Tokyo Tony

American Eel 3 pounds 35 inches American Shad 5 pounds 25 inches Atlantic Salmon 15 pounds 31 inches Bluegill 12 ounces 10 inches Brook Trout 2 pounds 17 inches Brown Bullhead 2 pounds 15 inches Brown Trout 5 pounds 22 inches Calico Bass (Black Crappie) 2 pounds 15 inches Common Carp 20 pounds 34 inches Chain Pickerel 5 pounds 27 inches Channel Catfish 4 pounds 22 inches Kokanee 1.75 pounds 16 inches Largemouth Bass 6 pounds 22 inches Northern Pike 10 pounds 35 inches Pumpkinseed 8 ounces 9 inches Rainbow Trout 4 pounds 21 inches Rock Bass 12 ounces 11 inches Smallmouth Bass 4 pounds 21 inches Walleye 5 pounds 23 inches White Catfish 4 pounds 20 inches White Perch 2 pounds 15 inches Yellow Perch 1.5 pounds 15 inches Not to toot my own horn, but I could have had a gold star last year if I had taken the time to submit my good catches. Some of those requirements are kind of easy... For example, I caught several fat Pumkinseeds around a pound last year on a senko, and know several ponds that have 20 lb+ carp (I'm gonna try my luck this year with breadballs). Caught a couple smallies above 4 lbs, and one LMB that was 6 even. Maybe I'll start submitting my panfish catches ;D Thanks for the info Perfect Hook Set

Also, Natural, I'm assuming that's not you in the article since you said "I'd never be so lucky"....am I wrong?

That is definitely a pig, especially on 4 lb line. The first thing I thought after reading the description is that she must have been totally humiliated. Caught on a little 1/8 oz bait, 4 lb line, and netted in 7 seconds. Short of becoming table fare, I can't think of a less desirable ordeal for a big bass :

I often fish coves off of the main river for Pike and sometimes stripers, but to fish the main river I'm gonna need a boat bigger than a canoe :

Thanks for the replies guys That one day I went out, the river was just about unfishable. The water was racing through there and there was just an incredible amount of debris in the water with <8" visibility. If it's like that again I'm not gonna waste my time, especially fishing from shore when the spots I can fish are pretty limited. RobbyZ - that's a very good point though about muddy water. The larger smarter fish should be more catchable. Fishing a spinner on that day was pretty much out of the question though because of the debris, but I wish I had some worms with me.

Perfect Hookset - I LOVE Beseck Lake! There are some fine fish in there, and I absolutely love fishing the multitude of docks on that pond (it really sucks when the water's low though). Fall 2006, maybe early November, my brother actually caught a little pike in there, about 4 pounds. I had no idea that lake had them, but they're in there. Beseck is full of bass in the 3-5 pound class (really good for a small lake in CT). Love it. Tin - I'd love to see them throw a bunch of pike into Wyassup. I've only fished one other lake in my life that has so many dinks.

You WILL catch more and bigger bass if you read the forums and articles and apply the knowledge ;D

I brought my golden out in the canoe once, and he was great. I'll try to find the pictures. It's just a bit too much of a hassle to take him out though. I do take him shorefishing quite a bit, for smallies in NH and for trout in CT. It took a while to train him not to chase my lures, but now he stays by my side instead of jumping in. I'll never forget I was fishing Moodus Reservoir in CT, and there was a guy in a pontoon boat driving around at about 35 mph. His dog was right up front with his front paws on the front seat, head up high, wind ripping through his fur. I'm not sure I've ever seen a happier pooch ;D

I checked smallie because it's the hardest-fighting freshwater fish I've caught that was also on the list. I'd love to catch a sturgeon someday, but I have to say, of all the freshwater species I've caught, Peacock bass fight the hardest, even harder than smallmouth.

Catt, I'm so sorry. I'm not religious, but I will pray for you and those involved. It's just beyond explanation how these things can happen.

Annoying? Absolutely. But I bet all you guys will remember the website now, along with almost everyone else who saw the commercial. Although a lot of people won't go there regularly, I bet a lot of people will, all thanks to that commercial. Seems pretty smart to me

I think you ("you" being anyone who cares about "posses") need to unbunch your panties. You ask about a brand or two, someone suggests something else, and you get all worked up? Who cares? Just disregard the suggestion.

When I was younger, all I used was Ande mono. Anyone still use the stuff? I know they're still in business... Just curious, that's all

This is what I use.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20166-cat20388&rid=&indexId=cat20388&navAction=push&masterpathid=&navCount=1&parentType=index&parentId=cat20388&id=0042758

You guys are crazy I don't know if it's a quirk, but anytime I catch a good fish, I get a strong urge to kiss it. I'm able to resist most of the time unless she's really beatiful or a real fatty. That should be my screen name: Kissin' Fatties 8-) I've actually kissed a couple smallies when I was fishing by myself and there were other people (strangers) around. I don't think they understood what was going on.

Ahh, memories. This was the first thread I started when I joined. I didn't post this just to reminisce, but to add some insight I've gained over the winter... I've been trout fishing every weekend this winter in a stream in CT, and in some areas, it's catch and release only, so you have to bend the barbs down to fish in those areas. I have learned that with single hook lures, barb/no barb makes no noticeable difference for trout. However, most of the trout I catch do not jump. I think going barbless for feisty smallies will result in more lost fish. As for treble hook lures, when I pinch the barbs, I have noticed beyond any doubt that I've lost more trout without the barbs, and they don't even jump. That means that you will lose more smallies if you bend the barbs on treble lures, and I'd be willing to bet big $ on that. Lastly, removing barbless hooks from fish is exponentially easier and quicker than removing a barbed hook, and it definitely harms the fish less, especially trout. Smallies are more resilient than trout, so I really don't think removing a barbed hook will damage a bass noticeably less, unless the fish is hooked in a tough spot. $0.03

We've had tons of precipitation in central CT this winter. All of the rivers are swollen and the ponds/lakes are at or above full pool. Great success!

Pelicans, seagulls, and the occasional gator/croc, not in CT of course

Good thread One thing I'd like to mention that has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a very sensitive rod for certain techniques is the pleasure of fighting a fish on a very lightweight, sensitive rod. There's nothing like fighting a fish on a high-quality rod (and I haven't even tried the upper-upper end ones) - you can feel every little shake of its head and you can almost visualize exactly how the fish is reacting. Love it ;D

Lol that's funny ;D

The ponds and smaller lakes around here are almost totally open thanks to the ridiculous amount of rain we've gotten lately. I'm gonna try to catch a few Larry's this weekend ;D

I haven't thought about this in a while until the thread that was going the other day asking for people to share a fishing story or memory. This isn't exactly a fishing story, but I figured some of you guys would find it interesting. I was in 6th grade at the time, 11 years old, living in Miami, FL, right across the street from a marina. That's around the time I became really addicted to fishing. My brother and I had a 15' Skanoe (canoe with a flat back) with a 5 hp Nissan mounted on the back, and our best friends had a jonboat with a 9.9 Merc. We used to take our rigs out early in the morning, fish topwaters and other lures for jacks and cudas, and if we were lucky, we'd hook into the occasional tarpon or snook. Then after the bite died, we'd catch a ton of mangrove snapper on dead shrimp and take them home for dinner. It was a pretty awesome time in my life. If we weren't fishing, we were working on a fort we were building in a clearing in the mangroves. This was just a couple years after Hurricane Andrew, so there was still tons and tons of driftwood along the shorelines and lodged in the mangroves. That's what we used to build our fort. Anyway, one day after we were done fishing, we were looking for some good driftwood to add onto the fort, and I saw this package lying in the seaweed up on shore, wrapped tightly in duct tape. On the outside was written "25" in green marker. My friend and I had no idea what it was, and frankly, we were worried that it may contain a dismembered body or some other messed-up thing that a 6th-grader would think of. My buddy and I each grabbed a side and managed to bring it out into the sunlight. I took out my filet knife and made a slit in the side of the box, and as I retracted the knife, I noticed that it was covered in pure white powder. We then knew it was a whole bunch of drugs. I remember we were all pretty scared after the find, and my brother was already sitting in the canoe begging us to leave. We stashed the box back where it was originally and left. When we got home, we alerted the Coast Guard, and my buddy went out to the spot in the coast guard boat to show them where it was. A week or so later, they contacted us and explained that the box contained 25 kilos of 100% pure cocaine, with a street value of $1.875 million. It was almost definitely dumped off of a barge probably as they were being approached by the Coast Guard. Crazy. When I think of it now, I'm actually really glad I found it when I was a little kid, because I'm not sure that I'd call the Coast Guard this time. I probably would, but you never know... Just wanted to share that with you guys

I have several, and they were killer on the smallies last year. My favorite application for them is when I know smallies (or largies for that matter) are in an area but are either too deep to commit to shallow jerkbait, or aren't active enough to swim up 10 feet to hit a shallow jerkbait. In that case I'll change from a normal X-Rap or LC Pointer to an X-Shad, and fish it the same way - just like a jerkbait. You can also use them as a crankbait, but I tend to stay away from heavy cover with these lures because they suspend. My favorite color for smallies is white with a hot pink back :-*

That's what she.... ahh, too easy That shiner is gigantic by the way 8-)