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MOST REWARDING FISH.
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08-04-2005, 10:42 PM
JUST SITTING AT WORK THINKING BACK TO MY MOST REWARDING FISH. HAVING TROUBLE DECIDING BETWEEN 3 . 88 INCH STURGUIN A BIG MACK. 2 WEEKS AGO, AND MY HAUG WALLEYE. BUT IM LEANING TO THE WALLEYE FOR IT TOOK YRS TO GET A BIG GIRL. THE MACKS CHUCK AND I CAUGHT AT THE SAME TIME WAS UNFORGETABLE. HOW ABOUT YOU ALL? EVER THAUGHT ABOUT IT?
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08-05-2005, 12:34 AM
Interesting question. After giving it some thought, I think it was my first steelhead caught September 6, 1982.
I had always wanted to fish for steelhead, and I wanted to take one on a fly. So I read everything I could find and tied steelhead flies all one winter. Before I left I had a moment of doubt and wondered if I could even catch one on a fly. Maybe I should take a spinning rod and some spoons? That thought lasted only a few seconds and I decided that I wanted steelhead on the fly or not at all. So off I went from Denver driving to British Columbia, 2000 miles to the Morice and Bulkley Rivers. When I got to the Morice I drove into a camp ground and a fellow flagged me down when he saw my Colorado plates as he used to live here. We talked a little bit and the when he found out that I was a fly fisherman, his face lit up and he reached into a box, gave me an orange bodied muddler type fly and told me exactly where to fish, below a bridge just a little way down from the campground. I took his advice, drove down the river and found no one fishing that particfular run. He told me the locals called it "Canoe". So I geared up, tied on the fly, and waded into the river and began fishing my dry line quartering downstream (like Trey Combs' book said). I hadn't been fishing more than 10 minutes when a freight train smacked my fly and took off, first downstream, then across stream, then out of the water and out of the water again, and I remember thinking, "Wow, this is just like the books said it would be!" Now, keep in mind, I'd never caught anything bigger than an 18" or 19" trout on a fly rod before, and certainly nothing that screamed downriver like this silver bullet did! Before I could figure out what to do this critter had already stripped off all my fly line and was into my backing. So, I did what instinct told me, I reached for the reel handle to stop her, not thinking about the fact that the reel handle was whirling around at several hundred rpm with the run of the fish. Made the first reach for the reel and "whack!", right on the knuckles. "Damn that hurts", I thought and I did it again, and "whack" again on the same hurtin' knuckles (sometimes I'm a little slow catchin' on). Well, to shorten up this story I landed the fish after 2 or 3 more jumps and a couple more runs and she was a nickle bright hen - just as pretty as any fish you would ever want to see. Twenty-six inches and about six pounds - not big by steelhead standards, but she was my first! I was never so excited about any fish I had ever caught before. I waded ashore with her, laid her by my rod and took a couple of pictures, and then slipped her back into the river. My hands were shaking, I had a grin from ear to ear, and I just couldn't stand it. I tried to be "cool" about it and made a couple of more casts, but then I just had to wade out, jump in my truck and go find the new friend who had given me the fly and tell him the whole story! I don't know who was more excited, him or me! You know, I remember every detail of that encounter like it was yesterday, and that was almost 23 years ago. So, yes, after thinking about it, that's my most rewarding fish. No doubt. Guess I'll have to dig out those old pictures.... [signature]
08-05-2005, 01:08 PM
my most rewarding fish would have to be a 40 lbs yellowfin on my calico rod with 20 lbs test.. also won 250.00 from the big fish jackpot that day so it was a very rewarding fish!!
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08-06-2005, 02:19 AM
[
 ] (1) About 20 years ago I was fishing the spillway at Willard at night in the winter. This was before they closed the road and put fencing around the outlet. They had been letting tons of water out but had recently turned the water down to a trickle. I would jig deer hair and feather jigs off the side of the spillway and catch walleye. One night I caught a 7LB 4 ouncer and then another that was 6lbs. The walleye didn't have much to eat back then and had great big heads in comparison to their bodies. The would have been 12 pounders with adaquate food. I caught a lot of walleye out of the spillway that year. (2) Chinook Samon out of the Santiam using spoons. Largest was 18 pounds. I hooked another that took my lure and just kept heading upstream stripping line until the hooked popped out. The hook had been bent straight. finhunter [signature]
08-06-2005, 03:37 AM
It's always the first fish I catch after a loooong hike in.
lurechucker [signature]
08-06-2005, 07:19 AM
[cool]32 lb. Chinook (King) Salmon caught in the Queen Charlotte Islands of B.C. It was rewarding for a number of reasons, but the most important reason was because It was just my grandpa and me on a little aluminum boat, and he's been up in the great eternal waters now for 5 years, so it's an extra special memory that I'll treasure forever. I think I posted this pic on TubeDude's floattube picture board.
[size 1]Out4Trout at age 16 with a 32 lb. "Tyee" (as they say in Canada-Chinook Salmon over 30 lbs.) caught in the Queen Charlotte Islands, B.C. Canada. [/size] [inline "Geoff's Salmon 1989.jpg"] On a lighter subject, It sure would be fun to hook into a big K at Utah lake that was 32 lbs! I'm going to someday![ ][signature]
08-06-2005, 02:50 PM
I don't know about this one, I've had a few rewarding fish, but my 12lb. largemouth bass has to be it, Easter sunday 1976 lake merimar
suthern cal. later chuck [signature]
08-06-2005, 04:45 PM
Would that happen to be Lake Miramar in San Diego? My old stomping grounds has produced many double digit bucketmouths. I've caught quite a few trout and big Redear out of there as well. Although it is difficult to pinpoint a specific fish, maybe my most unique catch was on El Capitan fishing for Crappie with a double mini jig / minnow combo and I managed to hook and land a 2-3/4 and a 1-1/2 pound crappie simulataneously.
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08-08-2005, 02:49 PM
I worked on a wildcat drilling rig in Alaska in 1958 & 59 down the west shore of the Cook Inlet about 160 mi. southwest of Anchorage. A geologist & I bought a couple of surplus Navy pilot survival rafts & would take them down to Chinitna bay at high tide & let the tide take us out when it went out. The tides there run 20 to 30 feet so it would take us quite a way out. We'd jig for whatever we could catch, mostly small halibut & small, I think they were chum salmon. One trip the tide had just started back in & I hooked one that took me for a ride like I had a 20 hp. motor in that raft. I fought it for the better part of an hour & finally pulled me to it more than the other way around & almost died. I'd never seen a salmon that big. I finally wore it out to the point that I could take the little rope that went around the raft & put it through its gills. Then I started paddling back toward shore. The thing had pulled me so far out that by the time I got to the mud flats the tide had turned back out again. Trying to row a little rubber raft with those 3' oars against that tide flow was almost impossible & I was getting pooped & scared as he-- when the oars finally hit the bottom. The water was so murky from the tide flow stirring the mud that I didn't have any idea it was that shallow. Anyway, I got out & put the fish in the raft & waded almost a mile through the shallows & mud to get back to the beach. The fish weighed 52 lb. on a scale the cooks had back in camp. That's by far the biggest fish I've ever caught & it gave me a lifetime memory.
This is awful long but I had to relate it. [signature]
08-08-2005, 04:05 PM
That's a pretty nifty story, Geezer. Thanks!
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08-10-2005, 06:42 AM
[cool]Cool story, geezer! That sounds like one heck of an adventure!
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08-10-2005, 03:49 PM
I think your hawg walleye. Oh! You mean OUR most unforgettable fish? [
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08-10-2005, 03:57 PM
Probably about 20 years ago, we were fishing at Lake Powell next to the dam (before they made the area where you couldn't take your boat next to the dam). We were fishing for stripers with anchovies, and while pop was helping ma with her bait, he got a huge hit on his pole. I picked it up and started to reel it in. (left handed reel for a right handed person sucks). After fighting with it for about 10 minutes I pulled in a 9 lb striper that measured 36 inches long. WOW.. what a blast. Plus there were about 20 other boat around and about 30 people on the dam watching me as I reeled it in, and when I finally landed it, I got a standing ovation from the onlookers.
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08-10-2005, 05:28 PM
Sounds like a fairyfish tale bignumbers to me!!..lol[
] Since I know your parents they might confirm the story![sly][sly] [signature]
08-11-2005, 01:23 PM
Hey Tom great story bud. That report sorta reminds me of the story "The old man and the sea" where the feller hooks the monster sized Martin on a hand line and it drags him and his boat around the ocean for a week, if memory serves me right.
Ya been catchin' kitties? [signature] |
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