dream destinations for roughfishing?

31 posts / 0 new
Last post
the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
dream destinations for roughfishing?
<p>I&#39;m sure we all have a place or two we&#39;d like to fish at some point in our lives, and species we want to catch.&nbsp; Here&#39;s mine:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Places:</p> <p>Pantanal.&nbsp; This is a landlocked river delta in Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay (but mostly Brasil), that is home to tons of different species and can be reached in a day from Sao Paulo and Brasilia, the two most important cities in Brasil.&nbsp; Here&#39;s a couple of links to show some of the species that are commonly caught there:</p> <p><a href="http://www.geocities.jp/oda230/esakana.html">http://www.geocities.jp/oda230/esakana.html</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.geocities.jp/oda230/egofishing.html#pacu">http://www.geocities.jp/oda230/egofishing.html#pacu</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.anzoldepratapiscicultura.com.br/especies.html">http://www.anzoldepratapiscicultura.com.br/especies.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>L&#39;Alpe d&#39;Huez, France.&nbsp; This one&#39;s a ski resort town in the French Alps.&nbsp; I was there one day in 1992, 20 years ago today, in fact!.&nbsp; There&#39;s&nbsp;7 lakes just outside of town, high in the mountains, that are home to brown trout, Mediterranean trout, Arctic char, and (unfortunately) rainbow trout.&nbsp; There&#39;s also a couple of mountain streams that I didn&#39;t get to visit, that are mostly dominated by char and have a few grayling.&nbsp; I didn&#39;t get to fish that day and it has bugged me for 20 years.&nbsp; I saw a guy catching a couple rainbows, but it&#39;s the char, grayling, and Mediterranean trout that I want.</p> <p><a href="http://christian.nicollet.free.fr/page/Alpes/ornon/besson.html">http://christian.nicollet.free.fr/page/Alpes/ornon/besson</a></p> <p><a href="http://fauxmarchbrown.blogspot.com/2009/08/lacs-du-massif-des-rousses-alpe-dhuez.html">http://fauxmarchbrown.blogspot.com/2009/08/lacs-du-massif-des-rousses-alpe-dhuez.html</a><a href="http://christian.nicollet.free.fr/page/Alpes/ornon/besson.html">.html</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I&#39;ve got a few bucket list species I want to catch as well...</p> <p>1.&nbsp; tucunare azul (blue peacock bass)</p> <p>2.&nbsp; Arctic char</p> <p>3.&nbsp; Arctic grayling</p> <p>4.&nbsp; wels catfish</p> <p>5.&nbsp; surubim pintado</p> <p>6.&nbsp; trairao</p> <p>7.&nbsp; northern snakehead</p> <p>8.&nbsp; humuhumunukunukuapua&#39;a</p> <p>9.&nbsp; matrinxa</p> <p>10.&nbsp; spotted bicuda</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I&#39;m curious to see what the rest of you dream of as it relates to fish!</p>
Deftik
Deftik's picture
Without doing nearly that

Without doing nearly that much research I know of a few fish I'd like to catch:

 

I'd like to fish the Amazon River and Thailand.

I'd like to catch Alligator Gar, White Sturgeon, Northern Snakehead, a big musky, and Wels Catfish currently.

 

Those are the "majors" im generally down for just about everything, whether its pounding the local bullheads into submission or taking a roadtrip into the unknown, so hoping to see what everyone else thinks of.

Heidi
Heidi's picture
Only one place for me...

For a fantasy destination or dream fish, back to the old country - Canadian sub-artic for "Krakatoa" pike and inconnu. Mike B's reports almost make me cry - literally! 

 

I'm quite content to stay in MN actually. We have it pretty good here and I can't really complain about our quality of life, especially fish-wise. I'm still hoping to catch a 10lb bowfin though before I kick the bucket...and a 50lb muskie or flathead (fantasy fish). The bowfin is at least a realistic possibility. I'd also like to hand-feed those famous tame tarpon in Fla someday..

 

But, the ultimate ridiculous fantasy fishing experience for a runt like me would be landing a giant squid...on a Rapala....in my rubber raft.....dream on, dream until your dreams come true....;) 

 

 

"Can you pull the leviathan in with a fishook?" Job 41: 1

 

roughfish29
roughfish29's picture
Kaluga Sturgeon

Kaluga Sturgeon

DavidG
DavidG's picture
Wels Catfish,  Anjumara,

Wels Catfish,  Anjumara, Arapaima, Siamese Carp, White Sturgeon, Arapaima... eh, too many to list, most all of the Worlds giant freshwater fish... Giant Freshwater Stingray especially

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DavidG Blog:  http://www.boundless-pursuit.com

Moose439
Moose439's picture
All of the above and then

All of the above and then some...

Conecuh
Conecuh's picture
Guyana

Guyana

Gunnar
Gunnar's picture
Every single sucker species,

Every single sucker species, please, or at least as many as possible. Definitely the copper redhorse before it's gone, the razorback and the blue. If I were to win the lottery, I'd embark on an epic quest for suckers all over this continent (and a quick trip to China for that one outsider).

I want to catch every gar species, repeatedly.

Sturgeon: any and all.

As for places: everywhere. I'd love to have Larry Dahlberg's and/or Jeremy Wade's job(s), minus the cameras, and just go to South America all the time to catch wolf fish, giant cats, rays, arapaima, etc., and to Africa for tigerfish, and other crazy things, and to India for mahseer and goonch.

But really, my dream right now, since I can't get out of the midwest, is to get my hands on shovelnose and lake sturgeon, some kind(s) of buffalo, black redhorse, river redhorse and greater redhorse.

 

Redhorse ID cheatsheets, gars, suckers: moxostoma.com


2020: 10 days fishing 11 species 0 lifers. 2019: 34/45/13 2018: 39/40/5

the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
A couple things to contribute
A couple things to contribute: Trairão = wolffish (Brasilian name) I love to watch Dahlberg & Wade. Even more, I'd love to have Patrick Sébile's job. He quietly caught his 700th species recently, and when he's not globetrotting to fish somewhere, he's designing lures, rods, etc... Truth is, Ant said it! If it's fishing, I'm probably up for it!

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

Heidi
Heidi's picture
More fishy fantasy...

While driving to and from work past the main gate for the MN State Fair fairgrounds twice a day last week and this, I have been daydreaming again about swimming in the DNR fishpond with all those wonderful fishies! I'd be willing to pay a few hundred bucks for such an opportunity - just to be underwater with them face-to-snout, hand feed them - and pet them! Nowhere else could a person get so up close and personal with that many species of such fabulous fresh water fish in such a concentrated setting! I've had this "swimming with the fishes" at the State Fair fantasy for years...but as Billy Joel sang, "It's just a fantasy..." (Am I weird or what?)

"Can you pull the leviathan in with a fishook?" Job 41: 1

 

the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
You're no weirder'n anybody
You're no weirder'n anybody else on here, just similarly, singularly obsessed with fish! You're a roughfisher!

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

Corey
Corey's picture
It's awesome

I got to jump into that DNR fish pond and help unload all of the fishes a few years ago.  Sturgeons and paddlefish kept swimming up and bumping into me.  It's cool.

Eli
Eli's picture
My top 5 in order of priority

My top 5 in order of priority would be:

-Mongolia (amur grayling, taimen, lenok, amur pike)

-Tree River (NWT) - arctic char

-Trinity River (possibly the Red River) - gator gar

-Costa Rica - king tarpon

-New Zealand - various eel species

 

Some set-in-stone trips for the the near future:

-Potomac River (Nov 2012) - blue cats, (hopefully) snakehead, who knows what else..

-Frazer and Campbell Rivers (Aug 2013) - white sturgeon, pikeminnow, steelhead

 

I live a two-hour drive from the copper redhorse. I know where they spawn. Targetting them would be very risky as it's very illegal and Quebec enforcement doesn't mess around.

Other places I'd very much like to fish would be Lake Nipigon (brooke trout, pike), Groundhog River (lake sturgeon), Labrador (brooke trout), and of course I'd like to one day share the muddy river bank with some of you in search of shovelnose sturngeon and flathead kitties.

Eli

 

 

the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
Indeed, sharing the riverbank
Indeed, sharing the riverbank with members of this fine community would be epic! I have shared riverbank with Normus (who lurks but has yet to post) and I have discussed the possibility with a few others (J Dunfee, EeboneCapone, pmk00001, Ken, and Moose439 come to mind). I'm hopiing to rendezvous with Mike B in Brasil in 2014, which would be megaawesometastic! I'm up for fishing anywhere, for anything, with anybody, and as Jimmy Buffett once sang, you do it for the stories you could tell!

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

Deftik
Deftik's picture
Speaking of Jeremey Wade, it

Speaking of Jeremey Wade, it would be a life goal of mine to fish with him, and toss him over board. I'm suprised nobody on this site has brought up the fact that he intentionally demonizes fish and tells the public catfish and sturgeon have the capacity (or at least alludes to), to kill people. The fact that hes a fish biologist makes this that more egregious. It didn't bother me because to me it was an obvious fallacy, that is until a friend of mines mother asked me why we were fishing for something that was known to kill people, I lost it and can't watch an episode since.

Sorry, sorry rant ended -_- didn't mean to thread jack, the sight of jeremy wade's name starts the mechanisms for all sorts of hate I can't control in my brain.

Jason E.
Jason E.'s picture
Garrison dam

Garrison dam

Wisconsin River below Prarie du Sac dam (last fished it a LONG time ago)

Wolf River near New London, WI

 

Gunnar
Gunnar's picture
Oops. Forgot Mongolia. Thanks

Oops. Forgot Mongolia. Thanks for the reminder.

I agree about Jeremy Wade. I just want his job. I'd hype things less, fish more and get rid of the cameras.

 

Redhorse ID cheatsheets, gars, suckers: moxostoma.com


2020: 10 days fishing 11 species 0 lifers. 2019: 34/45/13 2018: 39/40/5

pmk00001
pmk00001's picture
I'm with you on the Jeremy

I'm with you on the Jeremy Wade thing, I find him really irritating.

 

My dream trip?  I don't know, I guess it's whatever my next trip is, that's the great thing about roughfishing, there's always something new around the corner.

 

 

the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
Well said Pat!
Well said Pat!

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

Hengelaar
Hengelaar's picture
I was just there...

I just got back from a dream destination.

 

Good to see that I'm not the only one who is not a fan of Jessica Wade. Man, is he a drama queen, or what?! And very, very, very NOT much of an angler AT ALL. Of course I am very jealous of the places he gets to visit and the species he gets to chase.

Fishn sure is neat

Deftik
Deftik's picture
I can see it now. "How are we

I can see it now. "How are we going to demonize Peacock Bass in the Amazon".

Jeremy Wade "We'll just say one lept out of the water and the bright colors may or may not have given the fishermen epilepsy which may or may not have led to him slipping into the water, and then a whole school of peacock bass may have swarmed him causing him to drown, now this isn't my story I heard it from some credible unnamed local source!"

or at least thats the way I imagine it would go.

Deftik
Deftik's picture
I just realized, I've never

I just realized, I've never left the east coast from Canada to Florida, it would be nice to move a state over cool and fish it.

Tyler W
Tyler W's picture
Home Sweet Home

I just got back from a dream destination.

 

I agree with the Dutchman. All my dream fish and spots are pretty attainable (i.e. blue sucker). The one exception to that is taimen in Mongolia. I fell in love with them before I knew that could be dangerous.

 

Also, Jeremy Wade is a boring prick. If I hosted a TV show I would edit out losing fish, yelling "FISH ON!" like an idiot and most of the landmarks in the background. I wish he could have a show where he just caught fish over 50 lbs... but to get on the air they had to be "dangerous" and live in fresh water. And if you are doing more than two episodes like that - you have to start making stuff up!

Heidi
Heidi's picture
Wade bashing...

I actually found this site after searching for a place serious about fishing that wasn't full of snobs. I tried a couple of British fishing forums but the snobbery was overwhelming, so I tried the "River Monsters" forum for a little while, not knowing where the heck else to look. That also turned out to be a dead end - strictly a Jeremy Wade fan club, almost nil on fish and "real" fishing discussion.

 

However, to try to play devil's advocate here, I'm not sure how much input or control Mr. Wade had/has regarding the production of a show like "River Monsters," targeted for a mostly non-fisherman audience; so, as Tyler W posted above, you gotta make it like "Jaws" (i.e. 'Shark Week' on Animal Planet) to attract maximum viewers for maximum advertising revenue. But I doubt Jeremy Wade was hired as a producer or marketing consultant, just the host/demonstrator for the show, and probably bound by a pretty strict contract to stay within a very limited job description and keep his mouth shut or get fired - or worse sued (i.e. the captains on 'Deadliest Catch'). 

 

I'm disappointed in Animal Planet as a whole for airing more and more sensationalized programming - most of it not even focused on animals of any kind - even their slogan is "Surprisingly Human." But the History Chanel also aired "Monster Quest" for a number of seasons which was far worse in general - especially the two "Monster Fish of the North" episodes!

 

I hate to see/read anyone getting bashed without being able to defend themselves, but I do also prefer wildlife programs more old school in general ~ where the animals are the stars of the show and the humans stay behind the camera. It would be great to see a program like "River Monsters" however, produced as a true wildlife documentary, profiling different species, but focusing on their behavior, life cycles and habitat conservation - not on their "Fear Factor." I have a feeling Mr. Wade would probably agree, but maybe not...who knows...

"Can you pull the leviathan in with a fishook?" Job 41: 1

 

DavidG
DavidG's picture
If Wade could just promote

If Wade could just promote the fish in a different light I would love the show.  I actually enjoy the dramatization of the episodes... They really capture the essence of the adventure from the failed hookups to the broken lines etc... the general frustrations that come with the travel and the whole process, keeps you engaged in the episode and wanting to watch the final outcome with the fish... its just more realistic than your typical fishing show where they edit out all the hardships because they are trying to sell a product and make everything look so easy.   If Wade would just not demonize the fish, or atleast play it out like some kinda mythbusters thing where he clarifies that its all made up mumbo jumbo in the end it would be pretty cool stuff.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DavidG Blog:  http://www.boundless-pursuit.com

Gunnar
Gunnar's picture
To be fair, some of those

To be fair, some of those fish he pursues and catches are killers. That brutal two-stingered stingray he was after, for example, could mess you up royally, and the sharks in fresh water in western Australia could be dangerous to swim with. I don't mind the hype when the fish is a true potential killer. I've heard him many times debunking the belief that this or that fish is a maneater. But as Heidi said, he's probably not the writer. Like any "reality" programming, it's all written after the footage is shot and the people doing the writing can reassemble "reality" however they think it will hold people's attention the longest, then write narration that holds it together and makes things seem real even if they're out of sequence, faked, or otherwise manufactured. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he's an alright guy to fish with when there aren't cameras and producers around. Or he could be annoying as hell. I still want his job. I'd just accidentally drop the cameras in deep or croc-infested water at the end of every shoot.

I agree about the show giving a picture of difficulties of expeditions. Maybe he's showering nightly and being cared for by a troop of servants everywhere he goes, but when he's in India and you see his beard grow an inch and his clothes get all ripped up it sure looks like he's been on that river a long time, fishing rough and living rougher. Who knows. It's TV, and TV is pretty much always a lie.

The most annoying thing to me is the use of the phrase "extreme angler" in his description of himself. Rubs me wrong every time I hear it.

 

Redhorse ID cheatsheets, gars, suckers: moxostoma.com


2020: 10 days fishing 11 species 0 lifers. 2019: 34/45/13 2018: 39/40/5

Deftik
Deftik's picture
Heidi I see your point, but

Heidi I see your point, but we refer to that as selling out. I highly doubt as a biologist he believes catfish to be killers, I think hes very intentionally doing what hes doing for high ratings, there is a certain sort of evil in that, I'd even dare say even blasphemous by this sites standards. I agree David, if he trumped it up and milked it and did a reveal at the end that it was all made up crap, it would be partial vindication.

Jknuth
Jknuth's picture
I also dont have an issue

I also dont have an issue with it. Although from a marketing standpoint he has shot himself in the foot with his overly dramatic maneater talk. he is or has run out of fish to hunt that are considered "maneater" 
The way I see it is at least he is pulling attention away from the classic "sport fish" and into a new area, the area of roughfish. 
People instead of stomping on every gar they see now talk about the big one that they saw on rivermonsters. He shows value in these other fish. 
We all know he is over the top and thats what makes it hard. 
I do have to say one thing about the guy, just ONCE I would like to see HIM go in after the fish rather then the young "native" boy he pays. I know not PC, but it is the only thing that bugs me about him. he acts like He is the one doing all the work, when in fact its the locals that get him to the spot and even put themselves at risk so he can claim he caught it. I guess I would like him to say "We" caught once and a while and perhaps share a high five with the guide / servents he uses.

It is nice that they show the days he gets skunked, and the broken line and rods and even the injuries recieved. 
There was the one episode where his camera man got struck by lighting. 
Fishing trips are rarely perfect

Gunnar
Gunnar's picture
Wrong!

Fishing trips are ALWAYS perfect, even when they suck.

 

Redhorse ID cheatsheets, gars, suckers: moxostoma.com


2020: 10 days fishing 11 species 0 lifers. 2019: 34/45/13 2018: 39/40/5

the pyromaniac
the pyromaniac's picture
Sure, it'd be great to see
Sure, it'd be great to see him not demonize the fish, but he's done a great service to roughfish, especially in North America. As long as we have anglers like Kevin Adams, a good friend of mine who I have known for 13 years, who couldn't understand today why The Oddities were all excited that one of our crew, Bentley, caught a 40-pound grass carp last week, then we need more shows where Jeremy Wade, Zeb Hogan, and Jäkub Wägner are chasing roughfish all over the world...

 

 

 

Let there be fire!

Mike B
Mike B's picture
Just to get back on topic (I

Just to get back on topic (I've been out of internet range the last few days and missed the start of this post), when my wife and I were planning our honeymoon our first pick was the smallish central Asian country of Kyrgistan. Very beautiful, mountinous and remote, full of strange fish. In particular, the osmer. Anyway, a civil war broke out there so we went to Costa Rica instead.       On the subject of Jeremy Wade, I have mixed feelings. Great fish, plenty of annoying bombasity. I don't know, I like it better than that Monster Fish guy.   

mike b