Fishing season is upon us!

And shenanigans are already afoot! I went to the pier this passed weekend and had a few firsts. I made the discovery that you can, in fact, catch a crab with a deep sea jig. I would never have believed it had I not been there to see it. Not only did I see it, but I was the one that reeled it in. I was bitten by a blood worm for the first time - been fishing with them for years and had no idea they could nip you. This was also the first year I've re-spooled a reel and had the line just free spin around it, completely circumventing any attempts to set the drag.

One of my fishing buddies got me pretty good too. A gentleman offered us a bucket of live minnows as he was leaving the pier, and wee accepted his gracious offer. When we were done for the night, there was no one on the pier to pass them off to, and I saw my companion dump what was left of the minnows into the sea. What I didn't see, was him packing the left over blood worms into the bucket before he set them in the back of my truck. There was only about 2 or 3 worms left in that bag, but after 4 days in the hot sun they kicked up one hell of a stink.

Ah, they joys of fishing.

When I was a yung'un, my family would go out east and fish for crabs. Used just about anything to get them to hold onto, drag em to the surface and net 'em. Never really liked crab, so I just played with one for a little bit and then tossed it back in the water.

Y'know, I enjoy crab. But I've never much cared to catch 'em. No real sport in it I guess, too easy to catch.

I prefer synthetics to live bait or things like squid. And I'd rather hook a fish than a crab. They're delicious, but I view them as bait thieving nuisances. I'd rather hook a small throw-back fish than a crab. But those were all any of us caught. Well, better luck next time.

Come on out to Oregon, I'll introduce you to Crab that will hook you for life, it's all in the boil.

When I was a deckhand we use to drop a big Monkey fist of line with some herring wrapped in the center off the boat or pier, get our nightly clean up and next day prep done, pull up the line and BAM dinner.
Lived up in Washington on Whidbey Island and had a buddy that lived about 300 yds from one of the bays. During crab season...every night pulling our 5 crab limit. I love crab but it got to the point that I got tired of shelling. Did go about 3 weeks with crab in some form or fashion nightly.

I wish somebody would catch some fish and put the dang pictures in this thread. :(

Haha! Maybe this weekend if weather and such permit. I wasnt feeling up to it last weekend, but I'm getting the itch.

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

I wish somebody would catch some fish and put the dang pictures in this thread. :(

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Fish stories are hard to pass off with pictures!

Not with a good photo app. ,,,,,;)

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Here is one I caught in a small pond with a fly on a 12'9' Tenkara Rod two weeks ago. Released.


Mike

I think that it's against the law to release a black crappie unless it's into a skillet of hot peanut oil. Lake Limestone?

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Originally Posted by Hirlau

I wish somebody would catch some fish and put the dang pictures in this thread. :(

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http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...da396f2261.jpg

Now that's what I'm talking about !! :dropjaw:

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Originally Posted by mglindo

Attachment 239108

Here is one I caught in a small pond with a fly on a 12'9' Tenkara Rod two weeks ago. Released.


Mike

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I would have released him,,,,,,,,,, between two wedges of lime & a slice of cornbread.

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Originally Posted by kelbro

I think that it's against the law to release a black crappie unless it's into a skillet of hot peanut oil. Lake Limestone?

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It was in a really small pond in front of the Cy Miller Police Station in College Station, Texas. I think somebody put him in there for kicks. Unfortunately, there was some flooding recently and I believe there were many fish that got washed out of that pond.


Mike

That time of year again. Not gonna miss it like I did last year, dag nabbit! I spent a couple hours paddling around Lake Smith tonight, managed to nab this little fellow slow rolling a little Wal-Mart spinning bait.

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I was actually gonna release it, but he got foul hooked something fierce. All 3 barbs of the treble hook were in his lips. I couldn't get him free without ruining his lips, and cutting him loose woulda probably led to him starving to death. So his destination became the frying pan.

Had a few other nibbles, but they all got loose. Only other catch was a stick-fish. Didn't bother taking a picture, just threw him back up on the bank.

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Originally Posted by Marshal

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I was actually gonna release it, but he got foul hooked something fierce. All 3 barbs of the treble hook were in his lips. I couldn't get him free without ruining his lips, and cutting him loose woulda probably led to him starving to death. So his destination became the frying pan.

Had a few other nibbles, but they all got loose. Only other catch was a stick-fish. Didn't bother taking a picture, just threw him back up on the bank.

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,,,,,,,,,,,so you felt sorry for him by gutting him, beheading him, covering him in corn meal and dropping him into a pan of scalding oil. :roflmao

Under the circumstances, it was the humane thing to do! :angel:

It was also the only way I was gonna get my lure back. That thing cost a whole dollar! :mace:

Guess I'll start with the good stuff. Today's fishing trip started out enjoyable, if fruitless. Couldn't get so much as a nibble, but I did get a few good photos out of the deal, and a decent amount of exercise. Couple of turtles sunning themselves on logs:

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I lost that lure from the previous picture. It got hung up in a tree. I actually managed to retrieve it since it was in a downed tree and within arm's reach from the kayak. However, in the future I think the trees can just keep the darn lures. I sidled up to it, did a quick visual scan for spider webs, and plucked the lure out since it looked clear. It wasn't, and I wound up with a few brown spiders (maybe recluses?) on the boat with me, and a black widow on the handle of my paddle.

Now, if you aren't an arachnophobe this probably doesn't seem like too big a deal. I'm terrified of things with 8 legs and 8 eyes, so trying not to panic and flip this dinky little boat was a challenge. I wanted nothing more than to scream like a little girl and run across the top of the water to shore. I had to settle for slamming the paddle on the hull hard enough to dislodge the widow into the pond and smashing all the little brown ones I could find as soon as I was far enough away from that nightmare factory of a downed tree.

I didn't much feel like stopping to put the lure away properly, so I tied something else on and hooked it to my vest pocket. I got around a bend and saw a fair sized bass jumping. In my exuberance, I managed to tangle the new lure in another tree much higher up. I managed to dislodge it, but broke the line in the process and the lure fell into the drink. Unbeknownst to me, while I was flailing about the lure I had just risked life and limb to retrieve fell off my vest and into the pond too. Oh well, I heard the bass jump again, so he was still around. I paddled around a bit and tried a different lure. Until it got tangled around the tip of my second pole. I'm still trying to work out how this happened, but it was tied up well enough I couldn't have untangled it from dry land much less the cockpit of a kayak.

I cut it loose and was about to pack it in when that cotton pickin fish jumped again. Now I know he was mocking me. So of course I tied the lure back on and started casting around the area I saw him in. Within 5 casts my lure was hung up on a stick under water, and I couldn't break it loose. That was lure number 3, and my breaking point.

All in all not the worst fishing trip ever. In fact I'd say it wasn't bad at all if I could get past the feeling of phantom spiders crawling all over me. I'll just keep telling myself that a bad day on the lake is still better than a good day at work.

When you start to think of things with 8 eyes and 8 legs; picture yourself in Vegas with 4 women. :beer2: