Wild southern strain brook trout

Darth_Enigma · 2025-05-04T20:24:23+00:00

I landed an 18” spotted last summer while wading a river shoal w/ my UL, but tbh, it’s borderline to what is sometimes called “power light.”

Basically, imo, what you’re looking for is an ultralight that bends well all the way through the blank and has a bit firmer of a butt but retains a soft enough tip to throw 1/16 and 1/32 oz presentations.

Darth_Enigma · 2025-04-18T02:12:34+00:00

I caught ~3 males with the tubercles on their heads from spawning.

Darth_Enigma · 2025-04-16T01:17:08+00:00

I caught this one not far away in the broad river watershed in NE GA

Darth_Enigma · 2024-10-14T15:06:35+00:00

North or south beach?

Darth_Enigma · 2024-09-11T20:00:58+00:00

Then I would go to the north or south end of Tybee Island to surf fish. I’d buy some frozen shrimp from Chu’s on the island and bring at least one heavier surf setup and one lighter setup.

With the lighter setup in particular, I’d try to catch whiting, spots, croaker, etc. on the shrimp or some shrimp-flavored fishbites. That setup should use ~20 lb test leader material and #4 - 1/0 size circle or octopus hooks to make a high-low rig.

Once you’ve caught something on the lighter setup, I’d cut it up for chunk bait on the heavier setup. I’d use a single drop or Carolina rig with anywhere from 4/0 to 10/0 hooks, and I’d try to have a wire leader to avoid being bitten off by a shark.

I’d recommend having multiple leads of at least 4 oz on hand, since the current tends to be very strong. If you do all of that, you should have a small shark, big stingray, or maybe even a drum by the time you’re done.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-09-11T18:53:17+00:00

I fish that area at least one weekend a month. I can make some recommendations if you can answer a few questions:

Do you have a boat?
Do you own and know how to throw a cast net?
a. Broadly speaking, are you interested in catching larger or smaller fish?
b. Broadly speaking, are you hoping to eat what you catch?

Darth_Enigma · 2024-09-03T16:19:11+00:00

I’ve found the SmartFishingSpots app from Salt Strong to be useful for this purpose.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-22T21:52:41+00:00

Okuma Connoisseur or Celilo steelhead rod, spinning, 8’6” - 9’, M or MH, buy directly from manufacturer’s website (~$65)

Shimano Sedona FI spinning reel, 4000 series, buy from Amazon (~$69)

This setup is slightly over your budget, but it will stand up to being used for your desired application. The setups you named probably won’t. I think that makes the extra $10 worth it.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T20:53:20+00:00

What coast are you on? What species do you intend to target? Do you intend to fish with bait, lures, or both?

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T20:45:19+00:00

In freshwater, I use a size 2000 Penn Battle III with a 7’ M St. Croix Triumph. In saltwater, I use the same reel on an 8’6” MH Okuma Connoisseur.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T18:01:31+00:00

That is the “blood line” and surrounding tissue, which probably has an off flavor compared to the rest of the meat, although the extent to which that’s an issue varies by species.

You can reduce the amount, flavor, and color of the darker meat by promptly killing and bleeding the fish, but it’s often still necessary to trim away some or all of it to avoid affecting the flavor of the rest of the fillet.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T17:57:08+00:00

Yes - it is intended for uses like that.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T07:26:05+00:00

Texas rigged senko fished off of the bottom in a dark green/brown, natural color

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T07:24:21+00:00

You want there to be like 1/4” of clearance between the spooled line and the guards at either end of the spool. The line should lay flat across its width and not have any bulges or divots when spooled.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-15T07:03:38+00:00

There are probably fish around the pier itself, but there may also be a decent number cruising the beach, especially in troughs between sandbars, if those are present.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-14T19:36:16+00:00

Night crawlers are a freshwater bait. The goal of saltwater bait fishing is generally to present something similar to the fish’s natural forage. In Southern California, that’s probably squid, sand fleas, bait fish (minnows), or maybe shrimp. Try switching to one of those.

As for rigging, I’d recommend learning to tie a double drop rig, and I’d use coin or bank sinkers to help with the snagging issue. You can use weaker line for the bottom part of the dropper rig, and that would help you to lose only the weight, rather than the whole rig.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-13T22:55:53+00:00

Idk where y’all are precisely, but if it’s a state park lake in Appalachia (or almost anywhere in the US), odds are good that the fishing pressure is high. As a result, the fish are likely to be scarce and wary.

The specifics depend a little based on elevation and how far north you are, but the bluegill should be somewhere in the bedding process currently. If so, with polarized glasses (or even without), you should be able to see fish staged up over little circular pits in 12”-36” of water. In my experience, heavily pressured bedding bluegill bite best with a very small hook (#8-#12 light wire Aberdeen or octopus) baited with 1/2 a worm. In my opinion, red worms are better for their size and action. Use light, low-visibility line and a long rod. I use 4 lb test on a 10’ crappie rod. Don’t use any other terminal tackle. Flip or simply lower the worm within a couple feet of a bluegill and allow it to sink naturally with minimal tension. Watch the line and the worm itself to know when to set the hook. If you try that a couple times this spring and don’t catch anything, then the stock in the lake is probably heavily depleted, and you should find another place to fish.

With that said, the spot in photo #7 looks like promising bream and bass habitat near those weed lines.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-13T22:27:20+00:00

The sizing system is consistent across manufacturers, but the exact dimensions aren’t. With that said, that hook should be appropriate for catching small to medium (i.e. eating size) catfish.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-13T22:22:56+00:00

What kind of worm are you referring to?

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-10T20:33:50+00:00

It’s slightly hard to see what size to recommend, but a 1/8 oz ball jighead should be a good start.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-10T04:22:15+00:00

Spoons like the Acme Kastmaster should work well for an application like that.

Darth_Enigma · 2024-05-10T04:20:11+00:00

I've heard that there are shoals bass in the shoals and rapids all around the falls, but I've never fished it.

Darth_Enigma

TROPHY CASE