Fishing Megathread: Looking For Big Girls Who swallow

[williemackgarza 1826]

Get ready to get wore the fuck out. 

Yea its gonna be pretty warm and lots of fish.
A buddy of mine knows a couple guys that run with a few fishing pros and we got a spot on their yearly trip. They have the whole place booked. Could be epic. I hunt in mexico near the border and take several trips acyear into the interior of mexico, so I know about the cartel drama. Im the trip translator in our group. If shit hits the fan im gonna claim the gringos kidnapped me

[williemackgarza 1826]

Hard to beat MT! Big Hole River near Divide MT a few days ago….

Nice!! Yeah montana was really amazing. The scenery is amazing up there.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

15 hours ago, williemackgarza said:

Went up to Montana in late July. Hit up Yellowstone Nat Park.
Then me and my boy fished on the Missouri River near Cascade, MT.
Both our 1st time fly fishing.
Caught a ton of rainbows, browns and cut throats. The scenery was spectacular.

junior ain't afraid a puttin' the wood to'em!

[The Royal We 3072]

I had a good trip up to Pinedale, WY last week.

Fished the Greys River outside of Alpine the first day for about 30 minutes and didn't have much luck. We only had about an hour to kill before needing to drive to Pinedale and just pulled over at a decent looking spot to cast a bit. I think we should have driven further up the forest road for better water; it was moving too fast where we were and was pretty difficult to fish. It was a beautiful river though and I'd like to go back at some point.

That evening we fished some private water on the upper New Fork River. My old boss grew up in Pinedale and one of his childhood friends has some old family land north of town that was spectacular. I think this piece was ~900 acres or so and boss' friend and his brother and sister all had little 1 room cabins at different places along the river. The flows were already pretty low through this stretch but we still caught a few small ones on 2/3 wts. We cooked burgers on the front porch of the cabin, had a campfire, drank some bourbon and waited for the stars to come out. I loved it.

The next day we did a walk/wade on Faler Creek with guides from Two Rivers Fishing Co - https://www.tworiversfishing.com/  I've posted about this water before on here - had one of my best fly fishing days ever at Faler 6-7 years ago. It's a long hike into the creek from where you have to park, but the water is so fucking good and there are huge fish everywhere. It was a blue bird day with no clouds in the sky so the fishing was pretty tough. My best was a ~18" Cutthroat that blew up on a big ass Circus Peanut. Only got 2 other fish to hand but had a great day. Best fish was a ~20" Brown that my old boss caught. If you are ever up around Pinedale I highly recommend booking a guide through Two Rivers and going to fish this place. I think they have the exclusive rights to the water but our guide said most people want to float the Green or New Fork and so Faler doesn't get a ton of pressure since it is walk/wade only.

The last day we floated the New Fork and had a blast. We didn't catch a lot of big fish, but I think me and my buddy caught 69 fish and the other boat that floated our same beat caught 55 or so. We caught Browns, Rainbows, a few Cutties, and quite a few big Whitefish. This is a beautiful river as well and the flow was still great for being this late in the year. We scraped bottom in a few places but didn't have to hop out or anything like that. Our guide was a great kid who worked his ass off for us and really enjoyed having some younger guys who were fired up to be out there. We drank beers, listened to music, and kissed the "fish whistle" while catching a ton of fish. Can't really ask for much more than that.

I'll post some pics here in a bit. If you're planning a trip to WY, I'd strongly recommend getting out of Jackson to fish around Pinedale. We flew in and out of Jackson and it was a zoo with people and traffic everywhere.

[The Royal We 3072]

The upper New Fork. You can see a bridge in the distance that goes across to one of the cabins.

Greys River.

Faler Creek. We couldn't get the big Browns to come out from under the cut banks.

Lunch spot on the New Fork float.

I think this was the biggest fish on the trip - ~21" floating the same beat that we did.

Edited August 23, 2023 by The Royal We

[4th and 5 4914]

the saltwater bros are not doing their part in this thread, and for that, I accept some responsibility

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

7 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

the saltwater bros are not doing their part in this thread, and for that, I accept some responsibility

too hot and no water. 

[3shot 139]

3 hours ago, The Royal We said:

I had a good trip up to Pinedale, WY last week.

Fished the Greys River outside of Alpine the first day for about 30 minutes and didn't have much luck. We only had about an hour to kill before needing to drive to Pinedale and just pulled over at a decent looking spot to cast a bit. I think we should have driven further up the forest road for better water; it was moving too fast where we were and was pretty difficult to fish. It was a beautiful river though and I'd like to go back at some point.

I was in the same area myself a few weeks ago.  I drove the Greys River Road starting from the Tri Basin Divide all the way to McDougal Gap, which is about 37 miles I think.  The beginning of the road is at the headwaters of the Greys and it's just a tiny trickle.  There's actually a sign that says "Greys River - watch me grow." I really enjoyed the picture of you fishing the Greys. What a huge contrast between the headwaters and where you were. By the way, the road is absolutely terrible until you get to the campground just south of McDougal Gap Road (so smooth sailing between Alpine and there).  It's the worst road I've ever driven, but it was quite the adventure and the river looks very fishy pretty much the whole way.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to fish it because the poor road conditions slowed me down and I didn't want to be out there at night.  However, I did fish the Smiths Fork on the other side of the Tri Basin Divide.  It didn't suck. 

I love that part of Wyoming.  As long as your willing to drive a bit, you could fish new water every day for many lifetimes.               

[The Royal We 3072]

1 hour ago, 3shot said:

I was in the same area myself a few weeks ago.  I drove the Greys River Road starting from the Tri Basin Divide all the way to McDougal Gap, which is about 37 miles I think.  The beginning of the road is at the headwaters of the Greys and it's just a tiny trickle.  There's actually a sign that says "Greys River - watch me grow." I really enjoyed the picture of you fishing the Greys. What a huge contrast between the headwaters and where you were. By the way, the road is absolutely terrible until you get to the campground just south of McDougal Gap Road (so smooth sailing between Alpine and there).  It's the worst road I've ever driven, but it was quite the adventure and the river looks very fishy pretty much the whole way.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to fish it because the poor road conditions slowed me down and I didn't want to be out there at night.  However, I did fish the Smiths Fork on the other side of the Tri Basin Divide.  It didn't suck. 

I love that part of Wyoming.  As long as your willing to drive a bit, you could fish new water every day for many lifetimes.               

Awesome! The road was great down where we were. Huge rock trucks were running up and down the road to a quarry somewhere up there.

And yea, there are so many random roads to drive up there and water running along a lot of them. My old boss took me on some random pass between Jackson and Pinedale years ago, probably 60+ miles of dirt road through public land. We'd see some fishy looking water and hop out with 2 wts and catch so many small Brookies that were wild and hungry. I couldn't get back to that spot on my own if I tried.

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

On 8/17/2023 at 6:41 PM, Born to Run said:

If that chart doesn't suck enough shit for the midcoast, I'm hearing of large fish kills in Pringle and the Lagoon.

Saw some video on Instagram today of dead fish in the Lagoon. The water was as low as I’ve seen it in 25 years of fishing the mid coast. Looked like someone pulled the drain plug. 

[troph 24798]

17 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

the saltwater bros are not doing their part in this thread, and for that, I accept some responsibility

I've got trips planned for october and november. I'll be here.

[4th and 5 4914]

 

11 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Saw some video on Instagram today of dead fish in the Lagoon. The water was as low as I’ve seen it in 25 years of fishing the mid coast. Looked like someone pulled the drain plug. 

I saw it, not good. Still, my boat hates me. She's been sitting up for months. I am a bad boat owner

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

6 minutes ago, 4th and 5 said:

 

I saw it, not good. Still, my boat hates me. She's been sitting up for months. I am a bad boat owner

it would take me a day of cleaning my garage to get to mine. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

9 hours ago, troph said:

I've got trips planned for october and november. I'll be here.

Got a chandy trip I’m counting down to. Can’twait.gif 

[troph 24798]

8 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

it would take me a day of cleaning my garage to get to mine. 

[Mac8111 2107]

Got a chandy trip I’m counting down to. Can’twait.gif 

What charter service you rolling with?

Have you been before ?

[troph 24798]

Maybe neekid ladies I dunno I can’t think of a better wine label. It’s actually a high quality tasty French style blend. 
 

 

 

Tight lines brothers. I’m getting itchy again, need some river / bay time soon. 😬 

Edited August 26, 2023 by troph

[fattyflattie 4639]

19 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

What charter service you rolling with?

Have you been before ?

I’ve never done the mothership deal.  I’ll check with the guy who set it up and confirm the outfit.  

[4th and 5 4914]

It’s a great time

[fattyflattie 4639]

10 hours ago, 4th and 5 said:

It’s a great time

One of my best friends was working for BP in coastal Miss.  He would leave his dock and hit the the islands regularly.  Has a low gunnel JH and those guys over would freak out about it, but he would hammer those fish out there on the reg.  Sort of a consolation for having to live in fuckville, ms. I used to love those texts with regular pics from out there. 

[davidg 4038]

I sure most of you saltwater guys have read it before but Rudy Grigar’s Plugger is a great read on Tx coastal fishing and the Chandeleur Islands.

[fattyflattie 4639]

20 hours ago, davidg said:

I sure most of you saltwater guys have read it before but Rudy Grigar’s Plugger is a great read on Tx coastal fishing and the Chandeleur Islands.

Shit, I've read it this year.   

Also, this.

 

 

[Pablo 494]

I haven't fished in forever, but decided to rent an Airbnb down in Sargent on the ICW in a few weeks.

They have a dock to fish off of, seems like it would be a fun to do again for a bit.

Since I don't have any fishing gear, any recs on a basic starter kit for fishing down there?

[troph 24798]

If you are so inclined - email or call your US representative - I believe protecting our wetlands is a nonpartisan issue. Supreme Court ruled the clean water act does not apply to wetlands so the EPA rule roll back is official I think as of today.  I don’t really care about claims of over reach or not enough, wetlands should be protected 100%. You/we coastal anglers know what I mean. Texas can still protect on its own wetlands as can other states but our natural world needs all the help it can get. If you disagree with the approach I’m saying to take re conservation so be it, but I know we all agree re conservation conceptually so do something even if it’s just pick up trash every time you go out. 

[fattyflattie 4639]

Apparently, matagorda surf was place to be yesterday.   

[Deej 76791]

Sometimes, I hate fishing. 

Got out to Mabry just as the sun came up this morning. The pond is ridiculously low after this summer.

Anyway, I'm tossing a lipless crankbait and every time I cast over this certain spot, I feel a bump, but just assume it's one of the many submerged branches in that pond. 

I cast over it again and start my retrieve when a fish just blows it up. Line is pulling out easily against my reeling and I think, "is my drag not set? It feels like my drag isn't set."

Drag was set. 

Suddenly, the fish makes a run to the surface and gets airborne. "Holy shit that's a big bass!" And just as that registered, my fucking line snaps. 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2023 by Deej

[troph 24798]

Fished the San Marcos river near staples today all the way to 130. Water was comfortable, but very low. No clouds, so the sun was intense but we found the fish. Me and a buddy landed probably 15-16. I had 11 including a walk off. Mostly Guads/hybrids, a few sun fish. Decent sized Guads. I fished a 3 wt mostly. Poppers, streamers and a grasshopper dry fly that looked a lot like a large green drake dry fly, fished like one too. Pretty hard day of fishing when we looked back on it, by noon the fishing was on the bank, not 6-12 inches into the water, right on the bank where there was shade.  In many cases under 6 inches from the bank. But we made it work. Under those conditions, I’d say pretty epic. Only thing we lacked was the larger large mouth bass. 
 

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by troph

[Zwylde 812]

On 8/26/2023 at 9:25 PM, davidg said:

I sure most of you saltwater guys have read it before but Rudy Grigar’s Plugger is a great read on Tx coastal fishing and the Chandeleur Islands.

Morning reading for my fishing guest who need to unload before shipping out.

[Masshole Horn 773]

Gonna be spending a week on the coast in early October near Port O'Connor. Any recommendations for a party boat? Or do I need to head down to Port Aransas for that?

[Mac8111 2107]

I don’t know of any party boats in POC area.

Port Aransas has several.

[MalibuSheriff 1090]

I thought the fly fishers on this thread will enjoy the following tribute to Dave Whitlock.  The local Trout Unlimited chapter here in Tulsa, voted last night to change their official name to the ‘Dave Whitlock Chapter’ by a unanimous vote.  The video tribute to the late Dave Whitlock was shown last night:

Dave was a wonderful, incredibly talented man.

[4th and 5 4914]

South Texas cast and blast, all on topwaters. And gig. 

[JCHIL 414]

Fished the Yellowstone and Upper Madison in MT last week.  The bite was hit or miss but managed a few nice rainbows on both rivers…lots of whitefish due to spawn…scenery always epic…

[Snake Diggity 4624]

On 5/30/2022 at 12:50 PM, Jerry Callo said:

Goose Island State Park pier. Half way down the pier is a set of steps down to the water. You can wade a ways out. Fish the guts, especially the one you can't cross.

Also, continue on past the entrance to GISP and the road and runs curves and runs along St. Charles Bay. Drive all the way to where it turns again. There is easily 3/4 mile of wadeable shoreline.

Thanks for the recommendation, we did end up fishing that spot halfway down the GISP pier when we went last year.  No keepers but good activity on small black drum and sheepshead.  We will probably try it again this weekend.  I had my wife with me last year and she didn’t really feel like getting very far into the water so we didn’t try wading the shoreline, I might get a chance to do it this time.

On 5/29/2022 at 10:58 PM, leaf said:

Backside of the airport on Copano Bay.  Park at the Howard Murph Memorial Park.  Then go down to the old pier.  Can wade fish on the south side of the pier.  A couple of buddies went last weekend a d caught some nice trout.  Watch out for the big alligator that lives in the drainage ditch.

 

Thanks for this recommendation.  We didn’t get to try that spot last year but plan on trying it when we are down there this weekend.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

On 9/24/2023 at 7:54 PM, JCHIL said:

Fished the Yellowstone and Upper Madison in MT last week.  The bite was hit or miss but managed a few nice rainbows on both rivers…lots of whitefish due to spawn…scenery always epic…

me staring at that fly line sitting in all that dirt on the boat floor

 

out of curiosity, were you fishing the guide's gear or your own?

[JCHIL 414]

2 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

me staring at that fly line sitting in all that dirt on the boat floor

 

out of curiosity, were you fishing the guide's gear or your own?

I was fishing with a guide but using my own fly rod.  A little dirt never hurt!  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

2 hours ago, JCHIL said:

I was fishing with a guide but using my own fly rod.  A little dirt never hurt!  

if you were fishing his rod he would've swabbed the deck i can promise you that. dirt kills fly lines real quick.

 

[troph 24798]

Fished the Colorado south of town yesterday. We caught 4 guads. Hooked 2 others. Tough day. I introduced a buddy to the hobby and he did better than I did. I’m really glad he caught 3 of them. He’d like to learn more and that makes me happy. 
 

the last 30-40 mins I had a 5 wt with a grasshopper dry and was hunting more guads in shallow moving water. So the practice was familiar, get the drift right, mend. Some twitching but after a month in Colorado it was like old habit. Then it happened. Harmony for the first time of the day. Don’t get me wrong I had good presentation most of the day but it was a slog. I described why I love fly fishing this morning like this:

 

[Kennythetiger 9383]

3 hours ago, troph said:

Fished the Colorado south of town yesterday. We caught 4 guads. Hooked 2 others. Tough day. I introduced a buddy to the hobby and he did better than I did. I’m really glad he caught 3 of them. He’d like to learn more and that makes me happy. 
 

the last 30-40 mins I had a 5 wt with a grasshopper dry and was hunting more guads in shallow moving water. So the practice was familiar, get the drift right, mend. Some twitching but after a month in Colorado it was like old habit. Then it happened. Harmony for the first time of the day. Don’t get me wrong I had good presentation most of the day but it was a slog. I described why I love fly fishing this morning like this:

 

In our family there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. 

[Braff Zacklin 13573]

[JCHIL 414]

Been catching some of these beauties the last couple of days….small unnamed stream in backcountry MT

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

Had a chance to check out @Braff Zacklin's backyard a few weeks back. We hit the same stream he posted about previously in the hopes of finding bull trout returning home after spawn. It's a stunningly beautiful creek surrounded by rugged country. We hiked in about 7 miles and watched as the creek went from slow meandering water with big runs to technical pocket water/plunge pools. We managed to find one bull and the cutties were plentiful and hungry.

I'm haunted by all of the water I'll never fish and can rest easy knowing this creek ain't on the list anymore! Thanks Braff!

  

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

8 minutes ago, JCHIL said:

Been catching some of these beauties the last couple of days….small unnamed stream in backcountry MT

spawned out brookies are awesome. I love all the colors but that deep purple they get in their mouths is epic.

[JCHIL 414]

16 minutes ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

Had a chance to check out @Braff Zacklin's backyard a few weeks back. We hit the same stream he posted about previously in the hopes of finding bull trout returning home after spawn. It's a stunningly beautiful creek surrounded by rugged country. We hiked in about 7 miles and watched as the creek went from slow meandering water with big runs to technical pocket water/plunge pools. We managed to find one bull and the cutties were plentiful and hungry.

I'm haunted by all of the water I'll never fish and can rest easy knowing this creek ain't on the list anymore! Thanks Braff!

  

Wow!!!! Nice

[That Guy 955]

Anybody ID this guy for me? Snagged in Harpeth River in Franklin, TN. 
 

Football is dumb. 

[Jerry Callo 8703]

I'm guessing its a spotted bass.  Does it have two red eyes or did the hookset damage the eye in the picture?  Could be a red-eyed bass, but they are pretty rare in that area (not to be confused with other area fish often called redeyes).

Check out this identification guide and make a determination.

[hookemATL 11735]

Caught her first bass and rio grande chichlid (a slab of one too). Great day for some alone time with my oldest after being gone on business all last week. 

[Zwylde 812]

Battled through all Summer to get to a day like today.  80 degrees, 76 water temp, 5mph breeze and a couple hungry reds.  Life is good!

[troph 24798]

13 hours ago, hookemATL said:

Caught her first bass and rio grande chichlid (a slab of one too). Great day for some alone time with my oldest after being gone on business all last week. 

I know that spot well. It can have some really nice action. Enjoy these times, man they fly by.

Edited October 10, 2023 by troph

[hookemATL 11735]

43 minutes ago, troph said:

I know that spot well. It can have some really nice action. Enjoy these times, man they fly by.

Our go to spot since it’s a 5 min drive away. Can wet wade from there up to the bridge almost. Caught heaps of stuff on fly road and conventional. Mealworms were the bait of choice this time.