Finally! The fishing season!

[Scleropages]

Here are the Pomoxis nigromaculatus (Black Crappie) that I caught over the past two days:

They are ~5-7" TL. I'll try to get some better pics without using the flash later tonight.

[apistomaster]

Place: Lochsa River, North Central Idaho. My "home river." Catch and Release fishing only.
Water temp: 55*F. pH 5.1. TDS 15 ppm.
Due to the low nutrient environment and up to class six rapids after a harsh winter melt of ~22 ft snow pack it takes about 5 to 6 years for these fish to reach the approx 15 inches these specimens ran.


The Fish: Native West Slope Cutthroat Trout(Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisii)


Inverted to show the characteristic red slash "cuttthroat" markings.

Tackle: Sage 9 ft, 7 wt fly rod and Original Sage Reel made by House of Hardy Great Britain
Fly: Size 18,(~3/16" long hook) Elk Hair Caddis fly imitation

[bigamefish]

The trout are so beautiful! I have mastered baitcasting and spinning I would love to learn fly fishing!

[Birger]

What, you have not tried pike on a fly rod...now there is some fun...with the correct rig combo mind you.

One of my sons is moving this month to Texas, near Houston...looking forward to spending some time fishing in the Gulf, as well as some freshwater fishing(bass, catfish, whatever else).
Birger

[Scleropages]

Apistomaster, nice trout. There are some cool species and subspecies that live up at altitude in those mountain streams. Makes me a bit jealous compared to the Jersey trout I see around here. One day, I'd like to try to catch some golden trout. I used to live in CA and kick myself for not having gone to do it then.

Oncorhynchus aguabonita (Golden Trout)

What, you have not tried pike on a fly rod...now there is some fun...

For some reason, when I read that, I think of this guy:

[Birger]

For some reason, when I read that, I think of this guy:
Image

Haha...very funny, my hair is not red!!

[apistomaster]

Thanks guys,
I have always had a special affinity for the native West Slope Cutthroats although only a very few ever reach 20 inches. I caught my largest ever, one of 19 inches, last summer from Kelly Creek, Idaho. It is a remote and pristine small blue ribbon river. The main focus in my area are the much larger sea run Rainbows AKA Steelhead, which tend to be one of the larger, on average, of the various populations. I guess a 36 inch 16 pound fish is average with many over 22 pounds caught every year. My largest Steelhead were 17 and 18 pounders. The largest I have ever caught fly fishing was about 11 pounds. Like in many mountainous Western States, Golden Trout have been planted in a few remote alpine lakes. Gorgeous fish but I have never been willing to hike so hard and far to catch fish which are not all that large. There are just too many quality fisheries with easy access full of 3 to 6 pound Trout. These lakes are fun to fish from a float tube or packable pontoon boats.

@Birger,
Because of the importance of the sea run Rainbows and Chinook Salmon runs in our rivers there are very few places in the PNW USA where Pike have been introduced. Mainly the huge land locked lakes found in the North Idaho Panhandle Lakes. They are huge lakes and very deep. So much so that the US Navy uses one to run tests on new submarine designs using scale models. The lakes can be over 800 feet deep. One must have a large power boat to cut these lakes down to size in order to reach the shallow coves where the Pike hang out.

[Birger]

My comment was more for Bigamefish to not wait until he is in trout country to pick up a fly rod...on some of the eastern slope lakes (these lakes can be crystal clear) I have had days where the only way to pick up a pike was with a good streamer...picky picky pike. Flyfishing "purists" may cringe but hey, it works and is a wack of fun.

I have also spent many a day on the lakes and rivers on the western side of the mountains and it would be a disaster to have pike running loose throughout...that area and the area in the mountains where I live would be much closer to what you generally fish Apistomaster. For me it is a short walk to the Bow River...not a bad fishery in itself.

Birger

[apistomaster]

Birger, I was slow to notice where you lived and now I'm a bit envious. The Bow River has always been on my destinations wish list. If Pike were around I would certainly want to try to catch them fly fishing. One other fish keeping friend and fellow fly fisherman fishes for which I still have trouble imagining is Carp fly fishing although I once caught a small, 10 inch, specimen on a fly. Anyway he says it is a blast and I know they grow very large as we have big ones in the Snake River which flows through town.

[Birger]

which I still have trouble imagining is Carp fly fishing although I once caught a small, 10 inch, specimen on a fly. Anyway he says it is a blast and I know they grow very large

Haha...I am imagining similar to dragging a boulder around the bottom but I won't knock it until I have tried it, never have fished anywhere with carp.

Birger

[Scleropages]

Got a chance to do some fishing at my friend's private lake up in rural CT. It's stocked with largemouth bass and sunfish (Bluegills, Pumpkinseeds, and maybe another species as well). Here's a pic of one of the larger Largemouth Bass(Micropterus salmoides) that I caught. The water bottle is 9" long.


Here is a pic of the lake viewed through my polarized sunglass lens--you can see the plants underwater with the polarization:

[apistomaster]

@scleropages
I shot all the river and trout photos through my polarized sunglasses too.
It's the only way to remove most of the glare so you can see under the water.

[Firestorming]

Has anyone here done any swoffing?
I have had a crack and only ever come up with so so catches of some of our more temperate species.
This:
http://www.nafa.com.au/content/show/Fis ... 0June.html
is what I really want to have a crack at.

[Scleropages]

Swoffing = salt water fly fishing, yes?

My cousin, who lives in south FL, goes fly fishing for tarpon in May and June. He says it's insane--they put up a great fight on the hook. Too bad they're not good eating.

Here's an example:

This is pretty funny (too bad it's not a 4'+ TL tarpon):

[Firestorming]

Yep swoffing is saltwater flyfishing, well it is to me anyway.

I have watched some guys here do insane things swoffing including tuna, dolphin fish (mahi mahi) and young bull sharks, best I have had was a 3ft long tom which acted like a mini-marlin, tail walking and backflipping all the way to the kayak.

[bigamefish]

I can`t wait for an oprotunity to go saltwater fishing! It looks like a great time!

[apistomaster]

Made my first outing to a nearby trout pond last night.
A size 14 Elk Hair Caddis given a twitch every few seconds did the trick.
I only caught 3 Rainbows of about 11 inches but they appear to be a different strain than what was stocked in the past. The fish were more slender and I suspect they were catchable Steelhead plants. They fought twice as well as the usual type of Rainbows they used to stock making it seem the fish were twice as large as they actually are. I thought at first I had hooked one of the few brood fish they stock. I have caught a few of those over the years and they ran about 18 inches.
First fish hooked was foul hooked just below the dorsal. That one felt like a much bigger fish until I got it in and saw how I hooked it.
These are good for a pan fried trout.
The important thing for me was that they were my first fish of the season and great fun from a 4 acre pond connected to the main river by 3 culverts and only about a 5 minute drive from home. This keeps the water fresher and cooler than it would be otherwise.
It is always nice to break the ice on the first outing and it gave me a chance to do an inventory so I know what I needed to buy and flies to tie for more outings.
I used my 9 ft, 5 wt, Sage VT2 Graphite rod and Scientific Anglers #2 456 reel.

[Scleropages]

Sweet. It's always nice to catch a few on the first trout outing. I'm hoping to get out to the Rockaway River WMA (wildlife management area) soon to do some trout fishing this season. Pan fried sounds good.

Not sure if anyone is in the area, but the Hackettstown Hatchery is having a public open house (first time in forever!) this weekend: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/hacktown100.htm
I might try to make it out there this afternoon or tomorrow.

[bigamefish]

Well i finally caught a

Ictalurus punctatus

! He was 28" and 10-15lbs!

[Scleropages]

Attaboy! It's about time one of us caught a catfish. I know there are

Ameiurus nebulosus

in a local lake. I will have to go with my garlic scented crayfish lures and some hotdogs--one or the other should do the trick. What type of bait/lure did you catch the channel cat with?

[bigamefish]

Thanks! I got to try out my new catfish/bigger fish setup! It consits of- Rod: Quantum energy pt 6'10" heavy action.
Reel: Daiwa millionaire classic 250 (soon going to be replaced with a shimano calcutta or abu garcia c3 or c4 series reel)
Mainline: Sufix 832 advanced super line 65lbs braid
It sure worked like a charm!
And for bait i used beef liver, an absolutly aweful smelling bait! but if you are after bullheads i have caught them on salted frozen minnows on a pickrel rig! But if you can get your hands on some fresh frogs you should be in for some fun! They work amazingly well! ( for me anyway) Good old hot dogs should work good too! Good luck and catch some good ones!!!

[apistomaster]

Big Channel Cat. I finally broke down and bought a spinning rod and reel up to the job of fishing our large rivers. They have plenty of Channel Cats, Small Mouth Bass and Steelhead in season. First spinning gear I have had since I was a kid.
Meanwhile I've been hitting the trout pond on the edge of town catching my limit(5) each trip using dry flies. I only have a couple weeks left before it turns hot and the fish go deep so I am making the most of it. Dry flies usually have limited use in still waters so I am enjoying it while it lasts. The fish are pan sized although I have caught a few brood stock they plant that are about 20 inches but not often.

[Scleropages]

You're killing me, man. I haven't had a chance to go trout fishing this year yet. I NEED a reason to plug in my big freezer in my garage and a bunch of fresh-caught trout sounds like a good one. Oh yeah, welcome to the world of spinning reels. Feels funny to say to a fly-fisherman.

BTW, if anyone has plans for catching and keeping black crappie in an aquarium, be prepared to supply a lot of live food. So far, the specimens I have refuse to eat freeze dried or frozen food--they bite at it when it first hits the water, but then they quickly lose interest.

Thankfully, a pet store close to work carries fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Those crappies will take them out of my hand if I hold them an inch above the water. Very voracious feeders. However, their social behavior reminds me of Uarus... they get big, but they like to hang out in schools of their own kind. And so much for that.

[bigamefish]

Hey is anybody gonna be in minnesota in the 2nd week of july? Im going fishing for 5 days in the brainerd area! I would be delighted to fish with another fishing fanatic/planetcatfisher. Just thought i`d ask!

[Scleropages]

I finally got out for four hours of trout fishing on the Rockaway River this morning and... nothing. My friend caught a couple sunnies and a couple chub. We saw a few trout, but they were not biting on anything. My friend told me that, a month ago, they were biting like crazy. Oh well. We're going to try a different river soon and see if our luck is any different somewhere else. Of course, the other rivers that are nearby have a good amount of polution and I don't think I'll be keeping any trout caught in them.

[apistomaster]

It will be about a month before the trout rivers in my area drop to fishable levels.Even then the water will still be pretty high which can make access difficult to the best places. It may have been a mild winter but our mountains received a normal snow pack unlike many other areas so it is just a typical year. I like to fish wet wading when it is hot. So it is now becoming a bit warm for good lowland lake fishing and still too soon for rivers.

[bigamefish]

Well i`m off to Brainerd Minnesota tomorrow! Can`t wait for the fishing! If we have internet connection i will post any pictures of fish that i catch!

[bigamefish]

Well im back! Miss me?

I caught many fish! And had a brillant time! I do love catching fish that i can`t get around here.
I could use some IDs on all the sunfish excluding the bluegill and of course bass! Here are the pics!

[bigamefish]

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[bigamefish]

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