As I previously whined about posted, yesterday was spent in the hell that is moving from one apartment to another. While I was going through that agony, my friend Jim did what any best friend would do in that situation - he went fishing! And then, to rub just a little salt in the wound, he “dropped by” the new place so he could show me this nice fish he caught and was even gracious enough to let me take a picture. (If you’re so inclined, you can click on the pic for the full-sized image)
Once in awhile you stumble across something that seems too good to be true. Saturday was one of those times. We left Pyeongtaek at 0400 and headed south to Jeonju Lake.
I went fishing again yesterday afternoon since it was such a beautiful day. My main intent was to go for bass (really), but I also brought along my ultralight again just in case the bluegill were active. As far as the bass go, I lost a few and caught a few but I have to admit that fishing for these big bluegill with ultralight gear is simply a blast and once again, I couldn’t put my rod down once I got started.
“It’s all in the presentation,” he always says, regarding using spinnerbaits for bass. Well, last night Rob proved himself right because he had a great night. We left late and got to the lake around seven or so, and on his very first cast with a yellow spinnerbait (while I was still putting my gear down), Rob caught the first of his numerous bass (you can click on the pics below to see the full-sized images).
Fish pop up in strange places. I caught this Korean brook perch (keokji in Korean) in a warmwater lake last week.
Typically this species of fish is found in in fast moving coolwater streams and rivers so I was suprised to catch this one in the kind of water where one would expect to catch a largemouth bass. They have all the makings of a great gamefish: aggressive on lures and streamers, hard fighters, pretty colors, but one thing holds them back: their size. They are a small fish, only reaching around six to ten inches on average. A 12″ fish is a trophy. Nonetheless they are great sport on an ultralight spinning rod using small Mepps spinners, or on a 4 weight fly rod using muddler minnows. The trick to catching them is to skim the streambed a couple of inches above the rocks and get them to dart out after the lure. If the retrieve is too high in the water column, they to tend be reluctant to attack it.
On Saturday, Rob and I headed out to my favorite lake for some late afternoon/evening fishing. While Rob was going after bass, I had other plans because I recently read this fishing report by our buddy John, and I was intrigued by his account of catching bluegill on an ultralight rod with a small white rooster tail.
A group of us left Pyeongtaek Saturday morning and headed west towards Taean, for some fishing. The wind was quite strong and I knew were in for a “ride” out to the islands. I was right. The waves were coming over the gunwhales and we all got soaked right off the bat. Early on it was obvious I couldn’t take pictures and fish at the same time. I got knocked down a couple of times and was lucky I didn’t break my camera or anything else. Later the wind died down, the sun came up, and it was a beautiful day. Though I didn’t catch much of anything, most of the other guys caught quite a few rock bass. The camraderie and the scenery made the trip all worth it, even if we were the soggy-bottom boys all day.
Have a good weekend everybody - tight lines!
Back when I was about twelve-years-old I was fishing the neighborhood pond with my older brother and a friend. Fishing those days pretty much entailed using a Zebco-202 if you were lucky enough to have one, or simply tying some line to a long thin branch and fishing with a red-and-white clip bobber and a small hook. The bait was almost always night crawlers, which were in ample supply under the leaves piled up against the neighbor’s curb across the street. “The pond” we grew up around was more or less a drainage area for rainwater.
Continue reading ‘One of my favorite fishing stories from my childhood.’
Gar & Nomad,
In case either of you are wondering why I chose not to go fishing with you this past weekend - well…mmm…and I didn’t really want to tell you this, but I’m fishing with a different group of anglers these days.
I’m very sorry, but these guys are great, and their professionalism, knowledge of fishing, and ability to get ‘em in the boat is unlike anything I’ve ever seen with the Pyongtaek Bass Club.
Again, sorry guys…
Like I said in an earlier post, a couple of us went night fishing last night and what a blast it was. We had it all; darkness, thunderstorms, wind, rain, a twelve-pack of beer :), islands, houseboats and through it all, the fish were biting.
This thirteen-inch lenok (also known as a Manchurian trout) was caught on one of my favorite backcountry streams. That day there was an active caddis hatch and a simple black elkhair caddis pattern, size 16, was all that I tied on. I only tied on another after the fly was ragged from getting munched on. After catching and releasing 22 lenok after four hours of fishing in the drizzles and a few downpours, I hiked it back semi-soaked and left on a high note. (Click on pic to see the full-sized image)
I got up about 3AM Saturday morning to meet a friend from Seoul and take him out to my new favorite lake for a little bass fishing. We left Camp Humphreys at 4AM and were on the water an hour and a half later. I felt because of the high-pressure weather system we’ve had the last few days, the bass were a little more picky than usual. I started out with my usual tactic (chartreuse spinner-bait), but they didn’t seem interested. The water was extremely clear, which also may explain their pickiness… The first fish of the day was a big cat who inhaled my spinner-bait in about two feet of water. It put up a pretty good fight, twisting and turning and by the time I landed it the line was wrapped around its belly and it started up-chucking its breakfast in the boat. I could tell it had been dining on small fish. What a smell! I put it in the expando-net we had trailing along side the boat, and later it swam out. Good for it - see you next time…
This just figures. Jim and Ty went fishing last night. All night. They asked me to go but I politely declined, thinking (there I go thinking again) it would be a waste of time. Once again, I was wrong. Big time, at that.
Found this while out fishing this afternoon - someone caught or netted these baby bass, threw them in this container and left them to die. What a waste.
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