Fishing Megathread: Looking For Big Girls Who swallow

[crash_davis 23,096]

1 hour ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Have a buddy who owns one of these and swears it's stable enough to stand up in and claims to do so frequently.

https://www.nrs.com/nrs-pike-inflatable-fishing-kayak/p64e

$750 for an inflatable kayak? I think I'll keep my rotomold kayak.

[Jerry Callo 8,695]

On 8/26/2024 at 7:46 PM, Braff Zacklin said:

Have a buddy who owns one of these and swears it's stable enough to stand up in and claims to do so frequently.

https://www.nrs.com/nrs-pike-inflatable-fishing-kayak/p64e

I floated the San Marcos with a few people, one of which was in an inflatable kayak.  He was able to stand up and cast his fly rod - however, he was a little fella.  I'm 6'4", 245 and it will take an exceptionally stable kayak for me to stand up and cast.

Another guy was fishing from a combo paddle board / kayak thing.  He's a big guy, so no standing.  It did fine in the flat water, but he dumped right over in the rapids because he couldn't keep it pointed down hill.

[Zwylde 812]

Dodged a few storms and waded a couple of hours with my brother and another buddy.  Turned out a beauty afternoon with a few fish.

 

 

[justhookit 4,191]

Great win today, didn’t watch but will watch the replay tomorrow.

Decided to fish again tomorrow. Wasn’t planning on it but made that call after getting to the dock this evening. Late in the day we found some really good water and bait. And got this footage. Best we’ve ever had, even the drone guy was pumped up and he droned a million dollar marlin on the 4th of July. Had a few people say they can’t see our uploaded videos, so here’s YouTube. Overall 5/7 sails, 1/2 blue marlin so a little slower than it has been this summer, but enough to make us want to wake up in 6 hours and get back at it again.

Longer version

 

 

Edited September 1 by justhookit

[justhookit 4,191]

never actually seen inside the mouth and out the gill plate before. Really sick bite too. Switched right off the teaser and ate my pitch. Think this fish had been caught before and just wanted to show off.

Edited September 1 by justhookit

[Deej 76,750]

On 7/29/2024 at 2:36 PM, TexasHooch said:

That's a pretty fish.  My pumpkin seed was caught on Pelican Lake in central Minnesota.  We were targeting walleye with a slip bobber and leach setup, but my fish was actually in the middle of a school of crappies.  

The record is apparently 10.25 Inches.  Mine was exactly 10.0.  I wish I would have gotten a weight cause he was fat.

I've fished Pelican Lake. Central Minnesota is generous. You can hit Fargo with a rock.

[TexasHooch 5,122]

17 minutes ago, Deej said:

I've fished Pelican Lake. Central Minnesota is generous. You can hit Fargo with a rock.

This is the land of (over) 10,000 lakes- you think they all have unique names? 

There are 7 Pelican lakes in Minnesota. 

[Pato del Muerto 52,484]

So I was just informed that the river that runs through my new town will have salmon in it shortly.  I never felt the need to invest in a fly rig in Wyoming for trout but this has my attention. 

[Masshole Horn 769]

Preserving your catch...

I freeze in water... was always told this was to prevent freezer burn, but I have no idea of the veracity of that.

I have a vacuum sealer, should I switch to vacuum sealing? What do you do?

[Kennythetiger 9,374]

On 9/3/2024 at 8:41 PM, Pato del Muerto said:

So I was just informed that the river that runs through my new town will have salmon in it shortly.  I never felt the need to invest in a fly rig in Wyoming for trout but this has my attention. 

Remember that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman. 

[justhookit 4,191]

59 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Preserving your catch...

I freeze in water... was always told this was to prevent freezer burn, but I have no idea of the veracity of that.

I have a vacuum sealer, should I switch to vacuum sealing? What do you do?

Vacuum seal for the win. Fish lasts a lot longer. 

[troph 24,781]

3 hours ago, Masshole Horn said:

Preserving your catch...

I freeze in water... was always told this was to prevent freezer burn, but I have no idea of the veracity of that.

I have a vacuum sealer, should I switch to vacuum sealing? What do you do?

vacuum seal hands down.

actually your hands really don't have much to do with it at all. up, down, sideways, a little gay, manicured or not, doesn't matter but vacuum sealing does matter.

[Braff Zacklin 13,552]

5 hours ago, Kennythetiger said:

Remember that John, the favorite, was a dry-fly fisherman. 

Yeah, but if you wanna stay "busy" year round, you better get to streaming and, especially, nymphing.

[Ten Bears 2,479]

So I have a friend that just moved to Aransas Pass so I now have a place to stay near Port A and I have been thinking about doing a little fishing down there.  Mostly surf to start but I would like to do some bay fishing eventually.  My fishing experience is limited to freshwater lakes, rivers and tanks when I was a kid so basically I don't know shit.

 

What basic gear do I need or don't need?  I would likely start with the more affordable gear, at least at first, to see if I want to keep it up.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

Penn battle 3000 rod / reel combo. 20 lb braid. Barrel swivels, circle hooks, 1/8 Oz jig heads, and a variety of swim baits dark and light colored. Circle hooks if you want to soak bait. A Popping cork would be a good add to have. Some 1 Oz Carolina rigs. 

[Braff Zacklin 13,552]

You can listen to the experts here, or you can listen to Gene. Your choice.

 

[horn4life 3,759]

13 hours ago, Ten Bears said:

So I have a friend that just moved to Aransas Pass so I now have a place to stay near Port A and I have been thinking about doing a little fishing down there.  Mostly surf to start but I would like to do some bay fishing eventually.  My fishing experience is limited to freshwater lakes, rivers and tanks when I was a kid so basically I don't know shit.

 

What basic gear do I need or don't need?  I would likely start with the more affordable gear, at least at first, to see if I want to keep it up.

well... It depends! 😉

There are lots of ways to fish at the coast.   You can fish bigger baits in the surf, wade fish the surf, wade fish the bays, bank fish, jetty fish, pier fish, or fish out of a boat.  

You can spend a little or you can spend a lot.  Eventually you will likely do all the above, and have a natural preference for whatever you have the most success with!  A 3000 size with braid is great for most everything except fishing around rocky or jagged structure where the line chafe will cause you to break off when you finally get a fish on.  Braid is great in that you can feel everything, and it casts a lot farther.  If you are going to use braid, you need to learn to tie on a fluorocarbon leader to have any chance at success with either live bait or lures.  I fish almost exclusively mono if I am at the pier or the jetty, as it floats, and has much more abrasion resistance.  

You are going to want a longer pole especially if you are going to do much wading.  And just for the casting distances.  On a 3000 I am going with about a 7' rod.  I would also consider looking at buying a surf rod.  We often wade fish at the beach in the morning (and either switch to surf fishing with big rods, or run our a larger bait on a surf rod while we wade.  Feverishly glancing again and again at that big rod to get ready to run back to grab it if it goes off.  I use high visibility neon colors on my larger capacity surf rods, and go with as long a pole as you are comfortable with.  Cut down some PVC for rod holders and you have half way home.

Since you are just getting started probably the one thing I will suggest is that the saltwater is corrosive, and spending a little extra money early on quality reels, will mean you will not be tossing a reel in the trash two years from now.  If you fuck up your good name brand shit you can always have them rebuild it.  So spend more now to save money later.  Quality is especially important the more you are physically in the water where the reel gets wet or even submerged.  Here is a link to a bunch of combos that are decent starters. https://www.basspro.com/l/saltwater-rod-reel-combos

Probably learning knots to connect leaders to braid, and a loop knot to your hook or lure are about as important as your equipment.  You can pick up cheap surf rods that are nearly disposable in price. So I would allocate the most money into my smallest reel.  I would also make the suggestion of looking at getting a back pack style tackle bag.  Get one with a rubber bottom for when it inevitably get wet and dirty.  If you are fishing at the coast you end up carrying a lot of shit over time, and the backpack frees up your hands.

As far as specific gear, swivels, fluorocarbon leader, 20# and 30#, circle hooks, some wide gap or kahle style hooks, slip weights, popping cork, sliding cork with bobber stoppers (best jetty fishing technique) and you are ready to rock with live bait.  Some lightweight jig heads, a couple spoons, and some swim baits start the party if you want to be more active casting.  There are shit tons of videos on everything you want to learn on youtube.

 

Good luck and tight lines

 

[Ten Bears 2,479]

3 hours ago, horn4life said:

well... It depends! 😉

There are lots of ways to fish at the coast.   You can fish bigger baits in the surf, wade fish the surf, wade fish the bays, bank fish, jetty fish, pier fish, or fish out of a boat.  

You can spend a little or you can spend a lot.  Eventually you will likely do all the above, and have a natural preference for whatever you have the most success with!  A 3000 size with braid is great for most everything except fishing around rocky or jagged structure where the line chafe will cause you to break off when you finally get a fish on.  Braid is great in that you can feel everything, and it casts a lot farther.  If you are going to use braid, you need to learn to tie on a fluorocarbon leader to have any chance at success with either live bait or lures.  I fish almost exclusively mono if I am at the pier or the jetty, as it floats, and has much more abrasion resistance.  

You are going to want a longer pole especially if you are going to do much wading.  And just for the casting distances.  On a 3000 I am going with about a 7' rod.  I would also consider looking at buying a surf rod.  We often wade fish at the beach in the morning (and either switch to surf fishing with big rods, or run our a larger bait on a surf rod while we wade.  Feverishly glancing again and again at that big rod to get ready to run back to grab it if it goes off.  I use high visibility neon colors on my larger capacity surf rods, and go with as long a pole as you are comfortable with.  Cut down some PVC for rod holders and you have half way home.

Since you are just getting started probably the one thing I will suggest is that the saltwater is corrosive, and spending a little extra money early on quality reels, will mean you will not be tossing a reel in the trash two years from now.  If you fuck up your good name brand shit you can always have them rebuild it.  So spend more now to save money later.  Quality is especially important the more you are physically in the water where the reel gets wet or even submerged.  Here is a link to a bunch of combos that are decent starters. https://www.basspro.com/l/saltwater-rod-reel-combos

Probably learning knots to connect leaders to braid, and a loop knot to your hook or lure are about as important as your equipment.  You can pick up cheap surf rods that are nearly disposable in price. So I would allocate the most money into my smallest reel.  I would also make the suggestion of looking at getting a back pack style tackle bag.  Get one with a rubber bottom for when it inevitably get wet and dirty.  If you are fishing at the coast you end up carrying a lot of shit over time, and the backpack frees up your hands.

As far as specific gear, swivels, fluorocarbon leader, 20# and 30#, circle hooks, some wide gap or kahle style hooks, slip weights, popping cork, sliding cork with bobber stoppers (best jetty fishing technique) and you are ready to rock with live bait.  Some lightweight jig heads, a couple spoons, and some swim baits start the party if you want to be more active casting.  There are shit tons of videos on everything you want to learn on youtube.

 

Good luck and tight lines

 

[Mac8111 2,105]

Get you a thing of white shrimp Gulps and a popping cork and you are set.

[horn4life 3,759]

9 hours ago, Ten Bears said:

This is the pussy equation I solved at 24... between Wylies, Paradise, Juan Goldsteins , Touluse, Headliners East. And I have to give some credit to the rose sales guy, dirty bookstore, and cavern 6th street hot tubs...

 

Then I went and got married at 25...

Edited September 27 by horn4life

[Zwylde 812]

Was able to get out for a quick evening wade yesterday.  Man I love October!

Many fish caught, 28” red and 19” spec kept for the table.

 

 

[troph 24,781]

for whatever reason, fly fishing for bass has generally illuded me. not sure why, partially because I don't invest enough time in it, haven't spent a lot of time with guides but yesterday on a whim I hooked up with my guide and we fished the San Marcos and I had a great day. 4-5 "large" guads, one small large mouth, more sun fish than I can count, my first rio cichlid (!!!) fiesty little fucker, and some smaller guads. All in I probably caught just under 20 fish on a gorgeous day out on the river.

btw decided to have a walk-off catch largest guad of the day smashed a popper - not elegant at all - nothing "trout like" about it just a violent smash equal to twice it's size.

Edited October 21 by troph

[Damor 1,236]

I haven't fished for guads a ton, either, but they're a lot of fun and seem to fish a little more like trout in moving water.  LMB don't seem to fight a lot for their size and serve as a good origin for the "dead fish" expression IMO.  Sunnies are just pure stupid anger and aggression and are fun after a bad day at work.

As for me, my younger son just had his fall break and wanted to go visit his older brother at school in Colorado.  Didn't take much arm twisting for me.  I was surprised that the water temperature was still just fine for wading boots with neoprene socks, no waders needed.

Things have been kind of shit lately, so I really needed this day, and therefore I'm going to make you scroll through all the fish pics:

Nature pics in the post a pic you took thread.

[troph 24,781]

Guads do fish like trout but they can demolish a fly - so can a trout - but I’ve never seen a guad sip a fly gracefully. Just smash the hell out of it. It’s what makes it fun.

[troph 24,781]

gorgeous fish and scenery btw. and look at you with the nicely cared for hands.

I hadn't been fishing since July and I typically pay a guide at least once a month and then fish on my own another 5-6 times per year. so yeah, totally get needing it badly.

Edited October 22 by troph

[Damor 1,236]

Haha, before we left I thought, "Damn, I gotta trim those nails."  Then I thought, "No, I'm gonna need them to tie delicate high quality fishing knots pick apart my horrifying 'wind knot' disasters."

[MalibuSheriff 1,090]

Great pics Damor.  I like the re-released Ross Gunnison too.  I’ve had my eye out for one of those reels.

Here’s some pics from a late June 2024 trip to Wyoming with my son.  I’ve shared with a couple of guys I’ve messaged with on the forum but forgot to post them in this thread.  All hands were wet when handling the fish. 😀

Wild cutthroat stream:

Camp at 10,500 feet:

Dinner-plate sized grizzly track:

Already looking forward to returning to Wyoming:

 

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19,412]

Rojo Jr still fishes my OG Gunnison on his 8wt 

[Damor 1,236]

That setup was my first nice rig, and a way nicer reel than I'll ever need, but I knew it had to be mine for sentimental reasons.  Which is why they love me at Living Waters.

The older one doesn't know it yet, but he's getting this for his 21st:

Thinking about pairing it with a Scott fiberglass 4wt to keep the Montrose gang together.

[MalibuSheriff 1,090]

34 minutes ago, Damor said:

That setup was my first nice rig, and a way nicer reel than I'll ever need, but I knew it had to be mine for sentimental reasons.  Which is why they love me at Living Waters.

The older one doesn't know it yet, but he's getting this for his 21st:

Thinking about pairing it with a Scott fiberglass 4wt to keep the Montrose gang together.

Good dad!  That’s awesome!

I’m big fan of Ross Reels (and Scott Rods too) and have #1-#4 of original Gunnisons, plus my personal go-tos - original San Miguel #2 and #3.  First rule of fly fishing - you can’t have too much equipment or gadgets.

[Pescado_Rojo 19,412]

Here’s Rojo Jr with a nice red on the OG Gunnison

[Armybrat 40,818]

Son & wife bay fishing at SPI this morning…

 

[tequila 317]

The tax man cometh…

[Braff Zacklin 13,552]

Now go hook that shark and get the other half of your kingfish back!

 

(Those are king macks, right?)

Edited October 31 by Braff Zacklin

[justhookit 4,191]

13 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Now go hook that shark and get the other half of your kingfish back!

 

(Those are king macks, right?)

Wahoo. Best eating fish in the ocean.

[Lat22 4,010]

If they were kingfish, I wouldn’t  have shed the tears. 

[tequila 317]

Wahoo. Best eating fish in the ocean.

[troph 24,781]

two days of fishing the coast. Man I really, really, really needed this. 8 caught yesterday, 4 this morning before we took the pup and wife for a bird watching spin…

 

sitting out on the front lawn by the boat ramp in lawn chairs drinking cheap beer, letting the pup smell the smells, and listening to some Jason Boland, Brothers Osborne, Ryan Bingham, Jon Wolfe, etc and just loving every fucking minute of a long weekend with perfect mild weather. 

 

I don’t know where we’ll be in 5-7 years, I doubt it will be here but as they say, you can take the girl outta Texas but you cain’t never take Texas outta the girl. 

Edited Saturday at 12:09 AM by troph

[troph 24,781]

Btw the fish were a bit picky, happy and not easily spooked but some would just pass on a fly stripped right by their face. there was a ton of shrimp around too, turns out they had been in a feeding frenzy for a few days… check out the guts of this one we kept to eat…

Edited Saturday at 02:06 AM by troph

[troph 24,781]

Last day here heading back soon to catch the arky game, cloudy and overcast, boat ramp parking full. Saturday is for rookies. We had the whole bay to ourselves on Thursday and pretty close to it on Friday. Love being team weekday. 

Edited Saturday at 03:49 PM by troph

[Jerry Callo 8,695]

Sounds like a great trip.  Where did you go and who were you fishing with? 

[troph 24,781]

3 hours ago, Jerry Callo said:

Sounds like a great trip.  Where did you go and who were you fishing with? 

Rockport out of goose island. Alvin’s crew, all water guides, I’ve been fishing with this guide for a long time now on cen Tex rivers and my redfish guide retired (two kids now took a normal day job) and my cen Tex rivers guide transitioned to redfish on the coast so it was perfect.  I’ve probably fished with this guide 20 times? 

[justhookit 4,191]

10 hours ago, troph said:

Last day here heading back soon to catch the arky game, cloudy and overcast, boat ramp parking full. Saturday is for rookies. We had the whole bay to ourselves on Thursday and pretty close to it on Friday. Love being team weekday. 

Don’t care about anything other than seeing you are still taking good care of my dog.

[troph 24,781]

I’m thinking about setting up a mini fishing tournament in November - 3 guides, 2 per team minimum of 6 people. We could have more. Can opt out of the guide cost if you have a boat and the confidence to do it. Fly rods only. Launch out of goose island could rent the goose island flats they have a community area too, maybe a show up Thursday fish Friday and Saturday, enjoy some grill time and beer on the patio while watching college football sat night (could pick a UT bye week) then come home Sunday morning. 

I’m happy to do all the logistics. We can have a purse and side bets - including from those not in attendance are welcome. You could even bet on competitors. It could be a blast.  Any interest?  
 

*Prefer “like minded” folks given my… how would we say… “unique life circumstances”.

Edited Sunday at 04:29 PM by troph

[troph 24,781]

On 10/24/2024 at 4:16 PM, MalibuSheriff said:

Good dad!  That’s awesome!

I’m big fan of Ross Reels (and Scott Rods too) and have #1-#4 of original Gunnisons, plus my personal go-tos - original San Miguel #2 and #3.  First rule of fly fishing - you can’t have too much equipment or gadgets.

I have 3 Ross reels - 3wt, 8wt and 12 wt, sage rod 3wt, Scott rod for 8wt and Thomas & Thomas for 12wt. Ross reels are just fantastic imo. I love my Scott 8 wt rod and that sage 3wt had a ton of feel for the little brookies and cen Tex creek fishing for sun fish. My Thomas & Thomas is 1 for 1 … only time I’ve used it I yanked a GT out of the lagoon. 

still fish my TFO 5 wt with a reddington reel, my initial trout starter set and its starting to show its lack of peformance a bit boring actually, I’d like to upgrade to a 4 wt and Ross reel for dry fly trout fishing. Probably circle back and upgrade the 5 wt set up eventually for nymph fishing. 

Edited Sunday at 04:30 PM by troph

[Jerry Callo 8,695]

9 hours ago, troph said:

I’m thinking about setting up a mini fishing tournament in November - 3 guides, 2 per team minimum of 6 people. We could have more. Can opt out of the guide cost if you have a boat and the confidence to do it. Fly rods only. Launch out of goose island could rent the goose island flats they have a community area too, maybe a show up Thursday fish Friday and Saturday, enjoy some grill time and beer on the patio while watching college football sat night (could pick a UT bye week) then come home Sunday morning. 

I’m happy to do all the logistics. We can have a purse and side bets - including from those not in attendance are welcome. You could even bet on competitors. It could be a blast.  Any interest?  
 

*Prefer “like minded” folks given my… how would we say… “unique life circumstances”.

I'd be interested for sure.  

[troph 24,781]

15 minutes ago, Jerry Callo said:

I'd be interested for sure.  

If I get enough interest I’ll definitely do it. My wife will worry one of you is going to kill me but she’s on here now so, maybe she’ll come around.

[Damor 1,236]

I would be good fodder.  Generally terrible fly fisherman.  Never fly fished salt (and sucked at it as a kid with red rubber worms).  Would be more interested in watching my son catch something than hauling in hardheads myself.  Would contribute to the beer fund.

This sounds suspiciously like the department golf tournaments I always get suckered into gracious invitations for.

[troph 24,781]

7 minutes ago, Damor said:

I would be good fodder.  Generally terrible fly fisherman.  Never fly fished salt (and sucked at it as a kid with red rubber worms).  Would be more interested in watching my son catch something than hauling in hardheads myself.  Would contribute to the beer fund.

This sounds suspiciously like the department golf tournaments I always get suckered into gracious invitations for.

you're on Jerry's team.

[Zwylde 812]

On 11/15/2024 at 8:04 PM, troph said:

Btw the fish were a bit picky, happy and not easily spooked but some would just pass on a fly stripped right by their face. there was a ton of shrimp around too, turns out they had been in a feeding frenzy for a few days… check out the guts of this one we kept to eat…

Love opening up the reds to see whats in there.  Never know whats gonna turn up.  This one was feasting on mini stone crabs before my shrimp.