Pkfish49

Nice catch. I fried up some recently caught Bluegills with butter the other day and they were delicious.

Ty - You are the second poster here who commented that I've caught large panfish. I just picked up freshwater fishing after a long absence and didn't realize I was landing such nice-sized fish.

Yours is easy to identify, but in my neck of the woods, the Pumpkinseeds are much closer looking to Bluegills. Check out these. They are clearly Pumpkinseed because of the red dots on the opercular flap, but the coloring is darker than yours.

New York State's Minimum is 12 inches and this one came in around 17 inches. Maybe the original camera angle makes it look smaller. Here is some proof: Thanks

I know the second from the top is a Yellow Perch. Can somebody please verify that the top fish is a Largemouth Bass. Also, is the bottom fish a Bluegill and the one next to it a Pumpkinseed Sunfish. Thanks

A few years ago I shore casted with Braid for a few outings and tore a hole in my casting finger. I've never had any issues with mono, but being that so many experienced anglers here praise Braid, I had asked my local bait and tackle shop guy to spool up one of my reels with 10 LB test braid, but he talked me out of it. He told me that any braid less than 20 LB test is so thin it is impossible to see.

I'm having a ton of fun with this hobby and appreciate all of you guys answering my beginner questions. I have another: If a reel's specifications list a maximum test line, is is safe to spool it with a higher test line and just get less line on the spool, or is this definitely not recommended? For example, I have a Shimano Sienna 2500 and on the box, it states that I'll get 140 yards of 8 LB Mono on the reel, but it does not have a listing for any higher test line. Is it OK to spool this up with 10 LB mono, or will this damage the reel or degrade the performance? Thanks

Thanks - I found it and figured out how to move it to disable the reverse reeling. While we are on the subject - why would a fisherman want to be able to reel in reverse and it is supposed to be enabled by default?

Unless I am missing something, my reel looks a little different Do I need to tighten or just move one of the screws from the first or second picture? Which one? Thanks Is this thing on the right that doesn't move supposed to be the switch? Do I need to loosen the screw near it first?

I just bought a new Shimano Sienna 2500 reel. I can't use it, because it also reels in reverse. This created instant tangles for me. Is there some switch on the reel or some way to disable this "feature?" I don't want to have to take it apart. If it is defective, I'll just return it. Thanks

This one I just landed is browner, but is it a Largemouth, because the mouth extends past the back of the eye?

Thanks, What is the clear indicator?

Thanks

This is a very versatile lure. I caught the Largemouth Bass and a number of Yellow Perch with it. I hope that the Bass go after the other colors as well, as they only sell the mixed 3 packs—I can't buy only the silver.

Thanks - I just found it online. It was part of a 3 pack that I had bought: https://www.amazon.com/Cordell-Wally-Diver-Triple-Threat/dp/B007R8UMGU/

I only had one of my favorite lure and I knew I was going to lose it to a snag at the bottom of the lake, so I took some pictures, then I lost it to a snag at the bottom of the lake the next day. The walleye diver is 4 inches, when measured from the back treble hook to the front end. It is silver with red buggy eyes. I don’t know whether it is classified as a deep or medium diver. I need to buy more. Can somebody tell me the exact make and model of this lure? Thanks,

Thanks - It put up a hell of a fight!

Thanks

I'm glad I found this pics forum. I caught this Chain Pickerel on Friday, the day before New York Pickerel season opened, but it would have been undersized anyway, not meeting the 15 inch minimum, so it lived to see another day.

It was a large deep clear lake: Max Depth: 120 feet Mean Depth: 38 feet I have no idea how deep the fish are, but, I was very close to shore when I got the bite, and that part of the water was probably much shallower, but I'll be trolling the entire lake. I fish from a skiff with an outboard motor, going slowly, but not too slow. I was using a Rapala Flat Raps lure with two sets of treble hooks, connected to my line with a barrel swivel with a safety snap. I don't remember the lure size as I have a big assortment. It was most likely somewhere between 4 and 7 inches. Regarding my budget, can you recommend the best option, regardless of price, and then a few more less expensive options. Thanks

A few days ago, I lost either a Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, or Walleye. I know that because everything else in that lake is small and wouldn't have fought like this. At the time, I thought that my equipment was too small to handle the fish, but I'm willing to accept that my equipment was fine and I lost the fish because of bad technique. I was using an Ugly Stick 6 Foot medium action rod with a Penn Battle II Spinning Reel, - size 2000 (6.2:1,) spooled with 8 LB mono. Assuming that I am only going to be using my combo to troll for these species and I am going to be using a spinning reel with mono, is their a longer/heavier action rod and larger reel, perhaps with heavier test that I should be using instead, or is my setup fine to catch these lunkers? Thanks

I didn't try this, but survived the entire long weekend without any major line knots by simply paying attention to always keeping the line tight and by flipping the bail manually just before the lure or bait hit the water.

Again, if this is in the wrong forum, please move it. I'm going fishing by myself. If I land any nice size Bass, I'm going to want to take a picture of the fish while it hangs on the scale, before I release it. I'd like the picture to show the entire fish, as well as the digital readout. My iPhone is my camera. I've tried this before with big bluefish and was never able to get everything in focus. I'm going to be in a skiff with two poles and a lot of tackle. Is there some way to quickly prop up the scale somewhere, with the fish hanging, so I can use my full resources to take a good picture? Thanks

Thanks for all of the replies.

Mods - If this is in the wrong forum, please move it to the appropriate place. My research tells me that if I catch a record weight fish in New York State, I will only get the record if it is weighed on a certified scale. Can somebody please send a link or at least information on where I can purchase one, along with what is a good price for a model. Thanks.