Fish Chris

Heck yes I have ! One time I'd been fishing for this pig... at least 12 or 13 lbs, for like 3 hours ! It was hot, I was dying of thirst, pulling my hair out.... and FINALLY she bit ! I swung, and stuck her ! She ran for the surface, and whoosh ! She does a high jump..... and throws my freaking lure right at me :-[ :'( I must have thrown my rod 30 freaking feet ! Oh wait a minute..... I think we might be on a different page Sorry about your motor man. That REALLY sucks ! Fish

Thank you guys. I'm flattered by a couple of your responses. But in reality, I'm just really blessed to fish as much as I do, in the places I do.... Or to put it another way, lots of great fishing opportunities, with plenty of time time to capitalize on it. Any of you would have the same (or greater) success. Oh hey Infidel, that is not line coming from this fishes mouth. Those are the fishes barbels. On my micro-light rods (regardless of the species I'm fishing for) I always use a 2/10 braid. Certainly a lot stronger than 2 lb mono.... but on the other hand, I wouldn't dare treat it like 10 lb mono either, because of the zero stretch factor of braid. It matches up great on a rod rated for 1 to 4 lb mono (or 2 to 6) and I put about as much pressure on a fish with it, as if I was using say 6 lb mono. Another nice thing though, is that because of the thinness of this line, I can cram about 180 yards of it on a very small (UL) spinning reel. And the more line you have, the more time you have to get your anchor out of the way, and get caught up to the fish. Anyway, I've been showing off that same photo above for a couple years now. So, I think its about time to go and outdo myself I saw a few jumpers which were probably bigger Weds. And I was thinking about just using both of my micro-light setups the next time out : Might be easier to fool one of these big suckers (no pun intended on the super light gear anyway + like I always say, just let me stick a hook in one, and the game will be 3/4's won Peace, Fish

Hey guys... SirSnook, I live up here in Nor Cal, next to the Ca Delta, about 45 miles West of Sacramento. (famous for Largemouth Bass fishing.... But I never bass fish in it). We have pretty good numbers of 72", 100 lb + Sturgy's, with some going over 300 lbs. We have a slot limit of 46" to 66", of which we can only keep 3 per year, inside of that range. I guess they have quite a few larger than 300 lbs up in Washington, Idaho's Snake River, British Columbia, etc. Anyway, yes guys, they are some cool, crazy fish ! And they fight like you wouldn't believe, often making screaming runs, followed by big jumps ! If you ever get the chance to fish for them, I highly suggest you do Whooo Hooo ! Peace, Fish

Hey MrLite, you know I've already caught several on micro-light gear, right ? Talking about feeling powerless But Sturgeon are really no different than most other species. Once you get a hook in one, with micro-light gear, you just have to chase them with the boat, to keep from being spooled, and stay PATIENT ! They will eventually get tired. Of course, so will you Peace, Fish

Try Sturgeon fishing :-( I've never really fished for them this time of year.... but trying to save gas (I have prime Sturgy water 5 miles from my house.... and only a 0 to 2 mile run in the boat). And I've heard about a few getting caught, and lots of jumpers (which of course means they are there ) Anyway, to make a long story short, it would be one thing if you were sitting there all day waiting for a bite, from a fish you were not even sure was there.... But how would it make you feel if you saw maybe 75 jumps, and heard that many more tremendous splashes, some of them maybe 10 feet away from you, from Sturgeon anywhere from 40 to 100 lbs ??? Well, I had 1 pull down Tuesday, but missed on the swing.... and I was even holding the pole when it happened ! Then, yesterday, I had 1 fish pick up my bait (on my micro-light ;-) and start dragging it straight towards me. It took me a few seconds to pick up on what was happening, but just about the time I started to think, "Hey, I need to reel in a bunch of slack and swing..... pop. It drops it :'( :'( :'( That might have been a > couple hours of fish fighting fun < ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anyway, here's the thing; We often talk about the conditioning of big, old Largemough bass, which might be 10, or maybe 13 years old. How conditioned (slick) do you think a fish would get after 30, 50, heck 80 years of being swung at ??? These fish are just a PITA to stick ! Ahhhh.... but once you do :-) Whoooo Hoooo ! In a lot of respects, Sturgeon fishing reminds me of trophy bass fishing..... Like day after day, throwing a big swimbait, and getting skunked often, but when you finally get one, its something worth bragging about. The other crappy thing is that the good tides only happen "every other week" so next week, will probably not even be worth going..... but you never know Peace, Fish PS, It does give you a crazy feeling, to holding a Bluegill pole, and see this 100+ lb Dino-fish jump right there in the same area where your line is casted But just let me stick a hook in one. I'll worry about the rest later

That is just all bad :-[ :'( > Ya' know, I've read / heard that it has been shown, something like 85% of all serial killers have started out killing helpless animals. You guys ever see the 3 part special on the "Iceman" ? That was one creepy, demented SOB...... But he's burning now ! Fish

Hey now, just as a disclaimer, I wasn't trying to belittle anyone who likes to buy a lot of tackle. To each his own. My post was from a purely personal standpoint. I'm just saying, new tackle doesn't excite me much, but big fish do ! Peace, Fish

Thank you Big Mike....but I'm just another guy who likes to feel that tug on the line Peace, Fish

Alright, here's the scoop on this.... Florida Strain Bass grow a lot bigger (and faster) than Northern strains {say an average top end size... for females, of 15 lbs}. Only problem is, the average life expectancy is much shorter for Florida's {say 11 years}. Northerns, on the other hand, might top out at an average of say 9 lbs {again, we are only talking females here} but they might have an average lifespan of 15 years.... even 20 plus years in colder, more Northern climates. So, the best possible scenario, is with "a certain, small percentage" of the offspring produced, by a Florida strain female, crossed with a Northern strain male. Now, the thing is, a good number of these fish might only grow as fast as a Northern strain, and / or live as long as a Florida strain > even with optimum food and habitat. However, a relatively small percentage (just to throw out a number, lets say, 10% to 20%) of these Florida X Northern crosses, will be able to "both grow as fast as a Florida strain, and live as long as a Northern strain (or at least, longer than most Floridas). These cross breeds are called F1 (or first generation) hybrids. Another problem here, is that with each generation that passes (F2's, F3's, etc) you end up with fewer and fewer of the positive aspects of both parents. Their is even some speculation that in the long term, the purposeful cross breeding of Northern and Florida strain Bass, can lead to a weakened gene pool. But in the short term, these gene pools could come together to create a new World Record Bass :-) Peace, Fish PS, Sorry WRB, I think we were typing at the same time :-) Anyway, I think we are on the same page.

If people want to make up a fictional character, to explain their habit of spending too much on fishing tackle, that's all fine by me. I'm just not the one. I swear I could walk all the way through a BPS or a Cabelas, with $1000 in my wallet, and not spend a penny. I think I have everything I need right now. Oh wait... maybe a package of splitshots. And it's "NOT" that I already have a warehouse full of fishing tackle either. On the contrary, I've throw away so much old crap that I will never use, in the last few years, you wouldn't believe it. Heck, just last week I was thinking about going through my tackle and throwing away another 25% of it. To say, I "don't need" anymore fishing tackle would not explain it properly > because in fact, "I don't even WANT any more fishing tackle". The only thing an abundance of fishing tackle does for me, is get in my way, make my decisions more difficult, make fishing not as fun, and probably, makes me not quite as effective on the water. Peace, Fish

Take a bass of 'X' length... Hang it on 'Y' scale.... And get 'Z' weight. I think this is the most accurate formula Peace, Fish

Hey now, here's a thought; For years everyone has been contemplating > How much would a new World Record Bass be worth..... But now the more pertinent question might be; "How much would a tie for the World Record Largemouth Bass be worth" ??? : Fish

Well maybe.... kind of. But lets just say that their was "no amount of weight" with which a fish needed to be bigger by. So, lets say Perry's fish really was 22lbs 4.00 ounces. Now, say somebody comes along and catches a fish which > on their scale < weighs 22 lbs 4.03 ounces. The fact of the matter is, anybody who knows anything about scales, knows that no two scales are "exactly" alike. And in reality, if you break it down to small enough fractions, no scale in the planet is actually spot on. Just some are a lot closer than others. All of this said, I don't think such a large "safety margin" of 2 full ounces is really needed. But I do think its a little late to argue the rules now..... except maybe for the next 22lb 5oz bass that gets caught. Peace, Fish

What video ? Neither of those will play for me... Anyway, what an absolutley "stacked" fish ! It really has the perfect build. Which leads me to wonder about something I have not seen asked on any of these 6 pages of replies...... Does that Japanese lake have trout stocked in it ? And if not, what did this bass get so huge on ??? I kind of hope it gets certified, as it would be something we could actually see... a catch with solid proof.... something tangible to shoot for, unlike Perry's fish, which half the bass fishermen don't even believe was real in the first place. However, I've known about the 2 ounce rule for a long time, and I don't see the IGFA changing a rule, in mid-swing, just to accomadate a new record catch. Anyway, what a phenominal catch ! Makes my PB look tiny. Oh well..... That's okay > I haven't caught my biggest bass 'yet' ;-) Peace, Fish

Hey WRB Maybe the average fishermen. I myself though, won't go out "without" an anchor. Heck, I'll drift up onto a spot (using the water drift, or breeze) just so I don't have to use my trolling motor whatsoever. Quietly lower my anchor.... and then throw swimbaits ! Don't want my boat drifting all over the place.... or, me pulling myself, while reeling in a swimbait. So, needless to say, if I'm fishing a dad or crawler, I absolutely use my anchor every time ! BTW, I feel that their is a TON more to know about fishing live bait > to it's fullest effect < than their is to just throw out a swimbait, and slowly reel it back in. And I know you must have heard me say this before, but my biggest bass on a live dad, was just a "measley" 13.2 lb'er.... and on a crawler, it was just a "ho-hum" 14.1, while all of my BIG bass, have been caught on artificials...... and this is coming from a guy who loves fishing live bait. It just has not been my best method for getting the really big trout-eaters. Peace, Fish

Okay, so on the back window of my car, I have this little decal for the URL of my trophy bass website. (I think you guys already know what it is, and this post is not intended to advertise it). But anyway, I pull up to a stop light. Then, I look in my rear view, and their is this little "old" lady.... I mean like 90... with blue hair and all, with a note pad in her hand. She looks up towards me, then jots down something on her pad... then back towards me... then back to her note pad...... Now, in reality, I'm sure the lady was jotting something down that she heard on the radio, or something she thought of, and didn't want to forget, or whatever. The only reason she kept looking forward, was to make sure the light had not turned green. However, as I sat their, I kind of started to daydream : So what if this old lady was writing down the URL of my website ??? So then next week, I come up on one of my trophy bass hotspots, and here's this same 90 year old lady chucking swimbaits ! ;D I'd be like > Grandma ! What the heck ! Your cutting in on my water ! Is it just me ? Or is this funny to even contemplate ? ;-) Peace, Fish

Hey SirSnook Of course I don't know the first thing about Snook fishing.... But for me, the exact species in question has little, or nothing to do with my choice of line strength. I always choose the lb test, based on the size / weight of the bait / lure I need to use for that fish. Hence the reason I have often used a micro-light rod, with 2/10 braid for Sturgeon (knowing that I could hook one of 100 lbs... heck 200lbs or more) and then I will go out fishing for Largemouth's which are not likely to go much over 10lbs, using 50 lb braid > but that's because I'm cranking out a 5 ounce swimbait on that gear over, and over. Anyway, just thought I'd toss that out here.... Peace, Fish

Hey Mrlite, heck yes ! I use braid for all kinds of projects. Works as great for other stuff, as it does fishing. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hey Micro, I had forgotten that you didn't like braid (until I saw your other post, that I responded to) So, what is it about super strong, super thin, and super sensitive, that you don't like ? Oh, and have you at least used braid enough (caught a big fish on it) that for just once in your life, you could find out what "it really feels like" to have a fish fighting at the end of your line ? Strict mono guys will really never have any idea what that feels like. Braid = fishing line Mono = rubberband Peace, Fish

Yea'.... huh.... Must be why I never catch any big ones. Geeez, I sure wish somemebody would have told me this earlier Peace, Fish

First, I want to make a (totally positive) comment, about you guys, and the other members of this forum; Here are two pages of responses to the death of Michael Jackson, and not one single, negative, slanderous comment about him, even though, being a very different kind of guy like MJ was, certainly opens an invite to that kind of thing..... (probably why an oddball like myself has always felt so comfortable here :-)) But furthermore, I was over on another forum (I go there because I own a Ford F150... but not because all the members are such good guys, as they are here) and I swear 60% of the posts talked nothing but trash about MJ ! One guy went as far as saying it would be better if he had been shot and killed :-/ In a nutshell {and I know it's been said before} but > you guys < are what makes this forum so great ! Seriously ! Thank you. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My thoughts on Michael Jackson are, that the guy was hugely talented ! An amazing dancer ! A great singer ! The consumate entertainer ! And like everybody I admire the most in this world, he gave 110% of himself, with everything he did ! Also, I think it's very sad that he was basically robbed of his childhood. I know his father was pretty abusive (pushed him really hard to be a great performer) but I'm not sure how MJ himself felt about that in later life, as it might be what got him to where he was ? Hmmm. It also sucks that he ended up with health, and drug dependence issues. MJ's life was just filled with so many extremes, both positive, and negative. 50 years might seem like a short life, but I think MJ lived about 150 years in that time. Here's a guy that has "earned" a lot of RIP. God bless Michael Jackson, Fish PS, I personally believe that the only thing MJ was every guilty of, was in being a "very different kind of guy", who happened to have had a TON of $$$. Just a totally glaring target, for people who were not talented enough to "earn their own money" :-( Again, very sad... especially for a guy who gave so much of himself :-(

Yes, Marshfisher X's 2 ! And I also like to watch Larry Dalhberg travel all over the planet, chasing all kinds of huge, crazy fish, that I will most likely never be able to catch myself. Often stuff you wouldn't even think about lipping I always liked any of the shows with the Lindners too. If you want to see those, and hate commercials, they have lots of great, and reasonably priced videos / DVD's. As for the rest of the shows, they usually don't catch anything that excites me.... especially on like Bass Masters.... I'll have it on for background noise, and somebody will start hooping and hollering like they have stuck a BIG one.... and I'll turn around to see a 3 lb dink. Sure, that 3 lb'er might win "them" $100K or something, but it does nothing for me. Peace, Fish

Well Catt, I agree on the part about rods and reels. Of course most of mine were from my sponsor at the time (Okuma) but even so, I don't need the most expensive stuff they make. Middle, or upper middle range is fine for me. So, I'm talking about $70 to $100 rods, and $75 to $125 reels. Whether or not a guy thinks that is cheap or expensive, would be up to him. But that's what I use. About fish finders though..... I have 1 cheap ($125) portable Fish Eagle. Works fine for what it is. I pretty much always use it for Sturgeon fishing, because I like to watch them swim under my boat, while I'm anchored. But for bass, I can find them just fine with my own two eyes. Sometimes I just come up on a spot, and they are already there. Other times they will follow a lure (especially swimbaits and wake baits) up to the boat. And of course I almost never just blind fish down a bank trying to cover water. I jump from spot, to spot, on a map in my brain, which I develop over many trips, and sometimes, over many years of fishing that lake. As for the cost of a fishing boat; Most of you have probably heard me say, my 14 ft aluminum is my "dream boat" for nearly all of my freshwater fishing. And "I'm not saying > it's good enough..... What I'm saying is, "It's absolutely "the best" boat at any cost, for my style of fishing, and it allows me to fish a LOT.... compared to a high-per bass boat which I could not afford to fish 1/4 as much + which is too big and bulky for me. With a boat like that, I'd feel like I was constantly getting into my own way ;-) Peace, Fish

Ha ! :-) True story.... right here in my town, their is a big neon sign that says "Psychic" ...... and right in front of it (it's a house, but it's right on the border of a business district) he has {I swear this is true !} a high performance bass boat ! :-) LOL KVD better watch out ! :-) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seriously though, I believe a very small % of psychics 'could have' a certain amount of real psychic abilities......... But I also believe their are just SOOO many scam artists out their, that it makes it almost impossible to find a legit one. Peace, Fish

X's 10 !!! I've seen them twice in concert, and they were absolutely unbelievable ! Neil Pert is {IMPO} the best drummer on the planet. I've been a huge Rush fan for more than 20 years, and have been rocking the $#@% out of them a lot more nowadays again, ever since I got the 1400 wt system in the truck ;-) ....fantastic recordings too. Rush is probabably among my top 5 favorites of all music, from all times. Peace, Fish

Alligator Gar are some of the coolest sportfish in the US ! Not saying I'd completely trade Bass for Gar... but put it this way, if I could choose between fishing for Bass, or Alligator Gar 'today', I'd choose Gar. Of course I'd choose either over "work" ;-) But Yes Flech, I feel the same about Bowhunting for Carp :-( I mean, why ? ....when they are such awesome fighters on a fishing rod ? Hmmmm, Fish