bloosfisher

Some areas, they seem to be the only invertebrate present. It's bizarre to see how many there are in a small area. Weirdly, there are less fish present, as if removing smaller food sources has decreased the numbers of fish. Not so in the larger Hudson. onthefly made a good observation, I think, from his water.

I see them regularly in a few tribs of the Hudson I regularly fish. Some are 4-5 inches, but that is maybe their upper limits. Likely something else.

It's amazing how capable smallies are of choking down big prey. I caught one on a size 2 bugger than had already swallowed a 6-7" bullhead. Numbers of times I've spotted cray claws in their throats. That very well may be the invasive rusty crayfish that has spread from the Ohio River basin. They are known for their large size and aggressiveness. I spent lots of time watching smallies hunt crayfish in a little creek when I was a kid. If you fish large cray flies, make sure the claws fold in (or just tie one tail, think wooly bugger), as they swallow them tail first. Crayfish stand on their tails and spread their claws as a defensive position, the claws fold together when they flee, swimming backwards in foot long spurts. 3 fast strips followed by a pause often will get it done. Big trout like lobster, too.

9 ft. is perfect for me. Enough to make back casts clear the water, short enough to lip or net fish. A short head to limit false casts is a good point. I use a piece of plastic in my sit-in to dump line on, there's enough spare room in the SOT to keep line clear. I always wear a lanyard with nippers, forceps , a spool of tippet, and a hook sharpener. Keeps the reaching around to a minimum.

Ubereater uber-reacted. A situation that could have been resolved in 2 minutes or less with simple compliance. This is gross exaggeration that is leading to the further polarization of our society. Has anyone considered the pinninped is pimping Putin's propaganda?

I've used Frog Hair running lines, specifically the 58 lb. , .024 . At 44 yds. for 15 bucks they are a relative bargain. There's times I've needed extra distance and this has come through for me. Generally, I don't like piling more than 80' in a stripping basket, but some situations call for reaching out a little farther. Or getting a little deeper, as they're fluoro and follow sinking heads down. Paired with the right length / wt. shooting head , they sail. Much better than the leadcore/Amnesia I started out with.

That's awesome to see it up close! I've seen eagles be successful from a distance, never close. An osprey got a lizard fish approximately 4' behind my float tube out in the middle of the backside of San Diego Bay. I only heard the water explode, then the result as it flew away. My fishing was over for the day.

There is no expectations, only effort. I plan to exceed limitations, as I have repeatedly beat long odds. I'm having stem cells harvested today and the transplant in a month. I plan to be fishing Narragansett in April, as I've done for decades, kayak fishing Umbagog and the Rapid River in early June. If I don't set the carrot out at the end of a 9' graphite stick, there's no point. The good thing is my doctors like me and are trying their best to help me reach the rainbow at the end of a cast. Thanks for the prayer, they help.

Partly, that will be the case. Cape Ann in the salt, mostly around PI Sound. Hard to rely on people to coordinate schedules. Gloves, barbless, a lip gripper and stainless pliers/forceps are likely to get 'er done.

Thank you, good thoughts and info. I do have a great local vet who is very accommodating. I'm not supposed to be in a sterile environment at home, just clean. I have worked with lots of synthetics, tied hundreds and hundreds of slinky fiber Clousers, for example. Just made some artwork foam poppers that Maine smallmouth hammered on vacation last week. I'll look into tying some completely synthetic nymphs, and maybe buggers with rubber and estaz in place of wrapped hackle. Marabou may be tough. I need nothing, my friend is fishing my flies but wants his own. F*** Zoom, if I can't hang with my brother, I'll check out. After 3 weeks, I can have some visitors that use caution and discretion. There's trout streams within a couple of miles of the hospital (Dartmouth Hitchcock, Hanover , NH) so it's likely I might luck into finding some patients or professionals that have some experience. Unfortunately, no one on my team is a fisherperson.

I should have prefaced it by I have a shortened life anyway, and there's no recovery. I seriously considered doing what I can while I can and ending all treatments. My doctor's have offered much better advice as to fishing, I wanted to see what people here would say. I should have known there'd be nothing concrete with the exception of nitrile gloves , and Jersey Jebs take which is exactly my take. I've fished for steelhead and trout for decades in the winter with gloves. By the way, having my wife or friends put materials through a UV light box before I use them has been approved by my oncologist. Fishing has been as much as my life as breathing almost; I'll give them up coevally. My doctor's are well aware my iconoclastic approach to my care has kept me alive and got me the offer of stem cell in the first place. They are loathe to impede my life more than necessary.

Two part question: I'm about to have a stem cell transplant to cut down on chemo-therapy . Essentially , it will make my immune system non- existent for awhile. I'm doing it soon so my recovery is primarily through the winter. I've been told no fishing for a year, unless I never handle the fish. I did not mention tying, as my team would have a fit. Any thoughts on the fish handling? Any thoughts on sterilizing tying materials? I especially want to tie, as I'm teaching a good friend with combat related PTSD to fly fish and tie. He just retired as a General, we're bright enough to keep ourselves from being the issue. My team has been good about letting me finish some work and get some of the fall run in, but looking forward is bleak. Please help a fellow fish addict out.

Just amazing. I've sight fished carp from long, long before it was cool, and my greatest competition was from bow fishers. They've wasted my local flats, thanks to two archery shops running tournaments. In some areas, they are considered trash that needs eradication. I viewed a bass club, pun intended, bashing carp during the spawn in Lake Morena in Ca. It was encouraged by the state park and CDFG. Carp are highly destructive to nests and young of sportfish. They also tend to uproot vegetation and create mud flats. If people had an iota of observation they'd have noticed Bill's disproportionate arms and used a little common sense and decency. There was little need for pontification. I think my days in this forum are over.

By logical extension, don't ever pull on a carp's jaw by hooking it, their powerful pulling and thrashing against an angler will destroy their jaws. I remember having a conversation with this gentleman years ago on a carp flyfishing sub-forum, I think, about a river in Newark ,NJ where I caught my first one in 1960. Great catches . I like that reel. A number of years ago, I arranged a raffle to raise money for a Mattarelli automatic to go to a Project Healing Waters member. These look even cooler, have to think about doing it again. Thanks for sharing some cool stuff.

I second the vermiculations capture. I've been taking a close friend who has seen way too much combat out every Friday for S. Vt. brookies. It's a Project Healing Waters like endeavor, but more one on one. Great way to teach someone to fly fish and the scenery and hiking is second to none. Water levels for this time of year are outstanding. One other thing I've noticed is numbers of fish. The day of the five gallon pail fish fry/ beer party seems to have waned. Many streams and beaver ponds would be devoid of fish from locals cleaning them out. I'm a local, but never participated in that level of disregard.