Johnsfolly

Don't have the gear...YET😌! Got to finish this move before I commit to the stuff needed to land sharks in the surf. For now take 'em from the boat.

Thanks for posting your tutorial. Can't wait to see some fish photos.

You also know that we Follys have been chasing our own natives but in a very different way. Fishing baits in the brine😁.

As always Marty we love coming along on these western trips! Great reporting and photos! I have to catch some of these guys. Don't know if we will try to catch them all like you two. Once we catch the first one or two species that thought may change😁.

I bet those non-native brookies would be good served like pickled herring😁.

After you got one Gila to hand the task is completed! Time to reset the goals😁. Livie caught her 40th different species last night and reset to catch a couple more! Which she did succeed in catching another but that is a post in the making once I download photos.

Again Congrats to you both on persisting and getting into some beautiful fish! Hope you gave the Gila biologist a good report. Did you see other fish in those creeks? Can't wait for the next install. You guys covered some territory on this trip so far. Always cool to see what's out there.

Congrats to you both for completing you're Colorado Cutt Slam! Prety jealous but don't currently have a vehicle to reapeat the sand dune adventure. Randy sounds lkke a great guy. Love to meet him sometime. Still look at these stream photos and think that there has to be some microfishing being missed while chasing those trout😝.

Dan Most likely the kill is due to DO issues. The issues in Florida IisI beleive are mostly due to heavy fertilizer run off from the water coming from the farm lands below Lake Okeechobee. Most of the water that would flush out the everglades has been diverted from going into the Everglades and may be creating the issues in Fort Meyers and Port St Lucie.Those nutrients feed the algae creating those green and red tides. That algae blocks the light going to the sea grass causing the grass to die off leading to low DO values. Then the tides themselves die off contunuing to drive down the oxygen. If the dead zone is karge enough the fish have nowhere to go.

Great sunrise indeed! So many people miss moments like that. Thanks!

Gotta have variety. The spice of life. Seems like you had a good day!

Congrats on taking out the little one. Glad that she had fun. When out with kids a few fish helps, but as long as they are having fun that is the best that you could hope for.

Great trip report Marty! love the elk and deer as much as the fish photos! Miss not being able to get back out west to see those sites and get into animals that we don't see out this way. Would love to see a couple of OAFers hitching their way back to Missouri after being left at a gas station in Oregon next summer as you guys are going for the coastal cutthroat!

No photos but a reprise of my last swordfish dinner except for three. Golden potatoes and salad with balsamic dressing. Happy bellies and empty plates😁.

I like the Chuck Wagon for shrooms 😁. Do my own mix for fish. I'll eat what I catch no problem there. Will have to supply 500 darters to provide a meal. I Better get started catching them 😌.

I've got a fry mix that would make a boot taste good or for that matter white bass😂!

Smallest or the most species in a given time period. I'm in😁!!

Wow that's just plain mean right there. No offense taken .

Sounds even better than the texts I received. Great job and love the photos! Can't wait for the second installment.

As you mentioned its too hot to fish and release musky without possibly killing them. Water is too warm and low in oxygen. Overcast and windy days in Oct/Nov are good times for musky on the lake that I typically fish for them in MO and would assume the same on Pomme. I have only fished Pomme once for musky and we did not land any, but had a few good encounters. Good luck and post a couple of photos!

Last meal as a bachelor! Semi-blackened swordfish (only $3.70 for the steak) using Weber's Grill Creations Kickin chicken seasoning. Served with sweet corn and steamed broccoli with a balsamic vinaigrette drizzle. This turned out so well that we picked up a few more steaks for all three of us.

Now in Maryland, but Livie's quest continues! I pre-fished a new spot in anticipation for My Betterhalf and Livie heading out to Maryland this last weekend. I had heard that the pilings around the fishing pier at Bill Burton state park on the Choptank river would be a good spot to catch a novel fish, an oyster toadfish. I thought that I should give it a try. I headed down last Thursday evening and all I could find for bait were nightcrawlers. I rigged up a bell sinker and tied in a long shanked bait hook about 5" above the sinker. Pulled up to the first piling, put on half a nightcrawler and dropped it back towards the piling. The tide was coming in and I was fishing the down tide side of the bridge so that my bait and scent would drift towards the piling. As soon as I tightened the line, I go bit by a white perch. I caught a couple more perch and the bite stopped. I moved out to the next piling and repeated the process. I got bit by a heavy fish and saw that I was on a chunky catfish. I pulled it up and it looked different than a channel and did not look like a blue catfish. In the sunset the photo looks more green, but this fish was more gray than green and no spotting like I would expect from a channel catfish. It had a short tail and anal fin. Also did not bite the crap out of my hand as i was holding it (a clear indicator that this was not a channel ). Looked it up later and confirmed that this was a white catfish, a first for me. I ended up catching four others that night. All were released. Good thing that these were not the invasive blue or flathead catfish which have a no release recommendation by the state. As I worked the pilings I caught more white perch as well as a few spot like this one. If i had a heavier rod with me this guy may have been freelined for stripers. instead back into the river. At the third piling I pulled up what I had hoped for the fish that only a mother could love or a Folly multispecies fisherman - the oyster toadfish! I ended the night with a small striper, seven white perch, five white catfish, two spot, and the toadfish. So with a pattern that I was comfortable that would work, I couldn't wait for Livie to give this a try! My Betterhalf and Livie showed up on Saturday and we got the vehicle unpacked yesterday morning. After dinner, I took Livie out with the hopes of getting a few more new species for the countdown. We got to the pier and there was a big thunderstorm heading down the river toward us. It looked to be passing to our east, but we kept an eye on it anyways. Since we were right at high tide, there was a lot more people on the pier this evening and we had fewer pilings to choose from. I got her rigged up and showed her what she needed to do. I took her a little while to get the feel for when the sinker was on bottom. She got a couple of quick bites and missed on the hook sets. Then stuck her first fish of the evening, a white perch. She followed that up with a feisty channel catfish - her first for the year so the countdown continued - FOUR to go! Her next fish was a spot, a new species for her - THREE to go! She caught another spot as the storm got too close and ran us off the river. So she still needs three more different species to meet her goal for the year. We will be back to try for some white catfish and that toadfish!

That's a beauty! Congrats on a great fish and release!

They are cool if keep them for the short period of time, they tend not to do well long term unless folks put in the effort to get them to hibernate. I had a friend in graduate school that would feed his eastern box turtle pinkies (i.e., hairless baby mice). My friend would take the turtle out and place it on the floor then put a pinkie about ten feet away. Once he spotted it, that turtle would sprint to get those mice. It was pretty gruesome after that .

Mark and recapture is a pretty common assessment tool for estimating the population density for wild animals. Maybe your daughter will be a biologist .