Two Hearted's Fishing Thread

[DukeOfBurgundy]

This isn't recent, it's a few years ago, but it's one of the better smallmouth I've caught.

[Two Hearted]

Nice fish burgundy.
I see you have the "towards the camera lock the elbow" pose down!

Fished 4 nights ago, caught a beauty walleye. My camera was out of batteries, so no record of that one. Tonight (alas) I only got two rock bass (although I have a sneaking suspicion it was the same one twice. Stupid fish.)

[Two Hearted]

Jigging for walleye from my dock the other week:
jighead, crawler, 6 lb test....Need I say more?

No.

[ThirstyDrunk]

HAHA I love TwoHearted!
Nice.
You look so PROUD!

[Two Hearted]

HAHA I love TwoHearted!
Nice.
You look so PROUD!

Hell YEAH I look proud! Biggest Pike I've caught to date!!!
That fish was a MONSTER, put up an amazing fight--sheer LUCK getting it in on the light line and rig I had on!!

Been way out in the wilderness trout fishing for the past week and a half. Caught some nice brookies, but will not get in to how DH upstaged me BIG TIME by catching a trophy trout the first time he's wet a line in years...My pike still kicks his trout's ass. (HA!)

[Mayhem]

I like the hat.

[peetie44]

TH,

Nice pike!

When I lived in Canada, I mostly fished for Chinook and Coho (downriggers) in the Great Lakes, largemouth and pickerel is small lakes and rivers and whatever in the larger, non-Great lakes. I had never caught a pike larger than @5lbs in my life, but knew some Canucks who were talking about 30-40lb northerns.

I was on a fly-in trip (part of the payment for my participation in a music fest) on an uninhabited lake (can't recall the name) @60 air-miles northwest of Yellow Knife (NWT). After we'd (6 anglers, 2 boats) limited-out on lakers, we were back at the camp and the caretaker was getting the fire going so we could cook part of our catch (we saved the bulk of each day's catch to take down to the crew setting up for the 1987 Edmonton [Alberta] Folk Festival).

While I was waiting to eat, I went down to the lake's edge to unspool my reel so I could get any kinks out of my line and check for wear. I had been using a slip-sinker rig, called a Dive Bomber, which was still on the end of the line. I was reeling back in and thought I was hung-up. Then the line started shaking and I reeled in a 17lb northern pike.

I wasn't even fishing at the time.

[Patchez]

That is specfriggingtacular. I have not had a chance to get a line wet since the opening of trout season back in April. I am so jealous right now.

Congratulations and lets see some of the trout pics.

[Patchez]

Seems the catfish around these parts enjoy a drink every now and then.

[Chimneyfish]

I'm going fishing this weekend and I need some advice and tips.

I grew up fishing all the time with my dad but I don't really remember anything, and we always just fished for trout using powerbait, worms, and salmon eggs. This weekend I'm fishing for bass and maybe catfish- would any certain lures be preferable to live bait? We're going to be fishing from the shore- will I really need to tie up any kind of special rig with splitters or anything or will I be alright just casting a straightforward lure? I'm guessing that fishing catfish will require weights, and I've put together a little tackle box.

I'm using a 5' Ugly Stik with an open spinner reel that I've never used before. I've only ever used the closed spin-cast type reels with the button. Is an open spinner any harder to cast? I think it's spooled with eight pound line, will that be alright for small bass?

Thanks you fishy scumbags.

[Two Hearted]

I'm going fishing this weekend and I need some advice and tips.

I grew up fishing all the time with my dad but I don't really remember anything, and we always just fished for trout using powerbait, worms, and salmon eggs. This weekend I'm fishing for bass and maybe catfish- would any certain lures be preferable to live bait? We're going to be fishing from the shore- will I really need to tie up any kind of special rig with splitters or anything or will I be alright just casting a straightforward lure? I'm guessing that fishing catfish will require weights, and I've put together a little tackle box.

I'm using a 5' Ugly Stik with an open spinner reel that I've never used before. I've only ever used the closed spin-cast type reels with the button. Is an open spinner any harder to cast? I think it's spooled with eight pound line, will that be alright for small bass?

Thanks you fishy scumbags.

Wow, I'm not much of a bass fisher--largemouth or smallmouth? Largemouth, although stupendously popular with most, holds no real thrill for me. Then again, I haven't fished for them a lot, so I may be biased. I catch a crapload of rock bass from my dock (garbage fish), and they hit on the crawlers I use for walleye. I believe buzzbaits, skirted spinners, and even rubber worms and frogs are decent to use for Largemouth. Someone else can feel free to correct me though.

Catfish you'll want to fish on bottom for. I'd use crawlers, small pieces of meat (liver, chicken), or even a piece of hotdog. Just make sure you cast out a ways, let it sit on bottom, and wait. Set the hook when you see that line starting to move briskly (or slowly) away. Patchez seems like the resident catfish expert...

Ouf, I haven't used one of those push-button reels since I was a kid. In my opinion the open spinning reels are FAR superior to the closed, and VERY easy to cast when you get the hang of it. My 4 yo can cast well with one, I never even bothered getting him a closed face reel, just taught him on mine.

Eight pound test is fine. Unless you're going to be catching channel cats or flatheads--they can get HUGE!

I could help you out a lot more if it were pike, walleye or trout you were after. Make sure you bring PLENTY of booze, and good luck.

[Chimneyfish]

Yeah bass don't sound too great but I live in a big city and it's a long drive to the nearest fishing spot, so I'll be happy if I catch anything at all. Fishing sounds like a good hobby because even if you fail then you've still succeeded at getting drunk with your buddies.Thanks for the tips.

[peetie44]

I'm going fishing this weekend and I need some advice and tips.

I grew up fishing all the time with my dad but I don't really remember anything, and we always just fished for trout using powerbait, worms, and salmon eggs. This weekend I'm fishing for bass and maybe catfish- would any certain lures be preferable to live bait? We're going to be fishing from the shore- will I really need to tie up any kind of special rig with splitters or anything or will I be alright just casting a straightforward lure? I'm guessing that fishing catfish will require weights, and I've put together a little tackle box.

I'm using a 5' Ugly Stik with an open spinner reel that I've never used before. I've only ever used the closed spin-cast type reels with the button. Is an open spinner any harder to cast? I think it's spooled with eight pound line, will that be alright for small bass?

Thanks you fishy scumbags.

If you're not real practiced-up on your fishing and are going for (presumably largemouth) bass on 8lb test, hit your local tackle shop (Wal-Mart will do) and get yourself @ half-dozen, 1/4oz, skirted (so-named for their colored plastic "skirts") spinnerbaits (the sporting-goods clerk will know what they are) in different colors. Get a variety; some bright ones and some dark ones (depending on the water and weather, the color often makes a big difference). Spinnerbaits are easy to use, can be fished in a variety of ways at various depths, are single-hook, so they're relatively weedless, and don't cost too much (ask the clerk if he has a decent no-name generic) -- so if you get one hung-up on a stump or some rocks and can't get it free, it's not like you're losing a $5+ crank-bait. Also, you can get a few cheap plastic worms and try rigging one on the hook of a spinnerbait for a trailer. This sometimes produces strikes when the plain spinnerbait won't.

Buzz-baits (or "jerk-baits"...you "jerk" them across the top of the water) and other top-water lures (Jitterbug, Crazy Crawler, etc) are good if you're fishing at dusk or dawn, but they're a bit pricey for a one-time outing. However, you can fish a spinnerbait like a buzz-bait. I'd stay away from plastic-frogs or diving crank-baits (again, the $$) unless you'll be with someone who knows how to properly fish them.

If I had to fish for bass on a lake I didn't know, under unknown conditions and with only one artificial lure, it would be a skirted, 1/4oz spinnerbait in black or purple, with an optional 6" plastic-worm "trailer" of the same and/or a contrasting color.

Good luck!

BTW, Two Hearted...when I saw this, I thought of you:

http://www.gtamarketing.com/1937FordHousecar.html

[Mr Boozificator]

That's a river fish I do not want to swim with:

[Chimneyfish]

I had a lot of fun fishing this weekend. It wasn't a very productive day since I was the only person in the group who caught anything, but I really enjoyed it. We paid the $10 to fish the O'Neill Forebay (which apparently is usually a great spot and is where the striped bass record was caught) but nobody out there was even getting any bites all morning. I ended up hooking a good size smallmouth bass using a nightcrawler in a little wildlife reserve that's kinda just in the middle of some suburbs. A couple dudes gave us two huge catfish they had caught, and when we were pouring the three fish out of the bucket to clean and fillet at the end of the day one of the catfish's sharp spines on its fins stuck my buddy right through a nerve in his hand. It caused his whole arm and hand to clench shut, and I hear there's some kind of venom on them that makes it even more painful. He was in really serious pain for a minute but then he just kinda walked it off and went back to finish filleting with blood spewing out of his hand. We were impressed.

But anyway, I remembered how much I loved fishing as a kid and I'm going to look for a way to go out again as soon as possible.