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How I Mine for Fish?
Descendant X
Skyrim is my god now.Outpost 31Registered User regular
Skyrim is my god now.Outpost 31Registered User regular
I'm pretty sure that this title has been used before, but I thought it was funny.
Anyway, my wife and I have decided that we want to be fishermen. We are looking into buying some beginner fishing gear and then going out to do our part in depopulating our local fish stock.
We're in Northern BC, for reference. And we're going to be spincasting, not fly fishing.
What we need are tips. Is there anything that we absolutely need right off the bat? Any tips on what type of gear is good for the fledgling fisherperson?
Pretty much any information is welcome.
Anyway, my wife and I have decided that we want to be fishermen. We are looking into buying some beginner fishing gear and then going out to do our part in depopulating our local fish stock.
We're in Northern BC, for reference. And we're going to be spincasting, not fly fishing.
What we need are tips. Is there anything that we absolutely need right off the bat? Any tips on what type of gear is good for the fledgling fisherperson?
Pretty much any information is welcome.
Garry: I know you gentlemen have been through a lot, but when you find the time I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!
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3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
A tackle box with a variety of hooks, sinkers, jigs, lures, bobbers, line, pliers is a good idea. Foldable chair, sunscreen, a hat, and a radio make the day pretty good. I'll add on as I remember stuff.
Don't be afraid to ask fellow fishers questions, they will probably be happy to help you out.
If you're planning on keeping anything you catch, make sure you know what's legal to keep, too. You could be hit with lots of fines and stuff there, too.
I can has cheezburger, yes?
Fishing off a dock in a lake is really fun with a bobber. Just cast out your line, sit back, relax, shoot the shit and keep an eye out on your bobber. Then when it finally moves, Wham! Excitement is yours for a few minutes. But most of the time is spent just enjoying the scenery. Lovely.
We always used plain ol' earthworms for bobber fishing (this was in rural Oregon). Either we'd dig them up out of the backyard the night before (into a coffee can with a little dirt), or we could buy them from the bait shop, in a styrofoam cup with some wadded-up newsprint inside for like a dollar. Easy peasy. Stick those squirmy suckers on a hook and you're good to go.
Aw, I am getting all nostalgic now. Haven't gone fishing with my dad in years...
Anyway, I say check out your local bait and tackle place. They'll know what works good locally, and they're sure to be pleased as punch to help out a pair of beginning fishers get all set up.
Just ask the guy at the tackle shop to demonstrate, see it done a few times, do it yourself once or twice and you're good to go.
I suggest using a bobber too, it's easy and gets you some fish straight away. Using lures requires more technique and capability to 'read the water'.
If you have bass up there (I am sure you do) go for that first. They're easy to catch, put up one hell of a fight and are a great intro for fish like trout and pike.
Don't buy top of the line store bought stuff starting out! Go to a few garage sales, pick up some good used gear and talk to the guy who used it to get some tips.
If you go the bobber route, get a book or a radio and work on ye olde patience
To me fishing is one of the most relaxing, enjoyable ways for a man to earn his dinner.
This, except in one case for me it was "Oh God, I will surely die from eating these horrid wal-mart dehydrated back-packing camp meals. It's either fish or pinecones, and I'll be damned if I can't land a trout"
3DS FC: 4699-5714-8940 Playing Pokemon, add me! Ho, SATAN!
When I used to fish in BC there were only two licenses and 1 tag. A freshwater license and a saltwater license. If you wanted to catch salmon in saltwater you need a salmon tag. Looking at the websites this hold true. Its $36 for a yearly freshwater license. Buy it in the store so you can get a physical copy of the fish regulations. Just in case you have one of those once in a lifetime run-ins with a Conservation Officer.
You can get great rods and reel combos at Wal-Mart. So if you're more north than PG, then yeah, you might face small town mark-ups in stores.
Also watch out for trees when spin casting from the shore.
As for lures and what not that depends on what you're fishing for. In Northern BC you got rainbow trout, bull trout, walleye, pike, kokanee, cutthroat, grayling, sturgeon, charr, dolly varden, whitefish, burbot, and salmon.
edit - forgot Steelhead.
Where in BC? I'm on Vancouver Island. Just curious.
EskimoDave almost had it right.
I'm in Prince George. As far as I know I'm the only dude on the boards who's from PG, aside from the one friend of mine who briefly joined to get into the Eve clan and then never returned.
Thanks for all of the tips, folks. We went to a local outfitting store yesterday and got a bit of the lowdown. We also found a great guidebook at a local bookstore that has maps of a bunch of local (and not so local) lakes and rivers. I think we're going to be picking up new rods next week when I gets paid. We're also going to have a look in my parent's basement as my uncle is an avid fisherman and may have left some gear there.
EskimoDave: Do you have any recommendations for spots around (~10-15km) Prince George?
Edit: meh, nevermind. I fish off the pier into the ocean, not lakes or freshwater. So my techniques aren't going to help.
I've never fished near PG.
I know the Nechako has good salmon runs. From what I've heard its all pretty decent around there. Lots of stocked lakes, not too much pressure. If you want to go for a drive I know that Burns lake has some 20+ pounders Char in it.
Elimination, where on VI are you? There are a few stocked lakes around Vic.
If you ever need to talk to someone, feel free to message me. Yes, that includes you.
Northern Coho + Saltwater + Fly rod. Hands down the funnest fishing you'll ever engage in.
The fishing experience in general, I find, varies on what you are trying to catch. Perch fishing can be a bite a minute, take em out of the water and throw them in the bucket... salt water bottom fishing however can be slow, and you'll spend an hour out in the sun having your shrimp being periodically stolen by crabs until you get the first legit nibble.
And THAT is why beer should be involved.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Usually involves live bait (or at least freshly dead bait), a weight (no sinker aka bobber), and lots of patience... you're basically waiting for a school of fish to pick up the smell and start getting bites. It can take a while for that to happen and unless you're getting tips on where the schools are at, it requires lots of patience. The tradeoff is you tend to get larger fish, since larger fish tend to swim in the middle/deep waters.
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
You should debarb your hooks regardless, it doesn't make a significant impact to your catch and they do a lot more damage coming out with a hook. It'll be easier to dehook the fish anyway which is nice with trebles.
The technique you're using from shore really depends on the water you're fishing, and the fish that live in that water. If you're looking for perch, a bobber into 6-12 feet of water with lots of structure/weeds would be great, with a small live bait like a leech on a small jig.
For pike, you can go with a bobber and a larger jig/bait, or cast a spoon (five of diamonds is a reliable pattern) into the same water for perch or you can go rockier and deeper. Crankbaits can work from shore but it's a lot of work and you lose a lot of time you could be fishing reeling it in over water no right-minded pike will be sitting in and removing weeds from it.
For walleye you're going to want to look for a dropoff not far from the shore, a place where the water visibly gets darker over a short distance or even a "line" of dark water. They'll generally be 12-18 feet down although obviously there are many exceptions due to season or weather etc. You might pick up some pike this way as well. Toss a bobber into the deeper water with about 12-14 feet out on the stop, and reel it in to about 8 feet from where you see the water get darker. Because of the refractive index you'll be closer to the dropoff than it would appear.
You can also cast a jig and bounce it up back towards you, or cast around if you're bored. Eyeballing the depth of water from shore takes a little practice but you can estimate depth from the dock and compare colors around you. Generally if you can see brown in the water it'll be less than ten feet though north BC lakes are exceptionally clear.
Other deeper water structure is harder to find from shore but if you see something try it out.
Lake trout etc you'd be better off with a spoon and running water as they don't do much around the shoreline during summer.
What's key is that fish really like structure. The same way you wouldn't see someone just sit around in the middle of a field all day is the same with fish. They'll congregate around rapid changes in depth, points, shoals, stumps, weeds, large rocks etc. It allows them to ambush prey and hide from predators. If it's a windy day, baitfish get pushed up against the leeward side of the lake on a steep dropoff and walleye in particular take advantage of it. Fishing is 9/10ths location, 1/10th presentation and the rest is luck.
edit- colors: consult local shop for best info but in general- chartreuse, white, orange for walleye and perch, yellow/red/flashy (metallic) for pike
Hey!
Go fuck yourself.