Fishing Thread

Get_Right

I have never fished in NJ. But I have been lucky enough to fish some great places. Grew up in CT and trout fished all over New England. And then my fishing obsession kicked in. I fished the Bahamas, United Kingdom, Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Belize, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, California, and Japan in about a 10 year span. Almost all fly fishing but some spin rods. Alaska and New Zealand are the bucket list trips. With two teenagers (one in college) I do not get out as much these days. Retirement is coming!

tempo_n_groove

Get_Right said:

Loujoe said:

https://onthewater.com/epic-stories-of-striper-blitzes
Fun read

Some great reads there. Some people chase the blitzes for years and never see them. I used to surf cast and fly fish Montauk from the north and south side rocks until it became a total shit show. Mid 90s until 2003 or so. One of my all time favorite fishing memories is fly casting to a blitz on the south side. The bass and bait were literally at my feet. And even though they are blitzing, they can be VERY picky. But landing a 25 pounder on fly rod, while standing on a rock with korkers duct taped to my boot waders is one of my greatest fishing memories.

So "blitzing".  In Barbados they call it a "raffle".  We were out 5 miles or so and trolling when we hit one rod, then another, then another.  We were circling a piece of drift wood that fish were congregating under.

I reeled in 3 myself.  2 Kingfish and one Dorado.  It was something to see the fish jumping out of the water like you see on the fishing shows.  We ended up with 7 kingfish and 5 dorado.  At the time I wasn't aware that this was a phenomenon.  I thought this happened all the time.  

Boat got a nice payday for those fish and we brought some home.

I have a pic somewhere. One day ill pick it up and post.

Get_Right

Great story. I think we used to call those situations boils rather than blitzes. But It's the same idea. A pod of fish on the feed. And you are there at the right time and place. It does not happen all the time, although good guides/captains know where to go when you are in a boat. Dorado are one of the best eating fish.

eddiec

My Uncle used to work at Sandy Hook in New Jersey and they used to call that 'running'. As in, the Blues are running. You could basically cast out anything and they would bite it.

Get_Right

I have heard that saying before, more so to mean fish are in the area, as in they are running through now. Big bluefish are eating machines when they are in schools. If it had been big blues instead of stripers at my feet, the story could have turned out to be very different. They get a bad rap but are a ton of fun to fish. Just stay away from those teeth!

Loujoe

Yes! Same bud's boat on a different trip, we were trolling with a scallop boat in the distance stirring the ocean floor up hence turning on the bite. Nailed a couple nice blues. Kept one. Same day roasted with some white wine and a stick of butter. It was fantastic. Rarely eat what I catch. Don't enjoy the killing part of it. But am always respectful if I do.
Love the stories. Fishing is a big part of my life. Catching is not!

tempo_n_groove

Loujoe said:

Yes! Same bud's boat on a different trip, we were trolling with a scallop boat in the distance stirring the ocean floor up hence turning on the bite. Nailed a couple nice blues. Kept one. Same day roasted with some white wine and a stick of butter. It was fantastic. Rarely eat what I catch. Don't enjoy the killing part of it. But am always respectful if I do.
Love the stories. Fishing is a big part of my life. Catching is not!

U ate a bluefish? ewwwww!

Get_Right

Ha! I always say I just need one fish. Does not need to be big, but just give me one bite. As I get older fishing has just become an activity to get me outside. Some people golf, ski, climb mountains, or play tennis. I prefer to be walking in the woods, on the water with a rod in hand. I am not as serious as I used to be and I do not travel for it like I used to. And I used to import lures and tying materials from Japan. I am lucky if I get out a few times a year and 98% catch and release. Children put a damper on fishing time!

I have been to a few private places where you to pay to fish trout. The fee is basically to ensure a sustainable population and eating part of what you catch is what you pay for. I have taken some native trout in Japan. That is a story unto itself, one I think I told here before. The only other exception might be yellowtail or mangrove snappers in the keys. Classic yellowtail sashimi, maybe grilled, and then fried snapper sandwiches. Also smallmouth bass/perch on the border lakes near the Maine/Canada border- a classic shore lunch on an island in the middle of nowhere. All cooked in a well used cast iron skillet with bacon fat. Over a fire. With beans and cornbread. I bet you can smell it. I will take that over 18 at Pinehurst a thousand times over.

Loujoe

tempo_n_groove said:

Loujoe said:

Yes! Same bud's boat on a different trip, we were trolling with a scallop boat in the distance stirring the ocean floor up hence turning on the bite. Nailed a couple nice blues. Kept one. Same day roasted with some white wine and a stick of butter. It was fantastic. Rarely eat what I catch. Don't enjoy the killing part of it. But am always respectful if I do.
Love the stories. Fishing is a big part of my life. Catching is not!

U ate a bluefish? ewwwww!

I think i cut that strong dark oil line out. Oh man. I worked at a restaurant and they fried up a bunch of snappers i caught (baby blues ya know) and they were yum. Tastes like the ocean.
Me and my me and my me and my friend. Went on an all night party boat fishing for blues with jigs. They warned us they were catching small ones. We said f..k it let's go. So they hooked us up with diamond jigs. 'Drop down and reel as fast as you can up" we knew it was gonna be a long night. Caught a bunch, saw some squid, lost something big. Always an adventure. Now I can sit in my warm house with mostly true fish stories to tell.
Told les claypool I wanted to go fish with him...he said "Why would I want to go fishing with an a..hole!" That's another story  told elsewhere. I left the good parts out F..k primus. They suck.
Love you all

Ok. I'm going nuts to fish now.

F Me In The Brain

^^
Caught a hundred pound sturgeon
On 20 pound test

Primus sucks

Loujoe

I heard him say it was actually 18 pound test but tweny sounded better.
❤️ 

tempo_n_groove

Loujoe said:

tempo_n_groove said:

Loujoe said:

Yes! Same bud's boat on a different trip, we were trolling with a scallop boat in the distance stirring the ocean floor up hence turning on the bite. Nailed a couple nice blues. Kept one. Same day roasted with some white wine and a stick of butter. It was fantastic. Rarely eat what I catch. Don't enjoy the killing part of it. But am always respectful if I do.
Love the stories. Fishing is a big part of my life. Catching is not!

U ate a bluefish? ewwwww!

I think i cut that strong dark oil line out. Oh man. I worked at a restaurant and they fried up a bunch of snappers i caught (baby blues ya know) and they were yum. Tastes like the ocean.
Me and my me and my me and my friend. Went on an all night party boat fishing for blues with jigs. They warned us they were catching small ones. We said f..k it let's go. So they hooked us up with diamond jigs. 'Drop down and reel as fast as you can up" we knew it was gonna be a long night. Caught a bunch, saw some squid, lost something big. Always an adventure. Now I can sit in my warm house with mostly true fish stories to tell.
Told les claypool I wanted to go fish with him...he said "Why would I want to go fishing with an a..hole!" That's another story  told elsewhere. I left the good parts out F..k primus. They suck.
Love you all

Ok. I'm going nuts to fish now.

Snapper are yummy.  Blues re not...

tempo_n_groove

Get_Right said:

Ha! I always say I just need one fish. Does not need to be big, but just give me one bite. As I get older fishing has just become an activity to get me outside. Some people golf, ski, climb mountains, or play tennis. I prefer to be walking in the woods, on the water with a rod in hand. I am not as serious as I used to be and I do not travel for it like I used to. And I used to import lures and tying materials from Japan. I am lucky if I get out a few times a year and 98% catch and release. Children put a damper on fishing time!

I have been to a few private places where you to pay to fish trout. The fee is basically to ensure a sustainable population and eating part of what you catch is what you pay for. I have taken some native trout in Japan. That is a story unto itself, one I think I told here before. The only other exception might be yellowtail or mangrove snappers in the keys. Classic yellowtail sashimi, maybe grilled, and then fried snapper sandwiches. Also smallmouth bass/perch on the border lakes near the Maine/Canada border- a classic shore lunch on an island in the middle of nowhere. All cooked in a well used cast iron skillet with bacon fat. Over a fire. With beans and cornbread. I bet you can smell it. I will take that over 18 at Pinehurst a thousand times over.

Nice!.  My old company let me go on a fishing retreat to Canada.  Tetu Lake.  Remote.  Sea plane in and out.  We brought beer in with us, lol.  I made a rule that  u must crack a beer after the first fish caught.  One of the PM's I was with ran with that.  He said "rules are rules.  I need to abide by the rules."

We were catching Muskee/snot rockets, Walleye and Bass.  What a fun trip.  I wore shorts out w a raincoat and a huge storm came.  I was feeling no pain and enjoyed the hell out of it.  The guide said to me afterwards, "i didn't think you were gonna make it." I said, from that little storm?  I worked in Alaska my man, this ain't shit.
He laughed and said, now I know.

Anywho.  It was a huge drought around that time so the water levels were 10 feet lower.  All their old fishing spots were now above water and the fish found new spots to hide in.  I have pics of that somewhere too, lol.

We cooked what we caught for lunch w cast iron skillets they brought.  What a fun bunch of guys. 2days of fishing.  No internet.

tempo_n_groove

Biggest fish caught?

+400lbs Jewfish/Goliath Grouper.  Somewhere there is a pic of this too, lol.  This was back when you could still take them out of the water.  The captain was impressed w the fish and wanted a pic bad of it.  Huge fish.  8' long, took a shit on the boat.  Stunk real bad... Had one hell of a time getting it in and out of the boat...

Loujoe

Woah. Great stories.
Snot rocket=pickerel? Or small muskie?
My bud calls them a s r. Fist and only time I heard that til now.

Hell I have an old iron skillet passed down to me from father in law. He fried many trout in it. I use that bitch all the time.
Will take it streamside someday soon. Thinking I want to fry up some catfish.

I caught a catfish camping and threw it in a cooler with ice all day with intent to eat it for dinner. Ice melted. That fish was alive and well in that icy water. I put her back. Swam off with a story to tell its fish friends 

tempo_n_groove

Snot Rockets were small Muskies.  I don't recall why the called them that but they did.

U let dinner go?  Man u are a somewhat good guy, lol. Maybe Les should change his opinion of you.

Loujoe

Ahh. We made up since then. [In my mind]

Fish on

mcgruff10

Brought my eleven year old son fishing a few times over the past few weeks.  He's been having the time of his life catching bluegills and sunnies.  After the last trip he told me he wants to target bigger fish!  Let's go!
Funny story from a few weeks ago, I'm fishing with a bobber and bread, line goes straight down.  Set the hook, I turn to my son and say this thing is freaking huge.  I drag in what seems to be dead weight with the occasional right and left action.  Approaches the surface and it's a freaking snapping turtle the size of a pizza box.  I yanked that hook hard as hell out of his mouth.  Those things scare the crap out of me.

Loujoe

Great story. Glad you're getting out again.

I was fishing with my son years ago and a big fish snapped my line. 
He simply said "Why don't you just catch the small ones?"
Makes sense.

Snapping turtles won't hurt you if you stay away from the front of them. Grab tem by the tail, or call me.

mcgruff10

If you zoom in pretty much in the middle of the photo on top of four leaves close together you can see a small snapping turtle just checking us out.  Grab the tail?!?! Hell no lol