Oh YA! Great reports and pictures. I Love seeing these, especially the eating pictures!

Paddlefish are starting to run here and a few of us are trying to decide on when to go to try and snag a bunch!!! Sure hope I can get away and do that this year. It's been awhile.

Snagging paddlefish on the Yellowstone is on my bucket list. Hope you get out this year

First post ITT.
A few weeks back I was steelhead fishing and hooked up on the first drift. Picked up a decent fish (26") and I thought it was a monster. Looking closer I thought I had 2 fish on the line which is impossible on a fly?
Once I get the fish closer I see what I know is a lamprey on the tail of the fish. They are not that common in Ohio (they are starting to pop up more and more). The lamprey was a pain in the but to get off the tail of the fish, once I got it off it started going crazy and got back in the water. (No pics of lamprey) (I was going to leave the lamprey on the bank for the racoons if he didn't go crazy and end up back in the water)
Anyway here is a few pics of the fish I caught and the damage the lamprey did.

Wish I had a picture of the lamprey, what a freaky fish.

[IMG]http://s9.************/uox92yfcv/IMG_0196.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://s18.************/6y2u6wrfd/IMG_0284.jpg[/IMG]

Interesting do the steelhead spawn naturally? That would be a native around here with an intact adipose fin. I know they are not native back there, but no hatchery mark?

We have lots of lamprey though. One of the best steelhead rivers a bit south of me is called the Eel River because the first settlers mistook lamprey for eels. Wicked looking fish.

Thanks for the report, beautiful fish

We have 4 stocked tributaries in Ohio. They stocked 100,000-125,000 fish throughout the rivers each year. With the most fished rivers receiving the most fish. We also have 5 or 6 rivers that do not get stocked but hold a very solid steelehead population.
My fishing buddy who is very knowledgeable said that some steelhead do successfully spawn (they all do try) and the rate is somewhere between 5%-15%.

We have also been seeing more and more numbers of Brown Trout, which are not stocked in Ohio nor have they ever been. Also get the straggler salmon or two(which have not been stocked in over 20 years due to poaching.). I did land about a 25" chinook a few years back.

What's the limit on crappie? Does it vary by state?

It is awesome fun and should be on a bucket list.

Fishing limits with vary state to state and can even vary lake to lake within a state.

For us in Michigan it's 25. That includes all panfish (crappie, sunfish, bluegills and redears). The lake we are fishing is small and private, it's much more important to be a proper steward of the natural resources than to keep a limit IMO.

+ I can't be asked to clean 75 panfish.

That's a great mess of crappie there. Which part of the state are you in?

I live in wixom. SE Michigan.

If its a very small lake it probably does more good to take out all the panfish you catch.

More minus tides, best of the year. Went out to some rarely dug mud flats today for 50 horsenecks and Martha washingtons.



Forgot to get a pic til the were almost all cleaned. We got them fast and had the place to ourselves.

Totaled 4.25 lbs of clam meat.

Got some razors in the rain this morning.

What does clam digging entail? Do you target specific spots for species? I assume you go at low tide for them? How accurate are the tide forecasts? Which species are the most sought after etc.

I imagine its different in different places. I live on the coast near the Oregon and California border. We have razor, horseneck, Martha Washington, and geoduck for our large clams. We also have mussels and a variety of steamer clams.

Razors are found in beds on sandy beaches exposed at very low tides. They are very popular to dig and it can get extremely crowded. You tap a shovel end against the sand in ankle to knee deep water looking for a show - either a small dime sized (or smaller) hole appears where the filter is being retracted or actually spotting the purple colored tip of the filter just above the sand. You can also locate them on wet sand above the water where they make a dime size or slightly larger show. These clams do not squirt water into the air. When you spot a show, use a clam gun directly over the show or shovel 4 inches to the ocean side of the show and start digging. Fast. These guys can burrow deep and get away from you in a hurry.

Horsenecks and Martha Washingtons are found in mud flats in bays and river mouths. Horseneck a have smooth siphons and round holes. Washingtons have rough siphons and leave rectangular holes. They both shoot water into the air, about 2 feet max but usually a few inches. They do not burrow quickly at all, you can take your time. Find a large siphon or show, insert a 5/16 dowel into the hole th see which way it goes since try aren't vertical, then dig next to where the clam is. If you dig on top of it you will break it.

Geoducks (pronounced gooey-duck) are extremely large. I've never found one, but I've seen a couple. They come out of the same areas as the horsenecks. Ther can be 4 feet deep and take an hour to harvest. I'll let you know what the show looks like when I find one.

Steamers and mussels are seldom targeted and are fairly easy to find. Mussels attach to rocks, steamers sit in shallow mud in bays and river mouths.

This is fairly representative of the USA Pacific Northwest. Other places probably have entirely different species and/or methods.

I've seen them digging those geoducks on tv. They look like a mutant penis IMO.

Thanks for the info. There isn't much in the way of clam digging in the Midwest.

for the razors put your shovel straight into the sand 4 inches on the west side of them.
then after it is fully down push it toward the clam. them bring it up some and take out the shovel of sand. the pushing against them stops them from going deeper. then reach in the hole which is half full of water and feel down deeper until you feel their siphon. grab it and pull them out. or their shell if you happen to only get that but be careful as they cut.
i like to wear the rubber gloves so i dont get cut.

Happened to a guy who knows a guy I know kind of thing. Whoa.

Always gotta worry about a shark or sea lion getting your salmon in the salt or tidewater.

Beats a picture of a foot with no toes though.

Kind of like elk hunting in grizzly country!

Sent from Outer Space

Or having your fish on a stringer by the river and a mink comes and nabs them

First salmon from a kayak!



18lbs hen, woohoo!

Got 'em dialed in now, only 3 miles offshore.