The Fishing Thread

VishNub

So, this thread is for talking about fishing. All kinds of fishing. And there are lots of kinds of fishing. There's cat-fishing. Bass fishing. Trout fishing. Pike fishing. Carp Fishing. Even kind of lobster fishing. Everything from charter marlin boats to the cow pond in your grandfather's back yard is up for grabs.

I'd prefer to talk about sport fishing because any discussion of commercial fishing will rapidly end up in a discussion of overfishing, collapsing stocks, aquaculture, and vegans, which are all interesting things, but not really what I had in mind.

For those who aren't big on fishing but maybe would like to be, it's very easy to get into. No matter where you live there are probably fish worth catching within thirty minutes of you. Even if you start with literally no equipment you can probably get everything you need for less than $100.

What do I have in mind? Well, where do YOU fish? What do you fish for? What's the biggest/most interesting/best fish you've caught? Anything else you can think of is great too. Keep in mind, though, "pics or it didn't happen" applies double to fish stories. Seriously.

For me, I live in LA, and I've recently taken up fishing the beaches around here. There's a surprisingly wide variety of fish to be found within casting distance of shore. If you're thigh deep in water, there's probably fish behind you. Anyways, it's relaxing, it's fun, it's low stress, and it gets me outside and away from work, so I really enjoy my new hobby.

My best shore caught fish so far, 12" sand bass.

Cabezone

I recently took up lake shore fishing out in central Cali, mostly trout but also some cat and bass. Took a trip up to Trinity lake last year with a couple of friends and some rented fishing kayaks, we didn't manage to catch any bass but did get some trout and a couple of catfish. That was a ton of fun and I now plan on purchasing a fishing kayak this year.

This was my best day, variety wise, last year. The largemouth bass in the middle is 18"



My friend hauled in this guy at Trinity, it wasn't actually hooked. It just bit down on the hook and wouldn't let go but we managed to get the hook out and it got to keep some worm.

TehSloth

I should really get back into fishing. My dad used to be a fisherman... kinda. He worked on one of those charter "deep sea" fishing boats where you pay like $50 and get a loaner rod and then the boat goes out for a few hours, everybody fishes for a little while, you go out some more, do some more fishin, repeat for 5 hours or so and then come home. He spent most of his time cooking, cleaning, and helping string up peoples fish though, but I used to go out with him a lot and I'd usually land at least one keepable grouper, I think they had to be at least 22 inches. Now they only let you keep them during some seemingly random season which I kinda get as a protective thing but I still find lame.

We used to fish under the piers and whatnot from time to time, but I usually found it pretty frustrating because there were always lots of annoying pelicans that would swoop in and take whatever you were about to catch then try to fly off with a hooked fish in their huge mouths. I live right next to a river that I might check out, I see people fishing out there from time to time but don't notice them catch anything, and a couple people in my office fish in the pond behind our building on lunches but I don't see very much out there except for a few small alligators and I'm not very interested in hooking one of them.

Anubis327

Well, this certainly appears to be a thread that I belong in! I've been fishing since I was old enough to hold a pole, and I still love it as much now as I did back when I was six. I'm actually a little bummed out this year because here in Nebraska it hasn't gotten cold enough for the lakes to freeze, which means no ice fishing this year.

Here are a few photos from last year's ice fishing though!

16'ish inch largemouth


Nine inch bluegill. We caught a ton that were this size or bigger.


Not the best haul I've had, but enough to feed a few hungry friends.

Bagginses

Anubis327 wrote:

Well, this certainly appears to be a thread that I belong in! I've been fishing since I was old enough to hold a pole, and I still love it as much now as I did back when I was six. I'm actually a little bummed out this year because here in Nebraska it hasn't gotten cold enough for the lakes to freeze, which means no ice fishing this year.

Here are a few photos from last year's ice fishing though!

16'ish inch largemouth


Nine inch bluegill. We caught a ton that were this size or bigger.


Not the best haul I've had, but enough to feed a few hungry friends.

Can't you just fish?

Anubis327

Well, sure, and I've been out a few times. However, ice fishing lets you get to sections of a pond or lake that are otherwise inaccessible. For instance, there is a lake nearby that has a lot of downed trees in the middle that makes for great fishing, but you won't be getting there without a boat. Ice fishing and normal fishing also use different techniques, and it's a lot of fun to be out on the ice and talk with a dozen strangers fishing around you, giving advice and tips or talking about the best spots.

MetroidZoid

For me, I live in LA, and I've recently taken up fishing the beaches around here. There's a surprisingly wide variety of fish to be found within casting distance of shore. If you're thigh deep in water, there's probably fish behind you. Anyways, it's relaxing, it's fun, it's low stress, and it gets me outside and away from work, so I really enjoy my new hobby.[/quote]

Shore fishing reminds me of when my dad would take me out (we lived in Camarillo, so it would always be the beaches between Ventura and Point Magu). I don't remember much of what he hauled in, but vividly remember when he'd have a couple of lines going at once, in the sand, and I wouldn't be paying attention to where I was playing, so one afternoon near dusk I'm just messing around with sand crabs and all of a sudden a ray is coming out of the water. Like, out of it. At me. I'm pretty sure at age 8 I thought it wanted to eat me. Not realizing my dad had hooked one and was bringing it in, and I couldn't hear him telling me to move over the surf. Fun times.

I'd like to fish, mostly catch and release, up here because we have awesome rivers with great salmon and trout fishing (Applegate and Rogue, Illinois further north) but I don't have the money to put into equipment right now, but more than that any friends who would go. I like being in nature solo, but think fishing is also really fun with others.