speaking of Fishing . . .

[Grizz]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d5BB5Ztp6Q

I was trolling for fotos of the fishing gear I know as a fork of Ray's topic when I discovered this video. It overlaps my earliest fishing days with people and boats I fished around for decades . . .
Lots of gear photos and fishing and the ambiance. We raised our three on boats similar to these, among these fishermen. It explains a lot . . . :wink:
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FISH-BOAT_Helen T-a.JPG

my first power troller, rigged for salmon and long-lining
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FISH_King Salmon-c.png

what I fished for, and sometimes caught . . .

this search phrase --- salmon troller pictures gear --- will return enough info that y'all will know as much about as i do :lol:

grizz

[Ray]

Deleted.

[Gobblerforge]

My Grandson and I this week.

[Bill in Oregon]

Grizz, I miss salmon fishing the tidal estuaries along the Oregon coast.
Not the same, but I caught my very first channel cats yesterday morning on Lake Sweetwater, two about a pound and a half and one about five pounds. Let those broad-shouldered brawlers go. There was a welcome breeze at daybreak and all morning. Helped prepare me for the 112 yesterday afternoon. Our old heat record here was a measly 104!

[Ray]

Deleted.

[Bill in Oregon]

Ray, we were living in Redmond, Oregon, east of the Cascades and not far from Earlmck when it hit 27 below in December of 2013. And yes, it can get above 110 in the Rogue Valley of southwest Oregon, but not the furnace heat of Redding and Red Bluff on south in Californy.
Did quite a bit of bass fishing when younger --even joined a club -- but who wants to catch bass when salmon, kokanee and great-eating crappie and perch are available.

[Grizz]

More good stuff. My Grampa was a non-stop fisherman, he died fishing in the Salton Sea when a storm flipped his skiff.

I fished with him in Big Bear Lake near Crestline where the Grand Parents were living for a while. Dad was along too and the 3-generation crew were catching some kinds of pan fish, if that's a thing.

I fished with him in Saguaro Lake, Az. There was a swimming beach at the boat ramp, the water was very cold. No idea where he found the fish, but we teased them up. I'd mention fish brands/names except I'm certain I'd be wrong.

Unthinkable that he and his friend had no personal flotation in the boat.

Thanks for the stories and pictures. A much appreciated respite from the mega-liar-celebrations - - -

grizz

[Ray]

Deleted.

[Rockrat]

Those pound and a half cats make for good eatin!!

[Bill in Oregon]

Rockrat, If I wasn't dealing with an offer on my home and surgery on Tuesday, I would have kept at least one as I am advised that's the best eating size, kind of like a 90-pound hog for the BBQ.

[Grizz]

Grizz, I miss salmon fishing the tidal estuaries along the Oregon coast.
Not the same, but I caught my very first channel cats yesterday morning on Lake Sweetwater, two about a pound and a half and one about five pounds. Let those broad-shouldered brawlers go. There was a welcome breeze at daybreak and all morning. Helped prepare me for the 112 yesterday afternoon. Our old heat record here was a measly 104! :lol:

We had catfish in some of the Phx irrigation ditches and canals. I have a vague memory of trying to corner a catfish somehow without getting spiked. Skin was so tough! There were crawdads in there too. Don't know what the official name was, kids called them crawdads. Or crayfish maybe?

As far as salmon fishing goes the memory index is bottomless. I sometimes trolled in 50-55 fathoms of water, bouncing leads at that depth if I slowed down too much. This was at the mouth of what was a sizeable stream near the ice age edge of the continental shelf. I could see the source of that stream as a canyon in the mountainside 5 miles away.

There were rock structures along the gravel bar of the ancient beach, middens perhaps that would aggregate feed in the lee that would rise up as the current slacked off, to be attacked by schools of king and coho salmon, and halibut when they're around. . . . . {a side note, there is a field of archeology that uses deep water power shovels to dredge up those middens and examine the finds of ice age artifacts of the shoreline communities}

The surprising thing is that it is much the way I would fish a river or a stream, there is a river down there, and the stuff we see happening in rocky waters is happening at depth. Except for the breaking water. That stays on top. The timing aspect is a little more obscure, and making the gear "fish" at that depth is not intuitive, it's a process of discovery.
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FISHING_salmon troller setup.png

This is the setup. In my example those lead balls would contact the bottom in 300+ feet of water. The ones I used were 70 lbs and 50 pounds. The wire was 5/16 stainless steel. I still miss doing this and I still dream about it. I suppose you could imagine being on a cliff 300 feet above a trout stream, trying to get your lure in the right place in the right part of the stream, with a wind blowing the gear about. . . and the cliff bouncing around. :(

This season is a bust for a lot of Alaska trollers. They lost a lot of opportunity to 'regulators'. The cost of fuel is huge. The runs are late or on a detour away from them. When my son was there a few weeks ago, very experienced high-liner trollers were staying tied to the dock because they were money ahead to not fish.



Tough stuff. BTDT
But Oh the Memories!

[GunnyMack]

We fished for catfish when I was at Trinidad college, we would drive a nail through the skull into a telephone pole outside the dorm to skin them. We cooked fish & chips in the dorm, stinking up the whole gunny floor! Good times, wonder if those heads are still there??