Angling (and fish joke) thread

[Kennyb41]

This will get you some looks for sure

Hadn't seen this, you beat me to it

[BlancdeBlanc]

There used to be a fishing programme on Radio 5 at silly o clock called Dirty Tackle, I know nothing of fishing but it was a great programme, incredibly zen.

[Jaydog]

Thanks Jaydog, I’ve updated my post using the same strategy and that appears to have worked out. Regarding the kids, I’ve actually been working with the daughter casting 3wt and 4wt rods and she is coming along nicely. Accuracy and consistency are still off at times, but that will come. She can get it right around half the time…10 and 2 (which often gets simplified to 10 and 1 to avoid overcompensating on the back cast).

She also thinks wearing waders and standing/walking around in the water is the greatest thing…and who doesn’t love a happy kid

England is on the bucket list for sure. What are your most common rods that you use? I’m mainly a dry fly fisherman for trout and so have grown partial to my fiberglass 4wt. We have lots of big waters in the Rockies and can get up to using 6wt rods at times. I imagine 4wt rods are ideal. And more nymphing (so longer rods), I presume?

Also, look up “drewloooknfishy” on YouTube. That goes for everyone here with a fishing itch. You’re welcome

Yeah wading is fun. Especially in the sea chasing bass.
It’s not an easy skill to learn in fairness. She’ll be outcasting you in a few years
All of my local fly fishing is Stillwater. From small 1 acre places to Grafham Water (1500 acres) so I use from 9’ 6wt up to 10’ 8wt (for boat fishing).
The 8wt is good for saltwater too.
Would like to river fish and if I did I imagine i’d use a much lighter set up but there’s nothing that close to me. You are lucky where you live on that score.

I’ll check it outI’m always watching youtube fishing stuff. Forget his name but a bloke that chases massive sea bass in Portugal. Catches them in massive surf with lures. Absolute lunatic and very dangerous.

[JoeDenver]

Yeah wading is fun. Especially in the sea chasing bass.
It’s not an easy skill to learn in fairness. She’ll be outcasting you in a few years
All of my local fly fishing is Stillwater. From small 1 acre places to Grafham Water (1500 acres) so I use from 9’ 6wt up to 10’ 8wt (for boat fishing).
The 8wt is good for saltwater too.
Would like to river fish and if I did I imagine i’d use a much lighter set up but there’s nothing that close to me. You are lucky where you live on that score.

I’ll check it outI’m always watching youtube fishing stuff. Forget his name but a bloke that chases massive sea bass in Portugal. Catches them in massive surf with lures. Absolute lunatic and very dangerous.

I used to live on the east coast (US - Virginia) and would regularly use the 7wt for smallmouth bass and the 8wt for largemouth. Still use the 8wt for the occasional opportunity to go Snook fishing. I miss those days, but the Rockies are sublime for trout fishing. Am looking into a smallmouth float trip this summer in Minnesota or Wisconsin just to dust the cobwebs off of those rods. Might even bring my 9wt and 10wt for a chance at a large Pike or Musky

Look up tarpon fishing in Florida’s Everglades and Keys. I’ve caught 10-15 pounders. But those fish can exceed 160 lbs! And all on the fly!

[Carrick Dave]

Had to look Dollaghan up.
Had a great time fishing for wild brownies in North Uist this summer. Would love to go back and fish the sea pools for sea trout and also if you catch the tide right as it enters some sea lochs the pollack on the fly is great sport. Plus good eating.

Small Dollaghan, they grow to 20lb plus. Beautiful fish.

[Carrick Dave]

IMG_0296.jpeg

Nice little Black Hills Brook Trout!

Love that Paul.

[Carrick Dave]

IMG_0342.jpeg
Daughter’s first brookie…caught at Rocky Mountain National Park

IMG_0344.jpeg
Decent bow 4 weeks ago on the South Platte (17-18” and 5” or so wide)

IMG_0343.jpeg
14” brown on a 3wt in super skinny water

Great pics Joe - I’m trying to teach my daughter to cast too in her twenties, and I can’t help thinking I might have been better trying to get her into it a lot earlier.

[Jaydog]

20231023_153748.jpeg

Small Dollaghan, they grow to 20lb plus. Beautiful fish.

Beautiful fish, Dave. Do you keep any to eat and if so how are they? I never keep any reservoir stock fish as to me they all taste of mud, even the overwintered ones.

This is a small brown from Uist. Feisty fighters. All returned.

[Carrick Dave]

Beautiful fish, Dave. Do you keep any to eat and if so how are they? I never keep any reservoir stock fish as to me they all taste of mud, even the overwintered ones.

This is a small brown from Uist. Feisty fighters. All returned.IMG_7993.jpeg

I keep the odd stockie if they’ve been in for a while as my wife and daughter like them, but mostly it’s catch & release.

I don’t take any wild fish, though they’re good to eat (though dodgy this year anyway as there was a severe bloom of blue-green algae in the lough).

[John in Louisiana]

A guy had planned a trip to his favorite fishing spot on the flats of Florida.

He packed and began the trip to the water.

He launched his boat, motored to his favorite spot, and began fishing.

In no time, he caught the biggest trout he’d ever caught.

He cast out again and was delighted to catch an even larger trout.

Every cast, he caught a trophy fish.

Then his mobile phone rang; it was the hospital telling him his wife had been admitted to the emergency room.

She may die, they told him.

The fisherman is worried, but he wants to catch the world record trout, so he decides to have just a few more casts.

He pulls in three more really huge trout, but his conscience begins to get the better of him, so he reluctantly pulls anchor and motors back to his car to go to the hospital.

Running into the emergency room, he meets up with a stern-looking doctor.

The doctor sees the man dressed for fishing and scolds the husband: “Your wife has been at death’s door for hours now. You kept fishing after you were called, didn’t you? You ought to be ashamed!”

The fisherman sobbed it was true.

“Well,” said the doc, “I hope you had a good time; your wife will survive, but your fishing days are over…

She will require constant care from now on… 24 hours per day. You will have to do everything for her.”

The fisherman sobbed, “Oh God, I didn’t think it was that bad, I feel terrible!!!!”

The doc grinned and nudged the fisherman with his elbow…

”Just kidding, buddy… she’s dead. How many did you catch?”

[hector]

A guy had planned a trip to his favorite fishing spot on the flats of Florida.

He packed and began the trip to the water.

He launched his boat, motored to his favorite spot, and began fishing.

In no time, he caught the biggest trout he’d ever caught.

He cast out again and was delighted to catch an even larger trout.

Every cast, he caught a trophy fish.

Then his mobile phone rang; it was the hospital telling him his wife had been admitted to the emergency room.

She may die, they told him.

The fisherman is worried, but he wants to catch the world record trout, so he decides to have just a few more casts.

He pulls in three more really huge trout, but his conscience begins to get the better of him, so he reluctantly pulls anchor and motors back to his car to go to the hospital.

Running into the emergency room, he meets up with a stern-looking doctor.

The doctor sees the man dressed for fishing and scolds the husband: “Your wife has been at death’s door for hours now. You kept fishing after you were called, didn’t you? You ought to be ashamed!”

The fisherman sobbed it was true.

“Well,” said the doc, “I hope you had a good time; your wife will survive, but your fishing days are over…

She will require constant care from now on… 24 hours per day. You will have to do everything for her.”

The fisherman sobbed, “Oh God, I didn’t think it was that bad, I feel terrible!!!!”

The doc grinned and nudged the fisherman with his elbow…

”Just kidding, buddy… she’s dead. How many did you catch?”

You are not going to heaven....... You know that don't you ???

[JoeDenver]

A guy had planned a trip to his favorite fishing spot on the flats of Florida.

He packed and began the trip to the water.

He launched his boat, motored to his favorite spot, and began fishing.

In no time, he caught the biggest trout he’d ever caught.

He cast out again and was delighted to catch an even larger trout.

Every cast, he caught a trophy fish.

Then his mobile phone rang; it was the hospital telling him his wife had been admitted to the emergency room.

She may die, they told him.

The fisherman is worried, but he wants to catch the world record trout, so he decides to have just a few more casts.

He pulls in three more really huge trout, but his conscience begins to get the better of him, so he reluctantly pulls anchor and motors back to his car to go to the hospital.

Running into the emergency room, he meets up with a stern-looking doctor.

The doctor sees the man dressed for fishing and scolds the husband: “Your wife has been at death’s door for hours now. You kept fishing after you were called, didn’t you? You ought to be ashamed!”

The fisherman sobbed it was true.

“Well,” said the doc, “I hope you had a good time; your wife will survive, but your fishing days are over…

She will require constant care from now on… 24 hours per day. You will have to do everything for her.”

The fisherman sobbed, “Oh God, I didn’t think it was that bad, I feel terrible!!!!”

The doc grinned and nudged the fisherman with his elbow…

”Just kidding, buddy… she’s dead. How many did you catch?”

Oh John, that’s so bad!!! lol!

[Jaydog]

I used to live on the east coast (US - Virginia) and would regularly use the 7wt for smallmouth bass and the 8wt for largemouth. Still use the 8wt for the occasional opportunity to go Snook fishing. I miss those days, but the Rockies are sublime for trout fishing. Am looking into a smallmouth float trip this summer in Minnesota or Wisconsin just to dust the cobwebs off of those rods. Might even bring my 9wt and 10wt for a chance at a large Pike or Musky

Look up tarpon fishing in Florida’s Everglades and Keys. I’ve caught 10-15 pounders. But those fish can exceed 160 lbs! And all on the fly!

Yeah seen some Tarpon fishing vids. Size of a small boat some of them.
Aren’t Bonefish the best pound for pound fighters on fly. You need shitloads of backing by all accounts.

Snook, Musky. I’m learning new fish

[JoeDenver]

Great pics Joe - I’m trying to teach my daughter to cast too in her twenties, and I can’t help thinking I might have been better trying to get her into it a lot earlier.

Hey Dave, when teaching newbies, I’ve always believed the old 10 and 2 was giving them too much room, particularly on the backcast. I recall reading somewhere, maybe a quote from Lefty Kreh, about how that method results in overcompensation at the backcast. So I forced myself into an 11 and 1 mindset and immediately got improved results. I then got the “feeling” of the cast, particularly the tug of the backcast and then worked on the other components of timing and using your non-casting hand. My daughter is now graduating to 10 to 1, but I’m keeping her mental image at 1 as she will still go too far at times on her backcast. Keeping the rod tracking in the same plane is another key component.

I’m confident you can get your daughter’s casting sorted out. It just takes time. But I agree, I’d rather be working with my daughter now than when she’s a stubborn teenager

[JoeDenver]

Yeah seen some Tarpon fishing vids. Size of a small boat some of them.
Aren’t Bonefish the best pound for pound fighters on fly. You need shitloads of backing by all accounts.

Snook, Musky. I’m learning new fish

Snook are like a saltwater version of largemouth bass, but can get up to 30-35 lbs. they are also really spooky fish. They hide way back in the mangroves and are incredibly powerful fighters.

Musky are the annoying cousins of Northern Pike that are generally bigger, but are infinitely more selective. Known as the fish of 1,000 casts. The people that specifically target them have a screw loose…. I’d prefer to simply have an opportunity of catching them while targeting Northerns which are much, much more eager to take a fly (accordingly, I’ve never caught one). There is also the Tiger Musky possibility, the sterile offspring of Northerns and Musky, and are accordingly sized in between.

And Bones are pretty sweet fighters. You can definitely stop their runs, but part of the fun is hearing the drag go while they run. It often depends on the fish. Toughest fish to land for me have always been Snook as they’ll run back into the mangroves and cut your line on oyster beds. Or they’ll simply muster a huge push and snap your line (40lb fluorcarbon) while trying to get out to open water. Had both happen. For me, that’s part of the appeal in targeting them…

[BlackHillsPaul]

Hey Dave, when teaching newbies, I’ve always believed the old 10 and 2 was giving them too much room, particularly on the backcast. I recall reading somewhere, maybe a quote from Lefty Kreh, about how that method results in overcompensation at the backcast. So I forced myself into an 11 and 1 mindset and immediately got improved results. I then got the “feeling” of the cast, particularly the tug of the backcast and then worked on the other components of timing and using your non-casting hand. My daughter is now graduating to 10 to 1, but I’m keeping her mental image at 1 as she will still go too far at times on her backcast. Keeping the rod tracking in the same plane is another key component.

I’m confident you can get your daughter’s casting sorted out. It just takes time. But I agree, I’d rather be working with my daughter now than when she’s a stubborn teenager

You are WAY past my level Joe. I'm a purely instinctive fly caster. Self taught. I just picked up a fly rod and started practicing in the back yard. At some point I started to get the line to do what I wanted it to do. I'm sure a purest would hate my form as I will actually drop down and cast sidearm often. Which serves me well in tight brushy streams. Lefty Creh would be rolling over...

[Jaydog]

Lefty Creh. American fishing star?
Left handed I presume.

[JoeDenver]

You are WAY past my level Joe. I'm a purely instinctive fly caster. Self taught. I just picked up a fly rod and started practicing in the back yard. At some point I started to get the line to do what I wanted it to do. I'm sure a purest would hate my form as I will actually drop down and cast sidearm often. Which serves me well in tight brushy streams. Lefty Creh would be rolling over...

Actually saw Lefty Kreh do a demonstration once…a couple years before he passed. He actually preferred a more sidearm style, believe it or not. His contention was that as long as the rod remained within the same “plane”, the line will shoot straight. He went on to demonstrate upright, sidearm, and a side angled casting motion (his most preferred). Took two seemingly double hauls for all three “styles” and each one landed in nearly the exact same spot 100 ft out. It was amazing…. He had to have been 90 at the time (and wasn’t that big or imposing of a man).

Forgot to add that the bow and arrow cast, which I’m sure you might have to employ every now and then, is a fantastic cast in the arsenal and is highly underrated!

[JoeDenver]

Lefty Creh. American fishing star?
Left handed I presume.

Yeah, he’s a legend. Kreh, but that’s semantics. Really pioneered the sport here in the US…particularly with saltwater, but his mark is in all applications. Here’s his wiki profile:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lefty_Kreh

Hell, the New York Times even did an obituary for him:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obit ... at-93.html

[BlackHillsPaul]

Actually saw Lefty Kreh do a demonstration once…a couple years before he passed. He actually preferred a more sidearm style, believe it or not. His contention was that as long as the rod remained within the same “plane”, the line will shoot straight. He went on to demonstrate upright, sidearm, and a side angled casting motion (his most preferred). Took two seemingly double hauls for all three “styles” and each one landed in nearly the exact same spot 100 ft out. It was amazing…. He had to have been 90 at the time (and wasn’t that big or imposing of a man).

Well that makes me feel better. If Lefty could toss it around sidearm maybe I'm doing something right.