Other Species Latest Catch Pics Thread

[Bluebasser86]

Since our trip last week, Tony hasn't been able to stop talking about fishing the river. So we decided to give it another go this week before it gets really cold and it's not an option anymore. We rolled into our first spot and didn't even have the rods all out before Tony had a healthy little blue on the bank, and while we were getting ready to take pictures of that fish, the rod he'd just caught it on and recasted, slowly loaded up again, this time with a flathead.

It wasn't 5 minutes later, the same rod was bending and shaking again, and Tony had another blue on the bank.

Then the rain and cold front showed up. I really thought that would make them bite but it didn't at this spot. I had one rod that kept twitching and shaking but never would take off. When I reeled it in to move spots, it felt like I snagged a stick, but it turned out to be a little dinosaur.

I guess he'd just been down there mouthing that piece of white bass, trying to get it down. 

 

I hadn't covered much water in this area and part of the plan was to not die in one area if it wasn't happening, so we moved around the corner to an outside bend that I always mark a lot of fish. Cast a rod and turned around to grab the next and Tony pointed and grunted, I must have hit the fish on the head.

Had one other good run at that spot that I didn't hook up with, so further down the river we went to another deep hole. Just like the first two spots, didn't even get all the rods out before a fish folded a rod over. This one had a tag in it (can kind of see the orange tag in it's back). Found out it was tagged in 2019 and I was the first person to have caught it.

Got the rest of the rods out, the last of which I put down the sandbar a ways. When I got back to the kayaks and looked back at it, the line was completely slack, like someone had cut the line. Ran over and grabbed it, and landed another nice blue.

There was a bunch of fish jumping, so I cast a little Kastmaster some and caught the biggest goldeye I've ever seen.

As we were talking about it probably being about time to go, one of my rods folded again, and this time it peeling drag in the process. The fish pulled and shook with much more authority and really fought great for the cold water. Wasn't huge by any means, but sure was a great way to wrap up the day.

Except it wasn't, because this one bit before I could get all the rods reeled in.

Really couldn't have asked for a much better day on the river.

 

[Way north bass guy]

Man that looks like a ton of un @Bluebasser86

We don’t have kitty’s like that up here, but there are some decent channels in a few spots, but I’ve never tried for them. 

[gim]

@Bluebasser86 is that the dry river bed in the back ground of those photos? Is the water that far down there?

[Bluebasser86]

43 minutes ago, gimruis said:

@Bluebasser86 is that the dry river bed in the back ground of those photos? Is the water that far down there?

The Kansas is a really shallow river with random deep holes through this area. It would normally be under water, but only a couple feet deep. The hole we were fishing was 23' deep though.

[TnRiver46]

@Bluebasser86’s “not huge” catfish is friggin huge 

[Bluebasser86]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@Bluebasser86’s “not huge” catfish is friggin huge 

Both our state records for blues and flatheads are over 100lbs, including the world record flathead of 123lbs. That little 35 pounder doesn't even raise an eyebrow from the serious catfishermen here. 

[Buzzbaiter]

I’ve been hard at work racking up my species count. Saltwater is a new frontier for me, and I’ve been exploring it more every weekend. Here are a few of my more interesting catches in the last two months:

 

 

This is a little redfish I caught in October (not a pb, but the best picture of a redfish I have). I don’t have a boat, which makes navigating the marshes difficult. I’m stuck fishing by boat ramps, salt ponds, and places where tidal creeks cross or parallel roads. Puppy drum like this are about as big as I can expect to catch, but they’re a ton of fun. They strike lures with a lot of force. You’ll work your swimbait just under the surface when you see a reddish-gold flash; at that point, you rod starts going crazy. Redfish fight hard, even at smaller sizes. I hope to hook into a bull someday.

 

 

This is a speckled trout I caught in the same marsh system where I caught the pictured drum. It’s my pb trout. I’ve hooked into bigger fish, but trout have an annoying habit of short striking lures. I suspect it has something to do with the two fangs located at the forefront of their mouths. In my limited experience, a trout that’s been swung on is unlikely to come back to bite again. They’re smart fish. 
 

 

From the aforementioned marsh system, I’ve caught a number of smaller fish. This one is a pigfish, which I think looks pretty enough to picture here. I learned after the fact that they make good bait. I didn’t know what I had caught at the time, so I let them swim off. 
 

The marshes are cool, but the beaches offer a lot more in the way of biodiversity. It also helps that they’re easier to access. This pompano was caught on the Canaveral Seashore, along with some spot, whiting, and a bluefish (pictured below). I want to keep a pompano because I hear they’re really good eating, but I don’t know how to target them. 
 

 

This bluefish was caught that same day. I used a spot head on an Owner Mutu Light circle hook to catch him. I wasn’t expecting to get anything on cutbait, so this fish was a welcome surprise. I went back to grab another chunk of spot, but I think a bird stole the rest of the fish while I wasn’t looking. As they say, lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten; I’ll be careful about how I store cutbait going forward.

 

 

Of all new species I’ve caught in Florida, the common snook is my favorite. I caught this fish on a trip to Tampa Bay on Saturday. This was the smallest fish of that excursion, and my first snook ever. I caught this fish while walking along a muddy, mangrove-choked backwater creek. The rest of the day was spent wading slightly more open water (though still in an estuary away from the main Bay). Because my phone was sealed away in my backpack, this was the only snook I photographed that day. It’s a shame, since I caught some beautiful >24 inch snook that would have made for gorgeous pictures. 24+ inches is pretty big in my eyes, considering I wasn’t expecting to catch anything that day.
 

While I don’t have pictures of the other fish, the memories are etched into my head. Snook are like largemouth, just more extreme (dare I say, more better). They hide tight into the mangroves and strike with sincere aggression. Occasionally, you’ll see a school of mullet shoot out of the water and scatter. Just a second behind them is a snook in hot pursuit, launching himself clear out of the water. It’s like something out of NatGeoWild. If you cast into the boils, you have about a 50% chance of getting tight with a fish. You have to guesstimate where that snook is, since they move fast. It’s as good as fishing gets, and offers a suitable substitute for smallmouthing while things are still cold up north. On thing that’s particularly frustrating about snook is that they know too well how to spit a hook. I probably hooking into about 15 fish (rough estimate), but only brought 5 to hand. Maybe I just need to get better. Most of the fish come unbuttoned after a jump. 
 

I’m going back home for thanksgiving, but I’m eager to come back. The main reason I went to Tampa was to catch a tarpon. I think I saw a couple jump, but they might have been big snook. I now understand that I have to go even further into the backwaters to find the silver fish. I’ve got a game plan formulating, and I’m feeling confident. I’ll be back into Tampa the next weekend I get. I need to settle the score and catch my tarpon. I’ll update you all when that happens.

[ATA]

[N Florida Mike]

Loading  up for the next fish fry. Stopped at 25.

[TnRiver46]

@N Florida Mike, what in the world is that one on top???

[MassBass]

On 11/21/2023 at 10:52 AM, Buzzbaiter said:

I’ve been hard at work racking up my species count. Saltwater is a new frontier for me, and I’ve been exploring it more every weekend. Here are a few of my more interesting catches in the last two months:

 

 

This is a little redfish I caught in October (not a pb, but the best picture of a redfish I have). I don’t have a boat, which makes navigating the marshes difficult. I’m stuck fishing by boat ramps, salt ponds, and places where tidal creeks cross or parallel roads. Puppy drum like this are about as big as I can expect to catch, but they’re a ton of fun. They strike lures with a lot of force. You’ll work your swimbait just under the surface when you see a reddish-gold flash; at that point, you rod starts going crazy. Redfish fight hard, even at smaller sizes. I hope to hook into a bull someday.

 

 

This is a speckled trout I caught in the same marsh system where I caught the pictured drum. It’s my pb trout. I’ve hooked into bigger fish, but trout have an annoying habit of short striking lures. I suspect it has something to do with the two fangs located at the forefront of their mouths. In my limited experience, a trout that’s been swung on is unlikely to come back to bite again. They’re smart fish. 
 

 

From the aforementioned marsh system, I’ve caught a number of smaller fish. This one is a pigfish, which I think looks pretty enough to picture here. I learned after the fact that they make good bait. I didn’t know what I had caught at the time, so I let them swim off. 
 

The marshes are cool, but the beaches offer a lot more in the way of biodiversity. It also helps that they’re easier to access. This pompano was caught on the Canaveral Seashore, along with some spot, whiting, and a bluefish (pictured below). I want to keep a pompano because I hear they’re really good eating, but I don’t know how to target them. 
 

 

This bluefish was caught that same day. I used a spot head on an Owner Mutu Light circle hook to catch him. I wasn’t expecting to get anything on cutbait, so this fish was a welcome surprise. I went back to grab another chunk of spot, but I think a bird stole the rest of the fish while I wasn’t looking. As they say, lessons not learned in blood are soon forgotten; I’ll be careful about how I store cutbait going forward.

 

 

Of all new species I’ve caught in Florida, the common snook is my favorite. I caught this fish on a trip to Tampa Bay on Saturday. This was the smallest fish of that excursion, and my first snook ever. I caught this fish while walking along a muddy, mangrove-choked backwater creek. The rest of the day was spent wading slightly more open water (though still in an estuary away from the main Bay). Because my phone was sealed away in my backpack, this was the only snook I photographed that day. It’s a shame, since I caught some beautiful >24 inch snook that would have made for gorgeous pictures. 24+ inches is pretty big in my eyes, considering I wasn’t expecting to catch anything that day.
 

While I don’t have pictures of the other fish, the memories are etched into my head. Snook are like largemouth, just more extreme (dare I say, more better). They hide tight into the mangroves and strike with sincere aggression. Occasionally, you’ll see a school of mullet shoot out of the water and scatter. Just a second behind them is a snook in hot pursuit, launching himself clear out of the water. It’s like something out of NatGeoWild. If you cast into the boils, you have about a 50% chance of getting tight with a fish. You have to guesstimate where that snook is, since they move fast. It’s as good as fishing gets, and offers a suitable substitute for smallmouthing while things are still cold up north. On thing that’s particularly frustrating about snook is that they know too well how to spit a hook. I probably hooking into about 15 fish (rough estimate), but only brought 5 to hand. Maybe I just need to get better. Most of the fish come unbuttoned after a jump. 
 

I’m going back home for thanksgiving, but I’m eager to come back. The main reason I went to Tampa was to catch a tarpon. I think I saw a couple jump, but they might have been big snook. I now understand that I have to go even further into the backwaters to find the silver fish. I’ve got a game plan formulating, and I’m feeling confident. I’ll be back into Tampa the next weekend I get. I need to settle the score and catch my tarpon. I’ll update you all when that happens.

That seems like fun fishing, wading the fertile marshes

[N Florida Mike]

9 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

@N Florida Mike, what in the world is that one on top???

Copperhead bream ( bluegill) like the rest.It had real pronounced bars on it. Most of them I caught today had dark red fins too.  No shellcrackers or redbreast though. I usually catch a good number of shellcracker along with the copperheads…

[MassBass]

Got out to a local pond before Thanksgiving dinner and caught a rainbow. It was early in the morning and I think I was able to draw a bite in the low light situation, before the bright sun and wind became prominent.

[T-Billy]

Thankful I got to spend the holiday on the lake with my bride today. Unfortunately we weren't able to get her hooked up. I was blessed with a 40" and a 37.5". I also had a low 40's come unbuttoned boatside while trying to get it in the bag. First multi fish day since mid October. T'was much needed. Those slimers been making me feel bad about myself. LOL. We'll be back after 'em tomorrow. Hopefully we'll get her on the board. Been awhile for her.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Tim hit the lottery finding a wife unit that will go Muskie fishing on Turkey day in the freezing cold.......what kind of wizardry are you employing 🤣

 

Nice Muskies, and you know it's business time when the hat comes out 😎

[TnRiver46]

Nice fish @T-Billy! I just vertical jig crappies out the back of the boat when I’m “musky fishing” 😂 

[gim]

43 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

when the hat comes out

I swear he was out there in a t shirt like 3 days ago too.

[T-Billy]

55 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Tim hit the lottery finding a wife unit that will go Muskie fishing on Turkey day in the freezing cold.......what kind of wizardry are you employing 🤣

When you're as handsome as I am, ya gotta beat 'em away with a flippin stick. 😂

31 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Nice fish @T-Billy! I just vertical jig crappies out the back of the boat when I’m “musky fishing” 😂 

Put one of them on a big circle hook and send it back down. 😉

18 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I swear he was out there in a t shirt like 3 days ago too.

20's-30's in the mornings, 40-60 in the afternoons.

[gim]

42 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

When you're as handsome as I am, ya gotta beat 'em away with a flippin stick.

 

[T-Billy]

Spent the morning getting my clock cleaned by the FFS guys on offshore shad schools. My guide buddy included. Had fish all around me and couldn't even get a follow. My buddy guided his 9yo son to 4 including his new PB 45". Tickled for him. He's a great kid. I enjoyed watching him light 'em up. 

Bailed on that shenanigans after a few hours and went back to my bread and butter fishing structure. Managed this nice 43" on my favorite rock pile, and had four more follows. Follows were super aggressive, but they were being weird and taking short swipes at it in the 8. Finally got the 43 to commit around 1:30. Awesome bite. It came out of nowhere and absolutely smoked it in the first turn of the 8. Called it quits around 3. Tired of fighting the wind, hungry, and my hands and wrists are thrashed from chucking the rig 7 of the last 9 days. 

Just looked through the photos. Today's 43" is muskie #51 over 30" on the year, with 13 of them going 40" - 48.25". Looking like temps are fixing to crash. I'll get to fish five days next week, then who knows, every trip could be the last after that. I'm gonna stick it out as long as I can. I got some 6" and 7" tubes, and some 5" blade baits to go vertical with once icing guides get to be too big a PITA to cast.

[ATA]

my biggest sturgeon, 57" to the fork, She was released as well despite being legal. couldn't carry alone to take pic, She was very heavy 😆

[Team9nine]

I've been a little ate up chasing big crappie while waiting for water temps to drop enough to start fishing winter gear and holes for bass. We're finally there now, so probably soon. Caught about 3 dozen crappie today, topped by this 1.75 lb. fish.

 

[RipzLipz]

@Team9nine just spankin’ the specks.

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, RipzLipz said:

@Team9nine just spankin’ the specks.

I’d weigh 400 lbs if I caught em like he does 

[RipzLipz]

31 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I’d weigh 400 lbs if I caught em like he does 

Good lord I couldn’t imagine what I’d look like being around fish like that all year.