FishnDave

Took a family vacation to Aruba. We had a great time! Had scheduled a 1/2 day solo guided flyfishing trip with Laurenz Van Mook of https://www.flyandspinfishingaruba.com/ I had not ever caught a tarpon, so was hoping to get one added to my flyrod list. Large ones are rare in Aruba, but there are some baby ones. That's all I wanted! I caught one, lost one, and missed a couple more bites. We looked for bonefish, only saw a couple, and the only cast I made to one landed too close, resulting in the fish getting spooked. I also had a Bar Jack on, but lost it...and then caught a small Blue Runner. The Tarpon and Blue Runner were flyrod fish #82 and #83 for 2023!

Is this a barter system? How many rocks would it take for you to clean a deer? Everyone's got a price, I've heard. What if they were to arrange for you to go fishing? 😉

I've caught Bigmouth, Smallmouth, and Black Buffalos on flies. Not impossible to catch, but typically VERY difficult. Whereas a Common Carp, and even Grass Carp in some areas, will react and move to eat a fly... Buffalos often ignore a fly altogether. I've put flies near them and usually see absolutely zero reaction from the fish. If you can get the fly PERFECTLY into their path, sometimes they will eat it as they are vacuuming their way across the bottom. But also, you can continue to be completely amazed as @Ham gets them (and silver carp too!) to aggressively feast on a giant articulated streamer. 😲

This is the most recent article, but not the first I've seen, regarding sampling and aging populations of native Buffalo species. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/century-old-buffalofish-are-still-living-in-their-prime/ar-AA1jHTMX?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=130cf8b4a3db4cfc809c34b5f0ff0aab&ei=33 "The smallmouth buffalofish the researchers found in the lake ranged from 11 to 101 years old; the black buffalofish were 106 to 108 years old; and the bigmouth buffalofish were 85 to 105 years old. What makes the fishes’ longevity even more remarkable is that they aren’t native to Arizona waters, Lackmann says—the three species were introduced to the state in 1918, likely from Iowa." This suggests Black Buffalo have not successfully reproduced (at this particular lake) ever, Bigmouth Buffalo have not successfully reproduced in 85 years, and Smallmouth Buffalo have not successfully reproduced in 11 years. They weren't native at this lake, so its not terribly surprising they are struggling to propogate, I suppose. Other studies within their native ranges have shown similarly old individuals within their populations.... at least in excess of 85 years, as I recall... and few young specimens. I've seen them spawn. Its not that they don't lay many eggs.... Their were tiny orange eggs scattered everywhere! And other fish following them around eating the eggs.

Clearly, there are three types of people. Those that can count, and those that can't count. 😏

That's nothing. I got skunked (once) while fishing. I somehow managed to pick myself up and forced myself to go fishing AGAIN!! 😲

Shucks....I failed to mention it above: @Ham scouted this place first, and gave me a detailed report. I probably wouldn't have made the trek without all that info. Kudos to Hamilton! 👍

First time getting my little watercraft out since 2020! Towed it for 6.5 hours (round trip), fished for 1.5 hours. Worth it! Despite my best efforts to confound him 😁 , @Ham had worked hard and put me on my first Chain Pickerel early last year. I was glad to catch my first one! It was a small one, about the same size as some of the Grass Pickerel I'd caught. Figured it might be time to try to catch a bigger specimen. I did! I caught maybe the best one of the trip on my first cast from shore: ...then 4 more while making a single pass around the open-water edge of the emergent weedline. Nothing huge, and certainly a mix of sizes, but definitely some fun-sized fish on the fly rod. Water was extremely clear, so while I never spotted the fish before casting, I got to see them appear and start to hit/follow the fly. Very fun! Here was the best 3: And the smaller 2: Although the water was crystal clear, I only saw one other fish...a bluegill. And then what I thought was a nice Chain Pickerel decided to hit...but it turned out to be a 19" Largemouth Bass. Heckuva fighter!

Wow! Love the markings on this one! Don't show the scientists...they'll figure out you've got a NEW SPECIES there! Or...snakehead x bowfin hybrid! 😁 Congratulations on exceeding your Bowfin-on-Fly goal!

So, with FFS, when "prefishing" for a tournament, can they just leave the rods at home? All they gotta do is drive around and spot the fish on their electronics?

Its also crazy how being just 2-3' away from "the spot" can sometimes make a huge difference. 2 examples: Our fishing club members decided to get together and icefish a lake on a day when the Iowa DNR stocked trout for winter fishing purposes (exactly like the Urban Trout Program in Missouri). We had turned the ice to swiss cheese with all the holes we drilled. I found one hole that was producing trout very consistently. Buddies drilled holes just a few feet away to get in on the action. They got nothing. I tried those holes too....nothing! Back to the good hole, lots of fish. Pretty soon, 3 of use were all fishing a 6" diameter hole, catching fish like crazy. We couldn't help but laugh at ourselves and the situation. Still nothing in any of the surrounding holes. A buddy and I were fishing from our portable/personal ice shacks. We weren't fishing very far apart. My buddy starts catching a lot of fish. Not me. He told me to drill closer to his shack. I did. Eventually I had completely ringed his shack with new ice holes, but couldn't catch ANY fish in any of them. He continued to catch a bunch of fish. He tried the other holes, but also didn't catch any fish from them. Just the one original hole. Bizarre!

I ice-fished in Iowa and Illinois for many years, air temps anywhere from -5F to 45F. Having the right gear and right clothes makes a huge difference. It can be very fun. You learn a lot about the fish... how active they can be even in the middle of winter, and how many fish you can catch by fishing straight down in a 6" or 8" diameter hole in the ice. It's a way to keep fishing year-round in the northern latitudes. Can't say I MISS it all that much.

This is SOOOO EFFING COOL!!!! Wow! 100 species in a year! ON FLY!!! You helped me to catch over 80 species on fly this year, and I'm very happy and thankful for that... but ONE HUNDRED!!!! WOW!!! Not that I'm necessarily a good example to be compared to.... but I only surpassed 100 on fly EVER earlier this year! That's how incredible your feat is! So happy and excited for you @Ham !

The high school my kids went to in Iowa had a Lacrosse team, played other schools in the conference. Iowa State University had a Rugby team. I think it was a "club" team, not a university-sponsored team at the time...but they played teams/clubs from other universities. I had to look up "hurling". I just thought it was a competition to see who could drink the most, and then blow chunks the furthest.

Yeah, it rattled me!

what? nothing. look away! 😇

I've seen Chuck Norris step aside....

She's obviously never had to keep up with @Ham when he's locked in on a new target species. 😁

Another "collage" of the first Spotted Gar I'd ever caught, earlier this year:

More pics of the 47.5" Longnose Gar I caught.

Amazing and very impressive! With 6 lb line, you can put almost no pressure on a fish that size. Just follow it around. I want one on fly! But maybe a much smaller one I can land in under 20 minutes, tops.

🙈🙉🙈 🍒🦴