UPSmallie

That's pretty interesting. I once caught a 5 lb pike with a perch eye stuck in its teeth, but never caught one like that.

Thanks guys! Yes, I am grateful to live in a fantastic fishery. The only coldwater fish not in abundance here seems to be brown trout and a handful of other salmon species. Everything else comes in year-round numbers, you just have to learn how to catch them. I'll look into those lures. Thanks for the suggestions.

It was a long day, but I gained a newfound respect for the Pre-Rapala Wiggle Warts. After classes I hit one of the local spots for steelies and got the hit I was looking for, but couldn't get the right hookset so no dice. Tried another shore spot and still nothing. Went home, dug through some plugs I had and found one that I'm not even sure where it came from. It's a pre-Rapala Short Wart in the prizm gold shiner color. Never fished it before, but figured it'd be good. Brought it and some of my other lures to a different location that allows for shore fishing over a set of rapids. Basically you fish off a bridge into the rapids downstream from you. Within seconds I hooked into a 5+ lb chromer on the 1 oz spinner. It was unreal. I watched in disbelief as it threw the hooks on the surface. All around I could see steelhead feeding on the surface though. No one else was even fishing, so I realized things could get great. I tied on the short wart and began casting, but it was out of tune so I began making the adjustments for it to run straight. When I finally got it running true, I bombed it where I had seen a steelhead sipping. I started twitching it in fast erratic sweeps back to me when this 5 lb male didn't want any of it. Struck so hard, my drag was screaming before I even realized I had a fish on. Managed to battle it in and get it in the drop net. Came out to be 24.5 inches and an even 5 lbs. Also hooked into another 2-3 lber in the same spot on the same lure, but it popped off as I attempted to land it. Finished the afternoon 1-4 but I'll take it. Looking forward to Sunday's Dinner. Steelhead are in full swing now. Water temps a touch below 59 degrees.

Ice fishing is actually extremely addicting once you get the hang of it. October and November should continue to be good fishing, but December and early January is when it really sucks up here. Weak ice and bad fishing. By mid-January it should be really nice again. Here's a little pump-up for the select hard-water enthusiasts

Heck yeah! Hit a shore fishing, heavy current spot that is extremely hit or miss, but has kicked out some nice fall steelhead for me in the past. Worked the usual runs to the left and right and nothing. Never fished the fastest middle current before so I started working that and it didn't take long before I felt a hard strike. Fought the fish for a while before I was able to get her netted. 18 inch chrome hen. Looking like the steelhead fishing has begun. Weapon of choice was purple nautical creations 1 oz spinner. Fish On

All seem to work well, but I've had my best luck with x-raps and husky jerks. X-rap in any color size 10 and husky jerk size 12 in a color that matches your local forage.

#1 Cure that has never failed me on a spincasting outfit: Spool up your reel with said mono. Pinch tag end of the line in the line holder on the metal spool part. Pull the spool of line off of the actual reel by loosening your drag knob until it pops off so you can slide your spool off the reel. Next run warm water in the sink for a while until the water gets really hot. Then get a bigger bowl that will fit your whole spool of rigged up line. Fill up the bowl with the hot water and drop your fishing spool into the water. Note I do not mean your spool and your reel, just the spooled up part that can be detached from the reel. Let the spool sit in the hot water for at least 10 minutes before pulling it out. The warmer water will help the fishing line to become formed around the metal part of your spool. Dry off excess water and then pop it onto your reel, tighten the drag back down, and you are good to go. Never once had line memory problems after using this technique.

Just don't get frogtoggs lol. Got mine as a present a while back and have been meaning to upgrade, but haven't yet. Will see how long the leaks bother me.

Managed a 16 inch eater walleye on a live minnow under a bobber this past winter ice-fishing, that had a Lindy Rattlin Flyer Spoon in its mouth. The hooks had already dissolved, but the lure was firmly wedged. Haven't used it yet. Might just keep it as a souvenir.

The jerkbait is probably my most consistent multi-species producer. What I have found works best is to cast as far as possible is the direction desired and then bring it back in erratic twitches anywhere from medium to fast paced. Sometimes you will feel a hard strike and set the hook, but more often than not, my rod tip will jerk downwards and then I set the hook. If they hit a little ways from the very end of the retrieve, I have had good success in landing them, but if they hit right at the boat or at the very end of the retrieve, the chances of the hooks actually sticking decreases in my experience. Unless they are pike or fish that grab the bait and start running. Best of luck.

Hail Yes! Haha. Usually cheer for both MSU and Michigan, but this year I may or may not be rooting for Michigan a little more as they have the best chance at the CFP As long as Ohio State keeps losing and hopefully Alabama, then I will be very happy. Edit: And yes I was very happy with MSU's miracle play against UM two years ago

Great work!

Haven't fished them in a few years as I feel there may be better topwater options, but I do love making them gurgle and bloop on largemouth ponds. Just cast them near surface activity. In my experience they seem to catch the smaller largemouth, but they are lots of fun to use.

Thanks guys! Fishing for kings is a lot of fun, but definitely not easy. I've gone back two other times and have only lost hooked fish. Looks like the run has all but ended, so will hopefully start putting in some time for steelies.

Thanks guys! Definitely felt like a freight train

I usually just texas rig them behind a bullet sinker, but both ways definitely work.

Haha thanks man!! It was the craziest experience. Never have felt 'fished out' till now. Riding this one out for a bit and putting more focus on studies. Probably back at it within a week though lol

Thanks guys! Probably the most memorable catch I've ever had.

Wow. Craziness. I had been wanting to try a creek again that receives literally between 16,000 and 250,000 king salmon plants each year. I'd tried a few weeks ago and had hooked one but it had popped off. The spoons I had been using where slightly too big though. After classes yesterday I stopped by Walmart and was surprised to find that they had a 2/5 oz firetiger glow Little Cleo. Pricey, but probably still worth it. Picked it up, rigged up my gear, and drove the 45 minutes out to the creek. Just like the last time, hundreds of King Salmon could be seen porpoising up the creek. Anywhere from 3-25 lbs. They wouldn't hit spoons or spawn though. The sun finally set and that seemed to trigger some of the bigger salmon. Some big tanks started splashing right around the area I had been frequently casting to. I tied on the glow Little Cleo and charged it with my headlamp. Pitched it to the other side of the creek mouth and began working it back. About the 5th cast and my rod started ripping extremely hard! I could barely set the hook when the giant fish tore off literally 200 yards down the side of the Lake shoreline. I tightened up my drag a bit and it seemed to help. I gained more control, or so I thought. The fish kept screaming drag and took off like a freight train in multiple directions. I had to tighten the drag just a little more. At last I had it perfectly dialed in and the fish was tiring. Thankfully, a man offered to help net the fish and I gladly agreed. After several unsuccessful attempts, the man was finally able to lunge the net under the massive fish. I thanked him and was grateful my 15 lb fluoro had held. The male King weighed 18.43 lbs and measured 36 inches. I'm still kind of shocked about it. Hard to believe and crazier to experience. Fish On.

Well you can't win them all. For whatever reason the powerhouse turbines were all shut off today so fishing was very slow. Managed a hookup with what I would estimate a 20-21 inch pink salmon male. Had to have been pushing master angler (21 inches). Threw the hooks as my friend was trying to get the net. Did get a nice 30 second video of it though https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Xh9Db5tSg

Almost forgot. What's cool is the university puts on a fish cam under one of the closed off turbines so you can get an idea of what kind of fish are present and how much are around. Most on the cam are atlantics and pinks, but sometimes you'll see a whitefish or king on. They live stream it so usually you have to jump from the current video to a different link in a few days, but it is excellent quality. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKe2pMVZOvs

Atlantic Slammin Season is Here! Been trying to catch one of the bigger pink salmon that are fresh in the river, but so far I haven't had any luck with them. Also tried for some late night kings a few days ago and went 0/1. Had a great time with a nice screamer though. Should be able to hit that creek again sometime this week. Of the few I've been privileged to land I've given some to the neighbors and the rest to different recipes. I usually grill or bake them, but am excited to try some salmon soup tomorrow. It's looking like a great fall. Fish On everybody.

1. Messing around with my homemade automatic fishermens and leaving the treble hooks on the end of the lines. Took an ER visit to push one of the hooks through my thumb and out the other part of the pad. Not very fun, but it didn't leave any scars so that was nice. 2. Trying to ice fish in 20 mph winds. Never ends up working but I still try every winter. 3. Trying to cast a 1/8 oz sinker across my yard into a plastic bin for a fishing trick shot. On one of my casts I wound up and loaded the sinker right into the bush behind me, instantly snapping off my line. Couldn't ever find that sinker lol 4. Trailering my 14 footer home when I kept hearing loud thuds and grinding coming from behind my car. Pulled over and realized that the trailer had popped off the trailer hitch and had been ramming my car for the past minute. It had only stayed on because of the additional safety chains. Scratched paint and dents everywhere. Sad part was that the trailer hitch had been locked to prevent that very thing. And I didn't even have the key since my dad had driven home earlier with it. Not fun. Thankfully touch-up paint was able to hide all of the scratch marks.

Congrats and great work! That sounds like one good boss.

Wow! Great job