Other Species Latest Catch Pics Thread

[T-Billy]

10 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Maybe we'll change your nickname from the Braided Wonder to Tenacious Tim......awesome fish, and way to stick with it brother!  

🤣 I've been called worse!!!

[Jmurphy87]

Well my first fish of  the year, 32 degrees and with the wind chill it was 22. I have been testing spinner baits that I have been swapping blades out on. The cold kills my fingertips in 20 minutes flat. Luckily there is a propane heater to warm my hands and fingers, and burn the hair off my hands lol. I caught it on a Nichols 1/2 chartreuse and white  with brass size 5 front and 6 rear willow blades. Definitely not the biggest or longest pike that I have ever caught but it sure was chunky for its length. This fish should grow into something some day.

[gim]

8 minutes ago, Jmurphy87 said:

32 degrees and with the wind chill it was 22

How do you keep your guides from freezing up?

[Jmurphy87]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

How do you keep your guides from freezing up?

You know I can’t honestly answer that question. I figured that they would freeze up but they never did. The only idea that I have is that the water temperature is higher than normal so it is offsetting the cold air temperature, I was fishing shallow water. Normally it is iced over by now but are temperatures have been nuts lately. I normally call it when I can’t keep casting due to frozen guides.

[gim]

30 minutes ago, Jmurphy87 said:

You know I can’t honestly answer that question.

I only ask because you've somehow managed to defy the laws of physics.

[T-Billy]

2 for 2 to start the new year!!! Same rockpile that gave up the 44" yesterday, gave up this 42" big headed old male today. 

I can't believe it took me so long to figure out why I was struggling this fall. My last trip last week, out of frustration, I put a 4.8 fat on a jighead and threw it on it's own instead of on the rig. At the end of the first retrieve I immediately noticed how much more kick, and less roll, it had vs the way I've been rigging them on the A-Rig. 

Unable to find 1/4oz jigheads with a muskie worthy hook, I started rigging them on a 6/0 flippin hook with a bell sinker hanging on the split ring as a keel weight. I didn't notice how much it changed the action but the fish sure did. Me being the dunce that I am, I just kept grinding away, getting lots of follows but few bites.

 I should have caught it far sooner. Oh well, better late than never I guess. 2023 will forever be remembered as "the fall that could have been".

I'm good to go now though. I modified my Manic Mullet mold to accept a 6/0 Mustad 32850. It's a beast of a hook.

 I'll get to fish Thursday, and maybe next Tuesday and that'll be it for awhile if the forecast holds true.

[gim]

@T-Billy you never went home between trips.  I bet you slept in the boat.  Same outfit and hat as last time.  A well oiled machine.

[T-Billy]

8 minutes ago, gimruis said:

@T-Billy you never went home between trips.  I bet you slept in the boat.  Same outfit and hat as last time.  A well oiled machine.

LOL!!! That Striker Ice suit is awesome. Super warm without being bulky, and it'll keep me afloat should I take an unintended swim.

I was just telling the wife a bit ago, those are almost the same pic with a different fish. LOL. That rock pile is about 100yds long. Both fish came off the same spot on the south tip of it.

[Jmurphy87]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

I only ask because you've somehow managed to defy the laws of physics.

Yeah I am just as baffled as you are by this, I checked the weather report on my phone after a couple helped me take the picture. It said 32 real temp and feels like 22, to me that should be iced guides for sure. But it hasn’t happened yet so I will keep going until the weather freezes my guides off.

[TnRiver46]

Nice pike @Jmurphy87! Guess the water droplets didn’t check the “feels like” temp since they can’t feel haha

[T-Billy]

Got out for a short trip today. 7:30 - 11:30.  It was a balmy 31 degrees, with a cool refreshing breeze blowing 10-15 out of the north. The ol rock pile produced again, giving up a 40" and a 31". Gotta love those fat winter fish. Even that little 31" is built like a railroad tie. Both fish came about 10min apart around 8:30. Surface temp is down to 38.7, and the bite windows ain't open long.

I gotta work the next four, but the extended forecast is looking better than it was. If it holds up, I may get out next Tues and Wed. Fingers crossed.

[Team9nine]

Still chasing the big crappie around despite the muddy water conditions. These went 1.4 lbs. and 1.75 lbs. They’re gorging on threadfin at the moment. Wish the bass would join in on the feast, but they’re few and far between for some reason.

 

 

 

[roadwarrior]

 

 

                                                  

[king fisher]

 We took Redneck out for the first time in 2024 yesterday.  We landed 3 tuna, and one Dorado.  Tuna were all caught on live goggle eyes under helium balloons, Dorado was caught trolling a lure.  Screen shot of high spot where the biggest tuna was caught. My wife is happy I have fresh tuna for her.

 

[Junger]

After several years of on and off chasing for trophy stripers, I finally caught a nice one coming in at 43.5".

 

[FryDog62]

Fished the local pond for largemouth on lunch break yesterday... instead caught a couple Peacocks and this Blue Tilapia. ...everything hits the Nerd Rig! 

[king fisher]

I went to Bara De Navidad for a week.   The marlin fishing was slower than previous years on this trip, but we caught plenty of fish. The fishing was slow on the trip from PV to Bara but we managed to land one striped marlin, and a couple dorado.  First day of fishing at Bara was great.  landed 7 tuna biggest 100 pounds, 2 dorado, 2 sailfish, and one striped marlin. Day two was slow, but we still landed 2 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, and 3 dorado.  Day 3 was great, with 17 dorado, one sailfish, and two tuna landed.  On the way back home we fished my favorite shore line, and landed 25 rooster fish.

 

 

[Fishlegs]

@king fisher A rooster fish is such a cool looking fish!

[FryDog62]

On 1/20/2024 at 6:10 PM, king fisher said:

I went to Bara De Navidad for a week.   The marlin fishing was slower than previous years on this trip, but we caught plenty of fish. The fishing was slow on the trip from PV to Bara but we managed to land one striped marlin, and a couple dorado.  First day of fishing at Bara was great.  landed 7 tuna biggest 100 pounds, 2 dorado, 2 sailfish, and one striped marlin. Day two was slow, but we still landed 2 sailfish, 2 striped marlin, and 3 dorado.  Day 3 was great, with 17 dorado, one sailfish, and two tuna landed.  On the way back home we fished my favorite shore line, and landed 25 rooster fish.

 

 

Very cool - I found a pic of your fishing guide 😜

[Team9nine]

I’m not going lie - nothing like big crappie to get me to set down the bass poles 😆 After a quick weight and pic (3 lb. bass), I looked down at my graph and saw a big fish sitting about 10 ft off the boat. Pitched a crappie jig to it and it bit - turned out to be a 1.94 lb. fish. Next mark I saw like that resulted in a 1.5 lb. fish…then a 2 lb. fish, and finally a 2.5 lb. fish. Missed one big one too, though not sure if it was a bass or a crappie. Happy, happy 😎

 

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

34 minutes ago, Team9nine said:

I’m not going lie - nothing like big crappie to get me to set down the bass poles 😆 After a quick weight and pic (3 lb. bass), I looked down at my graph and saw a big fish sitting about 10 ft off the boat. Pitched a crappie jig to it and it bit - turned out to be a 1.94 lb. fish. Next mark I saw like that resulted in a 1.5 lb. fish…then a 2 lb. fish, and finally a 2.5 lb. fish. Missed one big one too, though not sure if it was a bass or a crappie. Happy, happy 😎

 

 

 

 

Nice fish...

Get the Gaff !

A-Jay

[casts_by_fly]

17 hours ago, Team9nine said:

I’m not going lie - nothing like big crappie to get me to set down the bass poles 😆 After a quick weight and pic (3 lb. bass), I looked down at my graph and saw a big fish sitting about 10 ft off the boat. Pitched a crappie jig to it and it bit - turned out to be a 1.94 lb. fish. Next mark I saw like that resulted in a 1.5 lb. fish…then a 2 lb. fish, and finally a 2.5 lb. fish. Missed one big one too, though not sure if it was a bass or a crappie. Happy, happy 😎

 

 

 

 

 

very nice.  I'm not much of a crappie fisherman and all of my bigger ones have been while fishing for bass.  But I'm hoping to be posting a picture of two of crappie in the next week or so.  We're ice out and my ice out lake gets a run of them coming up into some docks.  I grab 10 a year (daily limit) of 10-12" fish that are perfect eaters. I'd love to get into a mess of 15" fish- I'd probably only bring 3-4 home at that rate.

[gim]

Those are some serious slabs @Team9nine.  Been chasing that unicorn for 7 years unsuccessfully.  I can catch endless 11 or 12 inchers but never anything much bigger.

[Jmurphy87]

Well at least I didn’t get skunked, wind 8lb braid and a little bit stiffer ultra light rod meant I had to ditch the 1/32 jig head and larva z for a strike king bitsy jerk bait in bluegill 1/16 and I caught this little guy.

[ATA]

8.5lb rainbow