Fresh and Saltwater Fishing Thread

[Dwayne Brown]

Hi all, I thought it would be interesting to make a thread that is dedicated to recreational fishing. You can share photo's, or videos, stories, tips, and anything else fishing related 😄. It will be fun to see what all of you guys have caught and fish for, and if you aren't comfortable sharing a photo for whatever reason that's fine to.

 

If successful this could also serve as a source for those that are interested in getting into recreational fishing and want some information about it. 

[lefty o]

i used to fish a lot. pretty much had to give it up due to injuries. this is probably 10 years old, a decent MN large mouth bass. it was released right after the picture

[lefty o]

another old one. wisconsin carp. was fishing for small mouth, but these put up a good fight in current.

[Dwayne Brown]

@lefty o That is so cool, I didn't know they had carp in wisconsin. By the way is that a jon boat? I have been looking in to getting one and would love to know what people's experiences with them have been.

[Dwayne Brown]

I cant seem to find the photo 😞. But my latest catch was three striped seaperch. I didn't know we had that colorful of a saltwater fish in washington (besides rockfish). I used 20lbs test line, anchor weight(at the end of the line), and red berkley gulp sandworms(about 18 inches from the weight). And I just casted this rig out a little bit from a pier and within 5 minutes had a bite. 

here's a photo of what they looked like from google. 

 

[lefty o]

that was in my dad's ranger jon boat. jon's are good for river fishing where you may suddenly encounter floating logs or large boulders.

[lefty o]

here's a nice eating sized walleye. sadly most of my good fish pics are on actual film. 

[Patrick_G]

Nice thread. I’ve spent many days wading in streams with a fly rod. I’ll be heading out to Montana sometime in the next week or two if the fires don’t get any worse. 
 

[Streetwise]

I did a little bit of fishing as a kid. When sailing on Lake Champlain, some of our races coincide with fishing tournaments. We observe proper right of way, dodge their lines, and wave. The lake has a lot of interesting species, and there is strong local support for fisheries, including breeding programs that sometimes involve local schools. I just looked up Lake Champlain International, who runs some fishing events, and I was impressed with their text:

"People who care most about our natural resources are those who spent the most time out in them. Fishing is an excellent way to build a personal connection with water, with Lake Champlain, with a favorite lake, pond, or stream. It creates a treasured experience which in turn creates a deep respect and appreciation for what that resource can give you. People with that respect and appreciation are the stewards who will stand up and fight for the future of our water. They are the ones that will ensure a future of clean water, healthy fish, and happy people."

[Jimfish98]

Grew up in the Finger Lakes area and spent every weekend I could out fishing. Trout, Bass, Carp, Catfish, anything I could get on a hook. Moved to FL 23 years ago and after a few gators swimming a bit to close I haven't done much since. I did go out and do some Black Tip Shark fishing a number of years ago and that was fun but exhausting. Nothing like snapping a pole in half.  Now we occasionally head out to Disney and fish their stocked ponds. 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/17/2021 at 7:22 PM, Patrick_G said:

Nice thread. I’ve spent many days wading in streams with a fly rod. I’ll be heading out to Montana sometime in the next week or two if the fires don’t get any worse. 
 

I just came back from Montana! I fished at glacier national park sense it was the only place you can fish without having to buy a license. I've never done fly fishing but I tried with my ultralight spinning combo set up. Unfortunately I didnt catch anything but maybe next time. 

[Dwayne Brown]

On 8/17/2021 at 7:59 PM, Jimfish98 said:

Grew up in the Finger Lakes area and spent every weekend I could out fishing. Trout, Bass, Carp, Catfish, anything I could get on a hook. Moved to FL 23 years ago and after a few gators swimming a bit to close I haven't done much since. I did go out and do some Black Tip Shark fishing a number of years ago and that was fun but exhausting. Nothing like snapping a pole in half.  Now we occasionally head out to Disney and fish their stocked ponds. 

Those sharks are so cool. We have some dog sharks that you can fish for in the puget sound, and I know someone who was salmon fishing but accidently caught a baby sixgill. 

[Dwayne Brown]

I'll try to post some photos of my saltwater pacific salmon fishing this year. I do it entirely from shore and this year the pink salmon are coming trough, as well as the usual king and coho salmon. 

[Patrick_G]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:08 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

I just came back from Montana! I fished at glacier national park sense it was the only place you can fish without having to buy a license. I've never done fly fishing but I tried with my ultralight spinning combo set up. Unfortunately I didnt catch anything but maybe next time. 

I probably won’t make it as far a Glacier. I’ll probably just hit up the Birterroot, and it’s tribs. I’ll let the smoke dictate where I go. 
 

[DSH OUTDOORS]

I got spoiled growing up in Northern Minnesota.  I had 300 lakes to choose from within 15 miles of my house.  Had a different lake for every occasion and every species.  See below for some of my personnel best fish, a slow day on hard water (ice) and my daughters first largemouth.

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by DSH OUTDOORS

[lefty o]

On 8/18/2021 at 10:47 AM, DSH OUTDOORS said:

I got spoiled growing up in Northern Minnesota.  I had 300 lakes to choose from within 15 miles of my house.  Had a different lake for every occasion and every species.  See below for some of my personnel best fish, a slow day on hard water (ice) and my daughters first largemouth.

 

no doubt about it, if you like to fish, MN, and Wisc are the place. fish a new lake every day of the week if you want.

[DSH OUTDOORS]

Same species, drastically different sizes...

[Patrick_G]

On 8/17/2021 at 11:13 PM, Dwayne Brown said:

I'll try to post some photos of my saltwater pacific salmon fishing this year. I do it entirely from shore and this year the pink salmon are coming trough, as well as the usual king and coho salmon. 

I need to dig out the pink gear ASAP. I’ll probably hit some of our beaches here on Vashon and maybe make it up to the Stilly. 

[Dwayne Brown]

@Patrick_G I plan on doing the Stillaguamish to, I'm gonna try to hut up my regular pink, coho, and king spots. I have found the most luck at deception pass, and fort casey state park.

And for those of you that might be interested in what my setup is, 

I use my regular heavy 8foot saltwater pole and saltwater spinning reel. 20lbs line. 

As for lures, for pink salmon (which only come through every other year) I use smaller pink buzz bombs. which you can see below.

I also use some small pink squids sometimes. 

For king and coho I use larger buzz bombs and point wilson darts as shown in the below picture. 

I have used some other stuff but this is what works best for me, just wanted to share. 

[Patrick_G]

@Dwayne Brown, my favorite pink rig for gear fishing in a river  is a Pink Dick Nite fished down and across. For fly fishing it’s more or less a pink bead head Woolley Bugger fished the same way. 
On the beach I use the same rig as you do. 

[Dwayne Brown]

@Patrick_G I forgot to mention that when I drove out to Montana a week ago, I stopped at potholes state park to fish. I was able to catch some perch and bluegill on my ultralight rod with a roostertail. I hear they have some great trout fishing out there to, and the ranger I talked to said some guy the day had caught a big 20 pound channel catfish. I would defiantly recommend it as a must stop if your going through that part of the eastern half.  

[Patrick_G]

@Dwayne Brown, I love that area There’s some hike in lakes with great trout fishing. The location isn’t  mentioned on the internet, but the resort will give you a map. The ancient lakes area near the gorge is also a great spot. One of the lakes there is stocked with Tiger Muskie and another is managed as Bass fishery. 

[Patrick_G]

@Dwayne Brown, how was the smoke in western Montana? 

[Dwayne Brown]

@Patrick_G I had no idea they had Tiger Muskie there! Have you ever fished for them? I only had about 45 minutes to fish the area but it was very scenic. The smoke was on and off. I know that it is constantly shifting in some areas I drove through it was very Smokey other areas clear skies. for the most part I was fine glacier was super clear, I would recommend you look at airnow.com I was able to see the air quality in the area and plan accordingly. 

[Patrick_G]

Evergreen reservoir is the one whith Tiger Muskie and Stan Coffin is the bass lake. In that area there’s a beautiful coulee with a couple of trout lakes. I lived in Ellensburg for five years and fished there a bunch. 
https://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/locations/lowland-lakes/evergreen-lake

I haven’t tried targeting the Tiger Muskie. I’m not even sure how to fish for them! I did bring a heavier fly rod and give it a try with a big streamer but no luck. 

 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Patrick_G