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I assume this is where to post my progress as a new fisherman. If not, I do apologize profusely and would understand if the topic were moved to a more appropriate place.
In this post, I'd like to update you all on the progress (or lack of) that I'm making in my new past time and ask questions about some things which are lying on my mind concerning my trips.
My wife and I took off to the local city owned lake today. They have a huge lake which stocks bass, catfish, crappie, brim, and who knows what else. It's a perfect family atmosphere and my wife and I really enjoy it. It's never too crowded with people fishing so it's kind of like our own private lake.
We loaded up the car and got there at about 7:15am. I didn't realize this was going to cut into my sleep. We set the chairs up, got the cooler out (with non-alcoholic beverages), laid our gear out and started casting our lines.
It was a beautiful morning with a clear view of our part of the lake with the treeline hanging over the opposite bank. It was cool and very comfortable. The only problem we have (of course, my wife dislikes this area more than me) is we fish near where the city official rents boats out and they debark from the shore not too far from where we fish. I'm just a naturally nosy fellow who enjoys seeing those people get their trawlers (spelling?) and put them on the boat. I think they are called pontoon boats. My wife is under the impression that the motors and noise of the larger motors scare the fish away. You know, some of those folks take like 10 rods and reels with them in a boat. I'm doing good with my one. We are going to try a less noisy section of the lake next week in a little cove where we had pretty decent luck once before.
Now, here's my thing. We sat there for probably 5 hours with MAYBE 2-3 nibbles on my line and about the same for my wife. She did catch a catfish (probably about 7 inches) and I started playing with the little brim at the bank. I was actually cleaning my worm off and noticed those little buggers snatching at my worm. So I put my hook with worm in at the bank and caught me a baby brim. I thanked him for putting up the fight he could and threw him back.
We use those North Carolina nightcrawlers on a standard hook. Well, not so standard. It has a barb I guess on the hook part and a couple of tiny barbs on the back (shank?) of the hook which catches your fingers while trying to tie it to the line.
We kept getting hooked on stuff in the water that hasn't given us any trouble in the past. But we kept breaking our lines trying to get them unhooked.
Once my wife hooked a turtle. That thing was HUGE!!! He poked his old head up after my wife lost him (again, the line broke) and I believe he stuck his tongue out at us. His head had to have been at least 3" in diameter. I told my wife, had she gotten him on shore, either he was going back in the water, or I was. Didn't matter to me.
What can I do to improve my chances on catching or getting action on my line? I saw some spray at the local Wal-Mart which was designated for different fish per container. I was wondering if this would help. Also, I'm going to put a heavier line on the reel since we were using a 25lb test line on our other rods and reels and seemed to have less trouble in the water. I use 4 sure shot weights to get the cast I want.
I've also got a lure I had gotten back in the day when I was going to try it but ended up pursuing another endeavor (women). I should have stuck with fishing. I'd at least have gained some useful knowledge and wouldn't have walked around with such a confused look on my face all of the time. Ahh, but that last one ended up with my beloved wife. She was the prize catch.
Anyways, back to fishing. What are some tips and stuff for someone of my caliber from some of the more experienced of anglers?
Thank you in advance for your contributions.
Dan
In this post, I'd like to update you all on the progress (or lack of) that I'm making in my new past time and ask questions about some things which are lying on my mind concerning my trips.
My wife and I took off to the local city owned lake today. They have a huge lake which stocks bass, catfish, crappie, brim, and who knows what else. It's a perfect family atmosphere and my wife and I really enjoy it. It's never too crowded with people fishing so it's kind of like our own private lake.
We loaded up the car and got there at about 7:15am. I didn't realize this was going to cut into my sleep. We set the chairs up, got the cooler out (with non-alcoholic beverages), laid our gear out and started casting our lines.
It was a beautiful morning with a clear view of our part of the lake with the treeline hanging over the opposite bank. It was cool and very comfortable. The only problem we have (of course, my wife dislikes this area more than me) is we fish near where the city official rents boats out and they debark from the shore not too far from where we fish. I'm just a naturally nosy fellow who enjoys seeing those people get their trawlers (spelling?) and put them on the boat. I think they are called pontoon boats. My wife is under the impression that the motors and noise of the larger motors scare the fish away. You know, some of those folks take like 10 rods and reels with them in a boat. I'm doing good with my one. We are going to try a less noisy section of the lake next week in a little cove where we had pretty decent luck once before.
Now, here's my thing. We sat there for probably 5 hours with MAYBE 2-3 nibbles on my line and about the same for my wife. She did catch a catfish (probably about 7 inches) and I started playing with the little brim at the bank. I was actually cleaning my worm off and noticed those little buggers snatching at my worm. So I put my hook with worm in at the bank and caught me a baby brim. I thanked him for putting up the fight he could and threw him back.
We use those North Carolina nightcrawlers on a standard hook. Well, not so standard. It has a barb I guess on the hook part and a couple of tiny barbs on the back (shank?) of the hook which catches your fingers while trying to tie it to the line.
We kept getting hooked on stuff in the water that hasn't given us any trouble in the past. But we kept breaking our lines trying to get them unhooked.
Once my wife hooked a turtle. That thing was HUGE!!! He poked his old head up after my wife lost him (again, the line broke) and I believe he stuck his tongue out at us. His head had to have been at least 3" in diameter. I told my wife, had she gotten him on shore, either he was going back in the water, or I was. Didn't matter to me.
What can I do to improve my chances on catching or getting action on my line? I saw some spray at the local Wal-Mart which was designated for different fish per container. I was wondering if this would help. Also, I'm going to put a heavier line on the reel since we were using a 25lb test line on our other rods and reels and seemed to have less trouble in the water. I use 4 sure shot weights to get the cast I want.
I've also got a lure I had gotten back in the day when I was going to try it but ended up pursuing another endeavor (women). I should have stuck with fishing. I'd at least have gained some useful knowledge and wouldn't have walked around with such a confused look on my face all of the time. Ahh, but that last one ended up with my beloved wife. She was the prize catch.
Anyways, back to fishing. What are some tips and stuff for someone of my caliber from some of the more experienced of anglers?
Thank you in advance for your contributions.
Dan
