guitar_slinger Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Went out after bluegill and crappie with the 4wt rod last night and caught this fellow. He was quite exciting to land with a 4wt and 5X tippet. Lost a really nice rod to a catfish a few nights ago. It was (was is the key word here) on the right in this photo. Had it sitting like this, thought the bail was open but must have closed when I sat it down (would that be a Stage Disqualification or a Procedural?). Was putzing around with the fly rod when I heard a splash. Rod is now in about 30 feet of water. Already replaced the rod but I really liked the one that went swimming. Guitar Slinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Harley, #14153 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Betcha that cat was a handful to land, but a lot of fun! My favorite rod is at the bottom of Deep Creek Lake in Maryland. I always said that it's appropriate to get a nice rod so that you enjoy using it and it feels good, but not so nice that it breaks your heart to lose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Great photo! Nice looking set up on that fly reel./rod.Bet that was catfish was an adrenalin booster on such a light outfit. ED: I was going to slip out to fish yesterday, but the weather has been so hot and all of the waterways are jammed pack with swimmers and there is a bikini hatch on the local rivers. Maybe this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 GS do y'all have any white bass down there ? they are a ton of FUN on a 4wt CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 Great photo! Nice looking set up on that fly reel./rod. Bet that was catfish was an adrenalin booster on such a light outfit. ED: I was going to slip out to fish yesterday, but the weather has been so hot and all of the waterways are jammed pack with swimmers and there is a bikini hatch on the local rivers. Maybe this week. From a pure observation perspective so that you can better know where the key runs and currents are in your favorite river and where the pools those steelhead and sea run cutties may be holding, there is nothing like a bikini hatch. Scenery is sometimes pleasant too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 GS do y'all have any white bass down there ? they are a ton of FUN on a 4wt CB Oh yea, we have bass. Maybe not as big as down south but here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we have our share of both largemouth and smallmouth. Biggest one I ever caught on a fly rod was 19". That was on a 5wt with a bit heavier leader but he was still a hoot to catch. Guitar Slinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 GS as , there are a bunch of striped bass , in the lake here , ya sometimes lose everything , I have busted 5 good rods on em , up to 8wt they run with the whites here , so you may hit one at anytime then the panic sets in , get em out of the trees , and hold on to the equiment , real tight CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 That catfish would have made small sticks of my 2 wt. But you are correct. That bikini hatch seems to settle right over the holding water for large steelhead and big trout. We are getting about 2K Sockeye/day in through the locks right now. If we get a sockeye season this year, it will pull a lot of pressure off the landlock larger lakes. Maybe I should take the boat up to Lake McMurray. Some nice holdovers in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramblin Gambler Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 I have a bream pole I made out of an 8 ft fiberglass flag pole (what we used to put on our go carts to make them 'street legal') with a 6" dowel rod at the bottom for a handle. The funnest thing I've ever caught was a little black bass. As soon as he took it, I was pretty sure what it was because I had seen the fish schooling around the area, so I decided I wasn't gunna cheat and choke up on the pole, I'd get him in just holding onto that handle. I thought the sucker was going to tear it apart, the entire pole was bent straight down except for the handle. He wasn't even legal to keep, I can't imagine what a keeper would have done to it. On the plus side, the bream hooks are so small that a really big fish probably couldn't get hooked well enough to be any fun. I too have lost a pole to a catfish. In our case, we were tightline fishing in a pond and it had started to rain, so we left the poles and went under a porch where we could see the rod tips. We thought we had the rods wedged into the ground and supported fairly well, but apparently not this one. We didn't even see the fish playing with it, and no one saw the rod go in. We just looked up and said, hey, weren't there 4 rods out there a second ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 GS as , there are a bunch of striped bass , in the lake here , ya sometimes lose everything , I have busted 5 good rods on em , up to 8wt they run with the whites here , so you may hit one at anytime then the panic sets in , get em out of the trees , and hold on to the equiment , real tight CB We have whites and striped bass around these parts but not in any of the lakes within a half hour drive of my house. Some in the Ohio river but it's such a big water, it is more of a luck shot to run into a school. Would like to tie into a nice striper on a fly rod, I bet that would be exciting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Some years back, I booked a striper trip with a guide out of Brewster Mass. I was to meet him at the boat ramp at O dark 30. Well, I arose at - O dark 30 to a howling wind storm. I called him and told him I didn't think casting a fly rod would be much fun in such wind. He didn't argue with me. So, I turned out the lights and went back to bed. Momma never even stirred. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Train Robber 13659 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Used to catch channel cats up at Harpers Ferry 40 plus years ago . The first time one came up and snatched a surface fly was quite a surprise to me. Thanks for bringing back a good memory. :-) Train Robber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 GS ya KNOW , ya just have to throw something into a mess of boiling fish , that is when the panic starts Biggest striper on a fly rod was a bit over 20 lbs , man , what a butt kickin , I took on that one biggest striper on rod and reel is 30 + , Abu 7000 and a Penn rod , troling a , 9in long A Beaver Lake , still has a bunch of em , but they are getting harder to catch , too much pressure on the lakes CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 If you want proof of mortality of fish, just look at the fish handling skills of some on YouTube. Catch and release is an art form of catch, hold out of the water for twenty minutes while pictures are taken, and then throw the fish back on the water like a sack of potatoes, and then smile at the camera. A few minutes later that same fish will be floating away belly up. Oh well, critters gotta eat too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 14, 2014 Share Posted July 14, 2014 Catch and RELEASE , from the REDNECK book ya catch em , ya clean em , release into HOT peanut oil with a bit of breading serve with frys and COLD BEER CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 14, 2014 Author Share Posted July 14, 2014 If you want proof of mortality of fish, just look at the fish handling skills of some on YouTube. Catch and release is an art form of catch, hold out of the water for twenty minutes while pictures are taken, and then throw the fish back on the water like a sack of potatoes, and then smile at the camera. A few minutes later that same fish will be floating away belly up. Oh well, critters gotta eat too. I kept the fish in the net until camera was ready. Fish out of water less than 10 seconds. I use barbless hooks. I've been fly fishing for over 40 years and know how to handle the fish. Not sure if your post was directed at me or not if it was, I can assure you the time that fish was out of water and on very wet grass was minimal. Now, the ones I release to grease are a totally different story. Nothing like a fresh fish fry at the end of a day fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I kept the fish in the net until camera was ready. Fish out of water less than 10 seconds. I use barbless hooks. I've been fly fishing for over 40 years and know how to handle the fish. Not sure if your post was directed at me or not if it was, I can assure you the time that fish was out of water and on very wet grass was minimal. Now, the ones I release to grease are a totally different story. Nothing like a fresh fish fry at the end of a day fishing. It was not, I was just ranting. A lot of the anadromous fish out here are in deep trouble because of mismanagement by WDFW and over fishing by the commercial boys, and the tribes. As a result, a lot of the catch is not legal and must be returned to the water. But the regs do not say anything about handling the fish, except the last couple of years, there was a note in the 242 pages of regs that said that native fish must not be taken out of the water. They have little or no enforcement on the waterways so it is common practice for folks to engage in their fifteen seconds of fame on Youtube by handling the fish like a loaf of bread. It drives me nuts and I had to vent some. Hope I didn't offend you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Badger, No offense meant, none taken. Just wanted to be sure folks here knew that fish was treated as well as any fish that is caught on a hook and line can be treated. I do use barbless flies so that they both come out of me and the fish more easily and I do keep the fish in the water while I turn on the camera and splash water on the grass so the fish isn't on dry ground, snap the photo and return fish to water in less than 10 seconds. The catfish, bluegill, bass and crappie I catch are in no way endangered. I woudln't even do it the way I do with a salmon, sea-run cutthroat or one of the steelhead species that come in from the ocean. I have a buddy who lives about halfway between Seaside and Astoria on the north Oregon coast. Learned a lot about sea-runs talking with him. Guitar Slinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Youtube+fishing+for+walleye+in+the+columbia&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=AE5263D18FFCDBDE9B21AE5263D18FFCDBDE9B21 You might enjoy this video. ED: Wrong video. Try this one. I have a couple of downriggers iike the one in the vid. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+salmon+fishing+in+Puget+sound&FORM=VIRE7#view=detail&mid=C649C4D4DD5CD5F6A001C649C4D4DD5CD5F6A001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Once my dad, on a sport fishing boat out of Oceanside, CA, caught a barracuda using a spinning reel on a fly rod. Why? That's what he had. His good rod and casting reel had gone missing from his truck two days before we were going out. Don't recall the weight, but it was about 30". He also brought up a nice halibut that was about an inch over the legal minimum, plus a couple of calico bass and one bonito. Fine day for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 He he. As long as the leader and hook do not come apart, you can catch some amazing things. Since my SIL is still in the hospital and I doubt that he will get to fish this summer, I am at loose ends. Maybe I will take the boat up to Cassidy for some blue gill or maybe Lake Washington for some perch. Lake Washington is closer, but probably filled to the gills with boat trailers because of the nice weather. Hmmmmm Decisions, decisions, decisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Youtube+fishing+for+walleye+in+the+columbia&FORM=VIRE3#view=detail&mid=AE5263D18FFCDBDE9B21AE5263D18FFCDBDE9B21 You might enjoy this video. ED: Wrong video. Try this one. I have a couple of downriggers iike the one in the vid. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=youtube+salmon+fishing+in+Puget+sound&FORM=VIRE7#view=detail&mid=C649C4D4DD5CD5F6A001C649C4D4DD5CD5F6A001 Cool video. OI have a pontoon boat very similar to the one the fellow is using in the opening credits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 All I have in the way of floatation, is my 14 ft aluminum boat. I gave my pontoon boat to my Grandson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 I use my flyrod all the time for bass, crappie, bluegill and channel cats in my pond. Pond is 2 acres+/- and I stocked it about 15 years ago. I usually use popping bugs late in the evening and catch all of the species. Best ever was a 6# largemouth...released of course. Lost several channel cats that would go 10#. There are some in the pond that are bigger! I have an old Fenwick flyrod that is at least 50 years old and a Pfleuger Medalist 1495 that I bought when I was 15. Weight of rod...unknown as they did not use that weight system back them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 That is a great combination Sage. Fenwick WAS the standard back in the day. Those old pfleugers 1495s are work horses. I still think that brake shoe design on them was the best drag system I have ever seen. It has stopped a lot of really big fish dead in their tracks. It is the first fly reel I ever had, bought it for a 7 wt rod. Gave it to a co worker that wanted to start fly fishing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 15, 2014 Author Share Posted July 15, 2014 Fenwicks were fine rods. I started out in the mid 70's on a cheap Eagle Claw fiberglass rod and an even cheaper reel and a mismatched fly line. Caught a lot of fish on that setup over the years and fished it hard. Still have the rod. The cheap reel fell apart years ago. I like nice fishing equipment. The rod and reel combo in the catfish photo is a Winston BiiT 9' 4wt and a Ross Evolution reel and a Rio fly line. Thing casts like a dream. My all-time favorite fly rod; however, is my Scott G2 9' 5wt. Probably the most versatile fly rod I've ever cast. Guess you can see my passion outside of shooting and playing music is fishing. Guitar Slinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 15, 2014 Share Posted July 15, 2014 Well, I can't play music and my shooting is suspect. I do like fishing, however. I have both fly rods and conventional rods. I try never to buy cheap equipment. Not top of the line, but good. I have heard great things about that Winston rod. My flagship rod is a Sage 5 wt/ 9 ft, two piece SLT. That thing cast like a dream, both 5 wt. and 6 wt line. It has a medium fast action and will lay out line and turn over a fly like a dream. I also have a Hardy LRH lined up an old Cortland Peach floating line. I am thinking of replacing the line with one of the new Aeroflo lines out of Britan. Can't make up my mind if I want the Elite or the Mend model. Probably go with the Elite. Or perhaps the Clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Well, I can't play music and my shooting is suspect. I do like fishing, however. I have both fly rods and conventional rods. I try never to buy cheap equipment. Not top of the line, but good. I have heard great things about that Winston rod. My flagship rod is a Sage 5 wt/ 9 ft, two piece SLT. That thing cast like a dream, both 5 wt. and 6 wt line. It has a medium fast action and will lay out line and turn over a fly like a dream. I also have a Hardy LRH lined up an old Cortland Peach floating line. I am thinking of replacing the line with one of the new Aeroflo lines out of Britan. Can't make up my mind if I want the Elite or the Mend model. Probably go with the Elite. Or perhaps the Clear. I've heard good things about the airflow lines. One of my fishing buddies uses it. Most of the fly rods I have are somewhat slow to medium action and I've found Rio Gold to work very well with that type of action. I had a Sage SLT 3wt a few years ago. It was a well made high quality rod. I couldn't quite get used to the action and how short it was (7'6"). I sold it to a friend and picked up a Scott G2 8'3" 3wt that more closely matches the action of my other rods. One of these days, I'd like to get a high quality bamboo fly rod. Of course, I could buy a couple very nice revolvers or a tuned short stroked Win 73 for less money. Perhaps as a retirement present to myself in a few years. The Winston casts like a dream. If you lived closer, it would be an honor to share a stretch of stream with you. Guitar Slinger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 GS I don't think , you would like my 3wt , it is only 5'9" , got a 4wt Fenwick that is 6'6" the 2wt is 7'6' , the rest is 8ft , I may still have a 8wt that is 8'6" , come to think of it , that may be the 9wt lost count of em all , got a bunch of pack rods , them I don't use much CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 GS I don't think , you would like my 3wt , it is only 5'9" , got a 4wt Fenwick that is 6'6" the 2wt is 7'6' , the rest is 8ft , I may still have a 8wt that is 8'6" , come to think of it , that may be the 9wt lost count of em all , got a bunch of pack rods , them I don't use much CB CB, If it's a fly rod, I'd like it. I do prefer long rods. The main reason is here in Kentucky and the Southern Appalachian Mountains, I fish a lot of very small brush choked streams. Casting is difficult at best without hanging the fly on the back cast. Many streams are not only brushy on the banks but are more like tunnels with overhanging trees. The long rod allows for the technique of hi-sticking. Usually no more than a foot of fly line out past the tip and a 9' to 12' leader/tippet. Hold the rod high (45 detree angle or steeper) and keep the fly line off the water letting the leader and fly be the only parts in the current. The 9' rod gives more reach to lean out farther and around / over rocks. The soft action rod helps protect the tippet when a fish strikes. Trout in the Southern Appalachians are small with a 12" one being a lunker. Our smallmouth bass are quite aggressive and hit like a freight train. A stiff rod and 4X tippet equals a lot of lost fish. The long soft rod absorbs the initial strike and gives the intrepid angler a fighting chance of landing an aggressive bass who failed anger management class. GS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 GS the short rods , seem to do well on the smaller streams here , brush lined and tunnels they don't do well with bigge flys though . I have brought lots of 11/2 to 2 lbs whites to hand with em , just takes a bit more time I have found , I fish closer with the short rods , and they don't hang up as much on the walk in the 3 wt stays in the truck , just in case a stream gets in my way , CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 GS the short rods , seem to do well on the smaller streams here , brush lined and tunnels they don't do well with bigge flys though . I have brought lots of 11/2 to 2 lbs whites to hand with em , just takes a bit more time I have found , I fish closer with the short rods , and they don't hang up as much on the walk in the 3 wt stays in the truck , just in case a stream gets in my way , CB It's interesting to see the different styles of fishing and casting from different parts of the country. Spent a couple weeks with a friend who lives between Seaside Oregon and Astoria Oregon a couple years back. We fished the streams totally differently from the runs we thought looked "fishy" to our techniques of casting and presenting the fly. We both caught a lot of sea run cut throats so one wasn't better just different. He made fun of me fishing like an "Eastern Hillbilly" and suggested my "Hi-sticking" technique was "dappling" the fly. All good nature ribbing among very good friends. We also went after "spiny ray" fish (bluegill mainly) on Cullaby lake. I was able to show him a thing or two about catching those "trash fish". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger Mountain Charlie SASS #43172 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 Yeah, we West coast trout fishers are noted for looking down our noses at anything that isn't a trout. LOL. Having grown up in the midwest I cut my teeth on catfish and spiny rays. Guess that is why I love those bluegills and crappie so much. I am thinking of hitting the river tomorrow and soak some nymphs. See what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitar_slinger Posted July 16, 2014 Author Share Posted July 16, 2014 Yeah, we West coast trout fishers are noted for looking down our noses at anything that isn't a trout. LOL. Having grown up in the midwest I cut my teeth on catfish and spiny rays. Guess that is why I love those bluegills and crappie so much. I am thinking of hitting the river tomorrow and soak some nymphs. See what happens. Good luck to you. Hope there is a good Official Washington Fishing Report heading your way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw Bill SASS #70001 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 GS depending on the stream , Hi Sticking , is not used much here , and Dapping , is not used much eather , by , me at least in the summer , I wade , wet , most of the time , easyer to cast that way , roll cast quite a bit being self tuaght , I tend to use , whatever style , seems to get it done CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.