The Fish that you wish you had More Opportunity For

[jifigz]

The title says it all! What fish do you wish that you had closer to pursue? I'd go with chain pickerel. They are here to some extent not really. I've got trout and bass like crazy. So yeah, I want more chain pickerel.

 

[Dave_W]

Just about anything in saltwater.

Of course it goes without saying that folks out on the coasts or the mid-western states envy us for living in trout country. So it goes.

 

[afishinado]

Dave_W wrote:
Just about anything in saltwater.

Of course it goes without saying that folks out on the coasts or the mid-western states envy us for living in trout country. So it goes.

^+1 to quality saltwater fishing.

But I do appreciate the opportunities we have in PA for cw trout as well as many ww fish, with smallies being my favorite to fish for in PA.

 

[pete41]

The ten pound brown I never caught on fly equipment-40 years I chased her-mostly in Montana-caught a nine pound one-very tempted to misread the scale but knew I would only be cheating myself since no one else would give a[ fill in blank] anyway. But It was fun..

 

[BrookieChaser]

Redfish

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Toss Up for me between Labrador Brook Trout and Taimen in Mongolia.

 

[Krex1010]

I wish I was back living in the State college area and could fish Spring Creek, Little J And all those great streams on short notice. I could fish that area the rest of my life and be pretty content......steelhead are the other fish I’d love to be able to chase more often. To me there’s nothing quite like what happens after you set the hook into a steelhead with a fly rod.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Yep, saltwater gamefish.

Redfish are cool, especially tailing in very shallow grass flats during a spring tide. I did that many times in the SC coast when I lived near Columbia.

I love snook. They are a lot like bass but grow over 25 pounds.

Jacks are crazy strong fighters. A 3 pound jack can easily outfight a 10 pound bass, except no jumping from the jack.

Tarpon are fun and grow VERY big, but they can be finicky eaters. And, casing a 12 WT rod is not fun.

All of the above fish can be caught in the backcountry of southwest Florida.

Having said all that, my top salty dog is the False Albacore. I fished for those off Harker's Island. The fish there averages 12-15 pounds. You would think a 10 WT would be overkill for a 15 Pound fish. It's not. Many rods are broken each Fall by trout guys who don't know how to use the rod butt to tire the fish. High sticking = *SNAP*
The first few runs are 100+ yards at 35 mph. Then they circle the boat a handful of times. Fun! ANd, long distance casting is usually not required. If you hit it lucky when the wind is out of the east and the tide is going out, it can be a boatside bonanza. Just be sure to clear that line one the 1st run!!

 

[Bamboozle]

I really only fish for a half dozen species in earnest. Trout are everywhere where I live, smallies less plentiful but I know where to go to make the drive worthwhile and panfish are plentiful.

However, decent largemouth bass fishing that doesn't require a boat is a scarce as hens teeth.

I guess I was spoiled by a small UN-STOCKED lake about an hour away which is now closed that gave up bass from 13" to 6 pounds that you could catch from the bank or in a float tube.

A place where where 20-30 fish in a day was possible and even an hour of fishing produced results.

Many of my old childhood haunts are closed (Springton Reservoir, Earl's Lake, Westtown Lake), no longer exist (Milltown Reservoir); and the spots still open are overpopulated with kayaks and other morons spooking the fish so you spend an entire day to catch a half dozen fish.

Maybe it's a smug attitude, but that's hardly worth the effort...

 

[raftman]

Salmon. Any salmon.

 

[poopdeck]

Unquestionably without a doubt or second thought, black drum. theres just something about catching a 25 lb fish and calling it a pup. Catching 50 lb fish up to over a 100 lbs in 10 feet of water is something I wish I could do for more then a few days in May.

 

[shakey]

omg.

am i going to be the first to say atlantic salmon??

y'all are crazy!! atlantic salmon!!

then,bone fish.

 

[dryflyguy]

wild trout.

There is a small stream with wild browns forty minutes drive from my house.
But it gets quite a bit of pressure. And I really only like to fish it once or twice a year at most.

Other than that, I have to drive a good hour or more to get to a WT stream.
And 2-3 hour drives to get to the top notch streams

 

[Maxdog]

Snook. Under the dock lights at night or back in the mangroves. Love fishing the mangroves. It tests your casting accuracy. Nothing like hitting a tight pocket and having the cast rewarded with a violet strike and strong fight!

 

[moon1284]

Wild anadromous salmon/trout.

 

[Fredrick]

afishinado wrote:

Dave_W wrote:
Just about anything in saltwater.

Of course it goes without saying that folks out on the coasts or the mid-western states envy us for living in trout country. So it goes.

^+1 to quality saltwater fishing.

But I do appreciate the opportunities we have in PA for cw trout as well as many ww fish, with smallies being my favorite to fish for in PA.

I could give up trout without losing any sleep to live in southern florida

 

[pete41]

'I could give up trout without losing any sleep to live in Southern Fl."







-hint-Vero Beach-uncrowded -great fishing and for some reason un-noticed -Melbourne not bad 2nd choice and rated in the top 100 cities in America to live in-

 

[troutbert]

Cutthroat trout.

 

[silverfox]

100% big brook trout for me. 2nd would be golden trout.

 

[BrookieChaser]

Fredrick wrote:

afishinado wrote:

Dave_W wrote:
Just about anything in saltwater.

Of course it goes without saying that folks out on the coasts or the mid-western states envy us for living in trout country. So it goes.

^+1 to quality saltwater fishing.

But I do appreciate the opportunities we have in PA for cw trout as well as many ww fish, with smallies being my favorite to fish for in PA.

I could give up trout without losing any sleep to live in southern florida

I could do the same.

Thanks for the tips, Pete. I was looking around New Smyrna.