Got any good fishing stories to share?

[schoolsout]

I've got a few, but for now, here's last weeks big catch. Not all that big in the scheme of things, but about a ~40lb wahoo. I had to put on a clinic to show these boys (who lost a few dolphin earlier) how to actually land a fish and get it in the fishbox Caught about 80 miles out of Charleston, SC.

Supposed to go again this Thursday, but work has managed to get in the way.

 

[schoolsout]

Here's a story...

Same area that wahoo above was caught, just inshore in about 150-180 feet of water. Full moon...current ripping. Not a whole lot going on due to the current/moon. Picking up a few bottom fish here and there talking to another buddy in another boat a little further out. About 10pm, the small fish hits (2-3lb live bait) and the fight is on. Bring it up to the boat and all we see is red. Not sure what it was at first, but then we saw the teeth. Cubera snapper. A very rare catch off the SC Coast. Divers say they see them sometimes, but nobody catches them. Cool....put him in the box and continue on.

Nothing much happening until about 3am. Another bite. Buddy thought it was a shark and about gave up on it (they will tangle and destroy rigs and a pain to unhook). Finally get it up to boat and it is another Cubera. Twice the size of the first one. ****...gaff it and bring it into the boat. Morning comes and we start trolling until 12pm or so. Head back in and go to local fish house to weigh them. Small one was 53lbs and broke the SC state record. Second was 118lbs and broke that record...and would have broken the world record for that line class, but the line tested above what it was rated for. Bummer...

We donated the fish to SC DNR so they could study it. I forget how old they reckoned the fish was, but I want to say about 50+ years or so. Pretty cool.

First pic is me getting the 53lb fish from the boat to the cooler. Second is the 118lb fish the next day. 3rd pic is both of them on the scale together.

 

[MossRoad]

Oh, and how can we forget the early season trout fishing with the boy, probably 60 or so just like this.

That's a lot of kids to feed.

 

[AGRIMAN]

I'm not what you would consider a big fisherman, but from time to time my son and I will do a little fishing. It's a good way to get away from everything for a while and do something different. Last fall we decided to go down river one Sunday afternoon and try our luck.

After a few minutes of drifting down river, we noticed that we had caught the attention of a small 4 foot alligator. He turned out to be a friendly little guy and continued to follow closely behind us, getting as close as 3 or 4 foot from the boat (if you didn't look at him). After 20 minutes or more of watching us closely, he became very interested in my neon green cork and began to follow as I would reel it in.

We finally decided to give him a chance to play. I casted over next to him an slowly started to reel in. Once he started following, I stopped and waited. He approached the cork and touch it with his nose as if he was smelling of it and with one very quick move? Grabbed it and was gone!

My son almost fell out of the boat laughing as I set there trying to get my cork back. After about a minute my cork topped back up full of bite marks. This is really not uncommon, but it's the first time its ever happened to me.

 

[Jstpssng]

I'm not what you would consider a big fisherman, but from time to time my son and I will do a little fishing. It's a good way to get away from everything for a while and do something different. Last fall we decided to go down river one Sunday afternoon and try our luck.

After a few minutes of drifting down river, we noticed that we had caught the attention of a small 4 foot alligator. He turned out to be a friendly little guy and continued to follow closely behind us, getting as close as 3 or 4 foot from the boat (if you didn't look at him). After 20 minutes or more of watching us closely, he became very interested in my neon green cork and began to follow as I would reel it in.

We finally decided to give him a chance to play. I casted over next to him an slowly started to reel in. Once he started following, I stopped and waited. He approached the cork and touch it with his nose as if he was smelling of it and with one very quick move? Grabbed it and was gone!

My son almost fell out of the boat laughing as I set there trying to get my cork back. After about a minute my cork topped back up full of bite marks. This is really not uncommon, but it's the first time its ever happened to me.

:thumbsup: :laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

Fun stories... thanks for sharing. I DO have one of my own after all...

About 30 years ago on the first Saturday of trout season, my cousin called and said that a tributary of Sebago Lake in southern Maine (I believe it was Panther Run) had been opened to trout fishing for the first time in decades. We brought 2 canoes, his girlfriend, plus another mutual friend; and chased schools of brookies up and down that stream all afternoon. Not another soul in sight all day. Everyone limited out easily.
We returned a year later, but of course word had gotten out; we never had a bite.

 

[JMER817]

Had a great morning fishing in Lake Michigan today...

 

[MikeA57]

True story and I'll swear to it until the day I die.

I was a kid about 8, maybe 9 years old. It was my Dad, my Uncle Charlie, and I in the boat. We had left the main lake and gone way up this creek and were fishing up there when the sun disappeared and it started getting cloudy. We waited about another half hour and realized that the clouds were there for good and we could hear thunder in the distance. We start motoring out of the creek and by the time we reached the main lake again it had started drizzling. Right at the mouth of the creek was a sandy beach and at the tip of the beach was a single dead tree that had been dead for a good while. Just a few branches left on it. Don't know why but as we passed by the tree a thought crossed my mind: "I wonder what would happen if lightning hit that tree?"

It couldn't have been more than 2 seconds later when a huge bolt of lighting came down struck that tree and just decimated it. We were close enough that bits and pieces of it fell all around and in the boat. I was in the center seat and had been facing the back and my dad was tiller steering the boat. He said my eyes got as big as plates. He immediately turned hard and headed for the opposite shore where we took cover under a house on the bank until the storm passed. I never knew anything could be that bright and that LOUD!!!! Still can't understand why I didn't crap my pants.

 

[Raider43]

Fished the Housatonic River in Ct last week and the striper fishing was slow the day we went out. Planning another trip next week (30 minute drive). This is the time to try and get the big hens coming up to spawn (30 lbs plus). Catch and release because of pcb's, but you can eat the small ones and cut out the dark meat. Other rivers should have the same going on. Hit the waters. Tight line.

 

[Sackett2]

I love trout, and was stationed in ND. Now walleye is a great fish, but this Oregon boy wanted some trout. My neighbor Ryan, his wife and 4 daughters went to Northgate, an man made lake. I was shore fishing but the ND wind was making it difficult.
I looked around and noticed Ryan was gone. I climbed over the berm at the end of the lake to see the overflow culvert keeping a nice hole full of water. there was weeds preventing any fancy fishing, and a group of people all with the lines in the water. The amazing thing to me was the trout rising in the center of the pool. A young boy said to me "They aren't biting"
I ran and got my basic gear and set up a standard worm, bobber, number 6 hook on a long lead and cast it over the weeds. In almost nothing flat I had a fish and reeled it in. My pliers were back at the car so I went for them leaving Ryan to watch my fish. I Brought his oldest daughter (Dee-Dee) with me, removed fish number one, re-geared and put it out again, handed her my pole and started gearing up her pole. hadn't even got it ready when another one hit hers (mine?) and I helped her reel it it.
We pulled about 12 nice trout from that hole; almost all the kids were able to reel one in. what amazed me was none of the "other" fisherman changed gear when I came in and started catching fish right in front of them...