The Fishing Thread
 

Searched around & only found the video fishing & BassMasters threads, i know their are plenty of outdoorsman here, so i figured it'd be cool to draw upon the Planets vast experience in all things fishing.

I only use spincast reels & fish mostly large/smallmouth bass & cats. My choice of reels is quite the source of derision from many people i know 'duffer gear', but i haul in my share of 6 pound bass & 10-20 pound cats on that gear no problem. With a little know-how you can use just about any technique you want to on 'duffer gear'.

Berkley Powerbaits are a big part of my trick bag, the difference between those & regular stuff is night & day. My best action last summer came on Mister Twister scented white curly tail grubs, on one day fishing from shore to a bridge pier, i caught smallies, bigmouths, perch & even 1 carp believe it or not... great day. But my bread & butter is a texas rigged Berkley worm, it'll wiggle through any kind of cover without getting hung up.

With cats i strictly bottom fish, no bobber & bait is just as basic... but its always in 2's to give'em a real treat... a shrimp/with a nightcrawler, liver/chunk of cheese etc. Cats are mostly for night sport to me, time to kick back a lil...

So thats me style, how do the rest of you guys get your fish on? What do you fish for, what do you use? IIRC Missouri's trout season just kicked off, anyone getting anything?

Have been fishing the Kings on the south end of Table Rock the past 2 days no luck! The walleye should be running in the next week or 2... can't wait! They have been running water @ beaver dam and have been catching walleye in the Holiday Island area.

I've heard a lot about how awesome Table Rock is from a work buddy from MO, i'd love to check it out.

I fish pretty much fly rod only. I do switch to soft plastics, finesse worms, senkos and crap like that on occasion when I'm fishing up at the inlaws house in Bella Vista. Unfortunately, fly fishing isn't always productive there. None of that gear is really "mine" though, and it's a hodge podge of crap. Sometimes I'm using a spinning rod, and sometimes it's a bait caster. Sometimes it's a freaking Batman pole. Just depends.

Fly fishing to me is an art in itself, i've never felt i had the patience to pick it up.

Whats your favorite salt fish to go after?

With a fly rod? The only saltwater fish I've caught with a flyrod are all upper panhandle fish like specks, redfish, ladyfish, and mackeral. Out of those, I think redfish are the most fun due to having to stalk them and being able to sight fish to actively feeding fish. But hell, really a school of -any- kind of saltwater fish is a lot of fun... nothing like a bunch of bluefish busting bait.

I've caught just about everything in the salt on conventional tackle, because my parents were -very- into saltwater fishing when I was growing up. I caught my first sailfish when I was in 5th grade. Dolphin/dorado are hard to beat, though. So much fun, and such good eating. I'd love to go bonefishing, though I'm not sure I'm a good enough caster to do it justice. I'd really, really like to fish for one of these babies, though (fishing buddy of mine in the pic):
http://www.mcflyshop.com/images/reports/papagallo.jpg

If you've never seen people target these bad boys, it's pretty awesome:
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Catching a tarpon is also on my list.

I don't know shit about fishing. This thread is pretty much Greek to me. I'm goi g to go buy a cheap rod and reel pretty soon, and try to learn, though.

That fish is awesome NewPhin, what a thrill that must be... thats fishing on steroids. And like you say, the eating must be incredible... water to plate in minutes kind of fresh.

The fish in the video and the pic is a roosterfish (not really something you eat, because they're pretty rare), but yeah: nothing better than fresh fish straight from the ocean.

The roosters are crazy, because they'll follow your fly in as you strip it. You've got this 50lb beast hauling ass -toward- you... you're stripping in the fly... the beast is getting closer... you know that you're about to get it so close that it's not going to eat because it sees you and is about to run aground... you're also about to piss yourself, because you're standing in the water with a 50lb fish barreling straight toward you... you're muttering "eat ****er eat ****er eat ****er" under your breath... then with about 10ft. to go, the ****er eats. And proceeds to school your ass as it runs into your backing.

Yeah, i was relieved at the end when its released, i'd feel way too guilty in most circumstances about killing such a beautiful fish.

Great job explaining the thrill, having a boat is one thing but reeling in a torpedo on foot must be very intimidating indeed... real monsters just offshore.

Just picked up a sweet Seeker rod, reactor series, for fresh water fishing.

Ugh I have trouble casting my baitcaster. Eww.

I'll fly, spin, cast, troll, deep rig, or what have you depending upon the situation.

Fly fishing pisses me off more than anything. More that golf. It takes skill and patience and knowledge and luck.

Spin fishing is the most well rounded. The easiest, and I find myself doing more of it of late because of that.

Bait casting is the "in-between" of fly and spin. Depends on the situation. My least favorite.

Trolling is necessary in terms of the environment. Big fish go for big tackle. Can be as frustrating as fly fishing and as rewarding.

I've never open water spear fished, though I know it has a loyal hard-core following.

Heh! I remember practicing with the first bait caster I got. I spent hours untangling the rat's nest I could create with ease. Two second cast, 20 minutes getting the damn thing back in working order.

I've only done fly fishing lately and that's when in the mountains of Colorado. I love it. It was frustrating when I first took it up a few years ago because it's a totally different way to fish (narrow streams and really finicky fish). The local bait stores are your friend, for sure. "Match the hatch" is so true in fly fishing, especially in mountain streams. Be sure to wear polarized sunglasses, too. That way you can see all the fish you're not catching. :D

I have a hodge-podge of other fishing gear. Nothing fancy but it suits my needs. I can throw a rock and hit Shawnee Mission Park Lake from where I live, but never go there. I've been tempted to do the spring trout fishing but have never done it. Maybe this year will be the year.

Awesome pic! Nothing beats saltwater fishing - especially in Florida. We're headed to the Keys Labor Day week. Catch mangrove snapper, sharks and tarpon right off the dock. Of course offshore 20 miles is my namesake fish - Mahi. When you hit a school of them, you just leave one in the water and the rest of them stay behind the boat. They're so hungry, you catch them dozens at a time. Last time we had a half a trash can full. Sweet.