# Fishing Gravel



## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

bombcast said:


> I wanna floss a fish or 2 at Carmichael this year with a 3' ice fishing rod I built mounted with a fly reel. Then I'll hold the fish up for Combover to see and say "Frickin' Fusion Baby!!!"


:yikes: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: 
ROTFLMFAO!!!


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## Splitshot (Nov 30, 2000)

Bombcast,

While I would have or did say it differently, I couldn't have said it better.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

> I wanna floss a fish or 2 at Carmichael this year with a 3' ice fishing rod I built mounted with a fly reel. Then I'll hold the fish up for Combover to see and say "Frickin' Fusion Baby!!!"


 

That is so inspiring, it brings a tear to my eye. God bless you, Bombcasts. :lol: :lol:


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I have to say that I fish with spawn way more than with everything else combined. And anymore, I gather most of my eggs from other people who have caught hens, but who have no use for the eggs. I even have an 
Annual Egg Harvest Weekend, each Fall; just to get Salmon eggs. I haven't had loose Steelhead eggs in quite a few years, simply because I don't fish the Spring run much anymore. 
BUT, I could care less if people fish for spawning Salmon or Steelhead. I do think it is pathetic that some people cannot walk past fish they can see on the redds, but I had that problem for many years, too. And yes, spawning fish will bite - if they are not molested too much, and you get to them early in the day, or late in the day. 

I do think that people who line spawning fish, just to fight them and release them, are just snaggers; but they are definitely a step up from the heathens who just cast torpedos and inline trebles, and rip fish any way they can. Lining at least allows other people to drift fish at the same time, whether they can get biters or not - at least they get to actually fish. After catching many Salmon and Steelhead, over many years, I can live with a day or two of not catching anything, if they won't bite. There will be other days. If my family depended on me catching fish for them to eat, I would spend my gas money on fish from the store. And it would be Walleye, Perch, or Cod; not those fishy tasting Salmon and Trout.


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## MERGANZER (Aug 24, 2006)

In season, hooked in the mouth, allgame laws are followed then yes it is perfectly fine IMO 

Ganzer


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## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

I fish gravel and don't really care if people think I'm a low-life because of it. Most people on this site know by now that I do alot of steelheading and I do it for most of the year. While holes and ***** are cool, I like watching a buck come tearing off a bed and smoke a rainbow #9 rapala floater and crazily froth the surface all to h3ll in 4 feet of water or crunch a huge choker bag almost as much as I do watching a bobber drop or feeling the ole tap trifecta in a hole. Every method of steelheading has it's own little appeal. I fish for steelhead and salmon ONLY, bass(aside from big smallies) and walleyes are boring, especially walleye. On the Au Sable there comes a time, usually sometime in May, when it's either spawners or a few beat-up DB's to fish for. And while I do fish DB's in May, there's usually so many gut-shotting planters in every hole, run, dip, eddy, seam-you get the point, that fishing bags or waxies is impossible. Even flies are not safe. So I find a stacked bed and run a rap or drift a big ole' choker bag and have fun on 4lb(6 or 8 with the rapala). This spring, as I'm just getting into flyfishing somewhat serious(I'll still always have bags ), I'm gonna try swinging streamers, that oughta be fun. The only gravel guys I have a problem with are the ones that show up as soon as a couple fish are spotted bedded up at the Highbanks and who only fish gravel and start bragging up a storm on how good they are and that they went 3-14 both days of the weekend. That kinda *****'s irritating and I just look those dudes and the thoughts "no clue" or "part-timer" come to mind. I'd love to see them on the very same river from October through March, I bet they're silent. And I too do the ole' egg take, even during fall, as I'd much rather just zip a few hens off the gravel than ask people for eggs or cut open rotting kings. So, as stated, as long as it's legal and done properly, I have no problem with it and neither should anyone else, but we _are_ all entitled to our own opinions as well. Well I got brown spawn to tie up for the Au Sab tomorrow, so that's enough of this bull*****(wow, I used that word quite abit in this post).


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

> The only gravel guys I have a problem with are the ones that show up as soon as a couple fish are spotted bedded up at the Highbanks and who only fish gravel and start bragging up a storm on how good they are and that they went 3-14 both days of the weekend.


Those kind of guys fall under the generic term "Clyde." There are Clydes of all kinds, by the way. :lol:


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## bombcast (Sep 16, 2003)

we always called them "Todds". (Wetodds).

(derivative: Yellow Rod Todds)


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Waterfoul said:


> If this were in anyway true... there wouldn't be a dozen threads a month on "can't seem to catch my first steelhead."


Because those threads are usually between the months of October and March, when those people are: (1) looking for fish on gravel, (2) unable to "hook" fish unless they can see them, or (3) don't have the knowledge, skills, or experience to catch fish that are holding in pools, dark runs, or holes.

When I used to fish the peak "spring run" (mid-March through April), its amazing how many steelhead I would catch out of the holes with flies, spawn bags, etc. stuck on their pectoral fins, dorsals, and tails. Not too unlike the salmon in the "flies only" stretch of the PM by early October.


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## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Ah yes, the 'ol "Todd" reference. That's a classic as well! 

Clydes are much different, I believe. See, by definition, a Clyde is someone who thinks they know what they're doing, but really have no clue. Not to be confused with an honest beginner looking for help. A Clyde knows all and needs no help, yet looks and sounds absolutely clueless on the water. 

Example #1 (taken from a story told by a friend of mine): 

Friend decides to fish a certain river at Clydesdale Road (his term for it), and sees another guy leaving the river with his new rod, waders, etc. Friend asks him how he did and he says that he got a couple little ones. Then the guy goes on to say that he should've stayed down at Allegan where "we've been tearing up 20lb skamania everyday." This was in January. Perfect Example of a Clyde. This is the same type of Clyde that will stand beside you on PM and when the run is down, complain that the DNR isn't planting enough fish. Riiiiiiiigght, yeah--sure buddy, the DNR doesn't plant enough salmon and steelhead in the PM, gotcha!


#2 Then of course, you have the Wooldridge Fly Clyde. This guy shows up every spring on the Mo, drops anchor at Calvary and then procedes to play traffic cop for everyone on the river. The guy spends more time waving his arms around at other boats than he does raking the redds with his duece rig. "Slow down!" "Go that way!" "Go this way!" "Slow down!" Uh...no **** Clyde, most of these boats are on the river for more than one month out of the year--they know where the hell you're fishing and exactly what redds you've staked out. As soon as the redds start to empty, he vanishes until the next April. _"Bud Light Presents: Reel Men of Genius. Here's to you Mr. Once-A-Year-Gravel-Giggin'-King-Of-The-River-Jet-Sled-Traffic-Cop!"_

#3 Next up is the GPS Jockie Clyde. This winner goes out with a guide, thinks "Hey, I love this steelheading thing!" buys a brand new sled and then drives up and down the river marking on his GPS where guys are fishing. If he sees someone fighting a fish, then he stops and makes sure he's marking his coordinates correctly. Never once does said Clyde consider...I don't know...learning how to read water and finds his own spots? Nope--not this guy. 

I could go on and on...

Again though--A Clyde is a Clyde and Beginners are beginners. Beginners who are eager to learn are great...they shouldn't be confused with Clydes. :lol:


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

We need a Quality Fish Management forum. QFM! :lol: :lol:


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## axisgear (Jan 24, 2007)

Hey thousandcasts,are these the same ones that stand there and profess to you about ethical fishing and about proper catch and release;then turn around and keep a clearly foul hooked fish because"It's hooked in the face area so that means the fish was going after it when it got hooked in the gill plate,so it's legal"!?! 

Just wondering?


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

Ah, the Wooldrige Clyde with the yellow lab that only fishes for one month in the spring and is found every day on the exact same piece of gravel imparting his vast knowledge of steelheading on everyone in earshot:lol: "you shouldn't be using spawn, you can catch just as many dipping your flies in spawn" Ummm, at the point your dipping your gear, why not just throw a bag on your Sage/Abel setup and call it "fusion":lol: Wait, then that would not be considered fly fishing anymore.

As for the traffic cop mentality the guy has, I won't even comment on that.


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## bowonly (Oct 31, 2006)

"Bud Light Presents: Reel Men of Genius. Here's to you Mr. Once-A-Year-Gravel-Giggin'-King-Of-The-River-Jet-Sled-Traffic-Cop!"

Can you believe people actually pay that guy to go fishing! Who is more more pathetic? The guy driving or the one with the rod in his hand? These guys are a dime a dozen on the manistee!


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

About traffic cops and stream owners. 

I was fishing a section on my favorite trib last year, one where a fair amount of people fish. I was the only person there and fishing one of my favorite holes when a guy I had never seen before walks up the opposite bank (my stepgrandfather's property btw) and tells me, "you are fishing my hole!" I just looked at him and continued drifting the hole. He then says, "mind if I fish my hole?" Now I'm starting to get peeved. I calmly said, "Sure you can fish this hole." He mumbled something, went to the riffles directly above the hole and crossed, surely stirring everything in the hole up. So I just moved on up to the next hole. Pretty soon he heres me fighting a fish, because it was causing a ruckess. The fish takes me downstream a bit and eventually I got my hands on it unhooked it tossed it back. I walked back up to the hole that I was fishing and found him drifting that hole. I was in dibelief. The holes in this stream aren't really suited for more than one guy, so I just left. I don't understand the deal with people thinking they own a river, or telling people what to do on the river. I know I don't own the stream, but just shocked at how he basically kicked me off of the first hole, and then proceeded to jump in the next one because I was fighting a fish. There is a thing about basic courtesy that we all need to remember. I know I didn't have any more right to fish there than him, but c'mon is it necessary to jump in on someones spot when clearly they were there fishing first, and be that rude? That pretty much ended my day, and I didn't see the guy in "his" section the rest of the year.

Heres to you: Mr. "This is my hole, can I fish it?" Butt in to the spot while your fighting a fish guy. You are a true master baiter and a man deserving much recognition!

da da da..."real men of genius"


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## waterfoul (May 18, 2005)

axisgear said:


> Hey thousandcasts,are these the same ones that stand there and profess to you about ethical fishing and about proper catch and release;then turn around and keep a clearly foul hooked fish because"It's hooked in the face area so that means the fish was going after it when it got hooked in the gill plate,so it's legal"!?!
> 
> Just wondering?


I'm SURE thousandcasts does not practice this particular method of catch and keep. 

Man, some of you guys have no sense of "put and take fishery." Gravel or not, they are fish we are MEANT to catch. Who cares where, who cares how, and why in the world are so many people bent at others for not fishing the same way they do??


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Waterfoul said:


> Man, some of you guys have no sense of "put and take fishery." Gravel or not, they are fish we are MEANT to catch. Who cares where, who cares how, and why in the world are so many people bent at others for not fishing the same way they do??


I think a lot of people just don't subscribe to the "take" part of the fishery. But in some areas, there seems to be a prevailing attittude that everything caught should be banged on the head and strung up. I admit that when I am walleye fishing or out in the big lake, that is often the case. Steelhead in the river, however, can be recycled. What I mean is that for every fish released, that is another fish that someone else can catch and enjoy. For example...a smaller river gets a limited number of fish. Let's say that 10 fish decide to hold up in the ******** hole. So, three guys go down there and keep their limit. They go back the next day and catch only 1 fish....scratching their heads as to why they can't catch anymore. I think my example best leads itself to smaller rivers.

I am not trying to preach ethics, just simply explain why some folks may get "bent: on occasion.


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## Splitshot (Nov 30, 2000)

Yes you are!


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## waterfoul (May 18, 2005)

I've only ever kept 3 or 4 steelhead... a couple for eggs and a couple for other people to eat. I don't really like fish that much (and I hate cleaning them!) so if you ever see me fishing gravel in a river or stream, rest assured the fish will most likely be released asap after bringing it to hand. This is where I fail to see the issue... MANY people fish c&r like me... but fishing gravel is still an "ethical" question. Why?


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## Flyfisher (Oct 1, 2002)

Splitshot said:


> Yes you are!


I guess we are all entitled to our opinions and I will leave it at that 

WF, the only ethical issue is if you feel it OK for your buddy to toss a spawnbag in your bed while you are having an intimate moment with your wife/girlfriend:lol: 

Basically, it boils down to personal choice. The state is not regulating the ethics of steelhead fishing, other than foul-hooked fish, so it comes down to what one feels is a justifiable time and place to fish for steelhead. Personally, I dislike crowds, drift-fishing shallow water, and stale, dark fish so I choose not to fish gravel. I don't believe that this puts me any higher on the food chain or give me a sense of moral superiority...its just personal choice.


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