Fishing!

[OTGBOSTON]

I thought there was a fishing thread 'round here somewhere, but I couldn't find it. Sooooooooo here ya go. These pics are from Peru, Massachusetts which is on the New Yuck border in the Berkshires.

[No_Bivy]

looks like spring is just about to bust there.........largemouth bass?

[OTGBOSTON]

Yup largemouth...Spring has sprung on the coast, late getting to the mountains.

[BostonBull]

Nice catch!

Wheres the stogie?

[OTGBOSTON]

To me fishing is a sport, no time for smoking and drinking:) (thats for after)

[MasterBlaster]

Frig THAT!

[OTGBOSTON]

full disclosure, there was some smoking going on before the fishing started......

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Never knew I lived in New Yuck...:lol:

[TheTreeWiseMen]

I'm quite partial to a spot of angling.......considering we have this right in our back yard....

[top hopper]

This is the best part of fishing

[top hopper]

:lol:

Hurry up dad! This thing is gross!!

[top hopper]

Half the year we fish on a lake that looks like this.....

[top hopper]

and the other half year it probably looks like this....

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Nice!

[fishhuntcutwood]

Here's my favorite part-

[top hopper]

Damn Jeff!

One hell of a fish!

40 incher?

[fishhuntcutwood]

Fishing thread? Yeah, that's close enough for me to show off my new boat! It's sitting in WI waiting for me to pick it up. I'm so pumped I can hardly contain myself. I've always wanted a Ranger!

This'll be a great big-water boat for Lake St. Clair muskies!!! :D

[top hopper]

Sweet boat!

Makes my lil' Blue Fin look like a pile of dung.

[MasterBlaster]

Nice rig, Jeff! :rockon:

[fishhuntcutwood]

Sweet boat!

Makes my lil' Blue Fin look like a pile of dung.

Thanks guys. I'm beside myself with excitement. Only another month til I pick it up.

TH- I bet your Blue Fin gets better than 3 mpg though! This 200 hp will go through the gas like nobody's business.

Let's just say, my truck is payed for, so now I've got a new monthly payment to make. :/:

[top hopper]

Thanks guys. I'm beside myself with excitement. Only another month til I pick it up.

TH- I bet your Blue Fin gets better than 3 mpg though! This 200 hp will go through the gas like nobody's business.

Let's just say, my truck is payed for, so now I've got a new monthly payment to make. :/:



Jeff, we need to get together next time your in Minnesota!!
Your boat or mine, we got over 10,000 ponds to pick from!

[inztrees]

I think we call that fishin'

[The Branch Doctor]

A fishing thread.... giddy up daddy!

Here's a few kitty's I've caught this year.:D

[vharrison]

Great thread! Jeff, nice boat, how long is it? Bdoctor, nice fish!

[fishhuntcutwood]

Jeff, nice boat, how long is it?

Thanks! 20'

[vharrison]

That boat is going to fly with a 200 on it! Is the motor a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke?

[Hobby Climber]

Jeff,

I see a few guys attach 2x4's on the back of their boats, (like a rake in the water) to help disturb the water. For some reason, it seems to attract the muskies! Most are caught within 10-20' behind the back of the boat!

Lake St.Clair is a shallow lake and full of muskies, bass, walleye, sturgon & perch to name a few. I would think that you'd have no trouble getting fish with fly gear! Find a weed bed and work the edges for the musky that are sitting in ambush for unsuspecting prey.

If jigging for walleye, there is only one rule to follow, 'keep your line vertical' or you will not catch fish! This is easily achieved by using your trolling motor.

BTW, thats a sweet boat your getting! Sure puts piece-O-crap puddle jumper to shame!

But then again, with my 15' aluminum w/20hp johnson, I can get into areas a bigger boat can't. ...like Crystal Bays hidden harbour and the shollows at the north end of Crystal Bay. It's a very shollow weedy place that hold early season pike!;) I find using a weedless lure like a 'johnson silver minnow' works great but fly fishing with a streemer should do just as well.

Later, HC

[fishhuntcutwood]

That boat is going to fly with a 200 on it! Is the motor a 2 stroke or a 4 stroke?

Two stroke.

[Stumper]

Never knew I lived in New Yuck...:lol:

Were you originally a Yuckshireman?

[fishhuntcutwood]

Jeff,

I see a few guys attach 2x4's on the back of their boats, (like a rake in the water) to help disturb the water. For some reason, it seems to attract the muskies! Most are caught within 10-20' behind the back of the boat!

Lake St.Clair is a shallow lake and full of muskies, bass, walleye, sturgon & perch to name a few. I would think that you'd have no trouble getting fish with fly gear! Find a weed bed and work the edges for the musky that are sitting in ambush for unsuspecting prey.

If jigging for walleye, there is only one rule to follow, 'keep your line vertical' or you will not catch fish! This is easily achieved by using your trolling motor.

BTW, thats a sweet boat your getting! Sure puts piece-O-crap puddle jumper to shame!

But then again, with my 15' aluminum w/20hp johnson, I can get into areas a bigger boat can't. ...like Crystal Bays hidden harbour and the shollows at the north end of Crystal Bay. It's a very shollow weedy place that hold early season pike!;) I find using a weedless lure like a 'johnson silver minnow' works great but fly fishing with a streemer should do just as well.

Later, HC

Thanks HC. I'm looking forward to hitting the water in a few weeks. When I first looked into LSC and it's fishing, I got a bit worried because all I saw was trolling for muskie, and I'm a caster...as in my avatar. In fact, I don't own a conventional rod anymore. Nothing against it, but I've gotten away from it in the past 10-15 years. I'm looking forward to hitting the back bays and finding the fish.

And this boat'll get into 12" of water, and I think I'm going to put a Power Poll on it, so I think it'll work well in the skinny water.

You see a guy in a green Ranger with a black lab fly casting....I guarantee it'll be me.

[Hobby Climber]

Jeff

www.lakestclairflyfishing.com

;)

[fishhuntcutwood]

Oh yeah, thanks HC. I've been talking to Steve for a long time now. He's the guy who convinced me to go big and buy a center console. I was going to get a Ranger bass boat, and he nudged me towards a longer boat with more power. He's a cool guy.

Are you a member on LSCN? I'm "esoxfly" on there.

http://www.lakestclair.net/

[Hobby Climber]

No I'm not a member.

Just been doing a little looking around for ya and thought this Steve fellow is one of the best at what he offers. Also there is some good info in his web page I thought you might enjoy.

I do have a low end Mithcells fly rod I bought a few years ago. Never really did much with it other than play around in the back yard. Thats fun in itself as far as I'm concerned.

I did catch some blue gills with it once but put it away after seeing my youngest daughter scoop up a net full of fish after baiting the water from the boat with crushed 'Doritos' chips! :what:

HC

[fishhuntcutwood]

I appreciate you looking around for me. After I got my orders I spent days on Google looking into LSC. You're right, Steve does know what he's doing, and he does have a sweet website. Talking to him just makes me want to get out there all the faster!

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Were you originally a Yuckshireman?

No, not me mate, that would be Mr. McTree. I'm from 'down South'.

[Burnham]

You see a guy in a green Ranger with a black lab fly casting....I guarantee it'll be me.

How long did it take you to teach Pride to do that, Jeff? Does he catch many fish?
:lol:

[fishhuntcutwood]

Ha, got me there on my sentence structure.

He doesn't cast very well...he doesn't have any thumbs!

[GASoline71]

Well my friend... after I saw you cast, and the friggin' awesome lessons you gave me... I'm sure you could have your dog casting in no time...

:)

Gary

[Burnham]

Duct tape the rod to his tail...
:|:


;)

[fishhuntcutwood]

Well my friend... after I saw you cast, and the friggin' awesome lessons you gave me... I'm sure you could have your dog casting in no time...

:)

Gary

Thanks Buddy. I don't wanna toot my horn, but I think I fly cast pretty well. Makes me feel good when someone agrees! ;)

[GASoline71]

You do mang...

oh yeah... nice boat too! :)

Gary

[fishhuntcutwood]

You do mang...

oh yeah... nice boat too! :)

Gary

Glad you like it. You're invited to come fish!

[The Branch Doctor]

I'm headed out right now to do some catfishing right now. You guys will know if I do any good cause there'll be pics posted shortly after I get home.;)

[The Branch Doctor]

Well, it took a few hours but it was worth it. I was about to call it a night cause I was starting to nod off and then BAM.... it was game on baby!:D

Took me about 10 min to get him in but it seemed like a lot longer. That was an awesome fight.... and I won.:thumbup: Anyway, he came in at a nice plump 33 inches and 17.5 lbs.

[vharrison]

NICE FISH!!

[MasterBlaster]

Heat up the oil and get the batter ready!

[The Branch Doctor]

Heat up the oil and get the batter ready!

Not this one, I got a few pics and threw him back. It was late and I was pretty satisfied after the battle he gave me. I guess you could say he earned the right to swim another day.... and I didn't want to deal with a big-ass kitty in the middle of the night.;)

[TheTreeWiseMen]

NICE FISH!!

Ditto...

[The Branch Doctor]

Thanks guys! Gotta love catching big fish less than a half mile from home.:D

[fishhuntcutwood]

Not this one, I got a few pics and threw him back. It was late and I was pretty satisfied after the battle he gave me. I guess you could say he earned the right to swim another day.... and I didn't want to deal with a big-ass kitty in the middle of the night.;)

Seriously? Is all that blood his? :?

[Paul B]

Seriously? Is all that blood his? :?

I was about to ask the same thing. Big fish!

That one woulda made for a nice night of fish and chips. I have only had catfish a few times, blackened is yummy!

[Skwerl]

Yeah, I'm not so enthusiastic about fishing any more since I pretty much gave up eating fish out of the local lakes. If you gut hook the fish it's probably gonna die anyway and I'm not keen on killing animals for sport.

[OTGBOSTON]

. If you gut hook the fish it's probably gonna die anyway .

catch-and-release is an art;) I only use single hooks on my lures, and circle hooks for live/cut bait. I'll keep an occasional Striper or Blue from the ocean, but all freshwater species go back.

I put in some serious time at the river last night, but got skunked:cry:

Every year we get a massive herring/shad run. The stripers chase them up stream about 8 miles to a waterfall where they feast. It is really cool to be standing in 2' of water casting to huge stripers.

[fishhuntcutwood]

Fortunately, fish don't often take flies to the gut, so it's not a problem for me, which is nice. I do fish barbless thought. Goddang that makes it so easy to release and work with the fish. Hook rates are better too.

[The Branch Doctor]

Seriously? Is all that blood his? :?

Yeah it is unfortunately.:( It looks worse in the pic than it actually was. The blood is from a small puncture it got on the bottom side of its jaw when I pulled it out of the water. I use an ice hook, with a rounded off tip of course, that I slip up their gills from the under side. Until last night it has worked great for landing kitty's in the rocks without causing ANY harm but that fish last night kept fighting and thrashing hard well after it was out of the water.

Anyway, I was going to keep it because it was bleeding so hard at first but then the bleeding stopped and I could see that it wasn't hurt as bad as it looked. It was far from life threatening so I opted to let him live.:D

What really sucks is I use 1/0 circle hooks to avoid hurting the fish (and he was perfectly lip hooked too) but I guess sometimes chit just happens.

[OTGBOSTON]

What really sucks is I use 1/0 circle hooks to avoid hurting the fish (and he was perfectly lip hooked too) .

8)

[Skwerl]

That's cool. With that much blood, I figured he was gut hooked. :)

[sawinredneck]

Those big cats seem to bleed like stuck pigs!

Man those would have been some nice steaks!!!
Nice fish!

[The Branch Doctor]

I think I'm going kitty hunting again for a few hours.... beats the hell outta watching the idiot box all evening.;)

[fishhuntcutwood]

Cool. I just saw that dark, clotted blood, and it looked like cut gills.

I know cats are tough fish like sharks.

[OTGBOSTON]

Hey Doc, whadda you use for bait for them cats?

[sawinredneck]

Anybody done any "bay" fishing?
The charters sem reasonable, but I am wondering if it's worth it, or just find a long pier?

[fishhuntcutwood]

For what species, in what part of the world? I'm guessing you're talking about Texas....

If the prices are reasonable, I'd go for it. You can catch fish off a pier, but having a guy in a boat take you out and put you on fish, and provide gear, bait and services is nice. Especially when you're not in your own waters, and maybe don't have everything down pat.

[sawinredneck]

Not sure what they have here Jeff? The locals are catching small fish off the docks, which is fine I can't keep the boy that interested for long. I've got my 7' surf pole with 50# test in the van, most of what, if not all I need for rigging, just need some bait!
I remeber down in Florida catching blacktip shark off the beach (12-16") all day while building sand castles with the kids. That might keep him and I happy:D But him on a boat (3yr old) might be a handful!!!
BUT as you say, they put you on fish, and for $90, it's a tough call!!

[sawinredneck]

Well I tried a bit of surf fishing today, the surf won!! MAN it was rough out there!! White caps, two and a half foot breakers on the beach. I tied on an eight ounce weight (no idea why I had it) but it didn't even hold it for a tightline!!!

Bubba had fun though:)

Jeff, the guide book lists: Gafttop, Redfish, Speckled Trout and Flounder from bays, shore or warfs.

[sawinredneck]

Bub and I needed out so we found a couple of tackle shops to hit.
One was having a Shimmano sale, 15% of rods, 10% off reels!!! I couldn't help myself!! I got a 6'5 med. 6-14# rod and 2500 series spinning reel spooled with 12# for $62 out the door! It will be a nice replacment for the one my "buddy" never returned:evil:
He said the best time for surf fishing was around 4am, he said the bay gets hot and the larger fish all move out to deeper water by 6-7am.
I gues I am going out at 3am:whine: Should hopefully be worth it!
Any tips or sugestions are greatly apreciated!!

[fishhuntcutwood]

Never fished down there, but know that flounder will take spoons and just about anything presented correctly. Reds will take spoons and shrimp or crab patterns. Trout will do baitfish patterns or spoons likely. I have no idea what a gafttop is.

For $90 I'd make sure what's involved. That's exceedingly cheap. That might only be for a couple of hours, no gear included, etc. Full day charters should run you at least $300, and that's cheap. If I was down there, I'd be expecting to pay $400 for a full day of fishing from a boat inshore. Offshore I'd be looking at $500-$700 for a day.

There's guides and charters that can do it on the cheap, but $90 won't even fill a guy's boat with gas for a day. Unless that's a share price, and you'll be fishing with four or five other guys in one boat. That's doablbe, but a gamble. You may get a boat full of drunken clowns all crammed into a 20' Boston Whaler with one guide to take care of the whole lot. Or you could get another father and son out for a day of fishing and have the time of your life. But for sure make sure what's included-lunch, hours, gear, licenses, cleaning, processing, etc.

For surf, watch the tide. An incoming tide in the afternoon can bring fish up onto the flats as the tide brings cooler water and baitfish. You may go fishing at 4 AM on an outgoing tide, and the flats are flushing, and you're left with 4" of water over marl and matted grass.

[sawinredneck]

Yeah, the $90 deal, it's, ummm, UGLY!!! It's a 35ish foot schooner $30 a head, I doubt gear, maybe bait. I've seen it putting around, sounds like a P-51 going down!:lol: Three hour deal, 8:30-11:30am, then a pm one, I think I'll pass.
I'm going for the early am surf fishing. He said the name, I can't remember but I bought some the other day (unknowingly) they look like a cross between shrimp an centipedes, creepy looking things about three inches long. He said that was THE bait. I asked about spoons or other casting bait he said just to set it out and let it ride unless you are trolling.

[TheTreeWiseMen]

So finally managed to skive off yesterday afternoon and get in some sea fishing with a landscaper mate of mine. Drifting just off Jones Beach we started with some skates, then some robin fish and just as we were about to try a different spot.....the striped bass (our intented catch) started biting. Great afternoon, I got sunburn on my forehead and we BBQd the striper steaks later that evening.

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Back at quay side. Another pic of the striper in pic 3 above, came in at 28"....and tasted f*ckin' great!

[Paul B]

Well done! get you a hat for the sun! :P

[TheTreeWiseMen]

It was overcast on the way out, then the sun came out while we were drifting. It wasn't until this morning that I realised how red my face/forehead was. Hat next time.....

[Paul B]

I hear you. Heading out the door yesterday morning it was pissy rain and 9C, by noon it was cloudy and sprinkling lightly, 5 oclock brought sun (about 18C) and a breeze, this AM we are again in the rain.

[vharrison]

Back at quay side. Another pic of the striper in pic 3 above, came in at 28"....and tasted f*ckin' great!

Nice fish! The others were very interesting!

[OTGBOSTON]

nothing like catching a keeper sized STRIPA.....

[top hopper]

Went fishing today with my brother, a couple old friends, and Jerry B! The bite was pretty slow, but we managed to catch enough for a decent lunch.

Didnt get any pics, but it was cool to hang with Jerry and talk shop while enjoying a nice day on the lake.

There were even a few "fish stories" told!

[MasterBlaster]

Jerry B and no pics? That don't seem right...

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Out again yesterday just off Fire Island and pulled in this bad boy.......41" and 33lb. My mate Peter (him from the Arbortalk radio show) looking proud....

[Banned by Squirrels]

Sweet fish!

[Hobby Climber]

Nice strip bass ya gots there!!!

[Skwerl]

Hell of a fish there, Robert!

A buddy is taking me fishing over on the coast tomorrow, will be my first time fishing in over a year now. I'll have to dig out my gear and see what I have to work with.

[vharrison]

Nice fish!

Brian, what did you catch?

[Skwerl]

Hi Gigi!
Just got in, my legs are burnt to a crisp since it's the first time I've worn shorts in a couple years. Mike's boat motor was missing on one cylinder so we stayed in the intercoastal. Messed around bottom fishing with frozen squid and shrimp. We caught probably 3 dozen catfish. It was a lot of fun getting out on the water and just allowing myself to have a good time. :)

10 minutes after launching the boat, on our way out to our fishing spot, a dolphin launched itself OUT OF THE WATER about 50 feet from our boat! I've seen hundreds of them roll but this was the first time I've ever seen one clear 3' out of the water in the wild. Even if I had my camera, it happened so fast I wouldn't have gotten a shot. Wish you could have seen it, Gigi. I instantly thought of you. :D

[sawinredneck]

You NEED to get you're boat going Brian!!

I NEED to go fishing before it gets too cold and while I have time!

[vharrison]

Hi Gigi!
Just got in, my legs are burnt to a crisp since it's the first time I've worn shorts in a couple years. Mike's boat motor was missing on one cylinder so we stayed in the intercoastal. Messed around bottom fishing with frozen squid and shrimp. We caught probably 3 dozen catfish. It was a lot of fun getting out on the water and just allowing myself to have a good time. :)

10 minutes after launching the boat, on our way out to our fishing spot, a dolphin launched itself OUT OF THE WATER about 50 feet from our boat! I've seen hundreds of them roll but this was the first time I've ever seen one clear 3' out of the water in the wild. Even if I had my camera, it happened so fast I wouldn't have gotten a shot. Wish you could have seen it, Gigi. I instantly thought of you. :D

Isn't that an awesome sight? I love dolphins! Did you hear about this? I read about it on an Abaco Forum.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A quiet cruise Thursday morning on the Intracoastal Waterway left an Ohio couple with a whale of a fish tale to tell -- or maybe that should be dolphin.

Norman and Barbara Howard were riding with their daughter in Montie Henderson's 18-foot center console boat when an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin jumped in with them. The mid-morning encounter occurred north of the North Causeway bridge in New Smyrna Beach.

"We were going under the bridge, and the next thing I knew I had a big old fish on top of us," Howard, 64, said while standing outside Bert Fish Medical Center, where he and his wife were treated and released Thursday afternoon. The couple suffered cuts, bumps and bruises.

While Howard could laugh about the incident a few hours later, when the 8- to 10-foot-long, estimated 400-pound mammal hit, there was nothing funny about it.

His first thought after the dolphin landed in their laps was to get it off. But as he pushed the flapping creature away, it knocked them to the boat's deck.

"I was just trying to get it off my wife," he said.

While, at the same time, he was being smacked by the tail.

"That thing had a good punch," Howard said. "Mike Tyson does not hit that hard."

Using his legs to push, Howard was able to assist Henderson, who grabbed the animal and rolled it off the front of the boat.

Henderson, who is the boyfriend of the Howards' daughter Laura Hall, said the day started uneventfully with the two couples taking a leisurely cruise from the Edgewater boat ramps north up the Intracoastal and into the backwaters near the Quay Assisi subdivision.

"This was their first time in the boat," Hall said of her parents. Barbara Howard had even joked that the marine adventure might put them on one of those funniest home video shows.

"I was pointing out to Buck (Norman Howard) where we had caught a mess of snook," Henderson said.

As they motored south past the Diamond Head condominiums, Henderson said he saw some dolphins ahead. Then just before the bridge "the dolphin came out of the water about three or four feet in front of the boat."

"It jumped about head high, arching across the bow," he said. Henderson said he tried to reverse the boat, but its momentum and the mammal's trajectory intersected.

"It looked like he was chasing bait," the 47-year-old Edgewater resident said.

John Rice, a vacationing Cape Cod commercial fisherman, said he didn't see the impact, but certainly heard it.

"I thought they had hit another boat or maybe a manatee," he said of the Henderson's craft. But when he peered through the bridge pilings, he saw the occupants struggling to roll the creature back into the water.

"I have heard of sharks jumping in boats, but this is the first time I have heard of this," he said from the fishing pier directly adjacent to the bridge.

Dolphin expert Janet Mann, who has studied the marine mammals for 21 years, said it was probably a young animal.

"My guess would be that it was a calf that was either not paying attention or maybe trying to escape something and got spooked," the professor of biology and psychology at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., said. "They don't jump that high unless they're trying to get away from something."

To compound the misadventure, U.S. Coast Guard officials got misinformation and could not find Henderson's boat for more than an hour. They finally spotted the skiff near the Edgewater ramps at Kennedy Park.

Norman Howard said the dolphin encounter was the third mishap he had suffered in three days -- first was a brake line failure, followed by a near accident when a car ahead of him got tangled up with a power line on Wednesday.

"I am going to stay home tomorrow," he said.

mark.johnson@news-jrnl.com

Oh yeah, don't forget the sunscreen!

[TheTreeWiseMen]

Yesterday's....

[MasterBlaster]

I drink my vodka through a straw, too! :beer:

[TheTreeWiseMen]

I drink my vodka through a straw, too! :beer:

All the best people do Chief!!

[vharrison]

Nice catch! What kind of fish is that?

[OTGBOSTON]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Striped_bass

I'm jealous:)

[The Branch Doctor]

Didn't have any work on Friday so I decided it was time to go fish the Big Thompson river for the first time this year. I fish it often (2-5x a week in the summer) and I hook into some nice ones but this one is the biggest Brown trout I've ever caught @ 24".:D

[Paul B]

and you fish in the Arborwear pants, wicked!

[The Branch Doctor]

I love Arborwear pants. They're the most comfortable pants I own and wear them most of the time.

[vharrison]

Nice fish! I got out yesterday but not much happening. John caught a porgy and I caught 2 undersized grouper.

[stehansen]

Nice.

[The Branch Doctor]

Thanks! I decided I'm going to have it mounted. I think it's worthy enough to go on my wall.;)

[MasterBlaster]

I've always wanted to mount one of the Oscars I've had over the years. About how much does that cost?

[The Branch Doctor]

I've always wanted to mount one of the Oscars I've had over the years. About how much does that cost?

I'm sure it varies depending on your location but around here it'll cost me between $300 and $350. I won't know for sure till I take it in..... which won't be right away cause I need to save up a few pennies before I can get er done.;)

[vharrison]

I've always wanted to mount one of the Oscars I've had over the years. About how much does that cost?

This place has been around since I was a little girl.

http://www.graytaxidermy.com/

[woodworkingboy]

Nice brownie!

[Skwerl]

The only fish I ever had mounted was the 27", 10.5 lb bass I caught about 10 years ago. I got the name and number of this old country boy taxidermist who charged me $4 per inch ($112) and he did a really nice job. The only obvious shortcut he took was after he glued the cardboard reinforcement to the tail, he only spent about 8 seconds cutting out the tail fins. But his painting/ color work was excellent.

[OTGBOSTON]

Nice fishes guys. I release 99% of the fish I catch, If I were gonna mount one I think I'd go with a fiberglass replica.

[The Branch Doctor]

Damn that's a huge friggin bass Brian!:O

Fishing RULES!!!!!:D

[OTGBOSTON]

http://www.mexicobasstours.com/

Put this spot on your list to try.....:)

[vharrison]

Nice fishes guys. I release 99% of the fish I catch, If I were gonna mount one I think I'd go with a fiberglass replica.

I am pretty sure that is how they do it these days.

[Skwerl]

Here's a wild fishing story- Mr Marlin's Wild Ride
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/glance/759069/marlin-tows-man-on-surfboard-11km