Fishing Rhino

Are Smallmouth Brown Trout? I'm just catching up on this thread, hence the late reply to this post. The answer would be no. I've heard floating turds referred to as "brown trout". Can I use that word without getting into trouble?

Four to five weeks? Four to five days seems like an eternity to me. Funny thing is, when I put away my gear for the season, I don't suffer the same withdrawal. Probably has to do with the short days, and being in darkness at five in the afternoon. At the first sign of spring, with the days getting longer, I'll venture out. In your neck of the woods it would be a year round deal, even in the heat of summer. Good for you. Not only did you get to fish, you also had great action.

Sounds like a perfect day. I love those bronzebacks. Post a report! Hope we do something worth posting.

I went out for a few hours today. Water temps last week in the low 60s. Then we had cold, wind and cold rain. It snowed 30 miles to the north of us in Foxboro. Water temp today (surface) 46.7 to 47.1. Said that cannot be right, and put my hand in the water. Felt like ice. Fished the areas that had been thick with bottom vegetation in 6 to 9 feet of water, using a drop shot rig with a flappin hog. Six nice bass, a dink, and a nice pickerel. The vegetation had thinned considerably and was ideal for casting or drifting a drop shot. The fish were sluggish. Some made a half hearted attempt to jump and managed to break the surface, but did not clear it. The first hour or two was hunting, and trying different depths and bottom types. Once I settled in on the pattern, they bit pretty good. The air temp was 37 here this morning. Tomorrow we'll chase smallmouths on Cape Cod.

OK, I've done it. Booked a room for the dates of the road trip. If anyone wants to share a room, send me a pm. The room has two queen size beds. If you are between Massachusetts and Pickwick, and want to share a ride, I will pick you up along the way. Have a comfortable four door GMC pickup with all the ameneties except for a sun roof and dvd player for the back seat. The truck has a cap that can be locked to secure gear. Rods up to seven feet can be stowed diagonally across the bed on top of luggage. Don't have a boat, other than my canoe, but that could change by then. As of now, I will need to share a seat on a boat.

There you are. I've tried to call you back. My cell phone took a dip over a week ago. It went in the drink when I was launching my canoe. Didn't realize it was missing until I was done fishing a few hours later. Found it in a foot and a half of water. Pulled the battery, put the hairdryer on it when I got home, and kept it heated until all the moisture was gone from the displays. Plugged it into the charger and it charged up OK. But, the numbers 1, 2, and 3 are fouled up. All the others are OK. Press one and 7, 4, and 1 flash in that order and opens missed text message. The others do the same with the two numbers below them. Heated it some more, but apparently there is a mineral deposit on the board which is shorting across some circuits. I can open the numbers I have in memory, click on the one I want then hit send, and the phone works fine. Ended up replacing the phone. Water temp was still around 61 and a few tenths higher. The weather looks pretty bleak for the rest of the week.

Tuesday was the day. Got to the pond. Slick calm water for a hundred or more yards out from the southern shore. Went out while waiting for a buddy, and managed to catch a small one, thus taking off the skunk stink for the day. When the two of us finally got underway, it was still fairly calm. No sooner had we got to the bottom we wanted to fish and the wind picked up. A few minutes later, the wind died as quickly as it had come up, and we had a sprinkle. Made a few drifts across one of our favored shoals, and caught nothing. Off to the next point, and I caught a nice largemouth of three to four pounds. We worked the cove for a bit and the wind started to blow from the west. It was blowing pretty good, so we headed for the sheltered shore, and a squall took aim. Downpour and wind. We got to the shore, and the wind and rain stopped and the sun peaked through now and then. Still an occasional light sprinkle, and a puff of wind once in a while. We finally got to a piece of productive bottom which yielded these, as well as a few smaller fish. All in all, not a bad day. I was dressed for it and was comfortable all day. All caught on a drop shot. The largemouth on a flappin hog, and the two smallies on a four inch coppertreuse Strike King finesse worm.

Just read an article about tipping, and how the jars for tips have appeared at counters, even at franchises over the years. Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, ice cream shops, nearly everywhere there is counter service. Even at drive through windows. I am a generous tipper, except in the case of lousy service. We tip the waitresses at our favorite restaurants twenty percent. I'm talking about the local diner style restaurants, not the upscale joints. When we order takeout, I leave a ten percent tip. But, I refuse to put money in a tip jar for counter service. It may be me, but to put a container on the counter is akin to a panhandler rattling his cup in front of passersby, begging for money. My wife has scolded me because I don't send Christmas cards or trinkets to my customers. When she does, I ask her why she, a customer, gives seasonal gifts to the hair dresser, manicurist, and the like. They never have given her anything for her patronage. Anyway. When it comes to those cups on the counters, I do not tip.

Hmmmmm. Can we be sure that Jennifer's dad is the husband? Heard this joke years ago. A married couple had been trying unsuccessfully to have a child. The stress of failure had a profound effect, and they ended up getting a bitter divorce, blaming each other for their fruitlessness. The animosity never went away. A few years later, they bumped into each other, and the guy, wanting to get in another shot, he announced that he had remarried, and his current wife was pregnant. The woman was not impressed. She told him she was three months pregnant, and could be absolutely certain she was the mother. It's probably the cynic in me.

ShakE2 jig head, various weights, with a Strike King four inch coppertruese finesse worm. Rigged weedless, using the angled post, in vegetation, and rigged not weedless along the shank of the hook, in the rocks. Can fish it weedless in the rocks as well, http://www.shake2jigs.com/ The worm will last until you lose the rig.

Welcome. I'm from the southeastern Mass area, and I hear you about the saltwater. Started freshwater fishing when I was a kid. I "graduated" to salt water in my late teens, early twenties, fishing for stripers and bluefish in the Buzzards Bay, RI Sound areas. Became a commercial lobsterman for nearly thirty years, and when I quit that, I did not care a whit about going on any type of water. Had a great time lobstering, and being on the ocean, but by the time I quit, I'd had enough. Lost all interest in fishing. Took up fresh water fishing again last year. Since then, it has become close to an obsession. Got a great, small pond minutes from our home with truly great fishing. Its fishing is head and shoulders above anything else in this area. It is surrounded by private property, so there is little fishing pressure. I've only fished it a couple of times since early August. Been hitting different ponds in the Cape Cod area hunting smallmouth bass, and to get a change in scenery, as well as to improve my "prospecting" for fish ability. Always glad to share a trip with other fishermen. You can contact me via a private message, or email. I'm semi retired. More retired than semi. I work for myself. Most weekdays I'm fishing. Wife not yet retired, so most weekends are reserved for her. Welcome aboard.

I'd rather be plagued by the bait monkey that the tool monkey, especially when it comes to Snap On tools. We bought our first home in 1965 for about the same price Snap On gets for one of their humongous rolling tool centers. Can't call it a tool box or a tool chest. Center seems a better choice. But it could be worse. Imagine one of those Snap On creations as a tackle box. For sure, you'd be the bait monkey's pet.

Fall in New England is peak pickerel time. Catch very few during the summer. Come the middle of September, they start biting. The only thing you can do is to come back in the middle of next summer. The problem is that pickerel will take anything a bass will hit, and a lot more. A hook on a clothespin will catch pickerel this time of year. They are very aggressive now. Enjoy them. A four to five pound pick will fight harder than a ten pound bass. Some say that bass won't hang around where there are pickerel. Last Thursday, I fished a pond on Cape Cod, drifting a drop shot across a shoal, up one side and down the other. Making very nearly the same drift, I caught largemouth, smallmouth and four pickerel that probably averaged over four pounds. You are dealing with typical fall New England fishing.

For drop shotting, I use six pound test mono with twenty pound fluoro for a leader. It does two things. It helps prevent cutoffs from the occasional pickerel, and allows me to lift the fish into my canoe when lipping it is not practical. Most of the time I use spinning gear with ten pound braid with the twenty pound fluoro leader. I do have a couple of spinning rods with fifteen pound test and the twenty pound leader used mostly for jigging and bottom fishing. I lose less to hangs because it has the beans to pull some jigs free that ten pound would not. It's also better for fishing the lily pad beds when a good size bass is hooked and runs around through the stalks/stems. Also use the fifteen pound in the shallow waters around the shore. In places there is a lot of thick vegetation such as water hyacinth. Lost several nice bass when they've tangled in the plants and pulled free. The leader is necessary with the braid because most of the bottom I fish is rocky, and the braid pops like sewing thread when a fish takes it into the rocks. The leader prevents that. It does necessitate cutting back frequently to get rid of nicks and scuffs. I do have a couple of muscle combos (BPS Nitros) which I rarely use. Don't often fish water with a lot of blow downs, stumps or debris which calls for the ability to keep a fish from turning into it. One is also for casting wake baits and can handle six ounce lures. Rarely use it. Very rarely. Only a couple of times this year.

There are some fish which are not as susceptible to lactic acid buildup. Cannot recall which. But I either read about it, or saw it on a fishing show. I caught a largemouth bass this year that by all things I've seen and read should not have been alive. In fact, I caught it twice within a week. One of its gills had been severed at its head, and a half inch protruded from its gills. The gill was a pale color, obviously because of a lack of blood flow. Apart from that the fish was healthy and lively. Another thing I learned by observation this year is that fish blood congeals instantly when it hits the water. I caught one that had a gill damaged. Blood was pouring out, and I was sick. Then I noticed the blood congealed instantly when it hit the water. I dipped the fish into the water, then lifted it out to remove the hook. The bleeding had just about stopped. Removed the hook, placed it in the water for a few seconds, lifted it, examined it, and even the slight bleeding stopped. It swam away as though nothing had happened. I cannot say with certainty that it survived, but everything I saw would lead to that conclusion. I don't have a problem with those who fish with light gear. My prior post was not intended as a critcism, just a different perspective. My observations tell me that there are very few fishermen who fish with very light gear. Most freshwater fishermen I know consider 6 pound test to be too light. Not for the sake of the fish's well being, but because it's not strong enough to control a fish. If the lactic acid buildup is a problem, there are not enough who fish light gear to make a dent in the fish population. Another observation of mine is that it is possible to lead a fish to the boat, much like a dog on the leash. It seems fish do not realize they are hooked until a certain pressure is applied. I've noticed this when fishing worms and lizards slowly along the bottom. A fish picks it up. Not being sure whether it is a fish, or a piece of grass, I retrieve it slowly waiting for a sign that a fish is on the line, and that I'm not merely dragging a piece of vegetation. I've brought them to the boat from twenty or thirty feet away. Once they see the boat, they wake up and put up a fight. But they get landed more quickly than those who struggle as soon as they pick up the bait.

The upside down spinning reel is the only one I have seen. I must fish in the wrong places, or, the right places, or, maybe it's a California thing. ;D

Back in the day, 1960s, I fished with two pound test on my spinning rod so I could cast the small Mepps lures. It would take up to a half hour to land a five pound smallmouth. It was indeed a thrill, for me. I thought I was being a sportsman, until my uncle from Alabama, who fished with telephone poles and winches by comparison, pointed out that fish fought to exhaustion are much more likely to die from lactic acid poisoning. I recently did a search on the internet because I had a discussion with a friend, regarding my uncle's statement. He said he'd like to see some info on it. So I searched. Lo and behold, my uncle was correct. Here's two of many blurbs about lactic acid buildup. Practice "Catch & Release". It's a catch phrase, and a self expanatory one at that, but one with far reaching implications. To many of us angling is a sport, but we must treat our opponents with the respect they deserve. Always crush the barbs on your hooks to reduce the potential effects of a deeply lodged hook. It is also a good idea not to keep em' hanging on too long. When a fish is fighting, lactic acid will build up in it's muscle mass. Too much lactic acid can be lethal to a fish. By keeping the fight as short as possible, the potential damage to a fish from lactic acid build up is reduced. By releasing them to swim again, we go a long way in ensuring the preservation of the fish stocks we need. And who knows maybe you'll meet that fish again someday. http://www.fishtheisland.com/Fish_responsibly.htm From, "The Minnesota Steelheader" Landing your fish properly is a key element to its survival. In most situations a quick landing will be less stressful on a fish. The exception is where a fish is caught in 30+ feet of water. Due to the depth, fish will need to be reeled in slowly to allow the fish to decompress. This is similar to what scuba divers go through coming up from a deep dive. However, this can be a lose, lose situation. Fish brought up too fast from deep water are almost sure to die after their release. On the other hand, fish played long to allow decompression may build up a fatal amount of lactic acid, reducing the chance of survival. If you are planning to release fish it is best to target shallower fish. With that said, always use the heaviest line possible for the fish you are pursuing. This will decrease the amount of time needed to land your catch. Like people, fish build up lactic acid in their muscle tissue when under stress. This build up of acid is a result of the oxygen that is lost in muscle tissue while under physical exertion. Due to the lower oxygen content, fish caught in warmer water will build up this acid at an increased rate over fish caught in oxygen rich cooler water. Your quick release will increase the likelihood of a full recovery from the acid build up, allowing your fish to fight another day.

I know that trick, done it many times and ...... the danged hook points where it wants and not where I want so > .... if I can get hooks to do what I want why bother in purchasing hooks that don 't do what I want ? The obvious answer is you shouldn't. If you have something that is working, stay with it. I would. That's the great thing about fishing. There really are no rules, only basic guidelines, with plenty of room for creativity.

It took them years to change, but the Uncle Josh stuff I have has plastic covers. Bought last year. But, since a lot of plastics are salted, I'd make a super saturated brine solution. Put some water in a pan, add more salt than it can dissolve, then heat it on the stove. Don't need to bring it to a boil, but get it good and hot. Allow to cool, then pour into your containers. You'll have some undissolved salt at the bottom of your pan. Don't need to put that into the bottles, but it won't harm anything if you do. Decades ago, I knew striper fishermen who did this to store plugs that were rigged with eel skins. The hooks were removed from the plugs, the eel skins pulled over the plug, secured by stainless steel wire that tightened the skin into a groove cut at the head of the plug. They'd remove the hooks for storage to prevent rusting, and so they could keep an assortment of skin rigged plugs in the same brine container without getting fouled in each other.

If you want to increase your chances of hooking a large fish, use lightweight gear. Landing them is a whole 'nother matter. It works the same as getting a fish to bite on a day you aren't getting a look. Allow your bait to dangle in the water, leave your rod unattended and not in a holder, and reach for a snack or drink. At that precise moment, the odds a fish will strike at that bait rise exponentially. You may lose a rod and reel in the process. Somehow, it all relates to Murphy's laws.

Are there still steel mills in Pittsburgh? I thought we imported just about all the steel we use for manufacturing.

Experience is the best teacher. Is it? Not always. While there may be no substitute for experience, we can also learn from the experience of others to shorten our learning curves. There are two parts involved in fishing, the mental, and the physical. In basketball, to become proficient at putting the ball in the hoop, one must practice. And, as a general rule, the more practice the better shooter you will become, unless..........you have flaws in your technique which limit your progress. It relates to casting in the same way. While it takes practice to "perfect" casting skills, it also requires an understanding of technique. So even what appears to be primarily physical requires an understanding of proper techniques. The mental part involves understanding your quarry. But there is a hitch. While fish have certain behavioral tendencies, just because a particular lure works well in one pond it does not mean that it will work as well in every pond. The reason it varies is quite simple, and basic. Ponds vary. They vary in structure, and available cover. They also vary in available forage, on which fish feed. To learn the particulars about a pond, the experience of others can be helpful, but to truly understand the pond, you must physically fish it. There is one more thing that is important to understand. And it may be the most important. It is patience. It involves not only patience to continue plugging away (pun intended) even when you are catching nothing. Perseverance is closely related to patience, in this regard. It also involves being patient with yourself. You need to understand and accept that it may take time before you gain confidence in your understanding and abilities. Fishing like any other sport involves the physical and the mental aspects. We all have peaks and valleys when it comes to catching fish. Catching fish is not all there is to enjoy about fishing. For some, it may be the quiet solitude of a woodland stream or secluded pond. For others, the bustling activity of urban ponds/lakes. In the end, fishing is different to all of us, and that is the beauty of the sport. We can do it in our way. Some are satisfied to sit on a bank with a cane pole and earthworms or grasshoppers, waiting for a fish to come along and take the bait. Others prefer to pursue the fish in highly specialized craft, spending tens of thousands of dollars. There is no right or wrong. Don't have unrealistic expectations, and be willing to accept the fact that some days catching fish is an exercise in futility. But, learn and understand that's fishing. How can you learn. Apply yourself. Work on the physical and the mental parts of the sport. Be patient. Enjoy every success that comes along. Fishing is a journey. Not a destination.

What is really neat about the fluke thing is when it has dived into the coontail, seeing it emerge cleanly from the mass of vegetation. If it does snag a stem on the tag end of the knot, the eye or the bulge of the bait's nose, the quick "pop" usually clears it, and the bait flutters away, leaving the piece of vegetation behind. Even when a retrieve does not produce a strike, it's neat watching the bait disappear and then cleanly reappear. BTW, I love your fishing rig. I'm glad you posted it because the image I had in mind was that you fished using a float tube, and I could not understand how you could have a fish finder, a camera and all that paraphernalia stowed and stored on what I envisioned as an inner tube with a seat. One of the things I like about the canoe is that you are right there, on a level with the fish. Get the fish to you, and there are no gyrations required to grab it. How often do you have fish run into your legs when they dive under your "boat"? The poles on your rig look like they are part of a drawbridge.

Sounds interesting, and definitely worth a try. I've got a fiberglass job making some molds, but I can always take a day to go fishing. I'll pick up some sassy shad grubs and 1/16th ounce jig heads. When it looks like a good fishing day, I'll do it. Thanks, and I'll definitely post an update.

That is really wild, and creative. But, a trolling motor under the table, which I assume is nearly centered on the craft/houseboat? It has to be a real bear to handle, not to mention its short range. Even a slight breeze would exert more than a hundred pounds of force against such a large surface. But, it is designed for comfort and short runs to a favorite fishing hole. Speed, handling, and range is not of the essence. I wonder how it is classified regarding taxes. Is it a building, or a boat? If it were here in Massachusetts, it would probably be taxed as both, and require registration. Where would the numbers go? They have to be affixed to the bow. Does it have a holding tank? Do local building codes apply? Is it sturdy enough for whitewater rafting? The possibilities are endless. Nonetheless, I like it. All it needs is a crooked stovepipe through the roof to go with the weathervane.