The Fishing Thread

[Easy 6]

Searched around & only found the video fishing & BassMasters threads, i know their are plenty of outdoorsman here, so i figured it'd be cool to draw upon the Planets vast experience in all things fishing.

I only use spincast reels & fish mostly large/smallmouth bass & cats. My choice of reels is quite the source of derision from many people i know 'duffer gear', but i haul in my share of 6 pound bass & 10-20 pound cats on that gear no problem. With a little know-how you can use just about any technique you want to on 'duffer gear'.

Berkley Powerbaits are a big part of my trick bag, the difference between those & regular stuff is night & day. My best action last summer came on Mister Twister scented white curly tail grubs, on one day fishing from shore to a bridge pier, i caught smallies, bigmouths, perch & even 1 carp believe it or not... great day. But my bread & butter is a texas rigged Berkley worm, it'll wiggle through any kind of cover without getting hung up.

With cats i strictly bottom fish, no bobber & bait is just as basic... but its always in 2's to give'em a real treat... a shrimp/with a nightcrawler, liver/chunk of cheese etc. Cats are mostly for night sport to me, time to kick back a lil...

So thats me style, how do the rest of you guys get your fish on? What do you fish for, what do you use? IIRC Missouri's trout season just kicked off, anyone getting anything?

[Bill Lundberg]

Here's the bounty from my first and only Saltwater fishing experience so far. Mostly Grunts, Mangrove Snappers and Trigger fish. After catching them the guide cleaned them and the bar/grill next to the dock cooked a mess of them for us. Absolutely mouthwatering delicious!

[Iowanian]

I have fished since I was a kid. I can pretty much own a farm pond, but I struggle on bigger water. I fish Bull Shoals, without much success.

I tell people I'm a bass fisherman, but I also like chasing big flatheads on the river. I'm a bait caster guy, and used to practice on dry land spot casting when I was board. It wasn't uncommon in college for us to be outside, drinking beer, casting worms at a coffee can after class.

If I could have 2 baits, I'd take a 7" plastic worm setup with my prefered brand and color combo and a buzz bait, or a Bill Dance Excalibur, baby bass.

I also have a bow fishing rig and plan on killing alot of carp this spring-summer.

The biggest issue has been time...too much work, not enough play, and when I've done much fishing the past 2 years, it has been putting pieces of worms on a princess snoopy rod and taking sunfish off of tiny hooks.

[seclark]

i love to fish...any kind of fishing's better than not fishing.

nights camping out on the river. running lines, and sitting on a sand bar fishing for flatheads.

hand fishing = best
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[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by scott free

With cats i strictly bottom fish, no bobber & bait is just as basic... but its always in 2's to give'em a real treat... a shrimp/with a nightcrawler, liver/chunk of cheese etc. Cats are mostly for night sport to me, time to kick back a lil...

Most cats are on the bottom so bobber fishing for them isn't any good anyway.
With the bait your using your also pretty much guaranteeing that you'll only catch channel cats with an occasional blue cat here and there.
To catch big cats you need to be on the bottom with live bait. The bigger the better because big cats like a mouthful.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by Iowanian

I have fished since I was a kid. I can pretty much own a farm pond, but I struggle on bigger water. I fish Bull Shoals, without much success.

I tell people I'm a bass fisherman, but I also like chasing big flatheads on the river. I'm a bait caster guy, and used to practice on dry land spot casting when I was board. It wasn't uncommon in college for us to be outside, drinking beer, casting worms at a coffee can after class.

If I could have 2 baits, I'd take a 7" plastic worm setup with my prefered brand and color combo and a buzz bait, or a Bill Dance Excalibur, baby bass.

I also have a bow fishing rig and plan on killing alot of carp this spring-summer.

The biggest issue has been time...too much work, not enough play, and when I've done much fishing the past 2 years, it has been putting pieces of worms on a princess snoopy rod and taking sunfish off of tiny hooks.

I'm in love with a shaky head setup on the plastic worm. Just deadly.

[NewChief]

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Awesome pic! Nothing beats saltwater fishing - especially in Florida. We're headed to the Keys Labor Day week. Catch mangrove snapper, sharks and tarpon right off the dock. Of course offshore 20 miles is my namesake fish - Mahi. When you hit a school of them, you just leave one in the water and the rest of them stay behind the boat. They're so hungry, you catch them dozens at a time. Last time we had a half a trash can full. Sweet.

Yup. Love fishing for the mahi mahi. We call them dorado because that's what they call them in mexico. I mentioned that that is one of my favorite fish to catch as well. Delicious for ceviche.

[MOhillbilly]

i fish the bass pro spinning rod special about 200 retail but you can pick em up for around a bill at the outlet store.
Far as bait i use whatever walmart is close to sold out of(thats under 5 bucks), mostly smallmouth & panfish gear.

I like to run trots and catch frogs & crawdads at night w/ snorkel gear these days.

[seclark]

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

I like to run trots and catch frogs & crawdads at night w/ snorkel gear these days.

that sounds very cool...
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[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by MOhillbilly

i fish the bass pro spinning rod special about 200 retail but you can pick em up for around a bill at the outlet store.
Far as bait i use whatever walmart is close to sold out of(thats under 5 bucks), mostly smallmouth & panfish gear.

I like to run trots and catch frogs & crawdads at night w/ snorkel gear these days.

Gear-head Wrenching buddy digs frog gigging.
I don't like frog legs enough to screw with it.

[Stewie]

Originally Posted by Radar Chief

Most cats are on the bottom so bobber fishing for them isn't any good anyway.
With the bait your using your also pretty much guaranteeing that you'll only catch channel cats with an occasional blue cat here and there.
To catch big cats you need to be on the bottom with live bait. The bigger the better because big cats like a mouthful.

I used to fish a pond (7 acres) that was loaded with bass/crappie/catfish and was rarely fished. When we were lazy or tired of working/walking the banks with jigs or spinners we'd throw a minnow on a hook/bobber rig and sit back and drink some cold ones. We'd catch the occasional non-cat, but when a cat hit the line you knew it immediately. What a blast! They'd immediately head to the deep part of the pond and put up a hell of a fight. Great eating, too.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by Stewie

I used to fish a pond (7 acres) that was loaded with bass/crappie/catfish and was rarely fished. When we were lazy or tired of working/walking the banks with jigs or spinners we'd throw a minnow on a hook/bobber rig and sit back and drink some cold ones. We'd catch the occasional non-cat, but when a cat hit the line you knew it immediately. What a blast! They'd immediately head to the deep part of the pond and put up a hell of a fight. Great eating, too.

Yea, I've got a friend on the south edge of town that has a nice pond on his land that he stocked with 500 fingerling channel when the pond was built. Now it's overrun with 5-7# channel.
They're in there so thick we've caught them on a chunk of hot-dog fishing 2' down from a bobber. They also hit so fast its difficult to drink a beer. As soon as I would cast out and the hot-dog hit the end of the line a channel cat would be on top of it.
Bad thing is he doesn't want anyone taking anything out, it's catch and release only, so I don't mess with his pond much.
It's certainly possible to catch cat fish on a bobber, I've even caught them withing a couple feet of shore, but those channel from my friends pond are about the biggest I've seen caught that way. The big ones are usually closer to the bottom.

[Radar Chief]

What I'll do for going after big cats is go out in the afternoon with a light pole and some worms so I can catch a bucket full of perch. Then I'll head out to my "honey hole" making sure I can get set up before sunset with my river rigs.
My river rigs are a couple of 7' glass rods, medium action, and I'm using bait caster reels with a "bait alarm". What that does is allow me to unlock the reel so it can free spool but when line is taken out it will make a loud clicking noise.
Flat heads in particular are a very wiley predator. They don't get big by being stupid.
And what they'll typically do is when the grab a perch, or whatever live bait your using, they won't take it compeletly into their mouths at first. They'll grab it by the head and kind of walk around with it seeing if there is a bigger mouthful to be had for not much more effort. If there is they'll spit your bait out and go after the bigger reward. If there isn't they'll stop and swallow their meal. While they're going through this process, if they feel an odd tug back on the perch they've got in their mouth they'll spit it out immediatly. That's where allowing the reel to free spool with the bait alarm on comes in handy. Even then I can't tell you how many times I've missed setting the hook on a big ole flat head. It becomes a test of nerves, waiting for the right time to set the hook.

[Luke]

As a kid I was just a bait slinger. I remember going jugging and using trot lines with my Dad. Loads of fun plus I learned alot about my Dad. Ms. Luke introduced me to fly-fishing at Roaring River and no pun intended I have been hooked ever since.

My best fish story. My last trip to Roaring River I snagged a fellas line. I released my line, laid my rod down and watched as (3) three other fellas also snagged the guys line. The rightful owner eventually landed a nice trout and we all had a good laugh at the predicament.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Radar Chief

With the bait your using your also pretty much guaranteeing that you'll only catch channel cats with an occasional blue cat here and there. To catch big cats you need to be on the bottom with live bait. The bigger the better because big cats like a mouthful.

Whats a good bait for blues & flatheads honestly, maybe a shad lip hooked & weighted to the bottom?

I have to be careful though, i cant go after River Monsters with my current rigs, but any advice on anything is appreciated from everyone.

[Radar Chief]

Originally Posted by scott free

Whats a good bait for blues & flatheads honestly, maybe a shad lip hooked & weighted to the bottom?

I have to be careful though, i cant go after River Monsters with my current rigs, but any advice on anything is appreciated from everyone.

Just about any live bait, perch, shad, goldfish, hellgramites, I've even caught them on a big wad of worms and know guys that have caught them on frogs, snakes and field mice. Yes field mice, just don't ask me how they rigged that one up.
What I'll do is take a perch about the size of your hand and hook him in the back behind the dorsal fin. It doesn't harm them badly so they live on the hook longer and stay more active than if they're hooked through the mouth, because activity is what will draw a flathead in.
Blues will hit on all the above also but I've heard that cut bait works particularly well for them. Take a shad, live or dead, then take a fillet knife and and cut it several times down both sides because the fresh blood is what will attract blues.
Channels will bite on all this bait also so your not really missing out on anything by going live bait.
As far as how I'm rigging this up I'm using 0-0000 circle hooks, 24" or so of steel leader on a barrel swivel and a 2 to 8 ounce "egg" slip sinker. My line is only 30# mono so I'm really not rigged all that big.