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Fishin

wakephan09 said:
I'll probably go out on my lake for a couple of hours this afternoon. Not much to catch but a few crappies, but my gf can lay out and I can drink some beers and pretend to fish.
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Jesus. I am so jealous.
 
PhysDeac said:
tsy, tell me a little about fishing the Yadkin. I used to fish for an hour or so every day after school/work back home on the Saluda, and I want to get back into something like that here.
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The biggest thing most people fish for in the Yadkin are catfish (channel cat and blue), followed by white bass, striped bass and crappie in that order. The catfish are pretty large, but have dwindled down some in recent years. The largest catfish we've ever caught was a 44lb blue right behind where my house is now. My preference is smaller channel cats around 1lb as they can be cooked whole and eaten by one person. Most of the larger cats come up from High Rock lake and will go as far north as Idols Dam (just below Tanglewood). The dam also stops the striped bass and white bass runs, but people have reported great fishing just south of the dam. The white bass have already run this year, but you'll occasionally get some striped bass or hybrid bass on into the summer. Largemouths are in the river, but not nearly as abundant as the others.

One fish that is present but despised is the alligator gar. They can grow up to 6ft long and are nasty buggers.
 
By the way, when I was abroad a couple years back (Spain) I noticed posters around for fishing tournaments. They were always for carp. This may not be news to some of you guys who know a lot about fishing. Seems I remember looking it up and seeing that carp was the major tournament fish in that area of the world since they are native.

Interesting comparison when you think about the bass obsession in America. And at least in my personal experience, carp are seen as an undesirable catch and even a pest at times. They are hard to get on the hook, too.
 
Carp fishing in ponds is actually a big business in the redneck south. I know of at least 5 or 6 carp ponds where people go to fish on the weekends. The owners feed and stock the ponds, and people pay an entrance fee to fish/compete. A specific weight is drawn out of a hat, and whoever catches a fish that weight wins the money. If the money isnt won, it carries over to the next day. A high school friend of mine inherited one from his grandfather, and makes $100k+ a year for very little work.
 
tsywake said:
Does this hold true even for the New up in WV?
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Sorry, thought you meant in NC. Don't know much about fishing the New in other states except that it's not designated trout water in Virginia according to Virginia Wildlife so I assume it's not in West Virginia either. Really, only a small portion of the New is suitable for trout and then, only really during cooler months.
 
That's kind of what I was thinking. The New grows in size significantly in WV, but still has some occasional whitewater which might be suitable for some trout.
 
tsywake said:
The biggest thing most people fish for in the Yadkin are catfish (channel cat and blue), followed by white bass, striped bass and crappie in that order. The catfish are pretty large, but have dwindled down some in recent years. The largest catfish we've ever caught was a 44lb blue right behind where my house is now. My preference is smaller channel cats around 1lb as they can be cooked whole and eaten by one person. Most of the larger cats come up from High Rock lake and will go as far north as Idols Dam (just below Tanglewood). The dam also stops the striped bass and white bass runs, but people have reported great fishing just south of the dam. The white bass have already run this year, but you'll occasionally get some striped bass or hybrid bass on into the summer. Largemouths are in the river, but not nearly as abundant as the others.

One fish that is present but despised is the alligator gar. They can grow up to 6ft long and are nasty buggers.
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That's great! I love catfish and they are fun as hell to catch. What kind of rigs have you had success with for bank fishing? I usually will use braided line with either a slip-cork setup or a Santee rig for channel cats.
 
I use a standard mono 20lb test line, with a 1oz weight, swiveled then a 1ft leader with a night crawler or cut bream. Using bream is illegal since its considered a gamefish, but the catfish like them the best. For the larger ones, we'll take an entire bream the size of your palm, cut a few slits in the side and put it on the hook. It limits the number of fish you'll catch, but only the larger cats (5lb or larger) will hit it.

Another thing that people use with great success is chicken livers tied up in panty hose. I've never done that because I hate chicken livers, but they say it works well.
 
Good stuff. Chicken livers, baitfish, and nightcrawlers are pretty standard catfish bait. I can't wait to get out there when I have a free Saturday and scope out some good spots.
 
Best thing I have ever used to catch catfish is shrimp. I'll buy a lb at HT when they are on sale and then not refrigerate them on the day I go fishing. They smell like dammit, but those stupid fish love things that stink.
 
Let me know. One Saturday night we can shoot guns, drink beer, and fish in no particular order. I'm clearing off a spot behind my house that has great access to the river.
 
drew said:
Best thing I have ever used to catch catfish is shrimp. I'll buy a lb at HT when they are on sale and then not refrigerate them on the day I go fishing. They smell like dammit, but those stupid fish love things that stink.
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Yep, my dad and I used to fish a little blackwater pond down the road from our house that was STOCKED with channel cats. We always used shrimp, but I've moved on to chicken livers and baitfish since they are cheaper. Catfish really will eat anything though.
 
Everything you mentioned are good things, tsy. I'll let you know when I get a free Saturday.
 
tsywake said:
Let me know. One Saturday night we can shoot guns, drink beer, and fish in no particular order. I'm clearing off a spot behind my house that has great access to the river.
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Woah hold on right goddamn there you couple of redneck fckrs! Fishin, beer and guns? You better damn well make this open to the Pit and not just two guys out getting drunk enough to show each other their dicks, because those things are absolutely awesome together.

I would easily volunteer a case of beer and a case of skeet.
 
I do want to do a pit invitational tubing/fishing/drinking trip down the Yadkin from The Dam to my house. It's right at 7 miles.
 
tsywake said:
I do want to do a pit invitational tubing/fishing/drinking trip down the Yadkin from The Dam to my house. It's right at 7 miles.
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That sounds awesome.

"Fishing relaxes me. It's like yoga, but I still get to kill something" ~Ron Swanson.
 
I will fly fish for about anything.

Heading to the Roanoke River at Weldon next weekend for the shad run - I have tied about 60 flies for the trip so I hope they work. Will be going back to Weldon at least once and possibly twice for stripers.

I was planning a brook trout trip today but we assumed the conditions were no good due to the rain last night, so it got postponed.

Trash fish need love, too. Carp on a fly rod are a blast. I will actually be targeting gar this spring, just to see if I can catch one on a "rope" fly (no hook - the rope tangles their teeth).

Smallies a few times each year.

Trout whenever possible.
 
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