Fishin' Stories

[The Comedian]

Anyone else here do much fishin'? I love to toss a line. Mostly I fish from my canoe or kayak in the rivers and lakes around where I live. The last few times out the smallmouth have really been biting. So I've used some #3 Mepps spinners to catch them pretty regularly.

I also take my girls (8 & 5) fishing. We go mostly for pan fish, which are easy to catch with a worm and bobber (float). They love it because the fishin' action is usually fast and furious. I suppose they also like that I let them pick up some candy and soda at the gas station, but I've fished enough to know that it's not just fish that we bait. ;)

Any other LitNeters fish?

[Sancho]

C! I’m a bona fide member of the hook-n-release club, not the catch-n-release club. You should’ve seen the one that got away – it was a WHALE.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Awesome idea for a thread. I am completely addicted to fishing once again like when I was younger. I can't think much else at the moment. Last night I spent two hours simply choosing floats over the internet! Crystal Drennan Wagglers if you must know. I'm tench hunting in the margins!

Fishing from a canoe sounds amazing. Likewise, I have introduced my two girls (6, 9) to fishing in the last few months. Likewise again, going for plenty of bites with the smaller fish, like roach or perch, has been the tactic to maintain interest.

When I go alone I'm going for tench or carp, up to 5lb or so in weight. I like to fish in the edge with a stick float by the reeds. This was always my favourite style of fishing. I have been reading up on some tench tactics of fishing overlength on the bottom which I'm going to try next time. Tench are shy and intelligent creatures and so you have to present the bait as naturally as possible which this method helps do apparently - they won't be fooled by any nonsense and are easily spooked. They are a lovely fish though and great fighters. Carp as well.

Any fishing stories? God thousands.

I will be back...

[Jack of Hearts]

What an amazing thread, Comedian.

This reader grew up fishing and still loves fishing with his grandpa to this day. Catch and release through, unless somehow a T-Bone steak winds up on the end of the line. Fishing is just amazing. The actual bite itself is just a bonus, catchin' the big one, for this reader. It's just about taking the time and being there. And the snacks. And the sound of water. And the relaxing. And the discussions that can occur in no other context it seems. Shoreline fishin', boat fishin', river fishin', lake fishin', compliment fishin' (go on now...), you name it. Love this thread.






J

[Idril]

I used to go fishing with my Dad a lot as a kid but I haven't done much fishing since then. I have such wonderful memories of getting up before the crack of dawn on summer mornings at the lake and being able to spend time with my Dad out in the boat while we caught, hopefully, tons of walleye. Then we would come home with our haul and Mom would make fresh walleye for breakfast. Those were the days. :D

[LitNetIsGreat]

Brilliant. Those are the golden days you never get back.

I also totally agree with Jack about just being out there in the natural world - being part of it all, the bites are a bonus feature in many respects. A friend of mine also said this to me the other day, same thoughts completely. You might like the following quotation from Ted Hughes the poet about fishing, along similar lines:


Fishing provides that connection with the whole living world. It gives you the opportunity of being totally immersed, turning back into yourself in a good way. A form of meditation, some form of communion with levels of yourself that are deeper than the ordinary self.

I completely agree, though it wasn't something I ever thought about when I was younger (of course) it was just a way of life; it was the way of life.

This thread has also introduced me to some new fish, as I have Googled al the fish mentioned which were unfamiliar to me which is great.

[mazHur]

here is an interesting book i recommend and I can bet you will surely enjoy reading it!


FISH, FISHING AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
BY
JEREMY PAXMAN.

[Sancho]

(I am incapable of ignoring this thread)

So, there we were, me and my old lady,* fishing for halibut in Jack Bay, which is just through The Narrows and to the left as you leave The Port of Valdez and proceed towards Columbia Glacier in Alaska. It was just the two of us aboard a 19-foot ski boat, which we had rented earlier in the day at the small boat harbor. The seas were calm but it was cold and rainy, so we had the canopy up and the sides rolled down. We had a portable propane heater going in the boat, which was keeping us warm and toasty. I was using a rod strong enough for a marlin and it was equipped with one of those red, heavy-duty Penn reels with a full spool of braided Dacron line. On the business end of the line I had a steel leader, a curvy-curvy halibut hook baited with a herring, and a lead sinker the size of my fist. I had the rod snaked under the canopy and the rocking of the boat was bouncing the bait happily on a sandy shelf about a hundred feet down. I had a slice of cold pizza in one hand, a tall-cool one in the other, and the handle of the rod was more-or-less wedged in my armpit. My wife was dozing in the captain’s chair. I clearly remember thinking that I had never been happier in my life.

And that’s when the rod bent over double, the slice went overboard, the beer went flying, and the wife woke up and said, “What’cha doing?”

I stated the obvious, “I got a big one.”

“Ah-hah, and how’re you planning to get it on the boat?”

“Donno.” Meanwhile I was cranking down the drag with a little star gear on the side of the reel, trying to slow down the fish before he ran me out of line.

One thing I’ve always admired about my wife is that she likes to take charge in a crisis, regardless of whether or not she knows what she’s doing. She said, “You can’t do anything inside here. I’ll go up front, out in the rain, and you lean over the side and hand me the pole.”

I was skeptical, but I was also overcome by an unusual clarity of thought. I remember thinking that this was more of a relationship decision than a matter of fishing practicality. So I said, “Good idea.”

Oddly enough, the rod transfer went well (yep, she was right again). And so I grabbed the gaff, the fish bonker, and the half-spilt beer, and headed up front to join her. Based on the WHOOEEs and the WHOA-THERE-BIG-FELLAs coming from the front of the boat, I thought all was going well. But when I got there, the rod was straight, the line was limp, and the wife had the look of someone holding a lottery ticket with all the right numbers, except the last one.

Turns out, she’d become alarmed at the rapid loss of line, and being unfamiliar with drag function of the reel, she went with the alternate drag device – her thumb, which she’d applied to the spool, firmly.

Now I’m an optimist by nature, so I said, “Maybe he’s running towards us! Reel him in! Reel him in! GoGoGo!”

Well she’s a realist by nature, so she said, “Nope, the line snapped.” Then she added, “Got another one of those brewskis?”

I said, “Uh-huh.”

And that was the one that got away. Could’a been an Orca.


*If you happen to run into her on the street, please don’t tell her I called her that, or I’ll have hell to pay.

[The Comedian]

@ Sancho -- That's the kinda story that I'm talkin' about! You had me laughing (though, honestly, not out loud) when, after the rod transfer, you picked up the gaff and the fish whapper (necessary for clobbering the lunker) and the 1/2 brew! You do know the essentials of fishing.

@ Neely -- I had to look up what a "tench" was on Google images. Looks like a fun fish to catch. Are they fit for the dinner table?

I'm hoping to escape on the kayak later this afternoon for an hour or two of paddling and fishin'. I try to remember the camera and post some images, but I'm not promising anything.

[LitNetIsGreat]

@ Sancho -- That's the kinda story that I'm talkin' about! You had me laughing (though, honestly, not out loud) when, after the rod transfer, you picked up the gaff and the fish whapper (necessary for clobbering the lunker) and the 1/2 brew! You do know the essentials of fishing.

@ Neely -- I had to look up what a "tench" was on Google images. Looks like a fun fish to catch. Are they fit for the dinner table?

I'm hoping to escape on the kayak later this afternoon for an hour or two of paddling and fishin'. I try to remember the camera and post some images, but I'm not promising anything.

No you can't eat Tench or most freshwater fish. Pike and eels are edible but hardly worth the effort - Pike are too bony, fierce creatures though. Trout are the main in-land edible fish but the vast majority of day to day anglers don't fish for trout. You also need a special license for them and I think there are strict restrictions on how many you can take. Most in-land fishing is just done for the sport. Anyone can fish freely in the sea with rod and line for a whole bounty of edible fish, if you are lucky enough to live near the coast that is.

But yes tench and carp are wonderful fish to catch though, great fighters and can grow quite large, carp especially. There are many dedicated and specialised carp anglers out there who almost exclusively fish for them. This often can mean night fishing and setting up with bate alarms and a whole manner of things - going for monsters. A friend of mine does this. I prefer float fishing in the edge, by reeds, going for 'smaller' tench and carp, up to about 5lb. The so called 'common' carp are lovely fish as well. Try googling that one. I also like roach fishing in the summer. Bream fishing in the winter months or that's what I always liked. Bream are another nice fish, but the float set up is not the best tactic, a quiver rod set up it works best.

I have always wanted to fish in the sea. I have never done this in the UK, I have in Spain for smaller fish, but not in the UK. I would like to catch a mackerel and cook it myself. There's got to be something very satisfactory about catching and cooking your own fish. I've done that with pike and eel a little, but I would love to do it with mackerel or sea bass or other sea fish.


Hope you catch tonight! And yes please post pics if possible.

[Jack of Hearts]

How about fishin' for chicks?

One time at a party had a blonde playing guitar and singing to old Jack all lonesome together. But she kept stopping to text on her phone! Quote Jack, "Lame, we're doing something here. Bye." Found later she was texting her friend about yours truly. *sigh* Catch and release.

Ok, reel fish story. One time JoH caught one that was 'this' big.

Trying to cast into a lake from a slick, rocky precipice, really high up. Uncle Joe said don't go up there, you'll slip. Yeah, yeah. Right on the buttocks, slid into the lake. It was a cold, wet ride home. Scared all the fish away, too.

So he knew what he talking about. Anybody else cool their soda/beer in one of those little inlets/pockets of water? Classic.






J


EDIT: Miss fishin' pretty bad :-(

[JuniperWoolf]

My favorite kind of fishing is ice fishing. I don't even care so much about casting my line, I just love laying over that little hole and looking in at this pure, clear, underwater world in a way that you never really get to see in the summer. You can watch the fish down there, you see them scooting past the hole all the time. In the very middle of winter you can even have a fire on the lake (it's not dangerous, the ashes build up before you know it, and it doesn't get too hot underneath the fire) and roast hotdogs, then lay over the hole and watch the fish with a hotdog and some hot chocolate.

I'm an old hand at cleaning fish, too. I always liked that part, you go to this little table area on the shore and there are always a lot of people there, so you get to see what everyone else caught.

[Sancho]

In addition to the lake fire, some sippin' whiskey might warm you out there.

What I’ve always liked about fishing in the ocean is the possibility of pulling something out that can truly hurt you. But I prefer trout fishing, in a mountain stream, where you gotta keep moving.

[JuniperWoolf]

What I’ve always liked about fishing in the ocean is the possibility of pulling something out that can truly hurt you.

Haha, yeah, that sounds lovely.

Incidently, a walleye once bit the tip of my grandpa's thumb off, and then he stepped on the cleaning knife. Those things are monsters.

http://www.impactlab.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/walleye-teeth-222.jpg

We were on a boat, blood EVERYWHERE.

[Sancho]

Haha, yeah, that sounds lovely.

Incidently, a walleye once bit the tip of my grandpa's thumb off, and then he stepped on the cleaning knife. Those things are monsters.

http://www.impactlab.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/walleye-teeth-222.jpg

We were on a boat, blood EVERYWHERE.

Holy Mackerel!

[Jack of Hearts]

Throw that monster back into the blue hell it came from!





J

[LitNetIsGreat]

Yes I'm a coward too, I like 'safe' fish. Pike can be nasty. You don't want to put your hand close to their mouth when unhooking that's for sure. An eel once bit my grandfather, held right onto his arm and wouldn't let go. I'm sure it didn't 'attack' him, but the thing wouldn't let go. I hated catching eels when I was younger, horrible things.

Pike:
http://www.gofishing.co.uk/upload/16480/images/opi/pike-head-close-up-and-lure.gif

I'm not fishing for those, stick to lovely carp or tench...

http://media.knoxnews.com/media/img/photos/2008/03/22/032308out1_t607.jpg
Common carp, (not mine).

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Tinca_tinca_Prague_Vltava_3.jpg/300px-Tinca_tinca_Prague_Vltava_3.jpg
Tench.

[Sancho]

Here’s an ornery fresh-water fish:

http://i971.photobucket.com/albums/ae197/mollyandbruno/brown_bear_salmon_fishing.jpg

So then, if you’re out King Salmon fishin’, and you’ve got a real lunker on the line, and he wants it…My advice: let him have it.

[Scheherazade]

So then, if you’re out King Salmon fishin’, and you’ve got a real lunker on the line, and he wants it…My advice: let him have it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnf-M-iOB-M&feature=related

[Sancho]

Well, Scher, I suppose there’s an exception to every rule, like that one right there. Also it made me squirt a little bit of my fizzy beverage through my nose.

[LitNetIsGreat]

here is an interesting book i recommend and I can bet you will surely enjoy reading it!


FISH, FISHING AND THE MEANING OF LIFE
BY
JEREMY PAXMAN.

I ordered the book and it has arrived already! Going to be dipping into that this afternoon and tomorrow afternoon I'm off a fishin'.

[ClaesGefvenberg]

Holy Mackerel!Mackerel? No, I don't think so... :p

I did a lot of fishing when I was growing up, but since then: Nothing.

Fishing tale 1, where i got something unexpected: I caught a grass snake out for a swim, and had an absolute bear of a time getting it off the hook without getting bitten myself. Probably a sight worth seeing, but there were no witnesses. :eek2:

Fishing tale 2, where I got more than I bargained for: I caught a decently sized carp using a rather flimsy rod and a thin line, so instead of just lifting it out of the water I pulled it towards the boat. Then, without warning, wham, bam splash! Rather bewildered I pulled my catch up only to find that a pike had gotten it good (it obviously was not that carps day). The pike was not quite big enough for its prey, though, and choked on it. When I held the double catch over the boat, the pike lost its grip and landed in it. It had been raining and there was a couple of inches of water in the bottom. Naturally, the pike started racing about like a torpedo, somewhat to my alarm :willy_nilly: as I was bare foot. It took me quite a while to catch it and put it out of its misery, while my cousins watching from ashore shouted "good advice" amid gales of laughter. :redface:

/Claes

[JuniperWoolf]

^Haha, pike, they're dangerous animals, they'll take a human out given half the chance. Walleyes are a kind of pike.

[Idril]

There's a lot of carp in Lake Sakakawea. We would always throw them back but our neighbors would smoke them and somehow that made them edible. I'm not sure I buy it though, we never tried it. :p Every now and then when we would be swimming in the lake, those nasty fish would brush against our legs and I would run screaming to the shore. My brother used to like to torment me by brushing his foot against my leg and tell me it was carp...and I never once figured out it was his foot...I wasn't a very bright kid. :wink5:

The first time I caught a catfish was a traumatic experience as well. We were fishing from our dock that time, I had never seen such a thing and it looked like an absolute monster. My dad and brother thought it was really cool but my sister agreed with me, 'throw that thing back, we are NOT eating that'. :sick:

We also caught a lot of perch. They tasted ok but were generally small, rarely were they big enough to keep. Shiners were another fish we would catch a lot of but we always threw them back, apparently they weren't good eatin'.

[Sancho]

...The first time I caught a catfish was a traumatic experience as well. We were fishing from our dock that time, I had never seen such a thing and it looked like an absolute monster. My dad and brother thought it was really cool but my sister agreed with me, 'throw that thing back, we are NOT eating that'. :sick:...

I’ve still got a scar on the palm of my hand from sea catfish. I was maybe eight-years-old when I got it. We were surf casting near Folly Beach, S.C. and I pulled in a nice sized catfish, so I grabbed him around the middle to unhook him as I would a freshwater cat, but saltwater catfish have several razor-sharp fins that can open your hand to the tendons - and it did. I think there’s a little venom there too. I was sick for the rest of the day.

[Idril]

I’ve still got a scar on the palm of my hand from sea catfish. I was maybe eight-years-old when I got it. We were surf casting near Folly Beach, S.C. and I pulled in a nice sized catfish, so I grabbed him around the middle to unhook him as I would a freshwater cat, but saltwater catfish have several razor-sharp fins that can open your hand to the tendons - and it did. I think there’s a little venom there too. I was sick for the rest of the day.

Ok, your catfish story is much more badass than mine. :lol:

[Sancho]

Ok, your catfish story is much more badass than mine. :lol:

Sorry, Idril. I wasn’t trying to do a story-beater there. I was just trying to commiserate with you about the badness of catfish in general. But then catfish aren’t really good or bad. They just are. They only do what catfish do. And one thing they do is they talk to you when you catch them. They sort of grunt at you: GRUNT, GRUNT, GRUNT… Please, Mr. Man, lemme go. I was so happy swimming around lake before you came along with your evil ways … GRUNT, GRUNT, GRUNT…

Besides, I have many more impressive scars than the catfish scar: there’s the regular-cat scar, the table-saw scar, the bicycle-crash scar(s), the MacPherson-Strut scar, the I-think-that-dog-likes-me scar – to name just a few. I am a clumsy man.

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Since it is still June and we're talking about fishing, how bout some fishing poetry.
(Comedian has seen this once before)

James Whitcomb Riley Down Around the River

Noon-time an' June-time, down around the river!
Have to furse with 'Lizey Ann--but lawzy! I fergive her!
Drives me off the place, an' says 'at all 'at she's a-wishin',
Land o' gracious! time'll come I'll git enough o' fishin'!
Little Dave, a-choppin' wood, never 'pears to notice;
Don't know where she's hid his hat, er keerin' where his coat is,--
Specalatin', more'n like, he haint a-goin' to mind me,
An' guessin' where, say twelve o'clock, a feller'd likely find me!

Noon-time an' June-time, down around the river!
Clean out o' sight o' home, an' skulkin' under kivver
Of the sycamores, jack-oaks, an' swamp-ash an' ellum--
Idies all so jumbled up, you kin hardly tell 'em!--
_Tired_, you know, but _lovin'_ it, an' smilin' jes' to think 'at
Any _sweeter_ tiredness you'd fairly want to _drink_ it!
Tired o' fishin'--tired o' fun--line out slack an' slacker--
All you want in all the world's a little more tobacker!

Hungry, but _a-hidin'_ it, er jes' a-not a-keerin':--
Kingfisher gittin' up an' skootin' out o' hearin';
Snipes on the t'other side, where the County Ditch is,
Wadin' up an' down the aidge like they'd rolled their britches!
Old turkle on the root kindo-sorto drappin'
Intoo th' worter like he don't know how it happen!
Worter, shade an' all so mixed, don't know which you'd orter
Say; th' _worter_ in the shadder--_shadder_ in the _worter!_

Somebody hollerin'--'way around the bend in
Upper Fork--where yer eye kin jes' ketch the endin'
Of the shiney wedge o' wake some muss-rat's a-makin'
With that pesky nose o' his! Then a sniff o' bacon,
Corn-bred an' 'dock-greens--an' little Dave a-shinnin'
'Crost the rocks an' mussel-shells, a-limpin' an' a-grinnin',
With yer dinner fer ye, an' a blessin' from the giver,
Noon-time an' June-time down around the river!

[LitNetIsGreat]

Great stuff. That Fish, Fishing and the meaning of Life is an excellent book.

Anyway, ho, ho, ho I finally bagged a tench after three attempts today!

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/8105/s6301497.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/526/s6301497.jpg/)
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7169/s6301498.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/268/s6301498.jpg/)
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9425/s6301501.th.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/201/s6301501.jpg/)

I also got a bream with the very very last throw.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Had a fantastic session today. Horrible weather with high winds and almost constant rain, but I decided to get off because I was free and you can’t wait for the British summer because it is non-existent. Anyway, I caught three carp, two tench and a bream by my usual method of fishing in the edge, this time by the side of an overhanging tree. I was lucky to find this sheltered peg because where I have been fishing it is very exposed. It was probably because of the weather that I didn’t see a soul for five hours – no one else was mad enough to go out it in probably, but that suits me fine. Really enjoyed it. I think I am getting the old angling skill back, despite one argument with the tree and a few missed bites, overall I did pretty good.

[The Comedian]

The other day I took my yellow kayak out to an area lake (along with a few cheap cigars) and cast a #2 Mepps spinner. I was using ultra light tackle, so even small fish feel big when they're hooked.

I had a great outing, smoked my cigars without spousal molestation and protestation, paddled up to the inlet and outlet of the lake. In paddling the outlet, I made my way up the small creek that feeds the lake until the creek itself was just lowlands. I saw common loons, ducks and the usual sorts of trees: black spruce, tamarack. . .was lookin' for native orchids too, but didn't find any.

Oh, and the fishing? Three largemouth bass, one northern pike, and two crappies. Very fun day on the H20.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Well today I have had the best single fishing session of my life, in terms of catch weight Vs time at least. I must have had 40-45lb of fish in just three and a half hours, maybe more. I had fifteen fish in total consisting of bream, chub, carp and a tench. Unbelievable stuff. I also missed a stack of bites too and got tangled in a tree!

I caught these using my usual tactics of margin fishing, six/seven feet out, next to an overhanging tree, with a rod and float, at my usual place, a little local reservoir, though really it is only a medium sized pond at only three and a half acres in total. Just me and one other fellow opposite and 38 empty pegs.

I’m very pleased not only for the great session, but also because it means my bait, tactics and set-up were obviously spot on. The peg is also good obviously too at that time – you can’t beat 6pm + for carp and tench. I could have caught there all night if it wasn’t for the fact that I had to rush off and get the last bus at 10pm (which came late so he let me on for free). It was still light at 10.30pm even.

Another bonus was the weather. Despite such atrocious early rain, complete with thunder and lightning and even hailstones (the great British summer continues) it remained dry and wind free. The only slight downside is that my brand new rod rest snapped off immediately as I pushed it in the ground and my flask smashed for some reason, meaning I had to go without tea and some things got a little wet. Still, it made the beer upon getting home taste even better...

What a great session overall. Long may days/evenings like that continue. Brilliant.

[Sancho]

Sounds like it was a great day, Neely.

I don’t know what my best-ever fishing day was, but it had to have been with my grandfather when I was around twelve-years-old. He was a school teacher in Northern Wisconsin and he knew some sweet trout streams up there. He’d take us through the woods and to the stream in his old Willy’s Jeep, and then he’d say, “I’ll see you back here in 6 hours," and he’d go upstream while I went downstream (or vice-versa). Later, we’d meet back at the Jeep, both with a creel full of Rainbow, Brown, and Brook Trout.

He told me once that on his first date with my grandma - he took her fishing. He said he knew he was going to marry her when she baited her own hook.

Also, Comedian, life’s too short for cheap cigars. I just brought back a box of Robustos from Rio de Janeiro - muito bom - I should send you some. They’re perfect for keeping the mosquitos at bay. Also, it's not so smart to smoke one on an empty stomach – muito forte.

[The Comedian]

Just got back from fishin' with my youngest daughter (5). We went to two area lakes (there are lots of them where I live) with some bait -- night crawlers, and some gas-station quality chocolate doughnuts (bait for us) to catch bluegills, image below:

http://static.ddmcdn.com/gif/bluegill-fishing-tips-1.jpg

She caught about 20 all told -- great time. I baited her hooks, took of most of the fish off the hook for her. She tried to cast, which she eventually did passably fine.

When the fishin' was all done, she and I caught frogs on the bank. I ended up catchin' about 6 for her. She likes to hold them and then let them go.

A great time!

[Gilliatt Gurgle]

Sounds like a great time and that Bluegill is beautiful.

[LitNetIsGreat]

Caught my biggest fish ever today; a mirror carp and guessing between 15-20lb. Sure, as a friend of mine said that is a bit of a gap, but I have no scales and it has been a long time since I weighed fish! Need some scales... Regardless, it was a great fish and the heaviest I have caught.

I was only on 4lb line so I couldn't force it and so it took me 20-25 mins to land it and even 6 hours or so later my right arm is still hurting - hurting like a good session with weights in a gym (I imagine).

I was fishing in the margins as normal at my usual place and fishing on the bottom, seven foot, when as I usually do I throw out a few pieces of bread to see if they are taking off the top. Well, naturally they started to do so, so I adjusted by line to fish on the top and to fight to keep the ducks off.

Fishing this way I hooked a couple of chub about 4/5lb, when I noticed a couple of ducks reeling form some fish who beat them to bits of floating bread under an overhanging tree to my right, no more than two metres out. So naturally, I dropped my line in there and then...WHAM!!! off went my line running to the centre of the lake!! A big carp I thought immediately, but I didn't expect it to be so large. It was a good ten minutes fight, where it tried to break me in the trees roots to the right and left before I caught a sight of it and then I wondered if I was going to be able to land it on the tackle I was on.

It took me another 10 minutes just to see it again, as it dipped down and would not come to the surface. My reel was struggling with the weight as it is not designed for carp really, only lighter fish, but I was not forcing it because I knew I would lose it that way, much better to try and tire it and land it in. Anyway, it ran back out right to the middle of the water a few times and tried to pull my in the roots again but I held it off and managed to bring it to the surface and land it, fantastic. What a feeling. I felt like Hemingway shooting his kudu, brilliant.

I got a few photos on my Ipod camera thing (it was a gift and I didn't know how to use it), but I have some half shots I'll try to put up when I can. Unfortunately I couldn't take it and hold it, so it is hard to judge its size, but you'll just have to believe me that it was 15lb minimum. Great stuff. Anyway, I decided to grab my brother and go out of a few beer celebrations. Much needed. Here's to fishing!:cheers2:

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/5808/img00091b.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/72/img00091b.jpg/)

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/8963/img00021x.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/818/img00021x.jpg/)

Edit: Bad photos but it's the best I've got. Can't/don't know how to turn the image the other way round, but, if you tilt your head that also works. :yesnod: Cheers.