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you must have missed the episode where doug stange went shore fishing on a river in the spring time for the elusive redhorse sucker. Apparently there one of his favorite fish to eat.
Yea, I must have missed that one. Fair enough. I just came unglued when I contrasted the insanity of micro and rough fishing through the ice on purpose with their episode of Bluegill fishing through the ice preceeded by such an audacious statement as that.
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I had a house on Lake Waconia way, way back and had a hole that size. After researching it, I believe I found that I was illegal in MN. I see your in WI so this may not apply and this was soooooooo long ago the rules may have changed.
Just asking!! I’ll go take a look in the regs to see. You can spear through holes that size, but I thought angling through the ice was limited to a certain diameter hole.??
ET
Ok, found it in frequently asked questions on WI DNR site.
“How large of a hole can I make in the ice?
Up to 12 inches, but no larger.”More, from spearing regs,
“cut, use, or maintain an ice hole larger than 12 inches in diameter or square for the
taking of fish in any manner through the ice except taking fish with dip nets or skin or
scuba diving, taking minnows with minnow traps, spearing on Lake Superior, or sturgeon spearing on Lake Winnebago system waters.”more “Spearing Ice Hole Restriction: No person may cut, use, or maintain an ice hole larger
than 12 inches in diameter or square for the taking of fish in any manner through the
ice except spearing on Lake Superior, skin or scuba diving, or sturgeon spearing on the
Lake Winnebago system.”
We were actually fishing in MN and they just changed the law a few years ago to be able to fish hook and line through a spear hole. So yes, we were legal.
Here I am. I’ve been unplugged from the site for awhile. It’s good to see that people are still enjoying my old reports.
The city of Pakse is in the south. This must be what you are talking about. Unfortunately, I never made it down there but it is an unnavitable stretch of the Mekong which like a dam holds a ton of migrating fish. It is some pretty awesome looking rapids. Check out the series on tv called, “Human Planet.” I think it’s on Nat Geo. or Discovery or something. Anyway, there is a great segment on that section of river.
Hey guys,
I’m currently at 206 species, all legally by hook and line in the mouth. Yes, I am a lifelist junky and do ENJOY chasing Micros too as well as 200 lb. White Sturgeon and 100+ lb. Aligator Gar.
My time in SE Asia was a blast but unfortunately I am no longer there making great memories and cool exotic stories.
There are a few in the 1000 species count but it takes saltwater catches and money to reach that goal. Hopefully someday that will become a reality for me. That is why you call it a Lifelist. It will take a lifetime to reach a goal like that.
BTW, all my lifelist pics can be seen here: http://www.roughfish.com/component/option,com_joomgallery/func,viewcategory/catid,25/
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You guys didn’t have any trouble handling fish around the anchor poles did you?
Our biggest was only in the 25 lb. range so it really wasn’t an issue for us. Steve seemed to like the pole anchoring idea. I’m not sure I liked it enough to change though. Steve really struggled to get the poles out in one of the mucky spots he stuck them in.
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Great Post, C&B. What are those long wooden posts that he is carrying on the side of the boat?
I’m glad someone noticed. I forgot to mention them but they are what he uses for anchors. He simply presses them into the mud and ties the boat off to them with a bungy. I think an anchor would do the same thing but Steve claims that the boat swings less with the poles.
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Hmmmm, how many miles from the Twin Cities?
You know it was all done in a 3 and half day weekend and it is a great trip for someone on a budget. If you have someone to split the costs with, it can be affordable.
Take a car to keep the gas prices down and lodging will cost about $60/ night. Food is your next biggest expense. We took sandwich meat & bread for lunches for the 3 days. Breakfast was sometimes provided at hotel and we ate out for dinners.
I would highly recommend it. And don’t forget your poles because there is some great shore fishing opportunities at Truman Dam.
I think it is amazing how we get stereotyped just because we are against a certain practice. Like I said before, legalize bow-fishing for walleyes and let’s see if the walleye crowd will sit by and not say a peep about it. There would be an outrage against it.
Well you bow guys can go ahead and shoot them all up. You got everything on your side (the laws & lobby numbers). In the end it is just my opinion and I stand by it.
If bow fishing is so sporty then why not open it up to game fish? Why are gamefish excluded in such a great sport? After all, a musky or bass on the end of the arrow should be great fun. No, the truth is that the gamefish communities would be in an uproar over it and they should be. Then why would I, a multi-species angler, not be any more outraged over another species to stick with an arrow and then be labeled as non-tolerant, etc., etc.
BTW, you all think ridding our lakes of native roughfish species is doing us all a favor. You are not doing me a favor. I get sick of all the special interest groups that control our fisheries. In my opinion, All fish are sportfish.
I think we should open bow fishing up to walleyes. That is what the dnr loads all our lakes with and there are way too many of them anyway. Sorry, not a fan of Bow Fishing.
I find it funny that some guys will complain about catching such a cool fish and the same guys will fish for walleye and bass and end up releasing them anyway. If they are looking for a good fight, the mighty Bowfin is hard to beat. 
Let me be the first to say, “What a beauty!” They are cool fish. 
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That’s some great stuff
Hope your return trip goes well and welcome back to the states
Your unique posts will be sorely missed along with the most incredible pics offered on this site. Props for sharing Dave
Ever consider writing a book about your experiences?So…….any totals on the new life listers?
Yes, I do have the urge to write a book. I would like to write about “keeping a fishing lifelist” and “adventures in Asia” but I still would like a little more experience for the latter.
My list is at 155. Better than half of them are from Asia. You can view them at the following link:
http://www.roughfish.com/component/option,com_joomgallery/func,viewcategory/catid,25/
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Barbonymus Christianus, here we come, yeah?
Cool stuff, dude!
I was thinking, “Castio Blastius.” 
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i was watching the show river monsters the other night and they were fishing for them. they sound very aggresive and like a big problem
In their native waters they are not a problem. In fact they are an awesome beast and can be compared to the musky in the 10,000 casts per fish category. Unfortunately, their numbers have dropped really low because of lack of conservation here. Don’t believe all the media hype that villifies these cool fish. What is really sad is that the Bullseye Snakehead is more common in the canals of Florida than here in its native territory.
There are a lot of creepy things over here but I just had to try it once. It didn’t hurt but actually felt massaging.
I just want to say for the record that I mean no offence to anyone here, but I happen to be passionately anti-bowfishing. I have no problem if a few get shot by a bow and used but there is no limit on the number that can be harvested and abuse, in my opinion, occurs. This practice wouldn’t be accepted with any gamefish.
I actually don’t mind the bowfishing comments on this forum because there is a relationship that exists between the two. However, I like to be able to share my opinions civily too.
I enjoy posting here because of the positive feedback I get from everyone. My desire is to bring awareness of all these other cool species that swim in our waters. I like to bring more of an appreciation of roughfish to everyone so that others can realize they are valuable too and not just trash. They can be a challenge and blast to catch as well.
That mount was a replica mount. The guy who did it does great work and you cannot tell the difference with a skin mount.
River Redhorse and Greater Redhorse are protected in WI which means any current records will stand since one cannot legally be harvested to break any current records.
Here is my tanker. This is the biggest Redhorse I have ever seen or caught.
First of all, I would never shoot a fish with a bow or a spear just because I can’t figure out how to catch them with hook and line. Sorry, not a bowfishing fan here.
There is a really good book out there that covers a wide spectrum of carp behavior. It is called “Carp on the Fly.” I think with most behaviors the author was able to catch carp but some were tougher ones than others. Check his book out to help identify what you were seeing. I can’t remember all the behaviors at the top of my head but that would be my reference.
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I love your posts. Forgive me for asking, as I’m sure you’ve spoken to this before – but what landed you in Laos?
There are several NGOs (Non Gov. Org.) here in Laos that help out with relief and development of this poor country since Laos is one of the poorest. There are organizations like World Vision, Save the Children, etc., etc., etc. I happen to be with the Assemblies of God and we help out with 10 kindergarten schools in Xieng Khoung, also community development projects in Savannakhet and Luang Prabang like bringing running water and toilets into villages for the first time or water filter systems for clean drinking water. There are other things I involve myself with here but that is about the just of it. I have a 3 year term here which will end next year. I miss home but I love my job and take advantage of what I get to experience while living here. You could say it is a pretty good gig but it has its ups and downs like everything else.
That is a Bigmouth Buffalo.
I, for the life of me, cannot figure out what is wrong with releasing a native Buffalo fish back to the same waters it has been swimming in for thousands of years. It just goes to show how backwards our DNR actually is. Unless there is something I am not understanding about that law, it sounds stupid to me. Buffalo fish are an important part of those ecosystems and they are a blast to catch too.
There are some of us who actually target Buffalos specifically when fishing.
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Classy looking little bugger.
How big do they get and do they keep that shading as they grow?
That there is the biggest one I have seen though I haven’t seen a lot of them. I am assuming that is an adult sized fish.
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In the second goonch picture it looks like the line is crimped to the hook with a brass ring… is that something unique to the area? I’ve never seen anything like that before, that I can recall…
Yea Outdoors explained it right. Hooks with flattened spade like ends are common here. You have to do a snell knot to attach it to the line. It is actually a good knot and keeps the line more straight with the hook; better than a polamer. A Polamer may be a stronger knot but for light tackle sometimes the presentation is better with a snell knot. It probably doesn’t make a huge difference but hooks like that are very common here and when you fish very tiny hooks for minnows, they are too tiny for an eyelet and so a spade end is the only kind of hook to get.
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Another awesome report!
It seems as if in the vast majority of fishing reports from over there, the fish you catch are mostly ‘minnow’ sized. The exception to that norm seems to be the pay ponds – where you report a lot of bigger fish. Is that mostly a result of over fishing/lack of conservation? I am curious.
Tim
Some of the smaller specimens are actually the top end for their size like the Gourami species, Nandid Perch, Climbing Perch, etc. I have also caught huge Hampala Barbs and Mahseer for their species in the wild. But yes there definitely is a lack of conservation here and it shows. The Mekong and larger reservoirs are my best bet to catch something big though. And I have seen some huge Giant Snakeheads that I have been unable to hook yet in heavily pressured waters. So yes, the big fish are here but they are not super abundant because of the heavy pressure.
That looks like Bungsamlan to me. I’ve been there many times. It is probably the best Mekong Cat factory around but their prices keep going up. There are some giant Siamese Carp there too. It is a very cool place because you can catch fish that are endangered in the wild there.
I have caught spawning White Suckers before but I do not remember that much definition on their sides before. But you are right WF about the pic you put up that they are definitely Whites. You can see the mouth on that one very easily. I think we still need a better pic of the mouth of that original pic to be for sure. Hey Todd, all this talk makes me want to chase Longnose Suckers with you again.
Those look like Longnose Suckers to me. In the spawn, they do get a red stripe. As far as hitting cranks, I wonder if they are just protecting their spawning beds from small fish swimming through them.
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Are they edible? It looks like a cross between a cat and a bowfin(dogfish).
Grilled Walking Cats are the best eating fish I have had over here yet. They have nice white meat like a sunfish.
For sure it’s not a Shorthead, Black, Silver, or Golden. That leaves us with Greater or River again. It appears to be another Greater and given the body of water it came from I would guess Greater.
Color is not a super reliable factor but it seems that most Greaters have Orange fins while Rivers have dark red fins.
That is definitely a Silver Redhorse. The Silver is the only Redhorse with a convex dorsal fin.
Hey Wierd fisherman,
Is that you Doc? If so, it is nice to have another hardcore roughfisher on this site. Welcome my friend.
