Fishing

[fbWldcat]

Okay, men... What is your favorite catfish rig, method or bait to use? Or all three!!!
Mine is drop swivel rig, still/dead line and Nitro stink baits or livers. 

[mbailey]

I use my own stink bait, Its a combo of Chicken livers, Beef blood ( from the butcher )and Cheese. Add a little flour or cornstarch so it sticks together. Blend well in a blender (dont use the wifes good blender, made that mistake once,but that is another story   )

I then scoop the mixture into empty tea bags, ( a melon baller works great for this ) Hook it and poof.....Done. You can make a bunch and freeze it ( empty margarine container is perfect )

I kill the Channel cats with this stuff. I can also cast it really far without worrying about the chicken liver flying off. Anyone that has ever fished with chicken livers knows what im talking about. I got sick of seeing my liver fly one way and the weight and hook the other.

Recipe: Depending on how much you need

Its   a pound of chicken livers, 3/4 of a cup of clotted beef blood and cheese (what ever is on sale, it helps the mixture stick together.) 4 or so table spoons of flour. The consistancy should be an extremely thick paste, almost the consistancy of PlayDoh.

Depending on where im fishing, its usually a tri swivel, weight on one end and hook on the other.

 

[fbWldcat]

Anyone that has ever fished with chicken livers knows what im talking about.

WOW! Look how far I cast that one!! Plip plop (hook and sinker).

-2 seconds later-

Smack! (Chicken Liver)

I know the feeling.

[fbWldcat]

Here ya go FB,there isnt a freshwater fish that wont bite on the Wooleybugger.

 If I had to choose only 1 fly to fish with it would be some version of the Wooley.

 Mostly I make them with all black coloration but I've seen every color under the rainbow used on this versitile fly.

 I've used size 14 hooks to make them 1/2 inch long all the way to 00 hooks for large fish like Pike or Muskie.

Just looked up the Wooly Bugger on youtube and after seeing it in the water, I don't see how something wouldn't bite on it. Looks like an incredible fly!

[fbWldcat]

Has anyone ever caught or seen a snakehead in real life? I would probably spear it with my gaff first time it broke water.

[dkff49]

The one thing that I have always wondered about and may have been what was throwing me off is, How fast to "wind" back in my cast using the Carolina Rig that was suggested earlier? On a scale of 1-10 with 10 as cranking as fast as your arms will wind the reel. I am not sure if it makes a difference or if there are certain conditions that alter the answer or not. Along with that is there any certain technique I should be using with the Carolina Rig as well I plan on using the black and green worms for the rigging mostly.

[morfiend]

DK,

  Try .5        slow retrive and stop often,1 or 2 cranks,lift the rod and let it settle and stop.

  Often the pickup happens as soon as you drop the rod,or on next retrive,seems like if it's gonna get away they grab it.

   I use this when flyfishing and I retrive the line by hand so it's slow and doesnt move far,I'll vary it with a few long hard pulls to strip in abit more line and it seems thats when they hit.If they hit but I miss a hookup,I let it sit then repeat.

  Not to brag but I've had 100 smallie days fishing the local river,best part I have it to myself as few bother to fish it since it's in a major city.

   

[ghi]

I fly fish here in the Rockies.  Good fishing! Awesome catches!
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Yes, great places for fly fishing:below some  pics from my trip through Rockies,( end of May this year), some lakes were still icy, i'll be back next month ,hope to pull few trouts from this clean blue waters and i'm going to eat them raw like a grizzly.
Have to watch for bears, this one was about to steal my camera:)

[fbWldcat]

I'd be careful with a black bear with it's head lowered. A guy around these parts got attacked by a bear and said he didn't do anything to *insert choice word here* the bear off. Yet had a blurry photo of the bear which was walking towards him with it's head lowered.

Haha, I think he might've just been just a little too careless snapping photos of a bear which apparently isn't the picture-taking type.

[mbailey]

Have to watch for bears, this one was about to steal my camera:)
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Nah you were ok, ive seen the cartoons, they only steal Picnic Baskets 

[mbailey]

Well im off to the shore for a week, leaving in about an hr or so. Tuna here i come!! Got a trip booked for tommorow


Does anyone have any suggestions for surf fishing ( LBI NJ ) Ive never done it before and would like to give it a whirl. Im one of those guys that are up at the crack of dawn if not earlier, but the wife and kids usually roll outta bed around 9am. I figured doing some surf fishing would be a great way to kill the time in between, plus there are few things better than watching the sun rise over the ocean with a cup of coffee in hand.

So any Surf fishing suggestions? I have the gear to do it at the house down there, just never have .(taking my laptop so ill be able to read this t/o the week.)
 
<S>

[fbWldcat]

Surf fishing suggestions... I have millions of them.

1. Buy a snook permit
2. Buy a casting net (Cheaper to do this than buy minnows, all the beach places I've been charge a DOLLAR... I will repeat that. A DOLLAR for something about 3 inches long that you could catch out in the surf..)
3. Cast the net into a bunch of minnows.
4. Pull them out and fish them for snook with a circle hook.
5. The best place to catch fish, surprisingly, is not farther out, no no no... Almost all predatory fish inhabit the area from where the waves break at the shore to where the first sandbar is.
6.When wading into the Surf be sure to shuffle your feet to ward off stingrays.
7. Be sure to know where the rip tide is.
8. Steel Leaders recommended
9. Buy a new rod and reel combo for about $20 because the salt water will destroy anything you forget to wash or if you miss a spot the innards will be bye bye.
10. Some sharks, bluefin and stingray inhabit the main fishing area so be careful.
11. DO NOT for any reason wade out during the morning or at dusk or at night.
12. Be on the lookout for gafftopsail catfish which if stepped on leave a nasty wound. http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&q=Gafftopsail&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
13. Use at least a 10lb test
14. Using spoon spinners or small spinners in the surf will catch you ladyfish which are excellent fighters, but I've lost some great lures to fishes unknown... No steel leader...
15. Once you are finished fishing, clean out your tackle box with a hose to get all the salt and sand out of it. Trust me, it's not pretty if you don't.
16. In back bay areas and inlets I find that shrimp are excellent bait. The surf is very rough and if you can keep a shrimp on for long enough, you can catch some monster fish like sheepshead, pompano (My favorite fish to catch), and Halibut.

Good luck!

[dkff49]

Thanks Morfiend.

[Simba]

Flench and GHI, those splendid photos of yours show the scenery that inspires fishermen - or distracts 'em, depending whether there's a good fish on the line or not. Thanks for posting them.

 

[Flench]

What sound's like a good one . I use to make my own but found that Doc bait work's better than any you can make or buy and you can get it in shad , blood or chess .

I use my own stink bait, Its a combo of Chicken livers, Beef blood ( from the butcher )and Cheese. Add a little flour or cornstarch so it sticks together. Blend well in a blender (dont use the wifes good blender, made that mistake once,but that is another story   )

I then scoop the mixture into empty tea bags, ( a melon baller works great for this ) Hook it and poof.....Done. You can make a bunch and freeze it ( empty margarine container is perfect )

I kill the Channel cats with this stuff. I can also cast it really far without worrying about the chicken liver flying off. Anyone that has ever fished with chicken livers knows what im talking about. I got sick of seeing my liver fly one way and the weight and hook the other.

Recipe: Depending on how much you need

Its   a pound of chicken livers, 3/4 of a cup of clotted beef blood and cheese (what ever is on sale, it helps the mixture stick together.) 4 or so table spoons of flour. The consistancy should be an extremely thick paste, almost the consistancy of PlayDoh.

Depending on where im fishing, its usually a tri swivel, weight on one end and hook on the other.