OT: Fishing (and other outdoors pursuits) this Off-Season?

[Kiwi]

Next time you're down the on the west coast give me a yell.
I am always out doing something hunting or fishing wise. And it would be good to meet a Leaf fan here.
You're the only one I know of besides myself
I don't chase pigs that often but they taste great here. Especially the high country ones that live in tussock.
I always have whitebait in the freezer.

Leafs fans aren't exactly thick on he ground around here either, the last hockey fan I was talking to around here was an Oilers fan and Canadian and years ago

The whitebaiting down your way is the stuff of dreams, in a great day I might get 2 or 3 cups here in Taranaki, you guys get that per scoop

The pigs tend to be in the bush around here which gets pretty swampy, same goes for the ducks who live on effluent ponds and still water, taints the meat and makes it ultra gamey

Not for me, rather buy it if it tastes like that, the goats in the hills taste miles better and have a "cleaner" taste

Hunting pigs with dogs and a knife is the best hunting I've ever done, hard work with a degree of added danger especially for the dogs but it's amazing fun

 

[HolyCrap]

It's funny, I've heard so many people talk about rice and how great it is but when me and the boys go for the day we get pretty much skunked every time. Biggest fish we've pulled out between the 3 of us in multiple trips was a 2 lb bass.

It’s a tough lake to fish. You need really good electronics to find the smallmouth. Then figuring out how they are using the structure. It’s my favourite smallmouth lake. The weights now for tournaments even in summer is like 22 lbs and bigger for five fish.

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

Leafs fans aren't exactly thick on he ground around here either, the last hockey fan I was talking to around here was an Oilers fan and Canadian and years ago

The whitebaiting down your way is the stuff of dreams, in a great day I might get 2 or 3 cups here in Taranaki, you guys get that per scoop

The pigs tend to be in the bush around here which gets pretty swampy, same goes for the ducks who live on effluent ponds and still water, taints the meat and makes it ultra gamey

Not for me, rather buy it if it tastes like that, the goats in the hills taste miles better and have a "cleaner" taste

Hunting pigs with dogs and a knife is the best hunting I've ever done, hard work with a degree of added danger especially for the dogs but it's amazing fun

I have missed the start of the whitebait season lately because I am in Canada but yeah it is pretty good here.
A bad day for me pot netting is around a kg. A good day is 50 or 60 kgs. I don't scoop much. Rather sit on a bank and relax watch the fish go in or a Leaf game on my tablet
I used to see a girl from Stratford. Dairy farmers daughter. The family... All dairy farmers were spread out around the mountain. I used get good duckshooting and have taken a few goats up that way.
If you ever get down these ways I have a mate that played in goal for NZ. He is a mad keen Outdoorsman. Pretty sure he supports an NHL team we don't like tho.

 

[Kiwi]

I have missed the start of the whitebait season lately because I am in Canada but yeah it is pretty good here.
A bad day for me pot netting is around a kg. A good day is 50 or 60 kgs. I don't scoop much. Rather sit on a bank and relax watch the fish go in or a Leaf game on my tablet
I used to see a girl from Stratford. Dairy farmers daughter. The family... All dairy farmers were spread out around the mountain. I used get good duckshooting and have taken a few goats up that way.
If you ever get down these ways I have a mate that played in goal for NZ. He is a mad keen Outdoorsman. Pretty sure he supports an NHL team we don't like tho.

I've got a good mate down in Hari Hari, I was down there for 3 weeks a few years back and just ate sea run trout and whitebait fritters
Unbelievably good eating

I've been whitebaiting for 20 years and never got over 2 kg in one day, even when there running, we just don't have the habitat for them to breed in decent numbers anymore, I wouldn't be shocked if they ban it outright in Taranaki in the next few years

I have parrys and Mallards on the farm but I know where they swim, eat and live so no bloody way am I eating that when I can just raise some muscovys myself that I know aren't eating cow **** all day

There's good goat numbers in the hills, I had a cousin in the real backblocks and we'd go shooting every 2 or 3 weeks for a couple of the younger animals for meat, rugged country but great scenery and nice eating even though it was hard work

 

[GLG12xx12]

I'm a huge fisherman. It's my all time favorite thing to do. I'm a big bass fisherman and do quite a bit of tournaments. The lakes I fish in Iowa are much different than those north of the border. We primarily have man made lakes from damming up creek beds so they tend to have a lot of timber, channel swings, and dirty water. The summer bite is in full swing here. For me, there is nothing more fun than fishing deep structure with big jigs, 10" worms, and deep crankbaits. I'll be out pre fishing for next weekend's tournament this weekend. Really hoping to find something so that I go into next weekend with some confidence. I've shit the bed in all of my tournaments since May. In my defense they have been on lakes that I have a long history of sucking

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

I've got a good mate down in Hari Hari, I was down there for 3 weeks a few years back and just ate sea run trout and whitebait fritters
Unbelievably good eating

I've been whitebaiting for 20 years and never got over 2 kg in one day, even when there running, we just don't have the habitat for them to breed in decent numbers anymore, I wouldn't be shocked if they ban it outright in Taranaki in the next few years

I have parrys and Mallards on the farm but I know where they swim, eat and live so no bloody way am I eating that when I can just raise some muscovys myself that I know aren't eating cow **** all day

There's good goat numbers in the hills, I had a cousin in the real backblocks and we'd go shooting every 2 or 3 weeks for a couple of the younger animals for meat, rugged country but great scenery and nice eating even though it was hard work

Your mate in Hari Hari doesn't own a backpackers place by any chance? Dan?
I'm off to Hari Hari pub on Tuesday for a catchup.
They're talking about whitebait a lot here as well. Environmentalists are as Pejorative Slured as flat earthers imo.
We have some bumper seasons and some quiet ones. Has been that way since I can remember.
I have done better in the last 5 yrs than I ever have. Could be experience but everybody I know seems to be doing pretty well and say the fishing has improved.

 

[Kiwi]

Your mate in Hari Hari doesn't own a backpackers place by any chance? Dan?
I'm off to Hari Hari pub on Tuesday for a catchup.
They're talking about whitebait a lot here as well. Environmentalists are as ******ed as flat earthers imo.
We have some bumper seasons and some quiet ones. Has been that way since I can remember.
I have done better in the last 5 yrs than I ever have. Could be experience but everybody I know seems to be doing pretty well and say the fishing has improved.

He's a dairy farmer, he went down to the west coast 20 years ago
Tommy has made a great life down there

I go down every 4 or 5 years and do some hunting and fishing with him, he's got a boat and even though the seas a bit exciting at times the fishing and diving is brilliant down there

You guys still have great habitat for the whitebait to breed in down there, I can't see any reason why anybody would want to stop it, besides being a fringe loon of course

I've been out twice whitebaiting on the West Coast, once was ok a few kilos nothing special, the 2nd time was unbelievable, I was catching at rates I'd never even dreamed of, I ended up filling my red bands after I'd filled my buckets

It was crazy

 

[Avilaj07]

If you're looking for some good fishing and a great fish fry to finish off the weekend then Pigeon Lake is the spot to be. I've been fishing there for 5 years now and the amount of pickerel I have pulled out of that lake amazes me. Not to mention the muskie in the lake as well. Caught myself a nice 55 inch muskie last weekend. Believe it or not, all I've been using is minnows or warms.

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

He's a dairy farmer, he went down to the west coast 20 years ago
Tommy has made a great life down there

I go down every 4 or 5 years and do some hunting and fishing with him, he's got a boat and even though the seas a bit exciting at times the fishing and diving is brilliant down there

You guys still have great habitat for the whitebait to breed in down there, I can't see any reason why anybody would want to stop it, besides being a fringe loon of course

I've been out twice whitebaiting on the West Coast, once was ok a few kilos nothing special, the 2nd time was unbelievable, I was catching at rates I'd never even dreamed of, I ended up filling my red bands after I'd filled my buckets

It was crazy

My fav river to fish is the Poerua. Had some big days down there. Filled buckets and had to just pick up the net and put in the jet boat full to get home and clean.
Some of the best Tahr hunting in its upper reaches as well.

 

[Kiwi]

My fav river to fish is the Poerua. Had some big days down there. Filled buckets and had to just pick up the net and put in the jet boat full to get home and clean.
Some of the best Tahr hunting in its upper reaches as well.

I've spent some time on that river as well, his farm is a stone's throw from the Wanganui river though so that's where we tended to do our fishing

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

I've spent some time on that river as well, his farm is a stone's throw from the Wanganui river though so that's where we tended to do our fishing

Both are good fishing when conditions are right.
Pretty wet down here at the moment.
I still have a few bails to roll out to feed the deer today. Tractor is cutting up the paddocks something wicked.
I am looking after a mates deer farm while he is away on holiday. I got out his chainsaw to do some wood yesty and it took me almost an hour to tidy up the angles and sharpen it.
You farmers are rough bastards on gear

 

[Kiwi]

Both are good fishing when conditions are right.
Pretty wet down here at the moment.
I still have a few bails to roll out to feed the deer today. Tractor is cutting up the paddocks something wicked.
I am looking after a mates deer farm while he is away on holiday. I got out his chainsaw to do some wood yesty and it took me almost an hour to tidy up the angles and sharpen it.
You farmers are rough bastards on gear

Yeah she's been nasty up here as well, I'm right on the mountain so I'm measuring rain buy increments of about 100 mills at the moment

My farms a ******* swamp, I can't even use a tractor

The fishing and hunting on the West Coast is a lot of fun, better eating as well imo, I'd rather eat seafood than meat generally so I tend to like Paua, Cray's fishing and whitebaiting if I'm looking for a feed and you guys have that in numbers

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

Yeah she's been nasty up here as well, I'm right on the mountain so I'm measuring rain buy increments of about 100 mills at the moment

My farms a ******* swamp, I can't even use a tractor

The fishing and hunting on the West Coast is a lot of fun, better eating as well imo, I'd rather eat seafood than meat generally so I tend to like Paua, Cray's fishing and whitebaiting if I'm looking for a feed and you guys have that in numbers

I feel for ya coz if you're getting the rain we are it's pretty bad. But we can handle it. The coast is good at shedding its water.

Yeah I have always said I live in an Outdoorsman paradise.
Weather, steep and rugged mountains and the sandflies keep all but the hardiest away.
Best bit is, everything I enjoy doing, I can do within a few mins drive. Apart from cray or paua diving. Usually go to Haast for that.

 

[Kiwi]

I feel for ya coz if you're getting the rain we are it's pretty bad. But we can handle it. The coast is good at shedding its water.

Yeah I have always said I live in an Outdoorsman paradise.
Weather, steep and rugged mountains and the sandflies keep all but the hardiest away.
Best bit is, everything I enjoy doing, I can do within a few mins drive. Apart from cray or paua diving. Usually go to Haast for that.

So is my place, but that's a lot of water

Diving for Cray's and Paua is pretty good in the Naki, hell you can get Paua without diving if your keen to hop a few rocks on a decent tide, I didn't mind travelling to get cray's and Paua down there but if you know the right dude you can get a decent feed though

Your fishing and whitebait kick our ass though

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

So is my place, but that's a lot of water

Diving for Cray's and Paua is pretty good in the Naki, hell you can get Paua without diving if your keen to hop a few rocks on a decent tide, I didn't mind travelling to get cray's and Paua down there but if you know the right dude you can get a decent feed though

Your fishing and whitebait kick our ass though

Yeah but yous have good snapper up there.
My favorite saltwater fish to chase. People catching a few surf casting here the last few years but I have to travel to catch mine. Yet to catch one on the coast.

 

[Kiwi]

Yeah but yous have good snapper up there.
My favorite saltwater fish to chase. People catching a few surf casting here the last few years but I have to travel to catch mine. Yet to catch one on the coast.

Getting a snapper certainly isn't a problem around here if your keen on fishing, we don't have the fish numbers you guys have though

You guys have better tasting fresh water species as well, I'd never seen a sea run trout until I got down there and there was salmon around in certain places as well, it's a drive to find anything like that up here

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

Getting a snapper certainly isn't a problem around here if your keen on fishing, we don't have the fish numbers you guys have though

You guys have better tasting fresh water species as well, I'd never seen a sea run trout until I got down there and there was salmon around in certain places as well, it's a drive to find anything like that up here

I smoke and eat a lot of salmon and eels.
Don't much care for trout unless of course it is a sea runner.
My outlaws dairy farms have a lot of spring fed creeks full of trout. My kids and eye target the eels the most.
They smash our ducks during the season and even go the dog sometimes when he is working.

 

[Kiwi]

I smoke and eat a lot of salmon and eels.
Don't much care for trout unless of course it is a sea runner.
My outlaws dairy farms have a lot of spring fed creeks full of trout. My kids and eye target the eels the most.
They smash our ducks during the season and even go the dog sometimes when he is working.

Yeah, there are some big sob eels down there, we don't get the numbers around here anymore, the Comercial guys have fished the crap out of them, even in places like Ohura they have been fished hard

Some people like them but I can't stand the bloody things, they taste like the dirty rivers they come out of up here

The only enjoyable thing about them is how much fun they are to catch, I used to fish for them as a kid and I take the kids out a ton eeling

I don't mind smoking Kahwai but I couldn't bring myself to do that to fresh Salmon, I love fresh Salmon

 

[BM14]

It’s a tough lake to fish. You need really good electronics to find the smallmouth. Then figuring out how they are using the structure. It’s my favourite smallmouth lake. The weights now for tournaments even in summer is like 22 lbs and bigger for five fish.

Rice Lake was so much better 20 years ago although the sunken railroad tracks are still pretty reliable for smallies.

 

[BM14]

How do you fish Muskie in October? Any advice on technique / depth / habitat features would be much appreciated!

The lake my folk’s cottage is on has Musky, largest I’ve seen out of there was close to 50”! Still haven’t hooked into one!

The fish of 10,000 casts, my friend.

The colder, crappier, windier the day late in Oct, the better.

 

[MyBudJT]

I’ll share a crazy fish story for you boys (and girls?)

A couple years ago, we were out fishing ice out Lakers, weekend before May 2 4... buddy in my boat was slaying fish all morning with a unique Rapala lure... he was on his 5th or 6th fish, I was watching the fish 8 ft below the boat and the line snaps! Fish gone, lure gone.

I kid you not, the next day while he was fishing in another buddies’ boat, he catches the same damn fish! How do we know? The lure was still hooked on!!! They were approximately 500m away from where we lost it, and our party were the only ones on the lake (2 hour drive in logging roads)...

This will no doubt go down as the most legendary fishing story I’ll be telling my grandkids about!

 

[KIWILEAFFAN]

Yeah, there are some big sob eels down there, we don't get the numbers around here anymore, the Comercial guys have fished the crap out of them, even in places like Ohura they have been fished hard

Some people like them but I can't stand the bloody things, they taste like the dirty rivers they come out of up here

The only enjoyable thing about them is how much fun they are to catch, I used to fish for them as a kid and I take the kids out a ton eeling

I don't mind smoking Kahwai but I couldn't bring myself to do that to fresh Salmon, I love fresh Salmon

Eels here can be muddy as well depending where you catch them.
In the good crystal clear spring creeks and rivers they're delicious.
I only cold smoke salmon. I cure it with salt, sugar and maple syrup. It is essentially raw. Don't like it hot smoked.
On a bagel, eggs benidict or your favorite cracker with cream cheese, cherry tomatoes and cracked pepper it is to die for.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I’ll share a crazy fish story for you boys (and girls?)

A couple of years ago, we were out fishing ice out Lakers, weekend before May 2 4... buddy in my boat was slaying fish all morning with a unique Rapala lure... he was on his 5th or 6th fish, I was watching the fish 8 ft below the boat and the line snaps! Fish gone, lure gone.

I kid you not, the next day while he was fishing in another buddies’ boat, he catches the same damn fish! How do we know? The lure was still hooked on!!! They were approximately 500m away from where we lost it, and our party were the only ones on the lake (2 hour drive in logging roads)...

This will no doubt go down as the most legendary fishing story I’ll be telling my grandkids about!

ha, cool story!

here some interesting things that happen to me

The very first time I went downrigging on lake Ontario I set the drag really tight on the reel, I hooked into 6 salmon and couldn't pull the rod out of the rod holder because of the tight drag, lost all 6 lol

Took an 80-year-old neighbor out downrigging on my boat on Lake Ontario and as I let the lure out and was about to set it in the quick release a 30lbs salmon hit it and I set the hook with my hands, my neighbor was barely strong enough to land the fish lol

I once hooked into 2 rainbow trout on the same downrigging rod, one on the main lure and the other on the cheater lure, I had a couple of 10'ish lbs rainbows jumping, it took me a bit realized I hooked into both of them.

I dropped a downrigger in the middle lake Simcoe because I was marking fish and I was curious, I had no hits so I popped the lure and raised the cannonball and I noticed my rod bouncing around on the floor of the boat, a "15lb" walleye hit the lure

Thought I was gonna die twice on lake nippising and once on Lake Simcoe, big waves close together, scary shit lol

I had a greats lakes freighter come out of the fog 40 yards from me on Lake Ontario, scared the shit out of me lol

i must have more but i can't remember, I have fished a lot

 

[Confucius]

Fish stories.
Went flyin fishing to some remote lake, a guy in our party, casts and let's go of his rod, ends up casting the whole thing into the lake.

Later that day we come back to the same area, on the 1st cast he snags the rod he lost in the morning and gets everything back, including a walleye that had taken the lure.

I was Steelheadhead fishing on a rocky break wall, wife catches a 10 lber. I try and net it, I step on the slime green rock and slowly slide into the lake completely submerged myself. The very next week the same thing happens, I slide in going completely under. As we are walking back to the car another fisherman says " I just saw an instant replay. Yes he saw both events.

Caught a 1 lb bass just as it got to the surface a 10lb lake trout grabbed it. It held on for about 15 seconds before letting go.

 

[Mr Hockey]

I came motoring out of a bay and into the main lake and wasn't able to notice the 3-foot waves there and after a couple of jumps and getting the boat under control I noticed my most prized $500 rod and reel that I left on the floor was missing in 70 feet of water, it was a sad day lol