OK... So I think the contest this year has probably produced an avalanche of gripes, complaints, whines and flat-out excuses... I'm starting this thread for those of us who need a little space to vent. Put your best gripe forward!

I'll start. @#%$!&% FLOODS!!!!!! Granted, I can't blame all of my nearly total absence from the contest scene since June 2nd on the bad weather and massive flooding in Oshkosh, but I will put a lot of it there - cleaning up after 9 inches of water in my basement takes a good chunk of fishing time out of a person's schedule... Thank god I don't live across the street where the basement water level was 3 feet...

Hopefully now that the new boat is finally up, running, and ready to go (Props to Josh K - I couldn't have done it without him) we can get back on the water and back into action...

Amen!!

No more flooding!

Now Lets get "the Mistress" out and see if we can find us a big Flattie under that tressle!! BOO-YA!!!!


I have decided I am going to extend my Goal of 30 species over the entire open water season. The whole point of the contest is to see how well we understad the individual species and selectivly target them.
So far I must say I am happy. When I did get out looking for a species I have had a Good succes rate.


That said!!







MOONEYE ARE A MYTH!!! AN EVIL TRICK THEY WORLD IS PLAYING ON ME!!

HA, HA, HA, Alright fess up its been nothing more then a snipe hunt!

The mooneye will come...We all have our tough species that kick our ass. For me, catching a goldfish has proved to be tougher than usual. I probably have spent 10 hours in my backyard fishing for stupid goldfish. Last year I spent 10 minutes fishing for goldfish and caught one right away.

This contest is a really fun way to figure out each species. It sure has been fun trying to locate some of them in the high water...find the slack areas, find the fish.

I hope the stupid brown trout that popped out of my hands while trying to take its picture (no pic) finds its way downstrean to the pike stocked lake below.

And speaking of pike, if i ever find that little gator that politely transferred the lure from his mouth to my hand before swimming away....

MOSQUITOS, MOSQUITOS, MOSQUITOS!!!!!!!!!!

After trying to nab a Grass pickerel today and seeing about 50 of them. I finally was able to hook one. The are so Tiny 4-6"
I yanked him up and midflight in (I know sounds graceful) I saw the seperation between him and the hook grow. It looked like that scene in Hot Rod when Rod makes the big jump.
So I dove and made the catch only to have him flop out of my hand. then he sat there for a second on the edge and flopped back in.
He may have given me the bird before his escape, i am not sure.

I had no idea it was so hard to catch a particular species of bullhead...

I'm having the hardest time catching a species that is normally such an easy one to catch....which is the nothern pike. Normally I catch them like crazy but lately I have not been able to find them. I did have one on when i was fishing for panfish at the beginning of the contest but he snapped my line.

Common Carp always is elusive during the contest for me.. Any other time they are everywhere...

Kidney Stones
Strep Throat
Stomach Flu

'nuff said!

SuperFrog wrote:

QUOTE:
Kidney Stones
Strep Throat
Stomach Flu

'nuff said!

You win!

Was fishing the Mississippi last night chasing longnose gar. I found a pod of about 10 of them just whooping on the emerald shiners, so I first tried the rope lure. I could hit them in the head with that thing, and no takers...not even a strike. So then I started tossing roostertail spinners and small silver raps. They were really snapping at the silver stuff...I must have lost 6 of them things. Hook-up for about 5 seconds, the gar gets airborn, and no more gar. I even had one on the bank, only to watch him flop back into the water. I've only ever caught one of these guys...very frustrating fish!

But very very promising to see those guys so active this early in the year...Going back soon with tweaked tactics.

So Dr.
What about using a rope lure with a spinner on it.??
I was thinking of doing a similar thing with a jig.

Does this work?

Its worth a try. I think they just need to be more flashy in general. More of a smaller profile to immitate baitfish better.

Im gonna do some custom garflies, I think. I will mess with the spinner idea too. Thanks for the idea!

If you do make them do it after monday ok :D

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


Good luck! and let me know if it works.

I may be trying for Gar and Pickerel again tomorrow if the weather holds out. I may try this there

been there, done that.....so to speak I guess..here's a pic.

I saw some very large longnose gar surfacing over the weekend so I put a spinner on one of my rope lures and..........nothing.

I've seriously tried everything. People ask me now and then, "have you tried this???" and the answer is always yes.

They're just so unpredictable. You can catch 40 of them on one day and have a hard time getting one the next day. that's why I keep going after them I guess. The challenge and the mystery that is......the longnose gar.

good luck.

To the good doctor: if you really want a longnose, PM me. or if you want to go out sometime this summer (after the contest), come on down here. On a good day we will boat 30-40 of them on rope lures.

you want to make sure the spinner is way ahead of the rope or it will be constantly tangled in the rope...hence the plethora of beads ahead of the rope.

Not a gripe or anything, but finally got a longnose last night. Just wanted to share the tactics. Night fishing, I found some really slack water just teeming with shiners. The gar were all over the surface, feeding on the minnows. I thru the ropelure for quite a while...nothing. Even added a flashy silver spinner to it. I did bring live bait this time...Got it on 3 fatheads on a single hook. Just put it in front of its face, and it ate it up. I missed the first 3 or 4 due to not enough line on my reel. Finally on the right combo, after a 5 minute run with the bait, it happened! Got my second longnose of my life...

Congrats!!

How did you see the gar after dark?
Was the area lit, or did you use a spot?

The area was lit up good with street lights. I have found that hitting them with a spotlight or headlamp usually scares them off the surface.