The TBHP anglers thread. Any avid anglers out here ?

[supremeBaleno]

A search on the forum for fishing / angling did not yield any related threads. So, thought it would be nice to have a thread on this hobby/sport for those that indulge in it.

Though I have been fishing for fun since childhood (helps to be a native of Kerala, where you are never far from a waterbody), it was always with DIY equipment.

Go to the yard, cut a suitable bamboo for the fishing pole, go to the nearest corner shop and buy a few metres of nylon reel and a few fishing hooks of different sizes. Use a small bamboo piece for the float, rig them all up together and I have my fishing equipment ready in an hour or so.

Look around for the wettest patch in the backyard, dig a bit, collect the fattest earthworms and bait is ready. Ofcourse, putting the sleazy buggers onto the fishing hook can make most people queasy.

No fancy fishing rods or spinners or lures/baits etc for me. Ofcourse during my visits abroad, I would go to sports stores like basspro and gawk at the amazing range of equipment available. But I never felt the need for them as I did not think of myself as a serious angler. So the DIY stuff worked fine for me as recent as last week, when I went fishing in the river near my home in Kerala.

But then, yesterday I got an awards catalog (courtesy my organisation) from which I could choose any one product. Absolutely free, with no shipping charges also.

The last time we got this, I had chosen a Campbell Hausfeld portable inflator that comes in handy for any car - works off the cigarette lighter socket.

As I browsed through the catalog, the following caught my eye.

SHIMANO Reel 6'0" FX Rod with Fishing Kit


Rod features : Durable Aeroglass, 2 piece, Reinforced Aluminum Oxide Guides, Solid Locking Graphite Reel Seat, Comfortable EVA Handles

Power : medium
Action : fast
Line rating : 6-14 lb
Lure rating : 1/8-1/2oz
Guides=tip+4
Reel Features : graphite spool (line included), Graphite Sideplate, graphite frame (lightweight), Graphite Rotor, rear drag

Quick Fire II is a one-stop ratchet system that automatically centers the trigger for easy, one-handed casting

Gear ratio - 4.1:1
Line capacity : 6/170;8/120;10/100
Weight : 8.6oz

And, that very moment I knew what I wanted to order. Immediately placed the order online and am expecting delivery in a few weeks.

However, having never used any fancy fishing equipment, I thought I would search the forum for tips. But did not find even a single thread on angling. Strange, because I am sure there are many serious/amateur anglers in here. BTW, I can think of atleast 4 people on the forum who I feel must be anglers - 2 from Chennai, 1 from Blore and another from H.P.. Let's see how my guesswork goes.

So, experts, pour in your tips / comments about angling, Shimano equipment in general and the specific one mentioned above and anything relevant to the topic. Thanks.

[motorheadinc]

Just strayed onto this.
Well I haven't done or frankly don't have enough patience to do it as well.
I am more interested in the catch instead (well i am a foodie)

[supremeBaleno]

Agree about the patience part.

But, re-visualise the scenario again. Just that this time, you have a 6-pack of beer with you. You are on the bank of the river/lake/whatever or on a boat/canoe/whatever, sipping cold beer on a nice sunny day. Sounds good, eh ?

But if you don't drink, then well, I guess you are better off working on your car/bike.

[motorheadinc]

I do drink at times.
But I am not the beer guy.

But yeah I can drink lots of breezers (found them to be the best to drink when on a beach along with fresh sea food YUMMIE !!!)
And offcourse if you are with pals or with the kinds of fairer sex. It does make sense to me.

[rippergeo]

SB- like you said, it helps if one is a native of kerala. me and my brothers used to go fishing every weekend to my aunts place in cherthala. using the equipment that you detailed(No, not the shimano)

we also had a pond in our backyard that was walled off. it used to house a long suffering turtle. during the summer holidays, when the water level was low, me and my brother would catch and release the same turtle 2-3 times a day. poor thing.

have not fished in years. i wouldnt call it my favourite hobby, but I agree it is quite enjoyable.

[kaushik_s]

Ooooh, the first part (DIY thingy) made me nostalgic about my school days, and exactly that's what I used to do after school(before the Cricket bug bit me). Had around 4-5 different sized made of bamboo fishing rods and most of the times used Atta balls instead of earthworms(used earthworms also many a times). For float used Styrofoam cut from the TV/radio packing boxes and used Lead for the weight.
And my biggest catch was that of a almost 2.5-3KG fish, it was so heavy that after the fish got hooked into the angle I was not able to lift it from the water the normal way. So I had to run back so that it came out sliding instead of being airborne as in normal case he he.
Thanks SB for reminding me of those days.

[vcash]

Have never used a Shimano but I own a Shakespeare Ugly Stick rod for fresh water fishing. I have caught Brown Trout with this and these suckers are nasty little fighters and put stress on the fishing rod but the ugly stick has never let me down - It is as solid as they come. Remeber to invest in good reel / weights / lures.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by rippergeo

have not fished in years. i wouldnt call it my favourite hobby, but I agree it is quite enjoyable.

Yeah, quite enjoyable. Actually my Dad who has not fished since his childhood, is now bitten by the bug after seeing my enthusiasm for it. Ofcourse, he drew a line at using earthworms as bait. I have a feeling that the Shimano is going to be used more by him than me.

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

most of the times used Atta balls instead of earthworms. And my biggest catch was that of a almost 2.5-3KG fish, it was so heavy that after the fish got hooked into the angle I was not able to lift it from the water the normal way.

I tried atta balls only once and that was because I could not find any earthworms even after digging all around the yard. But it did not work for me. I would see fish biting, but they would just eat the atta and vanish.

A 3kg catch is not bad at all. On the shimano website, we can post snaps of the catch we reeled in with our Shimano equipment. And man, there are some really huge fishes caught. Infact a guy reeled in a big shark.

Originally Posted by vcash

Have never used a Shimano but I own a Shakespeare Ugly Stick rod for fresh water fishing. the ugly stick has never let me down - It is as solid as they come. Remeber to invest in good reel / weights / lures.

While googling, I did come across the Shakespeare brand of fishing equipment too. Supposed to be one of the best. Yep, will look into getting good reel, weights and lures - the equipment comes with some 100 pieces of the stuff though.

[esteem_lover]

Have been fishing since childhood. With bamboos and the modern rods. My mother loves to fish. We have fished in the YWCA pond, vilivakkam ponds (Now there are luxury flats), ooty lake, pykara lake, muttukadu backwaters, mudaliar kuppam backwaters etc. I am one of those unlucky anglers, i just dont get a nibble at all. My mom reels in all the time.

Its been more than 10 years now since i did this.

[supremeBaleno]

Ha, John, so you are finally on the thread. So, one of the 4 guys I guessed would be a serious angler is here. Waiting for the other 3 to drop in ie. if my hunch about them is right.

Ofcourse, I have not considered the huge Mallu crowd on tbhp, most of whom would be either regular anglers or would have atleast done it a few times in their life.

[maddy42]

I always watched the workers of the estate fishing and loved to sit beside them. But i myself havent got the patience to go sit by the river in front of my place. But i have decided that one day i will do so. I remember having fished when i was like 4 or 5 yrs old with my domestic help. Was fun as we ended up catching small fish called koele meen using wooden baskets with rice as the bait. Was fun

[mobike008]

I used to work for a Italian marine nagivation company and they have one of the best products ( fish finders, chart plotters, electronic and paper maps of the best and biggest lakes in US. Hotmaps covers more than 15K lakes in USA) in the world that can be used by avid anglers.

Here is the link for more info Navionics: The Leader in Electronic Charts

[supremeBaleno]

Came across this photo and caption in yesterday's Deccan Chronicle newspaper.


Courtesy : The Deccan Chronicle newspaper, Chennai edition.

Jesus Christ, look at the size of the fish. It is twice as long as the guy who caught it. And weighing 973 pounds !!! That is like close to 500kgs. Man, I just wonder how he would have managed to reel in a fish that weighs 4 to 4.5 times his weight.
Anyway, nice catch there, Robert Dudley. Congratulations.

[rjstyles69]

Aye nice thread. I do this every time I am in mallu land, but the fishing apparatus is made using a crude method.

Last year we managed to get a ride into the sea with a fishing boat. I puked all thru and it was just a 4 hr ride into the sea.Well we never forgot to carry our home made fishing rods and the fishermen were laughing at us .

Managed to hook 3/4 fishes , but got engrossed in the fishermen's catch.

2nd try was at the Kadathurthy river in Kottayam.The river flows thru a rel's backyard,came back home with a water snake entangled on my bro's leg and everyone running for their lives. LOL fun it was.

[esteem_lover]

Those are professional anglers i suppose. I have seen much bigger fish, even sharks being reeled in (on TV of course). These guys are strapped on to their chairs holding the fishing rod