Field and Stream - Pike & Muskie RSS

The CatchFeed: 50 Top Photos from Catchbook, Field & Stream's New Social Fishing App

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:43:40 -0400

These 50 photos are our editors' picks for the best shots posted so far by users of our new Catchbook app!

About Catchbook Fishing Reports
Catchbook is a free social fishing app we built for the iPhone to help you share photos of your fish while recording the spots where you caught them. Check out more great fish photos from around the country (and start posting your own catches) by downloading the app from iTunes! Visit fieldandstream.com/catchbook for details on how the app works, and why it'll help you catch more fish.

Catchbook Photo Contest
We're giving away a Columbia PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap, for the best photo posted each week (as chosen by our editors) from now until then end of July. At the end of each month we'll pick our favorite overall shot and run it in the magazine! Each monthly winner will also receive a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve (men) or Ultimate Chill™ Long Sleeve (women). Click here to learn how you can enter this contest. Click here for the official rules.

Our 20 Coolest and Strangest Fish Stories

Online Editors — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:05:51 -0400

The Best F&S Online Record Fish Stories and Photos

Online Editors — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:57:23 -0400

Catchbook Contest: Photo of the Week!

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:41:44 -0400

Congratulations to Austin Bockwinkel, whose spring Iowa largemouth bass takes top prize in our weekly Catchbook Photo Contest! Austin gets a PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap from Columbia, and also qualifies to win our monthly prize, a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve fishing shirt and his mug in the pages of our magazine. Click here to learn how you can enter this contest by. Click here for the official rules.

Catchbook is a new fishing app for the iPhone that automatically turns photos of fish you've caught into detailed fishing journal entries that show up on your map, then shares those entries exclusively with trusted friends. Our goal is to help you and your buddies learn more about the spots you fish. You can download the app from iTunes here.

Holy Mackerel: 2nd-Grader Hooks 68 lb. King Fish

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 10:10:38 -0400

Andrew Quinn, a spirited Michigan second-grader who wrestles in the 77-pound weight class at his school, is no stranger to grappling with heavyweight foes.

But even Andrew almost met his match when he hooked this 5-foot king mackerel during a deep sea fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico in late March. At the end of a 30-minute fight, Andrew had just enough strength left to boat the giant king, which weighed 68 pounds, 3 ounces—a touch lighter than Andrew but 4 ounces heavier than the current Alabama state record.

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from April 2012

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 02 May 2012 09:25:49 -0400

Each month, Field & Stream editors review the hundreds of photos submitted by readers to our Trophy Room. If your photo is chosen to be printed in the Game Faces section of the magazine, you’ll win a Rapala Fish ‘N Fillet knife!

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

Unleash the Dawgs to Land a Wall-Worthy Muskie

Online Editors — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:13:41 -0400

Wall Size: In the world of muskie fishing, 50 inches has long been the length that qualifies a fish as a true trophy. Even some of the most dedicated muskie anglers spend years on the water before landing a 50, if they ever land one at all. Whereas small muskies can be less finicky and more predictable, a 50-incher—which can be 12 to 20 years old—may eat once every other day during a 10-minute feeding window. Be there at the right time with the right lure or strike out.

Special Case: Some anglers opt to have a replica of their first fish made, regardless of size, because muskies are so difficult to catch. With this species, it’s as good a reason as any to make room over the fireplace (or wherever you think is appropriate). If you happen to catch a hybrid tiger muskie, any fish weighing 20 pounds or better will turn some heads.

Trophy Towns:

✖ Montreal, Quebec The section of the St. Lawrence River that cuts through this Canadian metropolis is notorious for huge muskies that can top 60 inches. A variety of structure creates the perfect habitat.
✖ Tower, Minn. Muskie stockings in Lake Vermilion began in 1984. In the years since, the large amount of baitfish in this lake has allowed the beasts to thrive.
✖ Warren, Pa. The upper Allegheny River may not have the same rep for big muskies as other waters, but it quietly gives up its share of trophies every year. A good population of trout fattens them up.

The Guide: Bruce Shumway

Home Waters: Bruce Shumway has been a guide in Hayward, Wis., since 1978, and has led clients to more than 50 fish taping 50 inches and up. Shumway fishes all the lakes around Hayward, but if he has to peg a favorite, it’s the Chippewa Flowage, known locally as the “Big Chip.” This massive impoundment features a vast network of lakes, bays, islands, and creeks. According to Shumway, the larger the body of water, the bigger the muskies it produces.

Trophy Hunting: “You’re going to catch the largest fish late in the year,” Shumway says. “From about Halloween to the middle of November, they’re going to be eating a lot before winter sets in.” Shumway likes water temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s, and notes that earlier in fall the fish will hold closer to shore in shallow water, then gradually drop deeper as the water cools. “Once the fish drop off to water 18 to 30 feet deep, I hit areas where hard bottom meets soft.”

Top Lure: Shumway’s first artificial choice for enticing a bite from a giant muskie is a 12-inch Bull Dawg soft plastic. These heavy curly-tailed baits will mimic a variety of forage, though Shumway starts with blue and silver to match the ciscoes that spawn in fall. “Let the bait sink a little, then slowly work it back with twitches and pauses,” he says. “The trick is watching your line for subtle movements. Hits don’t feel like much. But because of the thick plastic on those lures, a good hookset is important.”

Top Bait: Once the water dips below 55 degrees, your shot at a 50-plus-incher increases significantly with live bait, Shumway says. That’s why he keeps a 15- to 24-inch live sucker on his Fuzzy’s E-Z Duzzit Clip-N-Go rig behind the boat while he’s working lures. The hooks pull free of the bait when you strike and embed in the muskie’s mouth, reducing the chance of gut-hooking the fish.

Unleash the Dawgs to Land a Wall-Worthy Muskie

Online Editors — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:13:41 -0400

Trophy Towns:

The Guide: Bruce Shumway

Catchbook Contest: Photo of the Week!

Dave_Maccar — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 15:21:10 -0400

Congratulations to Connor Brazell, who's early-season pike photo takes top prize in our weekly Catchbook Photo Contest! Connor gets a PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap from Columbia, and also qualifies to win our monthly prize, a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve fishing shirt and his mug in the pages of our magazine. Click here to learn how you can enter this contest by. Click here for the official rules.

Crush Muskies With These 3 Sucker Baits

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:11:51 -0400

by Joe Cermele

Floor Plan: Shack Attack’s 9-inch Suzy Sucker is one of the best soft-plastic sucker imitations on the market, but anglers often feel the need to keep it moving constantly. Suckers are lazy, so make this lure lazy, too. Let it sink to the bottom and rest there, popping it forward on occasion and resting it again like a live sucker foraging. Feel for the take on the pause.

Honey Bunny: Daring enough to chase muskies with a fly rod? Tie up a mullet-sucker Rabbit Strip Dahlberg’s Diver. With its fluttering rabbit-fur tail and spun deer-hair head, this fly will dive on the strip and pop back to the surface, acting like an injured juvenile sucker. Work it around areas where smaller creeks meet main lakes or larger rivers and make sure you’ve got sturdy wire ahead of this bug.

Get Snippy: Though a live sucker is a top producer of muskies, here’s a trick for making a stellar bait even more appealing: Once you have the bait rigged, snip off the bottom section of its tail with shears. This will cause the bait to swim more erratically while emitting a different vibration from other suckers in the area. The slight difference in the beat can make a reluctant muskie pounce.

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Crush Muskies With These 3 Sucker Baits

Online Editors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:11:51 -0400

by Joe Cermele

From the April 2012 issue of Field & Stream magazine.

Playing 'Possum with a Flipping Stick

Joe_Cermele — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:44:15 -0400

by Joe Cermele

Look closely. Yup, that's a lure. A 16-inch hand-poured hard plastic, soft plastic, and carbon fiber 'possum to be exact. I have seen everything from duck lures, to giant snake baits, to full-sized rubber sailfish teasers, but never a 'possum until lure maker Clayton Bryant recently added this monster marsupial wake bait to his line up at CL8 Baits. It's a work of art, no doubt, and though muskies might pop into your head, this mega-mammal was designed with largemouths in mind.

Bryant is currently producing two 'possums--a 6-incher and an 8-incher. Factor in the long rubber tails and you actually get a 12-incher and 16-incher. Over the weekend I grabbed the heaviest flippin' stick I owned and took the 16 to the pond around the corner from my house. I scared some ducks and had a bluegill nip the tail, but I didn't exactly expect to catch a 10-pound bass in a pond where they don't live. I was more interested in how this 7.5-ounce whopper swam.

Bryant reverse cuts the hinges on his 'possums, which he claimed would allow the tail section to catch more water. Well, it did. This lure looks like the Loch Ness Monster cruising across the top, and wide lip helps creates one heck of a wake that spread out almost across the entire pond. Given the weight, it's not a lure I'd want to throw all day, but between the "clack" of the hard body, the shimmy of the hind end, and whip of the tail, I can see this lure calling up something massive...somewhere.

Sadly, I don't know of a body of water withing 100 miles of home with largemouth big enough to take a swing, but how about you? Would you throw a 'possum for a bucketmouth bass? If so, would you pay $60 for the chance? That's what these hand-made lures are selling for.

Enter The Catchbook Photo Contest, Win Columbia Gear

Sarah Smith — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 10:57:48 -0400

Last week we launched a new fishing app for the iPhone that automatically turns photos of fish you've caught into detailed fishing journal entries that show up on your map, then shares those entries exclusively with trusted friends. Our goal is to help you and your buddies learn more about the spots you fish. You can download the app from iTunes here.

We want this to be a useful app for the hardcore angler. But we want it to be a source of casual fun, too. That's why any photos users post show up on the main page of the app, where everyone can see them.

You won't be able to see the spot a fish was landed unless you're friends with the person who posted it, but it's still fun to check in and see photos of what people are catching around the country. We think it's a great way to burn a moment when you're standing in the checkout line, or stuck in the lobby at the doctor's office.

The app is off to a great start. Nearly 200 catch photos have been posted so far, and more people are signing up every day. To keep the ball rolling, we're announcing a new contest. From today until the 1st of August we'll give away a Columbia PFG Blood and Guts™ Ball Cap, for the best photo posted each week (as chosen by our editors). Then, at the end of the month, we'll pick our favorite overall shot and run it in the magazine! Each monthly winner will also receive a Columbia Airgill Chill™ Long Sleeve (men) or Ultimate Chill™ Long Sleeve (women).

The photo above is from our first weekly winner, Alexandro Trevino, who gets the first hat, even though he didn't know about the contest yet. Alexandro, congratulations on your catch!

Note: We know not everyone has an iPhone, and wish we'd been able to launch this app for Android phones (and for web users who don't yet have a smartphone) right out of the gate. We're hoping to do both these things soon. The faster we can get the word out about this app, the faster this will happen. You can help by telling your friends about the project. Thanks!

15 Reasons an Early Spring Makes Fishing More Difficult (And How To Catch Fish Anyway)

Dave_Maccar — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 09:16:26 -0400

Spring has sprung. Actually, it sprang a month ago in much of the country. With the unusual weather pattern setting record-high temperatures on a near-weekly basis, many of you are no doubt scratching your heads and asking, what’s this going to do to the fishing?

The 50 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos from March 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:00:43 -0400

Submit your photos here!

Here are the other best reader photo collections from this year:

January 2012

February 2012

Catchbook Fishing Reports: A Social Fishing App from the Editors of Field & Stream

Online Editors — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 14:37:45 -0400

If you're an angler, you know that keeping a detailed journal of your time on the water is one of the best ways to up your catch rate. That's because, over time, your journal will show you patterns in when and where fish bite, and what lures and baits work best under different conditions. The more detailed your journal is, the more of these patterns you'll see. But keeping a detailed journal requires time and dedication that most anglers can't afford.

Not anymore. Field & Stream's FREE new Catchbook app, just released on the iPhone, is designed to take all the work out of keeping a fishing journal. The app does this by taking photos of fish you've already shot with your phone and automatically converting them into detailed fishing reports that include the weather and water conditions present when those photos were taken. The app pins each report to a map, then lets you share them exclusively with trusted friends and fishing buddies. The more friends you have, the more reports you see on your map, and the easier it becomes to pattern your spots!

Our editorial team has been working for nearly half a year on the project, and it finally launched last week. Now we're looking for feedback from the people we designed it for. You! If there are bugs, we want to know about them. If there's something you think we can improve, we want to know what that is. And if you love something we've done? We want to know that, too.

We'll incorporate your comments into updates to the app, which we're planning to roll out regularly. You can give us your feedback by commenting on this post, or within a new "Catchbook" category in our online Answers section. And, right now, exclusively for readers of this site (and for a limited time only) if you sign up and request user "Field & Stream" as a friend within the app, we'll add 5,000 points to your F&S Online username.

Click here to view the app in the iTunes store, or follow the jump for more details on how Catchbook works. Thanks for checking it out! -- The Editors

POST YOUR PHOTOS
Catchbook lets you turn any fish photo you’ve ever taken with your iPhone into a detailed journal entry that includes the time, date, location, and weather present when you caught each fish. Upload your old fish photos to get started, then make sure to snap away with your camera the next time you’re out on the water. Add records to your journal by choosing the photos you want to upload and telling us the species of fish in each photo. The app does the rest! Add optional information (such as the size and color lure you were using) to create even more detailed records to share with your friends.

POOL YOUR RECORDS
The more friends you invite into Catchbook, the more catches you’ll see on your map. And the more catches you see, the easier it will be for you to pattern your spots. Inviting friends is easy. Invite people you’re already friends with on Facebook, or send your fishing buddies invites by email. You can also find new people to fish with by searching for other Catchbook users who fish in the same places you do.

PATTERN YOUR SPOTS
Every time you (or one of your friends) posts a photo to Catchbook, that photo gets pinned to a spot on your map. Filter your map to show only fish caught at specific times of the year, at different times of the day, under specific weather conditions and water temps, and much, much more! You’ll quickly see patterns in which spots work best under different conditions. Then use the app’s “Best Baits” features to learn which flies, lures, and baits caught the most fish under the conditions and areas you’ve selected.

Map filtering options include:
-- Fish species and fish size
-- Time of year and time of day
-- Moon phase
-- Wind speed and direction
-- Water temperature, water clarity, lake/river level, and tidal stage
-- Barometric pressure and barometric trend
-- Air temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation type

WATCH CATCHES IN REAL TIME
Keep an eye on what people are catching around the country by clicking on the “Catches” tab. You’ll see all the latest fish entered into Catchbook (photos only — no spot burning here).

SEE WHERE YOU RANK!
Find your name in a list of top users by species.

X-Ray Fish Photos: 41 Incredible Shots From the Smithsonian Institute

Sarah Smith — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:44:31 -0400

X-ray Vision: Fish Inside Out, organized by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), is an exhibit traveling to museums across the country through 2015. Visit www.sites.si.edu/exhibitions/exhibits/ichthyo/index.htm for the tour itinerary.

SHARK!: A Preview of an Artistic Tribute To The Ancient Apex Predators of the Deep

Sarah Smith — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:07:05 -0400

Millennia before humans first appeared on this planet, sharks were cutting their way through Earth's seas. They come in all shapes and sizes and are found in every ocean in the world as well as in many rivers and lakes.

A major multimedia art exhibition, SHARK!, organized by the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art and curated by acclaimed wildlife artist, author and environmentalist Richard Ellis, brings together art and science in documenting the fascination people have with these apex predators of the sea. In addition to drawings and paintings, the exhibition contains photos, sculptures, and video as well as a section devoted to the sensational impact of the 1975 film Jaws.

Ellis was good enough to give us these photos of pieces from the exhibition as a sneak peak. SHARK! opens on May 13.

For more information on the exhibit, click here.

The 45 Best Field & Stream Reader Photos of February 2012

Dave_Maccar — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 10:46:15 -0500

Submit your photos here!

Here is the gallery of the best reader photos from January 2012.

How to Catch a Wall-Hanger: 7 Tips for Locating, Fighting, and Landing Giant Bass, Walleye and More Big Fish This Season!

Online Editors — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:13:27 -0500

Make this the year to catch a fish so huge you’ll want to admire it for the rest of your life. We found the best lures and baits, the hot lakes and rivers, and the trophy hunter’s top strategies. After this, all you’ll need is a hammer and nail.

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions on How to Tie "Durex Condom Pike" Fly

Sarah Smith — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:23:25 -0500

Tie Talk: 4 Steps to Tying the Durex Condom Pike Fly (with Photos)

Sarah Smith — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:22:32 -0500

by Tim Romano

This week's Tie Talk "bug" comes to us courtesy of flyrecipes.com.

The Durex Condom Pike Fly is the brainchild of Simon Graham and has one very unusual item that might not be in your fly tying recipe basket: A condom for the tail...

Graham apparently got the idea while reading a piece from an Australian media outlet basically saying that, "despite Australia's best efforts to supply prophylactics to AIDS-ravaged Papua, New Guinea, there's no stopping local creativity in finding unusual uses for the free condoms. Local fisherman cut them up for lures, and women find the lubricant good for their hair and beauty regime."

He goes on to say that, "pike can be fooled into taking all manner of materials found on lures and flies, if presented to them correctly. It was only a few years back when I was in Russia that I witnessed a bloke catch a pike with just tin foil molded onto his hook. Which got me thinking if local fisherman in Papua, New Guinea could catch tuna with condoms then how hard could it be to fool a pike into taking one. Anyway, this has now been tested and has passed with flying colours. So I’ve come up with the Durex condom pike streamer. Not that I think you’ll all want to tie one, but here’s a step by step tutorial in case you do."

Call it a hunch, but something tells me you aren't going to find this one commercially tied in your local fly shop.

Enjoy the lighthearted take on tying for the day.

Click here to see the step-by-step photo instructions for tying this fly.

Find A Spill or a Fish Kill? Get This Card And Know Who To Call

Sarah Smith — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:55:51 -0500

by Tim Romano

A number of months ago Hal Herring reported on the "Toxic Petroleum Sludge" that was infiltrating the waters of our beloved carp fishery here on the South Platte River in Denver. Local angler and fly fisherman Trevor Taner was fishing for carp in the river on November 27 when he noticed, "weird milky chocolaty sludge", and after fishing for a while noticed his "fly and fingers smelled like gasoline". He also mentioned that he could "see micro-currents and upwells in the water column that you usually can't see."

After talking to Tanner he told me that he spent a very long time trying to figure out who to call about the situation. After multiple phone calls to friends and anglers he finally reached what he thought were the proper authorities. This unfortunately took many hours and didn't really provide the response he had hoped for. They basically told him he was crazy and there wasn't a spill.

Long story short, Trevor was right. There was a pretty serious petroleum "spill" and it was most certainly in the river. Leeching into a tributary of the Platte through layers of soil and sand. It was most likely coming from a local refinery on the east banks of the river. The EPA finally got involved and to my knowledge the cleanup continues.

All of this would have been made much, much easier for Trevor if he knew who to call. Now -- thanks to him I do, and I wanted to share it with all of you. Since the event Trevor was given an award by his local Trout Unlimited chapter and they also did a pressing of some "Spill or Kill Cards" in his honor. Spill for well, a spill of any kind. Kill, for a -- fish kill. You know, lots-o-dead bloated little fishies floating belly up in the water. Duh.

The business sized card fits in a wallet and has the National Spill Response Center's phone number (800-424-8802) as well as the twitter hashtag of other local TU members that can keep them up to speed on what's going on. The National Spill Response Center's duty is the "sole federal point of contact for reporting oil and chemical spills". Supposedly it is the fastest way to get something done if you have an experience like what Trevor went through and have the gumption to do something about it.

So do you and your watershed, lake or coastline a favor and pop that number above into your phone's contact list. Label it something that you'll remember and hopefully never have to use. Someday you might be very happy you did.

Field & Stream Picks the Best New Fishing Gear of 2012

Online Editors — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:48:27 -0500

What's new in tackle this year? Plenty--and we fished with it all. Field & Stream testers hit the water with more than 100 pieces of the latest gear, from humble hooks to the top-of-the-line high-definition sonar units. We winnowed the list down to 16 standout products that clearly are the Best of the Best.

The 50 Best Shots From The 2011 Field & Stream Fall Trail Cam Contest

Online Editors — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 08:03:25 -0500

Here are the editors' picks for the 50 best entries in our 2011 Fall Trail Cam Photo Contest. Congrats to KSwhitetails who took first place with his "Bobcat catches a turkey in flight" shot and will receive the grand prize: a pair of Steiner 10x42 Predator Xtreme binoculars.

Congratulations to all this year's winners and thanks to everyone for the hundreds of great submissions.

You can check out the top photos from each round of the contest here:
ROUND I
ROUND II
ROUND III
ROUND IV