Obsession- what's yours?

Acristickid

Acristickid

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Had a several hour car ride yesterday with one of my fly fishing buddies- we usually talk politics, investments etc... And of course fishing.

Anyways- he starts on his far flung idea to fish for Giant Trevally. He talks with such passion about it (I get excited for him about it). Was told a story yesterday how a trout bum guide my buddy was acquainted with saved his money from a season of guiding. Cashed in on all his favors used his discounts and still spent a pretty penny buying a very expensive Tibor reel and some huge Sage rod to chase his dream- he refers to the fish as the GT.

Well the guide did end up hooking a monster GT- and in the course of the fight he broke his rod and lost his reel. I guess they can get to be up to several hundred pounds and fight like nobodys business. Have no doubt someday my buddy will make it to the South Pacific to chase his obsession. My bud says if the same thing happened to him he would be happy about it- that's obsession to me. Mine at this point is just to consistently catch fish.
 

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Wow, someone w/ the same obsession as me! I saw a show in which Larry Dahlberg was in the South Pacific catching GT's and it's the one I want most.

I have a hunting obsession as well - Grizzly Bear!

My obsession that is most likely to occur would be a 50" musky - I've caught plenty, just have never hit the magic number.
 
For the next 4-5 months, my obsession will be to consistently hook-up with Steelhead when I go to Erie. I am a worse steelhead angler than I am at nymphing. Perhaps I should go back to fishing for them without the bobber.
 
I estimate the steelhead that I lost at the salmon river Saturday to be over 15lbs. See my report.

I'm going back up in november. If that's not enough, I'll go in december.

I won't have a shot at a fresh fish, but I'll take it. Next year, I'll get another one all silvered up.

I actually lost sleep over that fish.

Also planning a trip to Erie when I get a chance.
 
I can't say that I have an ongoing obsession other than getting my youngest physically healed from her Erbs Palsy.
My obsessions, for better or worse, are seasonal...usually a season ahead, though. I'll pine for dry fly fishing over mayflies in Feb. I'll obsess about steelhead in august. But my obsessions fortunately don't have exotic destinations associated with them, so I just have to battle the time spans.
Right now, having just come back from my first steelhead trip of the year, I can't stop thinking of that moment when you set the hook solid on a snag...then the snag starts to swim...you put the fighting butt into your hip...the rod is flexing all the way down to the real seat...and the reel starts whirling (JayL, I got a finger bruise too...I love those bruises!)...and you get that "this is a nice fish" realization. Then you start looking for possible snags to steer the fish away from and start settling in for a long battle.
 
I obsess about catching wild brown trout regularly and consistently that average between 9-12" and occasionally are as large as 15-17".

I regularly satisfy my obsession.

There's a lot to be said for right-sizing our expectations...:)
 
My buddies salt water dreams have got me investigating a little bit. This is just an idea at this point.

(what the heck- being unemployed I got the time)

My parents live on the southwest coast of Florida so it would be a low cost trip if it was ever to occur.

I had a guide send me this in an email that if I wanted to fish for Tarpon.

Quote of the Day:

"Please practice throwing a 12wt. between now and then. I will get you as close as 50 feet from the fish and sometimes closer, but you still have to put the fly in the school. It will be the most exciting fishing you have ever done."


I have never even seen a 12WT. LOL!!!

So this brings me to the reason for the post: Anybody have experience with a 12WT? Also- anybody ever hear of a fly shop letting you practice on one?

I have no interest in purchasing one. Even some of the guide websites explictly state that you must use there equipment and rigs to protect the fish.

Thanks,Paul.
 
Never used one, but based on the sore shoulder I have from 3 days of 9wt fishing:

get the ice packs ready.
 
I'm obsessed with finding rising trout.
And I'll drive many miles, and do lots of hiking and biking to find them
 
Limestone Spring Creek fishing... After fishing Falling Spring in Franklin County for the first time 3 years ago its all i think about. The closest decent one to me is roughly 4 hours away, not really a day trip. Well actually there IS one and hour and a half from me in Sandusky, Ohio but from what i have heard it is entirely privately owned AND posted... Oh, and filled with hatchery fish. Ah well, i prefer the ones with wild trout in them anyways.
 
I have a 12wt I cast all the time. To me its the same as a 9wt no difference..If you can cast a 9wt then you can cast a 12..What you need to do is practice, practice. practice shooting and accurate cast.. headed to joisey shore next week with it for that 50lb. striper I hope...
 
acristickid wrote:
My buddies salt water dreams have got me investigating a little bit. This is just an idea at this point.

(what the heck- being unemployed I got the time)

My parents live on the southwest coast of Florida so it would be a low cost trip if it was ever to occur.

I had a guide send me this in an email that if I wanted to fish for Tarpon.

Quote of the Day:

"Please practice throwing a 12wt. between now and then. I will get you as close as 50 feet from the fish and sometimes closer, but you still have to put the fly in the school. It will be the most exciting fishing you have ever done."


I have never even seen a 12WT. LOL!!!

So this brings me to the reason for the post: Anybody have experience with a 12WT? Also- anybody ever hear of a fly shop letting you practice on one?

I have no interest in purchasing one. Even some of the guide websites explictly state that you must use there equipment and rigs to protect the fish.

Thanks,Paul.

Paul if you think it will help, I have a 9', nine weight outfit you're welcome to practice with. Just let me know and I'll send it off to you.

Rolf
 
Rolf- that is an awfully nice gesture. I certainly appreciate that.
However; this is pretty far from being a reality at this point to trouble anyone really. There may come a time but until then- it is just nice to know you offered.

You have any experince with salt water?

Here is part of the latest email I received- makes it hard to resist huh?

"Paul, you may have to teach your friends how to strip strike before coming, if not, I will give you guys a class the night before called "How to survive the first 6 seconds"."

Here is my man Capt. Al:

http://www.bocaonthefly.com/
 
my obsession is fishing for big striped bass in the atlantic wow what a fight they are
 
acristickid wrote:
Rolf- that is an awfully nice gesture. I certainly appreciate that.
However; this is pretty far from being a reality at this point to trouble anyone really. There may come a time but until then- it is just nice to know you offered.

You have any experince with salt water?

Here is part of the latest email I received- makes it hard to resist huh?

"Paul, you may have to teach your friends how to strip strike before coming, if not, I will give you guys a class the night before called "How to survive the first 6 seconds"."

Here is my man Capt. Al:

http://www.bocaonthefly.com/

Not enough to pass along any advice. Paul, should you change your mind, just let me know.

Thanks,
Rolf
 
acris,
My obsession is to catch a flats permit on a fly. This has been a goal for many years and trips to the Keys. I did finally catch a permit on a Key West flat earlier this year but on a live crab - even this was an absolute thrill. In the meantime, I'm continuing to experiment with new designs for realistic crab flies - I test out their characteristics on local creeks around here. I may be the only fella to catch bass and trout on crab flies around here. I'm confident I'll get the permit sometime, although it may require a trip to Mexico or Belize as it's taken me many trips to FL just to get one on spin gear. As for the 12WT: Casting them does take a bit of a new feel if you're used to rods under about 9WT but you'll pick it up quickly. Some 12WTs are essentially built for fighting tarpon and aren't really designed for all-day distance casting.
 
come on up for salt water lessons and fish for trout and bass...I can teach you to cast salt...spent 25+ years on the beaches chasin fish, stripers, bones,tarpon,permit,blues,tuna, etc..
 
Fishing- It's trout and bass on the fly. It's the one thing I could do everyday and it would never become annoying.

Overall- Archery hunting is probably the thing I obsess over the most considering it's the most enjoyable 6 weeks of the year to me. To me there is nothing like a big buck closing the distance and then after the shot, there is that sudden adrenaline rush that I just can't even describe.
 
My obsession is to catch Tarpon and make it to the South Island of NZ
 
Are we talking Obsession or Dreams...I too dream of one day catching a Tarpon on the fly, however, if I were obsessed I would probably be divorced and hitchhiking my way south to beg, borrow or steal to do so...
 
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