Fish Tales
 

What is your favorite species of fish to catch?
Largemouth bass
Favorite bait/lure for favorite species?
Shiners- either large or medium
What was the largest fish ever caught?
46" rockfish
Any "fish tales" or "hard to believe" stories?
It was 1:00p.m. on a sunny July afternoon. My stepfather, stepbrother, stepsister and I were fishing a local pond no bigger than an acre. We had only caught a few 2-4 pound largemouth bass up until then. We were short on bait, and my stepbrothers reel had crapped itself. My stepdad threw it on the shoreline around I'd say 11:45 or so with the worm still on the hook, and the line out about 2 feet from the shore. At approx. 1:00 the disabled tackle skyrocketed away from the shore with a vengance. My stepdad lunged just in time to grab the rod. The line snapped, but it broke above the bobber which had about a 3 foot leader (don't ask me why). He said it felt like a monster. We watched as the unknown critter swam around the pond before settling all the way across at the 12 'o clock position. We threw all we had at it. Down to the last 2 shiners, I affixed them to the hook and gave it one last shot. I saw the beasts bobber go down, then mine. I was reeling it in and remember saying "she ain't that big". Apparently she was swimming towards us. Her head broke the water, and my stepdad dove in the mucky pond to grab her. He flung her on the shore, and we gasped. We had no camera, no tape, and no scale. We put her in a 5 gallon bucket, but only half of her fit. We had to hug the beast in order to stabilize it. My stepdad decided to let the fish go so we may have another shot next time (he's a big catch and release guy). feeling the weight of her, she had to be at least 12-13lbs, breaking the current MD state record at the time, but I was only 12, and I figured he knew best. Hind sight is 20/20 when your staring at the ass-end of a winning horse. Hard to believe it, but it happened.

I didn't see any threads for this subject in any of my searches. If I am mistaken, please remove.

What is your favorite species of fish to catch?

any of the Snapper or Grouper family,, eat reel good...

Favorite bait/lure for favorite species?

live bait,, pin fish or shrimp

What was the largest fish ever caught?

Hooked,, inadvertently Whale Shark(20 ft++),, cut the line,, he swam into our trolled baits

Catch-n-release,, Bull Shark,, maybe 200 lbs,, nite reef drift fishing,, dead bait,, touched the leader,, cut him loose,, great fight for 15 minutes..

Caught to eat,, Dolphin,, trolled dead bait,, 45 lbs,, in case your wondering that's coryphaena hippurus or ethically speaking: mahi-mahi in Hawaiian, el dorado in Spanish, or lampuki in Maltese,, don't get me started...

In Alaska, there was a good spot for Grayling just behind my quarters...Chena River...used to fish for them all night, catch and release...

Trout, down in this neck of the woods...don't care much for warm-water species...

What is your favorite species of fish to catch?
Brook trout
Favorite bait/lure for favorite species?
Mr. Harsey's secret fly
What was the largest fish ever caught?
Size doesn't matter with brookies.
Any "fish tales" or "hard to believe" stories?
All of my fishing stories are the honest truth. However, I do have a quote for you: "...it was trying to make a knife for fishing that started this whole thing." Do you know who said it?

Negative. Searching turns up nothing close. Will continue until answer is found. Out.

Favorite Fish is Black Bass. Biggest bass 12.5 lbs

Biggest fish caught 450 Black Marlin but really fishing for Marlin your like Monkeys on Space Shuttle boat actually catches the fish. I just reeled when told.

Biggest other fish 45 Stripped Bass 100 lbs Sturgeon

I like to eat what I catch.

Salt water: Stripers!
Fresh water: Any Trout!

Nod to Penn for cooking suggestions!!!

RF 1

Fish Tales
 

What is your favorite species of fish to catch?
Largemouth bass
Favorite bait/lure for favorite species?
Fake worms, Spinners
What was the largest fish ever caught?
30" Bass
Any "fish tales" or "hard to believe" stories?
Was fishing in a lake behind my house with a couple buddies on a boat. My one friends Father was bragging up a storm, because he caught the first fish of the night. All of the sudden I hear some Hootin' and Hollerin' so I turn around to confirm it was him. I spot his rod bending thinking he got stuck on a branch or something. He's hollerin' "Whoooo Ready for the biggest fish of the night boys." and a hyperbole of "Has to be a Thirty Footer" last but not least when he yelled " I GOT NESSIE". When he got the line out of the water all we saw was seaweed. Thinking it was a false alarm I laughed. To our Surprise he cleared away the seaweed ( lakeweed be it, what it must), There was a little 2 inch Bass on his hook. We laughed so hard, I will never forget that.

I used to love to fly fish for trout using dry flies. Brookies were the most fun, but Rainbows and Browns provided the biggest challenges. Never really caught a large one, biggest being about 16" Brown.

Story: When I was going for my MS in Wildlife Management my study was on the Penobscot River in Maine. The task was to develop an ecological data base of flora and fauna that would enable folks to track environmental changes to the river due to pollution/pollution abatement which was to contribute in helping bring back the Atlantic Salmon to the Penobscot River basin. My study partner and I were out in a brand new Old Town canoe "sampling" the fish species one day above an old damn that had deteriorated over the years from its original height to a nominal 3 foot drop. Being stupid college kids we decided that we could shoot the falls and continue down the river without having to portage the canoe around the white water area. I mean, what the hell, it looked navigable with just a little churning and a light mist rising above the drop off point which was sort of beckoning us to give it a shot. Although we were dumb college kids, we were not total idiots, and we donned our kapok life preservers and lined up in the current to negotiate the drop. Next thing I remember I was airborne, momentarily hovering above some nasty looking brownish white topped waves, there was no canoe, no study partner and, in what I am sure was a classic olympic class entry, I was underwater turning and churning around like I was inside a huge glass of iced tea being beaten with a large wooden spoon. Realizing that the spoon was the paddle, I grabbed it and used it to fight to the surface only to find myself 50 meters down stream adjacent to an upside down canoe and a sputtering lab partner. We shook the water out the canoe, hauled our dumb assess back in and paddled to shore praying that we had not done any real damage to the Wildlife Unit's new canoe. What we did not know was that there was some little old lady sitting on her back porch observing this fiasco. She had seen the canoe and "two idiots" disappear under the Stillwater Spillway and had called the State Cops for a rescue team. Still ignorant of that fact, we stashed the canoe in a safe location out of sight on the bank and made our way to the road to hitchhike back to the car. We did notice a couple of boats racing up the river to the Spillway where we just exhibited our expertise in navigating white water rapids ,but really did not pay much attention to the activity. By the time we reached the road we were dry and we got a ride from one of the local lads. We got to our car, turned the radio on just in time to hear about a massive rescue attempt that was being launched to find two kids that had been sucked under, canoe and all, by the Stillwater Spillway that had claimed yet additional victims. Having one of those "Oh S..t" moments I got to a phone, called the cops, told them we had seen those two jerks drag their canoe out of the water and drive away. Didn't catch any fish, but did find a good deep hole below the Stillwater Spillway for future fishing endevours-this time in the Unit's Boston Whaler and approached from downstream.:D

1. Fly fishing for Golden Trout in the Sierras. :)

2. Sargento (Peacock Bass) fishing in Gatun Lake using a 'Dupont' lure. Mmmmm, Saviche. :D

Richard

I just ate some rainbow trouts I caught two nights ago. Trout is some mighty good eatin' :D.

My least favorite fish-or why not to fish with the CSM
 

CSM Ernie "Duke" Snider and I were on all paid vacation in West Africa under the "guidance" of the State Department when we got a day off. Duke noticed the barracuda in the center picture below and decided that we needed to go hook some using the Embassy Boat. We got one "cuda" and almost one uninvited follow on. If the boat driver could have flown would have left the boat as he yelled, "He bite you, you die"! What makes this interesting is that the green mamba, which this is, does not inhabit estuarys because they do not take to salt water. This critter was either under the tarp in the boat before we left and decided to unass the boat or it dropped out of a tree as we passed underneath. Either way it would not have been a good "catch of the day"!

Looks a lot like a bad snake to me, Jefe.:D

The cudas must have run away when they heard you and Duke were after them.

TR

What did you do with it?
Hmmmm I never ate barracuda, might have to try that someday.

Grilled it.