05-13-2011, 04:53 AM
Not to intentionally divert from my own topic change of fly fishing, but I went and put my line in with pops at Shelley Pond this evening. Got there around 7, put in a line with a bit of weight in and waited. No bites at all for about 45 minutes. Fish were active on the surface from 7:30 until 9 or so, so I decided to change it up and put a bobber on. First cast with a bobber and I got a hit IMMEDIATELY. Yanked up, brought it in, was a damn sucker.
Got him off my line, put on a fresh worm and put the line back out there as quick as I could. I had caught a fish, didn't matter what it was it was fun to fight a bit and I'd be happy to catch 5 more of them before leaving. Fast forward about 45 minutes and I'd seen the bobber take a few small plunges, small fish messing with the worm, but wasn't able to hook any of them. Decided jointly with my dad that one more cast was it and we were out. A few minutes later I got a GOOD HIT on the bobber, it went all the way down and came back up...grabbed my rod and pulled in some slack and activity on it kind of stopped for a few seconds. Then another good hit down and I yanked up. Didn't think I had anything at first, must have stunned the fish, but sure enough I had hooked him. He came up toward the surface a good way out and I saw the dreadful golden sucker scales and decided to get him in as quick as a could, which pops informed me is never a good decision, always play the fish. But I got him in about 6 feet from shore and let dad give me a bit of a lesson about rights and wrongs (I'm a newbie, lots of wrongs) and as soon as that fish bolted for the willows I knew it wasn't a sucker.
Got control of the fish again, managed to pull him out of the willows and up to shore. He was a BIG brown. When he made the dodge for the willows he wrapped the line around one of his fins, thus the gash in pic 1, but he was lip-hooked and not happy about it in the least. Biggest fish (outside of suckers) I have ever caught hands down. Netted him, took his picture, knocked him out, measured and weighed him (21", 3.5lbs) and cleaned him up. I was so excited I was giddy. We'll be eating well tomorrow night!
[signature]
Got him off my line, put on a fresh worm and put the line back out there as quick as I could. I had caught a fish, didn't matter what it was it was fun to fight a bit and I'd be happy to catch 5 more of them before leaving. Fast forward about 45 minutes and I'd seen the bobber take a few small plunges, small fish messing with the worm, but wasn't able to hook any of them. Decided jointly with my dad that one more cast was it and we were out. A few minutes later I got a GOOD HIT on the bobber, it went all the way down and came back up...grabbed my rod and pulled in some slack and activity on it kind of stopped for a few seconds. Then another good hit down and I yanked up. Didn't think I had anything at first, must have stunned the fish, but sure enough I had hooked him. He came up toward the surface a good way out and I saw the dreadful golden sucker scales and decided to get him in as quick as a could, which pops informed me is never a good decision, always play the fish. But I got him in about 6 feet from shore and let dad give me a bit of a lesson about rights and wrongs (I'm a newbie, lots of wrongs) and as soon as that fish bolted for the willows I knew it wasn't a sucker.
Got control of the fish again, managed to pull him out of the willows and up to shore. He was a BIG brown. When he made the dodge for the willows he wrapped the line around one of his fins, thus the gash in pic 1, but he was lip-hooked and not happy about it in the least. Biggest fish (outside of suckers) I have ever caught hands down. Netted him, took his picture, knocked him out, measured and weighed him (21", 3.5lbs) and cleaned him up. I was so excited I was giddy. We'll be eating well tomorrow night!
[signature]