Finally! The fishing season!

[bigamefish]

Im not sure if anybody else are avid fishermen but i know i have been looking forward to this day for a long time! Ever since in ended infact. My target species are

Ictalurus punctatus

,

Ameiurus melas

,

Ameiurus nebulosus

, northern pike (esox lucius), white sucker(catostomus commersonii) and if im lucky maybe even a shorthead redhorse(Moxostoma macrolepidotum)
Im very exited! If you would like some pictures please tell me and i`ll take my camera!

[Birger]

No muskies up there?

Birger

[bigamefish]

No muskies up there?

Birger

Oh Birger i wish! But i do quite often catch 41"+ pike! This summer we are going on a golf/fishing trip to brainerd mn and there are some muskie lakes in the area so i plan to go try my hand at that!

[Birger]

Your province has some really great fishin....good luck this season.

Birger

[bigamefish]

Thank you! do you often go fishing birger? If so what for?

[Scleropages]

Don't forget to bring your camera and a ruler (or a beer can--for reference, of course)! I like to go fishing too. Trout season started on April 7th over here. The streams/rivers where NJDFW stocked trout were packed with 'em on opening weekend. It was nuts. We got rainbows, brookies, and brown trout. I also go lake fishing for largemouth bass, carp, bullhead cats, and sunnies. There are muskies, northern pike, and walleye stocked in some of NJ's lakes, but I haven't hooked either yet. I hear there are grass carp around as well, but I haven't seen one.

[bigamefish]

I will bring the camera for sure! And a size refrence device. I can`t wait! Im not sure if you can tell but im as much as a fishing nerd as a catfish nerd through the summer i practicly llive at the river trying to 1 up myself from the last big fish!

[Viktor Jarikov]

Pics and vids are always nice. Good luck. Too bad you live so far. With such an unbridled enthusiasm, you could help me populate (and feed) my Aquarium

[panaque]

I love fishing too. For me it's the ultimate medicine to treat work related stress. I fish mainly in the sea, both from the shore and from my kayak. I mostly fish for the table so to speak, meaning we eat what I catch. I haven't had much opportunity yet this year but in the few outings I have done I have caught the following species:
Pollock (Pollachius pollachius)
Garfish (Belone belone)
Mackerel (Scomber scombrus)
Launce (Hyperoplus lanceolatus)
Pilchard (Sardina pilchardus)
I'm sure I'll be able to add more species to this list over the next few months

[Viktor Jarikov]

Nice. I guess I should mention what we hook here too, keeping in mind I've just started here...

-- freshwater: sunfishes of all kinds, FL bullhead, cichlids, FL gar, snook, bass, walking catfish, tarpon (in all kinds of waters), soft shell turtles, an occasional gator, who doesn't (or does?) like your stupid, brightly-colored bobber...

-- Gulf of Mexico: pinfish, ladyfish, crivello jack, pompano, permit, snapper, grouper, bonnethead shark, mullet, bagrus marinus, another ariid cat I don't know the name of but it's everywhere in huge numbers, drum, sea bass and sea trout, etc.

[bigamefish]

Pics and vids are always nice. Good luck. Too bad you live so far. With such an unbridled enthusiasm, you could help me populate (and feed) my Aquarium

It is too bad i live so far away! That would be an offer i couldn`t refuse! Oh well maybe some day i`ll make my way down to your area! I would love fishing for all the diffrent kinds of fish that i can`t catch up here!

[Scleropages]

tarpon (in all kinds of waters)

If I had the tank space, I wouldn't mind coming down to catch some smaller specimens and bringing 'em home. They are fascinating fish to me. My importer friend had one in a large marine tank (1000 gallons, easily) in his facility and would feed it any dead fish that turned up in his tanks. One time, he threw a large tang that was floating, not eating nor swimming, and seemed like it was going to die in that tank. The tarpon swam up and took a huge chunk out of the tang's midsection. The tang survived, minus a good chunk of its midsection, and the tarpon was best friends with it for years. They eventually decided to get rid of that tank and put a reef rack system in the same space--a lot more money to be made in the same amount of square feet. But I'll never forget that tarpon. Beautiful fish.

BTW, I just got a 5.5'/6lb. line capacity Pflueger President rod & reel combo. Looking forward to using that for the rivers/streams & ponds/lakes. Gotta stock up the freezer with them tasty trout. There are also landlocked salmon in a few lakes in NJ: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/salmon.htm Would love to catch some of them and then filet and pan-fry them up. I hear it doesn't taste the same as ocean run salmon, but it's still gotta be pretty tasty, no?

[Viktor Jarikov]

Don't get me started. One of a few things I miss dearly in FL is trout fishing in western NY brooks.

[bigamefish]

Here are the pictures of the first fish of the season! Only esox lucius this time but im crossing my fingers to catch some cats next time!

[bigamefish]

They all look a little roughed up but if you have ever caught one you should know these fish never run out of energy so they flip flop and freak out when they are out of water! They all made it back ok.

[Firestorming]

I guess I am lucky where I live, I can fish in saltwater year round,but where I grew up we had a trout season but my favourite was to head away with my father,grandfather and uncles to fish for Murray cod (Maccullochella peelii for the ichthyologists out there), I will have a hunt about for some of the pics of my uncles metre plus beast (108kg-235ish pounder). Not many of the big ones about anymore due to overfishing and other crappy factors. Now most I get are 20-35kgs.

[Scleropages]

if you have ever caught one you should know these fish never run out of energy

Not bad for your first day out fishing. I've hooked a few in my day and I never look forward to it. Reeling them in feels like you're pulling up a gigantic garbage bag filled with water. As you know, the real sport begins once you get them out of the water.

Here are some of the whoppers I caught at a local lake today. I included a 500ml Poland Spring bottle in each pic to prove the size of these record breaking catches.


Lepomis gibossus (Pumpkinseed)


Lepomis macrochirus (Bluegill)

I hooked a bass, but it broke my 4lb. test line and stole my lure. I also caught some Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Black Crappie) but didn't get a chance to snap some pics as I was busy trying to transfer them to buckets ASAP with minimal stress. I've always been interested in trying to keep them but they aren't too common around here--I think I got lucky today. They are now in a spare, unheated 55gal. I'll try to get a pic or two in a few days.

[panaque]

Lepomis gibossus (Pumpkinseed)

We caught lots of these in the south of France last year. Every river and lake was full of them.

Yesterday I added gilthead bream (Sparus aurata) to my list for the year. A very tasty Mediterranean species that seems to be expanding its range northwards, presumably in response to climate change.

[Scleropages]

Snuck out for a little fishing at lunchtime today. I caught four more black crappies, one pumpkinseed, and this gigantic monster :

Micropterus salmoides (Largemouth bass)

[bigamefish]

Well the bass isn't the biggest but it is a rather cute little guy!

[Scleropages]

Here are the Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Black Crappie) that I caught over the past two days:

They are ~5-7" TL. I'll try to get some better pics without using the flash later tonight.

[apistomaster]

Place: Lochsa River, North Central Idaho. My "home river." Catch and Release fishing only.
Water temp: 55*F. pH 5.1. TDS 15 ppm.
Due to the low nutrient environment and up to class six rapids after a harsh winter melt of ~22 ft snow pack it takes about 5 to 6 years for these fish to reach the approx 15 inches these specimens ran.


The Fish: Native West Slope Cutthroat Trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisii)


Inverted to show the characteristic red slash "cuttthroat" markings.

Tackle: Sage 9 ft, 7 wt fly rod and Original Sage Reel made by House of Hardy Great Britain
Fly: Size 18,(~3/16" long hook) Elk Hair Caddis fly imitation

[bigamefish]

The trout are so beautiful! I have mastered baitcasting and spinning I would love to learn fly fishing!

[Birger]

What, you have not tried pike on a fly rod...now there is some fun...with the correct rig combo mind you.

One of my sons is moving this month to Texas, near Houston...looking forward to spending some time fishing in the Gulf, as well as some freshwater fishing(bass, catfish, whatever else).
Birger

[Scleropages]

Apistomaster, nice trout. There are some cool species and subspecies that live up at altitude in those mountain streams. Makes me a bit jealous compared to the Jersey trout I see around here. One day, I'd like to try to catch some golden trout. I used to live in CA and kick myself for not having gone to do it then.

Oncorhynchus aguabonita (Golden Trout)

What, you have not tried pike on a fly rod...now there is some fun...

For some reason, when I read that, I think of this guy:

[Birger]

For some reason, when I read that, I think of this guy:
Image

Haha...very funny, my hair is not red!!

[apistomaster]

Thanks guys,
I have always had a special affinity for the native West Slope Cutthroats although only a very few ever reach 20 inches. I caught my largest ever, one of 19 inches, last summer from Kelly Creek, Idaho. It is a remote and pristine small blue ribbon river. The main focus in my area are the much larger sea run Rainbows AKA Steelhead, which tend to be one of the larger, on average, of the various populations. I guess a 36 inch 16 pound fish is average with many over 22 pounds caught every year. My largest Steelhead were 17 and 18 pounders. The largest I have ever caught fly fishing was about 11 pounds. Like in many mountainous Western States, Golden Trout have been planted in a few remote alpine lakes. Gorgeous fish but I have never been willing to hike so hard and far to catch fish which are not all that large. There are just too many quality fisheries with easy access full of 3 to 6 pound Trout. These lakes are fun to fish from a float tube or packable pontoon boats.

@Birger,
Because of the importance of the sea run Rainbows and Chinook Salmon runs in our rivers there are very few places in the PNW USA where Pike have been introduced. Mainly the huge land locked lakes found in the North Idaho Panhandle Lakes. They are huge lakes and very deep. So much so that the US Navy uses one to run tests on new submarine designs using scale models. The lakes can be over 800 feet deep. One must have a large power boat to cut these lakes down to size in order to reach the shallow coves where the Pike hang out.

[Birger]

My comment was more for Bigamefish to not wait until he is in trout country to pick up a fly rod...on some of the eastern slope lakes (these lakes can be crystal clear) I have had days where the only way to pick up a pike was with a good streamer...picky picky pike. Flyfishing "purists" may cringe but hey, it works and is a wack of fun.

I have also spent many a day on the lakes and rivers on the western side of the mountains and it would be a disaster to have pike running loose throughout...that area and the area in the mountains where I live would be much closer to what you generally fish Apistomaster. For me it is a short walk to the Bow River...not a bad fishery in itself.

Birger

[apistomaster]

Birger, I was slow to notice where you lived and now I'm a bit envious. The Bow River has always been on my destinations wish list. If Pike were around I would certainly want to try to catch them fly fishing. One other fish keeping friend and fellow fly fisherman fishes for which I still have trouble imagining is Carp fly fishing although I once caught a small, 10 inch, specimen on a fly. Anyway he says it is a blast and I know they grow very large as we have big ones in the Snake River which flows through town.

[Birger]

which I still have trouble imagining is Carp fly fishing although I once caught a small, 10 inch, specimen on a fly. Anyway he says it is a blast and I know they grow very large

Haha...I am imagining similar to dragging a boulder around the bottom but I won't knock it until I have tried it, never have fished anywhere with carp.

Birger