OT: Annual MGoFishing Thread
MGoAnglers,
With warm weather finally gracing our presence, I've been fishing more and more often. Right now seems to be a good time for late season crappie and walleye fishing with the recent cold snaps ruining their spawning times. Right now is also a great time for catfish with the mild temperatures. With a decent sized cat landed last night, my fishing fever is burning red hot again.
So, a few questions for the board: What do you like to fish for? Favorite gear? Any recent trophy catches? Have any big fishing trips planned for the summer?
Again this year, my friend and I will be traveling to Branson, Missouri to fish for bass out of Table Rock Lake, one of the premier bass lakes in the United States. Last year we didn't so well with so many people on the lake for the 4th of July, but we learned our lesson and will be going a week earlier this time around. If you've never been, I highly recommend it as both a great fishing area and an awesome family getaway to the Ozark Mountains.
Please share your fishing stories, favorite spots (if you don't mind), and excuses to tell your spouse for that needed time away (I need more of these).
Happy fishing, and Go Blue!
We don't fish from the shore unless it's on the Skagit or Samish rivers, and that's pretty rare. Buddy has a 26' Hewes Alaskan that we are usually on. Don't know much about Seattle area, but up here, I know of people who fish for ling cod near the ferry terminal in Coupeville, and lots of people fish for kings and silvers on the west and north beaches on Whidbey Island. West beach near the Deception Pass bridge is pretty successful. It's where I went before I had a friend with a boat.
Typically hit the Missouri river near Pierre for some pretty decent walleye fishing, though it has been a lot slower since the river flooded several years back. Never really fished much growing up in the Detroit area, but living in South Dakota, you kind of have to...have absolutely enjoyed it.
Mostly pike and bass fishing guy myself, the battle they put up is half the fun. Dont find the smaller panfish quite as amusing. Even if nothings biting, theres no such thing as a bad day of fishing out on the lake as long as you have a iced down cooler full of beer.
Up and down the Huron river you'll be able to catch Bass, Pike and Walleye -- though I've only personally caught bass and pike on the River there's supposed to be Walleye in there. Plenty of parks along the river where you won't find a ton of people. You can also rent a kayak and float down different areas.
Fish the rip-rap and current seams near bridges in Gallup Park in low-light hours if you want walleyes. There are not massive quantities of them but they can be caught. Jig and minnow, or split shot and a crawler on a small hook. You'll catch smallmouth too
Probably a mixed bag right below the Argo dam spillway right now. Crappie, bass, walleye, a pike or two
There are more pike upstream - the Argo pond pool has many more than the Gallup pool. Focus on the weed edges once they are apparent. Spinnerbaits are a good choice, as are swim jigs and chatterbaits. Some monster largemouth and smallmouth too
Bass are everywhere. In the slack water areas of Gallup and Argo ponds, fish jigs, plastics, cranks, spinnerbaits along the weed edges, up in the slop and under trees.
In the flowing areas there are plentiful smallmouth. lots of good wading inside Ann Arbor city limits, and also up towards Dexter, and down by Ypsi.
If only there were some means to convey people and equipment quickly and efficiently across long distances and varied terrain to reach large bodies of water....c'mon man, take a weekend off and go fishing!
Tough, big, acrobatic, easily accessible.
I fish mainly big water and trolling tends to be the most effective. This is especially new when starting out as you cover more water and have more lines in play. A Lake St Clair setup is generally 6-8 lines out on planer boards pulling body baits at 4 mph anywhere from 5-12 feet deep. On the St Lawrence, planer boards are less used and lures are more stacked vertically as the water is deeper.
Where do you intend to try it?
I love to fish for anything as long as it is not bait and wait. I would say fly fishing for trout and tuna fishing are my absolute favorites.
Not any monsters recently, but caught my first ever crappie on a fly rod. Gonna try to catch my first ever carp on a fly rod this summer.
I'll be going on some tuna trips out of San Diego this summer. The goal is to head down to Cabo in Oct, but I haven't begun to even start planning any of that.
Really want to get into fly fishing. Just not sure I'll be able to make time for a new hobby.
It won't be a problem. You'll give up the other stuff.
Getting into fly fishing is not the problem. The problem is when you get into fly tying.
It might seem daunting at first, but there are great resources out there like the "Orvis Fly Fishing School." They have tons of great tutorial videos.
I do a lot carp on the fly. Great challenge.
What kind of outfit are you using?
Ideally I would use a 6WT, but I don't own one right now so I'm gonna give it a go with my 8WT. Will have to get a new reel too because my 8WT is used for surf fishing so I don't have floating line spooled on it.
Usually a 7wt, but I'll range 6 to 8 depending. For carp I like a rod that will load close in and lay in the fly with some touch, something troutier than salty. I don't necessarily always use a floating line, even poling for carp up skinny.
If so have you heard of the Denver carp slam tournament? Looks like a lot of fun. I haven't tried for carp, but it seems to be the new thing around here. Weird fly fishing in the middle of Denver though. Snagging hypodermic needles etc.
I'm in Boulder County. Heard of the carp slam but haven't fished it. We got all the carp and transients we need up here, so I don't go to Denver much to fish,
Glad to see I'm not the only one getting the itch for spring fishing....I woke up in a panic in the middle of the night Sunday having a nightmare someone was fishing my brook trout spots.
I havent done much fishing since the ice left on Saginaw Bay. Went out once on the Saginaw River before walleye season closed. Ice fishing was hit and miss. First ice was okay then mid winter sucked. Fishing for perch was getting really good right at the end and then those consecutive days of 60 degree temps and monsoon rain in February ruined the last ice fishing.
I went sucker spearing last night. It took a while to find the fish and when we did there werent many but it was a beautiful night to be out.
I did my first stream trout fishing last summer in the UP and now I'm hooked! With a little one coming in June, I am not sure if I will get back up there this year but I'm definitely looking forward to when I can.
Other summer fishing includes walleye fishing on the Bay and salmon fishing on Lake Michigan. Nothing better than watching a dipsy rod dancing with a King salmon on the end of it!
Summer plans include flyfishing up in northwest Montana, primarily the North Fork of the Flathead river but I'm sure I'll do some on the Middle and South forks as well.
Have a few days in Yellowstone planned after Labor day, and while it won't be the main reason to be there (hiking), I'll buy the Yellowstone license and definitely wet a line a few times.
I'm a fly guy in trout country, guide mainly for trout, and spend a lot of my own fishing time after warmwater species.
If I had to pick a favorite thing to fish, it could be a lot of things: saltwater flats in the tropics for bones, permit and tarpon, or stripers on the Maine coast, or pike in the Nebraska Sandhills in the spring or fall, or sight fishing to cruising cutts in the Colorado high country in August, or wiper busting shad on the surface at first or last light on a high plains reservoir, or lakers and grayling on the Niorth Slope of Alaska. The St Vrain and Big Thompson are the waters I've been fishing the longest continually, and the Fryingpan River is the place I've been going to annually for the longest.
For just Michigan stuff, the PM above Gleason's Landing is water I loved a lot and knew well back in the day. A stretch of the White near White Cloud, pretty small water with brookies, is a favorite place. I spent a lot of time on the Rogue when I lived in GR.
Later today, I'll go check on some carp in a pond in a city park a few blocks away. Right now my home water, such as it is, is a wide spot in an irrigation ditch in the barrio.
End of the month, headed to Canada with the boat for the annual spring northwoods pike/laker/walleye/smallmouth-fest.
I live in the Royal Oak area. Can anyone suggest some solid spots for an occasional angler?
Does anybody care to give me a referral for a good walleye charter out of northern Ohio/Sandusky area? What about Michigan/western Lake Erie/Lake St. Clair?
dry flies, but for little salmon. the kids don't care, its fun as long as they catch some.
alaska with oldest son next month, joining up again with my alaska buddies for a father son trip. last year was father daughters. likely to do some shrimping in the gulf of alaska, salmon and cod fishing out there too. more salmon/trout fshing inland after we get off the one buddy's boat.
That sounds like great fun.
Do you ever swing flies for salmon?
we use streamers and egg patterns for salmon when in alaska. so basically, flies are all we ever use for salmon, the difference is if we're above the water or not.
Would love to get up to Alaska some day to experience all the fishing/wildlife up there.
I've actually never wung a dry fly before. I'll have to look into that technique to see if I can utlizie it the rivers I fish.
early on. cast to about 10 steelhead total. turned a couple of heads, got one for a short ride, but not close to landing. the twins did catch a couple of salmon fry on the egg pattern though. weather was nice. river sounds, after not hearing them much for 6 months, were especially enoyable.
Sorry double post
Once you go fishing in Alaska, fishing in Michigan is,,, pretty mellow.
Catching a big halibut or 30lb king salmon in the ocean is pretty amazing. Sitting in the boat with the lines out while watching whales, eagles, sea lions, etc is better therapy than anyone could ever pay for.
I know the great lakes can be dangerous, but the dangers around here are for real. One screw up or really poor luck and you're in the newspaper for bad reasons.
If you prefer to fish the rivers, stay alert because there's a good chance there might be something just around the corner that's higher on the food chain than you. Our neighborhood just had a dog killed by a wolf this week (on a popular hiking trail)
I do miss saginaw bay and being able to jump out of the boat on a hot day and just swimming around...