by JD on February 25, 2009
“This morning, I shot six holes in my freezer, I think I got Cabin Fever…somebody sound the alarm!” Ah yes, the words of the immortal Jimmy Buffett certainly ring true on this cloudy February afternoon, so in light of taking any pent-up aggression out on a helpless appliance, I figured I’d post some serious fish porn today to get the juices flowing.
This behemoth Kenai River rainbow (in the 20-pound class if you’re keeping score at home) and the several below come compliments of guide Matt Duncan of X-Stream Alaska Fishing (website coming soon…see bottom of post for contact info). Man, if these shots don’t put a little extra stiffness in your high modulus graphite, I don’t know what will!
Slab!
See ‘em all…
[click to continue…]
by JD on February 24, 2009
JD, My brother and I are going to the Nushagak River, Alaska this summer for King fishing. We are getting ready to tie up some double hook rigs from the trip. My question(s) are:
Guide recommends using Maxima line for leaders and main line. Said they have never used braided line or flouro-carbon.
What do you think? Flouro-carbon leaders and braided main line a good choice? Does Flouro-carbon hold well when used to snell a hook?
Thanks, Dave N.
Dave, after guiding up there for 7 seasons on the ‘Nush, I can tell you that I never used anything but single barbless (no double rigs). The reason: there are so many fish up there that…
A) You’re going to hurt too many small kings with the double rig
B) You’re going to get hooked in the hand at some point
C) You’re going to spend too much time messing around, unhooking fish when you could be fishing
Unless the fishing is tough (rare), don’t bother tying too many double rigs…I think the slowest day I ever had up the guiding was 18 kings to the boat and we had as many as 100. Maybe take a few just in case you hit it at the worst possible time and there aren’t many fish.
As far as flouro goes, definitely not necessary. These fish are about as leader shy as bluegill. I’m not sure where you’re fishing, but in the lower river, it’s all pea gravel and you may not lose a rig to a snag all week. Plenty to fish, however…
Have fun!!
by JD on February 24, 2009
JD,
Quick question for you…I am in need of some roe and am considering purchasing some since it does not look like I will be harvesting my own anytime soon. Do you happen to know of a good source? I would like to get it uncured, which means I probably will have to drive to OR, but I may just be willing. I saw Kevin Mellegers listed as a retail source for Sunrise Bait. Ever tried Sunrise eggs? Good quality? Appreciate any info.
–Derek P.
D,
No roe really? Heck, I’ve got three freezers jammed with the stuff and have just been throwing it over the side lately because I can’t deal with curing any more….oh wait…sorry, that was a flashback to the 2006 salmon season in the Valley. Yea, I’m with ya — eggs are tough to come by these days in our neck of the woods. The upside to it is I’ve gained a lot of confidence with yarn balls, pink worms and jigs!
The Sunrise Bait that Mad River Outfitters and others carry is actually pretty decent, tacky stuff for store-bought. It’s a red sulfite cure, though, so if you’re interested solely in steelies, you may consider other options (though plenty of steelies have fallen for the stuff).
Perhaps the best bet is North Coast salmon & steelhead guru Scott Amerman, who sells really nice cured salmon and steelhead baits.
Good luck!
by JD on February 23, 2009
After painfully getting edged out of the top spot in the 2006 Bassmaster’s Classic by a mere 6 ounces, Auburn CA’s Skeet Reese put the final feather in his professional career Sunday by winning the 2009 Classic on the Red River in Bossier City, LA.
Reese sacked 16 pounds, 12 ounces on the final day to beat 2003 Classic champion Mike Iaconelli by 11 ounces. For the win, Reese fished a 3/8-ounce Lucky Craft Redemption spinnerbait and a Berkeley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw. For his efforts, he collects a check for $500,000 — bringing his career earnings to nearly $2 million!
I’m sure it was us posting a photo of his pimped out F650 tow rig last week that gave Reese the good karma and propelled him to the win! What’s that, Skeet? Oh, our cut of the prize money is in the mail? Sweet, thanks!
by JD on February 23, 2009
This one’s from the Holy Crap files! Check out this very bright (still had sea lice!) and oh so giant king salmon from the Kenai River! The fish was taken June 30th, 2004 by a client of guide Greg Brush of EZ Limit Guide Service in Soldotna.
Take a really, really close look at that fish…the wrist of the tail is as big as your thigh and you could fit your head inside its mouth! And then there’s the adipose fin that’s the size of a salad plate…
Although not a world record…not even close, if you can believe that…Greg (right) says the fish was in the mid 80′s (duh!) and is his personal best during his tenure as a guide on the Kenai.
The best part of the whole deal is the client released the fish! Super manly man stud props for that!
Though the Kenai’s slowing down as a giant factory, there are still monsters lurking in its emerald depths and Les Anderson’s all-tackle world record of 97 pounds, 4 ounces is never safe here. Check out the story of the World Record King HERE
by JD on February 20, 2009
After a round of much needed storms, we’ve had a couple really nice days here in Nor Cal, but more winter weather is on it’s way, so it looks like the Delta’s stripers will have to wait for awhile…
by JD on February 19, 2009
Sometimes…you’ve just gotta look at stuff from a different angle to make your eyes and brain process things in a new way. To that end, I’ve been messing with the panoramic setting on my camera over the past several months and the results have been kinda cool…
This is one of my early favorites: With such a broad view, it takes your eyes awhile to adjust and figure out exactly what you’re looking at. I took this one while walking across a railroad bridge that spans an Oregon steelhead river:
Here’s a bunch more….
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by JD on February 17, 2009
Okay, so it’s not exactly a secret, but roe is one hell of a productive sturgeon bait. Ever since we started catching diamondbacks on eggs years ago while fishing for salmon on the Sacramento River, I always wondered why the sturgeon guys didn’t use the stuff. After all, we caught pretty good numbers of fish boondoggin’.
Well, as it turns out, sturgeon guys are a crafty lot and small groups of anglers had been using salmon roe and keeping it quiet. Since then, the lid has been blown off the story and everybody’s using it.
Before we get too far along here, a few quick pointers. First off, don’t cure your eggs with a sulfite-based salmon cure…sturgeon don’t like eggs cooked that way as much — unless you’re in freshwater. In salt, plain is better. Keep in mind, that the cure isn’t quite as important in briny water since the eggs won’t milk all that much. If you want to add something, soak the eggs in scent first.
Okay, so now Jay Lopes of Right Hook Sportfishing in West Sacramento shows how it’s done…
Bury
Wrap
Huck
Balance
Catch!
Repeat
