Fishing With Face

Quote: odiousgambit

the gar: those things can get big down south

The one I caught up here was over 3'. That was big to me lol. It's not the 10', 300lbs that those alligator gar can get to, but it was still pretty big.

And that has me worried. Pretty sure the pet gar are the southern strain, and I don't doubt it could live 15 years, easy. I think the wild ones push 50. As much as I feed my fish, I'm gonna be building my super aquarium sooner than expected =p

Quote: OG

your tanks: when you get an octopus I'll come see all this stuff

Oh, hell no. First, I already have enough problems keeping the stupid crayfish in the tank. I still haven't figured out how they get out. I don't need an octo squishing along my kitchen floor. Second, there ain't no way I'm ever going salt. Fresh is quite enough work as it is, thank you much ;)

Quote: Face

The one I caught up here was over 3'. That was big to me lol. It's not the 10', 300lbs that those alligator gar can get to, but it was still pretty big.

Don't know that I've ever heard of someone being eaten by a large freshwater fish, but not sure it couldn't happen under the right circumstances.

Maybe it already has. Sometimes people just disappear.

Quote: rxwine

Don't know that I've ever heard of someone being eaten by a large freshwater fish, but not sure it couldn't happen under the right circumstances.

Maybe it already has. Sometimes people just disappear.

The near extinction of alligator gar was precisely because of this reason. Due to their huge size and formidable oral weaponry, several attacks, deaths, and disappearances were attributed to it. In reality, it's probably a humongous stretch to say one actually did kill a human. Gar, like most predatory fish, don't take bites. Biting is for holding. Eating is done by swallowing whole. At 13', 300lbs, they're certainly big. But not big enough to swallow a person. Likely people were attacked by actual alligators and it was just attributed to the gar.



Since most fish eat in this manner, it's highly unlikely a freshwater fish ever ate a human. Most of the goliaths of freshwater aren't predatory. I think the biggest is the sturgeon, which bottom feeds for crustaceans. After that might be a catfish, and they don't have teeth. I could see someone being killed by one as many have impressive teeth that are long enough to nick an artery during struggle, but consumption? I'd be shocked.

Quote: Face

Oh, hell no. First, I already have enough problems keeping the stupid crayfish in the tank. I still haven't figured out how they get out.

In the dark, in the stillness of the night, Fleastiff silently slouches towards the waiting crayfish tank and effects his minor mischief to bedevil the fisherman. Next trip: coconut crab.

So my boat's not busted, I'm just an idiot. I never checked the simple stuff, and last time I hopped out I must've tripped on the kill switch lanyard and pulled it out. Popped it back in and it fired right up =p

With the boat in action I decided to take the whole team out - Me, Ash, Jax, and Jonny L. With 4 in the boat, that meant hitting the windmills and using live bait, kind of a first for the boy. We arrived to warmth with a bit of wind, but as it was (oddly) coming out of the east, there was no time for it to make the lake rough. We motored out on 1.5 cylinders for about 40min before we reached the shoal, dropped anchor, and set up.

I had the camera running. I've been messing with it with thoughts of doing a simple, silly fishing show. I haven't worked with it enough to know where to place people and how to display the fishing and catches, but it caught something this day.

It started out like most. Gobies stealing our craws, hang ups in the mussel beds, and every now and then a smallie. I caught a few of perfectly ordinary size. Jax's first hit was pretty big indeed. Not a tourney winner, but one that definitely would've went in the well had we been in competition. After a few hours I would label the day as slow to mediocre. We caught some fish, and a few were good sized. But it never turned into the frenzy I'm used to at the shoal.

The kid was doing well, jig fishing without complaint. The few times he got bored, he'd just play with the craws, learning how to pick them up and overcoming his fears of them. By the end of the day, he was retrieving them every time one of us needed one. Between that and his complete focus on fishing, sometimes for 90min+ at a time, I was happy.

He still thinks everything is a hit. Weeds, wind, waves, the action of the lure / bait, every 40 seconds he's exclaiming "fish!" and reeling it in. Whatever, we let him have his fun. I was chilling on the stern when he said it again, and his pole was bent to the water. I looked at it for a second before telling him he was just snagged in the mussel bed. He fought it anyway, and I almost thought he was gaining line on it. But nah, he's just reeling in the wave slack. So I asked him for the rod, put pressure on it... and nothing. No twitches or jerks, just a heavy, strong pull, like you feel when you're hooked on the bottom and a wave lifts you up. I lift it higher to get rid of the wave slack, and it pulls up. Then it just pulls. Shitfire, kid's got a fish on, and a tank at that. I give him back the pole.

I just watched, enjoying the spectacle. Before long I realize the thing has been peeling line damn near steadily, and glance to see he's almost at the end of the spool. I get the pole back from him, adjust the drag to "big fish" levels, and get a bit of line back on the spool. The kid takes over again.

It was fun watching him. Trying to figure out how to hold it to get leverage while still having control. Moving around the boat to get stable and use his legs. He's fighting and fighting... and fighting... and eventually calls for a break. I wasn't surprised. Half of the fish we catch out that way are exceptional, and even I pause to hold with two hands just to let the burn in my forearms subside. I pull it in about three turns when he's ready to have it back. The kid takes over yet again.

Jon thought maybe it was a walleye. I said I knew it was a sheep. The moment he caught it, we were talking about sturgeon. Maybe it was one of those? But I said sheep, and before long I saw a tea and silver colored slab turn in the depths which confirmed it. It dove, he pulled, and I saw it for sure. Man, it was a big one. It dove under the boat, he pulled, and it rolled out from under. Holy eff all and then some, it was a monster! My mouth fell open and I got visibly excited.

Jax had already called for the net, I was ready, and as soon as Jax saw it he swept it right over to me. Bing, bang, boom, right in the net. And at that moment, an entirely new record was set. He caught it all himself. I wasn't setting rods and trolling, or hooking and handing off. He was working his own bait on the bottom and hooked up himself. It was, by a pretty good margin, the biggest fish he had ever caught, period. It was the biggest fish caught that day. And if that don't beat all, it was without question the biggest fish that has ever been landed in my boat. And it's not even close. He landed a legit monster, and I got it all on film.

The angles aren't perfect, and I didn't display the fish well, and I need to wind proof the camera for sound, and it might get pulled for copyright due to the music blaring. But you can see the moment I lift it, that was one hell of a fish. Damn kid's got the overall record. And I have no idea how any of us are going to break it.

(pause at 4:44 for the best view)


Or I could just do the heavy lifting for you. Proud dad =)

Really cool! A sheep = a sheepshead?

Now you need that monster fish tank.

Quote: odiousgambit

Really cool! A sheep = a sheepshead?

Indeed. Freshwater drum, for disambiguation. The ones earlier in thread we caught trolling had been the biggest I had ever seen. This one made them seem average.

The NYS record is just 24lbs and change. I had thought it was 36. Now I wish I had strung it up. It wasn't a record, but I bet it was pushing 20.

Quote: rxwine

Now you need that monster fish tank.

Ha! I don't think they make homes that could support the weight of the tank I would need to house that thing. You're talking a Bass Pro sized tank. I doubt a 6' x 4' x 4' would cut it. Plus it wouldn't even fit in my live well to get it home =)

Quote: Face

So my boat's not busted, I'm just an idiot. I never checked the simple stuff,

Quote:

We motored out on 1.5 cylinders for about 40min

How many cylinders is it supposed to have? Is this the motor you were lapping valves on the other day? Got a kicker, how far to paddle or swim? I got hit by a ship once and it changed my entire view on being a mariner. I like redundant everything now.

Oh, and good on your son for nailing it.

Ash does not look nearly as thrilled as you do, lol

I like your gunwale.

Quote: petroglyph

How many cylinders is it supposed to have? Is this the motor you were lapping valves on the other day? Got a kicker, how far to paddle or swim? I got hit by a ship once and it changed my entire view on being a mariner. I like redundant everything now.

I don't work on outboards, or at least I haven't yet. Nothing seems to be where it's supposed to be, and only the starter looks familiar. I view it as alien technology. I'm not really sure what's wrong with it, it sort of all of the sudden acted like it was getting starved for fuel. It ran fine mid rpm, but high it coughs and sputters. Did the normal stuff of checking lines for cracks and filter for clogs, but all looked 5-by. On this trip it's 30-40 min of straight full throttle, and about 20 minutes in it started running fine again. So I dunno. It runs and that's all I need, even if I have to chug it out there like a John Deere. It's just a two pot, 50hp.

My "kicker" is a small Minn Kota electric. 45lb thrust, I think. It's basically just big enough for trolling, probably a little undersized for the vessel. In most cases I think it could be the savior, as I fish maybe 2-3 miles away from the dock, and almost always troll back towards it, with the wind. On this day, I was 5 miles+ away, with 15kt wind in my face. It would've been a tow situation for sure. My one breakdown happened at the shoal, and we needed a tow that day, too.

Paddling would be impossible for all but the shortest of hikes. Swimming, assuming with a vest on, would probably take upwards of 2 hours from the shoal with definite hypothermia. My usual spot I might be able to swim sans PFD. I could hit shore in 15min.

Quote: petro

I like your gunwale.

It's not bad. It's nice and wide, so it's comfy to sit on. That's my typical seat, as it's the only place I can reach the motor when trolling. And the height keeps my kid inside. It's also strong enough to mount the rods to, and even when I dove on one to snatch a pole going overboard, the rod holder didn't pull out. When I load my batteries, I swing them up and onto it because they're so heavy. Them slamming down on it the hundred times I've done it hasn't damaged them in the least. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the entire vessel, and have had tons of adventures on it. But at 17', it is very small for Erie. It just gets so nasty so quick, and when it does, all I can do is idle through the troughs and hope I don't lose another half a cylinder =)