Tell me your fishing stories please...

[weepete]

Caught my first two amberjacks this morning and WOW what a fish!

Mine were tiny, just over palm sized but I was Light Rock Fishing (LRF) in Menorca, an island half way between Spain and Algeria. Used an HTO that's a 7'3" Ultralight light rod rated 1-8grams (Thats about 1/32oz to 1/4oz for imperial measurements if my maths is right). 3g (1/8oz) leadhead with a Mebaru Shokunin Straw Tail Grub (AKA a very small 2" soft plastic lure with scent). 6lb braid and a 6lb flurocarbon leader Grinner knots all the way. Not my back yard and shore fishing so any fish is a win to me on foreign ground.

These tiny fish pretty much bent my light rod double and gave a fight like a trout double their weight. I need to make a point of catching fish like this in the future, but much bigger. We don't get sport fish quite like these in Scotland!

(Went on a jeep safari the other day and the guide showed me pictures of some massive redfin tuna that he and his son caught, man am I jealous)

 

[Gary A.]

You should have seen the one that got away ...

 

[weepete]

You should have seen the one that got away ...

I did mate, and it was HUGE! Just couldn't get the beggar to take!

 

[Derrel]

Soooooo MANy fishing stories from me. I used to fish four to five times a week,m for years, lived near a rive known for fantastic spring and fall salmon runs, and excellent spring and summer steelhead trout fishing. Fish from six pounds to 34.5 pounds, over a thousand fish. Been making my own terminal tackle (weighted French-blade style spinning lures) since the late 1980's.

Fishing is a wonderful pastime!

 

[yamaha pat]

I'd rather be fishing than just about anything.

 

[limr]

I bought a nice piece of wild-caught salmon the other day.

 

[deeky]

See, now this is my kind of thread.

Derrell mentioned tackle craft. I fly fish and tie my own flies, furl my own leaders, and have even built a fly rod and an ultralight spinning rod.

Favorite fly rod story - was fishing bluegills and had one on when a northern pike flew up from the depths, swiped, and missed my fish. It hit a second time and we had a tug-o-war for a minute or so. The pike let go and came back a third time. We pulled for a few more seconds before my fly popped loose. He got the fish. I got my fly back. Ended up with a good story.

I used my hand-built ultralight rod to catch my first (and only) musky on 4 lbs test mono. For those unfamiliar, the musky is the northern pike's bigger, meaner brother. Here's the pic of that ultralight musky.

IMG_0514 by breckmiller, on Flickr

And then there's these - paddlefish. My parents and I will go again this October. They are fished by limited issue license (lottery system) here in South Dakota. Big uglies, but filter feeders so not at all aggressive and no teeth to be aggressive with. Great eating.

2011paddlefish2 by breckmiller, on Flickr

 

[jcdeboever]

I caught a 36 lbs carp in the Detroit River and had it smoked. I have been searching for the image on my server but I can't find it. There you go, a big fish story. I ate it all too, over a weeks time. Genuine French mustard, cold smoked carp, crackers, cat in my lap, heaven. A touch of hot sauce.