't make much difference, but if you're trying to get 50+kg tuna on a small reel you'll probably appreciate the smoother drag and stronger body of high end reels. Better reels will keep spray out a lot better too, which will extend their life. A friend of mine has a few talicas and when he serviced them after a season of fairly heavy use there had be almost no salt water ingress. That said, the technology in mid range reels today is probably what people were putting in their top end models 10 years ago and using to catch good fish... A guy I know shared this today, I imagine a lot of the jokes went over my head but it was still pretty funny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8Z-4RX2uXQ
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Oct 19, 2019 02:43
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joem83 posted:I'm itching for JUST ONE MORE HIT, I'm gonna try to go on the 29th when my wife takes my kids to Disneyland. See you then!? It really is a lot of fun, just expensive. A full day boat trip will cost ya $160 before you drink 6+ Coors Lights and eat burgers from the galley, then there's the tip for the crew, and the extra cost for filleting your fish...... I kinda prefer star drag after accidently bumping a level drag(?) version and loving up my set on a nice salmon. Perhaps I'd get use to it but for the time being it's not worth switching. Nice reel dude.
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Oct 19, 2019 05:25
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LingcodKilla posted:I kinda prefer star drag after accidently bumping a level drag(?) version and loving up my set on a nice salmon. Perhaps I'd get use to it but for the time being it's not worth switching. Nice reel dude. Thanks my man! I really like it. I just need to practice casting those little baits with it so I can get hooked up more. gay picnic defence posted:For smaller fish it probably wouldn't make much difference, but if you're trying to get 50+kg tuna on a small reel you'll probably appreciate the smoother drag and stronger body of high end reels. Better reels will keep spray out a lot better too, which will extend their life. A friend of mine has a few talicas and when he serviced them after a season of fairly heavy use there had be almost no salt water ingress. I watched that video and immediately wished there were more like it. "I bought this reel off a Polish kid named Irish Greg" lol. So many great little one liners. I didn't get a lot of the jokes because I'm not East coast, nor am I striper fisherman, but it definitely reminded me of the deckhands on the boats that are all about the old classics. Glass rods, straight mono, bronze mustads, etc etc. When I had the deckhand check my drag on my Fathom he poo poo all over my braid, the length of my leader, and my Owner hooks. "These hooks are loving stupid, you don't need rings. They're loving stupid. Braid is loving stupid."
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Oct 20, 2019 03:15
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Went to the Tuckaseegee DH today, and it seemed pretty beat up. I got like 10 in 4 hours, and definitely experienced some poor fishing etiquette ( like 5 different dudes pulling in and wading out to fish within casting distance of me even though the river was pretty open). https://imgur.com/a/DwhSWAh I didn't take a lot of pics, since I didn't hook anything thicc, but my friend who is new to fly fishing got a couple to net, so that was cool
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Oct 24, 2019 03:32
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Went out to my new favorite spot today for about an hour and a half of fighting the wind. It was a steady 5-10mph and gusting up to 15mph. The wind was steadily getting worse as I was out there making it more and more of a pain to accurately cast with a baitcaster without backlashing. I had 2 decent sized largemouth try to smash a paddletail swimbait with a bladed swimbait hook almost as soon as I got out there, but couldn't get a decent hookset. I suspect they actually hit the blade rather than the bait itself. Womp womp. The wind was pretty gnarly, so I decided to try switching to a bottom contact bait which is a bit of a risk at this spot due to it being a bunch of old pit mines. Getting hung up on the limestone ledges is pretty easy if you're not careful and gets worse when you use heavier weights. I used a 3/8oz jighead with a 7/0 hook to rig a 10" Googan baits mondo worm in junebug. I retrieved it with a slow drag across the bottom with the occasional twitch and hop to clear obstructions and vary up the retrieve. I learned about this setup on the tactical bassin youtube channel and it worked a treat!   This vicious lil chonker ate the whole dang worm and the hookset was absolutely perfect through the roof of his mouth. However this was my only catch since the wind was just getting worse and worse as I was out there and I didn't really have the stuff with me to rig up something heavier. I was also tired of fighting the wind. I also got an awesome package of jig heads from super goon A Pack Of Kobolds, but completely forgot to bring them. I'd have loved to rock one of the tube heads he sent me with a strike king coffee tube, but welp. There's always next time I guess.
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Oct 26, 2019 21:16
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Also, I hope you guys don't mind me making long posts like that. It helps me to write out and work out what I did and why, what patterns I used, etc. And hopefully it helps someone else to come up with something to help them catch fish.
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Oct 27, 2019 00:15
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Elmnt80 posted:Also, I hope you guys don't mind me making long posts like that. It helps me to write out and work out what I did and why, what patterns I used, etc. And hopefully it helps someone else to come up with something to help them catch fish. Not at all, I find them a fun read! I may not keep all the information but it's always good to learn.
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Oct 27, 2019 06:26
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Elmnt80 posted:Also, I hope you guys don't mind me making long posts like that. It helps me to write out and work out what I did and why, what patterns I used, etc. And hopefully it helps someone else to come up with something to help them catch fish. gently caress that, dude,  ! It's awesome to find a new spot like that.I'm also super stoked to see a fish caught on one of my jigs with one of your soft baits, when that eventually happens. We have seized the means of production, comrade. 
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Oct 29, 2019 17:22
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babby’s first salmon.  About 14” or so by my guess. They were everywhere, but very spooky too. Fishing was also complicated by an increase in flow after a (apparently very recent) release. It also put a ton of debris in the river. I was having no luck all day, so threw down a #18 “joker” midge I tied up for giggles (purple bead, black body, chartreuse wire, uv ice dub). On the Dream in November a #18 midge is the equivalent of serving you a seven pound hamburger and you going “seems normal.” But it was the only thing that got any interest. Anyway. Five hours. One fish. Totally worth it. 
waffle enthusiast fucked around with this message at 04:59 on Nov 9, 2019 |
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Nov 9, 2019 04:47
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Dangerllama posted:babby’s first salmon. Looks like a sockeye but I dont know where you are at? I've always fished for ocean stage salmon. Some day I'll hit up a river.
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Nov 9, 2019 07:07
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I gave up on my dreams of more tuna this year, so I went on a half day. I really do enjoy half day boat trips, they're not that expensive ($50) and you can almost always catch fish. The captain found a big school of sand bass but I couldn't get any to bite, but a few people did. I saw some hogs come over the rail. Next stop I caught about 2 million whitefish, extremely fun. I was getting them every single drop. I took home 8 or 9, gonna make some ceviche on Monday.
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Nov 9, 2019 07:50
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LingcodKilla posted:Looks like a sockeye but I dont know where you are at? Ayup. Kokanee Salmon. I was fishing the South Platte. Because I’m a big dummy I’d forgotten they were up there (I know they’re on the Gunnison and a few other rivers). When I first saw the silhouette of one upstream I thought, “that’s one ugly trout.” Good times.
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Nov 9, 2019 15:37
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Aah sockeye are plankton sippers so it’s a pretty hard to get them to bite in any case doubly when getting ready to mate.
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Nov 9, 2019 16:50
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It's been a while since I posted a picture of a spotty, mostly because I have had a hard time catching them lately and they've been little when I do manage a few. I slipped out of the office for a bit today before lunch and hit my favorite spot. After an hour and 4 lure changes, I finally got bit. Great fight! I thought I had my drag too loose, but it turned out to just be a nice fish.  
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Nov 19, 2019 22:23
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joem83 posted:It's been a while since I posted a picture of a spotty, mostly because I have had a hard time catching them lately and they've been little when I do manage a few. I slipped out of the office for a bit today before lunch and hit my favorite spot. After an hour and 4 lure changes, I finally got bit. Great fight! I thought I had my drag too loose, but it turned out to just be a nice fish.  Hell yes!
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Nov 20, 2019 00:51
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God drat, that fish is superpretty! I had a 30 trout day last week on the Chattooga, but I didn't take too many pics because none of them were big, and it was exceptionally cold (high was ~40? there was frost on the ground when I got there, and it was still there when I left, so I wasn't really about taking my phone out, or doing anything really that didn't involve having one hand in my pocket at all times). We went back this Wednesday-- it was properly warm. and boy was she packed. I met 2 different dudes who drove over 2 hours to fish there. Time to move? Probably wouldn't matter, since I bet both those dudes would've driven 4 My buddy Ben got 17-18 inch browns 2 weeks in a row, though (in the same rear end spot, and even on the busy day there was nobody there lmao)!  last week  this week, although I did him a disservice w. bad photography. Same-ish length, just the first one looked healthier (and waaay more girthy + female) like a 1y holdover to my eyes. taking pictures of biggish trout out of the water is stressful, and I don't care for it CHUCK WAS TAKEN fucked around with this message at 04:39 on Nov 22, 2019 |
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Nov 22, 2019 03:18
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Hello fishing goons. I asked in this thread for a fillet knife and/or a fish scaler. It's to be a Christmas present for my brother-in-law. He mainly fishes freshwater stuff in Maryland if that's anything. My sister says something that can go into a tackle box will be best.
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Nov 22, 2019 05:55
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Victoninox 6in Semi Flex boning knife. Baring that, everyone loves a Bubba Blade For a fish scaler, I recommend a dull spoon, or any fine cutco product from a thrift store
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Nov 22, 2019 05:58
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