BIGGEST FISH I EVER CAUGHT

We all packed our bags and went camping for the weekend. It was an icy wintery time of year during the month of January in 1989. I had just turned 18 in the recent month of December. It was me, my dad, my brother Ron, and our friends Nate, Johnny, and Carl. Carl's dad, Dave, went with us. My dad's brother, Uncle Lee, had a pontoon boat that we always used whenever we went camping. We gathered up everything we needed and headed of to the docks where the pontoon was setting awaiting our arrival. We had 2 coolers. One was full of drinks and the other was full of sandwich foods like boloney,ham,cheese,mustard,mayonnaise and other foods that were easy to make. Also, there were plenty of junk food like potato chips, a couple of boxes of snack cakes, and cheese dips.   We had to stop on the way to get a few last minute items. We were all particularly fond of night fishing using lanterns so we had to get some Coleman fuel and also some kerosene because at that time, we used a little kerosene heater to supplement our heating supply. Dad also had to stop at the grocery store again for some liver because he liked to hook those big catfish using live as bait.

ACQUISITION OF THE PONTOON
           We made it to the docks and untied the boat at about 5 in the evening. Uncle Lee's boat didn't have much of what you may call high technology. Actually, he had won it playing a game of poker from a guy who swore up and down it was a new pontoon boat because my uncle had just won 10,000 dollars from the lotto. He raised the bet to two thousand dollars. The man didn't have the money to call it but he offered to put up his brand new pontoon boat and that was to good for my uncle to pass on so he allowed him to put up his boat for collateral. They played their hand and my uncle won with a royal straight flush over his full house with aces high. He handed the title to the pontoon over to my uncle. I remember the next day I went with him to collect his brand new pontoon boat.  To our surprise, the brand new pontoon boat turned out to be a fixer-upper at best. It had holes in the hull and the wiring was shot. The worst thing about it was it had a big empty space where the motor was supposed to be. However, it did have a trolling motor laying in the cab but the propeller was broken off from it. To make a long story short, Uncle Lee spent the remainder of his lotto winnings trying to get the pontoon in working condition. Unfortunately for me, it required a lot of do it yourself work for me and my friends and cousins. Uncle Lee paid to have a used Johnson outboard installed and had the vocational school fix that and the wiring charging him for the parts only. Me my dad, and my friends worked on the hull for a month using rough cut lumber and do it yourself methods we had learned from books to fix it up to the point of looking like a new pontoon boat. After it was all fixed up and ready to go, Uncle Lee had several offers for it that far exceeded what he had in it. Finally somebody made an offer he couldn't refuse. We all agreed that he should sell it for that offer but that we wanted to take it out for this weekend. He said ok and that he would give us a part of the money for helping him fix it up.

FIRST FISH OF THE TRIP
          Off toward the sunset we sped to find the cove that looked most favorable. I had 2 poles that I would be tending to. I started off with some basic night crawlers hooked in and floaters about 6 feet from the hooks. Dad was on the other side of the boat with 2 poles of his own. One had 2 sinkers and a three pronged treble hook covered with livers. Dad had some spray on stuff that stunk to high heaven. It was his own concoction that he had come up with from years of fishing and trying different methods. He would tell nobody the recipe. Why, I don't really know. Maybe he was embarrassed  to tell what he had to do to come up with that fowl substance or he didn't want the secret to get out. He had been trying to sell it to bait shops and anglers all over America. He had a top water plug on the other pole and was casting and reeling in at will trying to hook something before we ran out of daylight.  Dave had been driving the boat. He went and threw the anchors in. By this time, he was reading one of his favorite fishing magazines.
         My brother, Ron, had just one pole and he was casting it out with a spinner bait. After a few cast, he decided to help the rest of the boys get their poles baited and cast. Nate, Johnny, and Carl each had 2 poles to tend to. Ron helped them get night crawlers hooked and cast. The sun was dropping fast. Nate started to get the lanterns filled with Coleman fuel. I still hadn't even got a nibble on either one of my poles yet. Johnny caught the first fish on this trip when he reeled in a crappie weighing 1.6 pounds not even ten minutes after he made his first cast. Ron caught another crappie weighing almost a pound. Carl grabbed a five gallon bucket and filled up the fish well so that Ron and Johnny could put their fish in it and cast their lines again.
           Darkness was coming fast so I decided to reel in my lines and get those floaters off. I got the first one reeled in and the night crawler had been sucked right off the hook with fragments of it still there. I took the floater off, put a couple of sinkers on it, baited it again with a night crawler, and this time I let it sink into the water right beside the hull of the pontoon. I rigged it with the old aluminum can trick because it was almost dark. If I got a bite, it would knock the can over which would alert me by the sound. While I was reeling the other line in, a three pound large mouth bass slammed down on my hook and broke out of the water flopping like crazy. The fight was on! Fearing that the line might break, I reached to the back of my reel and loosened the drag.  I thought it would have been a lot bigger than that from the way it felt. A large mouth usually don't fight as much as a small mouth. I let him run till he slowed down and then reeled him in a bit. My pole was doubling so I let him run some more. When he slowed down again, I reeled him in some more. Finally, after 20 minutes of fighting, he gave up and I slowly reeled him in and Dave grabbed him up with the net. He was a beauty weighing 3.2 pounds.

EATING FRESH FISH FILLETS
       We were off to a great start to our weekend. So far, we had a large mouth bass and 2 crappie of pretty good size. By this time, it was dark and we had the lanterns tied along the side of the pontoon's hull about 6 inches above the surface of the water. We all had our poles rigged with the aluminum can trick and the water was still. We decided to go ahead and eat the fish we had so far. We had stocked the pontoon with corn meal, flower, some eggs, and cooking grease along with other cooking supplies. During the restoration of the boat, we had to add a full propane tank to the cooking stove that was already there. Using five gallon buckets, Johnny and Nate cleaned the fish saving all the spare parts in one bucket. We had a few gallons of clean drinking water. They used some of that to make sure our fillets were clean enough to eat and then put into a big bowl for Dave and Carl to do the actual cooking. After they washed their hands thoroughly, Carl would apply the breading using eggs and corn meal. Dave would apply some cooking oil to the grill and then lay the fillets down on the grill covering it neatly with beautifully breaded fish fillets. He applied seasoning making the smell incredibly wonderful. During that time, me, Ron, and daddy were tending to the poles. Dad finally caught his first fish when he reeled in an 8 pound catfish that horned him while he was De-hooking it .
       Dad screamed out "ouch!" and the catfish fell on the floor. I ran and got it and put it on the stringer and gave it to Nate to be cleaned. Ron got the first aid kit and tended to dad's wound. It wasn't that bad but it was fairly deep in his forearm. Ron helped him to clean it with alcohol and peroxide and then some ointment followed by gauges and wrapped it with a bandage. It was no big deal. Sometimes things like that happened on a fishing trip. Daddy didn't care, he turned on the radio to his favorite country channel and grabbed a beer out of the cooler. Soon after that, we were all washing our hands and eating the best grilled fresh fish in the world. By daybreak the next morning, we had 9 more catfish ranging from 2 pounds to 10 pounds. By 7 am, all the poles were put up neatly and the lanterns were also put up. Everybody was sleeping. I woke up at 2 o'clock to the sound of the engine running. Nate and Carl were still sleeping while Ron and Daddy was eating sandwiches. Dave was driving and we were headed toward the famous rock fish cliffs. There were plenty of tales about people catching fish weighing 80 pounds or more.

THE END OF A GREAT TRIP
Dave drove for at least half an hour before we came upon cliffs that were over 100 feet tall. Just last year they had found a dead body from where people would jump from the cliffs to commit suicide. Also it was part of an initiation to get into a gang. Dave pulled us up beside of the rock wall which was rumored to be the deepest part of the lake. He shut the engine off and proceeded to drop the anchors but they never reached the bottom so he pulled them back up and we were adrift. We all just layed there at this time. We marveled at the beauty of the lake and enjoyed the peace and quiet and each others company.  Two hours passed as we just lounged around being lazy. Finally, daddy got up and started fooling around with the poles. All the liver was gone now but we were not in catfish territory anyways. The water was so deep. I had heard some of the most fascinating tales about this area. Tales about how there were fish the size of a pinto lurking in the dept of this area. Rock fish big enough to swallow a grown man whole.
        When dad got up, so did I. I followed his lead of changing the string on each pole to 100 pound test and getting the chairs ready with the seat belts required to keep a man from getting jerked into the water by monster rock fish. The bucket with the left over fish parts from last nights feast was ready for use as bait. We all used only one pole each for the job at hand. Finally, cast were being made. All the poles were baited and in the water. There were only four safety seats available and I was seated at the one on the stern. Once again, I loosened my drag in hopes of the big fight that was to come. Sure enough, I got a bite. Then I got another and then another. Then, something bit and didn't let go. It took my line and away it went. My drag was spinning and smoking and making a racket. It finally slowed down and that's when I gave it a hard yank. I made it do a 180 and reeled it hard. My pole was bent completely in half and I feared that it would break but I continued to reel it in. It wasn't much of a fight except for the over all weight of the lunker. When it got close to the boat, Ron and Nate came over to help me get it in. It was huge! We lifted it onto the spring weight and it weighed 76 and a half pounds! That's the biggest fish I ever caught.
          We fished in that area until dark. By that time, we were wore out. All of us caught one of those big huge rock fish ranging from 29 pounds to 76 pounds. Mine was the biggest one caught. We caught a lot more than that but threw most of them back keeping the biggest ones. Come dark time, we were tiing the pontoon back up to the dock. There was still lots of work to be done. Those huge fish still had to be cleaned . When we got back home, me and Ron commenced to cleaning all the catfish and rock fish but not before we took pictures of each one of us holding a fish up beside us for bragging rights. Everybody in our neighborhood who wanted some fresh fish got it because we had so much that we had to give some away. Us guys who went on the fishing trip each took home a butt-load of fish ready for the frying pan
       

CARP FIHING SECRETS!

How to Catch Common Carp

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
If you cant catch a carp or it's too hard, look down.

Steps

1. Find a body of water suitable for carp fishing near you. Slow moving rivers with deep pools are ideal, and carp are fairly tolerant of low water quality, including turbidity and the like.
2. Get bait and tackle for your target fish, the carp. Whole kernel canned corn, cheese balls, and bread dough are used, depending on the region you are fishing in.
3. Cast out your line with two pieces of corn or other bait on your hook.
4. Throw out some extra corn or feed near where you think your line is to attract fish.
5. Hold the pole in your hands, or watch the end of it, when you feel a tug grab your pole and reel it in.

Tips

• Make sure your line is calm, carp are smart.
• Use a medium to small size hook, or a very small treble hook so the carp will suck it into its mouth when it bites.

Warnings

• carp can get big and hurt you, hooks are really sharp

Related wikiHows

• How to Catch a Coho Salmon
• How to Snag a Fish
• How to Catch Shrimp
• How to Catch Crawfish by Hand

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Catch Common Carp. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

TUNA FISHING FOR DUMMIES!

How to Catch Bluefin Tuna

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Bluefin tuna are one of the most challenging fish to catch in the ocean. Their speed, power and endurance are unmatched. On top of that they are one of the most valuable fish in the ocean.

Steps

1. Have deep pockets this sport is not for the financialy challenged.
2. Charter a boat for your first couple of times to learn about the equipment needed.
3. Now you can read the rest of this article.
   1. You must have a federal permit to catch Bluefin Tuna.[1] to obtain a permit.
   2. You will need at least two fishing rods capable of reeling in one of these monsters. The Smallest rod you should use is a 50# class offshore fishing rod and reel with 80# line.
   3. You will need a boat capable of traveling 50 miles offshore anything smaller than 30 feet is to small be smart it is dangerous out that far.Life rafts are mandatory on permitted boats.
   4. You will need Bait There are many types of bait for Bluefin Tuna the best is live bait trolled or used on a kite or balloon as a bobber. This is the way you will catch the 1000 pound size. Trolling plugs and spreader bars like Squid Bars from Squid Bars Co. will produce fish in the medium to small category.
   5. Once you hook a fish it will take a lot of boat handling experience to maneuver the boat, these fish are fast and can be crazy. Be prepared to fight some of these fish for hours.
   6. The next step is to get the fish in the boat most people lose their first few fish at the boat.You will need a harpoon and a large gaff to land these monsters. The leader man should be very experienced this is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Many fisherman have been dragged in the water by these fish.
   7. Secure all of your rods reels and equipment with safety lines never secure your angler to the same line as the fishing rod this makes it impossible for the angler to escape if he or she falls overboard.
   8. Bleed the fish as soon as you get it to the boat the fish will bleed out better while it is still alive by pumping the blood out.

How to Kite Fish for Giant Bluefin Tuna

1. Kite fishing for giant tuna is the "steroided out" version of fishing a topwater plug for striped bass. The two concepts are at their foundations very similar. The only difference is that kite fishing can generate surface strikes from tuna the size of small automobiles.
2. Kite fishing allows an angler to keep a live bait swimming on the surface. The kite physically lifts the bait, and prevents the bait from swimming downward. The result is a live bait, virtually half out of the water, swimming and thrashing frantically on the surface-basically ringing the dinner bell for any tuna in the vicinity.
3. There are many variations of kites on the market. Some of which fly with relative ease while others prove more difficult to get a handle on. Making a few minor adjustments in gear can make a big difference in how your kite will perform in breezy, as well as calm conditions.
4. Utilizing a kite rod and reel loaded with 100 pound braided line has a few distinct advantages over a reel loaded with dacron. Braided line does not allow any stretch, while also providing more line strength with less line diameter. Essentially this means that the kite attached to braid will have to lift less weight than the kite attached to dacron. The extra strength provided by braid will also help ward against snapping off a kite in windy conditions.
5. Using kite clips with rollers makes life a bit easier. The rollers allow the main line coming from your 80 and 130 class reels, to slide easily through the clips with less resistance.
6. Using an elastic bridle to rig live baits will help to minimize injury to the bait. This is important because live pogies, mackerel and bluefish often times require a lot of time and energy to acquire. It is vital to keep the baits alive and frisky. Instead of traditionally hooking a bait through the top of the back or through the snout, a bridle allows an elastic to be threaded through the bait-much like stitches through skin. This way the hole pierced through the bait is much smaller than that created by traditionally hooking the bait. The bait will swim long and with more vigor due to this small alteration in technique.
7. Braided drop lines should also be part of an angler’s kite fishing arsenal. Drop lines run from the ball bearing swivels, which are spaced throughout the kite reel’s braided line, down towards the ocean’s surface. The length of these lines will vary depending on wind conditions. Attach a roller kite clip to the tag end of the drop line. Your main running line will run through the roller kite clip. Drop lines allow your main line to remain closer to the water’s surface, instead of towering high in the sky.

Tips

- *Hire a guide. There are many guide services with professional fisherman.

Warnings

- *Giant Bluefin Tuna have killed many fisherman by dragging them overboard. Use extreme caution or hire a guide before you attempt to catch one of these fish.

Related wikiHows

• How to Fish for Tuna
• How to Get Offshore Fishing Jobs
• How to Catch Trout
• How to Catch Pike
• How to Clean Freshly Caught Salmon
• How to Catch a Shark (in the Bay)

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://nmfs.noaa.gov/permits.htm

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Catch Bluefin Tuna. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

HOTTEST FISHING SECRETS

How to Fish a Small Creek

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
Gasoline prices are causing many occasional sportsmen to leave their boat and motor on the trailer at home, and keep their recreational activities near where they live. Even if you don't have access to large bodies of water like rivers and lakes, you may still be able to enjoy a fun angling experience in a small, often overlooked stream or creek.

Steps

1. Locate a small stream or creek suitable for fishing. You will need to address several considerations in making your choice. Here are a few:
   • Is the stream on public property, or do you have permission to fish there?
   • How clean is the water? Streams in agricultural or industrial areas may have pollution levels that make the fish unhealthy, or, in extreme cases, poisonous. Ideally, choose streams above the elevation of nearby industry.
   • Does the stream have good water flow year round? Some streams only maintain a flow during snowmelt season[1], or when sufficient rainfall occurs to support them.
   • The species of fish you are intending to fish for. Keep in mind, small streams generally don't support large sized specimens of the fish that live in them, due to the limits imposed on this particular environment.
2. Gather up the things you will need for your trip. Generally, the basic items you have to have are a hook and line, and bait. For practical purposes, though, you may want to look at some refined fishing tackle for small stream fishing. These are some things to consider:
   • Use light or ultralight fishing tackle. Small streams are often crystal clear, and you will need a very light monofilament line to keep the fish from being spooked.
   • Bait or artificial lures appropriate for the fish you are fishing for.
   • Use long shank wire hooks in the smallest size suitable. You will get hung up on snags, and long shank wire hooks will bend, rather than breaking, so they will pull free of the snag. This will save time replacing lost hooks. Another benefit is the ease of getting a long shank hook out of a small fish's mouth.
   • Appropriate accessories may include insect repellant, a creel or bucket for the catch, and in some cases, waders to keep your feet dry.
3. Choose your bait. Creek fish are usually truly wild fish, or natives, and will often prefer native food for bait. Worms, grubs, insect larvae, and small insects like crickets and grasshoppers are good choices. Small jigs and spinnerbaits may be easier to use if the species of fish you are angling for will bite them.
4. Dig or catch your bait, if applicable. Digging worms requires a suitable location, like a compost heap or other place with good moisture and rich soil. Catching crickets or grasshoppers will test your reflexes, speed, and eye-hand coordination, but either method will add to the self-sufficient experience if that is what you are looking for.
5. Load the equipment, and take to the road. Unless you are fortunate enough to have a creek nearby, you will need to load the car or truck and drive to the creek. Finding a remote area like a state or national forest can offer an experience both of good fishing and pleasant scenery.
6. Get away from the beaten path. Even small streams may experience significant fishing pressure, so heading away from civilisation can increase your chances of having a good trip, both in the amount of your catch, and the enjoyment of untrashed forest or wood.
7. Don't judge a pool or stream by its surface. Fish any pool or eddy that has enough water to support fish. Often, a good fish can lay in the current motionless and invisible until your bait or lure gets close enough for him to attack. Fishing stump holes, bank undercuts, eddy pools, and other places that provide enough water to support fish will give you a better chance of success.
8. Match your technique to the conditions. Small streams in heavy woods will often have brush-cover banks and lots of blown over or washed in trees over the stream bed itself. You may find the only approach to a potential fishing hole is to wade the stream and stand in the current while fishing your chosen spot. Underhanded casting, if using a spinning reel, or flipping, if using a cane pole, can get your bait underneath any but the lowest branches and obstructions.
9. Fish each hole at different depths. Fish will suspend at a depth where the water conditions are most favorable, and feed in the depth where the natural food is present. Sometimes, this is on or near the surface, sometimes, it is flat on the bottom, so don't exclude any zone from your bait offering.
10. Use the stream's current to present your bait. If you fish with a spinning or baitcasting rig, you can approach a pool from the downstream end, cast to the upper end, and allow the bait to drift through the water. This will offer the fish the most natural presentation of the bait, since insects and worms that fall or are washed into the stream follow a similar path.
11. Change your bait if you are having little or no success. When using different artificial lures, try different colors, types, and sizes to try to establish the fish's preference. For live bait, you may try worms, insects, or insect larvae, even insects you may find on the creek's bank. There may also be helgrammites and crayfish in the steam which you can catch to fish with.
12. Use a float or bobber if the current and space permits. This makes it much easier for a less experienced fisherman to tell if a fish is biting, and also keeps the bait at a desired depth. Use the smallest float that will keep the bait off the bottom. This makes the setup more sensitive, since the float requires less force to be pulled under when the fish bites. Using a smaller sinker and hook will enable to use the smallest float possible.
13. Unhook your catch and string them on a stringer, put them in your creel, or simply drop them in a clean bucket with some fresh water dipped from the steam in it to keep your catch alive for as long as possible.
14. Load your catch and your gear up when you are finished fishing. Don't leave anything but your foot prints when you go, so the next visitor to the spot you have enjoyed will find it clean.
15. Clean your catch. This may be an incredibly painstaking process for very small creek fish, but scale, gut and remove the heads in preparation for cooking. Keep the waste parts so they can be buried or disposed of to prevent an odor problem later.
16. Cook your catch. Small fish can be difficult to eat because of the many tiny bones, but fresh caught fish from a clear spring-fed stream are great, fried up crisp and golden brown (so that the bones are crispy like crackers).
17. Add some hushpuppies, coleslaw, and baked beans, and you have a delicious meal to end the day.

Tips

• Look at maps, particularly topographic maps[2], to locate streams and creeks and suitable access points along them in your area.
• Learn what specific fish species inhabit streams in your area, and find out what bag limits, size limits, and restrictions apply to these.
• Check for additional regulations such as catch and release only and artificial bait only, which are fairly common in some areas.
• Match the size of your bait and tackle to the size of the fish you expect to catch.
• Keeping the fish alive for as long as possible ensures they will be fresh when eaten.
• Remove overhead branches or other obstructions from your fishing hole only if you have permission from the landowner or jurisdictional authorities.
• Check the water conditions prior to setting out on your trip. Muddy water, particularly after a rain, can be stained, and make fishing more difficult.
• Catch and release is an excellent way to enjoy fishing while maintaining the natural balance of the stream.

Warnings

• Make sure you have appropriate licenses before going fishing. Some management areas or parks require special permits for recreational activities within their boundaries.
• Some streams and creeks may contain dangerous wildlife, such as alligators and venomous snakes.
• In bear country, avoid cleaning fish until you are home or in a safe area. If camping, bury entrails far from camp.
• Watch for deep pools, especially if wading with hip or chest waders.
• Be careful walking or climbing on wet surfaces, as these can be very slippery.
• Be aware of the possibility of flooding if there are rainstorms in your area. Some streams can rise rapidly, even if the rain is not at your location, since rainfall occurring upstream will eventually flow down to you.
• Let someone know where you are going, and when you will return.
• Keep in mind that going to the local store to buy your fish will likely cost you less money even in the short run.

Things You'll Need

• water and food
• Fishing license
• Tackle and bait
• Suitable clothing including rain suit
• Insect repellent
• Maps of your area

Related wikiHows

• How to Fish for River Trout
• How to Spear a Fish
• How to Clean/Gut a Fish
• How to Fish Without Line or Bait
• How to Cook for a Southern Fish Fry

Sources and Citations

1. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowmelt
2. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topographic_maps

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Fish a Small Creek. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.