Most Memorable Fish

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A9
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by A9 » Thu May 08, 2008 10:44 pm

Bump. We got a LOT more new members that I'm sure have a story or two that could be contributed to this post....
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racfish
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by racfish » Fri May 09, 2008 12:15 pm

My most memorable was when I lived in a great Wtfnt home in Clinton on the beach.I was in my 10' Metzler with oars only.I was fishing close off shore just dragging my line.I got a good solid takedown.I reeled for what seemed like hours.I was towed down to the ferry terminal before I could even see the fish.I thought it was a huge Halibut.I was getting very tired and was getting way to close to the ferry dock.Finally after a bit it surfaced. It had to weigh in excess of 150 lbs.It was a huge Skate.As I got it close enough to unhook it it started with its tail thrashing.There is a very nasty barb on them things.I cut it loose and returned it unharmed just a lil tired.(no more then I was)It was fun to fight a fish that long and not seeing it for hours.That was a fishing trip I dont I'll ever forget.
When youre up to your rear end in alligators,its hard to remember that the initial plan was to drain the swamp.

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A9
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by A9 » Fri May 09, 2008 12:25 pm

racfish wrote:My most memorable was when I lived in a great Wtfnt home in Clinton on the beach.I was in my 10' Metzler with oars only.I was fishing close off shore just dragging my line.I got a good solid takedown.I reeled for what seemed like hours.I was towed down to the ferry terminal before I could even see the fish.I thought it was a huge Halibut.I was getting very tired and was getting way to close to the ferry dock.Finally after a bit it surfaced. It had to weigh in excess of 150 lbs.It was a huge Skate.As I got it close enough to unhook it it started with its tail thrashing.There is a very nasty barb on them things.I cut it loose and returned it unharmed just a lil tired.(no more then I was)It was fun to fight a fish that long and not seeing it for hours.That was a fishing trip I dont I'll ever forget.
I spent 10 years or so on that beach as well...Cool stuff
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by fishing collector » Fri May 09, 2008 1:12 pm

I posted this in another forum about Jigs but it could go here as well as for the Most Memorable fish.....

"Big fish are attracted to jigs. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world-record brown trout, caught by Howard "Rip" Collins in 1992, smacked a 1/32-ounce olive-green marabou jig while Collins fished the Little Red River near Heber Springs, Arkansas. The monster brown weighed 40 pounds 4 ounces. It broke a world record (previously held by an Argentinean trout) that had stood for more than three decades. Collins landed the fish on 4-pound-test monofilament, which was also a line-class record."

According to the IGFA's Mike Leech, Collins -- now deceased -- was so proud of the fish that he had a special casket made for the mount and was buried with it

Fly Fishing is the art of attaching a fake bug to a line and relying on the appropriate manipulation of the rod to deceive the fish into eating a sharp steel hook covered with feathers and fur.

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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by Rob G. » Fri May 09, 2008 1:16 pm

fishing collector wrote:I posted this in another forum about Jigs but it could go here as well as for the Most Memorable fish.....

"Big fish are attracted to jigs. The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) all-tackle world-record brown trout, caught by Howard "Rip" Collins in 1992, smacked a 1/32-ounce olive-green marabou jig while Collins fished the Little Red River near Heber Springs, Arkansas. The monster brown weighed 40 pounds 4 ounces. It broke a world record (previously held by an Argentinean trout) that had stood for more than three decades. Collins landed the fish on 4-pound-test monofilament, which was also a line-class record."

According to the IGFA's Mike Leech, Collins -- now deceased -- was so proud of the fish that he had a special casket made for the mount and was buried with it

That's awesome!

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racfish
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by racfish » Fri May 09, 2008 1:25 pm

Yes Sam I loved it there.I was on a road that stopped at my place.The rest of the homes were walk in only.The clam digging there was great.I used to keep 3 buckets of clams going most of the time with air stones and clean fresh water changes with corn meal so I always had fresh clams.It was also a great crabbing area.Blackmouth fishing was great there also at a special dropoff area just 100 yards from my rental cabin.I miss having that home.Id have my buddies come by and we'd have nice bonfires and BBQs.
One day I'll find me my own home around there.A nice place to retire too.
When youre up to your rear end in alligators,its hard to remember that the initial plan was to drain the swamp.

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A9
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by A9 » Fri May 09, 2008 1:35 pm

racfish wrote:Yes Sam I loved it there.I was on a road that stopped at my place.The rest of the homes were walk in only.The clam digging there was great.I used to keep 3 buckets of clams going most of the time with air stones and clean fresh water changes with corn meal so I always had fresh clams.It was also a great crabbing area.Blackmouth fishing was great there also at a special dropoff area just 100 yards from my rental cabin.I miss having that home.Id have my buddies come by and we'd have nice bonfires and BBQs.
One day I'll find me my own home around there.A nice place to retire too.
I'm no longer on that part of the island anymore. We had a family cabin on Columbia Beach south of the ferry about 30-40 houses or so? Walking distance from the ferry.

Clamming there is gone now. Just big ol Butter clams now. 3-5 inches, no good for steaming/boiling them...No cockles there either...It used to be great clamming, I remember that....

Crabbing has also gone down south, very crowded and difficult to find legal males. Blackmouth fishing is still decent. Columbia beach out in 80-130 feet of water is still a popular spot for winter Blackmouth. Not like it used to be 10 years ago, the way I really remember it.

It is a real cool beach...
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by bel83 » Fri May 09, 2008 2:02 pm

Most memorable of all time I think...
would have to be when I was fishing with my mom and some family friends somewhere in a river near Moses Lake. I was about 8 at the time and we were all just out having a good time, relaxing, getting a sunburn (you know how it goes) anyway I just know that I hooked into something large on my little kiddy fishing pole that I had and started reeling. It was the only thing that bit all day for me (my sister who hates to eat fish caught 3 decent sized rainbow trout) So I spent about 5 minutes reeling in something with a couple of adults around me trying to take the pole or tell me I was hooked into a log. Eventually I pulled up a catfish. This wasn't any catfish though as, in looking at the old picture I have of it, it was almost as long as my leg. I don't know how it didn't snap the pole or break the line but it didn't. The best part is that I wanted to keep it...as a pet. so we put it in a large bucket of water and took it home to the small pond we had (maybe 20 feet wide and 2 feet deep). surprisingly enough that catfish managed to stay alive until we moved back to Spokane a year or so later. For all I know it is still alive and well in there (though I doubt that). I do know that it managed to survive in spite of our dog and 2 cats always trying to catch it.

Recently it was a good trip with KTK. A large fish (guessing a trout) hit my lure when we were not even trolling and just snapped it right off of the leader. Wish I could have caught it, maybe it would have been big enough to eat.
"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, Teach a man to Fish and he will Drink for a lifetime."

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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by kzoo » Fri May 09, 2008 8:46 pm

This was my first 5lb smallie at Mullet Lake, MI. Story starts out that I use to work out of town on some long term projects. At the time, I was subscribing to Bassmasters Magazine, they have a couple articles of lakes you should try and one of them was the Burt/Mullet chain. Kevin Vandam said the fishing can be amazing there. So one of my projects was near these lakes and my buddy drove up to fish with me on the weekend. Our first night we ended up on a super long run, probably 10 to 12 miles to a spot recommended by the article. Once we got there we turned around and it looked like a thunder storm was near by, we ignored it and kept fishing, before you know it, the storm was on top of us. We hid on a small island and tied the boat up. I thought we were screwed, but luckily the storm calmed down. So what do we do, we got in the boat and continued to fish. I was throwing a spinnerbait and casting it with the wind, casting a country mile, then the smallie hit, almost took my rod out of my hands. Weighed it and got a couple pictures. What a way to get introduced on a first time lake.

Since then, I try to make it back there every may to go for the spawn fishing, which is a blast. I'm leaving next weekend for a week of fishing. Can't wait!
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by travislikesfishing » Fri May 09, 2008 9:18 pm

went fishing one day at waits lake in the moeing i caught only one but it was a 20 inch german brown with a f7 german brown color rapala in its mouth went to eloika that evening on the way home it starting raining and we just started nailing hude crappie and bass i caught about 4 or 5 bass and like 2 or 3 huge crappie one was just under 3 pounds and last but not least one of my bass was the biggest large mouth i ever caught 7 lb11oz caught it with the rapala i found in the browns mouth earlyer that day
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by AaronE » Thu May 15, 2008 10:11 pm

Back when I lived in Tampa we used to fish off Clearwater Pier at night, mostly for snook or cobia, sometimes trout. The pier has massive lights shining down into the water, and the snook will lay right at the edge of the shadows and wait for baitfish to run through the lighted areas. The water is gin-clear in the summer and you can see all the way to the bottom.

That night there weren't any baitfish running but I'd hooked a ladyfish about 14" long (they're only good for snook bait and seagull food). I hooked it through the back and dropped it right between two of the lights, hoping a monster snook would decide to snack on it.

Now, keep in mind I was using a serious rod/reel combo for this - 8' heavy-action saltwater rod and a Penn reel that holds about 400 yards of 75# test. I could have pulled a submarine in with this thing.

About an hour after dropping it in the water I hear the clicker tick off once. My buddy and I both stopped talking and glanced up. Long pause then one more click. We looked at each other and about that time the reel starts rat-a-tatting like a machine gun, the rod tip bent over double. I grabbed it and set the hook and thought I actually had hooked a submarine.

Took about 45 minutes to get it to where I could see it and it turned out to be a hammerhead shark, almost 7 feet long. A crowd had gathered around us by this point and everyone was anxious to see us pull it out, but the pier is about 20 feet above the water and there's no way I'm pulling this shark out that way. The drop nets on the pier were only about 3' wide and this shark would have destroyed a drop net.

A local boater pulls up and says he can gaff it and drag it to the beach as long as I walk the pier and keep the line slack. Sounded good to me, so he gaffs this brute, turns the wheel toward the beach, and guns the engine. The sound startled the shark and it dove - straight under the propeller. It sounded like someone making a shark margarita in a blender, and it looked about the way it sounded. Blood was everywhere and by the time he stopped the engine all that was left was a bloody stump where the head was supposed to be. It had cut my line and thrown the gaff, so we watched my prized hammerhead slowly sink to the bottom. Within five minutes there were about 10 smaller sharks tearing it to pieces.

All we could do was watch.
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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by beerman1981 » Thu May 15, 2008 11:20 pm

My most memorable fish will be the 15 pound lake trout I pull out of Lake Chelan when I go on my charter in September. [-o< [-o<

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RE:Most Memorable Fish

Post by Bscman » Fri May 16, 2008 7:56 am

Most Memorable?
The first fish I ever caught...

I was about 5-6 years old when I kept begging my dad to take me fishing in the Skagit...he was going almost nightly snagging humpies for smoking. After about a week through the season he broke down and decided to get me a rod, and take the whole family along.
We were fishing from the Burlington side of the river, 100yds downstream from the I-5 bridge...after an hour my father was one fish from his limit, and all I had done was catch a few logs. He tied on my 5th or 6th spoon and told me it was my last chance. He walked down stream and balanced his way out on a log, just to hear my start screaming. I knew I had a fish...he knew I had a log! He decided to stay out and continue fishing and let me break my line.
After what seemed like an eternity, I saw the silver flash of a big fish zig-zagging out in front of me. I worked the fish all the way to the bank before my father realized I really did have a fish. He almost fell into the river running to help me out....but we didn't lose the fish. It turned out to be a nice, HUGE female...complete with a few sea lice.

Not too bad for a little tyke's first fishing adventure, using barbless hooks.

Funniest story?

I was about 12 visiting family in Utah, when my grandpa asked me if I wanted to go to Flaming Gorge with him for the day. Sure!!! We loaded up the boat and hit the water...we started out trolling the lake with no success. Just as we were about to try a new method, one of the polls jumped right out of the back of the boat! You see, the rods were just sitting on the floor of the boat, leaning over the cooler. We both thought that rod was a gonner.
For some reason, I looked at the net he had in the boat and thought to myself "Hey, that looks like it floats!" so I chucked it into the water...and it landed right on top of the rod, which was starting to sink. My grandpa looked at me in horror, as he figured now he just lost his favorite pole and his brand new (HUGE!) net.
We spun the boat around and were able to grab the net! To our suprise, the mesh of the net had tanlged around the reel and kept it afloat! Just as we started reeling in the retreived pole, we got a hit on the second pole. A very dramatic double!
Those were the only two fish caught that day!

Most embarrassing?

This one involves the same Grandpa, and the same bayliner boat from the previous story.
He decided it was time to do some fishing out here in the sound, so he pulled his boat all the way up here from N.E. Utah.
Day 1 and 2 of the trip were pretty much filled with driving, then some relaxing when he finally made it to our house in Mount Vernon.
Day 3 was full of prep work and stocking up on tackle.
The morning of Day 4 was to be the beginning of the adventure. We hooked up to the boat and made out way to College way. When the light turned green off we went...but just as we reached the RailRoad crossing in down Town Mount Vernon...on a 5 lane road--the busiest road in town...he heard a crack, followed by a crash, followed by several clunks, followed by some car horns!

You guessed it! The boat was no longer on the trailer!!!

One of the side supports on the trailer was a 1x6 covered in astro-turf. Apparently it had rotted and weaked over the past couple years and finally gave way, allowing the boat to rock to the left, snap some ties, and get loose. It rolled and skidded across the turn lane, and two other lanes of traffic, then down 20feet off the shoulder of the road and came to a rest in a ditch, adjacent a parking lot.

The long and short of it....he didn't get out on the water until day 17...as plenty of work had to be done to get the boat back into shape.

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