Showing posts with label catfish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label catfish. Show all posts

Friday, May 26, 2017

BMFS GRANDER SLAM

Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop in Saint Paul Minnesota just dropped some big news for all Minnesota fly fisher peoples.  You can for sure count me in on this, although I'll be out of town in Sioux Falls South Dakota from June 19-23rd for a work training course, so, I'll be at a huge disadvantage missing the majority of the week.  Oh well, it's going to be awesome.  Peep the details below!


Details from the original post.
In this land of 10,000 lakes, 70,000 miles of rivers and streams and 162 species of fish (according to Wikipedia) we have fishing diversity that is second to none. This summer let's celebrate what we have with the 2017 GRANDER SLAM TOURNAMENT. Starting June 16th and spanning 10 days to June 25th, the fly angler who catches the most species of fish wins. So clear your calendar, and get ready to use up some over due PTO. Be ready to explore new waters and techniques. You're going to need to get out of your comfort zone to win this one. Registration will open 6/2. More details to come. #GranderSlam2017 #mnflyshop


Wednesday, April 20, 2016

2016 Great Lakes Kayak Fishing Series



With a new year comes a whole new Great Lakes Kayak Fishing Series aka GLKFS is a lot of fun and organized by some knowledgeable kayak anglers such as +Colin Belle and Brookfield Angler.  I have participated in a few of the events the past 2 years, and have always had a great time.  Unfortunately, I do not think any of the dates will work out for me this year, but I highly recommend you give 1 or all the stops a shot!


2016 SCHEDULE

May 14th - Fox Chain O'Lakes
Target Species - Walleye, Catfish, and Panfish

June 11th - Madison Chain of Lakes
Target Species - Smallmouth & Largemouth Bass

July 24th - Mazonia/Braidwood
Target Species - Smallmouth & Largemouth Bass

September 10th - Manitowoc/Lake Michigan
Target Species - All Trout/Salmon

Tournament entry fee is $45 per event, but if you pay up front for all 4, it's $160, and that nets you a total of $20 in savings.  There are cash and gear prizes for placing in each event, but there are also a ton of door prizes to be raffled away to everyone at the event after the winners are announced.  Like I said, I had a great time at past events, and while I never placed, I walked away with some pretty sweet gear won in the raffle/door prizes.

Monday, September 28, 2015

Spin For The Win

This weekend was a bit strange for me.  Part of the strange was me fishing exclusively with my spinning rod.  The other part was hooking into a yellow bullhead.  One of the reasons I decided to go with my spinning rod was, I wanted to catch the fish in the backyard utilizing a different method.  I like variety.

On Saturday, I decided to use my spinning rod to toss out a floating Rapala lure with hopes of finding some bass cruising in the shallows.  15 minutes into my backyard outing, I hook into a fish.  At first I thought it was a bass, and as I was reeling it in, it was sort of barrel rolling on the surface of the water all of the way in.  I was surprised, because, that's a new species to my knowledge for the backyard lake.

I've handled quite a few catfish this year of all different sizes...I've lip grabbed all of them with no problem.  Did they bite down, yes.  Did they hurt, no.  All good, I'll just lip grab this little bullhead to better get the lure free.   OUCH!!!!!  Teeth like Velcro just like a bass, but I was not expecting them to have such a strong bite.  Whoa!!!  I was totally not expecting this little dude to have such a strong jaw.  While I was cursing the bullhead out, it bit down even harder, and I just couldn't wait to get my finger free, so, the lure had to come out after me.  Haha


Note: The short video is silent.  There were some curse words and laughing, but the GoPro case doesn't have good audio.  I hope it works.  If it doesn't, you'll be able to play it on my Instagram page - ( JUSTINCARF )

***Click on the center to get it to play***



After quite a few curse words with laughing in between, I was finally free, and then the lure was, and this little guy was free to swim and terrorize me, again, in the future.  I'll be better prepared for him.



Oh yeah, he drew blood.  What as asshole! Haha



Sunday morning, I tied our little dog Bo Marley's leash to my belt and went into the backyard.  I brought my spinning rod, again, but this time I tossed a Mann's -1 in the firetiger color scheme.  Bo barks at my lure whenever he see's it and I can see it in his eyes that he want's to chase it out into the lake.  

I've caught fish with him tied to me before, but he's never seen a big fish.  I hooked into a decent little guy and Bo tried biting at it's tail while I was trying to get the lure out.  After getting the lure out I let him make a fishy friend....and he licked him.  Is it weird for new friends lick each other? Daisy is visiting with my Mom, but I'm curious how she would react to a fish.  We shall see.

***Click on the center to get it to play***




Bo Marley meet Bass.  Bass meet Bo Marley.

It was a good weekend.


#SPINFORTHEWIN

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Ohio - Part 2

Yep, you read that right, this is part 2.  Part 1 has not been written, yet. Ha

Last year around this time, my GF and I took a road trip to visit my best friend  Mike and his GF out in Toledo, Ohio.  Last year we went to a German American Festival, and had a great time, but our timing this year was off.  We came out a week too early for the fest, but we made due and had a good time any way.

Got out to the same spot I fished last year with some success catching smallmouth bass while wet wading on the Maumee River.  When I came out here around the 4th of July, the river was unfishable, because, of high fast moving water.  Hoping that the water levels have decreased since then, I was hopeful to get out there and fish.  As we finished lunch at a pizza buffet, my GF and best friend Mike sat down on a bench in the shade and watched me do my thing on the river.

Maumee River - Ohio
I brought my 5 wt fly rod and bait caster down to the water with me.  I casted a few flies, but had zero luck.  I waded back to the shore to some bushes I laid my rod down in, and swapped my fly rod for my bait caster.  I hooked up with a really nice smallie, but lost it to some sly aerial moves done by the fish.  After that, I waved for Mike and my GF to come down.  Mike refused, but my GF didn't, and it was a nice surprise, because, she normally would refuse, as well.


After my GF came down it was smooth sailing from there, I had lady luck on my side, and started to catch fish....some strange fish. Haha  I was tossing a chatterbait and working some of the deeper pools and runs/ripples, and hooked up with quite the eclectic group of fish.  Normally this lure catches me bass and northern pike....fish that I usually fish for.  On this day, there were no bass caught.

Here we have a Channel Catfish.  I cannot even remember the last time I caught one of these, but I can tell you, the last time I caught one of these was on a nightcrawler.

Channel cats got sass.
Next up on we have a Sheepshead. A strange fish that I do not know much about.  I caught 3 of these last year, and all 3 came in kayak bass fishing tournaments.

This one put up the best fight out of the 3 I have ever caught.
Release.
Last but not least - This fish was actually the first fish that I caught that day, and it was right after I took that picture with my GF.  She was about to go up, but I told her to give me 5 more casts, because, I wanted her to be there when I caught a fish.  Sure enough, 3 casts in, I hook up with something BIG!  

What was it...I had absolutely no idea.  I couldn't tell what kind of fish it was by the fight, and it didn't show face until it was at my feet, and when I saw what I had hooked, I could not believe my eyes....My very first Flathead Catfish!  I've been wanting to catch one of these on the Fox River back home, because, of their size and what I hear about their fight.  This one lived up to the hype.  One thing I will remember about this Big ole Flathead was that it smelled absolutely horrible. Hahaha  Hand down the stinkiest fish I have ever caught.  Cool none the less. Haha

Flathead Catfish - you stink.
Before exiting the water and climbing up the rocks back to the bench my GF and best friend were, I spotted some trash on the rocks.  As I got closer to it, I took notice that it was a cast net.  It was probably washed away and caught up on the rocks when the river was flooded.  When I picked it up, a shed from a snake skin fell out.  I was thankful that it wasn't alive. haha  I gladly tossed that net, so, other animals would not get caught and die in it. #leavenotrace 

Trash.
School of shad.
With my limited allotted time, I caught some fish, smelled some fish, cleaned up some trash, and knocked a fish species off my catch list. It was a beautiful day.


Monday, January 19, 2015

Night crawlers and Cats

Ah, the good 'ole days, baiting a hook with a fat juicy night crawler, casting it out to what you think is the deepest spot on the lake, and waiting. I was rummaging through some old files on an external hard drive of mine, and came across some old pictures.


I haven't caught a catfish in so long. Makes me want to set aside an outing to dunk some bait this summer. With the lake right behind my GF's townhouse, I just might have to do that, while I fire up the BBQ and grill some steaks.

Thee biggest catfish I have ever caught.
(No idea why I'm wearing a batting glove. HAHA)
I had a different system. I always thought adding the bobber helped keep the bait off of the bottom a tad. The fish never minded it. In Illinois, you're allowed 2 rods per angler. I used to soak some bait with my spinning rod, and cast lures with my baitcaster or other spinning rod.

Nice little Channel Catfish at Mallard Lake.
Catch and Release
Salad
These photos are probably 10+ years old, and they brought back some really good memories. If I find any more good ones, you can bet, I will most definitely share them!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Camp food

Just going over some itinerary with Dave (Urban Assault Fly Fishing) for our upcoming Musky Country trip. Got me thinking about food...

I'm always jealous of the meals that Jeff (High Plains Fly Fisher) has cooked up on his trips. I'm curious what everyone else enjoys cooking out there.


What are some of your favorite campfire grilled meals?

Some chicken I cooked up on a Missouri float trip.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

6 Days - Zero Fish

So, I've been out fishing 6 times thus far (Not consecutively), and I've only accomplished to shake the rust off of my cast. Which is fine by me...for now anyway. Here is a day by day recap w/pictures of my outings.

Day 1: Salt Creek
I had zero expectations, because, there was still quite a bit of snow on the ground, and the temperatures were still boucing between the teens and 30's.
This snowball took a size 6 black wooly bugger.


Day 2: Downers Grove Pond
After work I decided to fish a decent sized pond. When I arrived I took notice that there was still quite a bit of ice on the lake. It was a beautiful day, the temperature was up, and the sun was shining. I was actually hoping to catch my first fish of the year, but she stood me up.
I was dressed to impress, but my first fish of the year stood me up.

Day 3: Songbird Slough
This lake is litterally down the street from me. It's only good for sunfish. It was an extremely windy day, but the sun was shining, and that's good enough for me. Only thing caught was this tree....
What not to do while fly fishing....catch trees.

Day 4: Meachem Grove
What a beautiful day this was. That was about it. No fish, but I got some nice pictures.

Day 5: Lake Michigan
Wasn't planning on fishing, but while in downtown Chicago I decided to give the Big Pond (Lake Michigan) a few cast's with a spoon, because, I know the browns and salmon are moved in. Didn't catch a thing, and I neither did anyone else I talked with. No fly rod today.

Day 6: Songbird Slough
I now know why I dislike this lake. I talked with a guy that was fishing nightcrawlers under a bobber, and he said that he heard from a guy, who was talking with another guy, about how they shocked the lake and hardly any bass came up. Mostly carp and catfish." So, I just casted with extremely little expectations.
My weapon of choice.