Mayhem on the bridge

[Hookmanski]

I haven't been out fishing for a few weeks now and I've been dying to get on the water, so I stopped at a spot on my way home to do some vertical jigging for Crappie. Of course this spot is in the middle of a bridge on a busy road, but hey at least I was fishing! Walked out and started jigging the trout magnet and got a crappie on the first cast. It felt great and gave a nice little fight on my 4'6" ultralight. I did This for awhile and caught 3 decent crappie and a bluegill. All was calm and quiet for awhile, so I decided to pack up and start heading out, but not before taking that one last cast.

I get a hard hit and the drag starts screaming on my Mitchell outback. I wanted to just run down the bridge and fight the fish from the bank, but there were too many trees/telephone poles/signs in my way, so I had to reel it up from the bridge. I pull it up over the barrier to see it's a nice fat 15" rainbow. I was stoked, I've been on a bit of a dry spell when it comes to trout lately. But I didn't want to throw him back from that height.

So I start sprinting down the street with this trout, my little tackle box flys out of my back pocket, I almost slip and break my ankle in the mud near the bank, but I get to the water and put the trout back. He rewarded by swimming in a full circle right near the bank, almost as a thank you, and then he darted off. Great night of fishing and just what I needed to get the angling juices flowing! Tight lines all!! :D

[thmyorke1]

If you're ever forced to fish a bridge or some height where it's not possible to land fish, try one of those drop nets.

Good work + commitment on getting that trout released however. Unfortunately some people would just haul them in off the bridge :(

[FASTEDDIE29]

Hahahahahaha! Sounds like you had a good time out there! That Trout is very very thankful you got her back to her home! Good stuff!!!!:D

[AndyS]

Was that lake fall stocked with trout ??

[Hookmanski]

Was that lake fall stocked with trout ??

It's not a lake! It's a body of water you frequent ;) But yes, it was stocked with fall trout. I just wasn't expecting to catch one!!

[JDTuna]

Great stuff, sounds like an intense fight!

[AndyS]

Why I assumed it was a lake I do not know. PM sent :)

[Eskimo]

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Good deal. I don't know how one goes a few weeks without fishing this time of year. You must have been very busy.

Fishing from a high structure is always a trade-off. It gives you a great vantage point to cast from, but properly releasing a fish requires you to climb down to the water.

I once fished off a big railroad abutment into the Delaware River. It was about 30 feet above the water. I could get a great cast into the river, but releasing a fish involved climbing down the friggin' thing all the way to the water, then scrambling back up to the top to fish again.


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[Hookmanski]

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Good deal. I don't know how one goes a few weeks without fishing this time of year. You must have been very busy.

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I have been extremely busy, and I've been going absolutely nuts seeing all the great fish people are catching!! Between my strange work hours, helping out my grandpa with his farm work and spending time with my woman, finding time for fishing has been difficult.

HOWEVER! I went to this same spot again last night (I don't think I mentioned previously but all this fishing was done well after sunset) and had another great night. No trout this time, but I caught 13 crappie up to 11" all on the trusty trout magnet. I was only there for 30 minutes, and it seemed like every cast had a bite. I would have caught 21, but 8 of them got themseleves unhooked on the trip up to the bridge.

Tight lines to all!

[thmyorke1]

I have been extremely busy, and I've been going absolutely nuts seeing all the great fish people are catching!! Between my strange work hours, helping out my grandpa with his farm work and spending time with my woman, finding time for fishing has been difficult.

HOWEVER! I went to this same spot again last night (I don't think I mentioned previously but all this fishing was done well after sunset) and had another great night. No trout this time, but I caught 13 crappie up to 11" all on the trusty trout magnet. I was only there for 30 minutes, and it seemed like every cast had a bite. I would have caught 21, but 8 of them got themseleves unhooked on the trip up to the bridge.

Tight lines to all!

Yea whenever life gets busy it seems like everyone else is catching em!

The less time you get to fish is what makes a good day of fishing even better. I compare it to last summer where I actually got a bit tired of smallmouth- lately it's what I dream of now :D

[phil]

i was waiting for the twist at the end of the story where you went through all that, then a cormorant came out of nowhere over your shoulder and flew away with the fish.

[Hookmanski]

Went back to the same spot last night. Not nearly as many fish caught as last time, but the quality was up. Pulled 2 11"-12" crappies.

[acabtp]

i was waiting for the twist at the end of the story where you went through all that, then a cormorant came out of nowhere over your shoulder and flew away with the fish.
here, this will scratch that itch for you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VyQipO4miw

[baetis]

i was waiting for the twist at the end of the story ... .

Me too. When he said the drag started peeling I thought he was going to hook a 2004 Nissan Altima on his backcast.

[Hookmanski]

Me too. When he said the drag started peeling I thought he was going to hook a 2004 Nissan Altima on his backcast.

I wish! The altima has been avoiding me for years, it's my dream catch. :D