cyclops2

They are large children playing. And being paid to do that. Cheating is allowed. Collect ALL the biggest fish from their BEST places. Then dump them all in 1 spot. Do it only at the best fishing places around the world. Elite fishing.

All human skin is not even close to deal with. My 5 hooks were in 1 PALM. A palm is as tough as thick leather . It stretches as little as removing a big barb hook from a welders work glove. the entrance hole must be ripped open repeatedly by the tip of the barb. 5 times in the left palm. 1st hook is the toughest to do.

Best first aid is to ONLY fish hunt or whatever..........In range of a cellphone system. Is your life worth the risk of going into shock & bleeding to death ? 40 years ago I decide I want to fish along the base of the embankment of a train track. Looks good down there. Not many idiots would go down a steep rocky slope because of the long climb back up. I am 1/2 way down suddenly I am sliding face toward the river. What the ? I stop my slide. Get up to recover myself. Left hand feels wet. OH NO !! My left palm is ripped wide open. Instant shock hits me. I can not stop looking at the blood coming out very fast. Have to climb back up. It was at lest 2 miles to the top. I am really getting fluttery vision. I try different boot angles to get some vertical traction. I reach the top and crawl into the car. I notice the blood flow is much slower. I can pass out & die in the car. I race 3 miles to the ER. I am flopped on the floor & told to relax. The rest is very peaceful until I awaken later. I can still hear those fish laughing.

Agree

Any hook with crushed or ground down barbs does best for me. No E R visits in over 40 years. Easy in & easy out. What C & R fishing is all about.

I am 84. Sooo My thumb joints are easily tired. I use a 4 wt with # 8 ? weight forward or a Torpedo weight forward to speed up the number of false casts. Buy a spare spool for a sinking tip if you need that condition. I know that all gamefish can see upward easily. the bottom feeders not so much. Using a very much larger WEIGHT line is a old trick in winds & gusts. You will NOT damage the rod in any way. I still have rods made of wood to modern stuff. The fly rods are thought of as frail & weak. Many are same material as bait & spin rods. The weight of the line does most of the casting distances in wind..............Always way over weight lines. I troll with spin & fly rods. My joints love that combo. 3 to 4' pike on the fly ? WAAHOOO There are NO RULES about what you can try to conserve the shoulder. I now only do a roll cast across the stream. Then let the current do the swinging action. Fish the water so the current holds the fly where you want it. I have had the current SLOWLY carry a wiggly Wooly Bugger into good water. The fish are not spooked by a little noise 60 to over 120' away. Wear a life vest inflated & have a Ski Pole secured to the stripping hand if the current flops you underwater. Enjoy. ?

Bingo on new reels having jerky drags. Been there. Company made good with a tech support person.

There are very heavy fresh water fish down there. I always have kept A open mind about what I would try to catch on a 9 & 12 wt rod & reel. When I went after a large Channel & Blue Cat in the Delaware River. I realized why I had bought the massive reel with drag & a selectable one way clutch. It almost slowed the cats. I felt like I was catching salt water fish. I used a spinning setup to cast the Cat baits out. A sudden yank & the 4# test broke loose from the weighted bait. It is fatal to finger joints to NOT USE a big reel with a 1 way clutch. I gave the # 12 to a nephew for stripers. The Winston rod & the tan colored well known reel name slips away from my memory. 40# plus carp will tire arms quickly. The south has some big fish. Definitely use a leader that breaks way before your backing does. The south has powerful fish. Enjoy them all.

I you use BIG BIG lures with 3 trebles. WITH HARDNED S S hooks ? You are out of getting lucky with crushing the barbs down. Some unreal leverage pliers or a small grinder is needed. cut each hook off above the skin. Push / pull the stubby hook out. If the barb is UNDER THE SKIN. Risk of cutting a finger nerve is very high. Grind off the treble eye or what it attaches to on the lure. That willstop buried hook in your hand from moving around so much. Emergency Room is first & only stop for buried hooks under the skin. I had 5 of the 9 hooks buried in1 palm..........My luck was still good. I backed those massive barbs out by tearing the hole larger with the barb point. Pure luck I did not cut a nerve was the E R statement. Alone & not on blood thinners then ...........Now ? I would drive with a big lure hanging & bleeding on everything to the e R.

Highly fished waters are VERY tough for average guys. I do not do them anymore.

If I invite people ? I am very disappointed if I CAN NOT get them fish of some kind. C & R or meat for the eating guys. I really feel bad. Have had a couple of trips be a boat ride around & call it off with a LONG EARLY lunch. We laugh & recall all the good & bad trips.

I agree scaleface.......... I do not throw out ALL the not so great lures. I have reduced to small green Rapalas and small spinners. I have small freezer bags of line terminal parts weights hooks swivels etc. They stack flat & do not tangle if the box tips over. bags for single and separate one for treble and double hooks. All the new empty compartments have lots of Rapalas or spinner blades with a single hook. Cleaning out & rearranging never stops. This year I any going to see if Fluorocarbon 4# is going to improve the not biters hook up ratio. I am supposed to be smarter than a FISH ? ?

Bobbers are so exciting when the bass are not biting. But everybody else is ? Almost forgot again Crush the barb down !!! They can suck that worm down instantly. Gut hookings are normal with all perch. I have both a ball type unhooker & long S S forceps. There are loads of dead perch floating around week ends. GOTTA get my hook back son. They cost money. Many still have their guts hanging out ripped apart or cut apart. If you use meat bait ? Or still fish & set the hook hard as the line moves ? Eat the fish.

I have completely switched over to using..... 2 Improved Trilene knots....... to join the lines. The tighter you pull each one. The smaller they get. I have lots of main line over them. No knot catches. I hand wind the knot to the back of the spool with 2 wraps.

I am lucky I stay out of the BONZI !! speed lanes. I stay on the shallow side of channel ledges. they have about 0 to 10" of water. I have never been threatened.

I have 1 #6 weight flyrod I converted to spinning for very small Rapala plugs with a Mitchel 300 reel. I changed the first guide to a much bigger one. Fantastic casting ability. AND It is a very good balance. Casting wet flies is a piece of cake. A good rod can do almost anything well.

A great day of fishing includes a FULL LUNCH & water breaks.

Narrow paths right to a steep drop into the water requires some odd ball casts. I should have stated it is NOWHERE like a true flyrod roll cast. It was easier to cast from bare ground under the surrounding big bushes. Nice fish area but I no longer do wading in currents anymore.

Remember Bad day of fishing Is better than a day at the factory.

If you get really old. You do not care if everyone else is doing it perfectly. I care about the other old guys having the great day. It is not that often each year for them. So load up guys. There really is a Fish God deciding who gets what each day. Be happy a NORMALLY much less lucky person is having a great day.

Non boat fishing. I take 1 rod with the Mitchell 300 loaded with 6# Braided. AND the 2nd spool filled with 60# braided line. A large Rapala green shad floater. In a double freezer bag. ALL barbs crushed down with S S small forceps to work on a pike safely. L I G ?

Anyone else ever fall into a opened up box with all the trays wide open ? Why my wife carries the Commitment Papers pre signed. But not dated. She is always looking out for me. ☠️

Not really that much difference to a hungry school of SMB. I like higher ratios. I can always crank slower.

Fantastic photos of the line on the spool !!!!! It really shows someone tried to get more EFFICIENT casting unwinding. Bigger at the back smaller at the front. Less dragging FRICTION across the fully loaded spool as the line is being pulled out. My old 300 reels have never needed centering shims or bail arm bending.

I never allow any knots to reach any spool or tip guide . August and I sometimes add a SHORT length of clear 4 # leader. The splice knot is always left outside of the top guide. Stops any type of problem on the spool. By August ALL fish are well fed & harder to catch on a BARE LURE. Early morning & after sundown days.