Numbers Of Fish Caught...

[Goggle-Eyed]

Dennis, I just finished two trips on the Niangua and the first one was with my BIL and I would say we averaged 50 fish each, each day. I floated the same float with my girlfriend and she actually kept track of my fish. I was fishing very very fast, maybe similar to Al. I would have thought I caught around 20 or 25 fish but I actually caught 40 Smallies. I am sure that I could have caught more if I would have slowed down and actually fished the "good looking" areas harder. I didn't even slow down after hooking/landing a fish so I missed a lot of the prime water above and below the riffles. Anyway, I was shocked at the actual number of fish I caught versus what I would have guessed. Most of the fish were 10 to 12"

Joe

Edited to add: The number of fish on these two floats were way up from last year. Normally on a two or three day float we have at least one day where we are begging for a strike. This year the 2.5 day float didn't have any "slow" days. The only slow period was around 11am to 1pm and then they turned back on strong...

[Feathers and Fins]

Hadsome fantastic days this year including a 100+ day. I think i turned a few members here onto that bite and they had great days as well.... If you get in the whites or hybrids when they want to eat its not hard to pull that 100 day... But then my launch time is O dark thirty and im home after dark as well.

[Bird Watcher]

every year I count less and less everything. In the past I kept track of numbers of mushrooms, numbers of turkeys, numbers of deer, numbers of waterfowl, numbers of fish, numbers of...everything. Nowadays, I can barely remember what I caught at the end of the trip. I still remember the big ones or the unique situations, but I could care less about numbers anymore. I don't like getting skunked, but after I count 1, that's really as much as I need to count. The only one I really care about counting is the next one anyway. I don't really care about my tally because that's the past...that's what I caught. What really excites me is what I am about to catch.

[jdmidwest]

I have had numerous days where I just had to hide behind a tree and bait my hook. Fishing was so hot that every time the lure got near the water, a fish jumped on. One trip happened just 3 weeks ago on the Spring River, a big white truck came by and a stream of fish came out of the back of it. The rest of the day was a free for all.

[DaddyO]

When my brothers and Dad and I take our annual trip to fish Taney, White and Norfork, we fish daylight to dark and some nights. My Dad, usually, doesn't keep count of his fish, he just fishes and enjoys his sons being competitive and trash talking. Even though us brothers are in our 40's and 50's, when we get on the river with a fishing rod in our hands, we feel like boys again. So, naturally, we compete. Well, the competition is really between me and my younger brother. I'm the middle child and my older brother (by 1 year) is never in the hunt.

It isn't uncommon for us to have over 100 fish per day. We usually wind up with a Norfork Slam between the two of us and only rarely accomplish it on our own. The fish only counts if you touch it. LDR's don't count and we fish close enough to each other to keep us honest. We've even fished through a downpour because there wan't any lighting and the fish never stopped biting.

It's all in good fun and my best memories are of these trips with my Dad and Brothers. I turned my Younger brother on to stripping streamers at night last year. He hasn't stopped talking about it, yet. We usually make this trip in October. I can't wait!!

[Gavin]

Nothing wrong with counting...I do it for a living and I dont do it when I'm on vacation... I do look at my watch and my map and guestimate some metrics. Fish per mile/hour is good indicator when stream fishing for bass. Less than 3...slow....5 about average...7-10 good..more than that..outstanding! If fishing for stupid stocker rainbows up those estimates.

[laker67]

Normally all I count, are lunkers caught in one day, or night, of fishing. Of course I am talking trout lunkers but you all could do the same with smallmouth. Night fishermen on taney like numbers, and I have on several occasions kept track of the total number of fish caught. With good friends on the creek, it is a friendly competition kind of thing, but not near as important as the cup of coffee, and the story you share at break time.

[Mitch f]

I'm not a counter either, but in defense of the counters, it's the best way to quantify the quality of the stream and your ability to be a better fisherman. If you are trying to improve, it's a must. I equate it to golf.....how are you going to get better if you don't have a good baseline?

[Feathers and Fins]

LOL I blame my granfather for making me a counter! He taught me detailed logs of Numbers, Species, Time of day, Water temps and so on. Gotta say though after years of doing it I have a better picture of where and when to hunt and fish.

[kevthebassman]

I've never had a 100 fish day, but I've had a 40 fish day or two in my life, and to me those are real memorable trips. I don't doubt that some of the guys here post 100 fish days, especially guys like Al and others who get to spend as many days on the water per year as I might spend in 5 years or more. Having a young family and an employer who is tight fisted with pay and vacation days will do that to a guy.