FishnDave

That would be something! I'll be happy with each new Flyfer. And its been quite a few years since I've caught Peacocks, Oscar, Spotted Tilapia, and Mayans. It'd be nice to get some updated pics on those. But mostly I'll be laser-focused on getting the world's first hybrid Whale Shark X Narwhal (aka "Sharkicorn") on fly.

Thanks John! That Black Bullhead put me at 30 species on the fly so far in 2023.

I REACHED MY GOAL! ... of catching 100 bowfin on a fly. I needed 4 today to reach that goal, and I caught 6. From the first to the last, it took less than a year. In fact, not including the first one I caught in AR last June, I caught 101 in MO over a span of just 2.5 months...or about 10 weeks. I caught them from August 28 to October 9 (less than 1.5 months) last Fall, and then March 12-April 15 (just over a month) this year. I'm blown away... this was a crazy goal I never expected to reach, but am really excited I did. Bowfin are a flat out amazing, fun, and interesting fish to catch! I really love these fish! Here's some of the ones caught on the 15th.: I also caught a Black Bullhead: I tossed a fly into a pod of Grass Carp. The fly sank. Then my line started to move... a Common Carp had eaten the fly!

Wow, way to go, Daryk! That sunfish is really interesting! Not a Redear.... Looks to be a Green Sunfish or Green Sunfish hybrid...but really colorful with unusual markings! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing those pictures! 😍

Beautiful White Bass! 🎣👍

Left the bowfin alone, and went after Grass Carp after work last night.

Was hoping that day would be Saturday, but there's Thunderstorms and rain in the forecast. Then windy on Sunday. Always something, right?

5 more Bowfin caught yesterday. Need 4 more to reach my 100 goal. Here's the 2 prettiest ones:

Right? That was a miserable place last summer. For MONTHS! I've been putting off going back, but Grass Carp are getting active now. Had 2 try to eat my indicator last weekend at a different place. We had a couple high water events this year already, I'm hopeful more fish have migrated into the creek. Hopefully the weeds haven't grown up yet.

This seems to be the right time of year for the colored up males. I don't know how long the coloration lasts... it was very faint or non-existent on the fish I was catching last Fall. I'll do my best to help you if/when you come back this way.

Yes it is. The males usually get that. The males also usually have the eyespot on the tail, which the females typically do not have.

That's great! Did yours peel drag too? 😄

Caught a couple Common Carp: And a Yellow Bullhead:

New PB Bowfin, 26.5":

@BilletHead Good shot! 😁 @tjm I can't believe I watched the whole thing... the last sentence was the most important. They could've led with that. I hope I can afford the overnight shipping costs. 😜

Incredibly life-like flies...well, cuz they are! 😁

@Johnsfolly John, what do you suppose the tiny fish in that last picture is (2 pics of same fish, one in shadow, one in sunlight)? Possible baby Grass Carp? If it was born last season, it should be bigger than this, so probably something else...

And sometimes they don't fail...they just "disappear". 😬 Did they find Malaysian flight 370 yet? "Some 83 aircraft have been declared “missing” since 1948, according to data compiled by the Aviation Safety Network. The list includes planes capable of carrying more than 14 passengers and where no trace — bodies or debris — has ever been found." Thats 83 planes missing in 75 years... a little more than 1/year on average. But aircraft still appear to be safer than ships: "Between 2011 and 2021, some 892 vessels were lost at sea. The majority of ships lost during this period—around 357—were cargo ships." 72 were passenger vessels! Thats 892 ships missing in 10 years...almost 90/year on average!

PLANNING to wreck the Bowfin. I wanna get to 100 lifetime. 46 last year, 17 so far this year....Need 37 more. Even sporting the Bowfin gear in anticipation! Sometimes the fish landed are smaller than my target species...

I'll make you feel great about your 2023 accomplishments so far, @Ham ! As best as I can tell, I've caught 236 fish on 15 fishing days. I believe I zero'd at least three times. 27 species on fly. 1 Flyfer (spotted gar). Really educated guessing here, but I'd feel comfortable saying I've caught 37 fish so far that measured at least 18" long.

The World's Most Interesting Fisherman... caught some dinks, just to see what that was like. 😜

What I read is: Of the 125 snakeheads sampled, 15 were in Blackwater River, while 110 (88%) were in Little Blackwater River. And yet "there was no significant difference in species richness for Little Blackwater River following Northern Snakehead establishment." Species dominance was significantly higher in both rivers following snakehead establishment, partially owed to dominance by carp and shad. What was in the snakeheads stomachs? Shad and bluegill were the top 2 prey items.