2019 Fishing - Bent rods and tight lines

[justhookit 4191]

4 hours ago, fattyflattie said:

I never knew roofing could be that lucrative. Their office is pretty tiny, but I’ll be damned if Brett doesn’t fish for half the year, and hunt the other.  They seem to be banking pretty good on that protein they've been hocking the last few years, too. But their deer operation is crazy.  And yeah, they seem to the THE guys wrt gulf swords.  I’ve read a lot that he rubs folks the wrong way, but he’s always been pretty cool on 2cool about taking little kids and people that can’t afford it out to their ranch. 

This is all correct. They are good guys but I’m not sure they know how to operate in a world where pretty much everyone else has as much or more money than they do. They’ve managed to piss off everyone I know in the fishing world. That’s hard to do.

[justhookit 4191]

I’ll put it this way, Boobytrap is a Viking Express I think a 45. That’s basically a tender for most of the people in Los Suenos. They would have been a littler better off in Quepos where I am. And even then they would need to turn it down a notch or three. That kind of boat even where I am doesn’t get a 2nd look and it definitely doesn’t buy you into the “club”.  They needed a 60+ foot custom for that, and then you still have to let the people already there get to know you and like you.

 

I’m considered a local there, but my captain has been fishing CR about 15 years on other boats, and we’ve had mine there for over 5 years. They wouldn’t care if we ran a dinghy.

 

Best way I can describe it is that the Quepos marina is full of Texans and Los Suenos is all Yankees. Both places have a ton of boats from Texas, but the vibe is completely different.

Edited September 19, 2020 by justhookit

[Cajun 11705]

Maybe it's the Floyd talkin', but man I love watching this...

 

Edited September 19, 2020 by Cajun

[justhookit 4191]

One for @Cajun

[Cajun 11705]

Amazing.  

And no offense to all my Picante Fleet friends back in Cabo, but Andrea?

Um, yes please!

[Cajun 11705]

Hodgepodge of old school pics from Cabo back when dinosaurs and ArmyBrat roamed the Earth...

[Cajun 11705]

[Cajun 11705]

We don't need no stinking digital camera!

[Lat22 4010]

On 9/18/2020 at 8:03 PM, fattyflattie said:

I never knew roofing could be that lucrative. 

My 24ft Pathfinder belonged to a roofer before he traded after 60 hours for something bigger. It has radar and an autopilot. Lol. 

[MaclovioBrown 100]

We don't need no stinking digital camera!

Cajun was it you or Lat who gave up this hook when it was you on the clock back in 97? Can’t remember, but thank you. Only blue I’ve ever caught.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MaclovioBrown 100]

And before I catch shit, it tailwrapped on the way in. Otherwise, would’ve been a release

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fattyflattie 4639]

2 hours ago, Lat22 said:

My 24ft Pathfinder belonged to a roofer before he traded after 60 hours for something bigger. It has radar and an autopilot. Lol. 

I didn’t think they were poor or anything, it’s a good living. I just didn’t know it was spend several million a year on deer and fish, and work 1/4 of the year type of living. Mainly because I grew up passing that tiny ass office.  Books covers and all that.   Anyhow, good for them. Like I said above, they seem to take lots of poor kids and shit to their ranch to shoot culls that would be tremendously out of reach for them. 

[crash_davis 23101]

New season from my favorite outdoors show, MeatEater. is out. It's cool because the first two episodes are about Texas. Rinella been down to Texas a few times to hunt. The first few eps from his Das Boat youtube fishing series were in Austin and Texas mid coast. I think the dude really digs Texas. It may be one of the reasons why JRE show moved to Austin, but I'll forgive Steve for that.

Anyway check it out. First ep is marsh fishing in Port Mansfield. Second ep is hunting Nilgai in South Texas.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80126646

[Cajun 11705]

On 9/20/2020 at 9:00 AM, MaclovioBrown said:

Cajun was it you or Lat who gave up this hook when it was you on the clock back in 97? Can’t remember, but thank you. Only blue I’ve ever caught.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I honestly dont't recall.  I remember we had "hour on" rotations in the chair, but I also remember I really wanted to get video of whatever  hit the lines and figured whatever Billfish attacked would be a Striper, so I was predisposed to abdicting my time since we had caught so many of those over the years.  Could of been me, but I wouldn't put money on it.  

Anyway, helluva fish and I'll vouch for Maclovio, he opted for release and the thing was indeed tailwrapped and deader than Dillinger when he finally got it to the boat.  Good eating!

[Cajun 11705]

I've been on the other end of the line with 6 Blue Marlin.  3 in Cabo,  2 in the GOM,  and 1 in Kauai (That fucker was $600lbs plus).  Only boated this one in Cabo a few yrs ago.  That captain, who took the video for me, specialized in a "stand up" fight.  Glad I can say I did it, but I won't ever try it again.  The beating on your back and knees is unbelievable...

 

Edited September 21, 2020 by Cajun

[Cajun 11705]

And then, of course, there were those slow days drowning baits on 100 degree days 40 plus miles out in the Gulf on a 23 foot Mako.  Thank GAWD for a little shade and cold Silver Bullets...

 

[Cajun 11705]

Should have put this with the Blue Marlin underwater video, but cool pic of the same fish...

[Hook1997 5351]

Do y’all think fishing in Port O’Connor would be ok on Friday, will the water be cleared up any?

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

17 minutes ago, Hook1997 said:

Do y’all think fishing in Port O’Connor would be ok on Friday, will the water be cleared up any?

It will probably still be really high would be my guess. 

[crash_davis 23101]

2 hours ago, Hook1997 said:

Do y’all think fishing in Port O’Connor would be ok on Friday, will the water be cleared up any?

 

2 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

It will probably still be really high would be my guess. 

Water is 2 feet above normal. The reds are grazing with the cattle in the pastures. 

 

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stationhome.html?id=8773701

[Zwylde 812]

Back down to normal in Galveston since this afternoon.   I would think the same down in POC.

 

 

[Mac8111 2106]

Do y’all think fishing in Port O’Connor would be ok on Friday, will the water be cleared up any?

Just fished this afternoon. Water was surprisingly decent. We stayed in the Mule Slough area and didn’t try the open bay.

[crash_davis 23101]

13 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

Just fished this afternoon. Water was surprisingly decent. We stayed in the Mule Slough area and didn’t try the open bay.

that's odd. the two noaa tide stations are still reporting really high tides.

POC is showing about 1.5 feet above normal.

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stationhome.html?id=8773701

 

Seadrift is showing 2 feet above normal.

https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/stationhome.html?id=8773037

[Mac8111 2106]

I was talking about water color. Water is high but nothing crazy.

12 trout and one red today. Light wind. Good water color.

[Mac8111 2106]

Whacked them this morning.

[DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt 12301]

^look at this guy

[Born to Run 6569]

Just fished this afternoon. Water was surprisingly decent. We stayed in the Mule Slough area and didn’t try the open bay.

How was it? I fished a few days after a storm like this about a decade ago and we hammered them. Instead of rebuilding our duck blind. A week later someone rebuild on the spot we enjoyed for nearly a decade in the back of the fish pond. It was a shitty trade off.

[hookemATL 11706]

Quick general questions for all you fly anglers, as I am beginning the twitchy meth addict phase of the fly fishing obsession:

 

- what is a solid, reasonably priced rod/reel option for freshwater?  I typically fish for bass/sunfish/etc but would like to fish for trout and whatnot when possible.  Not looking to break the bank but want something reliable that I can use until I win the lottery

- in the same vein, what are some decent saltwater rod/reel options?  I’ve had my interest in fly fishing for reds/trout piqued recently and I would like some advice from the experts here as I know we have some devotees here

- yaks:  is there a starter kayak that would work best for a novice kayak fisherman?  I recently got to experience this style of fishing and I came away from that with an itch that I need to scratch

 

 

[4th and 5 4914]

20 hours ago, Mac8111 said:

Whacked them this morning.

Nice!

Hit me up with a report bro!

[Masshole Horn 769]

2 hours ago, hookemATL said:

Quick general questions for all you fly anglers, as I am beginning the twitchy meth addict phase of the fly fishing obsession:

 

- what is a solid, reasonably priced rod/reel option for freshwater?  I typically fish for bass/sunfish/etc but would like to fish for trout and whatnot when possible.  Not looking to break the bank but want something reliable that I can use until I win the lottery

- in the same vein, what are some decent saltwater rod/reel options?  I’ve had my interest in fly fishing for reds/trout piqued recently and I would like some advice from the experts here as I know we have some devotees here

- yaks:  is there a starter kayak that would work best for a novice kayak fisherman?  I recently got to experience this style of fishing and I came away from that with an itch that I need to scratch

 

 

If you're going to have 2 fly rods covering trout to saltwater, I suggest a 5 and 8 wt.

I'm team Orvis Clearwater for everything. When you need to advance beyond those, you will know enough to make an informed decision on your own. Other intro level product lines that I've heard good things about: Echo Base, TFO Professional II (I hear the Signature II is good as well, but I only buy 4 piece rods), and Fenwick Aetos. The Echo has a combo at a really reasonable price. The Aetos is also rated as one of the best "bang for the buck" rods around. I also bought a Maxcatch Premier for ~$65 on amazon when my Orvis was in the shop and it did just fine casting and landing fish.

@Pescado_Rojo will evangelize line quality and I echo that sentiment. A $90 line for the 8-wt will do more for you than a next level reel or rod.

Re: Kayaks. I fish out of a Lifetime Tamarack Angler. There is a new Tamarack Angler Pro that is about $350 if you can find it. It does everything you need for a beginner. I've fished out of a Tarpon 120 and loved it. With the amount of brands and models, find a shop that will let you test out multiple models and find what you like. My view is kayaks should be light and very portable; if you need a trailer, get a boat.

Additionally, I find fly fishing out of a canoe much better than out of a kayak. I love fishing out of my square stern; it's incredibly stable and I can stand and fish in it. I have a 4hp outboard so I can cover ground, get any place a kayak can, and launch without a ramp.

 

[hookemATL 11706]

Muchos muchos gracias. Great info!

[Mac8111 2106]

Thoughts on Marathon,FL fishing for early November ?

[Braff Zacklin 13555]

Wonderful Sunday on the water. High of 61 with the sun shining most of the time, water clear and cool, and rainbows that wouldn't quit taking elk hair caddis. Nothing exceptional, just belligerent and numerous. Almost all were girls between 15-19 inches, but I did land one 21-inch buck.

Hope y'all are getting in to them, too.

[Brew 3049]

On 9/26/2020 at 3:08 PM, Mac8111 said:

Thoughts on Marathon,FL fishing for early November ?

Fishing will still be excellent especially on the warm weather days. Pretty much all species will be available depending on what you want to target. I’m a couple hours north of there and am heading down in a week to target Tarpon around the beaches. It has been a great September from what I’ve been told so hopefully it holds up another week or so. 

Edited September 28, 2020 by Brew

[crash_davis 23101]

little dude is awesome. 5-6 lber?

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/j13ech/little_kid_bringing_in_a_huge_fish/

 

[Zwylde 812]

11 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

little dude is awesome. 5-6 lber?

https://www.reddit.com/r/nextfuckinglevel/comments/j13ech/little_kid_bringing_in_a_huge_fish/

 

More like 8 or 9.  That's a big girl.

[davidg 4036]

There's another edit of that video where the kid is talking about how there's a big fish down there and he's gonna catch it.  Takes him a couple of casts before he hooks up.

ETA: Here ya go

 

Edited September 28, 2020 by davidg

[Pescado_Rojo 19416]

On 9/26/2020 at 2:02 PM, Masshole Horn said:

If you're going to have 2 fly rods covering trout to saltwater, I suggest a 5 and 8 wt.

I'm team Orvis Clearwater for everything. When you need to advance beyond those, you will know enough to make an informed decision on your own. Other intro level product lines that I've heard good things about: Echo Base, TFO Professional II (I hear the Signature II is good as well, but I only buy 4 piece rods), and Fenwick Aetos. The Echo has a combo at a really reasonable price. The Aetos is also rated as one of the best "bang for the buck" rods around. I also bought a Maxcatch Premier for ~$65 on amazon when my Orvis was in the shop and it did just fine casting and landing fish.

@Pescado_Rojo will evangelize line quality and I echo that sentiment. A $90 line for the 8-wt will do more for you than a next level reel or rod.

Re: Kayaks. I fish out of a Lifetime Tamarack Angler. There is a new Tamarack Angler Pro that is about $350 if you can find it. It does everything you need for a beginner. I've fished out of a Tarpon 120 and loved it. With the amount of brands and models, find a shop that will let you test out multiple models and find what you like. My view is kayaks should be light and very portable; if you need a trailer, get a boat.

Additionally, I find fly fishing out of a canoe much better than out of a kayak. I love fishing out of my square stern; it's incredibly stable and I can stand and fish in it. I have a 4hp outboard so I can cover ground, get any place a kayak can, and launch without a ramp.

 

Good call on the 5wt and 8wt. I'm a big fan of Temple Fork rods for budget minded fly fishing. They have a great warranty ($20, no questions asked repairs), are a Texas based company, and make rods at many price points for different styles. I really like the TFO Mangroves. My son has them in 4 different line weights (5,6,8,10wt) and they are great casting rods and work well with different casting styles. They aren't the rod you want if you're making 80ft shots at Permit all day, but for your typical 40-50ft shots at reds in the marsh, or covering a lot of water on farm ponds, they are awesome, and they run around $250. For reels, I'm partial to Ross in the mid-price range, but there might not be a better fly reel on the market for the price than the Orvis Hydros reels. Sealed drag, salt water capable reels that you can find for around $200 bucks if you're patent. 

I won't go on my usual diatribe on fly lines except to say that for beginners a weight forward, shooting head line is going to be the easiest way to learn. I'm a big fan of Scientific Anglers fly lines. For anything 6wt or above, I'd recommend a Mastery Redfish as a great line for Reds, Bass, etc, that's easy to cast and will last a long time. If you're looking for a trout stream line, I'll defer to others, but I have a Scientific Anglers MPX on my 5wt that I take trout fishing. 

[The Royal We 3067]

On 8/19/2020 at 3:13 PM, Spaulding Smails said:

We built ours homemade years ago when we had our place on Lake Medina.  5 gal bucket, metal halide ballast + bulb, concrete and lots of silicone.  Worked like a champ for 5+ years and was still going strong when we sold the place.  Kids loved fishing for catfish at night.  Plus, easy to move on a variable level lake like that.  Here's a forum where they talk through something similar if you're into DIY.  

https://fishwestend.com/forum/threads/1851-DIY-Underwater-Lights

I’ve been messing around with this for a few weeks and am finally ready to set it on the lake bottom at my dock.  I might mount a glass fish bowl on top of it, but glue it down with gaps so it can fill with water and won’t cause the whole thing to bob around. I’m a little concerned the bulb will get damaged by a fisherman without some protection. I mounted the bulb in a PVC sleeve but didn’t cement it in the coupling like you typically would - it’s waterproof but will still allow me to cut the glue and wire in another bulb when this one goes out. Thanks for the idea Smails.

Edited October 1, 2020 by The Royal We

[Underdog 28584]

On 9/20/2020 at 5:10 AM, Cajun said:

Awesome whale shark pic, would piss myself in excitement seeing one out in the wild or at all. 

[hookemATL 11706]

38 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I’ve been messing around with this for a few weeks and am finally ready to set it on the lake bottom at my dock.  I might mount a glass fish bowl on top of it, but glue it down with gaps so it can fill with water and won’t cause the whole thing to bob around. I’m a little concerned the bulb will get damaged by a fisherman without some protection. I mounted the bulb in a PVC sleeve but didn’t cement it in the coupling like you typically would - it’s waterproof but will still allow me to cut the glue and wire in another bulb when this one goes out. Thanks for the idea Smails.

Make sure you ground yourself by holding on to the exposed wires and stepping into the water.  Safety first buddy!

[Spaulding Smails 1552]

45 minutes ago, The Royal We said:

I’ve been messing around with this for a few weeks and am finally ready to set it on the lake bottom at my dock.  I might mount a glass fish bowl on top of it, but glue it down with gaps so it can fill with water and won’t cause the whole thing to bob around. I’m a little concerned the bulb will get damaged by a fisherman without some protection. I mounted the bulb in a PVC sleeve but didn’t cement it in the coupling like you typically would - it’s waterproof but will still allow me to cut the glue and wire in another bulb when this one goes out. Thanks for the idea Smails.

Bad ass!  That's really well done!  Those bulbs are pretty tough, BTW.  I remember we toyed with putting a cage around ours for the same reason, but figured it was more likely to get a hook caught, so we left the bulb exposed.  Killer job.

[Cajun 11705]

43 minutes ago, Underdog said:

Awesome whale shark pic, would piss myself in excitement seeing one out in the wild or at all. 

Thing was at least 35 feet long.  Just lumbering along.

[The Royal We 3067]

21 minutes ago, hookemATL said:

Make sure you ground yourself by holding on to the exposed wires and stepping into the water.  Safety first buddy!

For sure!  I was planning on holding the exposed wires in my teeth while I jumped in to the water to set it up - with it plugged in, of course. 

The plan is to mount the box on a piling that is under a roof, run the extension cord that runs to the light down through the dock and out to where the light will sit.  All of the cord that will be submerged is run through the water hose and is sealed off by marine/through hull sealant (and concrete on one end) as another layer of protection against fish hooks.

13 minutes ago, Spaulding Smails said:

Bad ass!  That's really well done!  Those bulbs are pretty tough, BTW.  I remember we toyed with putting a cage around ours for the same reason, but figured it was more likely to get a hook caught, so we left the bulb exposed.  Killer job.

Thanks! I thought about the potential for snags too, that's why I thought about the fish bowl instead of a cage.  The spot where the light will sit isn't too far from where kids jump in the water and they can hit the bottom when the water is down, so I'd rather not have glass on the bottom if the light were to burst.  It's probably overkill though. 

Thanks again for the idea, I never would have thought to go this route without your suggestion.  Total cost of materials was less than $50, but I already had some stuff - extension cord, hose, box for the ballast, etc.

[Underdog 28584]

1 hour ago, Cajun said:

Thing was at least 35 feet long.  Just lumbering along.

3 tons of him. 

[Cajun 11705]

You can tell by looking from the dorsal to the tail.

[Cajun 11705]

2 hours ago, The Royal We said:

I’ve been messing around with this for a few weeks and am finally ready to set it on the lake bottom at my dock.  I might mount a glass fish bowl on top of it, but glue it down with gaps so it can fill with water and won’t cause the whole thing to bob around. I’m a little concerned the bulb will get damaged by a fisherman without some protection. I mounted the bulb in a PVC sleeve but didn’t cement it in the coupling like you typically would - it’s waterproof but will still allow me to cut the glue and wire in another bulb when this one goes out. Thanks for the idea Smails.

I read your post in this guy's voice...

Edited October 1, 2020 by Cajun

[Zwylde 812]

Crusied the beachfront for a couple hours with my son yesterday.  Not as smooth as we had hoped.  Not much action for hours until two rods go off at once and then chaos.  
 

 

 

 

 

32” and 34”.  The 34” inhaled a whole 10” bull mullet.

Edited October 4, 2020 by Zwylde

[Braff Zacklin 13555]

Noice!

[kmac30 416]

Went with some guys down to Corpus this weekend and had a guide. Put 14 dozen croakers in the live well. Got to first stop and half were dead. The rest were pretty damn close. Caught a couple throw back trout but other than that, nothing.

I know everywhere is different, but this was just a weird experience. I’m fine getting basically shutout, but would at least like a fair attempt. The fish we caught were with the few really good looking bait (they lit up when we grabbed them).

Is it just a bad time (guide kept talking about the full moon all week) or did we get jacked because of the bait?