Today, I was fishing Strawberry and a young guy (appeared to be in his early 20s) walked about 1.5 blocks to visit with me. He asked if I had caught anything, and I responded that I had caught 32. He asked if they were fish and I said yes. He then asked if I was fishing for kokanee salmon. I explained that one needed to fish in deeper water than I was fishing to catch kokanee. I asked if he and his buddy had caught any and he answered that they had had a couple bites earlier but hadn't caught any. He noticed I had one rainbow trout on the ice. He didn't seem to recognize that it was a rainbow. I asked how he was fishing, and he explained some type of jig and a spinner. I rigged up a jig, that had been working for me, and handed it to him. I explained that if he wanted to catch a rainbow that he would increase his odds if he fished in water that was ~25' deep or shallower. He was likely fishing in water that was over 50' deep. He walked back to his buddy and after a while I watched them move closer to shore. They fished there for a few minutes and moved a little way even closer to shore.
I was about ready to call it a day, so I decided to hike over and give them my mealworms and my remaining cut bait. He had mentioned that they were tipping with night crawlers. I noticed that they were fishing with long rods that would have been suitable for fishing with bait, but definitely didn't have enough sensitivity for ice fishing. I suggested that they purchase some sensitive ice-fishing rods. I asked him to show me how he was rigged. He reeled up and he had the jig that I had given him snapped to a steel-wire leader. I tried to explain that steel leader is only used when fishing for fish like Tiger Muskie. I also explained that steel leader would be extremely visible, which wouldn't help in trying to catch trout. I asked if he had something he could use to cut off his line, where it was tied to the steel leader. He bit it off with his teeth. I showed him how to tie the jig directly to his line, using a uni knot. After tieing on his jig I noticed that the tail end was too long and needed to be cut off. I wasn't wearing my jacket or insulated coveralls (way too warm for either) so I didn't have one of my line-cutting tools handy. I bit off the tail end (something I haven't done in over 25 years). I baited the jig with some cut bait, and he dropped his jig to the bottom. Because they were fishing without a fish finder. I grabbed the line with the intent of pulling the jig to the surface so that I could see how deep of water they were fishing. When I grabbed the line, and started to lift the jig, I felt a fish on the other end. I jerked my arm to set the hook and told him that he had a fish on. He reeled it in and seemed excited to finally catch a fish. It was an approximately 18" cutthroat. I showed them how to recognize a cutthroat and a rainbow trout and also explained the slot rules.
I started walking back to my sled and run my
over my teeth and immediately felt a chipped tooth! On April 2nd, I take a young guy, who had been generous to me, sturgeon fishing, only to be rewarded with having to replace my vehicle. So, today I help a guy catch a fish only to be rewarded with a chipped tooth. I think I am about done doing good deeds for awhile.
I was about ready to call it a day, so I decided to hike over and give them my mealworms and my remaining cut bait. He had mentioned that they were tipping with night crawlers. I noticed that they were fishing with long rods that would have been suitable for fishing with bait, but definitely didn't have enough sensitivity for ice fishing. I suggested that they purchase some sensitive ice-fishing rods. I asked him to show me how he was rigged. He reeled up and he had the jig that I had given him snapped to a steel-wire leader. I tried to explain that steel leader is only used when fishing for fish like Tiger Muskie. I also explained that steel leader would be extremely visible, which wouldn't help in trying to catch trout. I asked if he had something he could use to cut off his line, where it was tied to the steel leader. He bit it off with his teeth. I showed him how to tie the jig directly to his line, using a uni knot. After tieing on his jig I noticed that the tail end was too long and needed to be cut off. I wasn't wearing my jacket or insulated coveralls (way too warm for either) so I didn't have one of my line-cutting tools handy. I bit off the tail end (something I haven't done in over 25 years). I baited the jig with some cut bait, and he dropped his jig to the bottom. Because they were fishing without a fish finder. I grabbed the line with the intent of pulling the jig to the surface so that I could see how deep of water they were fishing. When I grabbed the line, and started to lift the jig, I felt a fish on the other end. I jerked my arm to set the hook and told him that he had a fish on. He reeled it in and seemed excited to finally catch a fish. It was an approximately 18" cutthroat. I showed them how to recognize a cutthroat and a rainbow trout and also explained the slot rules.
I started walking back to my sled and run my
over my teeth and immediately felt a chipped tooth! On April 2nd, I take a young guy, who had been generous to me, sturgeon fishing, only to be rewarded with having to replace my vehicle. So, today I help a guy catch a fish only to be rewarded with a chipped tooth. I think I am about done doing good deeds for awhile.