Fishing---Why is XXX species your favorite?

[Still_Learnin']

Been fishing for Smallies since the mid-80s in North Dakota. It's a hell of a lot better now than it was then as far as the number of lakes that have them.
Was into with them growing up in southern Missouri and fishing them bass in rivers. It's hard to beat the fight. anything that will chase a lure while casting Is my favorite at the time. It's hard to beat white bass on DL when they are chomping in early June along with walleye and Pike.

In Oklahoma, white bass (or sand bass as we call them) are our state fish. Just like pike up here, they were in every little mud hole you could find. Nearly everyone eats them back home. I was surprised to move up here and find that nobody eats them.

 

[Enslow]

I dont eat bass of any flavor. I don't eat pike either but keep the big ones and give them away.

 

[Still_Learnin']

I dont eat bass of any flavor. I don't eat pike either but keep the big ones and give them away.

I haven't kept any bass in 5 or so years. I think white bass taste fine but not as good as many other species. I think largemouth and smallmouth are OK but nothing to write home about.

 

[DerHornen]

You should try pike in Canada. It's a lot more casting and a lot less trolling in the places I've fished, and there have been days where you boat a fish on every 3rd cast. There's something awesome about a calm overcast day when you can see the fish come from a long way off to smack a spoon or mepps.

I'm not sure I've found a type of fish I don't like to catch. I target walleye more often than any others, mostly because that's what i know best, but I've been branching out a lot lately.

 

[wildeyes]

Walleyes for me, nothing like a walleye in shallow water 2'to 4' casting jigs and smacking the jig like a bass. when they are shallow like that they fight hard. for a fight though you can not beat salmon or a large carp. be honest with you i like anything that bites my lures. Fish on boys fish on!#$%^&>

 

[svnmag]

I'm a known bass enthusiast and not a snob. Well, I truly love catching on artificial lures over bait. It's actually strange I don't have a fly rod. My absolute favorite is catching with unconventional methods IE: Cat, walleye and trout on topwater or plastic worms. Big browns back in the Hills love black Texas rigged worms at night as I'm sure they would in the race. Strange I've never tried it.

IME, browns in rivers settle at the back of the hole toward dusk and want a #5 ShadRap. After dark is when worms are the ticket. Walleye on top is best during the spawn when they're concentrated at a barrier with minimal current. Cat has always been in ponds down south casting parallel to the bank. When the mosquitoes get bad it's time for topwater (pertaining to all species). The shallow Rapala ShadRap is an excellent topwater bait and the most versatile crankbait ever conceived IMHO.

Zen. Visualize a bird dropping a fish with a broken swim bladder and wanting to escape to cover:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS1ggFD6g-k

 

[Enslow]

Yeah but eyexer says rapalas suck...

 

[svnmag]

They do tend to suck with lip durability. If he has issues other than that he sucks.

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IMHO, one could do well with a ShadRap lip replacement business. Ahab advised me a few years ago they'll replace the lure but the wait and price deterred me.

 

[svnmag]

Just freakn' thought of this. EFF: When dealing with a rocky bottom; instead of a bullet weight modify a bbl sinker by boring a hole through the side for a bastardized football jig. I guess this could be accomplished with a big assed needle, pliers and a lighter. EFF.

Youth is wasted on the young. If this is not already in existence I dub it the West Virginia 7 Rig.
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Texas rig has already been bastardized by Florida and screw weights. If a screw weight version of this concept doesn't exist I dub it the Bellington Rig. (pronounced "bee"lington in tbe Hills)
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IMHO, walleye want large stupid meals now.

 

[bigcatpike]

My favorite fish species are catfish and northern. My brother and I started fishing 3 years ago when I was 14 dropping a bobber with a worm off the side of the dock praying for something to bite. We soon got very tired of this as the tiny perch never fought very hard and we didn't get much meat off them. We heard from people in the area about how good the catfishing is here. (We live approximately 20 mi from the Red) So, we began to go onto youtube to learn how to catch these fish. We watched many youtube videos and read a lot of Captainbrad's articles and a couple of his books. We began to learn to fish the river for catfish by trial and error. It took about a year before we found a handful of spots that consistently produce big cats and a few eaters as well. I would say that catfish are now our favorite open water species because they fight hard and we enjoy eating the small ones as well.
We started ice fishing two years ago, again just by reading articles and watching youtube videos. We started with catching small perch once again. We thought tipup fishing would be fun, so my brother and I went out and bought an arsenal of tip ups. Armed with smelt, we headed to the local reservoir. The first northern we ever caught was just under 20lbs and was 41 inches. This hooked us on pike fishing. Pike are my favorite fish to catch ice fishing because they taste great (and are not hard at all to debone) and they fight hard as well.
We bought a bought early this fall and have enjoyed learning Devils Lake and learning to catch walleyes. Walleyes are fun to catch and are tasty, but they don't hold the same place in my heart that catfish and northern do.

 

[shorthairsrus]

LM

 

[Account Deleted]

Bluegills. I guess because they are kind of a novelty in ND and I have an excellent spot to chase them in MN. They fight harder than they should for a fish that size. They are my favorite fish to eat and they have great colors. Gimme more bluegills.

 

[Davey Crockett]

Perch

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They taste better and they are easier to clean than any other fish in my area.

 

[svnmag]

 

[Allen]

I think paddlefish hold a special place in my heart even though I am a dyed in the wool walleye chaser.

Nothing breaks the monotony of endless casting better than an 80 lb female heading upstream after she gets a hook in her tail! Woohoo, fish ON!

Then again, if it's catchable, I seem to always be game for wetting a line. Can't remember the last time I didn't go fishing because someone wanted to go chase ________.

 

[Ragnar]

Amber Jack and Bull Reds

 

[svnmag]

That was an amazing post BCP. You're too young to be on here. Holy hell.

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Lobbying for striper and reds in the tailrace Mr. Ragnar.

 

[Still_Learnin']

Just freakn' thought of this. EFF: When dealing with a rocky bottom; instead of a bullet weight modify a bbl sinker by boring a hole through the side for a bastardized football jig. I guess this could be accomplished with a big assed needle, pliers and a lighter. EFF.

Youth is wasted on the young. If this is not already in existence I dub it the West Virginia 7 Rig.
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.

I have seen the football weight that you mentioned a few times. Not sure that I've seen a name for it so I think the West Virginia 7 should fit.

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Bluegills. I guess because they are kind of a novelty in ND and I have an excellent spot to chase them in MN. They fight harder than they should for a fish that size. They are my favorite fish to eat and they have great colors. Gimme more bluegills.

I've found myself to be quite the bluegill fan since I moved to ND. When I realized how big they are at Metigoshe and a number of lakes in this state, I'm targeting them as often as I can when ice fishing. And sometimes I'll even take the boat in open water season.

 

[FishReaper]

Id say mostly pike. Love the fight and enjoy them on the plate. Plus can be caught with many types of fishing depending on the time of year.
this year i threw some effort into salmon from shore and I will be doing that again. watching the breach and trying to figure out what they wanted was a blast. then hooking up and fighting was unreal. Very cool fish and cant watch for my next tangle with them

 

[Enslow]

Just freakn' thought of this. EFF: When dealing with a rocky bottom; instead of a bullet weight modify a bbl sinker by boring a hole through the side for a bastardized football jig. I guess this could be accomplished with a big assed needle, pliers and a lighter. EFF.

Youth is wasted on the young. If this is not already in existence I dub it the West Virginia 7 Rig.
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Texas rig has already been bastardized by Florida and screw weights. If a screw weight version of this concept doesn't exist I dub it the Bellington Rig. (pronounced "bee"lington in tbe Hills)
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IMHO, walleye want large stupid meals now.

Rapalas surely don't hold up like they used too. They aren't made in Finland anymore.