Microfishing -Who knew... This guy and Others

[Johnsfolly]

It's  getting a lot more attention across the US. An article from Texas about microfishing. Put article here since this is the first article that has some discussion about assessing impact of microfishing. Also goes into the details of the use of catch records posted on INaturalist which I use and contribute to frequently.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/microfishing-texas-trend/

[snagged in outlet 3]

2 hours ago, Johnsfolly said:

It's  getting a lot more attention across the US. An article from Texas about microfishing. Put article here since this is the first article that has some discussion about assessing impact of microfishing. Also goes into the details of the use of catch records posted on INaturalist which I use and contribute to frequently.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/microfishing-texas-trend/

What’s the story about how you started micro fishing?

[Ham]

"Still, the rapid growth of microfishing has at least some fisheries managers concerned over its unregulated nature and possible downstream impacts."

Me thinks Steven should bring some of those concerns about downstream impacts of an unregulated type of fishing to bear on "bowfishing". Most micro fishing guys are not going to sit there and keep catching the same fish. I try to take care of the little guys just like the bigger guys, but some of them are very fragile and seem to look for any excuse to die. I'm talking about you Brook Silverside. 

[Ham]

“I want to go everywhere, catch every fish, and experience all that fishing has to offer,” Arcia said. “Microfishing is the way to do that.”

I know you were asking John Pete, but this quote sums it up for me pretty well. I only wish I had started with this when I was 20 years old. 

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

6 hours ago, Ham said:

“I want to go everywhere, catch every fish, and experience all that fishing has to offer,” Arcia said. “Microfishing is the way to do that.”

I know you were asking John Pete, but this quote sums it up for me pretty well. I only wish I had started with this when I was 20 years old. 

 

I have a custom bamboo 3 weight and an antique Hardee Bros The Flyweight reel I was going to sell on eBay.   Maybe I should give a try.   I love fishing, period.   Just never thought about it until you guys posted about it.  

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

1 minute ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

I have a custom bamboo 3 weight and an antique Hardee Bros The Flyweight reel I was going to sell on eBay.   Maybe I should give a try.   I love fishing, period.   Just never thought about it until you guys posted about it.  

Pete,  I will gladly come up to your area and show you the ropes.  @Johnsfolly showed me,  and I've been decently successful.   It makes a great difference in the learning curve and confidence to be shown, I believe.   

I just don't know all of the specifics of species.  I did get the Fishes of Missouri book and have learned a lot.  Even with that crutch, I don't have the vast knowledge of John.  

[Johnsfolly]

On 6/11/2022 at 4:58 AM, snagged in outlet 3 said:

What’s the story about how you started micro fishing?

Pete believe it or not but it was an article in Bassmaster.😉. Been fishing and busy addressing work issues. Haven't been online much other than to post on INaturalist some new species we caught on Sat. I'll finish this story later when I have more time.

[Johnsfolly]

Hey @snagged in outlet 3

So here is the story that lead me to microfishing. Back in 2009 I read an article in Bassmaster that detailed how a couple of guys set out to catch all of the black bass species within a certain period of time (maybe 2 weeks or a month - I can't remember). I have always consider myself a multispecies angler first and foremost. As @Ham stated I have always wanted to catch and experience many fish species. So I used to keep a list of fish that I caught in an old guide book. It wasn't a stretch to think about trying to catch all of the bass species at that time (either 8 or 9). At that time I had already caught northern largemouth, Florida Largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass. We were going to visit my dad in Georgia. Turns out that most of the black bass species at the time could be found in GA. I found spots to go for redeye bass, shoal bass, and suwannee. Before I left Missouri I caught smallmouth and northern largemouth bass all on a hand baited Excalibur Spit N Image. So in GA I caught shoal bass and redeye bass on that same lure. I ended up losing that lure while fishing for another shoal bass. Later in that trip we were south of Tallahassee FL fishing a spring fed river. I lost two suwannees fishing a fluke. I couldn't get a bite on anything else, but kept losing them on the larger baits. Since that time they described seven or eight more bass species and I still am working on that goal. I have caught Neosho smallmouth in case you are wondering.

In 2013, I set a target to catch a trout in every designated trout stream in Missouri. So I fished every white, red, and blue section of every creek and river in the state. I finished that quest in Oct of 2015 while fishing the North Fork of the White River below Patrick Bridge.

After the GA trip and completing my version of the MO trout slam, I pushed to catch different species within the same genus. It started with targetting all of the rock bass or as I completed last year all of the temperate bass. On OAF I did find another multispecies angler with access to shadow bass. It took a lot to finally meet up with him, but Ham and I finally fished together in 2016. WE did catch shadow bass and I caught my PB drum on that trip.

So what does that have to do with microfish? All of this was to demonstrate how obsessive I can be 😁.

In April of 2015, I was fishing  Bonne Femme Creek in Columbia. I caught common shiners and some large creek chubs. Then I found a pool that held orangethroat darters and everything changed.

I had to figure out how to catch these guys. I bought the smallest hooks (#20 long shank dry fly hooks) that I could find at the Bass Pro shop in town. It wasn't really easy, but we caught a few and our microfishing career started. I realized right then that by microfishing I could fish almost any and every creek, slough, ditch, etc. It opened up my ability to greatly expand my lifelist. I found even smaller hook options and caught more species. At that time that I was developing techniques on how to catch these guys and many other species, I didn't even realize that there was a whole world of microfisherman. I still am just getting started with meeting and talking with other microfisherman in the country. 

Of note, Livie and I introduced others to microfishing including @Daryk Campbell Sr. Daryk talked to me about wanting to catch the colorful fish that he used to see in the St Francis river (he can correct if I am wrong). So we met at a river and we went fishing. We all caught micro and larger fish. Daryk even caught a couple of different darter species, fantail and rainbow darters.

My lifelist currently sits at a total of 222 different species. Probably a third of those were likely considered as micros. it has been a great ride so far and I look forward to continuing microfishing and sharing with others when I can.

Sorry that this is so wordy, but at least there are photos😅.

 

[Johnsfolly]

@snagged in outlet 3 A salty reason to microfish - Striped blennies caught on the fourth😁

Mine

Livie's

[snagged in outlet 3]

That’s cool!