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2018 Fishing - Year of the big one


fattyflattie

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Well, after 20+ years of doing little to no fishing, I’m going to get started again. I’m only in Houston for a little while longer so the wife and I were thinking about starting with one of those party boats out of Galveston. Thoughts?


Bay fishing for trout and reds or whatever else is in season around there. You could have a helluva time catching those little fuckers and the reds will put up a nice fight. You could easily haul in your limit in 2 hours on a good day. I’ve never struck out bay fishing with a guide.

Those party boats are awful and the only reason to go on them is to make sure you have sea legs. Even still I think there are better ways to do that.

If budget for a deep sea excursion done right is a concern then skip it and bay fish. I won’t off shore fish in Texas anymore it’s just too damn expensive. I add a deep sea day trip to every vacay south of the border — mexico, Costa Rica, etc. and it’s a steal of a price, quicker to the fish, better catching usually - unless it’s not high season.

Tl;dr - Skip party boat, don’t go offshore, bay fishing is where it’s at.
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CO peeps...supposedly the salmonflies are coming off on the upper colorado...i'm going to try and hit it this saturday. it'll be a shitshow with the recreational boaters on the holiday weekend but salmonfly. if i float by a dude ripping a panther martin through a salmonfly hatch i'm assuming it's chewie, pulling over and chunking rocks in his water.
I'll probably head down in the next week or two. And I'm bringing both the fly rod and the spinning rod.
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Spent the morning throwing out cut shrimp and just pulling in little whiting, catfish and spots. Nothing exciting, so I started trying to toss the casting net and got a few nice pinfish. Per bait shop’s instructions, I swapped out my double drop rig with a “fish finder” rig, hooked a pinfish between back and tail (he seemed very alive and jittery with this placement) and tossed him out deep. About 15 mins later my rod holder gets nearly pulled over but I got there quick enough to save it. Reeled in a beautiful 16” 2.8lb spotted sea trout... my first fish off bait I caught. Achievement unlocked!

Filleted him (two nice .6 lb fillets) on the beach then walked home and fried him in a pan. Delicious.

/csb

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16 inch trout don't weigh 2.8 lbs

 

? I used my scale, tared for the grip. He was 100% 16” as I had to double check because our slot is 15-20”. I weighed the fillets at home on our kitchen scale and they were 1.2lbs together.

 

ETA: there might have been another 1-2” in the tail. They don’t really have a fork so I just assumed it was to be measured where the tail began. Not sure if that’s proper or not

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So I’ve seen “measured to the fork” in a lot of places. Is it species specific then?

I’m really totally new to fishing like this. I fished for rainbow trout growing up but this is a whole different ballgame.

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So I’ve seen “measured to the fork” in a lot of places. Is it species specific then?

 

I’m really totally new to fishing like this. I fished for rainbow trout growing up but this is a whole different ballgame.

Your state should have published regs, including a methodology for measurement. See this example:

 

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Stopped off in Anna Maria Island for a few days on the way to Sanibel. It is our first trip here and so far I’m impressed with the fishing and more importantly the lack of others fishing. Fished the beach this morning and there were snook running up until after lunch. Saw some large schools of something that were just out of reach of my 7.5 foot spinning set up. I should have taken the 10 foot rods down with me, but I’ll try again tomorrow. Went to the bay side this afternoon and picked up a bunch of Spanish Mackerel. Saw some large snook in one of the inlets but I couldn’t get them interested in what I was throwing.

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Headed to Mexico for some R&R in puerto Vallarta ... not high season but hoping to catch a big one — hunting for sailfish mostly. Oh and it’s Pride weekend too. Fingers crossed for the fish and hoping our housemates (two older gay guys) don’t take their clothing optional policy to heart this weekend. At least we’ll get out of the Memorial Day heat wave. Jesus.

 

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School me on lure rigging

I ordered some lures to try out from the beach. I have 30# braid with a swivel hook that I attach my bait rigs with. The lure packages say use 20-60 lb mono or thin steel as a leader. Do I need a leader at all? Should I just remove the swivel hook and tie directly to the lure w my 30lb braid? Is there a better way to attach so I can rotate between lures more easily?

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I use 20 pound braid and use about 2-3 foot of 30 pound mono leader when fishing with lures in the surf. I use an FG knot to tie on the leader and a loop knot for most lures. A lot depends on what lure type and what fish type you are going after.

Edited by Brew
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A lot of people use swivels or quick connects, I’ve always preferred very few connections and just retie when I want to change. I learned a quick version of a loop knot that takes 15 seconds at most to tie and you can go through 3-4 retire before running short on leader material. Also, always use a mono leader. It holds up to toothy fish and snags better than braid. The braid is mainly for being able to cast long distances and having limited stretch.

I also usually have 3 rods rigged when I surf fish. One with just a good spoon, one with a swim bait or top water, and one with a shrimp or a shrimp under a popping cork.

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On 5/23/2018 at 6:48 PM, Lurch said:

So I’ve seen “measured to the fork” in a lot of places. Is it species specific then?

I’m really totally new to fishing like this. I fished for rainbow trout growing up but this is a whole different ballgame.

Pinch the tail together

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Yeah-  tied mono leader works better than snap swivels when toothy fish are possible. I’d consider line to line leader connection or a black swivel to connect line to leader  bc things like Spanish mackerel will hit a shiny swivel connector and cut you off pretty often. 

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Headed to Mexico for some R&R in puerto Vallarta ... not high season but hoping to catch a big one — hunting for sailfish mostly. Oh and it’s Pride weekend too. Fingers crossed for the fish and hoping our housemates (two older gay guys) don’t take their clothing optional policy to heart this weekend. At least we’ll get out of the Memorial Day heat wave. Jesus.

 

 

Red snapper, 3 jack cravelle, 6-7 snap jack, then used live snap jack as bait and struck out. But a blister on my finger suggests I had some nice fights on my hands. Solid A- day... dreams of maybe retiring in a place like this as a business partner in a fishing charter company.

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1 hour ago, Judge Roybeanbag said:

Just imo the braid gets rotten and abrades in the sand quickly. 

I use braid exclusively with a mono leader and have had no issues. I cut the braid back from the end pretty often though to cut out any nicks that develop.

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Not paying attention.

 

Fished LA side of sabine Jetty today, big trout and slot reds.

 

Had a 4 foot shark attack a sheepshead as I was pulling it out of the water.

 

Lotsa Spanish mackerals, seems like I spent all morning tying leaders.

 

Fresh redfish for dinner though.

 

2nd time in 2 years I've fished sabine in late may with a north wind.

 

 

 

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I can’t recommend Anna Maria Island enough for those that like to sight fish and/or fly fish from the beach. The snook were running the beach all day every day and would absolutely destroy DOA shrimp with people swimming all around them. I haven’t seen anything like it. Saw reds and other fish as well, but I focused on snook. Moved on to Sanibel and the weather has been garbage with the after effects of the tropical storm. The coast has been a 3-7 foot surf since Saturday with 20-30 MPH winds. Hopefully it settles in the next day or two and I’ll see if I can get some snook pics up.

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6 hours ago, DefinitelyNotHollywoodColt said:

How does that happen? Serious question 

The last few I’ve seen down there have been heart attacks/medical issue while underway. At least 1:1 medical issue to drunk guy  

Can’t remember which boat but during Poco a few years ago one lost a main while screaming out the little jetties and it took them off course about 45* in a hurry. They ended up on a flat real fast. Talking a 60’+ boat.  Shit happens so fast on the water. Had that happened 100 yards earlier. Oof. 

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$10 30-inch Zebo Dock Demon report (this one).  Actually not a bad little rod-and-reel combo for a 5 year old, and definitely better than those licensed rods-and-reels.

Pros:

  • Great for casting when you are around/under lots of trees or around brush and a larger rod would cause problems.
  • Small enough to haul around in the back of your automobile and/or in a saddlebag on a bike.
  • Reel seems to be decent quality, and line can be changed easily (unlike some of the smaller/cheaper combos)
  • Seems fairly durable for the cost.

Cons:

  • Can be a real pain-in-the-ass to set the hook.  There is some flex in the rod when you have a larger fish hooked, but not much at all.   By the time you realize something has hit your bait, it's usually too late to try and set the hook - either they hook themselves or they are gone.
  • Drag is either on or off.  There is no fine-tuning it.
  • Accuracy is very tough at first, until you have a lot of practice with it.  
  • Due to the shortness/stiffness of the rod, I need to go down to 4-lb or possibly even 2-lb test (it's got 6-lb) as it is difficult to cast smaller jigs accurately and/or with any decent distance.

Would buy again, but would give serious consideration to the Shakespeare/Ugly Stick combo (except it's not a spincast) for $5 more - I think it's got a few more inches on the Dock Demon as well.  The kid loves it though.

We have only fished up and down Shoal Creek and in the ponds at Central Market on North Lamar (stuff that's in walking distance), and so are just dealing with perch (did catch one that ran about a pound and surprised us).  I do think we've had a small bass hit our bait at a place on Shoal Creek, but could not get the hook set.  I know there are some small bass that occasionally wash up in there.

Only using jigs, and being very careful not to hook a turtle.

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Yikes! Did he hit the lure or a fish you were bringing in? I had a hawk pick up a ladyfish as soon as i landed it a few months ago. Hook came out quickly while he was taking off but for a second I panicked not knowing what to do if he got wrapped up in the line or even hooked himself. Bastard then dropped my fish back in the water too

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Speaking of scary landings, I had to unhook my first ray last week. I’m sure it gets easier after a few of them, but I was a nervous wreck. Flipping him over to get the hook wasn’t too bad, but when I flipped him over again I realized I didn’t have a plan for getting him back in the water. Every time I’d get him in the bastard would swim back towards me and suck himself into the sand. Finally wedged him out deep enough with the pole holder. I’m sure I looked like such a newb

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