Fishing, 2019

Did someone say bass...
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Just a few I've caught this year; currently near the 300 fish mark for this year. I live on a large canal system that opens into several ponds and lakes that is loaded with bass and they do love soft plastic toads and frogs. Here in SW Florida bass fishing is year round. Catch a lot of 3 - 6 pounders and the occasional pig in the 8-10 pound range. They are a lot of fun. Can't wait to retire and fish more often.
 
Pike on a fly and spinning gear.

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Spent two days on some awesome pike water near Fairbanks. We camped out so we were able to stay on the water late and be out there again early.

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We caught about 90 fish total, with 70 of them over 24 inches long, and 30 of them were 37 inches long or longer.

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They would hit almost anything. Several times we had two fish on at a time.

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This is my buddy Mike with one of the 37inch class fish. I'm the photographer so you won't see much of me.

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A 37 1/2 inch fish.

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This ones just under 40 inches.

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Here I am with my biggest fish of the trip on a fly, this one is 37 1/2 inches long.

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This is the biggest one of the trip, a 43 1/2 inch slough shark. What a nice fish.

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This is the 43 1/2 fish getting the lure out of his mouth. We let all the fish go except one we kept for eating.
Nice Pike Mark; been a while since I caught one they are a hoot. Closest thing I have down here in SW FL is the occasional baby gator I catch.
 
Nice Pike Mark; been a while since I caught one they are a hoot. Closest thing I have down here in SW FL is the occasional baby gator I catch.

We had a blast, trying to get out there again.
 
Got three little guys last night. They kept striking my XPS Bubblin' Toad and failing, so I switched to a Stick-O-Worm.

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A planned replacement of a power pole shut the shop down for a day. No power. What to do but go fishing. South Fork of the Kern in Kennedy Meadows

The South Fork of the Kern. Probably 15-16 years since I'd been up here.

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The South Fork of the Kern is one of the historic birthplaces of the California Golden Trout, the other being aptly, Golden Trout Creek. While I've fished Golden Trout Creek many times, access is difficult. Its a several day backpack trip and even by horseback (what I've done) its an all day ride to get there. However, the fishing is unbelievable for pure Golden Trout. Many times they are jumping and grabbing the fly before it lands on the water. Literally ya seem to catch a fish per cast. All barbless and catch and release of course. Kennedy Meadows is one of the few places you can drive to and fish for Goldens. However, this ease of access has led to hybridization of the fish in this locale. UC Davis did a study not too long ago and found that the fish here ran about 50/50 at best and sometimes 80/20. Anyhoo, a guy has to fish here, but there are still plenty of these little guys to catch. A little drag or a bad presentation and nada:

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Markings of a Golden but some rainbowish coloring.

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Little 3 weight rod and a grasshopper attractor pattern did the trick. A Pale Evening Dun also worked well.
 
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A planned replacement of a power pole shut the shop down for a day. No power. What to do but go fishing. South Fork of the Kern in Kennedy Meadows

The South Fork of the Kern. Probably 15-16 years since I'd been up here.

xNeZgVP.jpg


CzPDYfF.jpg


The South Fork of the Kern is one of the historic birthplaces of the California Golden Trout, the other being aptly, Golden Trout Creek. While I've fished Golden Trout Creek many times, access is difficult. Its a several day backpack trip and even by horseback (what I've done) its an all day ride to get there. However, the fishing is unbelievable for pure Golden Trout. Many times they are jumping and grabbing the fly before it lands on the water. Literally ya seem to catch a fish per cast. All barbless and catch and release of course. Kennedy Meadows is one of the few places you can drive to and fish for Goldens. However, this ease of access has led to hybridization of the fish in this locale. UC Davis did a study not too long ago and found that the fish here ran about 50/50 at best and sometimes 80/20. Anyhoo, a guy has to fish here, but there are still plenty of these little guys to catch. A little drag or a bad presentation and nada:

6LrEPYr.jpg


Markings of a Golden but some rainbowish coloring.

P27aYzW.jpg


Little 3 weight rod and a grasshopper attractor pattern did the trick. A Pale Evening Dun also worked well.

I haven't spent any time that far south in the Sierra, but have been at other locations where we were catching (planted) purebred goldens. By far the best tasting trout I have ever tried, pink flesh like salmon. The ones we were catching were in the 8-10" size. I have seen a trip report showing monster multi-pound goldens in Miter Basin. Maybe some day I'll have to go there. If you go on horseback you could probably get there in one long day if you go out of Cottonwood Lakes.
 
Here's a really nice 15 1/2 pound Lake Michigan Rainbow trout my friend Rich caught the other day. Big Rainbows are a blast to catch, I've seen quite a few of them jump out of the water 10-15 times before you get them to the boat. Tomorrow morning I'm going up to Sturgeon bay Walleye with Rich. I'll probably bring back a few bottles of Door Peninsula Sweet Cherry Wine to go with some fresh Walleye fillets.
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I haven't spent any time that far south in the Sierra, but have been at other locations where we were catching (planted) purebred goldens. By far the best tasting trout I have ever tried, pink flesh like salmon. The ones we were catching were in the 8-10" size. I have seen a trip report showing monster multi-pound goldens in Miter Basin. Maybe some day I'll have to go there. If you go on horseback you could probably get there in one long day if you go out of Cottonwood Lakes.

I hadn't heard of those big ones. I've caught Goldens out of Volcano Creek too and that is suppose to be a separate sub species. We'd been talking about going up to Horseshoe Meadows.
 
Nice Sturgeon Bay Walleye from this weekends fishing trip. Weather was cooperating with us, we had strong north winds and got blown off the water last night and decided come home early. But none the less had a real good time out on the water.
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Good eater right there! :thumbsup: Scatter rap? That clown color works well here too.

A float trip on Beaver Creek Alaska.
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Greyling! :cool: We're fortunate to have a few places here in CO where we can catch those. Neat fish!
 
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