u/surelynotjimcarey

Super stoked to catch my first musky!

Normally I have some gripes with guided trips, but as someone who got into fishing later in life I’ve accepted it’s a great way to learn new styles and techniques I’ve never seen before. This trip was really neat, it was my first time using electronics. We were using livescope in total darkness and getting these baits within an inch of the fish. I actually struggled a bit to keep the bait just close enough without touching the fish. We probably worked 50 fish with plenty of follows and a missed bite before I finally got my retrieve perfect. Landed with sucker right off the boat ramp with 5 minutes of trip left.

This trip gave me plenty of ideas about how to catch one by myself out the canoe. Gonna be a tall order with no electronics, since my home lake is super heavily pressured, but knowing they’re tangible I’ll have no shortage of motivation. Reset the counter, 10,000 more casts to go.

I will be attempting fly fishing for the first time today!

I have an 8’6” 5wt rod. I’ll be fishing a pond which is home to bluegills and sunfish, largemouth bass, white crappie, channel catfish, and common carp. I promise I’ll go to some trout waters soon!

Which fly in my kit would be optimal for these conditions, I know one of the (poppers?) on the right would be good for large mouth bass. Would anything on the left side of the screen be worth throwing in these conditions? We see all species of fish hitting something on the top of the water, I want to throw the black and blue flies as well at some point. Anything worth focusing on tonight?

Thanks fellas!

Removed from the carp sub for poor handling. To be fair I obviously laid him on the ground. I usually net common carp and keep them in the water to unhook but my net was FAR too small to put this fish in it. I need a musky net.

My buddy filmed some bits of it, I was too excited I didn’t think to pose with the fish so here’s some screenshots from the video.

Definitely a PB for me. Didn’t get to weigh the fish since the net was far too small so we’ll never know. Estimates have ranged around 40-50lbs so I’ll have to upgrade my gear and chase a new PB!

Imma do a longer write up on gear and thoughts on my first grass carp in the comments. Cheers lads

First things first, I already ordered a larger net so I can keep the fish in the water. Didn’t think I needed that size net and would’ve felt like a poser buying it but after this, I’ll have no qualms buying a 4ft+ musky net.

Barbless size 8 hook, 12lbs line, medium light rod. Floating bread crust. Stalked this one, felt more like hunting than fishing.

No good photos because I figured the videos and memories were enough. Didn’t want him to flop and stress himself anymore than he already was. Didn’t have a net big enough to hold and weigh him so I’ll never know the weight, this is enough for me though.

I’m 6’1 with a 6’6 wingspan for reference in the photos.

Long time lurker, first time poster, I understand these read like journal entries so I’m just gonna vomit some words.

Had penne rosa from a decent restaurant for dinner so here’s my midnight snack, filled twizzlers. I prefer the tart flavor but I find the best is this combo, then I don’t have a bunch of strawberry twizzlers at the end of the bag.

Life’s kinda weird right now. Got laid off out of the blue. The job didn’t pay anything crazy but it was honest labor and we all loved each other, my general manager made her boss give me the news because she couldn’t. Her and my department supervisor were completely shocked to hear and cried in front of me when it happened, not only did I do exceptional work but we are great friends, I was just the least senior member of the department and someone had to go. It’s been almost a month, we’re still really close and see each other whenever we can. We all got into fishing at different times, and I’m newer but I started a groupchat last year for us and we meet up at least once a week to fish. It’s been so great for our sense of community as we are all learning and sharing as we go. It’s a good job when you want to see your boss after hours and he has no ego asking you questions about something. The guys have been extremely supportive towards me since I’ve gotten axed. Honestly I think I took them for granted a little bit and I wanna make sure I’m as good a friend to them as they all have been to me. Particularly the people from my department who I got the closest with over my four years with the company.

My girlfriend has also been extremely supportive towards me. She has always made a lot more money than I do and she sat me down to tell me not to stress about money, she wants to take care of me while I get a job. Even encouraging me to pass up on bad offers because she can hold us down until I get a similar wage to what I was making. I will owe her my part of the rent when I’m earning an income again but she’s been so so supportive. On top of all this, she still wanted to upgrade us to a bigger apartment on her own dime until I can pay her back. I really do love her with all my heart, we’ve had ups and downs but similar to my friends, I’ve been taking her support for granted. I don’t just mean her supporting me financially, I let myself cry one night during my job hunt because “I know I’m just worthless and it’s only a matter of time before everyone else figures that out too”. I have my own ways of working through things, in this case I wanted to just feel like shit until I settle in to a new job, but she wouldn’t let me. She talked with me a lot and really helped me not feel so sorry for myself in the meantime. No one has a partner as encouraging as my partner, she thinks I could catch shooting stars in my hands if I wanted to. Her and my buddies have even suggested I start an outdoor themed youtube channel since I spend my free time teaching them hunting/fishing already. She’s asleep right now but thinking about our love makes me tear up a little. I never thought I’d be deserving of this and honestly I know I’m just lucky but still, she makes feel like Superman even when I’m just some broke loser with a questionable future. Whenever Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down comes on I can’t help but cry a little, or a lot. If you put that song on you’ll know exactly how this woman makes me feel. The other side of the coin I probably won’t divulge into as much for this post is my respect and admiration for her. She’s worked at one company her whole life and continues to climb the ladder. She’s the hardest worker I’ve ever met yet she carries herself so light and breezy, never taking anything too seriously and always keeping a level head. She’s everything you could hope to be in life. It doesn’t hurt that she’s absolutely thicker than a bowl of oatmeal and we have identical sex drives. Life hasn’t been easy for her, at all, but she dusts herself off and gets back to work.

I’m trying to do the same. I took a week off to be a sad sack of shit but every few days I’ll send out a burst of 5 or more resumes. I’ve more phone interviews than I care to count now. I just had a second round in person interview today that was extremely promising, the vibe I got was they’re going to see which department wants me the most but I’m (not counting chickens before they hatch) more than likely to work somewhere in the company. Best part is this is a hunting and fishing (my passions) store with responsibilities identical to my last job. I have to call back another company tomorrow and schedule my in person interview, it’s a job building data centers I’d rather not be involved in but I promised myself I’d entertain all my well paying options until I get settled in somewhere. I’m still in school for a program I’ve lost interest in but it’s being paid for by family so I’m doing it because finishing my bachelors degree is something I will be proud of, and who is actually interested in their classes anyways. I’m extremely busy with the job search and moving I definitely wish I had less summer courses so despite looking like I’m sitting around a lot I feel like I’m getting my ass kicked.

Kicked, not whooped, I’m still in this fight motherfucker.

This last paragraph is the main reason I wanted to write anything down in the first place. I have a medical marijuana card for chronic pain and I made the decision two weeks ago to get the weed out of my system as a lot of jobs drug test and don’t care if it’s prescribed. Fortunately, at least with most of these companies, the open secret is they only test new hires and don’t bother with random drug tests. I’m honestly not sure if I’ll even be drug tested when I get hired on but I’d rather not have to worry about it. My back, my fuckin hip, my shoulder, my neck, my knees, it really fuckin hurts without medication. I’ve used marijuana for years and to be honest, I don’t see what all the big deal is with quitting it. In fairness, knowing I’m going to smoke again helps with the psychological aspect, actually today I applied to a dispensary and picked up the weed I’m going to smoke when I’ve settled in somewhere. I was an insomniac for years and years before I ever tried weed so I haven’t been sleeping great but I never expected to. The first three days I felt some withdrawal symptoms but I really feel fine. Maybe I’m a little more achey and a little more tired compared to before I discovered cannabis but I am quite a bit older so that’s to be expected. I was expecting to be a lot more irritable than I am, my perceived appetite has gone down but I’m not losing weight or anything. I actually used to smoke a lot a lot, wake up and every hour or so until bed. I’d blow past the medical amount and find other ways to acquire it. In the last year or two I’ve been making an effort to not abuse it like that. If I keep my tolerance under control I can medicate my pain more effectively as the smaller dose will have a more profound effect. Maybe this is making my withdrawal easier but I was still smoking a metric buttload per day so I’m shocked.

I’m broke as shit, I have some credit card debts, everything hurts physically and mentally I’m going through the growing pains of finding a new job, I hate going back to school but who doesn’t. Despite all this I still feel really good about my life. I guess, right now I don’t feel very good at all but I know everything is going to be alright and this is gonna be a forgotten summer in an otherwise remarkable life. I think I owe a great deal of this to my girlfriend, my family helping me with school, and my friends/former coworkers. I didn’t realize the support network I had until I needed it but these are truly some amazing people. It’s made me think about how I can be a better boyfriend and friend to them. I’m married to a “never say die” mentality and I really do believe I’m going to end up better off after all of this. If you really read all of this, thank you. I don’t think I need advice or anything right now, just to be seen and heard but I won’t shoot down any tips for this situation. I really appreciate this community and what it does for people, thanks guys.

Edit: to add a shred of negativity because, yin yang or some shit like that, I deeply resent anyone who made or kept marijuana illegal and I deeply resent anyone who decides to drug test for it. I’m not gonna smoke at work and if I did, treat it the same as finding alcohol on someone’s breath. I wish everyone who unfairly demonized marijuana feels the physical pain I am feeling when I can’t use it at night. In fact, I wish they felt a worse pain because I’m minding my own business, they’re fucking with other people’s business. The fact that I can’t work for you because I have a med card instead of an oxy script is an absolute joke absent of logic or reason

Using a bottom rig for catfish in a big reservoir. This kept happening, not sure what critter did it but I’d imagine some bugs or crustaceans

Hey y’all! I’ve been getting on some carp and I feel like I’m doing pretty well. These rigs catch multiple double digit fish in a session and still hold up well. My concerns are the way the hook rests on the ground (could it be snaggy?) and how big my bait is, it’s been good for bigger fish but I’m not certain if I’m missing out on a few fish.

Size 4 circle hook, #15 low vis spider braid, one piece of sinking fake corn closest to the hook and two pieces of floating corn above it.

Is there anything I’m missing or overlooking before I rig up a dozen just like this?

Thanks for the tips, especially teaching me how to hold the fish. Second day actually catching carp, got 4 and broke my PB at 6lbs 15oz (3.1 KG)

First carp! Tried out pack bait for the second time ever. Late in the day I out of corn to put on the hook so I just used a worm, no hair rig straight hook, casting right at my “bait pile”.

6lbs 12oz. My biggest fish yet. I know they get a lot bigger than this so hopes to finding the giants soon!

Looking for tips on drag/fighting fish. I left the bail open on my Medium Heavy bait caster while this guy picked up my bait from a sliding weight rig. Seemed to work okay, not sure my drag is light enough on the lowest setting to have the bail engaged. Twice earlier in the night on my pack bait I thought I snagged a log and snapped my 12lbs line. The third time I thought I snagged a log I did the same thing and just kept tugging then this guy surfaced a minute later! I can tell these things fight HARD and I’m looking for tips on how to fight them in the future. Knowing the area I’m almost certain those first two were big carp as my other casts didn’t snag on any logs.

Edit: will add, we held the fish by its belly and used lip grippers just to keep it from squirming so much, I kinda dragged him in and didn’t let him fight very much so he was still energetic. There was never any pressure on the lip grippers and we DID NOT use them to lift the fish. Is it okay to use the lip grippers in this manner or should I not do this in the future? Thanks fellas!