[silicone boy]

Went to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal with my flyrod--it was slow, I caught a little bluegill and that's it. The park ranger came by, she's real nice and starts chatting. She asks me if I heard about what happened at Lake Ladora with the Muskie. I thought she meant Quincy with those 2 that tried to eat each other. It seems that someone recently found one on its back, still alive and struggling. There were 2 little feet hanging out of its mouth.

It was a prarie dog! They removed the prairie dog (dead) and brought it to the park rangers. The fish swam away to live another day. These things are so aggressive that I'm inspired to go after them now. It sure beats the hell out of going after bluegills. I know they have mouse pattern flies and I've always thought they were ridiculous, but I'm not so sure now. I can't wait to see a prairie dog lure

 

[1eyered]

Ahhh ha haaa!! No way! That's cool, kind of sad, but cool! Go get em with a prairie dog imitation!

 

[James]

I read an article in F & S last year. They (I don't remember where) were hooking prarie dogs. Putting them on little slats of wood (like a small raft). Floating them over where the fish were. Then yanking them off. The fish would take them as they tried to swim.

 

[silicone boy]

This is all sounding like a tall tale at my expense, like everyone else in the world is in on it.

So do you hook a prairie dog up Texas style, Carolina style, or is it just plain wacky?

 

[roadkill]

definately "wacky"

but like my instructor always said "if it works USE it!"

 

[NeWcS]

I read an article in F & S last year. They (I don't remember where) were hooking prarie dogs. Putting them on little slats of wood (like a small raft). Floating them over where the fish were. Then yanking them off. The fish would take them as they tried to swim.

Thats the worst thing ive ever heard!!! Im going to pretend I never read this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thats f'ed up!!!


-Jay

 

[Mattsabasser]

In Alaska, fishing for arctic char, some folks will rig up a prarie dog...they throw a loop around its head and rig the hook out of its back. "Old eskimo trick".

I may have read the same F&S article. The writer had been fishing for 3 days and landed diddly squat. The guide was beside himself and hooked him up with the little doggie bait. Still didn't catch diddly!!!

I think some big ol brown bunny fur streamers would work just as well. And you wouldn't have to worry about parasites, rabbies or getting bit by a half dead "burrow rat".

 

[scchase]

My dad used to do the same with live mice put em on boards and float em out them yank em off lets just say they never make it back to shore alive.

 

[roadkill]

aside from the ethical problems some might have with the mice/prarie dogs as bait thing what do the fishing regs say about it. i dont recall this being specificaly prohibited. and i dont think there is a bag limit on some prarie dogs or mice you can buy feeder mice at pet shops for snakes and such

anyone got a reg quote that pertains to this?

 

[TroutFishingBear]

Now only if pike in lakes besides the arsenal were aggressive...heck I'd be willing if they'd hit regular pike baits with regularity! all I can catch them is on perch jigs icefishing and on dead perch and anchovies ??? all I know is they won't touch much else it seems like. I've thrown everything rapalas (x rap, countdown, floating), zara spooks, swimbaits, tube jigs, curly tail grubs, blade baits, buzzbaits, big spoons, big spinners, rattletraps, and I can never seem to get good numbers of them. Neither can anyone else it seems anywhere except at this arsenal place. I must go there.

 

[Red Sox Rock]

That article was in the new fishing and hunting magazine news they had a picture it was creepy.

 

[silicone boy]

They have prairie dogs in Alaska? Wow, those critters are everywhere.

On the way to Eleven Mile Canyon this am, my brother and I stopped by a new fly shop in Colorado Springs--Angler's Covey. It's sweet. It's so big, you can cast in there. They had a real cute froggy fly lure, so I bought it as a novelty. I also bought a mouse lure. Looked real enough to my cat. He pounced on it and stuck himself in the paw with the hook. He didn't like that.

 

[gotmusky?]

Muskie in the arsenal? I think you meant pike right? Anyways I think that the prairie dog idea is sick. Those things are pretty cute and just sounds horrible. Then again I have blasted a few with the 22. The mouse idea is cool though and bet it would work. When I lived in Philly for a year, I managed my uncles pet store and used to throw "pinkies" and "hoppers" into the piranha, alligator gar, and oscar tanks. It was amazing to see them (piranhas) tear those up. We even had little tiger muskies at one time but never tried it. But those sure are fun to watch when you throw a handfull of goldfish in. We did this with the alligators too which always was fun listening to the crunch.

 

[Zman]

Nothing like fishing with the bubonic plague...since prairie dogs carry it...

My dad used to say in northern Minnesota bait shops in the early days sold gophers for bait and even had little hook harnesses that went around them...I never actually seen them to know if it was true...they do have mouse patterns for brown trout...

 

[Guest]

i fish topwater at the arsenal on the first sat and third sunday . sometimes they hit the zara spook so hard it pops up a couple feet in the air . the hook up to bite ratio sucks but it is alot of fun

 

[jwtrapper]

In high school one summer our goal was to land a big brown. We tried everything. Including white mice from the pet store. We failed to land a monster that year though.

 

[slayerfish]

I was fishing a lake in the flattops a couple years ago and saw a lake trout eat one of those dippy birds! That was cool!

 

[Guest]

i was at quincy last year and some old guy was getting ready to launch his boat and had a little dog he was putting in the boat. i was by the dock and screamed over to him "some people will use anything to catch a big tiger musky " he didnt find it to funny but the people on the dock did ....

 

[fishingkats]

i keep telling my wife that im going to use her little dog as
bait when we go out fishing
my boys find it funny every time i tell her

 

[PIKER]

not to really be a bad guy but if you want big pike/muskie you have to go with what is natural.
i know that back home in mass baby ducks get used all the time with great results.in fact they make lures that look and work like baby ducks out there.
i just couldnt stomach watching that.
shawn