Species: Pinfish (Lagodon rhomboides) Location: Graffiti Bridge, Pensacola, FL Date: August 1, 2017 Your first specimen of a common species is exciting. Your second and third are, too. Sometime shortly after that, though, it goes downhill. Anyone who’s fished the Gulf knows the world of annoyance Pinfish can induce. As I fished a lagoon in backwater Pensacola,…
Species: Spotted Sunfish (Lepomis punctatus) Location: Whataburger Parking Lot, Century, Florida Date: August 1, 2017 Florida is the destination fishery in the lower 48. As cool as salmon and steelhead and halibut are, it might even beat Alaska. So when I was driving back from Officer Training School in Alabama, I figured a small detour to Florida was…
Species: Creek Chub (Semotilus atromaculatus) Location: Globe Creek, Fountain Heights, TN Date: August 1, 2017 This might be the most “Species Hunter” post of my entire blog. After staying with my friend, Marcus Moss, in northern Alabama for a week of subprime bass fishing that culminated in a few gar and a lot of small bass, I…
Species: Shortnose Gar (Lepisosteus platostomus) Location: Alligator Preserve Pond, Madison, Alabama Date: July 30, 2017 I’ve caught more than 200 species at the time of writing. Of those, the only one I’ve counted without 100% certainty of identification was the Shortnose Gar. I fully expect to catch another, but since I counted it as Species #90…
Species: Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus) Location: Indian Creek, Madison, Alabama Date: July 30, 2017 So I’ve now written for the Herald and News for five years. At the time of writing, I’ve now written two pieces for Game and Fish Magazine, too, and I plan to continue that. As I write more and more, there becomes an increased likelihood that…
Species: Walleye (Sander vitreus) Location: American Fork Marina, Utah Lake, Provo, UT Date: June 22, 2017 When doing my research about Utah Lake, I’d read that it contained Walleye, but I’d always heard that the coolwater species like to stay deep and rarely fed during daylight — especially in the dog days of summer. So when my…
Species: Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) Location: American Fork Marina, Utah Lake, Provo, UT Date: June 22, 2017 I don’t think my attitude towards a species has changed so quickly. When I threw my worm up against the far rocky shoreline of the American Fork Marina, it was hammered so hard, the rod almost went into the water….
Species: White Bass (Morone chrysops) Location: American Fork Marina, Utah Lake, Provo, UT Date: June 22, 2017 As I drove across the West on my way to Commissioned Officer Training (COT) in Montgomery, Alabama, I carefully planned my route to include stops at places I wanted to see. From Klamath Falls, my first long day of…
Species: Shiner Perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) Location: Newport Public Docks, Newport, OR Date: June 10, 2017 Surfperch, seaperch, or perch. Whatever you call them, these marine delights are one of my favorite groups of fish to chase in and around the piers, jetties, and surf breaks of the Oregon Coast. Though some species are relatively common and well-known,…
Species: American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) Location: Willamette River, Oregon City, OR Date: June 11, 2017 Oregon is weird. We have a culture built around gamefish, but not all of our gamefish are native. Rainbow Trout are the most popular species in the state, but most fish caught annually by Oregon anglers aren’t native fish; they’re mostly hatchery…
