Fishing

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Fishing gear update: New Bike!

Just picked up this Specialized Roll Low Entry to set up as a “Cape Cod Canal Fishing Bike.”

The canal is about 7 miles long with a multi-use service road on each side. Parking along the canal can be difficult to find at times so people don’t always have the luxury of being able to park exactly where they want to fish. People will setup these canal bikes to easily move themselves and all their heavy gear from spot to spot.



It doesn’t look like much right now but I’m planning to mount some front and back racks to carry my tackle bags and a couple rod holders to comfortably carry my 11 ft surf rods. I’ll post another update when it’s completed.

That’s gonna be a killer set-up Nick…love the low entry aspect and that’s a looong canal…better be a “Mushroom” sticker on the set-up somewhere …mod away

[Mushroom]

Fishing gear update: New Bike!

Just picked up this Specialized Roll Low Entry to set up as a “Cape Cod Canal Fishing Bike.”

The canal is about 7 miles long with a multi-use service road on each side. Parking along the canal can be difficult to find at times so people don’t always have the luxury of being able to park exactly where they want to fish. People will setup these canal bikes to easily move themselves and all their heavy gear from spot to spot.

https://i.imgur.com/oGfdVgo.jpg

It doesn’t look like much right now but I’m planning to mount some front and back racks to carry my tackle bags and a couple rod holders to comfortably carry my 11 ft surf rods. I’ll post another update when it’s completed.

That’s gonna be a killer set-up Nick…love the low entry aspect and that’s a looong canal…better be a “Mushroom” sticker on the set-up somewhere …mod away

Thanks, I’m excited to get it built up! People recommend the low entry bikes because it helps makes it easier to get on and off the bike with cargo and rods on the back and some people say it also helps make it easier to ride with waders on.

Also, I just ordered a mushroom decal for it - good idea! I think the decal will be subtle enough to still be tasteful. I have a bunch of ideas for other cosmetic mods too but I’m mostly focusing on the cargo mods first.

Im planning to use black rod tube mounts to match the bike better but only raw aluminum is available right now. Black is available on backorder though, so I’d like to contact the company first to get an idea about wait time.

Either way I should have it ready to go by the end of the month. Should be just in time for the start of the striper migration around here. I was reading reports earlier of 30+ lb stripers being caught in the Hudson River this week, so they’re moving into their spawning grounds now and then they’ll be on their way north!

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Awesome Nick…sounds like the perfect set-up…I love catching anything that’ll bite but it always amazes me how strong a fish with stripes is…can’t wait to see it

[TTFulltimer]

Fishing gear update: New Bike!

Just picked up this Specialized Roll Low Entry to set up as a “Cape Cod Canal Fishing Bike.”

The canal is about 7 miles long with a multi-use service road on each side. Parking along the canal can be difficult to find at times so people don’t always have the luxury of being able to park exactly where they want to fish. People will setup these canal bikes to easily move themselves and all their heavy gear from spot to spot.

https://i.imgur.com/oGfdVgo.jpg

It doesn’t look like much right now but I’m planning to mount some front and back racks to carry my tackle bags and a couple rod holders to comfortably carry my 11 ft surf rods. I’ll post another update when it’s completed.

That’s gonna be a killer set-up Nick…love the low entry aspect and that’s a looong canal…better be a “Mushroom” sticker on the set-up somewhere …mod away

Thanks, I’m excited to get it built up! People recommend the low entry bikes because it helps makes it easier to get on and off the bike with cargo and rods on the back and some people say it also helps make it easier to ride with waders on.

Also, I just ordered a mushroom decal for it - good idea! I think the decal will be subtle enough to still be tasteful. I have a bunch of ideas for other cosmetic mods too but I’m mostly focusing on the cargo mods first.

Im planning to use black rod tube mounts to match the bike better but only raw aluminum is available right now. Black is available on backorder though, so I’d like to contact the company first to get an idea about wait time.

Either way I should have it ready to go by the end of the month. Should be just in time for the start of the striper migration around here. I was reading reports earlier of 30+ lb stripers being caught in the Hudson River this week, so they’re moving into their spawning grounds now and then they’ll be on their way north!

I started with a 20 inch fat tire so I can ride on sand beaches. Took out the weak rear motor and added a Cyclone kit. I use a folding garden cart towed behind the bike to hold all my tackle and rods. That is a Johnny Bass 100 in the background with a brushless trolling motor in the well. I travel full time so the boat goes on top of the truck, the bike and cart go on a hitch hauler on the rear of the travel trailer.

[Mushroom]

I started with a 20 inch fat tire so I can ride on sand beaches. Took out the weak rear motor and added a Cyclone kit. I use a folding garden cart towed behind the bike to hold all my tackle and rods. That is a Johnny Bass 100 in the background with a brushless trolling motor in the well. I travel full time so the boat goes on top of the truck, the bike and cart go on a hitch hauler on the rear of the travel trailer.
travelfish.jpg

That is a badass setup!

Being able to ride on the sand like that would be awesome to help find fish faster! Id love to setup a beach fishing cart too but I gotta finish the bike before I move onto the next project.

[TTFulltimer]

I started with a 20 inch fat tire so I can ride on sand beaches. Took out the weak rear motor and added a Cyclone kit. I use a folding garden cart towed behind the bike to hold all my tackle and rods. That is a Johnny Bass 100 in the background with a brushless trolling motor in the well. I travel full time so the boat goes on top of the truck, the bike and cart go on a hitch hauler on the rear of the travel trailer.
travelfish.jpg

That is a badass setup!

Being able to ride on the sand like that would be awesome to help find fish faster! Id love to setup a beach fishing cart too but I gotta finish the bike before I move onto the next project.

That folding cart is available online. I ordered it with the front closure. I bolted plastic pipe on the rear for rod holders.

[Mushroom]

I like it! Looks like a lot of storage space. I don’t know if I’d prefer a dedicated beach cart or a bike trailer cart. My bike is far from ideal for using on the sand, so I would probably get more use out of a dedicated beach cart. I’ll weigh my options when I decide to set one up, I suppose.

———

Caught a few trout this weekend, some more rainbows. Here’s the nicest of the bunch.



The water around here has finally started warming up enough to bring out some of the warm water species I like to target most! I like fishing for trout but once the bass start biting, I get way too distracted to stay focused on the trout.

The weather was unseasonably warm today, nearing 90° F, so it was a good day to wade around one of the local ponds to try for some spring time bass. Didn’t catch the pre-spawn mega that I was after but I did catch my first largemouth of the season! Plus a few other species - bluegill, chain pickerel, and yellow perch

Little quarter pounder but I’ll never turn down a bass.

I love fishing ultralight for bluegill too. Some of the big ones put up really impressive fights for their size. These were the biggest two from the day.




A lot of people in my area hate Chain pickerel and consider them a nuisance but sometimes they’re the most reliable fish to get the skunk off the board. They’re aggressive and fight like **** too. I like ‘em and I’ll target them specifically sometimes. I would love to catch a state record!

Caught a couple of them today. I watched the first one stalk my bait and it but about a rods length away from me. It was a cool catch. The second one had some type of wound on it’s mouth.



And only one yellow perch today. I was seeing tons of their eggs at the edge of the pond so they definitely spawned recently. I’m guessing they might have retreated to deeper water.




tl;dr - caught some fish!

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Nick you are Da Man!!! Killer mixed bag of fins bro…two scales and a tail on a bass will get ya hooked…and those bluegill are really nice(first fish I ever caught)…you’re right about pickerel- mean fightin’ son of a guns they are…I can only imagine what a muskie would feel like…we just don’t have them down here or many walleye…we do however have shi.tons of yellow perch if you know some good spots and they are tasty little morsels…awesome pics dude!!!

[Mushroom]

Thanks! I haven't caught a muskie either but that would be a real trophy. They call them “the fish of 10,000 casts” because of how elusive and difficult they are to catch. Given my luck it would probably be more like 100,000 casts.

There are some ponds around here jam packed with yellow perch and I've still yet to try eating any. Everyone recommends it, so I'm definitely missing out on something.

[Mushroom]

Quick Cape Cod Canal fishing bike update - got some front and rear racks as well as fenders put on. Plus a basket on the front for cargo.





Still need to get the rod tube mounts and then I’ll get those added on ASAP! Also need another basket or crate for the back rack and then it will be setup how I want it for now. Only aesthetic mods planned after that.

On the topic of aesthetic mods though, the first and most important one is taken care of.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Lookin really good Nick and the is awesome!!! I looked that bike up and it is super nice…Specialized makes quality stuff and you gotta love a basket and rack…rod tubes are gonna put it over the top

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Basement “Very Humble” Dudecave sampling…wish I had the back for these mounts because in retrospect I could have taken pics and measurements for replicas and released all these, but at the time I was into an “authentic”phase…OR better yet just taken pictures…only kept a handful but you’re looking at a CRK Umnumzaan,a Spyderco Paysan with an Autonomy 2 thrown in for good measure

[Mushroom]

https://i.postimg.cc/7YD862gJ/3-CFB165-D-FDAE-47-C8-8-FC2-1-A7-CF2-D6-DCF6.jpg


Basement “Very Humble” Dudecave sampling…wish I had the back for these mounts because in retrospect I could have taken pics and measurements for replicas and released all these, but at the time I was into an “authentic”phase…OR better yet just taken pictures…only kept a handful but you’re looking at a CRK Umnumzaan,a Spyderco Paysan with an Autonomy 2 thrown in for good measure

Those are all awesome, I’m jealous! I really like how you did your brown trout on the natural piece of wood. Perfect selection of fish species too, almost exactly what I eventually want to have made.

Definitely a goal of mine to catch a trophy striper just to have a replica made. Largemouth and Smallmouth too. I’d probably consider any Smallie in the 6lbs or bigger range and ideally I would want a double digit Largemouth. I’d probably be so excited about even an 8lb largemouth though, I might have a replica of that one made on impulse.

Other than Bass, I’d love to catch a nice sized native Eastern Brook Trout to have a replica made. I also caught a decent size Pumpkinseed sunfish with some amazing colors a couple years ago and I want to have a replica made of that fish. I’m not in a rush to anything made quite yet though, gotta stay focused on the catching.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

https://i.postimg.cc/7YD862gJ/3-CFB165-D-FDAE-47-C8-8-FC2-1-A7-CF2-D6-DCF6.jpg


Basement “Very Humble” Dudecave sampling…wish I had the back for these mounts because in retrospect I could have taken pics and measurements for replicas and released all these, but at the time I was into an “authentic”phase…OR better yet just taken pictures…only kept a handful but you’re looking at a CRK Umnumzaan,a Spyderco Paysan with an Autonomy 2 thrown in for good measure

Those are all awesome, I’m jealous! I really like how you did your brown trout on the natural piece of wood. Perfect selection of fish species too, almost exactly what I eventually want to have made.

Definitely a goal of mine to catch a trophy striper just to have a replica made. Largemouth and Smallmouth too. I’d probably consider any Smallie in the 6lbs or bigger range and ideally I would want a double digit Largemouth. I’d probably be so excited about even an 8lb largemouth though, I might have a replica of that one made on impulse.

Other than Bass, I’d love to catch a nice sized native Eastern Brook Trout to have a replica made. I also caught a decent size Pumpkinseed sunfish with some amazing colors a couple years ago and I want to have a replica made of that fish. I’m not in a rush to anything made quite yet though, gotta stay focused on the catching.

Thanks Nick - yeah it’s all about catching for me too these days…I probably could help you out on Largemouth and Stripers but I’d have to make a few calls first… we don’t have a lot of Walleye and Smallmouth where I’m from and Big Brookies are rare…we do however have GIANT Panfish…that Largemouth was 11.2 but I caught her in July…easily 12+ with eggs (at least that’s what the taxidermist said)…Caught her on a hunting lease in Ala and was throwing a pumpkinseed firetail lizard…I know of another spot in south Ga. I used to have a membership and it had 13? I think trophy bass lakes ( 3 - 12 acres) and we caught big ol’ bass consistently…personally I landed two over 10 lbs./one 9.7/a handful (4/5?) 8 lbers/ and who knows how many 3-6 lbers…it was a 13,000 acre working farm with the biggest peanut allotment in the state…HUGE BUCKS!!!… they only did guided deer/turkey/quail/duck hunts but sold ten fishing only memberships and myself and a couple buddies joined…it wasn’t cheap ($2500/year) but they had a 10,000 sq ft lodge,a full time cook, a big pole barn with ten John boats/trailers and charging stations, concrete ramps on every lake and was professionally managed by a friend of mine ( that’s how I found out about it )… we stayed in for a few years but a big money group of investors leased the whole thing…best bass fishing of my life!!! But I could still call my buddy and maybe go down with him plus I’m good friends with the plantation manager, but it’s been a minute since I talked to either so idk

[Mushroom]

https://i.postimg.cc/7YD862gJ/3-CFB165-D-FDAE-47-C8-8-FC2-1-A7-CF2-D6-DCF6.jpg


Basement “Very Humble” Dudecave sampling…wish I had the back for these mounts because in retrospect I could have taken pics and measurements for replicas and released all these, but at the time I was into an “authentic”phase…OR better yet just taken pictures…only kept a handful but you’re looking at a CRK Umnumzaan,a Spyderco Paysan with an Autonomy 2 thrown in for good measure

Those are all awesome, I’m jealous! I really like how you did your brown trout on the natural piece of wood. Perfect selection of fish species too, almost exactly what I eventually want to have made.

Definitely a goal of mine to catch a trophy striper just to have a replica made. Largemouth and Smallmouth too. I’d probably consider any Smallie in the 6lbs or bigger range and ideally I would want a double digit Largemouth. I’d probably be so excited about even an 8lb largemouth though, I might have a replica of that one made on impulse.

Other than Bass, I’d love to catch a nice sized native Eastern Brook Trout to have a replica made. I also caught a decent size Pumpkinseed sunfish with some amazing colors a couple years ago and I want to have a replica made of that fish. I’m not in a rush to anything made quite yet though, gotta stay focused on the catching.

Thanks Nick - yeah it’s all about catching for me too these days…I probably could help you out on Largemouth and Stripers but I’d have to make a few calls first… we don’t have a lot of Walleye and Smallmouth where I’m from and Big Brookies are rare…we do however have GIANT Panfish…that Largemouth was 11.2 but I caught her in July…easily 12+ with eggs (at least that’s what the taxidermist said)…Caught her on a hunting lease in Ala and was throwing a pumpkinseed firetail lizard…I know of another spot in south Ga. I used to have a membership and it had 13? I think trophy bass lakes ( 3 - 12 acres) and we caught big ol’ bass consistently…personally I landed two over 10 lbs./one 9.7/a handful (4/5?) 8 lbers/ and who knows how many 3-6 lbers…it was a 13,000 acre working farm with the biggest peanut allotment in the state…HUGE BUCKS!!!… they only did guided deer/turkey/quail/duck hunts but sold ten fishing only memberships and myself and a couple buddies joined…it wasn’t cheap ($2500/year) but they had a 10,000 sq ft lodge,a full time cook, a big pole barn with ten John boats/trailers and charging stations, concrete ramps on every lake and was professionally managed by a friend of mine ( that’s how I found out about it )… we stayed in for a few years but a big money group of investors leased the whole thing…best bass fishing of my life!!! But I could still call my buddy and maybe go down with him plus I’m good friends with the plantation manager, but it’s been a minute since I talked to either so idk

That sounds like an absolute dream property. I get stoked when I catch anything in the 3 lb range around here, so to go somewhere and consistently catch fish bigger than that would be incredible!

I rarely ever fish with lizards around here but it’s probably worth trying at least. Especially in the spring when the salamanders are active and spawning. Could end up being what lands me my new personal best.

I’ve never done any hunting, unfortunately, but it’s definitely something I’d like to do. Spring turkey season just opened yesterday in Massachusetts. Hunting, in general, is a rabbit hole I know ill venture down eventually. Even if that literally ends up being rabbit hunting.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

Rabbit hunting is a BLAST…a shotgun blast!!! If you know someone with a few good beagles you are in business or you can stalk them…they run in circles …pumpkinseed firetail or motor oil chartreuse lizards with a worm weight and red bead are deadly on bass (at least for me anyway)…if you’re into live bait nothing beats a threadfin or gizzard shad…only thing that comes close is a live crawfish

[Manixguy@1994]

Wish I could brag about this haul today but was finishing up Arbor . Good friend I helped with a PM2 CPM35V sent me pictures from a family pond .

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

I’ll be needing the coordinates to that pond please…will be staying for a couple days so also need address of nearest hotel or heck I’ll sleep in the barn…what a mess of fish!!! Crappie are delicious as well as the bream and bass…seems to me if you help him with his PM2 he helps you with the arbor and y’all both fish

[Manixguy@1994]

I’ll be needing the coordinates to that pond please…will be staying for a couple days so also need address of nearest hotel or heck I’ll sleep in the barn…what a mess of fish!!! Crappie are delicious as well as the bream and bass…seems to me if you help him with his PM2 he helps you with the arbor and y’all both fish

Really good young man I worked with before retiring. I always tease him that his pretty wife hooked most of them . Great friends.

[SaltyCaribbeanDfly]

That’s cool Dan…pretty wife that fishes?