AUF Anglers

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

1 minute ago, alexava said:

Avid crappie fisherman around here call bass green carp. 

IMO, crappie is the best eating freshwater fish. Brackish, either reds or winter specks. Saltwater, very hard choice between pompano and triple tail. 

[alexava 6,973]

28 minutes ago, NolaAuTiger said:

IMO, crappie is the best eating freshwater fish. Brackish, either reds or winter specks. Saltwater, very hard choice between pompano and triple tail. 

I actually like shellcracker and bluegill better. Crappie are always good. In cold water , especially creeks I like bass too. I haven’t had any bad salt water fish. 

[SaltyTiger 7,789]

3 hours ago, alexava said:

I haven’t had any bad salt water fish.

Stay away from Rudderfish, JMO. Hard to believe how fishing has changed. 30-35 years ago we considered Amberjack a trash fish. Pre limits on snapper and grouper. 

Every knowingly eaten shark Alex? 

Edited February 5, 2020 by SaltyTiger

[alexava 6,973]

5 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Stay away from Rudderfish, JMO. Hard to believe how fishing has changed. 30-35 years ago we considered Amberjack a trash fish. Pre limits on snapper and grouper. 

Every knowingly eaten shark Alex? 

I think so. But I can’t be sure. I love amber jack. Cobia is probably the best I’ve had. 

[SaltyTiger 7,789]

1 minute ago, alexava said:

I think so. But I can’t be sure. I love amber jack. Cobia is probably the best I’ve had. 

Cobia is great. Amber jack is good. Has a blood line in it that needs to be cut out while cleaning. The small sharks, 18" or so caught off the beach are pretty good. been a while but used to clean and cook frequently when my boys where young and caught them. Most folks have unknowingly eaten shark.

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

2 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

Hard to believe how fishing has changed. 30-35 years ago we considered Amberjack a trash fish.

Same can be said of sheepshead .

[SaltyTiger 7,789]

2 hours ago, NolaAuTiger said:

Same can be said of sheepshead .

Same with triggerfish. Both hard to clean.

[Tiger Refuge 6,662]

9 hours ago, alexava said:

I actually like shellcracker and bluegill better. Crappie are always good. In cold water , especially creeks I like bass too. I haven’t had any bad salt water fish. 

I agree. One of my favorites is fried, whole bluegill. Well, “whole” minus the head, guts and scales. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by Tiger Refuge

[alexava 6,973]

7 hours ago, SaltyTiger said:

Cobia is great. Amber jack is good. Has a blood line in it that needs to be cut out while cleaning. The small sharks, 18" or so caught off the beach are pretty good. been a while but used to clean and cook frequently when my boys where young and caught them. Most folks have unknowingly eaten shark.

Guy who was a coworker years ago took a collection and cooked some shark and brought it to work one night. It was ok. But I can’t be certain it was shark. Could have been cod for all I know. 

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

Football season. Love Spring fishing. 
 

[alexava 6,973]

Any of y’all got one of these?

 

[SaltyTiger 7,789]

On 4/9/2020 at 9:03 PM, alexava said:

Any of y’all got one of these?

Amazing. I can remember when the old paper graph fish finders came out and we were all in awe of the technology. At that time I was in a position to fish West Point at least 4 to 5 times weekly. Knew a guide there that had taken a leave of absence from work when the lake was being constructed by the COE. He spent weeks doing nothing other than mapping and surveying the soon to be reservoir. Knew the lake so well that he could look at paper from your graph after a day of fishing and tell you what areas you had fished.    

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

Nice way to top off the weekend

[ShocksMyBrain 9,362]

On 4/19/2020 at 5:39 PM, NolaAuTiger said:

Sea trout? Spanish Mackerel? What are those? 

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

13 hours ago, ShocksMyBrain said:

Sea trout? Spanish Mackerel? What are those? 

Sea trout. As we call them,  "specks" (speckled trout)

[alexava 6,973]

Good eats!

[alexava 6,973]

I’ve been off work 4 weeks, six scheduled. With pay, thank god. It’s been the worse fishing luck for me and nearly everyone I know. The damn rain has kept Wheeler higher than normal and rolling faster than I’m used to pattern fish. Barometer has sucked too. Bass and Crappie both. 

[NolaAuTiger 3,295]

2 hours ago, alexava said:

I’ve been off work 4 weeks, six scheduled. With pay, thank god. It’s been the worse fishing luck for me and nearly everyone I know. The damn rain has kept Wheeler higher than normal and rolling faster than I’m used to pattern fish. Barometer has sucked too. Bass and Crappie both. 

Fish the shallow water.

[alexava 6,973]

Wheeler is a lake on the Tennessee River. Tva uses it to control flooding on the river system. It’s just below guntersville lake. ( Guntersville doesn’t fluctuate much at all.  Wheeler fluctuates about 6 feet from. Rock bottom winter pool to full pool. They get it to full pool April 15 to September 15. Due to all the rain it’s been at or above full since early March. Which means water I’m used to fishing at 2 feet is six feet with much stronger currents. I usually find post spawn fish in that six feet water about this time of year. So hopefully I can get back into my usual pattern. I haven’t fished the banks for crappie in years. I tried this time and didn’t locate them. Blue gills and shell crackers are going to be on soon. I prefer eating those. 

[Mike4AU 1,739]

I done a ton of smallmouth fishing on Wilson and Pickwick, with Pickwick being my favorite.  I usually did pretty good with a heavy, double bladed willow-leaf spinnerbait when the water was way up.   I have caught a fair amount of really nice smallmouths when the water was up and ripping through.  

[AUFAN78 3,894]

17 hours ago, alexava said:

Wheeler is a lake on the Tennessee River. Tva uses it to control flooding on the river system. It’s just below guntersville lake. ( Guntersville doesn’t fluctuate much at all.  Wheeler fluctuates about 6 feet from. Rock bottom winter pool to full pool. They get it to full pool April 15 to September 15. Due to all the rain it’s been at or above full since early March. Which means water I’m used to fishing at 2 feet is six feet with much stronger currents. I usually find post spawn fish in that six feet water about this time of year. So hopefully I can get back into my usual pattern. I haven’t fished the banks for crappie in years. I tried this time and didn’t locate them. Blue gills and shell crackers are going to be on soon. I prefer eating those. 

Fish 1st, 2nd and Spring creeks with spinnerbaits and trick worms (yellow, white, pink) in grass on bank for bass. I've caught 40 bass multiple times without cranking big motor in all three creeks.

I can't tell you how many times I've launched at Spring this time of year at the public launch adjacent to the causeway, gone under the causeway and immediately to the right bank and caught limits of crappie on roadrunners and big shellcracker on squirrel tail jigs closer to bank and in trees. Cuts on left going under that causeway bridge have have both bluegill and shellcracker beds. Crickets/red worms make it easy. Perfect for small boat or kayak.

Good luck!

[alexava 6,973]

37 minutes ago, AUFAN78 said:

Fish 1st, 2nd and Spring creeks with spinnerbaits and trick worms (yellow, white, pink) in grass on bank for bass. I've caught 40 bass multiple times without cranking big motor in all three creeks.

I can't tell you how many times I've launched at Spring this time of year at the public launch adjacent to the causeway, gone under the causeway and immediately to the right bank and caught limits of crappie on roadrunners and big shellcracker on squirrel tail jigs closer to bank and in trees. Cuts on left going under that causeway bridge have have both bluegill and shellcracker beds. Crickets/red worms make it easy. Perfect for small boat or kayak.

Good luck!

I have rarely fished west of the nuclear plant or elk river. Haven’t been to Spring creek in 20+ years. Thanks for the pointers. I usually stay between limestone bay and the Cowford area. I do a lot of brush Placement  in swan creek/ west dyke. 

Edited April 23, 2020 by alexava

[kevon67 2,368]

On 4/22/2020 at 10:23 AM, NolaAuTiger said:

Sea trout. As we call them,  "specks" (speckled trout)

Yep we are coast rats lol.........specks indeed.......bet I know what you call a bowfin.......shoe pick only spelled differently 🤣

[alexava 6,973]

On 4/24/2020 at 11:02 AM, kevon67 said:

Yep we are coast rats lol.........specks indeed.......bet I know what you call a bowfin.......shoe pick only spelled differently 🤣

I have been to Jamaica a couple times. The main buffet on the terrace always had “sea trout “. And it was great. There was a restaurant in Athens that had it at times. I don’t think I’ve seen it on a menu in years. Probably not easy to get if it’s a sport fish.