Who loves fishing ?

[Ramjet159]

Another pic dug up from back in the early Eighties. It was described as double poling . When the Tuna got to larger size individuals in a school we’d run two traces to one hook so two guys are hauling the same fish aboard . Usually started around the 65-75lb mark . You can still single pole a fish up to about 45kg on a short pole but you can’t sustain it . You end up exhausted after 30 minutes so double poling is smarter for endurance . The longest I ever stood in those racks ( fishing position ) was 13 hours . We finished at 0200 am in the morning and all went to bed without even eating dinner we were all that exhausted @Amarok @Frimpong @OldG

 

[HBZ]

I'm the first to say that it isn't for everybody, but I love it.

Where I live is a bit colder and more rugged than many people prefer but that means less people, which makes me happy.
I recently mentioned to someone that with being outside so much and rarely going to the city, I see about 100 piles of deer scat for every human being. I'm good with maintaining that ratio.

I hear coyotes singing every evening, I'm starting to establish a connection with the local crows, I'm getting to know the deer trails in the creek valley.

Life is good.

That is very cool ..

 

[Amarok]

Sweet photo, Ram! That looks ridiculously tough.
I can relate to being that drained at the end of a shift. No supper, no shower, just falling down into a stinky, dirty, snoring heap.



Is that an Oompa Loompa on the far right side?

 

[Psychobilly]

At my mom's now taking her trash out and then Wife and I are heading to the river! First fishing of the season.

 

[Amarok]

Good luck! Hope you slay!

 

[AlienAthena]

Caught my PB Largemouth on Friday 13th, a nice 5.71 pounds right as the sun was disappearing. Medium power combo with 15lb braid and 6lb mono leader. Big Berthas are close to the beds right now. Also the snakes are out! Accidentally helped a snake get an easy dinner last night , I have no idea how that small snake was planning on eating the fish that flopped off my hook but he was determined.


Big Bertha and her slightly bloody tail.

Hope y’all go out and break some PBs!

 

[GthaEnigma]

Thats a nice bass. Yummy. One of my favorite eating fish.

 

[Amarok]

Caught my PB Largemouth on Friday 13th, a nice 5.71 pounds right as the sun was disappearing. Medium power combo with 15lb braid and 6lb mono leader. Big Berthas are close to the beds right now. Also the snakes are out! Accidentally helped a snake get an easy dinner last night , I have no idea how that small snake was planning on eating the fish that flopped off my hook but he was determined.

View attachment 118802
Big Bertha and her slightly bloody tail.

Hope y’all go out and break some PBs!

That is a PIG! Congratulations, AA!

Looks like you could fit your whole forearm in that mouth.

 

[Amarok]

Oh, and much respect for holding it properly and not doing the false perspective, arms stretched to the camera, pose.

 

[AlienAthena]

Oh, and much respect for holding it properly and not doing the false perspective, arms stretched to the camera, pose.

I don’t think I have the arm strength to do that pose lol. After catching Bass that were 1-1 1/2lb or less all year I was sooo shocked when I saw how big it actually was. I need to hit the gym

 

[greyfader]

so i spent 20 years diving every day for live marine specimens for public aquariums and the reef tank industry. i started in key west florida. lived there for 5 years then moved to puerto rico.

while working i couldn't carry a spear gun because i was already carrying so much stuff i could barely swim with it all.

but i kept a large homemade spear gun in the boat in case i saw a grouper or a snapper.

my idea of fishing is to put a 6' 5/16" diameter spring stainless spear through the side of their head.

in shallow water like 40' or less, i would not use a line as generally the spear incapacitated them and pinned them down.

but sometimes some crazy friends and i would get as much beer as the boat could carry without sinking and head out to deep open water.

off the western coast of puerto rico you can be in 2000' of water in a mile in some places.

no scuba just free diving with typically one man operating the boat and one observer in the boat and 2 or 3 in the water at a time.

chumming using ground-up fish mixed with balls of sand so when you throw them off the boat they sink quite a bit as they fall apart.

in open water, you might get a shot at a wahoo, small tuna, mackerel, or mahi-mahi or dorado as it's called in spanish.

trolling on the surface is fun too. i have caught sailfish trolling ballyhoo. too many barracudas. they are the most likely fish to hit your bait in shallow water.

got a 20 lb blackfin tuna trolling once. they look like a bowling ball with a head and fins. absolutely delicious.

i have fly-fished sargasso weed lines off of key west. a lot of small mahi-mahi like 6 or 8 lbs. i have caught a 47 lb one.

fishing with explosives is quite effective. what can you get fishing with explosives?

10 years.

 

[Psychobilly]

Well, the only thing I caught yesterday was a buzz, but at the same time we had a good time. We didn't have very long to fish as the kids get off the bus mid afternoon and so we couldn't stay as long as I'd have liked, but I was using a specific bait (Tijuana Momma hot pickled Sausage, and a Slim Jim Chili Cheese Coney Dog flavored) to target Channel Catfish.

Yesterday was more or less a try and see kind of thing; Catfish start moving generally more after Morel Mushrooms start popping up it seems, and We went into town to fish so I found out that in mid day the Catfish aren't actually biting yet though I did have a few tugs now and then on the line.

I've caught Channel Cats well over 10 pounds using those Slim Jims and generally I keep one in my gear bag so that I always have bait. The Canadian Geese were getting mouthy but none came over near us LOL. I've had them hiss at me before at that spot, which is fine.... Haven't ever been attacked but I'm pretty sure if they did I'd have some fresh heart for bait that day.

I'm pretty sure there was some kind of massive fish swimming around though; Wife and I were sitting there and all of a sudden multiple Geese on the water took off and flew away after some movement near the surface (Probably a huge Pike or Musky.... possibly Flathead of Channel Cat, as ll of those would have no problem nailing a bird) but we didn't see anything really.

This is one I caught at the spot we were at yesterday though:



That was caught two years ago maybe ?

I had a solid week where I caught 3 around that size (Between about 11 pounds and just about 13 pounds or so, maybe less) and one of them was caught on a Slim Jim (Spicy kind) and then another was caught one me being dumb as fuck; I was out fishing one day, and I had multiple hits on one of the bigger rods, but not really pulling too hard, and after a while of that happening I decided to bring the line in and check the bait.

When I reeled in, I got the line maybe halfway in and started noticing the line was spinning in circles and that there was a fish on..... OK odd I thought, and then, I see this Silver fish I'd never seen before was on the hook..... I had no idea what it was, and thought at first it was a White Bass, but it had no stripes or anything, and had swallowed my hook..... First time I've ever had to use my de-hooking tool literally ever LOL.

Then it spewed "Fish Milk" all over me as I tried getting the hook out....It was hooked deep too; literally swallowed the hook! I figured it was gonna die anyway, and having no clue what it was I didn't know if it was even a legal keeper size but if it's gonna die anyway I'm not gonna waste it I thought, so I put it on a stringer and cut that hook off, and tied on a smaller Circle Hook so it would be less likely to happen again.

A few minutes later the same thing started to happen; Tugs and then nothing.....Tugs, and then nothing.... OK I thought, I'll check the bait again, and sure enough another fish of the same type had taken it. Reeled the fish in, and to my surprise, he had swallowed the CIRCLE HOOK!

The hook barely fit in his mouth.... I'm a Catfish Angler, I don't use small hooks unless I'm getting Sunfish for bait, so I had no idea how he swallowed THAT hook LOL.

Anyway, again, it was swallowed, and the fish was probably gonna die, so I put him on the stringer next to his friend.

Anyway, after I left, I brought the fish back, still not sure what they were, and after picking up the Wife from work, we went back to the house, and she asked her Dad about what I had caught.

He took one look and said "White Perch" and so I'm like "Oh! OK! Those are edible fish, so I'll go clean them"...... The SIZE of the two fish didn't even come into my mind.... The fact that it was a White Perch..... Nope, didn't even think about it..... AFTER I cleaned those two fish, I was sitting in the bedroom reading about White Perch.... Then it dawned on me...... "Wait our state record is 2 pounds......A Master Angler Award worthy Fish of that species is almost HALF the size of the one, and just under half the size of the other......."

Yeah.... I was incompetent to say the least.... I looked at the one fish that was 18 inches or so and realized I could have gotten an award for this thing but it was now partially in the freezer (The other part wasn't) and the other one was pushing the two pound mark..... The biggest of the two was probably a state record, and the smaller one was easily a Master Angler Award worthy fish but I didn't know what it was.

I was a little annoyed with myself, but shook that off and took those filets to the River where I caught them, and used them as Bait. One of the biggest Channel Cats I've ever caught came out of the water with that as bait.




All in all it worked out just fine LOL. I now know though that White Perch don't normally get that big.


I also now know that White Perch and Yellow Perch are NOT that line shy..... They were all caught with a neon green Berkley Big Game 40 pound test Mono leader....



I had a very small budget when I started getting back into fishing; I fished when I was little and did pretty well, but then about 5 years ago I got back into it, but had no gear. I had a 40 dollar budget and got a Southbend Rod and Reel combo for like 40 dollars, and a 15 pound Carp destroyed the reel LOL. The sand the reel landed it didn't help and may have been what actually smoked it, but I ended up taking that back and getting that Berkley Fusion Spinning Reel and Rod combo for 40 dollars. It came with 17 pound Mono.

Then I got that Spinning Ugly Stik Catfish edition for a similar price.

The two Rods on the left are Christmas Gifts from my Mom (One Big Cat Fever Rod a year for the last few years....The Cork handle Rod was a gift from my the in laws as they cost like 60 bucks on sale) and the Penn 209M on the one on the right was given to me by the soon to be Father in Law, and the Okuma Classic CLX-450-LA was a present from my Mom as it only cost 40 dollars (The budget she had to work with).

I spend money on Hooks, not other gear really. The ONLY two high profile things I own other than the Big Cat Fever Rods, are two Penn Fathom Lever Drag Reels. I have a 15 and a 25.

The 25 is on an Extra Heavy Action Big Cat Fever Rod (Pure S-Glass, Aluminum Reel Seat, Re-Enforced Stainless Steel guides) as that is my "Sturgeon Stopper" in case I ever hook into one LOL. The 25 maxes out at 33 pounds of Drag so I figure I have a shot at landing one with that set up LOL.

The Size of those Trokar Circle Hooks..... Man if I ever see a Bull Shark hahaha!

 

[Amarok]

Put the boat in the water today for the first time this season. It was so nice to get out. Unfortunately there was a gusty wind that made trolling a pain. Even anchoring and casting was tough as the big gusts would drag my anchor. I have a heavier anchor, but my general rule is if the little anchor won't hold, it's probably too windy to fish anyway. It's a way of protecting me from my own worst instincts, as rather than staying out in potentially dangerous situations, I get pissed off and head for shore.

I only had a couple hits. I completely dropped the ball on the first one. I was pissing around with other gear and my rod was bent right over before I noticed. I felt him for a second when I grabbed the rod but couldn't set the hook.
Eventually I boated a small pike to kill the skunk and I came home shortly after.

All the gear performed; there were none of the problems that sometimes pop up on the first trip of the year. I didn't even forget to bring anything. If only the damned wind would stop...

 

[Amarok]

Went to the river after breakfast. Landed a tiny(10 or 11") pike on an inline spinner in the first 10 minutes but that was it.

There was something that kept making loud, splashy jumps in a pool just upstream. I couldn't get a good look at what they were, but they didn't respond to what I was using. The jumps were trout-like, but that would be unusual in this stretch of river.

Water is very low. The runoff from the mountains hasn't started yet, and it has changed flow patterns. What is normally a 60 yard eddy is just flowing downstream. It is also super clear, making it tough to fool anything that may be holding there.

Ah well, sat in the sun, smoked a joint, drank a mug of tea, caught a fish, and was home by 10am. I've had worse mornings. ?

 

[HBZ]

Thats a nice bass. Yummy. One of my favorite eating fish.

Oh man fry them egg sacks just like a fillet....Can't be beat!

 

[HBZ]

Well, the only thing I caught yesterday was a buzz, but at the same time we had a good time. We didn't have very long to fish as the kids get off the bus mid afternoon and so we couldn't stay as long as I'd have liked, but I was using a specific bait (Tijuana Momma hot pickled Sausage, and a Slim Jim Chili Cheese Coney Dog flavored) to target Channel Catfish.

Yesterday was more or less a try and see kind of thing; Catfish start moving generally more after Morel Mushrooms start popping up it seems, and We went into town to fish so I found out that in mid day the Catfish aren't actually biting yet though I did have a few tugs now and then on the line.

I've caught Channel Cats well over 10 pounds using those Slim Jims and generally I keep one in my gear bag so that I always have bait. The Canadian Geese were getting mouthy but none came over near us LOL. I've had them hiss at me before at that spot, which is fine.... Haven't ever been attacked but I'm pretty sure if they did I'd have some fresh heart for bait that day.

I'm pretty sure there was some kind of massive fish swimming around though; Wife and I were sitting there and all of a sudden multiple Geese on the water took off and flew away after some movement near the surface (Probably a huge Pike or Musky.... possibly Flathead of Channel Cat, as ll of those would have no problem nailing a bird) but we didn't see anything really.

This is one I caught at the spot we were at yesterday though:

View attachment 118905

That was caught two years ago maybe ?

I had a solid week where I caught 3 around that size (Between about 11 pounds and just about 13 pounds or so, maybe less) and one of them was caught on a Slim Jim (Spicy kind) and then another was caught one me being dumb as fuck; I was out fishing one day, and I had multiple hits on one of the bigger rods, but not really pulling too hard, and after a while of that happening I decided to bring the line in and check the bait.

When I reeled in, I got the line maybe halfway in and started noticing the line was spinning in circles and that there was a fish on..... OK odd I thought, and then, I see this Silver fish I'd never seen before was on the hook..... I had no idea what it was, and thought at first it was a White Bass, but it had no stripes or anything, and had swallowed my hook..... First time I've ever had to use my de-hooking tool literally ever LOL.

Then it spewed "Fish Milk" all over me as I tried getting the hook out....It was hooked deep too; literally swallowed the hook! I figured it was gonna die anyway, and having no clue what it was I didn't know if it was even a legal keeper size but if it's gonna die anyway I'm not gonna waste it I thought, so I put it on a stringer and cut that hook off, and tied on a smaller Circle Hook so it would be less likely to happen again.

A few minutes later the same thing started to happen; Tugs and then nothing.....Tugs, and then nothing.... OK I thought, I'll check the bait again, and sure enough another fish of the same type had taken it. Reeled the fish in, and to my surprise, he had swallowed the CIRCLE HOOK!

The hook barely fit in his mouth.... I'm a Catfish Angler, I don't use small hooks unless I'm getting Sunfish for bait, so I had no idea how he swallowed THAT hook LOL.

Anyway, again, it was swallowed, and the fish was probably gonna die, so I put him on the stringer next to his friend.

Anyway, after I left, I brought the fish back, still not sure what they were, and after picking up the Wife from work, we went back to the house, and she asked her Dad about what I had caught.

He took one look and said "White Perch" and so I'm like "Oh! OK! Those are edible fish, so I'll go clean them"...... The SIZE of the two fish didn't even come into my mind.... The fact that it was a White Perch..... Nope, didn't even think about it..... AFTER I cleaned those two fish, I was sitting in the bedroom reading about White Perch.... Then it dawned on me...... "Wait our state record is 2 pounds......A Master Angler Award worthy Fish of that species is almost HALF the size of the one, and just under half the size of the other......."

Yeah.... I was incompetent to say the least.... I looked at the one fish that was 18 inches or so and realized I could have gotten an award for this thing but it was now partially in the freezer (The other part wasn't) and the other one was pushing the two pound mark..... The biggest of the two was probably a state record, and the smaller one was easily a Master Angler Award worthy fish but I didn't know what it was.

I was a little annoyed with myself, but shook that off and took those filets to the River where I caught them, and used them as Bait. One of the biggest Channel Cats I've ever caught came out of the water with that as bait.


View attachment 118914

All in all it worked out just fine LOL. I now know though that White Perch don't normally get that big.


I also now know that White Perch and Yellow Perch are NOT that line shy..... They were all caught with a neon green Berkley Big Game 40 pound test Mono leader....

View attachment 118915

I had a very small budget when I started getting back into fishing; I fished when I was little and did pretty well, but then about 5 years ago I got back into it, but had no gear. I had a 40 dollar budget and got a Southbend Rod and Reel combo for like 40 dollars, and a 15 pound Carp destroyed the reel LOL. The sand the reel landed it didn't help and may have been what actually smoked it, but I ended up taking that back and getting that Berkley Fusion Spinning Reel and Rod combo for 40 dollars. It came with 17 pound Mono.

Then I got that Spinning Ugly Stik Catfish edition for a similar price.

The two Rods on the left are Christmas Gifts from my Mom (One Big Cat Fever Rod a year for the last few years....The Cork handle Rod was a gift from my the in laws as they cost like 60 bucks on sale) and the Penn 209M on the one on the right was given to me by the soon to be Father in Law, and the Okuma Classic CLX-450-LA was a present from my Mom as it only cost 40 dollars (The budget she had to work with).

I spend money on Hooks, not other gear really. The ONLY two high profile things I own other than the Big Cat Fever Rods, are two Penn Fathom Lever Drag Reels. I have a 15 and a 25.

The 25 is on an Extra Heavy Action Big Cat Fever Rod (Pure S-Glass, Aluminum Reel Seat, Re-Enforced Stainless Steel guides) as that is my "Sturgeon Stopper" in case I ever hook into one LOL. The 25 maxes out at 33 pounds of Drag so I figure I have a shot at landing one with that set up LOL.

The Size of those Trokar Circle Hooks..... Man if I ever see a Bull Shark hahaha!

NICE! I used to fish alot of them hourly catfish tournaments...Most closed down now...Cool to know your secret bait?. I'll try it out...I had the magic bait for channels and would always be slaying when ppl around was dormant...Simple..I order a bag of Catawba worms online.....Mix Catawba worms..dry dog food.. cheese wiz.. corn flakes and WD40. Crush it all up into sticky balls. Killed em...Half cut bluegills for blues and whole live bluegills for flathead shovels

 

[Psychobilly]

NICE! I used to fish alot of them hourly catfish tournaments...Most closed down now...Cool to know your secret bait?. I'll try it out...I had the magic bait for channels and would always be slaying when ppl around was dormant...Simple..I order a bag of Catawba worms online.....Mix Catawba worms..dry dog food.. cheese wiz.. corn flakes and WD40. Crush it all up into sticky balls. Killed em...Half cut bluegills for blues and whole live bluegills for flathead shovels

Yeah bro the Slim Jim's work well for Channel Cats and they stay on the hook good too if you put the hook through both sides of the skin.

Fresh cut bait is in my opinion the best for the bigger ones but I love the fact that you can get hair from a grocery store lol!

 

[greyfader]

attempting to fish is fun even if you don't get anything. i can think of a few times as a kid when i sat under a big tree on the banks of a slow-moving southern river on a warm summer day. a long cane pole with a worm or shiners and a bobber.

didn't catch much but turtles or a snake. the south is full of big ugly brown water snakes that are not poisonous but have a nasty attitude anyway.

this was back before the army corps of engineers clearcut the banks to improve flow. i remember seeing huge alligator gar in the shade waiting for something to come by.

that river is a tributary of the mississippi. i ran trotlines across it later when i was about 12 years old. caught a lot of catfish.

once i got a giant softshell turtle. probably about 35 lbs. he was foul-hooked in one of his front leg joints. i pulled it out and let him go. that turtle could have been a hundred years old.

in the mid 70's i worked on the mississippi river on the barge lines. the river above st louis is a series of locks and dams. i think 27 in total.

in Keokuk, Iowa, lock 19, we were locking a tow through and as the water receded in the lock chamber it exposed a 100 lb plus catfish that was on one of the horizontal reinforcements. he was just sitting there high and dry and the captain of our boat told us to grab it and bring it aboard.

while we were trying to get it the lockmaster saw the fish and yelled out "he's ours, we caught him".

there was nothing to say. they had indeed caught the fish.

 

[Psychobilly]

attempting to fish is fun even if you don't get anything. i can think of a few times as a kid when i sat under a big tree on the banks of a slow-moving southern river on a warm summer day. a long cane pole with a worm or shiners and a bobber.

didn't catch much but turtles or a snake. the south is full of big ugly brown water snakes that are not poisonous but have a nasty attitude anyway.

this was back before the army corps of engineers clearcut the banks to improve flow. i remember seeing huge alligator gar in the shade waiting for something to come by.

that river is a tributary of the mississippi. i ran trotlines across it later when i was about 12 years old. caught a lot of catfish.

once i got a giant softshell turtle. probably about 35 lbs. he was foul-hooked in one of his front leg joints. i pulled it out and let him go. that turtle could have been a hundred years old.

in the mid 70's i worked on the mississippi river on the barge lines. the river above st louis is a series of locks and dams. i think 27 in total.

in Keokuk, Iowa, lock 19, we were locking a tow through and as the water receded in the lock chamber it exposed a 100 lb plus catfish that was on one of the horizontal reinforcements. he was just sitting there high and dry and the captain of our boat told us to grab it and bring it aboard.

while we were trying to get it the lockmaster saw the fish and yelled out "he's ours, we caught him".

there was nothing to say. they had indeed caught the fish.

Honestly I used to think that if I ever went to a Southern state I'd probably be shot for my mouth and my assuming the racism there (Thankfully I've since learned not everyone in the south is like that) but now I find myself thinking I'd still die if I visited Louisiana, but not because of my mouth per se..... (I mean I don't think anyone would be surprised if I died of a massive heart attack at the side of the river and was found with empty boxes of Cajun and Creole food all over...LOL) but me getting dragged into the river by a massive Catfish or Gator Gar.....Hell even an actual gator.... I may be a yankee boy but I know how to work a deep fryer and whatever I don't eat a Catfish will LOL.

We sadly don't have Blue Catfish in Michigan (We DO have spawning male Channel Catfish that turn a blue color when they age, but they're Ictalurus Punctatus, NOT Ictalurus Furcatus) and I "tried to bring this up to the Michigan DNR" and they "Tried to write me off with needing permission from other states" and I "explained every other state near us has them already" so they "questioned my fucking sanity" because their "game / sport fish" that are invasives in my eyes (Salmonids and every other trout that isn't a lake trout) and apparently Catfish eat them....

We don't' see eye to eye on much so instead of breaking the law and stocking them myself (Blue Cat fingerlings are 80 cents....I have a bait bubbler....)so instead I use trout as Catfish bait. Sure they love me for that but whatever. Not like I'm eating that sack of bones myself I'd rather choke on hash than trout.

LOL. We can't even use Carp as live bait here.... Not because they think it's wrong.... But because the Carp might escape and swim to a TROUT STREAM..... Our State Fish is invasive.... I tried to point out that a Blue Catfish and a Gator Gar could easily swim up the Mississippi and in their own words that would NOT be an invasive species because the fish could do this on their own....I sited the Bull Shark attack in Lake Michigan in 1955 to help drive my point home...... Fucker told me that was a myth and probably a Sturgeon someone saw and misidentified..... Then proceeded to tell me about their "traps" that stop ANY fish from entering the Great Lakes.... Bunch of cry baby mother.... so yeah I'd LIKE to visit the South one day, and fish all long there. I want to land a Gator Gar and a Blue Catfish. I'd like to Land a Tarpon too but I doubt my budget is going to be THAT good LOL.

I know I say you'll know I won the Lotto because of all the new Cheese crosses that would get released and that's totally true. However if I won enough I kinda feel like I'd simply bribe someone to let me stock Blue Cats. I mean if they can stock all these Trout and Salmon that shouldn't be here purely to sell fishing licenses, why can't I pick one ? LOL.
< /End Rant >

 

[HBZ]

Honestly I used to think that if I ever went to a Southern state I'd probably be shot for my mouth and my assuming the racism there (Thankfully I've since learned not everyone in the south is like that) but now I find myself thinking I'd still die if I visited Louisiana, but not because of my mouth per se..... (I mean I don't think anyone would be surprised if I died of a massive heart attack at the side of the river and was found with empty boxes of Cajun and Creole food all over...LOL) but me getting dragged into the river by a massive Catfish or Gator Gar.....Hell even an actual gator.... I may be a yankee boy but I know how to work a deep fryer and whatever I don't eat a Catfish will LOL.

We sadly don't have Blue Catfish in Michigan (We DO have spawning male Channel Catfish that turn a blue color when they age, but they're Ictalurus Punctatus, NOT Ictalurus Furcatus) and I "tried to bring this up to the Michigan DNR" and they "Tried to write me off with needing permission from other states" and I "explained every other state near us has them already" so they "questioned my fucking sanity" because their "game / sport fish" that are invasives in my eyes (Salmonids and every other trout that isn't a lake trout) and apparently Catfish eat them....

We don't' see eye to eye on much so instead of breaking the law and stocking them myself (Blue Cat fingerlings are 80 cents....I have a bait bubbler....)so instead I use trout as Catfish bait. Sure they love me for that but whatever. Not like I'm eating that sack of bones myself I'd rather choke on hash than trout.

LOL. We can't even use Carp as live bait here.... Not because they think it's wrong.... But because the Carp might escape and swim to a TROUT STREAM..... Our State Fish is invasive.... I tried to point out that a Blue Catfish and a Gator Gar could easily swim up the Mississippi and in their own words that would NOT be an invasive species because the fish could do this on their own....I sited the Bull Shark attack in Lake Michigan in 1955 to help drive my point home...... Fucker told me that was a myth and probably a Sturgeon someone saw and misidentified..... Then proceeded to tell me about their "traps" that stop ANY fish from entering the Great Lakes.... Bunch of cry baby mother.... so yeah I'd LIKE to visit the South one day, and fish all long there. I want to land a Gator Gar and a Blue Catfish. I'd like to Land a Tarpon too but I doubt my budget is going to be THAT good LOL.

I know I say you'll know I won the Lotto because of all the new Cheese crosses that would get released and that's totally true. However if I won enough I kinda feel like I'd simply bribe someone to let me stock Blue Cats. I mean if they can stock all these Trout and Salmon that shouldn't be here purely to sell fishing licenses, why can't I pick one ? LOL.
< /End Rant >

Man just dip down into Ohio...it's full of blue cats... Excellent on the smoker toooooo...Alot of ppl don't even know them yellow belly bullhead cats are prime eating too... Possibly the best ones