New guy from Arizona. Been lurking for year or so and decided to register after all the fantastic help I've gotten. The tutorials are excellent, I've been able to tune 10+ reels, including a couple that aren't listed. I tackled the reels without a tutorial based on the great info I got here. I've always been "mechanically inclined", but a few photos coupled with the "why" makes it almost too easy. So for all the guys (especially Alan) who make this site what it is...Thank You!
So you might be wondering, why does a guy based in the desert several hours away from an ocean work on reels for ocean fishing? No, I don't get to the ocean very often. The 5+ hour drive one way is a little too much for regular fishing trips. So instead, I fish for the largest freshwater fish I can find, like flathead catfish and carp. Biggest flathead so far is 38 lbs and I've landed several carp from 15 to 22 lbs. Originally, I was going to post photos, but I'm not using an off-site photo host yet, so pictures will have to wait for now.
If you have never fished for carp, you are missing out on a great fight. A fifteen+ pound carp puts up a great fight, necessitating a properly working drag system, which is how I ended up here in the first place. A special shout out to Smooth Drag - thanks for a great product.
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Edit: Ok, so I posted and when I checked my post, the photo showed up... Not sure how I did it, but I'll try again later.
Hi.
I'm stuck 5 hours from saltwater too, I hate it. When I lived in Alaska my home was 25 yards from saltwater and 1/4 mile from fair halibut fishing, had to boat 2 miles to the good halibut grounds.
We called carp cedar salmon and bugle mouth bass, they fight hard and can be good eating smoked when caught in clean cool water.
Welcome and nice flathead. Some of my favourite eating fish, a lil Cajun spice rub and on the grill.
Yummy.
Welcome and nice kitty. From the Colorado?
Nope, Lake Pleasant. I don't get too much time to fish so I try to maximize my time by fishing relatively close to home. The Colorado is 2.5 hours away and is best fish with a boat (which I lack).
Lets try for a carp photo: Majority of my fishing is CPR, so others can enjoy the sport too, but I agree that flathead is good eating! Haven't tried carp yet, but I've heard from other sources that smoking is the way to go with carp.
Welcome aboard, fellow Carper!
Biggest game in town north of you in Utah.
My latest PB was a 27# White Amur, or grass carp. Freshwater tarpon, but not very acrobatic. They save that for when you land them and try to pose for a pic. SLAP! Right in the face! Never trusted one since.
I fish off the bank and kayak. Get a few slow mo sleighrides now and then.
Heading to AK in a week.
welcome to the "neighborhood"...
welcome!!!!
WELCOME, FELLOW ARIZONAN. HERE IS THE AN ARIZONA FLATHEAD SITE. http://www.catfishaz.com/
Steve-O, How was the trip?
We got lots of grassies here in Az since the power company stocks them in the canals for weed control. Supposed to be sterile, but they are in almost every urban lake here so I'm pretty confident that they are reproducing...
Like you, I never trust a grassie. Totally calm one minute, ballastic the next!
Nice grassie! Looks like that one has a huge tail to grow into. From what I have read the grass carp or white amur can only reproduce under VERY exacting river conditions :
"At present, white amur breed naturally in only three places in the world: two rivers in China and one in Siberia . . . because the fish has stringent reproduction requirements: It cannot multiply anyplace but in a river system where the water flows at a rate of no less than eight feet per second . . . where the temperature ranges between 68 and 74 degrees . . . and where the water's pH level is between 7.0 and 7.4.
Moreover, because the eggs have no adhesive quality, they will not stick to docks, posts, stumps, boat bottoms, and so on. Instead, they sink to the riverbed, where — if not kept in motion — they can suffocate in 16 seconds . . . the eggs must tumble for a full 38 hours before they'll begin to hatch."
But they are real Houdini's at moving from one water body to another just as the common Carp does.
Utah brought in the carp in the 1880's and are regretting it with big bucks nowadays.
The Alaska trip was GREAT! couple of posts about it in the member fishing trips sub-forum.
Steve-o, Great info on grassie reproduction, first I've heard of it. The canal system here in Phoenix might actually fit that description. The flow rate is close, same with temp, and since there are miles of canal, the eggs might actually be able to tumble for 36 hours. It might be possible ???
Saw your AK posts, great trip!
Never came to mind that man-made waterways might meet the requirements of fertile, hatchable eggs. What I did notice is that grassies ARE naturally river fish and will look for an outlet from a pond or lake. The little office pond where I recently caught a 27#er also has 3 more I've seen and one is reputed to be 33#.
Please post some of your canal fishing adventures in the members fishing trips. We would all love to hear about more desert urban angling. I know I would...it's what I do until Alaska rolls around. Only 50 more weeks to go! And I may do a summer trip next year so only 39 weeks. Yea!