Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

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zippyfx
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Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by zippyfx »

Due to vacation plans and family activities I have not had a good morning fishing session in about 5 weeks. Don't get me wrong I have been having fun with my short 1-2 hour sessions but I looking for something more. With a little bit of last minute planing and some shoe horning I managed to get out early this morning and hit the water at the crack of dawn. I was looking for Drum and Mooneye today so I hit a spot that has been reliable for those today. I did not land a Mooneye but I had nonstop action.


The morning started with this channel cat about 30 seconds after the worm hit the water. He was about 19 inches and put up nice back and forth fight.

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During the course of the day I caught about 6 more channel cats but they were significantly smaller.


Next up was a feisty brown bullhead. He would not sit still for a picture so this was the best I got.

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Over the course of the day I got about 6 more of these guys. One did me the discourtesy of stabbing me between the thumb and forefinger.

About an hour into my session the drag on my reel starts screaming. A nice long tussle and this 25 inch common carp hits my net.

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About an hour later. I land this very pale Silver Redhorse.

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I was just about to give up hope for Drum and Mooneye and started casting out to the far reaches of the spot to ensure I had worked the whole area. Low and behold I found a hole just full of drum. I caught about 5 roughly this size and bigger.

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I caught this guys who had a damaged eye. Looked like the eye was still there but inside the socket with skin over it. Must had some pretty major injury at some point.

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He was actually tough to photograph because every time I put his goodbye down to photograph the scar he would flip over. I guess he wanted to keep his good eye on me.

Last but not least as all my gear had been packed to go when my rod showed signs of small fish biting. So I lured it in thinking it was a Drum as I was casting into the drum hole but I could not believe my luck My last cast had caught a Mooneye. Unfortunately he flipped the hook just as I was lifting him onto the bank. Curses!
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ipjrobson
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by ipjrobson »

Looks like a nice haul. Nice
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by ipjrobson »

Looks like a nice haul. Nice
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lapointeric
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by lapointeric »

Always fun to catch multi-species, never know what's on the other end of the line. Nice report.

E
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zippyfx
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by zippyfx »

Finally got the Mooneye I was looking for last night (on the madawaska not the th nation though):

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CyrusG
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by CyrusG »

Great report Zip! Nice mooneye there, Victoria island is stacked full of them in the summer but you'll be fishing side to side with many people most days, which is why i never go there in the summer :lol:
Cy
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zippyfx
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by zippyfx »

Thanks LC! I'll give Victoria a try next summer. I've fished there a number of times but the only thing I catch reliably are cats there and thinly in the spring.
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by Wallyboss »

Nice catches!!

As for the catfish that stabbed you! I always carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my tackle box and one time I happened to put some on my hands after getting stabbed by a catfish. Burning sensation and pain from the catfish stab completely disappeared. So now every time one of those channel cats get me I reach for my hand sanitizer.
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wolfe
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Re: Multi-Species Fishing on The Nation

Post by wolfe »

Wow, what a great variety of species you landed. :!:

Every now and then, we'll catch a fish missing an eye. Maybe an old hookset... who knows? But it doesn't seem to slow them down much. I've also caught fish missing a portion of their "face" -- usually the top portion of their mouth and snout area. Very bizarre looking, but they've adapted to their handicap well enough. This decent largemouth bass caught by Ty a couple of years back only had one eye.

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Wallyboss wrote:Nice catches!!
I always carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my tackle box and one time I happened to put some on my hands after getting stabbed by a catfish. Burning sensation and pain from the catfish stab completely disappeared. So now every time one of those channel cats get me I reach for my hand sanitizer.
Good idea, Dan. It probably also helps to kill any bacteria introduced by the "sticking!" I had a dorsal fin break off under the skin of my finger once from a feisty rockbass. OUCH. Never did get that out. It disappeared over time.

W.
Thanks, Dad, for taking me fishing when I was a kid.
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