Sore Losers In The Park.

[duckydoty]

This comment forces me to defend the the true art of sight fishing. The method that you just described is not sight fishing. This method is forcing the fish into a situation that you and the fish do not want to be in. The outcome will be as you described. True sight fishing is the art of presenting your fly in a manner that makes the fish come to you and eat your presentation. You have to keep the fly a safe distance from the fish to avoid what you just described above. It is hard to force feed a fish. There is an art to consistantly catching big fish, just like the art of making an eighty foot cast. If you bore easily, then sight fishing is not for you. You might stand over 20 big fish, hook up with 3, and if you are lucky, land one. That is what sight fishing is all about. Since it doesn't take much to entertain me , I am a sight fisherman.

I too am easily entertained....I can stand all day next to Rick watching him sight fish!

[10pointer]

I know I shouldnt let people bother me but after awhile it just gets annoying that people make the comments they do. Im there to have a great time and enjoy our resources.

Oh and i make small talk with everyone down there and 99% of people like to talk. Id like to think of myself as very friendly and when people ask i help them. Thats what fishing is all about. The people i show are always people ive talked to just before and make comments on how nice the fish is. I explain how things are always said and show them. I dont say verify where the hook is necessarily but say "yep here is what she took" and show them the fly she liked right in the mouth.... or something along those lines because those people always come around to watch the fight. I know i caught it legit, but its always a better practice to have someone else see that you did it correctly. I wish i wouldnt feel the need to do that, but the people that blatantly snag fish give everyone a bad name.

I love to sight fish but i wont sit there and drift it into a fishes mouth. Thats not fun or a challenge to me. Ill bring it right into their zone and they will choose to take it or not. I hate to see people force feed them. Ive seen it alot and I definitely dont condone it one bit. I could have force fed that fish a thousand times but thats not the way i like to catch them. There are alot of guys ill admit that will put it right in a fishes mouth when they werent even trying to feed, but thats not the way i like to roll

Ive foul hooked fish many times before but if i see that the fly/jig etc isnt where its supposed to be i break it off ASAP. The little ones ill bring in and release but they tend to be alot tougher than bigger fish when it comes to living after being caught. I cant stand to see people fight a big snagged fish out and land them and release them without reviving the fish properly. Foul hooking fish does happen no matter how much you try to avoid it. Ive had plenty of nice ones swirl after a fly and hook themselves in the gill or fins. Ive seen way to many big fish get unproperly released and go to the bottom and go belly up.

And yes i did end up keeping that fish though ive released quite a few nice ones in the park, but with the way things are some yahoo would come right down and foul hook it and keep it with last weekend being a small derby. I NEVER keep anything outside the park or in trophy waters that is of significant size even though I legally can. Id love to see the fish live and love to come back and have the opportunity to land her again or have someone else get a chance to catch it. Now i will keep some stockers to fry up in the park but ill usually land alot of fish and release many fish in a day. I only take fish from the parks, I wont keep them in places that they have a better opportunity in surviving.

Thanks for the congrats and the support guys, and I just had to let off a little steam last night

[Gavin]

I'd agree with you both...Its not sporting to drift it into their mouth, not much of a challenge either...The fish has to move for the lure to make it a fair catch, IMO. But folks snag em in the mouth all the time at the parks. Congrats on a nice fish there 10ptr.

[FishinCricket]

"oh some guy up that way snagged one earlier" when talking about the fish you caught

ooops, that might have been me... I use the term snag very loosely.. As in the slang definition "to catch"... So if you ever hear me saying that, I wasn't implying that you actually foul hooked or snagged the fish...

Example: When asked by a passerby "Having any luck?". My answer might be:

"Yeah, a little.. That guy up there has snagged three since my last one, better ask him instead..."

Sorry for the confusion, don't let it spoil the fishing...

(Ah, the English language, eh?)

as for the true spoilsports on the river (and in the Parks)... Screw them and their lousy opinion, and be glad it didn't take a friendship and a few trips down the river with them to figure it out.. You found out real quick that they were a jerk, and lost nothing in the process.

[Murdoc]

Amen Duckydoty!! I could watch him also! Sight fishing!!! Hard to do right and very rewarding if done right!!! Love it!!!

[Kayser]

On lunkers at Montauk this weekend: I can verify how two were caught. My friend caught one, a 3lb 14oz fish, legally. Another one, almost 8lbs, was snagged across the nose. Close, but no cigar, in my books. Took 5 guys standing shoulder to shoulder on the dam with marabous to hook it.

On a side note, the big browns have moved into the lower stretches of the park. Caught 3 on small beadheads, biggest was 17" long with a 12" girth, 3.16lbs by the formula. Still swimming for some other lucky person. Saw several others that were a lot bigger, probably 22" or so, but couldn't get them to take. Dry-droppers were the most effective, seemed to not spook the fish in the shallow water.

Oh yea, stockers were biting well on eggs, san juans, and brown and olive beadheads, size 14 and 16. Got a couple on dries as well.

Rob

[ozark trout fisher]

?

As for Trout Park courtesy, that has been thrown out the window by 50% or more of the people.

Later,

FFM

Trout Park courtesy........ Uh, well its kinda lacking.

Some of those people at those parks just shouldn't fish, sorry to be negative but its true.

[Fly_Guy]

Trout Park courtesy........ Uh, well its kinda lacking.

Some of those people at those parks just shouldn't fish, sorry to be negative but its true.

Its the nature of trout parks. It's like going to Disneyland when you could go on a hike in the woods. Disneyland is fun... but the people will WEAR YOU OUT! Haha - if someone asked me to show them where the fish was hooked, I'd hook HIM in the mouth with a 1/2 treble. As already posted, I always break off foul hooked fish (unless they're real small), and can also spend hours on one fish.

A lot of people at these parks are not serious fishermen though - and I'm just glad they're at the trout parks instead of Taney or some other small rivers around here!!

[tippett7]

First of all congratulations on a nice fish. I have to say I am pretty impressed. I like to catch big fish as much as the next guy and sometimes I will work for a big fish for an hour or so, but I can't believe you committed 4 hours to that fish. That takes some discipline. I love to sight fish and I can tell you it has nothing to do with placing any hook right over the fish. A fish will make a distinct move towards your fly and eat it or just snub it.

[jmarco21]

ooops, that might have been me... I use the term snag very loosely.. As in the slang definition "to catch"... So if you ever hear me saying that, I wasn't implying that you actually foul hooked or snagged the fish...

Example: When asked by a passerby "Having any luck?". My answer might be:

"Yeah, a little.. That guy up there has snagged three since my last one, better ask him instead..."

Sorry for the confusion, don't let it spoil the fishing...

(Ah, the English language, eh?)

as for the true spoilsports on the river (and in the Parks)... Screw them and their lousy opinion, and be glad it didn't take a friendship and a few trips down the river with them to figure it out.. You found out real quick that they were a jerk, and lost nothing in the process.

You know, when I first read this post, that's exactly what popped into my mind. To me it sounded as someone casually used the word "snagged" as in landed a nice one, versus the MO Dept of Nat Resources definition of snagging to hook a fish on its side or something like that. I personally don't use the terminology but I think I'd have to evaluate the body language of someone if they told me I snagged a fish. If they implied that I caught it illegally I'd probably retort a pretty firm response. Personally, I've only snagged a fish once I think and that was a while ago.