Pictures from Fishing Trips Gone By

[Baseline]

Originally Posted by pjshorthorn

I have never caught a sturgeon. What kind of fight did that fella put up in terms of time to land? What type of rod and reel does it take ? I'm trying to compare it to bigger fish I have caught on a MH rod with a 6500 Ambassaduer.

Definitely a couple of nice fish !!


PjShorthorn

That Sturgeon was caught with an 8 foot Ugly Stick with a 4000 series salt water spinning reel. I used 80 lb Power Pro with a 50 lb 18 inch Berkley Big Game leader. For that fish it took about 20 minutes from bite to landing using a large musky net. Water in the Rainy River is a max of 12 feet in the area we fish so there is a lot of surface swirls and jumps. I now use my Musky 8 1/2 foot medium heavy rod with my Calcutta 400B loaded with the Power Pro. Some fish are easier to bring in. It just depends if they run toward you or away. You also have to deal with heavy current at times. Sometimes you have to pull the anchor and chase them down river. It is a fun fish to catch. Sometimes you can have a 6 to 10 fish day and come off the water with sore arms. We release all Sturgeon we catch.

[pjshorthorn]

Originally Posted by Baseline

That Sturgeon was caught with an 8 foot Ugly Stick with a 4000 series salt water spinning reel. I used 80 lb Power Pro with a 50 lb 18 inch Berkley Big Game leader. For that fish it took about 20 minutes from bite to landing using a large musky net. Water in the Rainy River is a max of 12 feet in the area we fish so there is a lot of surface swirls and jumps. I now use my Musky 8 1/2 foot medium heavy rod with my Calcutta 400B loaded with the Power Pro. Some fish are easier to bring in. It just depends if they run toward you or away. You also have to deal with heavy current at times. Sometimes you have to pull the anchor and chase them down river. It is a fun fish to catch. Sometimes you can have a 6 to 10 fish day and come off the water with sore arms. We release all Sturgeon we catch.

Just added that fish to the bucket list !!!! Thanks for sharing.

PjShorthorn

[Mojo-NC]

Originally Posted by pjshorthorn

Nice Dorado !!!! Trolling those weed patches, eh? Those two other baitfish aren't too shabby either


PjShorthorn

Yes sir, that dolphin (aka dorado) was caught about 40 miles off the coast of NC right where the blue water and the green water meet. For those who have never experienced it, the Gulf Stream water is much warmer and has a much higher salinity, so the two bodies of water (Gulf Stream and coastal water) don't mix much. Once you get out there the water color changes to this beautiful azure blue color and along the weed lines is where the dolphin, tuna, and other pelagic fish hang out waiting for lunch. A charter out of Oregon Inlet would be a great fishing destination for the walleye folks who want a little different action or a change of scenery. It's always an adventure.

Agree - that sturgeon is an awesome fish. It looks like a fresh water shark. Add one more fish to the list...

[SkWalter]

https://images.platforum.cloud/uploa...96af98d0e6.jpg
https://images.platforum.cloud/uploa...e22925404c.jpg

6'6" sturgeon caught on the Fraser River.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[pjshorthorn]

Originally Posted by Mojo-NC

I still need to catch a sailfish to complete my bucket list...

30" walleye
8.5# bass
Citation dolphin - 38#

If you want an adventure where you can catch sailfish,Marlin,dorado, tuna (black fin and yellowfin) and big rooster fish ; Zihuatenejo/Ixtapa Mexico is a great destination on the Pacific coast. Zihuatenejo is a sleepy little fishing town about 2 hrs north of Acapulco. Charters run about $500.00 a day ( 7am -4 pm ) but you can probably negotiate dark to dark for a little extra.

Our best trip for sailfish was in mid February where three of us fished for three long days and caught 21 sails and 8 big dorado. Attached is a picture of my largest sailfish that measured 10' 3" and went approximately 135 kilos or about 300 lbs. I'm the one in the middle struggling to hold the fish up for pictures. The sail took over an hour to bring in as this particular captain didn't believe in backing down on the fish in order to gain line back on the reel. Thinking the captain would back down on the fish, and that I would get really wet, I had emptied my pockets which included my cigarettes and lighter. The only help I got while fighting the fish was a bottle of water dumped on my head by a buddy. No cigarette ...no beer....nada... I asked and they said .....catch the effin fish....LOL.
A 30# class dorado offered a nice fight as well. The reel on the combo set up was a Fin-Nor that was as big as my head. A few minutes into the fight, the handle comes slap off of the reel as I'm cranking. I yelled to the captain with my hand raised in the air holding the handle. A little chaos ensued as I tried to keep the line tight, my buddy started driving and the captain is trying to reattach the handle while I'm holding on for dear life. It was an epic trip.

Years later I was back in Ixtapa for a business meeting with a large customer and stayed an extra day to fish. Went out specifically for marlin and only raised one that day. Had the fish on the rod for about 10 minutes with some unbelievable greyhounding jumps. The fish eventually threw the hook on one of the jumps ,but it was a rush for sure. The captain estimated it to be about 330 kilos or 725 lbs. I might still be there fighting that fish if it had stayed on. That fish is still on the bucket list

There are direct flights to ZIH from Houston that are about 1:40 minutes. A little slice of heaven on a beautiful natural harbor.


PjShorthorn

[pjshorthorn]

Originally Posted by SkWalter

https://images.platforum.cloud/uploa...96af98d0e6.jpg
https://images.platforum.cloud/uploa...e22925404c.jpg

6'6" sturgeon caught on the Fraser River.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Whoa ! That is a beaut.

PjShorthorn

[slimedart]

The first one is of my dad's 9 footer. The second one is of my dad and myself on a double. The total length of fish on the end of the line was 16.5 ft. My brother and I did this for my dad for his 60th birthday. We caught 8 fish total that day between 6.5 ft and 9ft. One of the best trips of my life.

[Shortline]

Great thread PJ!


Slime dart - was that a guided, or a DIY trip? Awesome results, and definately on my to-do list!!

[pjshorthorn]

Originally Posted by slimedart

The first one is of my dad's 9 footer. The second one is of my dad and myself on a double. The total length of fish on the end of the line was 16.5 ft. My brother and I did this for my dad for his 60th birthday. We caught 8 fish total that day between 6.5 ft and 9ft. One of the best trips of my life.

That second picture is a classic for sure . I bet it was one of the best trips ever !!!! Thanks for sharing. I 've got to be honest, my back hurts a little now seeing that big fish and it scares the crap out of me knowing my head could fit in its mouth LOL.

PjShorthorn

[Lake Of The Woods]

Originally Posted by pjshorthorn

I have been spending quite a bit of time transferring files over to a new desktop computer and came across a lot of old fishing pictures from trips gone by. A nice troll down memory lane of trips I had forgotten about over the years.

The first picture is where I'm thinking, "I'm going to take a butt kicking" since it was my turn to be the gaff man. The second picture is where I am taking a butt kicking after just gaffing the fish ( the fish about torqued my right shoulder out of the socket - nah, there was no chaos going on at that moment ). The last picture is after we all calmed down and my buddy was able to recover from an epic battle with a granddaddy dolphin fish ( AKA dorado or Mahi Mahi ).

We were about 80 NM offshore in the Gulf of Mexico pulling big plugs. The fish was a 60" class specimen and I dare say I won't see another one that big or be silly enough to gaff another that big. That thing would have beat the snot out of me if it hadn't gone in the fish box on the first try !!!!

Great trip with some other big wahoo and Amberjack. I miss those trips.

Share your pictures of trips gone past that remain a great memory.

PjShorthorn

Wow,...nice Bull Mahi-Mahi.