SomeStorm

BunnieLab, thanks for all the information. I'm armed with aberdeen hooks from size 6 to 14, 2 and 4lb mono, a telescoping cane pole, and absurd finger dexterity (I work in a lab and I'm good at it for a reason). I also have a promise to be able to borrow my dad's tenkara at some point. I bought a minnow trap and it works great, so this is really my own indulgence, but I find things like this fun.

Apologies to others as this thread has been a little diverted. Bunnielab, stupid question, if I ordered this: https://www.amazon.com/Shakespeare-Three-Piece-Wonder-Lite-10-Feet/dp/B001H2YLSW/ref=sr_1_23?s=sporting-goods&rps=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1476046230&sr=1-23&keywords=tenkara&refinements=p_85%3A2470955011%2Cp_36%3A-5000 would it come with line or what sort of line should I buy with it? I apologize for the dumb question. The reason I ask about this one in particular is it comes with prime. The winding part of my reel on my spinning rod came off and is parts unknown, and my line got crossed under the reel in some odd way, and that will take a while to sort out and get a replacement part, and that pole is essentially bamboo for dummies. Or, is there another inexpensive ($25 or less) rod that comes with prime that you would recommend? The weather is gorgeous and it's killing me I can't fish this afternoon.

Bunnielab, would you send me a link to the little tenkara pole you use? And are we talking hooks smaller than 10? What do you bait them with? I really need a trip to a Dick's or something similar but can't drive till mid week because of meds I'm weaning off of. Fishing for little minnows sounds right up my alley. I'm a little strange. I don't want lunkers or trophy fish, I want variety and interesting and odd and beautiful.

Shows what I know. I did think their mouths looked pretty large unhooking them . . . If you look at that creek picture, the tributary coming straight towards me comes from a big pond that is chock full of bass, including some pretty big ones that would break my line in a heartbeat. I fished there as a kid, but don't remember large or small mouth. So, the fry could be coming down the tributary and colonizing the creek. That little pool is chock full of bass but my swimming hole holds much larger ones. I think the reason I suspected smallmouth is the same reason you did: it's a creek! I think next time I go out I'll go upstream of the tributary and see what lurks in those pools. I know some pretty large ones up there. Fortunately for me, except for the part that goes through my property, the whole creek runs through county-owned land so with my fishing license I can fish the whole thing. I may or may not have ordered a minnow trap to assist in my next trip. Also, the pond behind my building at work is absolutely swarming with little and big dace that I may or may not feed. I bet one swipe of a net would get me enough minnows to last a good long time. My air pump broke so I need to get a new one if I intend to do that, but I have a nice tupperware with airtight lid (airtight only for journey in the car). For whatever reason I prefer using minnows as bait. I did a lot of work in parasitology so it's not the grossing out factor, I just prefer it unless I can find a place with those little red worms. Re microfishing: I have seriously considered buying some tiny hooks and fishing for minnows, then using those minnows for bait. My dad has been trying to get me to get a tenkana since I started my sudden interest in fishing, but it's a little out of my price range at the moment.

I like that microfishing link! I got myself some aberdeen hooks and annoyed myself for an hour catching minnows with a pond net. But, once I did, I got some very nice bass given the size of the creek. I also got a huge beautiful yellow perch that was being relatively peaceful, so I laid him on the beach for a picture. The stinker unhooked himself and flopped back in before I could get a picture. Rude! https://goo.gl/photos/6X9JWYS9eYpoQrUn7 https://goo.gl/photos/Z6cnPNMV2mNgbXJK7 https://goo.gl/photos/XuTuVbZsu2yWwsPe6 My last fish, a baby bass: https://goo.gl/photos/9nwoPnjF8C365QF88 All fish were released unharmed, with a nice minnow meal. I had a blast. Edited to add: To the relief of those on this thread, I've enlisted the help of the son of my horse vet, an accomplished angler who's been fishing his whole life, to give me some basic hands-on lessons. At the farm we have a small lake or big pond depending on who you ask with a dock, and lots of interesting fish. He says when I outgrow him, he has a good family friend who is a former Orvis guide.

Report: had a good but a bit stressful time. Things caught: a honking big bluegill, a small 3-4" smallmouth bass, a yellow perch, and one big pretty creek chub. I found a pool teeming with decent size bass (for the creek size), easily 8". But, they took one nibble at my lure and decided not to touch it again. So, mission accomplished: I established there are bluegills, smallmouth bass, and yellow perch living in there. The problem came with the creek chub. It swallowed the lure enthusiastically and whole and I could not get it out, despite having used pliers to bend back the barbs on the three hooks on the rooster tail, the three hooks embedded themselves in there. I kept him in a big bucket of creek water and used needle nose pliers and a high intensity flashlight, and periodically got him extra oxygen from creek, but I just couldn't get it out and it eventually killed him. I had one hell of a time cutting open his throat to get my lure back. I immediately cut off two hooks with wire cutters. I left him out for any wildlife that would like a free meal. One big highlight: hiking down the blue jays were making a racket and it turned out to be because of a barred owl. I got to see him fly and a great look at him perched. I think I'm going to go with many of the poster's suggestions and get myself some thin bait hooks and use some live bait. My dad suggests collecting some insects from the bottom of the stream, because nothing can resist a caddis fly. I used to do water quality monitoring which you do by catching and identifying invertebrates living in the stream (remember, field bio background), so I'm pretty good at that. I also might go dig up some earth worms. It will be a few days before I can go out again, so just to be a further PITA, could anyone tell me what size and shape bait hook I want? Bluebasser mentioned small aberdeen hooks. Can anyone give me an idea of size and what the best size and brand would be? I know there are some good ultrasharp brands around now. Anyone still paying attention, thank you again.

Thanks guys, for being so patient and helpful.

The Lew rod arrived and seems perfect: good short length, very light and well balanced. What kind of knot do you recommend for tying the lure on? This is going to be yet another really dumb question, but I also ordered some small splitters. Do I need to use these if I'm just planning on trolling through the stream, or are those more for if you are using a bobber? I'm going to go out tomorrow. I was up at Graves Mountain in the Shenandoah Mountains (near Old Rag mountain) this weekend, and I used to catch wild native brook trout up the Rapidan River as a kid. It's whetted my appetite to learn to fly fish again. But, one thing at a time.

I ended up doing both: buying the Lew's fishing rod kit and going to the hardware store for some 6lb monofilament and small hooks and sinkers. In my case I have a nice bamboo pole about the right length. It's pouring right now so when it lets up I'll go collect myself some worms, though they'll have to live in a pot of dirt for a few days until the storm passes. Thanks for the help and not laughing at me too hard. Give me a week or so and I'll tell you what I find.

Thanks for all the suggestions! Fortunately I have about a week to think about it because we're supposed to get about 8" of rain in the next few days. Yesterday taking a break from writing I took an pond net I had as a kid and made a stab at catching some fish with a net. My intention was to dangle off the log and try to snag one but that (very obviously) didn't work, so I ended up stripping to my underwear and swimming in from upstream in order to wade in. Well, I can tell you there are definitely some bluegills in there because those are the only things I caught (only things curious enough to come near enough to catch). I'm sure it was a hilarious sight, but I had fun and had a swim around the best swimming hole, and caught some tantalizing glimpses of other things. Nothing like a nice hike and some time by a stream to reset your brain. Edited to add: I like your suggestion Wayfarer. That's right about what I was looking to spend and there's lots of ponds, creeks, and small rivers within shooting range.

Please don't laugh me out of this forum. I have a decent size creek that runs through my property and have always been interested in freshwater fish (I used to fly fish as a kid). I'm interested in finding out what kind of fish are in my part of the creek. There's three big pools were they hang out. I posted here because I am almost positive some of them are smallmouth bass. There is a place where a log has fallen over part of the creek, creating a nice pool that's chock full of decent size (up to 6") fish. I would like to catch them just to know what they are (I have a background in field biology, so I'm pretty good at ID). I am looking for the most basic kind of rod where I can literally lie over the log and plunk my line down, no casting required. A bobber would not be a bad thing. The only thing I could snag on is the log and the branches and they are pretty easy to avoid. I'm not looking to spend a whole lot of money on this, obviously, but I just have no idea where to start. I feel like I'm asking for a kiddie rod, but if I had any shame, I wouldn't be here in the first place! After that, if anyone has recommendations of what weight of line to use (remember, these are small creek fish) and what kind of lures might be good I'd be appreciative. My guess is I have smallmouth bass and larger species of dace predominantly, but am suspicious I might have some perch as well. Obviously I have some catfish but am not interested in those. I would not be offended if anyone suggested an inclusive rod kit meant for children. Once you're done chuckling, any help you could provide would be much appreciated. Who knows, maybe this tiny bit of "fishing" will rekindle my childhood love of angling.