I've returned to freshwater fishing after a hiatus of about twenty or so years. Wow, it's raised my quality of life. I am enjoying exploring the different techniques and lures, lines, rods, and reels.
While on vacation caught a dozen perch in a kettle pond but didn't have a chance to try my luck at some hold over stocked trout. However I did catch a rainbow trout today in our local lake.
Here's a pic. The discoloration is dirt from when I landed it on the shore.
[img]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/images/rainbowtrout.jpg[/img]
I'm not sure what's the deal is with the tail. Just noticed it after uploading that the tail is split.
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wingdesigner
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webmaster
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Depends on the bait you're tossing....like shooting fish in a barrel?
I saw plenty who wern't catching a thing.There were Bass in the waters that were difficult to entice judging by all the bass anglers trying their luck while I was there. I was angling for trout in another pond but arrived too late, just as the bugs were hatching. Had to mad-scramble out of the water.
Stocked trout should be ok to eat. It's the predators who have been around awhile that generally should be avoided for consumption. Back east it's the acid rain thing while on the west coast it's mercury particles floating over the Pacific and raining down into our freshwater lakes, etc.
I did the catch and release thing with the Perch.
Living where I do, (southeast Louisiana) offers plenty of fishing opportunities in both salt and fresh water. Without a doubt, saltwater fishing is much more productive in terms of catch and variety. It's not uncommon to go launch a boat, head to the nearest saltwater marsh area to fish a falling tide and catch speckled trout, red fish, flounder, croakers, black drum, sheephead and a few gafftop catfish. Before the State Wildlife And Fisheries placed limits on many gamefish, it was not uncommon to fill 2-3 48 qt. Igloo coolers of trout and redfish. Limits are good in my opinion. Besides, after a day of fishing, coming home to clean your boat, equipment, and a hundred or so fish is just plain work.
There aren't too many folks in this area that do as much freshwater fishing since it is generally a slower paced fishing experience. As a kid and early teen I used to spend many days on the Mississippi River catching catfish, gaspergoo (freshwater drum), and the occasional bass. The biggest cat I ever caught on the river was 37 lb. but much larger have been taken by others.
There aren't too many folks in this area that do as much freshwater fishing since it is generally a slower paced fishing experience. As a kid and early teen I used to spend many days on the Mississippi River catching catfish, gaspergoo (freshwater drum), and the occasional bass. The biggest cat I ever caught on the river was 37 lb. but much larger have been taken by others.
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lorax
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Anglers in the house! I'm definitely in. In freshwater: I use small hand-tied castnets for Carachama (Plecostomus), and angle with straight-ahead one-barb hooks for Piranha (redbelly is best), Sartina, and Arrowana (although a rig like Night of Desireable Objects is probably the best way to catch the latter). A couple of times I've been priveledged to attend the Giant Bagre Fishing Event, where teams of canoeists armed with large shark hooks, partially decomposed chickens, sturdy rope, and courage, go after large Amazon catfish. My team record is 150 lb; we didn't win - the prize went to a 175 lb'er.
They stock rainbow trout in some of the mountain streams, but it's way too easy to catch those so I generally stick to the wild stock.
In saltwater, Dorado is my hands-down fave, followed by Yellowfin Tuna and Ona; when I can, I like to go after Pompano and Profit too, but those opportunities are rarer.
They stock rainbow trout in some of the mountain streams, but it's way too easy to catch those so I generally stick to the wild stock.
In saltwater, Dorado is my hands-down fave, followed by Yellowfin Tuna and Ona; when I can, I like to go after Pompano and Profit too, but those opportunities are rarer.
Oh yes,being a marina guy for 15 years,yes I do fish.Actually got my first pole this last xmas.We fish saltwater and my fish of choice would be Snook,mmmmmmmmm tasty.but season is closed till at least sept. 17.due to a large fish kill we had from 13 consecutive nights of freezing temps back in december.Offshore fish favorite is cobia.Now that is great.
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applestar
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OT but had to comment about the Arrowana -- When DH was into aquariums, he got an arrowana. I was fascinated by the primitive appearance and the jaws that hinged open, looking like the door to a cargo plane.... then the other fish in the tank started disappearing.... 
I recently saw one in a fish tank at a Chinese Restaurant entryway. It was a big one (well, by aquarium standards....)
DH is the angler in the family. I tried back when we were dating and first couple of years after we were married. One time we went for trout and out of 4 of us -- the guys in their wading gear going deeper in the water and me just casting out to whatever spots I could reach -- I caught the biggest fish. The looks on their faces were priceless.
I think I gave up after one early morning when we went surf fishing before dawn. I tried to cast in the dark and got tangled up in some other fisherman's hat, who was really a good way off to the side of us. It was a REALLY good cast, one of my best -- just in the wrong direction....
I recently saw one in a fish tank at a Chinese Restaurant entryway. It was a big one (well, by aquarium standards....)
DH is the angler in the family. I tried back when we were dating and first couple of years after we were married. One time we went for trout and out of 4 of us -- the guys in their wading gear going deeper in the water and me just casting out to whatever spots I could reach -- I caught the biggest fish. The looks on their faces were priceless.
I think I gave up after one early morning when we went surf fishing before dawn. I tried to cast in the dark and got tangled up in some other fisherman's hat, who was really a good way off to the side of us. It was a REALLY good cast, one of my best -- just in the wrong direction....
Last edited by applestar on Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ozark Lady
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I would have tossed the trout and kept the perch.
Trout fishing is common here, and I still haven't met a local who will take a trout home with them, unless they have a cat!
We have lots of trout hatcheries, to keep the populations up, I don't know if that is what is wrong with them, but they taste like sawdust.
When the weather is this hot, fishing is pretty lousy, even night fishing is slow, the fish just go down in the deep cool waters, and can't be enticed out!
I would love to get some fish to put in the freezer! The bass should start running pretty soon. I am good catching perch, crappie, catfish, and stripers, but bass just won't bite my hook, even when they are hitting everything that moves!
Trout fishing is common here, and I still haven't met a local who will take a trout home with them, unless they have a cat!
We have lots of trout hatcheries, to keep the populations up, I don't know if that is what is wrong with them, but they taste like sawdust.
When the weather is this hot, fishing is pretty lousy, even night fishing is slow, the fish just go down in the deep cool waters, and can't be enticed out!
I would love to get some fish to put in the freezer! The bass should start running pretty soon. I am good catching perch, crappie, catfish, and stripers, but bass just won't bite my hook, even when they are hitting everything that moves!
Hey Gumbo, you mentioned the gaspergoo. Did you ever catch a bowfin? They have a different name in Louisiana, but I can't remember what it is.
My favorite fishing style or method is standing chest deep in the surf at night with a twelve foot casting rod and 3/4 ounce weight or plastic jig for bottom fishing. (One tip, don't keep your fish on a stringer tied around your waist as you move around in the surf. Sharks think the stringer is a tease and you are the main course)
My favorite saltwater fish for eating are.
1. Speckled Trout
2. Red Snapper
3. Large Flounder
I can't stand to eat Redfish. For me, it is like eating freshwater carp. Some folks like carp however.
My favorite freshwater fish to eat are:
1. Walleye
2. Crappie
3. Perch
4. Channel Catfish
5. Trout from a high altitude, ice cold, mountain stream. I don't like to eat trout caught at lower elevations because they are usually stocked fish and taste like the anchovy pellets they were raised on.
Ted
My favorite fishing style or method is standing chest deep in the surf at night with a twelve foot casting rod and 3/4 ounce weight or plastic jig for bottom fishing. (One tip, don't keep your fish on a stringer tied around your waist as you move around in the surf. Sharks think the stringer is a tease and you are the main course)
My favorite saltwater fish for eating are.
1. Speckled Trout
2. Red Snapper
3. Large Flounder
I can't stand to eat Redfish. For me, it is like eating freshwater carp. Some folks like carp however.
My favorite freshwater fish to eat are:
1. Walleye
2. Crappie
3. Perch
4. Channel Catfish
5. Trout from a high altitude, ice cold, mountain stream. I don't like to eat trout caught at lower elevations because they are usually stocked fish and taste like the anchovy pellets they were raised on.
Ted
[quote="tedln"]Hey Gumbo, you mentioned the gaspergoo. Did you ever catch a bowfin? They have a different name in Louisiana, but I can't remember what it is.
Ted, I have never caught a bowfin. Gaspergoo are fresh water fish sometimes called "Buffalo Fish". We do have a freshwater carp that locals call "choupique". Pronounced "shoe pick".
I can't stand to eat Redfish. For me, it is like eating freshwater carp. Some folks like carp however.
Red Fish is one of my favorites when the sides are filleted from the bone but with the skin and scales are left on. Melt 1 stick of butter, add chopped garlic and let it cook down a couple minutes then add lemon juice, green onions and at the end, a bit of parsley. Put the red fish on a hot grill scale side down, sprinkle with a bit of salt and black pepper and baste with the garlic/butter mixture. While cooking, the scales keep everything from sticking and the skin will shrink making the fillet cup around the edges. When done and off the grill, simply take a spatula and remove the meat from the skin and scales and eat.
I'll also cook sheephead, black drum or just about any heavy scaled fish this way.
Another favorite is a Redfish Courtbullion. For this dish you first make a fairly thick red gravy them place the whole redfish in a baking pan, cover it with the gravy and top with sliced lemon rings and allow to cook in an oven till the fish is done. The fish releases it's juices and this really flavors the red sauce nicely.
Ted, I have never caught a bowfin. Gaspergoo are fresh water fish sometimes called "Buffalo Fish". We do have a freshwater carp that locals call "choupique". Pronounced "shoe pick".
I can't stand to eat Redfish. For me, it is like eating freshwater carp. Some folks like carp however.
Red Fish is one of my favorites when the sides are filleted from the bone but with the skin and scales are left on. Melt 1 stick of butter, add chopped garlic and let it cook down a couple minutes then add lemon juice, green onions and at the end, a bit of parsley. Put the red fish on a hot grill scale side down, sprinkle with a bit of salt and black pepper and baste with the garlic/butter mixture. While cooking, the scales keep everything from sticking and the skin will shrink making the fillet cup around the edges. When done and off the grill, simply take a spatula and remove the meat from the skin and scales and eat.
I'll also cook sheephead, black drum or just about any heavy scaled fish this way.
Another favorite is a Redfish Courtbullion. For this dish you first make a fairly thick red gravy them place the whole redfish in a baking pan, cover it with the gravy and top with sliced lemon rings and allow to cook in an oven till the fish is done. The fish releases it's juices and this really flavors the red sauce nicely.
Choupique is the name I was trying to remember. It is a bowfin. Check it out on google.
Sheepshead are good, but never seemed to have much meat even if they were large fish. Had to cook them whole cause if I filleted them, I didn't get much meat. Black drum are good if small. When they are large, they always seemed to have a lot of worms in their flesh.
I love Courtbullion. I used to night fish with some guys who would catch hard heads and gaff tops. We would build a small campfire on the beach and start a big kettle of Courtbullion on the campfire. As they caught the hard heads and Gaff Tops, they would simply gut them and toss them whole into the kettle. Had to be careful eating the hard heads. Their fins were like needles.
If the fish were not biting, I would get out my cast net, find a spot where a small bayou entered the gulf and catch a mess of fresh shrimp. They were also really good cooked and eaten on the beach at night.
I also ate a lot of gar balls and gar steaks. The gar balls were great if the cook was good. They made them and seasoned them a lot like salmon pattys. Gar steaks I would buy at the seafood market. They tasted great, but left my grill smelling like rotten fish for a couple of weeks.
Ted
Sheepshead are good, but never seemed to have much meat even if they were large fish. Had to cook them whole cause if I filleted them, I didn't get much meat. Black drum are good if small. When they are large, they always seemed to have a lot of worms in their flesh.
I love Courtbullion. I used to night fish with some guys who would catch hard heads and gaff tops. We would build a small campfire on the beach and start a big kettle of Courtbullion on the campfire. As they caught the hard heads and Gaff Tops, they would simply gut them and toss them whole into the kettle. Had to be careful eating the hard heads. Their fins were like needles.
If the fish were not biting, I would get out my cast net, find a spot where a small bayou entered the gulf and catch a mess of fresh shrimp. They were also really good cooked and eaten on the beach at night.
I also ate a lot of gar balls and gar steaks. The gar balls were great if the cook was good. They made them and seasoned them a lot like salmon pattys. Gar steaks I would buy at the seafood market. They tasted great, but left my grill smelling like rotten fish for a couple of weeks.
Ted
[quote="tedln"]
If the fish were not biting, I would get out my cast net, find a spot where a small bayou entered the gulf and catch a mess of fresh shrimp. They were also really good cooked and eaten on the beach at night.
That is what is so great about fishing in La. If you are in the right spot, you can catch fish, shrimp, crabs and even harvest fresh oysters in the same area.
"I also ate a lot of gar balls and gar steaks. The gar balls were great if the cook was good.
You're right, gar balls are great if cooked right. They can be downright nasty if not. But then again, so can lots of food.
If the fish were not biting, I would get out my cast net, find a spot where a small bayou entered the gulf and catch a mess of fresh shrimp. They were also really good cooked and eaten on the beach at night.
That is what is so great about fishing in La. If you are in the right spot, you can catch fish, shrimp, crabs and even harvest fresh oysters in the same area.
"I also ate a lot of gar balls and gar steaks. The gar balls were great if the cook was good.
You're right, gar balls are great if cooked right. They can be downright nasty if not. But then again, so can lots of food.
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Canadian Farmer Guy
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Ozark Lady
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There was a couple who would take all the neighborhood kids for an overnight fishing.
The wife took the girls, and boy could she cook on a campfire, and was fun.
The hubby would take the guys, and they camped just a little farther down, on the levee of the Mississippi River.
We were up all night, and only slept a little while, until the sun was cooking us, and everyone was up and after it again...
Ahhh youth!
And the only requirement to get to go, you had to be willing to bait your own hook, and get your own fish off... no wimps allowed! ha ha
The wife took the girls, and boy could she cook on a campfire, and was fun.
The hubby would take the guys, and they camped just a little farther down, on the levee of the Mississippi River.
We were up all night, and only slept a little while, until the sun was cooking us, and everyone was up and after it again...
Ahhh youth!
And the only requirement to get to go, you had to be willing to bait your own hook, and get your own fish off... no wimps allowed! ha ha
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webmaster
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I hadn't been fishing in over twenty years. I took it back up in the middle of Spring and have been patiently researching and learning all about the different variables involved. Literally hours can pass while I cast out, reel in, experimenting to find what the fish are preferring, challenging myself to cast a little further, then to cast without plopping the lure too hard, all until the overcast weather breaks and the sun pokes it's face through the clouds.
Fishing puts me in a good mood and keeps me there.
Fishing puts me in a good mood and keeps me there.
I like to fresh water fish. I haven't had the opportunity to salt water fish. I bought my 4 year old son his own pole and I need to get him to a pond soon. It's been too hot as of late.
I will catch and release and I really don't care what ends up on the hook. I love to eat fish but not a big fan of cleaning them. I guess because I don't have much experience at it.
I always say a bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day!
I will catch and release and I really don't care what ends up on the hook. I love to eat fish but not a big fan of cleaning them. I guess because I don't have much experience at it.
I always say a bad day fishing beats a good day at work...any day!
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Ozark Lady
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I didn't always like to fish, in fact, I went through a phase when I would go fishing, never use a pole and just read a book while hubby fished.
Well, one day, I got bored, not sure where hubby went, to the car for something I think. Anyhow, I was casting the rod, and reeling it in... just bored. Not trying to catch anything at all.
I got tangled up. I thought he is going to shoot me. So, I kept messing with it, and the tangle was getting a little closer to shore.
I would push the release, let it go a bit, then reel again. And I was making some decent headway.
Then, just about the time I should be able to see the branch or whatever I had snagged, there sat a Walleye. Yep, I wasn't snagged the whole time.
But the fish didn't act like a perch, it just acted like I was hung up, or else it bit, just as I got free? It never tugged or did anything to suggest it was a fish!
Surprised me, and surprised hubby more, I got a nice sized Walleye, yes, I had a license, in North Dakota you bought a family fishing license, not an individual one. But, I never fished, I didn't know what I was doing, just playing around...
Practicing can get you a decent fish sometimes!
That Walleye was mighty tasty.
Well, one day, I got bored, not sure where hubby went, to the car for something I think. Anyhow, I was casting the rod, and reeling it in... just bored. Not trying to catch anything at all.
I got tangled up. I thought he is going to shoot me. So, I kept messing with it, and the tangle was getting a little closer to shore.
I would push the release, let it go a bit, then reel again. And I was making some decent headway.
Then, just about the time I should be able to see the branch or whatever I had snagged, there sat a Walleye. Yep, I wasn't snagged the whole time.
But the fish didn't act like a perch, it just acted like I was hung up, or else it bit, just as I got free? It never tugged or did anything to suggest it was a fish!
Surprised me, and surprised hubby more, I got a nice sized Walleye, yes, I had a license, in North Dakota you bought a family fishing license, not an individual one. But, I never fished, I didn't know what I was doing, just playing around...
Practicing can get you a decent fish sometimes!
That Walleye was mighty tasty.
I know a place that is so good for fishing that they put up a sign telling you about how good it is. The sign says “fine for fishingâ€
Last edited by tomf on Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
I love those clear mountain streams. We were in Colorado in July and we would cross little streams that were only maybe 8" deep and 3' or 4' wide. When we approached the streams, you could see some really nice trout scattering in every direction. I didn't have a fishing rod with me, but I have those streams marked in my mind for the next trip.jal_ut wrote:I do some fly fishing in our clear mountain streams for trout.
Ted
