Fishing thread: Wrestling the fish onto shore to save my dickspoon

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > The Great Outdoors > Fishing thread: Wrestling the fish onto shore to save my dickspoon

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Since it was mentioned in the OP

A QUICK OVERVIEW OF SALTWATER FISH (SOUTHEAST/MID-ATLANTIC)
There's about a billion species of saltwater fish, so this will just be some of the most popular/numerous that are found from the Chesapeake Bay to Jacksonville, FL or so. The proportion of fish and species available will vary greatly region to region (eg head north for cod, head south for snook, head west for whatever fuckin' moon fish those hippies are catching) so this is no one's idea of exhaustive

Spot/Croaker/Whiting

The bluegill of the sea, these panfish are extremely popular during their spring and fall runs because people love to fuckin' eat 'em and they are simple as hell to catch on any tackle from surf, sound, or estuary. Spot love bloodworms in particular (see note at the bottom about this before buying any), and both will happily take shrimp, sand fleas, or appropriately-sized cut bait. You won't necessarily brag to your friends about the size, but you'll have fun anyway. Croaker will also give you a nice loud honk while you unhook them most of the time.

Don't confuse spot with pinfish, who look somewhat similar, but are garbage as anything other than cut or live bait

^{look at this rear end in a top hat, gently caress you too buddy}

Pompano

Also apparently good eating, pompano like to hang out in the surf zone. Stick a sand flea on a hook and toss it between where the waves are breaking and the shore and you'll probably find them. Will also eat anything spot, croaker, and whiting eat but they love a good sand flea in particular.

Red Drum

Also known as redfish along the gulf coast, these range in size from 8 or 9 inches all the way up to 40+lb monsters 3 feet long. There's basically three sizes: "puppy drum" (under the slot), slot drum, and BULL DRUM (which are the behemoths). Drum both large and small enjoy shrimp (live or otherwise), and larger drum enjoy mullet (live or dead though many people swear by dead/cut) though they'll consume most any bait fish. They like to chill in the mouths of tidal creeks and near banks of marsh grass and reeds. Though the picture doesn't show it very well, they have a striking reddish/copper color in the water.
Bonus for freshwater anglers: Red Drum can survive in freshwater as long as the temperature is warm enough, and my own state has started experimenting with stocking them in some of the steam plant lakes.

Black Drum

The stubbier, angrier cousin of the redfish eats mostly the same thing but a five pound black drum will fight you as hard as a ten pound red one. They also can get into triple-digit weights and have thick-rear end mouths, so sharpen those hooks.

Bluefish

The pre-eminent rear end in a top hat of the ocean, when a bluefish has its' pecker up it will eat anything. *Anything*. My first bluefish was caught on a piece of dead rotting shrimp. My last bluefish was caught on a hickory shad larger than the bluefish was. During the large runs in the northeast they can sometimes be taken on a bare hook as long as it's shiny enough. Any baitfish will do, and size doesn't matter to these pigs, they will gently caress them up whether they're 8 inches long or 3 feet.

Speckled Trout

Specks are a drat blast to catch and in NC they can still be reliably caught for most of the winter months in the big estuaries, which is great for cabin fever. While I've rarely ever seen one touch a dead shrimp, they are absolute suckers for live shrimp (referred to simply as 'trout candy' in some locales) and will hit all of your major baitfish. Fun Fact: I nearly lost one rod to a two pounder that tried to pull it over the rail, and then nearly lost it again the next day when one actually did pull it over the rail (it dropped the bait and I snagged the rod with another one thankfully). They strike like a freight train.

Flounder

Always a favorite, flounder can be easy to catch, but can also be maddening. A carolina rigged mud minnow, mullet, or other small baitfish is usually the preferred forage, although jigging soft plastics like Gulp are also popular. Just be sure to wait a minute before setting the hook, as flounder are notoriously finicky when they first wrap their weird dumb sideways mouth around something.
Flounder are loving delicious, but do us all a favor and don't keep them. Flounder stocks have been utterly ravaged, give it a couple of years and we'll have you back to eating doormats tout-suite.

Sheepshead

The important thing to remember about Sheepshead is that they loooooove pilings. This is because they looooove eating barnacles. They also looooove eating fiddler crabs and sand fleas. "wow, that seems like pretty hard stuff to crunch up for a fish mouth, how do they manage?" you ask. For your sins, I will answer you:

Striped Bass

I don't have much experience with stripers, as they tend to prefer cooler waters than I usually fish, but in the spring you can still find them in some NC rivers and estuaries running upstream to spawn. Baitfish (menhaden and herring especially) and crab bits work, as do mirrolures.

Spanish/King Mackerel

Though you can find a spanish in an inlet and an estuary sometimes they tend to stick with the ocean. People fishing for King Mackerel will shell out ludicrous amounts of money for a spot at the end of the pier where they sit all day with two rods in a complicated anchor rod/bait rod setup to possibly catch one fish a week. While spanish can be taken on the same baitfish as specks and blues, dedicated King fishermen tend to use large menhaden or small bluefish. Aside from the rare tarpon or large shark, it's about the biggest fish one can catch from an ocean pier.

WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION LURES?
Because I tend toward live or cut bait in saltwater, but that doesn't mean you have to!

Popping Corks

Originally popular on the gulf coast, you can't drive down an eastern NC road on a weekend without seeing a truck where a couple of popping cork rigged rods are hanging out the back. They aren't a lure in the traditional sense, but a way of presenting lures via quick sharp jerks letting the lure underneath oscillate through the water.

Gulp Soft Plastics

Can either be jigged for flounder, specks, bluefish, and red drum or fished under a popping cork.

Mirrolures

A suspending jerkbait with a nice darting-baitfish action, throwing these at specks and red drum in the fall is a pretty good use of your time.

Gotcha Plugs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzar_lsZYZA
These little fuckers are immensely popular for Spanish, Bluefish, and Specks and in August you're guaranteed to find a few people on an ocean pier doing that distinctive gotcha plug jerk

ABOUT NATURAL BAITS

Years ago, while buying bait from a legendary local guide, I mentioned something about the high price of bloodworms. He stated he didn't even sell them any more, because Fishbites seemed to actually catch him more spot for less money. Available in bloodworm and other "flavors", this poo poo looks like a gimmick but actually works quite well. You can also make a bag last weeks or months, as it is resealable and doesn't rot or stink up the joint. The bloodworm, shrimp, and sand flea flavors have done me well. Also, real bloodworms cost more per worm than a bag of senkos and are for the fuckin' tourists. Fishbites are easymode.

Finding live shrimp in some states can be pretty stinkin' difficult. Frozen shrimp is pretty easy to find near the coast though, and anything that swims will eat it. You can't go wrong (unless you buy washed/cooked shrimp from the grocery store...even the raw grocery shrimp doesn't seem to work as well as frozen bait shrimp). Shrimp is to salt and brackish water fishing what the humble earthworm is to freshwater. Yes, earthworms will also work in saltwater.

Mud minnows, mullet, grass shad...long story short, just about anything you catch in a cast net will be fine bait for where you're fishing. Buy one, as it pays for itself after two dozen minnows. Minnow traps (stainless or coated) are also incredibly useful inshore. Pinfish or Croaker caught on hook or line also make good bait for the big boys, or the medium boys if you cut them up.

Blue crabs and fiddler crabs are also fine baits when you can grab them, as are sand fleas

# ¿ Jul 21, 2020 03:29

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# ¿ May 21, 2024 02:53

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

King of Bees posted:

For SE saltwater one of the biggest payoffs for me was buying and learning how to use and maintain a cast net. It's paid for itself a dozen times over

A million times this. Nothing beats spending a whole week at the beach fishing twice a day and never paying a dime for bait.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2020 04:21

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Slotducks posted:

There is nothing more fun than top water bass fishing with a frog in a back bay with lots of cover/grass/lilypads.

I would say a black jitterbug on a moonlit night is as good. It's also the cheapest fish finder you can find for a farm pond.

# ¿ Jul 21, 2020 17:03

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

CHUCK WAS TAKEN posted:

You're not allowed to mention Ween on his boat apparently, and no bananas (presumably blow is cool)

Deaner and Les Claypool were gonna have a reality show where they went fishing together, dunno if it ever actually came out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3AXMb8S1tI

CHUCK WAS TAKEN posted:

e: I wanna ask him about fly fishing but I'm scared he'll make fun of me

Les would be cool with it at least
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WYCU9EUA1Q

# ¿ Jul 25, 2020 02:19

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Elmnt80 posted:

I do suck at jokes so this tracks. I'll take suggestions on a new title tho!

SEGA rear end Fisting posted:

I got stuck on a surprise on-call shift this weekend and could not go fishing. I am very angry about it. That's the whole post.

I suggest "SEGA rear end Fisting - not just a screen name, but a good idea"

# ¿ Aug 3, 2020 03:15

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

rap music posted:

oh ya that there's a good un!

hey everybody watch this topwater highlight reel cuz it owns

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cLFjS_6nLc

confirmed

also this dude is soothing as hell to listen to

# ¿ Aug 12, 2020 04:46

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Syano posted:

Guess I am going to the bank tonight to see what a post-hurricane bite is like. I am guessing pretty ugly. Probably take some small plastics and go real slow and see what happens

saltwater-wise, it's frequently spectacularly weird. After Hurricane Emily they were catching sailfish off the piers on the Outer Banks

# ¿ Aug 27, 2020 23:52

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

crazypeltast52 posted:

Here it is, it bit me too as I took out the hook (grab pliers first kids!), so it has tasted human blood, but I am not a were-muskie. That I know of at least... Hopefully this one hasn't developed a taste for human, there are beaches on that lake.

Caught it casting from shore at a city lake in Minneapolis. It looks like the DNR puts about 200 fingerlings every other year so this one has been hanging out for a bit.

did this dude just win the derby

# ¿ Sep 10, 2020 05:44

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

crazypeltast52 posted:

I think it is the current leading contender on the 15g dickspoon, but your catfish spot looks like it could beat that if that fish from this weekend is anything to go by!

oh that was on some dead funky shrimp. Both of my dickspoons got lost on the bottom the first trip and i need to order some more

# ¿ Sep 10, 2020 17:17

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

rndmnmbr posted:

Thinking about rods, I got an 8'6" rod because I'm a bank fisherman and have always thought longer rods meant I could launch lures further. Is this a wrong assumption? Would I be better served by a shorter rod?
I mostly fish lakes and ponds, there are very few rivers to fish near me.

For the record, I have super drowning skills and don't like boats.

learn to slingshot that poo poo and do the Hatteras Heave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CSXF9-b3s

Your assumption isn't wrong, but the idea that you have to huck it out as far as possible can be, especially in freshwater

# ¿ Sep 13, 2020 16:32

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

I always felt sorry for this poor dope who otherwise does decent videos but was completely unprepared for Hatteras combat fishing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKUcxG5TN1g

# ¿ Sep 13, 2020 16:37

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Dik Hz posted:

I hear the CaLo point is even worse. The guys who do that year-round rack up triple digit 40#+ redfish counts per year, though.

Dang, they gotta put some work into that. Never been out there, but I hear the island is littered with the rusting hulks of old lovely beach buggies that broke down and never restarted

# ¿ Sep 14, 2020 23:19

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Elmnt80 posted:

You can put any baitcasting reel on any baitcasting rod. I've got abu, daiwa and lews reels on a different brand's rods because I really do love options that company has and the general feel of their rods.

I have a $15 baitcaster on a lovely Shakespeare spincast rod that someone abandoned at a local lake. I have a lot of affection for it because I've pulled in multiple 4-6 pound fish on it and a sea trout once yanked it into the water, but it's still goin'.

rndmnmbr posted:

Yeah, baitcasters are not for me. I got real tired of backlash and birds nests real quick.

I felt the same way until I bought one and took the time to dial in the magnets and drag where it needed to be. I still get them, but picking them out has become simple. Then again, I tend to only use it for bottom fishing in areas where I can just huck it overhand.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2020 21:33

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

A Pack of Kobolds posted:

There is a lake near me that is public land that the public cannot access. 100% of the land surrounding it is owned by the rich, who specifically fought to keep a park from being built which would have allowed the public to access the lake which they, the public, ostensibly own.

The solution is clearly to have an 80s style slobs vs snobs competition for ownership of the lake or maybe just guillotines instead.

My in-laws neighborhood has a lake in it. If you look at GIS, it shows that this lake and the sidewalk that runs to it, belongs to the development company. Which didn't stop the adjacent landowner from slapping up a thousand NO TRESPASSING signs and threatening anyone who went to it.

Which is why I laughed my rear end off when my father-in-law went and tried it and the landowner called the cops on him and he had to find out from the cops that it wasn't his. Yet out he goes every time he sees someone try to use it.

# ¿ Sep 24, 2020 22:01

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

A Pack of Kobolds posted:

Dickspoons available now! Website works, but it's incomplete during this soft open period. It's more or less goons only right now, so the password is 69420lol.

WE GOT THE DICKSPOONS

when are JimPlugs gonna be in stock

# ¿ Oct 10, 2020 19:29

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

This weekend's trip report:

FRIDAY: Dawns 82 and humid. A brief rain squall passes through with a cold front, now it's 63, dry, and windy as gently caress. I try it anyway. Miss one hard strike, then bam

My PB red drum appears, 22 and a half inches long, though only 3lb. Nothing else after 20min, give up

SATURDAY: Against every normal impulse I go out in the middle of day, since it's sunny, mid-60s, and it would be a shame to waste it. After an hour without a tap I get up and fold up my chair, preparing to leave, and then notice one of my lines has gone completely slack. I bring it in expecting I was crabbed or gared, but nope, this sonofabitch is stripping line and doesn't surface until the very end

My PB black drum, 17 inches long. A loving beast.

Less than 15 minutes later comes what would be PB black drum if not for the last one, only an inch shorter.

For only three fish, I'm pretty fuckin satisfied.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2020 00:04

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Dik Hz posted:

Cool! One time I was getting skunked at the beach and a loving osprey flew right over head with a 12" pompano still wriggling. It was half the size of the bird. Show-offs.

At least it didn't use the fish as a weapon. This happened less than 30 miles from me.

# ¿ Oct 19, 2020 03:22

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Grandito posted:

Does anyone have any tips for fishing in suburban ponds?

I'm in Texas and trying to get back in to fishing, haven't done it much since I was a kid. There are some ponds near me in public parks that the state stocks with catfish and some supposedly have bass and sunfish as well.

Went out a few weekends in a row to try and catch a catfish, because I thought it was supposed to be idiot proof. Put some Magic Bait balls on a hook, with and without a weight, and was never able to get so much as a bite. I tried a couple locations and tried both morning and evening. (My mornings admittedly started at like 9am.) I'm just using the $30 shakespeare rod and spinning reel combo from Academy for now, but afaik it should be fine.

What do I have to do to get some sort of fish on the line in this environment? I just want to prove I can at this point.

Worms or crickets are virtually guaranteed to get something biting. In my experience, those doughball baits are next to useless. Stocked cats will go fuckin' nuts over raw shrimp though.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2020 04:14

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

gamera009 posted:

Anyone able to give me the lowdown on fishing in Tampa? I may be moving there for a job, and I�m coming from the land of fly fishing.

I only fished in the area once and got skunked, down at the Fort DeSoto gulf pier, which rules.

One thing that has happened every time I've visited there though are people hooking dolphins left and right.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2020 21:59

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Dik Hz posted:

Just get out there and figure it out as you go.

Option 1: Buy a 9' surf rod combo, a cheap rig, a 3-oz wight, and some bait shrimp. Rig it up according to the picture on the back of the rig package. Put 1/3 of a peeled shrimp on each hook and cast into the slack water between the breakers and the shoreline at the closest beach. You'll have a shot at whiting, flounder, pompano, puffers, black drum, sheepshead, red drum.

Option 2: Buy a cheap rod and reel combo from Wal-Mart, a bobber, some 1/8 oz jig heads, and some nightcrawlers. Go to your nearest pond, pinch off ~2" of nightcrawler and put it on the jighead about 1-2' below the bobber. Cast near the deepest part of the pond. Catfish, bass, and sunfish are all likely suspects.

Other option: the free piers at Fort DeSoto, which rule.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2021 19:58

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

LegionAreI posted:

This. I live in a pretty populated area and most of the areas I can access get swamped if there's any hint of fish there. Hell, if there's any hint of anything at all, I've had people come and swim in my fishing spots (gross, the water is ... not clean) and other stuff that makes me have to drive around a lot. I'm happy giving out general areas and tips but I like to fish solo for my mental health. People don't have to be assholes about it though.

Last spring I set up and got ready to cast and some dickhead kid rowed his kayak right in front of me before I could.

I scoffed and moved about 30 feet and then cast. He paddled over on top of my two lines...and then his whole loving family joined him. There were too many for me to take out with a 4 ounce pyramid weight to the head before one got away. They hopped into the water, only about 3-4 feet deep there, and started splashing around.

So I shook my head where they could see, grumbled, cursed, moved away again. This time they were running right into my lines as they paddled back.

Thank you for listening to my story about the time I made some soccer mom mad by finally snapping and yelling "ALL THIS FUCKIN' WATER AND YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW ME AROUND???" at her precious 13 year olds.

Tune in next time for the tale of how I almost brained a ten year old with a cast net which was already in the air as he jumped into the goddamn water right where I was throwing it.

# ¿ Mar 1, 2021 23:44

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

rap music posted:

I�ll reiterate that if you put forth even a modicum of effort to traverse slightly tougher terrain you will exclude almost all fishermen and women

my favorite "secret" spot is on state game lands; you just have to drive into a dove field, park at the back, and walk about 60 yards through the woods to it. I've never even see tire tracks there.

# ¿ Mar 2, 2021 19:44

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Discussion Quorum posted:

Yeah a pier net would be a good purchase too. Not just for hauling a big fish up, but also for releasing it.

for inshore stuff you can buy a crab ring for $2.50 or so. It ain't the best pier net substitute, but I've hauled 6 and 7 pound fish up in it no sweat

# ¿ Mar 28, 2021 22:46

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

As a dude who has never fly fished a minute of his life, how much will I hate a $30/40 Babby's First Fly Rod kit from Academy? Considering grabbing one just to try it out and dick around with some bream

# ¿ Aug 16, 2021 17:02

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

The Great Outdoors � Fishing thread: Where trolling is encouraged

# ¿ Nov 3, 2021 12:57

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

gotta get that spin in, it's all in the wrist.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2021 06:15

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Desert Bus posted:

Cast netting seems like something you just have to fail at a LOT before you get it right. Similar to fly fishing.

This is extremely true. I learned to castnet at 16, and even then my first throws after a long time are snake-shaped. The secret that's so hard to explain to most people is releasing the hand holding the top of the net a split second after the hand holding the weighted end of the net lets go. It's a thing you just have to keep trying and loving up with.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2021 23:55

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Woodpile posted:

Went fishing last weekend in the first time in ages. Surf fishing. The least productive fishing known to man and woman. Topsail, NC. Rough surf, high winds and I got skunked.

So gonna have to go to the river and catch some easy catfish to break my ennui.

Hekk posted:

Go to the end of the pier instead. I used to night fish their every weekend and it�d top anything I did on my boat in the inter coastal waterway.

It's been 20+ years since I fished there, but one week with a friend at Topsail was easily the best week of surf fishing I ever had, capped with a decent run on the Jolly Roger Pier and the Topsail Sound Pier (RIP).

Angry Asian posted:

Anyone have a good way of getting the fish smell out of your hands after handling them other than using gloves I guess? Gonna be hitting up a lake in the BC interior this weekend for rainbows and kokanee, hopefully will be frying a few on the shore!

Jig-a-Clean or some of that salt/sugar scrub. When I was a kid I would use toothpaste to get it out afterwards.

# ¿ Jul 15, 2022 02:20

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Crab Dad posted:

? Isn�t eel delicious?

to speckled sea trout it is

# ¿ Aug 11, 2022 02:01

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

durabrand107 posted:

Man I chased after a gar all evening, I was thinking "hey this dude on SA wants to see gar" but he had me licked.

I probably mentioned it here before, but a dude once walked me through how to catch gar easy. Then he just paused and said "of course then the problem is you have a gar."

Bowfin are loving fun though. Every time without fail that I catch one some moron nearby insists it's a snakehead and I'm supposed to kill it.

# ¿ Feb 3, 2023 21:19

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

wesleywillis posted:

Tell me how.

I've heard people use pieces of rope because their jaws are very boney so it's hard to set a hook in them.

Yep. A frayed bit of rope gets their little needle teeth all stuck.

wesleywillis posted:

I've tried to get bowfin before but no luck. A friend of mine got one one time though, with me. He said it fought like a motherfucker.

Your friend was underselling it. Every time I caught a bowfin I would have sworn before getting them up that they were something three or four times their actual size. loving things are 100% muscle.

# ¿ Feb 5, 2023 03:12

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

titties posted:

Ever since then I've really wanted to hook one but i have no idea where to look or how to target them.

Just gotta get lucky with dead or live fish for bait. Though I was once retrieving a plastic worm and right before I pulled it from the water, a bowfin I didn't see shot out from under the bank I was standing on and got it

# ¿ Feb 5, 2023 05:52

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Southern Cassowary posted:

by "work" i mean "catch fish"

I've had some for 20+ years that I bought at Big Lots when they still had a sporting goods section. I've never even had a bump. Of course that's true for most of my lures. Have a jerkbait that has not yielded a single bite in 30+ years.

titties posted:

As it turns out the banjo minnow, flying lure, and walking worm are all viable baits. Shame that you can only get old stock of the banjo.

https://www.buybanjominnow.com/

but yeah, fish are dumb. When I was 15 or so I decided to make a lure out of some random balsa wood, badly carved and painted. I got a pretty drat good bass on it before later losing it in a tree or some poo poo.

# ¿ Feb 22, 2023 21:34

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

Charliegrs posted:

There are no gar in my area but I've heard they have incredibly hard mouths and it's hard to get a good hookset on them. I could be wrong though.

wesleywillis posted:

Lots of people use pieces of rope to get gar as their teeth get tangled up in the rope fibres.

Pretty sure I've posted it before, but I once had a guy enthusiastically tell me that, before pausing thoughtfully and muttering "problem is, then you have a gar." I kind of hate gar because a lot of gar usually means whoops, low oxygen in this creek.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2023 21:55

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

The one time I caught a gar on hook and line, it didn't fight at all. It was just hydrodynamic deadweight. But that's only one experience. Bowfins on the other hand will be two pounds and fight like ten.

# ¿ Jul 9, 2023 03:07

Rev. Bleech_: Oct 19, 2004; ~OKAY, WE'LL DRINK TO OUR LEGS!~

SeaGoatSupreme posted:

The most stated reason is "bass fishing takes skill unlike what you are doing"

I've caught more and bigger bass on live bait than all lures combined. Now the one that baffles me is why social networks keep throwing reels ( :v:

) of people carp fishing at me. Every carp fishing video in existence is underwater cam of the carp tapping the bait and immediately spitting it. Carp fishermen love posting videos of themselves not catching fish.

Also I found out today that it is illegal going forward to catch mullet for bait until they reopen the fishery. I expect riots in the street.

# ¿ Aug 23, 2023 02:18