James RickardSuccessful fishing
July 10th 2007 04:39
Do you have success when you fish? Before you answer that, think about it. What is success? Success for one person may be landing a tuna or marlin while on vacation. For others, it may be finally getting that big bass down by the creek to bite. Still, for others, it may be just landing any fish regardless of the size! Sometimes, it takes hindsight to recognize success.
What do I deem as success on the water? As a kid, I was happy to catch anything over 8 inches. Then, it went up to a foot followed by 15 inches. Too many seasons without fishing kept the “good ones” at that length for a lot of years. 15” became 20” and now, 24” or larger is the goal.
A prime example of interpreting success came when I was fishing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. My goal was to catch a shark! Before anyone gets too carried away, not all sharks are like the ones in Jaws. In fact, you can get species so small that you can put them in a 10 gallon aquarium. I certainly saw a variety of sharks but, landing one is a different story! I even fished at night but, all I caught were rays and crabs.
IMAGE FROM WIKIPEDIA
I came away with good stories from that experience. Sometimes, we need to distance ourselves from the experience to recognize the success.
Good luck and good fishing!
*LARGE IMAGE FROM MORGUEFILE.COM
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Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
Oh...I have not tried dynamite...that just might work for me!!
However, as a kid I did catch a blow fish, and threw him back of course, and a few tiddlers of sorts, a few small leather jackets in Sydney Harbour, off Cremorne Wharf (which sank the other day in a storm...I'm sure all the fish rejoiced, as it was a popular angling spot!)
Then as a 38 year old man, I was up in Darwin, Australia, home to the monster sized crocodiles and very large anything that views humans as larder material, and I did catch another fish! Just one!
Yes, it was a shark, all 8 inches of it, looking like a perfect specimen in miniature. I immediately wanted to have it taxidermed and mounted!
Alas, my fellow fisherman ordered me to throw it back, as it was a baby, and had come out of what they called the nursery, they were there to get bait for the giant barramundi.
Later on, they both caught a barramundi each, we didn't have scales but they were so HUGE they had to hold them with both arms!
What was more amazing, they caught them, not out near the reef wall, but right beside the water line from land, where the rocky outcrop extended over the water's edge. They like hanging around places like that where they can check out what is going on before venturing out.
Barramundi, in case you have never eaten them, are a magnificent fish. The flesh is large flaked and robust, and delicate in flavour....and costs a small fortune in the southern states like Sydney or overseas. But in Darwin, you can get a "barra and chips" for AUS$5.00 from the main wharf fish and chip shop and it is enough to sate any appetite!
Anyhoo....nice to re-live my embarrassing fishing stories with you!
cheers
fog
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
I was happy with the throwbacks, any size does me [speaking of fish, of course], the experience was wonderful and I just love looking for fish in the sea and rock pools and anything on offer, Neutral Bay Wharf was a good one, not far from fog's Cremorne.
And, incidentally, I just love that image, it is wonderful and tells its own stories.
katyzzz
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
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Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...