2024 Fish Pic Thread

[Ville]

Helifishing out in wilderness for a week with guests. Good fishing and happy times.

Arctic chars are close from home yesterday, e-bike ride for 1,5hrs and you're in awesome arctic char fishing spot [emoji4]

Lähetetty minun LYA-L29 laitteesta Tapatalkilla

[schindlerpiste]

48 inch striper off the beach with the moon shining on the ocean. To me that’s what dreams are made of. In October, when I am in Nantucket, I will be spending most of my nights on the jetty, hoping to Get lucky and score that elusive predator.
Well done, sir!

[romeo tango]

beautiful fish Ville!

.

[plugboots]

Char.

[yeahman]

Just tossin' a Mepps in the Mo on a casual afternoon float.

[Rasputin]

Nice fish!

After a hiatus of a couple months, I got back out on the river yesterday, and was greeted by wind gusting up to fifty mph. I was patient, fished between the gusts, and enjoyed the coolness that the storm brought, as temps dropped around twenty degrees. I fished various chubby dropper rigs, and had many refusals, but eventually I found the fish rising for a small rusty chubby, and caught three on the surface to compliment the one I'd caught early, using a sunken black ant.

It was a bit smokey, but the orange tinge makes a pretty light.





The big one of the day was only nine inches, but that's OK, I was just glad to be back on the water.

[Rasputin]

Got out early today, and caught a half dozen, but lost a big one! However, I got some love from the river on a crazy gorgeous day:




Just beautiful today.






Hey there little guy.

[jdoyle]

Snuck out for a few hours this afternoon. Fished poppers and a wiggly with no luck. Switched to a full sink polyleader and bugger changer and ended up with a PB smallmouth right by the parking lot!

[Self Jupiter]

48 inch striper off the beach with the moon shining on the ocean. To me that’s what dreams are made of. In October, when I am in Nantucket, I will be spending most of my nights on the jetty, hoping to Get lucky and score that elusive predator.
Well done, sir!

Should still be some pelagics like False Albacore and Bonito around at that time too!

[schindlerpiste]

While I am a catch and release guy (especially while on vacation), and falsies put up a good fight, and it is kinda cool to witness gray seals saw your falsie in 1/2 3' from the shore, I'm always much more interested in a big striper, blue fish or doormat fluke. I will probably bring a few deadly dicks for false albacore, just in case I feel like lobbing a few from the sand and no stripers are biting my Cotton Cordell's or Slug-go's

[Rasputin]

I went out fishing late this afternoon, it was sunny but not overly hot, and the fishing was not bad; I caught several fish, lost a couple, and I also had enough refusals to keep me changing flies.

I caught a pretty rainbow on my dropper, a #14 BH purple Prince nymph.





I used my lightning fast snag hooking skills to land a very surprised fathead minnow, who'd flown through the air when I set my hook.





I caught five fish (including the minnow) on five different flies, and I was in a generally good mood throughout, thank God for small miracles.

[Rasputin]

I went to another nearby stretch of river, some of which I've fished before, and some water I hadn't, and aside from losing three chubby dropper rigs, it was another good day.





I wonder what makes big fish so utterly rash when it comes to chubby chernobyls, this guy inhaled a black and purple one.





I went up stream further than I had before, and found a place where the river dumped sideways over into a giant pool; I soon had another big fish on, and after fighting it into the shallows, it abruptly came off. NOOOOOOO! Well shortly afterwards I caught a smaller one in the same spot.





I worked along the pool where streamlets passed into the big pool and was surprised that I didn't get anymore takers for the Pat's which had just landed one and got two other bites. Then I noticed I had lost said Pat's, and put another one on. It was getting late, so I started working my way back, and one of the places I though should have produced on the way up, did so on the way down, and yielded the biggest fish I was able to land.

[Rasputin]

Today makes the fourth day in a row I've been on the water, and it has just gotten better each day. After the results I got with two different colors of Pat's rubber legs nymphs, I went back to it, and immediately got a bite, but failed to set the hook, as I'd dropped the line or something clumsy like that. The second cast, I hooked up briefly, but he came off after a second. The third cast I caught this healthy little guy:





I had a plan that had inspired me. Due to the very low water flow these days, it has become much easier to cross the river, so I went and fished across the river from the confluence I often fish, which I have not done previously. On the way, I threw in where I'd caught my best fish on Sunday, and was rewarded with a healthy 14"er.





It was very deep over there, so after seeing that my hopper dropper rig was too shallow, I put on a tung-headed stone-fly nymph ISBSs sent me, with a hare's ear trailer. I immediately caught a whitefish, who heard that hare's ears were being served, and speedily swam for the lunchroom. Later, I caught another one, about the same size, but this one took the stone-fly nymph.





After finding that fishing isn't always better on the other side of the river, I crossed back over, and fished the confluence, where I caught another whitefish, this time on an olive/black Pat's, which had replaced the orange one I snagged on a root-ball, and lost. I headed back up the river toward the boat ramp. I fished near some logs in slack water and caught five juvenile pike minnows.

The "honey-hole", as it was during the winter has changed, a large tree came down across the top of it changing how the water flows though, as well as the runoff somewhat filling it with gravel, but the fish have been there. Tonight, in the same place where I caught my biggest troutfish, I hooked (Pat's again!) and landed another of the same length, though a bit slimmer, and with a really oddly shaped head. This one, as was the previous giant, was golden baby!





After releasing the big guy, I cast back into the honey hole, and caught another, much more modestly sized trout, then headed upstream to the churn. There, my Pat's rubber-legs delivered again, this time a sturdy cut-bow.





In the last little hole, which I tend to end my days with in the summer, yet another fish thought Pat's was too yummy looking to pass.

What a day!

[Rasputin]

[Rasputin]

After yesterday's in town fishing, I wanted a more remote locale, so I went out to "big cutthroat creek", and though it wasn't hot fishing, it was a beautiful day on as pretty a trout stream as one could hope for. The big fish of the day did not cooperate, breaking off the Griffith's Gnat I was trailing behind an easy to see parachute. I saw him when he rose, as big cutthroat creek is clear as vodka, and what a beast! Anyhow, I did manage to land a fine example of a West Slope Cutthroat (pictured below), and another foot long Cutt on the last cast of the day, as the dusk was gathering.

[Rasputin]

Some days are exasperating, and today was one, at times, and at other times it was not. I was thoroughly frustrated late in the morning, fish were rising and I couldn't get them to bite, but they were rising right next to my flies, and sometimes refusing them, but they weren't taking them, until I finally had a solid eat, and let too much of my frustration empower my hook-set. My chubby chernobyl returned to me with teeth marks on it's head, and trout flesh on the hook, sigh.

I was having fits for the first part of the day, so I ambled up river toward the big bend in the river, where I almost always get a take from a decent sized fish. I took a pick of the river along the way:







As I arrived, two two big fish rose within 20 seconds, and fifty feet of each other, I positioned myself so I could drift over both of them. After a few casts, my chubby disappeared, but when I set the hook it felt like I had snagged on a log, until it started moving, but before I was able to get excited, it threw the hook. NOOOOOO!

I continued working up through the area where I have landed and lost large trouts a number of times, and as I was complaining to God about losing the lunker, the indicator dipped, and I had the pleasure of a fierce fight and a strong 15" rainbow in the net, I started feeling a bit better.







I moved up to the riffle a stone's throw up stream, and lost a nice fish which hooked itself while I was spaced out for a sec. A few minutes later, I saw a BIG trout-back surface and nudge my chubby, but that was all, it went silent.

I crossed the river (it is awesome to be able to do so there, due to the low water level) and headed to where I caught a big rainbow on Thursday. I'm very happy to have discovered that stretch of water, which I am calling "long pool". I worked up the pool, and got a couple refusals on the surface, but eventually a big fish (bigger than my first catch) broke the surface, and inhaled my big purple bug, and my day got better again.







I will digress from my tale to recount a piece of good fortune which smiled on me as I went for my usual Saturday walk. Every Saturday, I walk down the bike path to the park, then through it, before turning down Johnson Street back toward my apartment. Along the way I greet anyone I happen to meet with a booming "HOWDY!", and try to engage folks in conversation, particularly the homeless folks who are usually along the way, because the homeless shelter on Johnson Street closes for an hour or more for cleaning, and all the folks staying there have to take their stuff and go outside to wait until it reopens. I tell the homeless folks that I live in the neighborhood, and am interested in meeting my neighbors, I look for open hearts.

It often connects me with interesting folks, and this week was no exception; I met a jolly, native brother, who was busy taking odds and ends he found in dumpsters, and was putting them together in creative ways; he had a box of flies, which of course got my attention, there were four orange chubby chernobyls, two double beaded stones, a hackled parachute chubby, a sinking ant, and four Bitch Creek nymphs. He closed the box and handed it to me, and I told him he must be one of those people that try to find the right place for all that comes to him. He liked that thought.

Now the Bitch Creeks were a prize, for sentimental reasons. When I was in HS, some friends and I formed the fly fishing club. I shared with the members the hilarity which is How to Fish Good by Milford "Stanley" Poltroon. We found great humor in the following cartoon:







We thought the name Bitch Creek Killers was so funny, that we named our city league basketball team the BC Killers (we were afraid the league wouldn't like using the word bitch). Anyway, today I fished a Bitch Creek for the first time (though it was neither a size eighteen, nor sparsely hackled (it was size ten and generously hackled). Now back to the story.

After fishing up to the head of "long pool" I worked my way back down when SUDDENLY, a big ole' troutfish surfaced and chomped on my loverly black and purple chubby, leading me to panic set and abruptly broke off said chubby, and the Pat's rubber legs it had in tow (which incidentally, caught the 15"er I'd caught earlier). NOOOOOOOO! The day suddenly was not quite as happy.

However, this is when I fished out another black and purple chubby chernobyl (from Grizzly Hackle who I think should replace the one I lost because of this awkwardly inserted plug), and tied the Bitch Creek onto it's tail. I tossed it into a plume of water gushing into the pool and voila, a modestly sized rainbow became my first catch on a Bitch Creek nymph.







Shortly later, the Bitch Creek also caught a highly prized, and importantly native, Northern Pike Minnow:






I made my way down to where I'd lost the log/fish earlier, and just as I was begging "Please Mr. Big Fish bite my...." WABAMM!!! Mr. Big Fish gobbled up the purple and black chubby chernobyl (from Grizzly Hackle, Missoula Montana)! And the fight was on. I tried to move him toward me, but didn't want to horse it in, it was up on the surface, and splashing around, and good Lord what a big fish; I was was holding him with steady pressure, but I was trying to be patient, because I didn't want to lose another big fish today by pulling too hard, when suddenly, Mr. Big fish threw his head to the side and broke off my black and purple chubby chernobyl (from Grizzly Hackle) with Bitch Creek Killer in tow. NOOOOOOOO!

Oh well, I caught a couple beauties, and a big minnow, and I probably was just cranky because of the smoke, but at least it makes for pretty pictures.





The End

[yeahman]

Quick trip to the homeland

[tgapp]

strong work mags

more alpine lake fishing

sight fishing streamers is my new favorite, unreal to be able to watch (from a cliff) follows, grabs, and eats

and getting decent (14-16") fish on the tenkara is very exciting too

got the trifecta up there

and i managed to fish with the little guy in a sling

[Rasputin]

Fishing with the baby on board, now that is strong work!

[skivan]

and i managed to fish with the little guy in a sling

A favorite 90s (?) patagonia catalog pic of mine was of Liza fly fishing w/ Dawson in a kid carrier on her back. She caught some flack for that picture back in the day. Way to go [emoji846] I have a pic mounting some lhasas w my kid in a sling like that.

[Rasputin]

I went to the river for a couple hours tonight, caught two small trout, a tiny pike minnow, and a 14" whitefish. I'd been staying inside all day, avoiding the smoke, which was at unhealthy levels (169 AQI!), but the Sun didn't look so red as it did last night.

[neckdeep]

with a really oddly shaped head. !

Skull deformity indicative of whirling disease

[Rasputin]

It bothered me a bit about those fish that broke off my rigs the other day, so this evening I returned to catch those big fish, or at least other big fish, in the big fish catching places.

I came in on the opposite side of the river from where Mr. Big Fish had thrown his head and popped my line, but I could reach the same area, and had a fish on within a few casts. which had taken the brown Pat's I had hanging three feet off of a size 12 purple chubby. The fish was very strong, and jumped three times, and after one of the best fish fights I've ever had, I managed to net her, 18"! What a beauty! I felt redeemed of the lost black and purple Chubby Chernobyl (from Grizzly Hackle) and Bitch Creek nymph, which had been taken from me directly across the river.




Well, I felt relieved of the anxiousness I feel until I catch my first fish of the day, if nothing else went right, I had already got a big fish, and that ain't bad. So I decided to leave and go on with the expedition, having the loose plan of crossing the river later on and fishing it from the other side, but first, Long Pool.

The lower part of Long Pool yielded naught but the odd refusals by small fish, so I made my way to the head of the pool, where the main current of the river, makes a hundred degree turn after a funnel of broken water ranging in speed, fast along the bank and slow on the pool side. I have fished this the two previous times and think it looks very fishy, but I still haven't got a fish there. Once the current has made the turn from South to West, it slows and spreads; a still-water, slightly foamy inlet is passed here by the fastest part of the current, the seam was something I wanted to target because well, I hadn't before, and it looked like a natural feeding spot. I got refusal on the first cast which I got close to it, however, on one of the subsequent casts, toward the end of the drift I got a taker on the Chubby, and from the heavy splashing that ensued I knew I was into a pretty big fish.

I was very nervous about losing it, and I let it have some line a few times as I gently moved it into slack water, and absorbed many short charges by relaxing, and allowing it to straighten my arms and bent me forward with its pull, and eventually I got it into the net and saw that it was the biggest trout I've yet caught, My first twenty incher. It was so big, that I couldn't fit its tail in the picture (I took two pics, but the camera didn't).

[mud]

Baby Gulf Flounder trying to get bye.

[Rasputin]