THE Random Chat Thread - AKA "The RCT" - No shirt or shoes required - Open 24 / 7

[oldmxrat]

Good morning all

 

[oldmxrat]

At least they're not all shot up like lots of ours. Signs not broken in here till it has some holes in it. 😄

Here too Chilli, a newly placed sign is typically perforated within a week.

 

[Evan in CA]

Good morning all

 

[releventchair]

Good morning all

Mornin Evan!

 

[Chilli]

It's West coast so there has to be something crazy going on there...

Steelhead will return (most of them) to the big water they came from after they run upstream and spawn.
Unlike salmon that are hard to get to grab something , though they will at times out of aggression or defense of a bed. Salmon are on a one way trip.

Clean gravel for spawning will stall out a run if conditions of location and decent water give the green flag. Natal waters for those from them , and or locations of being planted by hatcheries. The sites get imprinted. Likely through scent.

We've taken steelies on crawlers. And live bait . (My first on a shiner minnow when fishing pike.)

When steelies are bedding a chunk of fresh skein (egg sack of spawning ready steelhead hens) can be effective. So too spawn bags.
Back bouncing is popular on rivers. A wobbling plug drifted in front of the drifting downstream boat. (Two drift boats were pictured earlier by members.)

Sight fishing like with bedding salmon you want to avoid the hen when males are trying to court her. You pull her away and the party is over.

This time of year shore fishing/wading ice forms in line guides.
A day with some sun and right above freezing I used to hit the nearest river.
A slip float and a jig tipped with a single waxworm. I'd rather bounce bottom but zebra mussels pretty much ended that for me.
Instead of harassing the steelhead I would drop below suspected steelhead holding water and work the current breaks and pools for brown trout and non spawning trout that hold below spawning fish to catch drifting eggs.
Once in awhile a steelie would get involved anyways.

Summer holdover steelies (then dubbed rainbows ) were the fish to offer a crawler drifting like one should in the current to where fish were starting to get the itch to prowl again in evening.

If you've seen Tic Tac mints that's about how big the heads on steelhead jigs are that I used for slip floating.
Strong hooks required of course.
A former partner on the river at times tied a snell that allowed him to trap a wad of colored yarn with it.
( Imitation spawn/egg stuff.)

He changed yarn colors as I changed jig colors.
But it was usually a light or dark color thing mostly.

View attachment 2245501

Spawn bag hooks are shaped uniquely. Clearing bag to allow hooksets.
Size varies with bag size that varies.
Dime or nickel or bigger bags.
Dime suits me.
As mentioned prior a chunk of skien can work too.
How to cure and preserve eggs gets to be a topic at times.
Pieces of foam can be added for flotation. Colors changed.
Scents added.

Interesting stuff. Why are the zebra mussels an issue fishing the bottom?

 

[Chilli]

Wanna see how mad its getting here with hate crime laws?
This guy, a rail worker lost his job for a perceived, not proven just perceived, nazi salute. He was motioning each time to a train and its driver that alls good. But nope he's a Nazi as far as everyone is concerned. He went to court and was found guilty.
For crying out loud, our old Aussie ways are being obliterated. That was a common way of acknowledging someone, I still now n then do it. It's just a kind of quick "hi all good" motion. Like a wave hello without all the sideways movements. So now I have to be on guard that I don't do it in case im filmed and charged with a hate crime!

 

[ArfieBoy]

Good afternon, evening, night, morning to all the crew everywhere! Great day, evening, night, morning to all!

 

[Oregon Viking]

Short film fishing on our local rivers.

 

[releventchair]

Interesting stuff. Why are the zebra mussels an issue fishing the bottom?

They are sharp.
If a fish powers to bottom ; line gets cut too easily.
(Big brown trout seem to like to scrub bottom when fighting .)
Bottom bouncing with the current the line gets nicks in it. All are weak spots.

I use mostly old rods. Non hardened guides or otherwise suited for braid.
But have used modern braids.
Not sure I'd drag them on mussels either.
In Canada I had it cut on the strike. Other cut when a fish ran. (Yes those were outliers /exceptions.)
I believe I popped that braid by hand after to demonstrate that it sucked.

Another braid I bent the shaft of an open faced reel with. My fault for reefing on the line when snagged. Got lucky rolling the shaft on a flat surface and bending it a couple times it works again without dragging on part of a revolution.

 

[releventchair]

Short film fishing on our local rivers.

Best water colors all along in your pictures too.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Best water colors all along in your pictures too.

2 of the 7 local rivers.... the others are great too !!!

 

[releventchair]

2 of the 7 local rivers.... the others are great too !!!

I see a lot of brown water here.
The downstream river mouth areas can be the worst from sediment ect.
When some rivers clear it's about the time of getting warmer and lower water.
One nearby river we'd get trout at tributary inlets at river.
(An ex put one rainbow on the wall that way.)
Mid winter isn't bad for clarity. But that's a lower water time too.

Still , we don't get those gorgeous colors by me.

 

[Oregon Viking]

I see a lot of brown water here.
The downstream river mouth areas can be the worst from sediment ect.
When some rivers clear it's about the time of getting warmer and lower water.
One nearby river we'd get trout at tributary inlets at river.
(An ex put one rainbow on the wall that way.)
Mid winter isn't bad for clarity. But that's a lower water time too.

Still , we don't get those gorgeous colors by me.

Our rivers clean up really fast around here so we can easily avoid the brown water ! It's the tourists and all the guides that we could do without so damn many !

 

[Chilli]

They are sharp.
If a fish powers to bottom ; line gets cut too easily.
(Big brown trout seem to like to scrub bottom when fighting .)
Bottom bouncing with the current the line gets nicks in it. All are weak spots.

I use mostly old rods. Non hardened guides or otherwise suited for braid.
But have used modern braids.
Not sure I'd drag them on mussels either.
In Canada I had it cut on the strike. Other cut when a fish ran. (Yes those were outliers /exceptions.)
I believe I popped that braid by hand after to demonstrate that it sucked.

Another braid I bent the shaft of an open faced reel with. My fault for reefing on the line when snagged. Got lucky rolling the shaft on a flat surface and bending it a couple times it works again without dragging on part of a revolution.

View attachment 2245551

Ok, line cut. Yeah your right, braids pretty delicate abrasion wise. I only use mono when bait fishing. I do love braid for lures though. I love Gliss Monotex for casting lighter lures. It didn't catch on though here as people were tying their usual knots, braid to leader, and they were coming undone and breaking. I just use wetted back to back uni knots to join them but do 7 wraps instead of the typical 3 to 4 on each knot. Iv never had them come undone nor break. But yeah it doesn't like structure. Crazy thin line, 13lb is like sewing cotton. Gotta wrap it around a stick though if you get snagged to pull the lure off. Worse than typical braid for cutting you if you pull on the line with your hand and fingers. I got a few spools but now its unavailable here, not even sure its still made.

A nice rainbow I got using it.

 

[Oregon Viking]

A no thank you around here.

ODFW Oregon Invasive Species - Zebra/Quagga Mussel

 

[Chilli]

I see a lot of brown water here.
The downstream river mouth areas can be the worst from sediment ect.
When some rivers clear it's about the time of getting warmer and lower water.
One nearby river we'd get trout at tributary inlets at river.
(An ex put one rainbow on the wall that way.)
Mid winter isn't bad for clarity. But that's a lower water time too.

Still , we don't get those gorgeous colors by me.

Pretty sure the water colour is dictated by the minerals in it. There was a place in Queensland where the streams were clear and as blue as the sky. That was due to the minerals in it. Was a beautiful place to swim.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Ok, line cut. Yeah your right, braids pretty delicate abrasion wise. I only use mono when bait fishing. I do love braid for lures though. I love Gliss Monotex for casting lighter lures. It didn't catch on though here as people were tying their usual knots, braid to leader, and they were coming undone and breaking. I just use wetted back to back uni knots to join them but do 7 wraps instead of the typical 3 to 4 on each knot. Iv never had them come undone nor break. But yeah it doesn't like structure. Crazy thin line, 13lb is like sewing cotton. Gotta wrap it around a stick though if you get snagged to pull the lure off. Worse than typical braid for cutting you if you pull on the line with your hand and fingers. I got a few spools but now its unavailable here, not even sure its still made.
View attachment 2245553
A nice rainbow I got using it.
View attachment 2245555

'Braided line is more resilient to nicks.

 

[ConceptualizedNetherlandr]

Pretty sure the water colour is dictated by the minerals in it. There was a place in Queensland where the streams were clear and as blue as the sky. That was due to the minerals in it. Was a beautiful place to swim.

Organics play a role, like tannins and other non mineral dyes.

 

[Chilli]

'Braided line is more resilient to nicks.

Sorry no, its more prone to nicks and damage. You might be thinking monofilament line.

 

[Oregon Viking]

Elk river and a fish from said river.