Monday, November 18, 2013
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Not really any fishing
This time I really didn't make it, not a single trip. (what a loser)
Well anyway, I have no material, except for my mind. I will now try to recollect a fishing trip of trips past.
The date was 5/11/12, and I went fishing. It was a morning-style fishing trip, a trip that is now rare. I was fishing at Rocky Ford with my former youth minister, Craig Patrick, along with Mattias Brouk and also some Brandon guy. It was in the spring during a high water period, and the water was just warming up.
I had a new set of spoons from China (from Wlure.com [this is not an ad {I am not getting paid <maybe I should get paid>}]). So yeah, anyway I wanted to try them out, but I knew that a little minnow-crankbait had been working pretty well recently. So I tried using a small square-billed crankbait that I had never caught anything on. Before long, I was snagged to a 35 inch gar that I brought back to show the others. They were all like "Oh, that's cool." So then I went back to where I caught the gar- across ten inch deep water. They must not have wanted to get their feet wet. So I started casting again and soon had a 12 inch white bass. I kept fishing and had a 16 inch channel catfish in a matter of seconds.
Then something happened. I caught the first walleye of the day. This is significant because I had caught only a few walleye before this time and none so far that year. The walleye encouraged me, so I kept fishing and quickly had another white bass, this one was 13 inches. I kept casting in the exact same area and saw that there were hundreds of white bass and other predators attacking a huge school of baitfish only a few yards out in the rapids. I cast again but the lure got caught up in the line and could not dive until I retrieved and untangled it. Just as the lure came over the fish, it was hit- and missed. I then decided to intentionally tangle the hook and let the crainkbait twist and skim across the surface. The results were pretty good, as I hooked an 11 inch white bass that was to be the 100th fish of the year. The area I was fishing had super-fast rapids that ran over a section of rocks and then sharply dove four feet deep. I started casting right over the rocks to let the lure float over them and then pulling hard to make the lure dive once it cleared the cliff. The results were spectacular. I started catching walleye, first one 14 inches, and then I started catching BIGGER walleye. I caught a fish that was 18 inches long, by far the biggest walleye of my life. I kept getting hit after hit- 10 inch walleye, 16 inch walleye, even a little baby catfish.
Momentum was going in my favor, so I switched the crankbait out for one of the new spoons. I had success by just letting it sink until I felt a hit- the water was much too fast to reel it in if I wanted it to get deep enough for fish to see it. I caught three decent-sized white bass before switching back to my now-favorite crankbait. I was totally going to catch like twenty fish, but instead I lost it on a rock. So then I realized that it was getting a little late and the other guys might want to go or something. When I got back over to were they were fishing I learned that they had collectively caught one fish. I also learned that I should not have tried using that spoon again, because I lost it a little- on a rock- in a place that I knew had lots of rocks.
I later found out that all of the fish I was catching were all on their spawning runs. Later that spring, I caught at least three big channel catfish, including one that was 27 inches, and caught dozens of white bass and wiper. This trip was the first trip that I actually used crainkbaits, and I found out that they work really well. I also learned that sometimes there are fish piled up in one area that you may need to ford rivers to find, and also you should do whatever I say if you want to catch fish.
Well anyway, I have no material, except for my mind. I will now try to recollect a fishing trip of trips past.
The date was 5/11/12, and I went fishing. It was a morning-style fishing trip, a trip that is now rare. I was fishing at Rocky Ford with my former youth minister, Craig Patrick, along with Mattias Brouk and also some Brandon guy. It was in the spring during a high water period, and the water was just warming up.
I had a new set of spoons from China (from Wlure.com [this is not an ad {I am not getting paid <maybe I should get paid>}]). So yeah, anyway I wanted to try them out, but I knew that a little minnow-crankbait had been working pretty well recently. So I tried using a small square-billed crankbait that I had never caught anything on. Before long, I was snagged to a 35 inch gar that I brought back to show the others. They were all like "Oh, that's cool." So then I went back to where I caught the gar- across ten inch deep water. They must not have wanted to get their feet wet. So I started casting again and soon had a 12 inch white bass. I kept fishing and had a 16 inch channel catfish in a matter of seconds.
Then something happened. I caught the first walleye of the day. This is significant because I had caught only a few walleye before this time and none so far that year. The walleye encouraged me, so I kept fishing and quickly had another white bass, this one was 13 inches. I kept casting in the exact same area and saw that there were hundreds of white bass and other predators attacking a huge school of baitfish only a few yards out in the rapids. I cast again but the lure got caught up in the line and could not dive until I retrieved and untangled it. Just as the lure came over the fish, it was hit- and missed. I then decided to intentionally tangle the hook and let the crainkbait twist and skim across the surface. The results were pretty good, as I hooked an 11 inch white bass that was to be the 100th fish of the year. The area I was fishing had super-fast rapids that ran over a section of rocks and then sharply dove four feet deep. I started casting right over the rocks to let the lure float over them and then pulling hard to make the lure dive once it cleared the cliff. The results were spectacular. I started catching walleye, first one 14 inches, and then I started catching BIGGER walleye. I caught a fish that was 18 inches long, by far the biggest walleye of my life. I kept getting hit after hit- 10 inch walleye, 16 inch walleye, even a little baby catfish.
Momentum was going in my favor, so I switched the crankbait out for one of the new spoons. I had success by just letting it sink until I felt a hit- the water was much too fast to reel it in if I wanted it to get deep enough for fish to see it. I caught three decent-sized white bass before switching back to my now-favorite crankbait. I was totally going to catch like twenty fish, but instead I lost it on a rock. So then I realized that it was getting a little late and the other guys might want to go or something. When I got back over to were they were fishing I learned that they had collectively caught one fish. I also learned that I should not have tried using that spoon again, because I lost it a little- on a rock- in a place that I knew had lots of rocks.
I later found out that all of the fish I was catching were all on their spawning runs. Later that spring, I caught at least three big channel catfish, including one that was 27 inches, and caught dozens of white bass and wiper. This trip was the first trip that I actually used crainkbaits, and I found out that they work really well. I also learned that sometimes there are fish piled up in one area that you may need to ford rivers to find, and also you should do whatever I say if you want to catch fish.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Post About Fishing
"Another week- another trip!"
Someone said that I bet.
Oh boy! more fishing- this week was better than last (I promise). This week was the last week of football, and I scored the game winning touchdown!(not really- we got blown out) So I now have more time on my hands to fish and do other un-athletic things.
The day of the trip was the day that K-State played Iowa State. With K-State in such a precarious position, this guy needs to help the team out by watching the first half of the game- and by wearing a groovy hat and jersey. So after a convincing first half of football, I went to Dick's with my dad and looked around for a little bit. I left the store with a new little crankbait that I will now refer to as the "Three-Dollar Crankbait". The day started off with me telling my dad how great the UV lures had been working on previous trips. I said that all I had to do was hold the lure in the same position for a few seconds right under me. After demonstrating for a few minutes, I got a little too aggressive and lost the lure. The trip suddenly cost five dollars in only a few minutes. So the next move for me was to use the Three Dollar Lure. I nearly lost that one on a rock only a few minutes later, so I got the brilliant idea to lower the budget.
When I fish, I leave my gear all at one place and take a box of jigs, pliers, and a handful of soft plastic grubs and minnows in my pocket. Over time I keep forgetting to take the plastics out of my pocket and they go through the wash and blend colors. On this day, I remembered to bring the forgotten plastics and I used one on a jighead. (this is only a $.60 value)
I noticed some of the fish in the pond-area were acting weird, so I started fishing that side. Before long, I had what seemed to be a snagged sucker. When I brought it up to the surface, I saw that it was a flathead catfish, and it was kinda big- 25 inches long.
This picture shows the dividing walkway between a calm pond and the speeding rapids.
So here are the notes for the week:
1 You could lose five (nearly eight) dollars of fishing lures in ten minutes, or you could use a sixty cent lure for two hours and catch fish on it.
2 Now is the time to look for spotted bass and smallies at Rocky Ford
3 Every time I watch the first half of the football game at my house, K-State wins, you're welcome.
Someone said that I bet.
Oh boy! more fishing- this week was better than last (I promise). This week was the last week of football, and I scored the game winning touchdown!(not really- we got blown out) So I now have more time on my hands to fish and do other un-athletic things.
The day of the trip was the day that K-State played Iowa State. With K-State in such a precarious position, this guy needs to help the team out by watching the first half of the game- and by wearing a groovy hat and jersey. So after a convincing first half of football, I went to Dick's with my dad and looked around for a little bit. I left the store with a new little crankbait that I will now refer to as the "Three-Dollar Crankbait". The day started off with me telling my dad how great the UV lures had been working on previous trips. I said that all I had to do was hold the lure in the same position for a few seconds right under me. After demonstrating for a few minutes, I got a little too aggressive and lost the lure. The trip suddenly cost five dollars in only a few minutes. So the next move for me was to use the Three Dollar Lure. I nearly lost that one on a rock only a few minutes later, so I got the brilliant idea to lower the budget.
When I fish, I leave my gear all at one place and take a box of jigs, pliers, and a handful of soft plastic grubs and minnows in my pocket. Over time I keep forgetting to take the plastics out of my pocket and they go through the wash and blend colors. On this day, I remembered to bring the forgotten plastics and I used one on a jighead. (this is only a $.60 value)
I noticed some of the fish in the pond-area were acting weird, so I started fishing that side. Before long, I had what seemed to be a snagged sucker. When I brought it up to the surface, I saw that it was a flathead catfish, and it was kinda big- 25 inches long.
This picture shows the flathead that I caught. It also shows my muscular frame and admirable fashion sense.
That was kinda exciting; it actually tied my record for largest flathead catfish. When I went to grab its mouth, it felt warm, this is generally not a good sign because it means that my fingers are about to freeze off. It also means that the weather is getting colder and the fishing season is closing in a little while. But the cold water is a plus for some fish species.
After the flathead was set free, I got a taste of cold-water Rocky Ford. I got an aggressive hit from a little spotted bass. They are probably one of my favorite fish to catch because they are a really rare and pretty fish.
The spotted bass and smallmouth bass rarely hit any time of year other than the periphery of the season because of their cold-water preferences.
So here are the notes for the week:
1 You could lose five (nearly eight) dollars of fishing lures in ten minutes, or you could use a sixty cent lure for two hours and catch fish on it.
2 Now is the time to look for spotted bass and smallies at Rocky Ford
3 Every time I watch the first half of the football game at my house, K-State wins, you're welcome.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Want more proof?
There have been many opportunities for me to test the validity of the UV lure's effectiveness recently. So if we are not all tired of hearing about the sensational new spectacle that is the UV lure, I will continue.
This week was filled with football and school, but not fishing. It seemed as if the only reason I scrapped a short trip together on Sunday was to get some material to write about. Before I joined the football team, I would go on an average of two trips per week, but now I just don't have the time. It is interesting how adding a new priority drained all of my passion for fishing. Of course, the season is still alive. the best trip of my life was in mid-November. It was then that I caught 29 fish in only a few hours. On top of that, the willow lake will be stocked with rainbow trout soon, and they will bite until the lake ices over.
So enough whining, time for actual fishing. The day started off slowly, because I didn't know where to go. My default spot is Rocky Ford so hey why not. There were only a few people there, and most of them were not even fishing, so I could basically go wherever I wanted. I started at the waterfall using that spoon that I was chosen to test. Surprisingly, I caught nothing , so I switched to the UV lure, and caught nothing. I felt the mist rising from the waterfall and realized just how cold the water was getting.
With the water getting so cold, I chose to move downstream. I was getting really lazy and just let my lure sit right under me when what looked like a largemouth grabbed it. I started pulling but it just straight-up unhooked itself. I quickly cast again and had an instantaneous strike- that I again missed. I kept on casting but had absolutely no luck. Unless losing your new UV lure is considered luck.(goodbye five bucks)
I switched to a much cheaper lure, a simple jig with a Powerbait minnow, and it payed off fairly well.
This little wiper had pity on me in my time of need.
The majority of this trip was blind casting into fruitless waters, so I decided to risk it again with another UV lure. With the first cast came the second fish of the day. The little white crappie was encouraging. (Never expect me to say that again: there are times that I would rather catch nothing than catch a little crappie)
This week was filled with football and school, but not fishing. It seemed as if the only reason I scrapped a short trip together on Sunday was to get some material to write about. Before I joined the football team, I would go on an average of two trips per week, but now I just don't have the time. It is interesting how adding a new priority drained all of my passion for fishing. Of course, the season is still alive. the best trip of my life was in mid-November. It was then that I caught 29 fish in only a few hours. On top of that, the willow lake will be stocked with rainbow trout soon, and they will bite until the lake ices over.
So enough whining, time for actual fishing. The day started off slowly, because I didn't know where to go. My default spot is Rocky Ford so hey why not. There were only a few people there, and most of them were not even fishing, so I could basically go wherever I wanted. I started at the waterfall using that spoon that I was chosen to test. Surprisingly, I caught nothing , so I switched to the UV lure, and caught nothing. I felt the mist rising from the waterfall and realized just how cold the water was getting.
With the water getting so cold, I chose to move downstream. I was getting really lazy and just let my lure sit right under me when what looked like a largemouth grabbed it. I started pulling but it just straight-up unhooked itself. I quickly cast again and had an instantaneous strike- that I again missed. I kept on casting but had absolutely no luck. Unless losing your new UV lure is considered luck.(goodbye five bucks)
I switched to a much cheaper lure, a simple jig with a Powerbait minnow, and it payed off fairly well.
The majority of this trip was blind casting into fruitless waters, so I decided to risk it again with another UV lure. With the first cast came the second fish of the day. The little white crappie was encouraging. (Never expect me to say that again: there are times that I would rather catch nothing than catch a little crappie)
I felt that I should keep going with the UV lure. It was a pretty good idea until it somehow got caught on some line and I lost it. Fortunately, it broke free and floated downstream, so all I had to do was follow it until it stuck to a rock in the rapids. I left after that ordeal.
So this week's halfhearted attempt at a fishing trip ended up costing five bucks (nearly ten) in lost lures. Although, all but one of the bites this trip were on a UV lure, so I guess that proves that they are worth the price.
Sunday, October 20, 2013
Time for a test
I am a member of the North American Fishing Club. That basically means that I pay yearly membership dues to get exclusive access to fishing content on their website and magazine, along with the ability to apply for gear to test and keep for free.
The testing process is a long waiting game. The best you can do is apply for as many things as you can and hope you get chosen to test a product that you like.
I have only gotten one test before- "Top Secret" braided fishing line (that turned out to be by Spiderwire).
About two weeks ago I was notified that I had been selected to test the "Johnson Slama Spoon". Since the shipping is as slow as can be, I got my new spoon just a few days ago.
The same day that I received the spoon was the day that I tried it out, but not before going to Dick's to see if I could use some coupons for K-State gear that I got in the mail.
When I got to Dick's, I found out that the prices for said football apparel are far outside the price range for most people ever, But I would never waste a trip there without checking the fishing section. It turns out that checking the fishing section was a good idea, as there was a good deal on one of the UV lures which I may have mentioned in previous posts.
I went straight to Rocky Ford from there and started using the new spoon that I had been given. At 3/4 ounces and 2 1/2 inches, it is much larger than most spoons that I use. Just as I was tying it on, it slipped and bounced down the rock towards the water. If it had fallen in the water, I would have absolutely no chance at finding it due to the fact that the water instantly plunges to 5 feet deep and is moving extremely quickly. With that little wake-up call, I started being more cautious while tying it on. I really thought that I had a good chance with it, but after twenty minutes I changed my mind and switched back to the UV lure. During this time I decided to move into the water as close to the waterfall as possible, and I quickly realized how cold the water had gotten in only one week of freezing temperatures. After thirty more unsuccessful minutes, I tried moving downstream into the riffles. It only seemed to get worse as I had no bites the whole trip and the water was numbing my feet.
I was getting the sense that the fish needed time to adapt to the cold. The best course of action seemed to be moving to Tuttle Creek, where the water would take more time to cool down. When I got there, the action moved at the exact same pace that it had before. After some time using crankbaits, I decided to pull out the scented minnows in a final attempt to catch something blog-worthy. After losing at least two minnows on rocks and getting a third one stu- oh wait that is a fish! I could tell pretty quickly that it was a flathead because it came to the surface before it realized it was hooked. Unfortunately the second time it came to surface the hook popped out. Nothing happened the rest of the trip.
This time of year is when you come to the realization that the fishing season will soon die and we will have nothing to do but analyze football stats and throw snowballs at the heads of our little brothers, how sad. Hopefully I can catch something with that new spoon before the season ends.
The testing process is a long waiting game. The best you can do is apply for as many things as you can and hope you get chosen to test a product that you like.
I have only gotten one test before- "Top Secret" braided fishing line (that turned out to be by Spiderwire).
About two weeks ago I was notified that I had been selected to test the "Johnson Slama Spoon". Since the shipping is as slow as can be, I got my new spoon just a few days ago.
The same day that I received the spoon was the day that I tried it out, but not before going to Dick's to see if I could use some coupons for K-State gear that I got in the mail.
When I got to Dick's, I found out that the prices for said football apparel are far outside the price range for most people ever, But I would never waste a trip there without checking the fishing section. It turns out that checking the fishing section was a good idea, as there was a good deal on one of the UV lures which I may have mentioned in previous posts.
I went straight to Rocky Ford from there and started using the new spoon that I had been given. At 3/4 ounces and 2 1/2 inches, it is much larger than most spoons that I use. Just as I was tying it on, it slipped and bounced down the rock towards the water. If it had fallen in the water, I would have absolutely no chance at finding it due to the fact that the water instantly plunges to 5 feet deep and is moving extremely quickly. With that little wake-up call, I started being more cautious while tying it on. I really thought that I had a good chance with it, but after twenty minutes I changed my mind and switched back to the UV lure. During this time I decided to move into the water as close to the waterfall as possible, and I quickly realized how cold the water had gotten in only one week of freezing temperatures. After thirty more unsuccessful minutes, I tried moving downstream into the riffles. It only seemed to get worse as I had no bites the whole trip and the water was numbing my feet.
I was getting the sense that the fish needed time to adapt to the cold. The best course of action seemed to be moving to Tuttle Creek, where the water would take more time to cool down. When I got there, the action moved at the exact same pace that it had before. After some time using crankbaits, I decided to pull out the scented minnows in a final attempt to catch something blog-worthy. After losing at least two minnows on rocks and getting a third one stu- oh wait that is a fish! I could tell pretty quickly that it was a flathead because it came to the surface before it realized it was hooked. Unfortunately the second time it came to surface the hook popped out. Nothing happened the rest of the trip.
This time of year is when you come to the realization that the fishing season will soon die and we will have nothing to do but analyze football stats and throw snowballs at the heads of our little brothers, how sad. Hopefully I can catch something with that new spoon before the season ends.
Monday, October 14, 2013
More UV
I had a pretty good fishing week this week.
I started off the week with a short trip to rocky ford during my sisters volleyball practice.
I noticed that the water had gotten higher. Because of the shutdown, the Army Corps of Engineers won't update their website, so we don't know how high the water is or what the output of the tubes is. But I do know that more water is a good thing, so I headed straight to the waterfall. Before long, I hooked a 16 inch wiper on the oh-so-great Storm UV lure.
My grandparents had a trip planned this weekend to stay at the river-pond in their camper. My mom let me take Friday off from school so that I could fish during this time.
I went again to rocky ford on Friday and immediately tried the waterfall again- or I would have if it wasn't crowded. I started downstream and started getting some success, but I couldn't catch anything really good. When there was an opening, I quickly jumped on it and started fishing. I then hooked into a wiper which felt bigger than the others. After a five minute fight, I pulled it up and saw that it was much bigger than anything I had ever seen before. It was 23 inches long, making it the biggest sportfish I have ever caught. I kept on casting and soon had another 19 incher, but the bite just quit after that. I moved downstream and had some success before leaving.
I had one more opportunity on Sunday. This time the waterfall was taken so I tried downstream. I had a good sized saugeye in the first few casts, and I eventually ended up catching a little drum, but I really wanted another shot at the waterfall. I made my way back and found the position open. On the first cast I had a 14 inch wiper (that would-on any other day-be a great fish), but I wanted more. I hooked into "more"( a 19 inch wiper) and found myself the center of attention among many of the people there. Once again, after that the bite just stopped and the only other fish I caught was a 37 inch gar.
All of the fish mentioned in this post were caught either on an orange Storm Smash Shad or a green Rapala Shad-Rap, both of witch have the special UV paint.
So it looks like as long as the UV paint doesn't cost more, I will continue to use it.
P.S. I didn't reveal a lot of information on HOW I fished the lures, just THAT I used them. The detailed information will be revealed as soon as my fishing show airs on ESPN. (because that will totally happen)
Sunday, October 6, 2013
UV experiment
This post could also be "I went fishing," because I actually went fishing this week.
I started out the week with a ten-dollar certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods that really wanted to be spent. I had to take my sister to volleyball practice, so I had the perfect excuse. When I got there, I knew that I needed some more minnows, but that wouldn't take up the ten bucks. I decided to buy a Storm Smash Shad 6 with special UV paint. The Idea behind this paint is that the fish can see Ultraviolet light, that penetrates through murky water, better than the normal spectrum. Since I have heard good reviews from magazine writers, I decided to try UV out. The results were pretty great, as I landed the first wiper in a long time in only a few minutes using this lure.
This saugeye ties my personal record
I got back to fishing and started moving upstream. I started getting onto some fish but they kept tossing the hook and I only caught one 14 incher. I assume that they were all saugeye based on how well they tossed the hook. As I moved upstream, I found myself on the western side of the rapids, so I decided to try my new lure in a pool that cannot be accessed from the eastern bank. After two casts I found myself hung up on some line that somebody cut and left in the water. I was stuck between losing my new lure and wading deeper into the cold water. I hate it when I quickly lose a lure that I just got, so I forced myself in and retrieved it. This was not the healthiest decision that I have ever made, as the sun had gone down and the wind was blowing and my pants were now wet, but it was totally worth it.
Not wanting to lose my new favorite lure, I switched to the minnows that I just bought. The thing about those minnows is that they could have one of two different densities. You may end up with a pack that is nice and firm, or you might get one that is full of minnows that are just waiting to fall apart when you put them on the hook. This is particularly frustrating when the minnows end up costing 30 cents apiece for the 2.5 inch model. I got a bad pack, so that means I need to be extra-careful about using them in rocky places. So anyways, I started moving back to the starting point when I got two bites and one fish in three casts. It was just a little drum, and the action died as quickly as it started.
I decided to call it quits at this point because my hands were getting to the point where I couldn't tie a knot because they were so cold.
So I guess the take-away from this week is that UV lures are saugeye and wiper approved, And that I should be more careful about which pack of minnows I buy.
I started out the week with a ten-dollar certificate to Dick's Sporting Goods that really wanted to be spent. I had to take my sister to volleyball practice, so I had the perfect excuse. When I got there, I knew that I needed some more minnows, but that wouldn't take up the ten bucks. I decided to buy a Storm Smash Shad 6 with special UV paint. The Idea behind this paint is that the fish can see Ultraviolet light, that penetrates through murky water, better than the normal spectrum. Since I have heard good reviews from magazine writers, I decided to try UV out. The results were pretty great, as I landed the first wiper in a long time in only a few minutes using this lure.
Lure showing its potential with this little wiper
It was all football from that point until Saturday. On Saturday I set out with most of my muscles aching straight into the slippery rapids at rocky ford. The day started out slow but I kept using my new lure. Eventually I had something hit it, but it instantly jumped out of the water and spat the hook out. With newfound hope, I kept on casting. I noticed that there were jumping baitfish within casting range, so I started casting just beyond were they were. First cast- nothing, second cast- nothing, third- still nothing, but I wanted to make absolutely sure that there was nothing there before I moved on. On the next cast, I had a hit. It felt heavy- like a drum- it fought by shaking its head- like a drum, and I was almost certain that it was a drum. Once I pulled it in though, I saw that it was no drum- it was a monster saugeye. It was 21 inches long and it completely dwarfed my lure. These fish double in weight from 16 inches to 21 inches, so this fish was quite a catch.
That lure is three inches long, making it only 1/7 of the body length of this fish.
I got back to fishing and started moving upstream. I started getting onto some fish but they kept tossing the hook and I only caught one 14 incher. I assume that they were all saugeye based on how well they tossed the hook. As I moved upstream, I found myself on the western side of the rapids, so I decided to try my new lure in a pool that cannot be accessed from the eastern bank. After two casts I found myself hung up on some line that somebody cut and left in the water. I was stuck between losing my new lure and wading deeper into the cold water. I hate it when I quickly lose a lure that I just got, so I forced myself in and retrieved it. This was not the healthiest decision that I have ever made, as the sun had gone down and the wind was blowing and my pants were now wet, but it was totally worth it.
Not wanting to lose my new favorite lure, I switched to the minnows that I just bought. The thing about those minnows is that they could have one of two different densities. You may end up with a pack that is nice and firm, or you might get one that is full of minnows that are just waiting to fall apart when you put them on the hook. This is particularly frustrating when the minnows end up costing 30 cents apiece for the 2.5 inch model. I got a bad pack, so that means I need to be extra-careful about using them in rocky places. So anyways, I started moving back to the starting point when I got two bites and one fish in three casts. It was just a little drum, and the action died as quickly as it started.
I decided to call it quits at this point because my hands were getting to the point where I couldn't tie a knot because they were so cold.
So I guess the take-away from this week is that UV lures are saugeye and wiper approved, And that I should be more careful about which pack of minnows I buy.
Monday, September 30, 2013
catfish
Due to a lack of fishing success, I need to do another profile.
Time for catfish!
There are thousands of species of catfish in the world. In fact, catfish are the largest family of fish in the world. The catfish family is represented in Kansas by blue catfish, flathead catfish, channel catfish, and bullhead. All of the catfish in Kansas are scaleless, have whiskers, and have rough tooth patches in their mouths.
The blue catfish is the largest member of the catfish family in America. The world record blue catfish was 143 pounds! These catfish live mainly in large rivers like the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, but they venture up into the blue river and a small population exists in Tuttle Creek. These fish eat dead and dying fish and crayfish. The blue catfish can easily grow up to ten pounds in places like Tuttle Creek- where there is a large population of gizzard shad. These fish have a very strong sense of taste because, like the other catfish in Kansas, they have taste buds all over their bodies- especially on their "whiskers". Blue catfish (along with the other catfish) are known to congregate below the tubes waiting for unsuspecting fish to be flushed right at them in the turbulent water. There was once a time that I was at the tubes with a friend. We were about to leave when I snagged the one-thousandth rock of the day. As I pulled the line I realized that this was1 no rock- it was something huge. I told my friend to grab the net, because I obviously was going to need it. That fish took me back and forth for 28 minutes before it wrapped around a rock and pulled the hook out of its mouth. There are only two likely suspects for what this fish was, and those are blue catfish and flathead catfish.
Flathead catfish are a more well known catfish in Kansas. The world record flathead was 123 pounds and was caught in the Elk City Reservoir in Kansas. Their habits are more like that of largemouth bass than like the other catfish. For example, flathead only eats live food and will stay motionless for hours waiting for food to come to them. The flathead catfish is a largely unpredictable fish, during the day it stays on its favorite rock and you can only catch it by the professional process of dumb luck (my primary tactic). At night they move into river beds and gorges to feed on whatever fish they can find. Because of their feeding habits, you may catch three of them in a day, or one of them in three months. Although they are the largest predators in Kansas, the average size that I catch them is only 17 inches- not really that monstrous.
Here is a 25 inch channel catfish that I caught at rocky ford
The final fish that I mentioned were the bullheads. I actually have never seen nor heard of anyone who has ever caught a bullhead. I think that it is part of a conspiracy, like how there is no gold in Fort Knox and how the Egyptians had alien contractors build the pyramids. If you have any information regarding bullheads please send it to me so that I can file it between bigfoot and chupacabra. We may yet discover the secrets of the bullhead someday.
All of the catfish (which actually exist) in Kansas give great, consistent fights when hooked, and make good table fare if you catch them at the right size.
Time for catfish!
There are thousands of species of catfish in the world. In fact, catfish are the largest family of fish in the world. The catfish family is represented in Kansas by blue catfish, flathead catfish, channel catfish, and bullhead. All of the catfish in Kansas are scaleless, have whiskers, and have rough tooth patches in their mouths.
The blue catfish is the largest member of the catfish family in America. The world record blue catfish was 143 pounds! These catfish live mainly in large rivers like the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, but they venture up into the blue river and a small population exists in Tuttle Creek. These fish eat dead and dying fish and crayfish. The blue catfish can easily grow up to ten pounds in places like Tuttle Creek- where there is a large population of gizzard shad. These fish have a very strong sense of taste because, like the other catfish in Kansas, they have taste buds all over their bodies- especially on their "whiskers". Blue catfish (along with the other catfish) are known to congregate below the tubes waiting for unsuspecting fish to be flushed right at them in the turbulent water. There was once a time that I was at the tubes with a friend. We were about to leave when I snagged the one-thousandth rock of the day. As I pulled the line I realized that this was1 no rock- it was something huge. I told my friend to grab the net, because I obviously was going to need it. That fish took me back and forth for 28 minutes before it wrapped around a rock and pulled the hook out of its mouth. There are only two likely suspects for what this fish was, and those are blue catfish and flathead catfish.
Flathead catfish are a more well known catfish in Kansas. The world record flathead was 123 pounds and was caught in the Elk City Reservoir in Kansas. Their habits are more like that of largemouth bass than like the other catfish. For example, flathead only eats live food and will stay motionless for hours waiting for food to come to them. The flathead catfish is a largely unpredictable fish, during the day it stays on its favorite rock and you can only catch it by the professional process of dumb luck (my primary tactic). At night they move into river beds and gorges to feed on whatever fish they can find. Because of their feeding habits, you may catch three of them in a day, or one of them in three months. Although they are the largest predators in Kansas, the average size that I catch them is only 17 inches- not really that monstrous.
here is my dad with a 25in. flathead
The most common catfish in Kansas is the channel catfish. It it the catfish most refer to when they say "I caught a catfish." This catfish can grow to more than fifty pounds, but they usually cap out at seven or eight pounds. They are abundant in every water system in Kansas- ponds, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, creeks, and even in ditches- so long as they stay wet all year. The channel catfish is the least picky fish that I know. They will eat anything that stinks or swims, so long as they can fit it in their mouths. Bait for channel catfish includes: pre-molded catfish dough (in flavors like "liver and cheese"), pretty much any lure that has either scent or motion (meaning all lures), certain vegetables (like corn), anything fit for human consumption, and basically all non-plant organic matter. Channel catfish are easy to find and easy to catch for most young anglers. I on the other hand, couldn't catch a catfish until sixth-grade. If you happen to catch a channel (or blue) catfish, you should first wet your hand, press down on the dorsal fin, and grab just behind the pectorals. If you don't hold these fish right, you could get a two inch serrated barb through your hand. If you happen to catch a bigger catfish (20+ inches) the barbs should be dull- so don't try to hold it by its mouth. I once caught a large channel catfish and though that I could just hold it by the mouth- Like those guys holding giant flathead on tv. The fish clamped down on my hand so hard that it drew blood and nearly made me cry (and we all know that I never cry). 1 those guys on tv are psychotic rednecks, 2 Who on earth does what they see on tv and comes away unharmed, and 3 flathead catfish don't have anywhere near the jaw strength or leverage that blue catfish and channel catfish do. Please learn from my mistakes.
The final fish that I mentioned were the bullheads. I actually have never seen nor heard of anyone who has ever caught a bullhead. I think that it is part of a conspiracy, like how there is no gold in Fort Knox and how the Egyptians had alien contractors build the pyramids. If you have any information regarding bullheads please send it to me so that I can file it between bigfoot and chupacabra. We may yet discover the secrets of the bullhead someday.
All of the catfish (which actually exist) in Kansas give great, consistent fights when hooked, and make good table fare if you catch them at the right size.
Monday, September 23, 2013
some fish
I didn't go fishing a single time this week! My faith is being tested obviously.
So it's time for another profile
Walleye, saugeye, and sauger are the three fish I will profile.
Walleye are fish that are common to the Midwestern United States and up into Canada. They are one of the most sought-after gamefish in the areas that they live. The reasons for this is that the walleye has tasty flesh and it is a top predator. The world record walleye was 25 pounds, to put that in perspective, the largest walleye I have ever caught was four pounds. The walleye is commonly referred to as the pikeperch, this is incorrect as the walleye is in a family with the yellow perch and the European perches, and is not closely related to pike. The reason these fish were called pikeperch is that they bear a close resemblance to the pike, with long, thin bodies, and a mouth full of teeth.
The walleye lives in deep cold lakes and rivers in the Midwestern part of North America. It has highly reflective eyes which are used to hunt baitfish in the deeper, darker portions of the water column. Their eyeshine is caused by the reflective layer which is used to enhance the light coming from the surroundings, much like a cat. Walleye have been known to strike a wide range of baits, including, live minnows, mayflies, live and plastic leaches, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and poppers (at night).
The walleye was introduced into Kansas unsuccessfully for years until the population started to catch on in lakes like Milford. The problem was that the fish were flushed out of the reservoirs that they were stocked in.
The saugeye was produced to help establish a gamefish into Kansas, as they seem less likely to get flushed out of reservoirs. As you may be able to tell, the saugeye is a hybrid between the walleye and sauger, and because of this, it has many of the same traits as both its parents. The saugeye is hard to tell apart from its parents other than the patterning of the spiny dorsal fin. The sauger has distinct spots in the margins of the spines, the walleye has one large dark blotch at the base of the dorsal fin, and the saugeye has dark streaks running down the margin of the spines. The saugeye is the only one of the three that I catch on a regular basis, so it is the one that I know the most about (as far as catching experience). The saugeye has an amazing ability to feel much heavier than it is. When they are smaller, they use this ability very well. During the spring spawning run last year, they would hit a crankbait and hold still. If you set the hook, they would take off at mach 9, stripping line from your reel as they went. It was an awesome time to fish, as I would average ten fish per trip and get at least one huge saugeye every time.
The sauger is a much less well-known fish compared to the walleye. It only grows to about five pounds and it doesn't do as well in lakes. It is mostly a river fish that lives in waters that are darker and muddier than the water walleye thrive in. There eyes are even larger than in the walleye, and they use this to their benefit when hunting baitfish- like shiners and minnows. The saugeye is the only one of the three that is never stocked in Kansas. This fish has a near identical build as its brethren, which includes the spikes.
These fish are the only fish other than gar that you will readily find near Manhattan that have teeth. On top of that, their first dorsal fin is comprised of sharp spines that can reach several inches long. On top of on top of that, they have nasty spines on their gills that really like to dig in when they throw their heads back at your hand. There is simply no way to hold these fish that doesn't hurt the fish or the holder. All of these fish are known to attack lures of the most outlandish colors, like neon green, yellow, pink, and in this weird color pattern called "firetiger".
Hopefully this post was helpful to you- o' young fishers. Happy fishing!
So it's time for another profile
Walleye, saugeye, and sauger are the three fish I will profile.
Walleye are fish that are common to the Midwestern United States and up into Canada. They are one of the most sought-after gamefish in the areas that they live. The reasons for this is that the walleye has tasty flesh and it is a top predator. The world record walleye was 25 pounds, to put that in perspective, the largest walleye I have ever caught was four pounds. The walleye is commonly referred to as the pikeperch, this is incorrect as the walleye is in a family with the yellow perch and the European perches, and is not closely related to pike. The reason these fish were called pikeperch is that they bear a close resemblance to the pike, with long, thin bodies, and a mouth full of teeth.
The walleye lives in deep cold lakes and rivers in the Midwestern part of North America. It has highly reflective eyes which are used to hunt baitfish in the deeper, darker portions of the water column. Their eyeshine is caused by the reflective layer which is used to enhance the light coming from the surroundings, much like a cat. Walleye have been known to strike a wide range of baits, including, live minnows, mayflies, live and plastic leaches, spinnerbaits, crankbaits, and poppers (at night).
The walleye was introduced into Kansas unsuccessfully for years until the population started to catch on in lakes like Milford. The problem was that the fish were flushed out of the reservoirs that they were stocked in.
The saugeye was produced to help establish a gamefish into Kansas, as they seem less likely to get flushed out of reservoirs. As you may be able to tell, the saugeye is a hybrid between the walleye and sauger, and because of this, it has many of the same traits as both its parents. The saugeye is hard to tell apart from its parents other than the patterning of the spiny dorsal fin. The sauger has distinct spots in the margins of the spines, the walleye has one large dark blotch at the base of the dorsal fin, and the saugeye has dark streaks running down the margin of the spines. The saugeye is the only one of the three that I catch on a regular basis, so it is the one that I know the most about (as far as catching experience). The saugeye has an amazing ability to feel much heavier than it is. When they are smaller, they use this ability very well. During the spring spawning run last year, they would hit a crankbait and hold still. If you set the hook, they would take off at mach 9, stripping line from your reel as they went. It was an awesome time to fish, as I would average ten fish per trip and get at least one huge saugeye every time.
These fish are the only fish other than gar that you will readily find near Manhattan that have teeth. On top of that, their first dorsal fin is comprised of sharp spines that can reach several inches long. On top of on top of that, they have nasty spines on their gills that really like to dig in when they throw their heads back at your hand. There is simply no way to hold these fish that doesn't hurt the fish or the holder. All of these fish are known to attack lures of the most outlandish colors, like neon green, yellow, pink, and in this weird color pattern called "firetiger".
Hopefully this post was helpful to you- o' young fishers. Happy fishing!
Monday, September 16, 2013
Black Bass Profile
Time for another profile post.
There is a group of fishes called the centrarchidae family. It includes all of the sunfish, crappie, and black bass. The fish I will primarily cover are the black bass, but I will go over the others.
There are three species of black bass which are relevant to a Kansas fishing blog- Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted bass.
The largemouth bass is one of the most well known sportfish in the world. It has been introduced to many areas- such as Japan. Largemouth- believe it or not- actually have large mouths! So large that when they close their mouths, their lip goes past their eyes.
This is a beautiful example of hybridization between sunfish. It appears to be a hybrid between a bluegill and longear sunfish.
There is a group of fishes called the centrarchidae family. It includes all of the sunfish, crappie, and black bass. The fish I will primarily cover are the black bass, but I will go over the others.
There are three species of black bass which are relevant to a Kansas fishing blog- Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted bass.
The largemouth bass is one of the most well known sportfish in the world. It has been introduced to many areas- such as Japan. Largemouth- believe it or not- actually have large mouths! So large that when they close their mouths, their lip goes past their eyes.
note the strongly green coloration and horizontal bar of dark blotches on this largemouth.
The largemouth has several features that help distinguish it from the smallmouth and spotted bass.
Largemouths have two dorsal fins (spiny and soft-rayed) which are only partially connected. They have a horizontal bar running down below their lateral line. Actually, the least reliable method of distinguishing the black basses is the most common- checking their mouths. I have caught many largemouths that had mouths the size of a smallmouth because the mouth only extends past the eye if the mouth is perfectly closed and undamaged.
The largemouth is an ambush predator, and it relies greatly on it's eyesight to help it catch prey. You will rarely find a largemouth in a moving body of water as they like to stake out their own territory in deep waters among weeds and rocks. They tend to be more tolerant of murky and muddy water than the other black basses. Needless to say, the largemouth is a voracious carnivore, feeding on fish, crayfish, frogs, birds, mice, and sometimes even other largmouths-which will barely fit in their mouths! Because of their aggressive and territorial behavior, they will accept a massive assortment of lures and baits. This list includes but is not limited to: swimbaits, minnowbaits, crankbaits, buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, bass jigs, grubs, plastic worms, salamanders, and crayfish, spoons, poppers, stickbaits, prop-baits, live minnows, frogs, and ye olde faithful worms. With this kind of aggression, the largmouth is an apex predator in most ponds and lakes in Kansas.
the only fish that can eat full-grown largemouth are flathead catfish and pike/muske.
The spotted bass is like a little brother to the largemouth. It has a smaller mouth and the dorsal fins are well joined. Spotted bass do not cope well with warm and murky water, so they are rare around Manhattan. Other than that, the spotted bass is just like the largemouth. It will ambush it's prey from an established territory, and it puts up an amazing fight. The spotted bass gets very little publicity as it only grows to a few pounds and is more picky than the largemouth and smallmouth.
The spotted bass has a darker/browner overall coloration than the largemouth.
you can also see the stronger bar coloration and joined dorsal fins.
The smallmouth bass is one of the most fished for species in the Midwest. It is easier to tell apart from the other two black bass because it never has a horizontal bar, and usually has vertical barring. Smallmouths have entirely different behavior from the other black bass. They travel in schools and cover ground when they hunt, unlike their ambush counterparts. I know very little about smallmouths, mostly because you can count the number of "smallies" that I have caught on one hand. They don't inhabit any nearby areas except for Pott 2, Milford lake, and wildcat creek. I hate Pott 2 and never go to Milford, and fishing at wildcat creek is like taking a shot in the dark-you never get anything. I have only caught one decent-sized smallmouth in recorded history (when I started my logbook). It was an accidental catch at Rocky Ford while I was fishing for wiper. If ever I catch a smallmouth or spotted bass, it just makes my day, that shows how rare they are for me.
The next fish I will include are the crappie. They are well known for their tasty meat, and for their seasonal spawning runs. If you fish at just the right time you can get fish every cast during the spawning time.
Their are two species of crappie that live in Kansas, white and black. Black crappie were introduced to Kansas for a myriad of reasons, but mainly because they taste good. Black crappie will put up a descent fight if you hook one. I am sorry, but there is little good that I can say about white crappie. They come from a family of fish known for their intense fights and strong, stocky bodies. But that doesn't stop them from being the absolute worst fighters in the universe. I quite literally think I have a weed every single time I hook into one of these stupid fish. I do believe I can confidently say that an eight inch largemouth will put up a better fight than a world record white crappie. The recreational value is actually in the negative with these fish, especially with a catch-and-release person like me. I literally feel drained after catching one of these fish.
The last fish are the sunfish. They really live up to their name, as many of these fish would make excellent aquarium fish if they weren't so aggressive or picky. These fish fight with more passion for their size than most other fish can. The sunfish are many-a-anglers first fish when they are young, including me. They are sometimes referred to as panfish because of their deep, thin bodies.
This is a longear sunfish. I wanted to put him in my aquarium, but I forgot my bucket.
With all these awesome fish piled into one family. I see no possibility that there isn't an awesome God that created them all and placed them all here for our enjoyment.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
next trips
Yay new post! This one will cover my last week of fishing.
My fishing week started on Thursday with a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart. While at Dick's, I only planned on getting a pack of jigheads (hooks with lead weights molded on to provide weight), but ended up also getting a pack of Berkely Gulp minnows (small soft plastic lures, soaked in powerfully scented juice, that are meant to be used on jigheads). After reading an article from Field and Stream about ultraviolet paint on lures, I really wanted to try it out. So I got a rather expensive Rapala Shad Rap (very similar to the one that I lost in my first post). The thing is that the more I spend, the more I want to spend. So I ended up finding more and more until I had $20 worth of stuff. I knew that I had to cut back, but I decided to go to Walmart- just in case. I really felt like a kid in the candy store by this point, but I managed to control myself and keep it under $10. There was something interesting that I found though. You see, I have a rod with a broken tip, and I found a rod-tip replacement kit. The kit comes with three tips of various sizes, only the smallest of which I could use. When I went to replace the tip, I accidentally broke the end of the rod. Now that I had effectively destroyed my rod, I decided to improvise. I found out that the binding that holds the guides in place is flammable. So I burned it off and tried using a larger guide. Hope my stupid idea pays off.
The next day I went to Rocky Ford, where the water is now at extremely low levels. I had a feeling that the fishing would be good, and I was right. In three hours I had caught 20 fish, most of them channel catfish which were about fifteen inches long. They hit the new minnows (that I just bought) so hard that the minnows started getting shredded by their mouths. They even bit the tails off.
The largest fish was a 22in. channel cat that took about two minutes to fight. I decided to move to Tuttle Creek at 6:30 to try to get at one of the schools of wiper that like to hang out near shore in the evening. I decided to try out my new UV Rapala and in not-too-long, I had a little wiper on the rocks. I then thought "Hey, I should document this for mah blog" (my thought process while fishing is highly informal). I went to get the camera and I turn around to see the fish gone and my lure sitting high and dry on the rock. "O snahp" my brain intelligently remarked. I eventually hooked into two more wiper using the minnows, but I lost far more minnows on the rocks than the number of fish I caught.
The next day I went out to Tuttle Creek, this time with my dad and the kayak. I started out in the kayak, using my new UV Rapala. I started blindly casting in open water hoping to find a feeding school of wiper. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and I still have not caught a fish from a boat. I started fishing on the bank, and I was soon hooked into a huge blue catfish that took me at least four minutes to land. It was 28in. and weighed 7 pounds. While I was examining it, I found line hanging out of it's mouth. When I pulled it out, the end of the line had a jig that I had used (and lost) yesterday. The fish must have found it on the rocks and liked it enough for a second try.
This week saw one record broken (biggest blue catfish) and another challenged (fourth most fish caught in one day). And the water isn't even cooling down yet!
*if you go to www.basspro.com and search Rapala Shad Rap, you can see what they look like
My fishing week started on Thursday with a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods and Walmart. While at Dick's, I only planned on getting a pack of jigheads (hooks with lead weights molded on to provide weight), but ended up also getting a pack of Berkely Gulp minnows (small soft plastic lures, soaked in powerfully scented juice, that are meant to be used on jigheads). After reading an article from Field and Stream about ultraviolet paint on lures, I really wanted to try it out. So I got a rather expensive Rapala Shad Rap (very similar to the one that I lost in my first post). The thing is that the more I spend, the more I want to spend. So I ended up finding more and more until I had $20 worth of stuff. I knew that I had to cut back, but I decided to go to Walmart- just in case. I really felt like a kid in the candy store by this point, but I managed to control myself and keep it under $10. There was something interesting that I found though. You see, I have a rod with a broken tip, and I found a rod-tip replacement kit. The kit comes with three tips of various sizes, only the smallest of which I could use. When I went to replace the tip, I accidentally broke the end of the rod. Now that I had effectively destroyed my rod, I decided to improvise. I found out that the binding that holds the guides in place is flammable. So I burned it off and tried using a larger guide. Hope my stupid idea pays off.
The next day I went to Rocky Ford, where the water is now at extremely low levels. I had a feeling that the fishing would be good, and I was right. In three hours I had caught 20 fish, most of them channel catfish which were about fifteen inches long. They hit the new minnows (that I just bought) so hard that the minnows started getting shredded by their mouths. They even bit the tails off.
Picture showing the damage taken by the top minnow compared to what it should look like
The next day I went out to Tuttle Creek, this time with my dad and the kayak. I started out in the kayak, using my new UV Rapala. I started blindly casting in open water hoping to find a feeding school of wiper. Unfortunately, it didn't work, and I still have not caught a fish from a boat. I started fishing on the bank, and I was soon hooked into a huge blue catfish that took me at least four minutes to land. It was 28in. and weighed 7 pounds. While I was examining it, I found line hanging out of it's mouth. When I pulled it out, the end of the line had a jig that I had used (and lost) yesterday. The fish must have found it on the rocks and liked it enough for a second try.
This week saw one record broken (biggest blue catfish) and another challenged (fourth most fish caught in one day). And the water isn't even cooling down yet!
*if you go to www.basspro.com and search Rapala Shad Rap, you can see what they look like
Monday, September 2, 2013
Temperate Bass' Profile
There certainly are a lot of great fish in Kansas, and the temperate bass are no exception. The temperate bass in Kansas include white bass, striped bass, wiper, and white perch.
The first one I will list is the white bass. These fish are common in the eastern half of the state. They live very active lifestyles, forming large schools and targeting baitfish in open water. They don't live very long and usually mature in only two or three years. Because of these factors, the white bass doesn't grow very large. The state record white bass (according to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks) weighed 5.67 pounds and was 20 3/8 inches, but they rarely grow more than two pounds and 15 inches. They are my personal favorite species to catch as they put up a truly relentless fight, even if they are out of the water (and I am making a bare-handed attempt to get the hook out). Tuttle Creek has a small population of large white bass and some may even be of record size.
The second species is the striped bass otherwise known as the striper. It is an anadromous fish, meaning that it live in saltwater but spawns in rivers. They are therefore capable of living in freshwater. Striper are much larger than white bass because of their long life span (sometimes 30 years) and the steady source of food found in the ocean. The fish that live in the ocean are capable of growing up to 80 pounds but the landlocked fish only reach about 60 pounds at the very most. The striped bass was once introduced into Kansas waters via stocking to produce a new angling experience as well as to provide a new apex predator. The only way to do this is to keep live striper at the hatcheries year-round, as there are no wild striper to be found in Kansas. This proves to be a very costly endeavor as striper are voracious predators that require live shad to thrive and produce healthy offspring. The state decided to experiment with hybridizing the striper to keep the cost down, and thus was born the wiper.
Wiper are the hybrid product of male white bass and female striper. Wiper share many qualities with both striper and white bass, including their action-packed way of living along with agressive tendencies. They are therefore a primary target for many anglers. Because the striper and white bass are so similar, it is very hard to tell the difference between them and their hybrid counterparts. In fact it is hopeless unless you know exactly what to look for or the fish have started getting very large. The primary method recommended for telling the difference between wiper and white bass is to check the tongue tooth-patches. The white bass always has one patch while the wiper has two (in theory). The wiper are most of what I catch in places like Tuttle Creek and Rocky Ford. They are much like the white bass in the way they fight except that they can be much larger. The state record is 25lbs and 33 1/2 inches, but they realistically reach 3 pounds on average. They are well known for the feeding frenzies that they cause when they chase a school of shad to the surface and subsequently tear into it, sometimes getting the gulls to join in.
The final fish is the white perch. It is not of much relevance in this part of Kansas but it is an invasive species that is blamed for the reduction of the population of sportfish like the white bass. It is easier to tell apart from the rest of the fish in this profile because it lacks the horizontal stripes that are common to all of the others. The white perch has no real value since it is so small and doesn't have particularly good meat. If one ever catches a white perch (in Kansas) they should not release it and they should contact the local Wildlife and Parks Department office and report their catch.
To recap. The white bass is a native sportfish that is fairly popular and easy to catch. The striper was introduced but is expensive to maintain and doesn't naturally reproduce in Kansas waters. The wiper is a hybrid between the white and striped basses, and shares both of their qualities.
Here is a link to the ID gallery at the KDWPT website. If you click this and click on the poster for "Temperate bass family" it will show you how to identify them.
www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fish-ID-Gallery
The second species is the striped bass otherwise known as the striper. It is an anadromous fish, meaning that it live in saltwater but spawns in rivers. They are therefore capable of living in freshwater. Striper are much larger than white bass because of their long life span (sometimes 30 years) and the steady source of food found in the ocean. The fish that live in the ocean are capable of growing up to 80 pounds but the landlocked fish only reach about 60 pounds at the very most. The striped bass was once introduced into Kansas waters via stocking to produce a new angling experience as well as to provide a new apex predator. The only way to do this is to keep live striper at the hatcheries year-round, as there are no wild striper to be found in Kansas. This proves to be a very costly endeavor as striper are voracious predators that require live shad to thrive and produce healthy offspring. The state decided to experiment with hybridizing the striper to keep the cost down, and thus was born the wiper.
Wiper are the hybrid product of male white bass and female striper. Wiper share many qualities with both striper and white bass, including their action-packed way of living along with agressive tendencies. They are therefore a primary target for many anglers. Because the striper and white bass are so similar, it is very hard to tell the difference between them and their hybrid counterparts. In fact it is hopeless unless you know exactly what to look for or the fish have started getting very large. The primary method recommended for telling the difference between wiper and white bass is to check the tongue tooth-patches. The white bass always has one patch while the wiper has two (in theory). The wiper are most of what I catch in places like Tuttle Creek and Rocky Ford. They are much like the white bass in the way they fight except that they can be much larger. The state record is 25lbs and 33 1/2 inches, but they realistically reach 3 pounds on average. They are well known for the feeding frenzies that they cause when they chase a school of shad to the surface and subsequently tear into it, sometimes getting the gulls to join in.
The final fish is the white perch. It is not of much relevance in this part of Kansas but it is an invasive species that is blamed for the reduction of the population of sportfish like the white bass. It is easier to tell apart from the rest of the fish in this profile because it lacks the horizontal stripes that are common to all of the others. The white perch has no real value since it is so small and doesn't have particularly good meat. If one ever catches a white perch (in Kansas) they should not release it and they should contact the local Wildlife and Parks Department office and report their catch.
To recap. The white bass is a native sportfish that is fairly popular and easy to catch. The striper was introduced but is expensive to maintain and doesn't naturally reproduce in Kansas waters. The wiper is a hybrid between the white and striped basses, and shares both of their qualities.
Here is a link to the ID gallery at the KDWPT website. If you click this and click on the poster for "Temperate bass family" it will show you how to identify them.
www.kdwpt.state.ks.us/news/Fishing/Fish-ID-Gallery
Friday, August 23, 2013
My First Post
Welcome to my new blog! I have never done this before, so it might be spotty at first but I will do my best!
My First post will be about my most recent fishing adventure
I started off the day driving off to the tubes below Tuttle Creek. The problem was that the Army Corps of Engineers had closed the tubes until they were barely open. The thing about the tubes is that when they are open, they pump out water at very high speeds which causes the water downstream to become very turbulent. When this happens, smaller fish like gizzard shad and baby drum cannot keep up, and they make easy pickings for the predators like white bass and flathead catfish. But when the tubes are closed, the water calms down and becomes a much worse place to fish. The tubes are on the blue river, which means that they control how powerfully the water downstream flows. Rocky Ford is a fishing area south and downstream of the tubes, and when the tubes are down the water at Rocky Ford becomes more accessible. So I decided to go to Rocky Ford instead.
When I first got there, it was just as I expected. The water which was previously very high was now only filling in the main stream. I noticed that there were several puddles left over, so I checked them out and found a bunch of baby catfish. I decided to help them out by moving them back into the river. The day started out slowly, at Rocky Ford there are many shallow rapids followed by deep pools, so the best technique is to check them all out. I kept snagging suckers that were hanging out in the pools but they kept getting off. The first fish I caught was a little wiper (hybrid white bass x striped bass) that was about ten inches long. I continued fishing and caught a largemouth bass. This is rare because largemouth bass prefer still water, yet I caught it in the rapids. I moved upstream and found many wiper and white bass chasing after bait fish and leaping out of the water. For some reason these fish were completely disinterested in my lure and I only managed to catch one small fish after twenty minutes of effort. I then moved back downstream and caught a beautiful 18 inch saugeye (hybrid walleye x sauger).
Pictures showing the saugeye and a closeup picture showing the sharp teeth.
I fished for quite some time and had no luck, so I decided to use a very expensive lure that resembled a bleeding fish. After a short time I snagged it on a rock that I could not see. I decided to pull on the line bare handed to try to pull it free, but the rock decided to pull back. I knew I was onto something huge but the fish wrapped itself around a rock and with one jerk of its head it snapped my line. I decided to move upstream to find a better place to fish but just as I was leaving, a guy told me that he was doing very well with poppers. (Poppers are lures that float and make a loud pop on the surface of the water when you jerk your rod back.) With this new information in the back of my mind I went upstream and started fishing. after not too long, I snagged another sucker, but this time I managed to catch it. It measured 26 inches.
This type of fish is a blue sucker, it has a small, downward facing mouth that helps it sift through silt and mud to find food.
It was at this time that I decided to try using a popper. It only took two casts when suddenly WHAM I had a beautiful and hard fighting white bass on the end of my line. I moved back downstream a little and hooked another fish on the popper, but it got itself wrapped around a rock and I need to walk out into the rapids to untangle it. I kept fishing in the same area but I switched to a lipless crankbait. (this is a lure that has a lot of beads in it which cause it to rattle when it is drawn in.) It seems that the switch was a good Idea because it wasn't long before I caught another saugeye. In the area that I was in there were a lot of lines that people had cut because they snagged their hooks on rocks. The problem is that the lines get tangled up with your lures meaning that you can lose your lure if you can't reach it by hand. It would be much better if people would pull on their lines when they get caught on a rock, because pulling on the line causes it to snap at the point of greatest weakness, which is where the knot on the hook was tied. Anyway, I moved downstream with the popper and fished it until it started to get really dark. As I was watching my lure spit and sputter across the water there was a huge crash and a wall of water enveloped my lure, I instantly knew what hit it as I set the hook - a giant wiper. The fish was just as spectacular as I imagined, unfortunately I was unable to get a picture before it kicked out of my grasp and back into the water. I estimate it to have been about sixteen inches long, which is a good size for a wiper.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, as I caught nothing more. But I will always remember that fish that stole my lure, along with the one that demolished my popper.
so until next time, this is Ben Warren signing out
My First post will be about my most recent fishing adventure
When I first got there, it was just as I expected. The water which was previously very high was now only filling in the main stream. I noticed that there were several puddles left over, so I checked them out and found a bunch of baby catfish. I decided to help them out by moving them back into the river. The day started out slowly, at Rocky Ford there are many shallow rapids followed by deep pools, so the best technique is to check them all out. I kept snagging suckers that were hanging out in the pools but they kept getting off. The first fish I caught was a little wiper (hybrid white bass x striped bass) that was about ten inches long. I continued fishing and caught a largemouth bass. This is rare because largemouth bass prefer still water, yet I caught it in the rapids. I moved upstream and found many wiper and white bass chasing after bait fish and leaping out of the water. For some reason these fish were completely disinterested in my lure and I only managed to catch one small fish after twenty minutes of effort. I then moved back downstream and caught a beautiful 18 inch saugeye (hybrid walleye x sauger).
Pictures showing the saugeye and a closeup picture showing the sharp teeth.
I fished for quite some time and had no luck, so I decided to use a very expensive lure that resembled a bleeding fish. After a short time I snagged it on a rock that I could not see. I decided to pull on the line bare handed to try to pull it free, but the rock decided to pull back. I knew I was onto something huge but the fish wrapped itself around a rock and with one jerk of its head it snapped my line. I decided to move upstream to find a better place to fish but just as I was leaving, a guy told me that he was doing very well with poppers. (Poppers are lures that float and make a loud pop on the surface of the water when you jerk your rod back.) With this new information in the back of my mind I went upstream and started fishing. after not too long, I snagged another sucker, but this time I managed to catch it. It measured 26 inches.
This type of fish is a blue sucker, it has a small, downward facing mouth that helps it sift through silt and mud to find food.
It was at this time that I decided to try using a popper. It only took two casts when suddenly WHAM I had a beautiful and hard fighting white bass on the end of my line. I moved back downstream a little and hooked another fish on the popper, but it got itself wrapped around a rock and I need to walk out into the rapids to untangle it. I kept fishing in the same area but I switched to a lipless crankbait. (this is a lure that has a lot of beads in it which cause it to rattle when it is drawn in.) It seems that the switch was a good Idea because it wasn't long before I caught another saugeye. In the area that I was in there were a lot of lines that people had cut because they snagged their hooks on rocks. The problem is that the lines get tangled up with your lures meaning that you can lose your lure if you can't reach it by hand. It would be much better if people would pull on their lines when they get caught on a rock, because pulling on the line causes it to snap at the point of greatest weakness, which is where the knot on the hook was tied. Anyway, I moved downstream with the popper and fished it until it started to get really dark. As I was watching my lure spit and sputter across the water there was a huge crash and a wall of water enveloped my lure, I instantly knew what hit it as I set the hook - a giant wiper. The fish was just as spectacular as I imagined, unfortunately I was unable to get a picture before it kicked out of my grasp and back into the water. I estimate it to have been about sixteen inches long, which is a good size for a wiper.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, as I caught nothing more. But I will always remember that fish that stole my lure, along with the one that demolished my popper.
so until next time, this is Ben Warren signing out
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