How often do you target another species?

[SummertimeCarl]

If I'm on a lake, I'm targeting bass only.  

 

However, I'll often fish creeks (glorified "ditches") and fish a 2" grub for sunfish or creek chubs or whatever is hungry that day.  Love the colors of those little creek fish and like that they are easily tricked.  

[Scarborough817]

the only time i target anything else is before bass opens up here

[N Florida Mike]

Ive said this before but if I had to do one kind of fishing and give up the rest, I would keep bass fishing. That being said, I also do some inshore fishing for Redfish,flounder,sheepheads, trout, etc.And once in a while some offshore bottom fishing. Also love surf fishing. I live about 15 miles from the ocean so oppirtunities abound. I also do some catfishing and bream. Id say I bass fish 70% and the rest 30%.

[Bassfishin91]

I love targeting largemouth year round. But living in Miami when ever i feel like going for a quick aggressive bite and some fun or bring someone into the sport of fishing ill go peacock fishing. Once in a blue moon me and my friend will go saltwater fishing targeting snook. The beauty of living in south Florida is i have access to all kinds of fishing and down to fish with chill people.

[HookRz]

Up my way bass fishing usually is multi-species fishing by default, and vice-versa. I do a lot of spring shore casting for Walleye off the Lake Erie beaches, and always end up catching a few big Smallies and I've caught walleye, lake trout and steelhead fishing for SM out on the big lake. Inland I've caught 5 pound largemouth on tiny panfish jigs and the biggest crappie of my life flipping a 1/2 oz jig and craw in the pads. Not complaining. It's all good! 

[12poundbass]

As a kid I chased after the pan fish, got bored (not enough fight) , and we used to troll for walleye (snooze fest when you're younger than 12). Now it's all bass. I'd like to hook into a pike or it's big brother some day until then just bass for me.

[islandbass]

I'm a bass angler at heart and always will be. With that said, just like the Pokémon adage, "I want to catch'em all."

 

As a shorebound angler living in the pacific nw, I have to face the reality that there are times during the year I will not be able to catch bass because they are simply out of reach. 

 

I was initially a die hard bass or nothing angler but after a good number of fruitless and nonproductive fishing outings in the dead of winter from the shore, freezing to the bone and not even feeling a fish fart, no more. Other species here bigger and stronger than bass peak during the tough to catch bass time. Ever battle a chum salmon? Imagine a fight with a smallie but magnified 100 fold. 

 

And then there's saltwater fishing. Don't know for sure why some of these saltwater fish fight so well. 

 

My eyes opened up and I realized I was actually denying myself the pleasure and awesomeness of battling other species of fish. You get to feel and learn the subtle differences in how they fight, what they'll bite. 

 

That is the upside. The downside is your bait monkey might start rattling his cage and sending you subliminal messages and planting suggestions in your head to buy appropriate gear.   

 

[soflabasser]

53 minutes ago, islandbass said:

My eyes opened up and I realized I was actually denying myself the pleasure and awesomeness of battling other species of fish. You get to feel and learn the subtle differences in how they fight, what they'll bite. 

 

 

Well said @islandbass! Multi species fishing is far more fun than just sticking to 1 species of fish.  I love to bass fish but there is no denying other species of fish fight harder and can be more of a challenge to catch than bass. I like to travel for fishing and have been doing it more often since it gives me the opportunity to catch new species of fish that I have only seen in pictures before. Last year I caught my first muskie, this year I caught more muskies, my first couple smallmouth bass, white bass, freshwater drum, and other new species, I could not do that if I didn't venture out of my comfort zone and just stick to bass fishing in South Florida. I plan on traveling to South America, Asia, and other parts of the world to catch exotic fish, both freshwater and saltwater. Got to enjoy life before I am too old to enjoy it!

 

[NYWayfarer]

I take trips to target Trout and Lakers from time to time.  I mostly fish for Bass though. If the Bass aren't biting I might tie on some panfish lures and go for Sunfish.

 

Saltwater fishing is also fun when I get the chance. Bluefish, Fluke and Flounder are my usual targets.

[soflabasser]

5 hours ago, YoTone said:

Ive only been targeting areas that also include northern snake heads.

their top water strikes and fights are just so violent that i cant ignore.

 

I fish for snakeheads as well in South Florida , but a different species called the bullseye snakehead and they hit a topwater so hard that they make bass look like tame puppies. The big ones fight with surprising strength for a freshwater fish and I can compare the initial power of a +8 pound snakehead to a decent snook heading to the mangroves.How was the peacock bass fishing on your vacation? Did you go to the places I mentioned in the response I gave to you in your PM and did you catch some nice ones? Looking towards to your report!

[YoTone]

5 minutes ago, soflabasser said:

I fish for snakeheads as well in South Florida , but a different species called the bullseye snakehead and they hit a topwater so hard that they make bass look like tame puppies. The big ones fight with surprising strength for a freshwater fish and I can compare the initial power of a +8 pound snakehead to a decent snook heading to the mangroves.How was the peacock bass fishing on your vacation? Did you go to the places I mentioned in the response I gave to you in your PM and did you catch some nice ones? Looking towards to your report!

 Oh wow, i completely forgot to thank you for the info. It was rough! fishing clear waters like that was definitely new. I tried blue lagoon several times and only got a few followers. went on google maps and fished some sketchy canals in the city but no takers.  one of my last ditch efforts was to try tropical park and i was lucky enough to catch a peacock bass on a rappala skitter pop. I think a clear leader definitely helped. like i said, i totally forgot to thank you so my apologies.

    

[soflabasser]

You are welcome @YoTone , glad I was able to help you in your quest to catch your first peacock bass. Yes the waters down here are very clear for the most part and the bass tend to be much more difficult to catch than up north. On my most recent vacation up north I noticed that smallmouth are much easier to catch than peacock bass down here, but both species are very similar in what lures they bite. Did you try jerkbaits for peacock bass when you fished the areas that I mentioned ? Peacocks bass love jerk baits and there are plenty of days you can catch more peacock bass on jerk baits than most lures. Topwaters are a excellent choice as well as crank baits and prop baits such as the Heddon torpedo. As for line choice I tend to use 8-12 pound big game monofilament for peacock bass and haven't seem much of a difference in bites compared to fluorocarbon, even in bodies of water with +15 feet water visibility which we have several of.

[Lures'n'Liberty]

I love flathead fishing and work too much to really get my bass on as much as I'd like. I'll chase bass when I can, but most of my fishing time is on the rivershore at night with a little time in beforehand going after panfish for bait. Just got a new garage fridge, hoping to fill it with panfish and a few other species for cutbait this weekend by keeping another line out when bassin' from the kayak.

 

[BuzzHudson19c]

13 hours ago, YoTone said:

Ive only been targeting areas that also include northern snake heads.

their top water strikes and fights are just so violent that i cant ignore.

 

I've been trying to convince a buddy of mine to go with me to Va and fish the Potomac for snakeheads. They look like fun.

[TOXIC]

11 hours ago, BuzzHudson19c said:

I've been trying to convince a buddy of mine to go with me to Va and fish the Potomac for snakeheads. They look like fun.

They are.....and can be BIG!!  14lbs on 8lb test!!

[gim]

I used to do a sizable amount of walleye fishing when I was younger.  Mostly because they are excellent in the fry pan.  Over the course of the past decade or so, I've mostly targeted bass.  I do a couple panfish trips in the early spring before game fish seasons open, and I musky fish about 5-8 times a year too but 75% of the time now its specifically targeting bass whether that be largies or smallies.  I'd like to target muskies more but its very physically demanding not to mention they're extremely difficult to catch.  I'm lucky enough to live in the land of 10,000 lakes and have access to a lot of fisheries that have healthy populations of game fish.

[tholmes]

I'm primarily a bass fisherman, but I'll target whatever is biting. I love catfishing on warm summer nights, spring crappie fishing and catching bluegills with my great-grandson. The small (50 acre) community lake that I fish the most is stocked with wipers, and they're a blast! A double digit wiper is a pretty good fight on light spinning tackle!

 

Tom

[Looch]

all the time, especially if you consider stripers and wipers other species(they are). I'm pretty much usually targeting hybrid stripers and smallmouth are a by-catch. Sure that's a bass lure but I knew the pike were there, super shallow water where pike and musky were attacking baitfish. That was the biggest topwater plug I had with me.

 

[Ratherbfishing]

About anytime the bass bite is really slow.  And sometimes I target the other species specifically.  But not too often.  About 4 or 5 times a year.

[Bankbeater]

In the winter I will fish for crappie and bluegill if the water is not frozen over. 

[YoTone]

On 9/22/2017 at 9:20 AM, TOXIC said:

They are.....and can be BIG!!  14lbs on 8lb test!!

 

Oh my lord thats huge. 

are double digit snake heads common over there?

[Turkey sandwich]

I'd say that at least 50% of my fishing is smallmouth with largemouth and trout making up most of what's left.  I don't get as many opportunities as I'd like with the fly rod, but I've really begun to love it.  I have been out in the past year for flounder, amberjack, and barracuda, and have caught a ton of other species along the way.  This winter, I'm hoping to get a tarpon in Mexico and by this time next year a variety of salmon, dolly Varden, and grayling in Alaska.  

[TOXIC]

8 hours ago, YoTone said:

Oh my lord thats huge. 

are double digit snake heads common over there?

The record for the Potomac is 18lbs and change but any double digit is considered a very good fish.  There are Guides specializing in Snakehead trips, tournaments for them as well.  The bowfishermen have pretty much kept them in check but they are still plentiful.  They have spread to a lot of waters around here.  Some have been illegally introduced (Lake Brittle, Lake Anna) and in some cases people have been prosecuted.  

[Lucky Craft Man]

Interesting question.  I looked through my trip log records so far for this year and here is the break down per species I target:

 

38.8% - Musky

22.2% - Smallmouth

22.2% - Trout

11.1% - Bluegills with the Kids

5.7% - Walleye

0.0% - Largemouth

 

Steelhead season is coming up, so these percentages will change, but that is where I am now.

 

 

[Steveo-1969]

About March through October I am specifically targeting smallmouth every time I fish. Then November through February I'm specifically targeting walleyes. There is definitely overlap between the two species and of course other species are caught as well.