Itchin' fer fishn'! Fishing Stories

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hawkpatriot

Joined
Jul 20, 2004
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Well up here in Maryland, it starting to warm up and I'm getting fishing fever. Recently found out about a great trout stream in my area, and I can't help but think about pulling some nice trout out of there. I can't wait for the season to start. All I can do know is make sure I have all my tackle together, and read old issues of Field & Stream. Any of you anglers out there getting the fever?
About early spring last year I caught a real nice rainbow trout out of the pond at my local IWL. I was shooting shotguns with my Boy Scout troop when I decided to try and catch a trout or bass out of the pond. It's a nice morning, around 50 degrees, raining softly, with a slight mist rolling across the pond. I'm using nightcrawlers and a Zebco 33 Classic on an Ugly Stik, basic setup. I fished last night but caught nothing. So I start on one side and work my way over to the other. I notice some submerged timber going deep into the pond. I remembered catching some nice bass out of cover like that before, so I give it some casts. First cast, I let the worm sink and then bump/reel it back in. I feel something hit the worm and let it go. Immediately my heart is pumping and my adrenaline is going. No more strikes so I reel it back in, the worm is mangled on the hook. Cast again, same pattern, this time the worm gets hit and the fish is running with it. I set the hook and fight it, when it gets closer to shore it jumps and I see the purple stripe flash in the air, what a beauty. I finish fighting it, and I stand admiring a 15-inch rainbow. What a great start to the day.

Post your stories!
 
DANG YOU MAN!!! COURSE I GOT THE ITCH....BADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDddd

Salmon season... Last year, Kenai River... Stays light for most the night. That day, I caught and released atleast 50 red salmon. Medium weight, 7' ugly stick, 25lb test line, shakespeare reel, two lg split shot, coho flie. Distance between coho fly and split shot around 5'. Cast up river, follow with pole down stream and wait for the bumping to stop...RIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FISH ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thump, Thump, Thump....Splash

Ohhhhhhhhhhh.... I LOVE FISHING :eek:
 
Ok, Bass fishing is all I can talk about, since that's about all I do anymore. A couple of years ago, I got talked into using a large, single bladed spinner bait for Bass. Not just a spinner bait, mind you, but a huge one. I believe it was called the Jimmy Houston Magnum Model. Black skirt and one single chrome blade about the size of a baby's head(just kiddin, but it was huge). Anyway, the method for fishing this spinner involved casting it as far out as you can, and as soon as it hits the water, you start reeling it in like a madman(don't try this, unless you have good equipment and are in decent shape physically). You wanna reel this spinner in so fast that it creates a hump just underneath the water surface(you do not want the spinner to come out of the water, however).

Believe me, this drives bass WILD! It's not uncommon to see a torpedo approaching your lure from all the way across the pond/lake! I have caught lots of big bass this way. One day, I just happened to cast my spinner and reel it so that it went right by a stump and almost hit the stump. Almost; since the lure stopped as if it snagged on the stump. Only, stumps don't immediately come out of the water and dance on the surface! That bass was 24" long, although I have no idea how much it weighed, since I had no scale and I put her back.

One other good thing about this method. Even if you don't get a bass to hit your lure, they almost always seem to be more receptive to stuff like plastic worms after having a spinner buzz across their resting places. :)

Man, I can't wait for Spring! :)
 
I can't wait for summer... The following will be slayed by me:

Red Salmon
Silver Salmon
Pink Salmon
King Salmon
Dolly Varden
Rainbow Trout
Halibut
Salmon Shark (Hopefully)
Tourists that move in on my fishin' hole
Mosquitos

Man... I NEED to fish to live :D :eek: :cool:
 
Man.

Fishing is addictive. I can't wait to start fishing again. Right now exams are just too close. My favourite combo is a 6'6" Fenwick and my precious Shimano Calcutta Conquest 201.

Back in malaysia the snakehead is the one we're after most of the time. Fights like crazy. Don't think anyone eats 'em though.

Had a custom 7' rod made but haven't used it yet. Will be tested in due time.
 
Good stuff Danbo...I see someone has told you my secret!
Another thing you can do with that same Spnbt...When the water is cold, let's say below 60F, is chunk that sucker out there and let it sink to the bottom. Watch the line for bumps, pauses or tics. Let it rest on the bottom for a second or two. Reel up the slack and lift the lure just enough to feel that blade bump once or twice and let it sink again.
Really it is like fishing a jig...but you have to feel the blade thump.
This works well this time of year, especially with a pork chunk to slow the sink rate.

Another thing you can do with that puppy is fish it like you described, when you get to a stump or patch of weeds, kill it. Let it sink on a tight line down to the bottom. Again watch your line for the pause/bump/tic.
The second rod always has a sluggo/soft stick bait on it for those follows and missed strikes. Makes 'em nutz.

That's a great thing about Bass fishing...you can really work on their 'fight or flight' response. No hunger involved :D

One more spring tip...The NW corner of the lake will be the warmest. Provided that you are in the northern hemisphere.
 
One day, fishing out in the Chesapeake Bay, we decided to try and catch some big fish. We caught a little croaker, stuck it on a hook, and cast it out. It was pretty hot, so we all decided to jump in and go for a swim. After a while, I looked up and saw the line with the croaker was going the wrong way, and there was a lot of slack in the line. I figured somehow the croaker and the current moved the line, so we climbed back in the boat. As soon as I touched the pole, the line started running out. All I could do was hold on as tight as I could. Finally, I was able to start reeling in some of the line. When I got the fish close enough, I saw that I had one of the biggest cobias I've ever seen on my hook. He must have seen the boat because he took off like a bullet, jumped about 6 ft out of the water, and tail skipped across the surface. Then he shot back down and commenced running again. We fought for about 20 minutes, until I was able to get him close enough for my friend to gaf him, since the one net we had was way too small. As my friend lunged down with the gaf, the fish jerked one time and was gone. I reeled my line up, thinking it had snapped. It turned out that the swivel I had used was straightened out. Talk about peeved.


Then there was the time I was fishing at a pond by my house. When I bent down to the water to wash my hands off, this bass came up and grabbed my fingers. I jumped up yelling, "It bit me! It bit me!", all the while my friends are laughing their @sses off. They thought I was kidding until I showed them the scrape marks from it's mouth on my fingers.
 
Went fishing on the Bay last year on the Darlene II. It was a hot day in August. We were catching loads of rockfish and blues. At one point my friend had a skate (or ray, whatever you call it) hooked, at tried fighting it. The skate ran real fast and stripped the line off the reel in 10 seconds. I caught the same skate a few minutes later and fought it for 10 minutes. That thing would run fast and leave me stuck, then stop and I'd be reeling it in until it ran again. I got some confusing advice from the first mate, he told me not to "pump the rod" as in using leverage to pull the skate in, instead of breaking down the drag reeling against it. I'd always been told to pump it, but whatever. I finally pulled it to the side of the boat and we got a picture and then cut the line. Captain says it was around 60 lbs, biggest thing I ever hooked.
 
The last time I went to the Big Island, my father, my brother and I went fishing at our favorite spot. Somewhat secret though, damn people are starting to camp over there now. :mad:

We usually straight pole there. When the tide comes in, these rock fish things (I don't know the name) come in and feed, wedge themselfs in rocks for a while, then leave with the outgoing tide.

Our "Spot" is on a large rock, just past an older lava field. When the tide starts comming in, just drop your line and pull it out cuz there's one on it already ;) .

I was at the farthest point on the rock, away from the shore, and dropped my line down. Felt a nibble and pulled up and lost the bait. Tried again. Same thing. Tried again, lost my line at the snap swivel. I knew exactly where it was. I was pissed. I walked back to the truck and grabbed my spear and snorkel. Sat in the water a little to the right of where I was dropping my line. As soon as I was down, I saw that F*cker and went poke um.

Brought it up and was soooo manini. :o The thing was like only 4" long. :yawn:

That little bastard taste good. :)
 
Ebbtide said:
Good stuff Danbo...I see someone has told you my secret!
Click to expand...

Hey, I used to read Bassmaster magazine! Ebbtide, unfortunately they have discontinued the Houston magnum model. If you know where to get any, please let me know.
 
than sitting on the back of a boat, rocking up and down in the water, your line cast, the Bay breeze on your face, sipping a brew and listening to jokes. Wait a minute, yes there is, catching a fish! I've gone out on charters where as soon as people start hitting them, the captain tells us to pull up our lines and we go to another spot. My father brought along his GPS to locate the spot where the fish were hitting, the mate saw him using it, and told him to put it away! I love to go up to the northern part of the Bay, I have a good time just going to the park in Perryville, eating a little lunch while my line is in the water. I can have a good time if I'm not catching anything, but I normally catch a little striper or sunfish. My little brother is the real fisherman, he uses an old Scooby Doo fishing rod, that POS almost pulled in a 20 inch catfish until it snapped in half! For a kid of his age, he sure is tough. I'm glad to see that while his older cousins are playing videogames after about a half hour of fishing, he keeps at it.

Down Ayshun City, hon :D , I like to go out on the headboat at Bahia Marina, the Judith M. It's the same deal, as soon as we start reeling them in, we have to pull up our lines and leave, but it's still a lot of fun. I suppose that if I were to plunk down some good cash for one of the charter boats, I would feel a lot different.

Man, I'm going to have to go up to Havre de Grace and walk the promenade tonight, thinking about where I'm going to set my lines coming up.

Theres a newspaper/magazine that is available along the coast, pretty good, but I can't remember the name of it. I'm thinking Coastal Fisherman, but that's not it, I've bought it in Red Lion, PA, I'll find it.
 
Danbo said:
Hey, I used to read Bassmaster magazine! Ebbtide, unfortunately they have discontinued the Houston magnum model. If you know where to get any, please let me know.
Click to expand...

OH NOOOO! Reading Bass fishing magazines.... next thing you know, you'll be watching NASCAR! ;)
 
I went out and caught a few channel cats out of the 20-47 near Colusa yesterday. I was using duck guts that I had frozen earlier this year for bait. the biggest one was about 12 pounds. I had fallen asleep sitting on the bank and when she hit my line she almost jerked my rod into the canal!
 
First catfish I cought was a 19-inch bullhead I caught down at Lake Anna. I was using the tried and true bait- Wonderbread. Hooked it, and that little bullhead gave a nice fight. You can always trust a catfish for a good fight. Cooked it up for dinner in the coals of a campfire.
 
Yeah, I used to read BassMaster too...I let the it go when the articles were more product pushing than teaching.
Currently, for the same 'job', I like the Zorro Baits Short arm single spin. The blade isn't as huge as the Houston but gets the job done.
You could always get some mega blades from BPS and add them to another spnbt.
I scored my last Jimmy Houstons from the Sports Authority bargain bin.

The weirdest thing I've ever caught was a bicycle. I gave it to a kid and he rode it home!
The funniest was when midwinter codfishing, the greenhorn asks the mate if those were the kind of clams that you can eat. They were quahogs, about the size of Mike Tyson's fist. The mate looks at the guy, cuts one open and slobbers this roastbeef sized clam down in one gulp.
The greenhorn blew chunks for the rest of the trip :barf:
Speaking of :barf: my buddy would get seasick every trip. I'd run a pool on what time he start :barf:
Once in a while he'd need a little help...so out came the tuna salad sandwich complete with green food dye in the mayo.
"Hey! Ya think this went bad?"
Takes bite...
"Tastes OK...wanna bite?"

Give me a bucktail jig and I'll catch a fish. These I tied myself...
bucktails.jpg
 
Fish stories or fishing stories?
I caught a 40 lb catfish on a cane pole when I was 12. It was a stout cane pole...
Ever have a fish jump in a boat? A few of us were king mackeral fishing out of Port Aransas, TX. Well, were sitting on a huge school of them, fishing with castmasters, cranking them in the boat as fast as we could cast. These fish are known as acrobatic, to say the least. One launches itself into the boat. The most fish I've ever caught in so short a time.
The most unusual catch was a cottonmouth moccasin in the Santee-Cooper swamp in S.C. :eek:
Sometimes fishing is boring, but sometimes are real fun times.
 
I swear on my children this is a true story.

A few years ago a buddy and I were fishing the local lake in my rowboat. We were pulling in bass like mad. I had just hooked a bass on a shiner when my second pole that I left out with bait got hit and started to go overboard. I handed off my pole and went for the other but it was too late. A $300 rod and reel now sat at the bottom of the lake. I tried looking for it as I could see the bottom but the fish must have taken it through the weeds. I pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it was gone. About an hour later my buddy hits a snag and pulls up some line. The exchange went something like this.

Rob: "What kind of line do you use?"

Me: "Fireline. Why?"

Rob: "What color is it?"

Me: "Black"

Rob: "Grab hold of this line."

I grab the line and start pulling it in. Sure enough he snagged up on my lost fishing poles line. I get the rod and reel back in and a start reeling back in the line. You guessed it....the fish was still hooked to the other end. Not only did I get my setup back I got the bastard that took it.
 
Ok, true story there, although I'm not sure why I'm sharing this embarrasing story.

When I fish for bass, I have 3 rigs all ready to go. One has a spinner bait of some kind, one has a florescent orange Rapala floating bait(killer, believe me), and one has a 6" Crawdad colored Culprit plastic worm, Texas rig. Ya gotta be ready for anything, ya know. ;)

Well, I was night fishing at a private lake one night. Beautiful full moon(usually good fishin). I cast the Rapala out, and let it sit on the surface. While the ripples died down, I bent over to pick up the Culprit plastic worm rig, and heard a big splash nearby. Heard something rustling in the weeds by my feet, so I was gettin a little spooked at what might be close(read, snake). About the time I figured out it wasn't a snake, I looked down and discovered my rod and reel with the Rapala was GONE! :eek: Whatever fish it was that hit that lure, took off with my pole and I never saw it again. :(

That was a damn good rig, too as I don't buy junk. Top of the line Diawa reel and expensive Bass Pro Shops rod. I'm still bummed about that one.
 
I lost one in the lake at Santee-Cooper. I had baited a hook with a nightcrawler, cast it out, set it on the seat for my wife to pick up, then next thing I see is the rod hitting the water about 15 feet from the boat.
A while later, I drag up the line with the anchor, dragging the rod back into the boat with it. Whatever got hold of it snapped the line off around a stump.
Lost two Zippos and a pair of glasses at that lake. Don't keep stuff in my shirt pockets any more.
A few years back, we were salmon fishing out of Santa Cruz.
Lots of sea lions are around trying and sometimes stealing salmon off your line.
We see all the sea lions making a bee-line for the coast.
One jumps up on the platform at the back of the boat, then tries to climb in the boat.
We're thinking WTF?, while trying to get this furbag off the boat, when we notice a couple of killer whales nearby.
We got the boat going, and shook the furbag off the platform. the killer whales found the furbag... lunch! :eek:
Nature at work. ;)
 
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