How's Fishing?

[buckshot]

Season is open ! lets hear the fish stories

[buckshot]

I guess no one fishes out here, For the first week of the season, myself and 6 friends fishing in the 3 lakes nearby (that have Macks or lake trout) Totals 3 lbs and under 11 . to 10 lbs 6 . to 15lbs 5 to 20 lbs 1. to 27 lbs 1..

[mr_thebrain]

haven't been out yet.

my dad has a boat and we go out on the local lakes here.

mostly fishing for bluegill, walleye, perch, and bass. we do like to go for northern pike now and then too. but it's rare.

[Mich]

I was just talking to my roommate about fishing, and how it's one of those things I never, ever think of doing, probably because I don't get much enjoyment from it, but I would probably never turn someone down if I didn't have a good reason not to go.

[powerfulcheese04]

Given that I won't eat fish, I see no reason to catch them.

[Luet]

You're vegetarian (or vegan), Kimmie?

[buckshot]

Mr thebrain , we have some pike here now (maybe just the last 10 years) and i'm shocked at how nasty and big they get . The biggest I ever caught was under 10 lbs , but i've seen them over 25lbs. How big do they get in your waters?

[mr_thebrain]

30-35 pounds. though you don't see it very often. depends on what lake you fish. in northern minnesota and wisconsin there are some bigger lakes with a lot of weeds and good formations. wisconsin record was 38 pounds.

they can get up to 50 inches long. just a nasty fish. damn good fighters.

cheese, there are more fish out there that aren't great for food, but excellent for good time fishin' i don't fish bass or pike for food. cuz really they are not good at all. and generally the only way i eat fish is beer battered... yum. so mostly it's the sport that is the draw for me catch and release, ya know. even with the smaller fish i generally use an ultra-light pole or something fairly flimsy so that it seems like more of a fight.

[Petra456]

I love to go fishing, but i'm scared of the actual fish themselves. I can pull them out of the water but someone has to deal with them after that.

[buckshot]

Don't feel bad petra , I am totally afraid of those pike ,I don' t even want to swim in the same water with all those teeth! Those I have caught I release like most fish I go after..

" A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else" -LEN WEIN

[mr_thebrain]

depends on the fish. some are pretty no worries. other fish have some pretty sharp s*** goin on with their bodies. i don't like being poked or stung so i usually wait till they stop fidgeting before i touch them.

[Petra456]

Well, it doesn't help that i'm even scared of goldfish...

[mr_thebrain]

really...







goldfish? seriously? cmon.
they're just crackers!

[powerfulcheese04]

Nomi: Nope, not vegan or even vegetarian... I just think fish are nasty. I just have this irrational refusal to eat anything that moved of its own volition in the water (so, frogs and snails are included on the will-not-eat list, but seaweed is edible.)

Brain: I guess I can sort of see that.. but it just bothers me on some level to put an animal, even a fish, through the stress of that event for sport.

[buckshot]

Cheese I get your point , but should I feel bad about fishing ? or should I feel bad about separating calves , running them through a scarry chute banding ,tagging and vaccinating them. Then again should I feel bad for the poor pigs and poultry. I totally see what you mean , just where does it end. A lot of what we do in agribusiness offends some people

[locke]

I love fishing. I don't get to fish enough. I'm not a big fan of lake fishing, pond fishing is okay, but to me there's nothing like being in a canoe out on a river drifting down the stream at 6AM, casting to the left, to the right, slipping and snapping a lure underneath an overhanging branch a foot from the shore and pulling it back, wondering if that perfect cast is going to pull something in. the jolt of a strike, the sudden thrill when you realize you set the hook. the anticipation of the fight, staring at the water, wondering what fish you've had and the exhileration of finding out you figured it out just by the way it fought. Bringing it in, releasing small ones, putting a big one on the stringer, holding up a stringer of fish for the camera, knowing you provided food for the evenings supper, cleaning the fish, trying to get every bit of meat and not waste any, helping cook the fish, breading them in cornmeal with a little salt cooking them in peanut oil in a cast iron skillet.

awwww.... now I want to eat a mess of fish and go on a float trip.

[powerfulcheese04]

Cheese I get your point , but should I feel bad about fishing ? or should I feel bad about separating calves , running them through a scarry chute banding ,tagging and vaccinating them. Then again should I feel bad for the poor pigs and poultry. I totally see what you mean , just where does it end. A lot of what we do in agribusiness offends some people

I'm in vet school.

I think there's a big difference between vaccination and tagging a food product than catching a fish for fun.

(I do kind of feel bad for poultry, actually. The high density living is so bad for them.)

[mr_thebrain]

i never feel bad about eating an animal. or catching an animal or shooting or really anything to do with animals aside from dogs. i love dogs. especially my dogs. other than them i'm really very heartless and cruel. i'm a peach.

i'm probably going fishing this weekend. just have to get the boat ready and get my license. can't wait. we didn't get to go last year due to the flooding and then i bought the house and everyone was working on that for 3 months.

i don't even care if i catch anything. though it would be excellent if i did!

[buckshot]

I plan to go trolling on Deer lake in the morning, but who knows,, it's been blowing and storming here.


We even had to re start our pellet stove last night, first time ever in May.

[buckshot]

Caught a 10lb mack Sat am. the scarred old fish hit my big plug 5 times before it got hooked , and then in the side, right in the middle. I was by myself and couldnt net it and after a half hour was finally able to grab it with a grip glove . Got a pic and was released ok. This week prairie dog shooting in Mt.

[buckshot]

Season opens here on some local lakes 3/1. Where I like to go (Deer lake) is still half covered with ice but its worth a try.

[Jayelle]

Once again, buckshot, I think you're surrounded by non-fishing city folk.

[Gravity Defier]

Not true. I caught a whole bag of goldfish in January.

[megxers]

BUCKSHOT I NEED HELP.


My father is visiting me sometime in March or April and wants to go fly fishing. We are thinking somewhere around the Olympic Peninsula, but are definitely willing to head over to Eastern Washington. Suggestions PLEASE?

[buckshot]

I guess youre right Jayelle but I still have hope! Megxers I don't hit the local trout streams with the fly rod till June but the steelhead flyfishing is great on the westside now. Check out the Wa. St. fishing regs for the open streams/rivers. I have fished the Grand Ronde river for steelies in March but not this year , and it's ruff going with all the run off and high water.

[Luet]

I just spend $120 on my first set of fishing gear and a one year fishing license. I feel guilty about spending the money but excited about the prospect of actually learning to fish and clean/cook them!

[Gravity Defier]

I walked over the bridge nearby a few weeks ago just as someone was catching a fish. It took all the strength I had not to yell at them, "Ewww, gross. Put that back!"

With that said, very cool that you're trying something new!

[elfprince13]

I haven't caught a trout in years, mostly because I haven't been fishing in about that long. The best part of cleaning them is cutting open their gullets to see what they've been eating. it's always very cool.

[Gravity Defier]

You and Nomi would get along very well in person, I think. She's very curious in that way, too.

Me? I get nervous swimming in water I know fish are also in.

[elfprince13]

I get nervous swimming in water I know fish are also in.

That ought to depend on the fish

[buckshot]

My boat is in the shop getting a tune up and I'm gettin itchy to get fishin!

[buckshot]

Yesterday my bud Jason caught a 20 lb Mack in Deer lake. His net was rotten and I finally grabbed its mouth with my leather glove and pulled it in the boat.

[Luet]

I want to go fishing but I don't have anyone to go with and since I've never done it before, I don't think I should go by myself. Hrmph.

[elfprince13]

I want to go fishing but I don't have anyone to go with and since I've never done it before, I don't think I should go by myself. Hrmph.

Are you going/hoping-to-go fly fishing or spin fishing (and if the latter, live bait or lures)? Wading, boating, walking along the bank, or lawn chair on the dock? There isn't a whole lot of instruction needed for spin fishing, if you know how to cast/reel and how to tie on a hook/lure with the right number of swivels. Safety is a bit of a concern if you're wading in deep water, or boating, but I guess that depends on how strong of a swimmer you are! The big things are learning how to release a fish without killing it (particularly if you're going for trout), or how to kill/gut it humanely if you're keeping it, and stream etiquette. Also identifying which fish you've caught (and likely fish hangouts if you've stream/river fishing). You could also check if there are any local fishing clubs, but those are likely to be fly-fishing centric.

[Luet]

Um, yeah, I don't know anything. Spin fishing and both live bait and lures. Walking along the bank and/or standing on the shore (until I go with someone who has a boat). I have only used a button push rod before and the one I bought (Shakespeare Ugly Stik, on the recommendation of a friend), is not a button push. So, I don't even know how to cast it yet. I know how to get a hook out of the mouth of little fish but I've never caught/released anything bigger than 4-5". And no, I don't know how to kill/gut anything yet, though I want to learn how. I have looked online at the local lakes and streams and what fish are there. How to tie with the right number of swivels? I don't even know what that means.