OK, I got bored enough with winter to take up a new sport.

I took this one on 10 lb. test on my G. Loomis using only an acorn for bait (on a barbless hook).
http://www.calfishing.com/dcforum/User_files/3a68a03802fc898b.jpg
Check out the story: http://www.eecs.harvard.edu/~yaz/en/squirrel_fishing.html

Now that is good comedy(and research). Not too many squirrels at UCSB so I am out of luck. Plenty of raccoons though maybe it is time for some night fishing...heh heh heh

jason

ps do squirrels qualify as saltwater fishing?

Raccoons...tell me about it. I've found paintball guns are most effective in "raccoon repelling". Unfortunately, I've yet to find a way to freeze the paintballs, or find marbles of the same diameter as a paintball. Oh well. I used to have a bass in a pond outside, and he got eaten by coons (he was a sweet bass, believe me, he'd let you pet him and stuff...it was awesome), so since that day I've been looking into the most effective way to piss of raccoons. The paintball gun seems to work pretty well... I've heard of people putting cayan powder on their lawns when the coons are pullin up the grass. Perhaps you could create a cayan paintball, or some way of utilizing cayan... Oh man, I need to fish more...
-Brian

yeah raccoons will eat just about anything. I had one grab my sisters rabbit's foot through the chicken wire cage and rips its leg off, pretty crazy.

also the other day in the parking lot there was a raccoon right next to my car eating mini snickers bars. It was getting them out of the wrapper and everything. I tell you what that coon wasnt gonna leave those candies no matter how close i got.


jason

Cayan huh, how about pepper spray, like they sell for bears, dogs, and/or people. I was around when some one used some on a Pit Bull and it stopped the dog in a heart beat. I was about 60Ft downwind and my eyes watered through the next day.

PS: Please don't use the spray idea just to be cruel. Use it to deterr them from coming around your place ever again.

Tight Lines!

Wade,
That's a thought. The problem with that is you'd either have to be in close range to aim real good, or shoot in the general vacinity of the critter. Shooting in the general area would leave a bunch of pepper spray in the yard, and that's probably not good. Maybe if somebody could engineer pepper spray filled paintballs...
-Brian

OK,
Check this , its me and my girlfriends cat and im bored so i rig
up. I put on one of its toy mice and gave it a cast across the living room. ....Boom instant hook up. I think I just invented the best thing in the world! I cast about 5 more times and everything is cool, the cat fights it back and I cast again. Then I get creative and start throwing it up on top of things and pretty much havin a great time until Izzy pulls the out of no where 'pelican style' fly by. This is when it got ugly, Izzy some how got all tied up and made a dash. (this is true) As my girlfriend is walking in the door Izzy is scrambling to get out. The rod and reel got stuck under the door and little kitty got close lined right in front of mommy.
Awe yeah!

I used to have a huge back yard. To entertain my cat I would get my 9 foot pole and tie a one ounce sinker to it. I would cast to the end of my back yard and reel in slowly. My cat would stalk the slow moving sinker, and then go into overdrive chasing the thing before he would pounce on it.

Cheap entertainment for me and the cat!

For "Cat" fishing, try this. Take the hook out of a Snag-Proof brand mouse lure. Run your line through its nose and out where the hook usually sits. Then pinch 2 or 3 split shot on the line.
The shot should be just small enough to pull back inside with a tug.
I "fish" this on a fairly light rod with fairly heavy line (Light to med. freshwater bass rod w/ 40# test line). This way if my cats or kids get hung-up the rod doesn't have enough power to hurt them and the heavy line doesn't dig into the skin.
My 2yr old son thinks it's a blast to try to catch the mouse before the cat can. Of course the cat always beats him, I make sure of that.

You're killing me! I did the same thing on a backpacking trip with a ritz cracker to this chipmunk that kept trying to steal our food. No hook, just line tied through the ritz. It was hilarious making him chase down the cracker, pounce on it, and fight for it. Gonna go see if I can find the picture. Maybe we should have a tourney???
Later,
Adam

This is one of the best links I've seen in ages. Way too funny.

Amish Ed

I concur Ed.

What's your strangest catch?
Mine would probably be unintentionally a Canadian Goose, of course there's also 2 Seagulls, a Shearwater, Hen Mallard, Pelican, a Snapping Turtle, and a rusty Mountain Bike in the unintentional catergory.
In The intentional catergory a Pheasant on a raisin, #10 salmon egg hook and #4 line. He was Tasty after 1-1/2 weeks of just trout and wild veggies. The raisin was found in the bottom of my sleeping bag on a Survival trip. My snares and Deadfalls hadn't caught a thing.