Johnsfolly

Thanks Al for the report and photos. Brought back memories of our stay in Ireland. As with yourself I was constantly amazed the age of most things. There is dust in most houses older than our country. I also could not get over thay most "woods" at least in our part of the country had been planted. There aren't any spots on the island of Ireland that mam has not walked on or affected in some way. I also did not like the costs to fish over there and didnt fish for almost two years. Your coin issue for parking brought a smile. I recall making really sure that when I would travel back to the UK was making sure to have 20 or 50 pence to pay for the public toilets in the train stations.

This explains the Tanago hooks that I have been using for my micros. I will likely look into these rods. Look like that they are going to be a bit expensive. I just read a Tenkara article in a Maryland fishing magazine. May have to revisit that type of fishing for those native brook trout. Might be a better way to navigate a fly into the laurel and rhododendron thickets.

Definitely some great looking fish Duane! Would love to meet up with JestersHK but we will be in IA for a race weekend.

Nuce report and great looking fish! Congrats! You definitely figured out a pattern.

At keast you got one. I had to buy some at Farmer's market.😒

I would enjoy that type of fishing regardless of the species.

Variety is the spice of life. Congrats on some nice keeper fish!

Seth Thanks for the detailed report. Sounds like you and your dad had a great time. I've even try set the hook when it looks like the fish is going to bite because as you mentioned they spit so quickly. If the fish follows the bait on the drop and those gills flare it may be too late.. Helps having really clear water. I may have to change out my old line before I go 😀.

Eels are extremely underrated in terms of extent of their migrations. It amazes me how far they go to live and to spawn.

In PA there was a series of falls probably a 20 foot elevation in total that we would routinely see the young eels "climbing" the rocks to get to the stream above the falls. It was a spectacular and a viscerally disturbing scene to see hundreds of eels going up those rocks. QB - in Connecticut I had friends that would nail the eels to a tree to get the hook out. Not only were they slimey, but tended to swallow your bait. I just stopped trying to remove the hooks when I would catch one. Get close and cut the line. Probably not the best catch and release practice, but that was well before any circle hooks made the market. I do agree with Gavin that they are good to eat. If only I had known that back in the day.

It's a hobby that I just haven't gotten into...yet.

That's a panfish's worst nightmare right there. they just aren't going to be able to resist those jigs whether you are throwing those in a pond or creek..

Would have made a good pizza. I will have to remember that next time!

It's a TALL bowl!

I think that there are at least a couple in that bowl !

I was jealous of the big white bass that you caught. I wasn't with you when you caught those two western transplants! Might have been jealous then as well! I did edit these pictures and it made the fish look better!

Creedence Clear water revivial "... there's a bathroom on the right." instead of there's a bad moon on the rise. Jimi Hendrix "..'scuse me while I kiss this guy!" instead of excuse me while I kiss the sky. Elton John's ".. she's got electric boobs" instead of boots.

You were dreaming about all the rest and relaxation your last fishing partner allowed you to get on the way to get him unsnagged after he Follyrigged his jig !

Awesome browns! congrats on a great pair of fish! those are the kind of brown trout folks like me dream about and will do so until I can get back to the White!

Okay Leftover time. Nothing like a nice healthy salad and then there is this one where I used the remaining lobster tail and steak from the other night, onion slices, cooked bacon, bleu cheese crumbles and olives. Would have been better if I wasn't at work .

I've already lost one BH special on the fish after this one. Just about broke my heart, then I remembered that I Know a guy that makes replacements ! So I got me a replacement and caught some more fish!

One summer when we lived in Florida, we had 16 inches of rain in 18 hours. Before the rain, the pond at work was pristine with great water clarity, big bass, tilapia, bluegill, blue finned killifish, flag fish... (I regret not being a microfisherman at the time) After the rain, every creek, septic, and drainage ditch was connected. The water afterwards was murky and green, there were gar, green sunfish, walking catfish, sailfin mollies, other aquarium releases, exotics, etc. We boated down the road and had fish swimming across the road. As it dried up the walking catfish would be found crossing the roads.

After following you up and down the creek, I may be the one dragging alright! Being tired of yelling "Get the Hopper under the laurel branches!"

Gavin - Looks like a goldeye. The eye and mouth look like the gold eye. Looking at the front of the dorsal fin it is slightly behind the front of the anal fin, which seems to be a main characteristic of that species that differentiates this from the mooneye where the dorsal fin is in front of or even with the anal fin. Great catch! As Ham stated, I'm also a bit jealous. I think that these are a pretty cool group of fish and would love to catch either one or both species!

When they're small no need to clean them. Just scale dredge and fry them up.