The Fishing Thread

uh no don't put bait on them.. those things are designed to look like food while you are pulling them through the water.

if you want it to not function correctly then yes put bait on it. however if you would like to actually catch fish do not put bait on it

Lol. I smash the barbs down because I want to release the fish with minimal damage.

lurker said:

So this might sound a little silly, but here goes.

When my wife and I go camping sometimes we fish a stream or river just to use up time. We would release anything we caught. I say would because we've never caught anything. We are incompetent noobs.

We have a collapsible rod. It needs to be small for transport. I tie a snap swivel at the end of a line. Then I tie a hook to about 18" of line and connect that to the swivel. I put a small bobber up from the swivel about 12". I bait the hook with pink powerbait or real salmon eggs. Sometimes I use a flashy metal lure that came with our pole. We cast it out, let the current take it down stream a bit and then reel it back. Over and over.

We've been out about 3 times not counting the 4 or 5 times we've tried in the stream behind my house in ID. Haven't caught a thing. It's fun, but eventually I'd like to reel something in. A trout, hopefully.

Any pointers?

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Where at in ID? I spent a year working for Idaho Fish and Game doing electroshock surveys and there's literally not a single stream in that state that doesn't have rainbows in it.

If you want to catch a fish start off in some high mountain lakes. Besides the incredible scenery you're guaranteed a few fish. Start off using live worms under a bobber. Most of those lakes are crystal clear and you can find the fish with your eyes. They will ALWAYS bite a live worm. Sometimes the bite will be slow and they just won't strike much despite putting it right in their face. Have patience, eventually the bite will turn on.

Once you've caught a few the easy way then try some of those Mepps spinners. So much fun and you can cover more ground.

Once you've caught some fish out of some lakes then go back and try the streams. Look for eddies behind big boulders, deep holes after a riffle/run, and sharp bends in the stream to float a nightcrawler over. Have fun, Idaho has some amazing fishing!

I moved to the Northwest 4 years ago, and recently had a buddy said he'd show me the ropes with fishing. I've never been river fishing, and the extent of my lake fishing is using a bobber with some bait someone else gave me, throwing it out, and see what happens. I'm a city boy through and through, but trying to change that!

Iv'e got a buddy that said he'd take me out to the rivers up here in WA and show me the ropes, but I have no gear. I'm sure he's got some extra gear, but if I wanted to get started with some river/lake fishing, catching Steelhead? or rainbow trout I guess? or other fish that's around here. Salmon? What kind of gear would you recommend? Forgive my noobness, but is there a decent fishing starter kit?

Crone said:

I moved to the Northwest 4 years ago, and recently had a buddy said he'd show me the ropes with fishing. I've never been river fishing, and the extent of my lake fishing is using a bobber with some bait someone else gave me, throwing it out, and see what happens. I'm a city boy through and through, but trying to change that!

Iv'e got a buddy that said he'd take me out to the rivers up here in WA and show me the ropes, but I have no gear. I'm sure he's got some extra gear, but if I wanted to get started with some river/lake fishing, catching Steelhead? or rainbow trout I guess? or other fish that's around here. Salmon? What kind of gear would you recommend? Forgive my noobness, but is there a decent fishing starter kit?

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Steelhead are just rainbows that made it out to the ocean and are returning to spawn, the term is anadromous. Same with salmon. There are very specific seasons and regs when it comes to steelhead and salmon so make sure you familiarize yourself with them beforehand.

Best starter kit IMO is a spinning rod with 6-8# test, a few different spinners and spoons, an assortment of split shots, some snap swivels, a few bobbers, and a few different sizes of snelled hooks. Get some live bait: worms, crickets, salmon eggs, and/or meal worms and go explore different waters. You'll eventually start catching fish and there's no substitute for just going out and doing it. Start at the bottom of the food chain and work your way up, don't expect to catch a 20# steelhead starting out. Or shell out a couple hundred bucks and pay for a guide service.

some late night early morning jigging

Our first fish.



My wife caught this guy/gal (?) in the Big Wood River near Ketchum, ID. It measured about 10.5". We took the photo and released it back into the river

BrutulTM said:

Do you know that you should wet your hand and net before you touch the fish if you're going to release it? Otherwise you can wipe off their protective slime and makes them susceptible to disease. Some people even say don't use a net at all if you don't have to if you're going to release the fish.

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I did some reading on the subject and I thought it would be better to use a soft net rather than my hands. I kept the little guy in the water and my wife was getting ready to retrieve the hook when it popped out of his mouth, so we never had to touch him at all. I know it won't always be that way but I can't imagine using my hands instead of a net to immobilize the fish.

lurker said:

Our first fish.

View attachment 170107

My wife caught this guy/gal (?) in the Big Wood River near Ketchum, ID. It measured about 10.5". We took the photo and released it back into the river

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How did she catch it?