About to go get some live shrimp and give it a go. It's been a rough winter, lots of fronts, rain, wind, everyone around here agrees it has been tough fishing last few months.
The slough is only 3-4 feet all around. Water is only 6-12" right now. We are going to make more to spread out. Also trying to have a place to catch bait for limb lines if our ponds dont produce like they didnt this year
Caught 6 browns in about 2 hours this morning. Shitty pictures, but you get the idea. I couldn't feel my hands and was fishing alone, so handling the rod/net/phone simultaneously was a bit of a challenge. All came on midges fished behind beadhead nymphs. Nice midge hatch with some winter black stoneflies mixed in.
It was strange. We were about 1/2 mile off perdido pass in Orange Beach sight fishing for cobia. Noticed the triple tail in the shadow of a buoy. The fish never moved. I guess it couldn't see us....?
Yep. The numbers of fish there, especially browns, is impressive. Being my first trip there, I didn't really know what to expect because I have to think these fish get a ton of pressure. I fished long leaders, light (fluorocarbon) tippets (6X), and the smallest midges I could tie given the conditions. I really want to swing some meat there sometime, but it was impossible to go away from what was working. My next goals are to find wild/holdover bows and some small stream brookies, but that's going to take time. PM me if you want to get up sometime.
I AM NOT FAR FROM NORTH GA OR THE AREA YOU ALL ARE DISCUSSING IF WE ARE SCHEDULING TMB FISHING EXPEDITIONS!!!
I've actually never fished there but I know people swear by it. state record brown was caught there in 2014. I'll definitely go with you, but my fishing outings are regulated to this thread until May 21st.
Probably not panfish as we were in 20-40 fow, most likely walleye. We had 1 small slender spoon in electric perch (probably should have gone to the bigger size) and 1 silver Hali spoon. Both were tipped with spikes or minnows, tried to mix it up and show the fish both when they weren't biting.
I bought my Old Town Predator 13 from a big dude. He's 6'2" 220 and was able to stand and cast in it.
They could have been perch. When you dropped your jig, did you notice them come up off the bottom to look at it and then go back down? If so, those were probably perch. If not, they could have been walleyes or even bullheads. If the perch are acting like that, there are a few things you can do to get them to bite. First and foremost is to put a small barrel swivel about 12" above your jig. Line twist will make your jig spin like a top and it will turn off wary perch and crappies in an instant. Secondly, try going with wax worms rather than spikes. Waxies have a larger profile and are lot juicier, providing more scent. Also experiment with how you hook your waxies. Try T-boning them rather than feeding the hook all the way through or just hooking through the nose. Sometimes it makes a difference. If you're using minnows, try different ways of hooking them, as well. Sometimes, an entire minnow isn't what they're looking for and using just the head of the minnow is the ticket to success. More often than not, I've found that fish prefer just the head to the whole minnow. Just pinch it off behind the gills and throw the body on the ice. One more thing you can do for finicky perch is to try a dropper jig. It takes a little time to rig up, but when the going gets tough, there are many times I've went to a dropper and have been the only one catching fish. To rig up a dropper, you need a jig or spoon that has a split ring both where the hook attaches and where the line attaches. I like to use demon jigging spoons http://customjigs.com/products/demon-jigging-spoon.html Take the treble hook off the split ring and replace it with one of these. http://customjigs.com/products/pro-finesse-drop-chain.html or these https://shop.northlandtackle.com/Category/Terminal_Tackle/Bait-Chain_Dropper_Hook If you don't have any of those, you can just use a small 2" piece of line, but those are kind of hard to tie when they're short. You can use single hooks or treble hooks, though I prefer the single hook when the bite is tough.
Sounds like it was probably perch, I was already using a drop chain from the link on my slender spoon so that's good to hear. Definitely need to get a barrel swivel going and thanks for the tips on the bait, I'll give them a shot. Went back out on Sunday but only got a handful of dinks. If you're in a spot where dinks are jumping on as fast as you can drop it, is the thought to move since the fish are small there or stay put and sort through them? Wasn't sure what the best strategy would be. Hoping to get out at some point this week for some night crappie fishing. Unfortunately they're predicting 50 and rain here Friday which could even cut the season short. Hope that changes.
Bass Pro is running their Spring Classic sale right now in stores. I picked up some bobby garland shads and some jigs mostly.
It depends on the lake. Some lakes have such a diminished predator population that they only have dinks, which seems to be the case with most of the lakes until you get up north. On those lakes, you're probably better off sitting and sorting. My brother was fishing out of our big house last weekend. He sorted through dinks all day, throwing back 4" perch. He was rewarded for his patience with a few 11" perch and a keeper walleye, though. If you're on a lake that you know holds a decent population of good sized fish, then you should move around to find them. Also, if you're fishing while the fish are in a negative feeding mode like the onset of a cold front or post storm front conditions, you're better off sitting in the same spot and waiting for the actively feeding fish to come into your zone. If you run and gun, you're just going to keep running into non-biters all day. Where are you at? We've got the same predictions for us this weekend.
kslim I have no idea about Corpus, but you could get a surf rod and some shrimp, squid, cut bait, etc and probably catch something. Also if there are some bridges you could get under you could probably do good fishing shrimp.
Any of the kayak / saltwater guys have recommendations for a basic rod reel? Fishing for striper primarily, live bait or trolling I would think. Want to also use it to fish for muskie in freshwater. Thinking 7' ugly stik tiger lite and Penn Spinfisher 4500LL maybe but really no idea.
I use a 2000 Penn Conquer for redfish and snook, which is like 1 step down from a Spinfisher and a few bucks cheaper. If you want a bad ass feel go for the Penn Clash. I used one this past weekend and they're pretty badass. Getting one for myself as soon as Penn has more available online. 4000-5000 series sounds about right for size. I would spend a little more on a rod. I'm a big Fenwick guy so I would see if you could maybe get an Aetos with the right power for cheap
Going wade fishing tomorrow at an island, going to Academy later gonna stock up on a ton of stuff. Jig heads, artificals, MRs, gonna buy a new rod (thinking Shimano, not sure what brands they have. I'm intrigued by Castaway rods), maybe a new reel, thermals, wade basket. I have waders, haven't used them in a long time, hope they don't have a hole in them, could be brutal if they do.
If you want some great jigheads for future use, I use these. They're awesome http://www.missionfishinlures.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html They sell them at Dick's around here, but I'm skeptical you'll have them in your area. But buying them in bulk online is the way to go. You'll pay $4.49 for 5 in-store
Going out of South Padre Island to the Spur (about 125 miles). Plan on targeting Yellowfin, Wahoo, Mahi, sailfish, and white marlin. Hitting up a rig at night for the Tuna. Should see some fireworks
Anybody familiar with any of these waders? Cabelas Premium Breathable Stockingfoot Redington Crosswater LLP Bean Emerged II Patagonia Rio Azul Listed in order of my interest...not sure if the beans or patagonias are worth the extra coin.
Well I hate to post my fat head and Big dip on here but have to share. I have a pond behind my work that has a bunch of little bass in it. Never caught anything more than 2lbs in there. Got surprised yesterday. Spoiler 23.5" long, didn't have scales.
Im doctoring up this spot with stumps and some pvc pipe buckets. In laws back yard. The flat spot sits 6 ft deep at normal water levels. The dock on the right is at 50 ft. Deep river channel bluff runs through here. Neighbors cut a tree up so a stump minefield is about to take place
I'm looking to get into fly fishing and am looking for some advice. I'll mainly use it for bass fishing but I'll also use it trout fishing some northern Arkansas rivers. I've got plenty of bass gear so I'd prefer to tailor my setup towards the trout but would like to use it bass fishing some as well. I've about decided to go with the orvis Clearwater outfit but not sure on size and length. I'm thinking 4 or 5 weight and 8.5 or 9 foot. Any pointers on size, type and general beginner pointers would be much appreciated.
This was the report I posted on this MS fishing forum I follow from past weekend: Launched the yak in davis bayou around 9AM this morning. Side note-when I got to the launch site someone had left what looks to be the carcass of a decent sized yellow fin just laying on the ground. Thought that was pretty tacky. See Below. Fished from about 9AM-1PM. Went popping cork and live shrimp most of the day but also tried a 1/8oz DCT with live shrimp on the bottom jigging around. It was pretty dang smooth and calm when the day started. Things were feeling pretty fishy. Had some birds working the top of the water and what I guess was mullet working the top of the water. After a few casts I caught that rat red pictured below. Then I caught a 14.5" flounder. Was pretty pumped at that point. Got a phone call from a buddy that was going to Katrina reef and while I was talking to him my popping cork went under. By the time I reacted, which was delayed because of the phone, I lost the fish. Got off the phone and kept fishing. Tossed the cork back out there. Cork disappears under the water. Set the hook and I know I have a good fish on. Have head shaking, know its a trout. Ends up being my personal best at about 19" and probably 4 pounds. It was fat. Throw the cork back out. Sucked under again. 15" trout. Now I'm thinking I'm about to start tearing it up. Sadly, the wind kicked in and it was probably around 10AM and the bite just died. Fished the mouth of davis bayou really hard for another 3 hours which resulted in one more rat red and zero other bites. Still a good day on the water, and I'm starting to think that with the wind dying down and the water temps rising that things in Davis are getting more fishy. I haven't seen a rat red in Davis where I fish in a while. Its like all the trout and reds had just moved out. But seeing a few reds today gets me excited for what is to come.
i'd go with the 5, will have more power for bass. the 4 wouldn't be bad, but the 5 gives you more options. unless you plan on fishing in any small rivers where you have to worry about space, i'd try and get a rod 9'6" or 10'. the extra length will really help for nymphing and giving you extra distance.