AUF Anglers

[SaltyTiger 7,761]

5 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Not sure of her standards, but looks like a keeper.

They say excellent smoked but already had ribs on the Green Egg. Lots to love about your corner of the world.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

Just now, SaltyTiger said:

They say excellent smoked but already had ribs on the Green Egg. Lots to love about your corner of the world.

Mostly a river fisher. Biggest I ever caught was a damn' alligator gar (2nd ugliest creature God has created), ~6ft. Only thing worth cooking is the tenderloins.

[SaltyTiger 7,761]

2 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Mostly a river fisher. Biggest I ever caught was a damn' alligator gar (2nd ugliest creature God has created), ~6ft. Only thing worth cooking is the tenderloins.

And the #1 ugliest is?????

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

5 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

And the #1 ugliest is?????

Locals call it a loggerhead, but the books say alligator snapping turtle. Any picture you'll ever see is overly flattering. If you catch a big one, you will see ~100 yrs of old rusty fishhooks in its mouth (and head, and flippers) where someone in the past caught it and said, "aaaawwww, hell no." They have been known to bite oars in half.

 

ETA - Biggest I ever caught was ~ 3ft shell length (and they have a long and flexible neck). Being a kid, I kept it tied to the steps, and stepped off it for a few days, without realizing the danger. Hope my stupid dogs never meet one.

Edited July 11, 2017 by AUld fAUx@

[SaltyTiger 7,761]

6 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Locals call it a loggerhead, but the books say alligator snapping turtle. Any picture you'll ever see is overly flattering. If you catch a big one, you will see ~100 yrs of old rusty fishhooks in its mouth (and head, and flippers) where someone in the past caught it and said, "aaaawwww, hell no." They have been known to bite oars in half.

have to agree. Hooked a few myself and can not find a pair of pliers long enough to cut the line. Think some folks like to eat those. Say its great. taste like chicken......just give me chicken. Frog legs are a different story, love em. 

Runner up or 3rd has to be the "Mudfish". In the eighties on West Point Lake locals called it a mother in law fish. UGLY

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

5 hours ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

Mostly a river fisher. Biggest I ever caught was a damn' alligator gar (2nd ugliest creature God has created), ~6ft. Only thing worth cooking is the tenderloins.

I caught a gar recently on a plastic worm(Senko) in about 6" of water. I had no idea how to handle it. As you can see, I didn't even hook him, he just grabbed it and wouldn't let go until I twisted it with the pliers. Then I proceeded to nudge him back to the water with my feet and hands.

And about an hour later caught this chunker on a squarebill. All the mud and mess on my shirt was from the gar.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

9 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

I caught a gar recently on a plastic worm(Senko) in about 6" of water. I had no idea how to handle it. As you can see, I didn't even hook him, he just grabbed it and wouldn't let go until I twisted it with the pliers. Then I proceeded to nudge him back to the water with my feet and hands.

And about an hour later caught this chunker on a squarebill. All the mud and mess on my shirt was from the gar.

The nudge approach was well advised. Don't know if you examined the mouth (most folks don't bother) but there are bony plates in there. It is not a hospitable place for an angler's thumb. Only way I've seen them "hooked" is when they swallow a big treble hook whole.

 

ETA - If you ever do want to butcher one, tenderloins, running parallel to backbone, are about all that's worthwhile (slow grilled). Kind'a wasteful. It's a difficult prospect as well. Those scales on the back are interlocked into a veritable shell. I use a hatchet with a hammer behind it to split'em open.

Edited July 12, 2017 by AUld fAUx@

[SaltyTiger 7,761]

35 minutes ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

The nudge approach was well advised. Don't know if you examined the mouth (most folks don't bother) but there are bony plates in there. It is not a hospitable place for an angler's thumb. Only way I've seen them "hooked" is when they swallow a big treble hook whole.

 

ETA - If you ever do want to butcher one, tenderloins, running parallel to backbone, are about all that's worthwhile (slow grilled). Kind'a wasteful. It's a difficult prospect as well. Those scales on the back are interlocked into a veritable shell. I use a hatchet with a hammer behind it to split'em open.

Have a son that is a bow fisherman. He asked me to cut the tenderloin out of a big one once. Tried with the electric fillet knife. Told him to get the chain saw and do it himself or throw it away.

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

1 hour ago, AUld fAUx@ said:

The nudge approach was well advised. Don't know if you examined the mouth (most folks don't bother) but there are bony plates in there. It is not a hospitable place for an angler's thumb. Only way I've seen them "hooked" is when they swallow a big treble hook whole.

 

ETA - If you ever do want to butcher one, tenderloins, running parallel to backbone, are about all that's worthwhile (slow grilled). Kind'a wasteful. It's a difficult prospect as well. Those scales on the back are interlocked into a veritable shell. I use a hatchet with a hammer behind it to split'em open.

His teeth were enough to let me know I shouldn't get my hand anywhere near the mouth. 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

1 hour ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

His teeth were enough to let me know I shouldn't get my hand anywhere near the mouth. 

As a final note, your gar looks more "spotted" than "alligator". The latter sports a broader snout and a stockier (almost inflexible) torso. I've been trying to find good side-by-side images but this is best I've found:

http://roughfish.com/bowfin-and-gars

 

ETA - glad for your subsequent "chunker." worthwhile outing.

Edited July 12, 2017 by AUld fAUx@

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

It appears there is currently a fish kill going on at one of the ponds I frequent. This was yesterday, and I caught a pair of bass out of there 5 days prior. 

[Tiger Refuge 6,660]

Nice toad, @ShocksMyBrain!

 

Gar are hands down, the toughest, slimiest SOB's swimming in the water. 

 

My first conservation related job was in fisheries at the Mississippi Dept of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks as a summer intern. Part of our work involved sampling fish to estimate population diversity and size in state owned lakes. We did this by "poisoning" a netted off acre of water, then dipping up all of the fish. Gar were always the last to die. Oftentimes, they wouldn't be fully dead as we worked them up. Kinda like handling a live piece of boiled okra.

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

Not sure if this (or any other?) thread is appropriate venue for recycle of this old chestnut. I might have even gotten it from here to begin with?? Don't remember.

"My wife would like that."

 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

On 8/7/2017 at 11:23 AM, AUld fAUx@ said:

Not sure if this (or any other?) thread is appropriate venue for recycle of this old chestnut. I might have even gotten it from here to begin with?? Don't remember.

"My wife would like that."

 

That really should be an SNL skit. Reminds me of this

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/schmitts-gay/3505912?snl=1

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

Few catches from the past couple days. Largest 3.25, second largest 2.3. Lipless crank and black/red flake Senko. I had 3 spit, two of which were trebled...that rarely happens for me, even more so twice in one day.

[alexava 6,973]

Is anyone planning to go fishing during this eclipse? I might. 

[Barnacle 9,064]

Just now, alexava said:

Is anyone planning to go fishing during this eclipse? I might. 

that's an interesting idea. just for the heck of it? 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

3 minutes ago, alexava said:

Is anyone planning to go fishing during this eclipse? I might. 

If it hits when I'm off work, I will certainly give it a shot. I'm usually fishing anyway when I'm off as long as the weather permits. 

[alexava 6,973]

Yes. You gotta think with the effect of full moons and atmospheric pressure and all it would be either really good or lockjaw. 

[alexava 6,973]

August 21,   ~12- 3:30ish

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

5 minutes ago, alexava said:

Is anyone planning to go fishing during this eclipse? I might. 

Cool idea.

You in the total zone?

My understanding, the light goes polarized. Conceivably have an effect on the sight hunters? Doubt anybody's ever even gotten a small dataset on that. Keep a logbook.

[alexava 6,973]

97% my area. I'm told 

[AUld fAUx@ 2,584]

On 8/11/2017 at 10:52 AM, alexava said:

97% my area. I'm told 

Ran into an article over the weekend. Seems a few papers have been written concerning observations of eclipse behaviors of piscavores (fish-eaters):

“…When he was viewing a different eclipse from a boat near the Galapagos Islands, he saw dozens of whales and dolphins swim to the surface of the ocean five minutes before the eclipse began. They hung out there until five minutes after the eclipse, before returning to the watery depths, he recalled…

Brown pelicans and frigatebirds that had been foraging over the water before the eclipse left the bay 13 minutes before totality and didn’t return until 12 minutes after the solar disk was fully revealed…” and (local) geographic distribution of the fish themselves:

“…After observing reef fish during a total eclipse that swept over Pinta island in the Galapagos, the authors found that daytime fish sought shelter in the reef during totality while nocturnal fish were more likely to leave the cover of their daytime habitats.”

 Moreover, a rather massive study of the vertical migration of oceanic fish food is planned for the coming eclipse:

“…Fram, who works on a project known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, will be able to get data from six bio-acoustic sonars off the Northwest coast — three that are directly in the path of totality and three that are not. This should allow researchers to see how much the sun has to dim to affect changes in the zooplankton’s movements.”

 I believe, however, that your proposal to plumb the (fresh-water?) depths of fish feeding habits would be ground-breaking. I also hope you catch the limit of whatever study area you choose.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20170813/science-says-eclipse-may-make-animals-act-strangely

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

First fish off a top water frog.

[alexava 6,973]

On 8/14/2017 at 11:36 AM, AUld fAUx@ said:

Ran into an article over the weekend. Seems a few papers have been written concerning observations of eclipse behaviors of piscavores (fish-eaters):

“…When he was viewing a different eclipse from a boat near the Galapagos Islands, he saw dozens of whales and dolphins swim to the surface of the ocean five minutes before the eclipse began. They hung out there until five minutes after the eclipse, before returning to the watery depths, he recalled…

Brown pelicans and frigatebirds that had been foraging over the water before the eclipse left the bay 13 minutes before totality and didn’t return until 12 minutes after the solar disk was fully revealed…” and (local) geographic distribution of the fish themselves:

“…After observing reef fish during a total eclipse that swept over Pinta island in the Galapagos, the authors found that daytime fish sought shelter in the reef during totality while nocturnal fish were more likely to leave the cover of their daytime habitats.”

 Moreover, a rather massive study of the vertical migration of oceanic fish food is planned for the coming eclipse:

“…Fram, who works on a project known as the Ocean Observatories Initiative, will be able to get data from six bio-acoustic sonars off the Northwest coast — three that are directly in the path of totality and three that are not. This should allow researchers to see how much the sun has to dim to affect changes in the zooplankton’s movements.”

 I believe, however, that your proposal to plumb the (fresh-water?) depths of fish feeding habits would be ground-breaking. I also hope you catch the limit of whatever study area you choose.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/news/20170813/science-says-eclipse-may-make-animals-act-strangely

I wish. In total reality, I ain't got time to fish. Maybe later in the fall. Just too busy. But it's almost always crappie. Sometimes bream and shell crackers.