Anglers love to brag about catching the most numbers of fish. Keeping track of how many fish they catch is an inconsistent chore. Some guys use a clicker to count coup. My buddy Kirk Stovall, aka “Shrapnel”, uses a clicker when shooting and counting gophers. His kill count is very accurate. I have also used a clicker to keep count when fishing.
Lots of anglers say that they caught 100 fish a day. Even with a 20% limit for BS, these numbers are unlikely. Catching half that many fish, one at a time, is a challenge.
The truth is that catching 100 or even 55 trout on a single day is a chore and more. If an angler can catch 20 trout a day that is a huge day. Try timing yourself from when you hook a fish to when you release it. Let’s say that means 5 minutes. If you caught on every cast, it took 5 minutes for fighting, landing, unhooking, selfies, and resetting your gear, it would take you 500 minutes to net 100 fish. That’s not counting moving to different pools, retying flies, taking a break, or losing fish.
8 hours of steady action is a lot of time on the water. You need concentrated fish, energy, effort, and luck to hit 100 fish. There also needs to be beer breaks, and other bodily needs met.
I can only remember catching 100 fish a day during a few trips. There have been challenges when other anglers said that they could catch 100 trout faster than me. The bet was a case of beer of choice. A few guys came close but…
The 100 trout challenge took place several times in Yellowstone Park. Grizzly Lake is full of Brook Trout. There are so many that the population is stunted but hungry. It takes a 3-mile walk. There is a huge hill going and coming. The trip is not for everyone. Grizzly bears and angry moose are also at this lake.
Years ago, it would be common to keep a limit of 15–18-inch brookies. 10-12 inches and smaller are more likely now. These overpopulated, and stunted brookies hit almost anything that you throw at them. Fly fishing is tough unless you are afloat on the lake. 3 miles is a long journey for a small boat or raft. An ultra-light spinning rod works best. Artificial spinners like Panther martins and Blue Foxes are money. Sharpen the hooks. Single hooks work best and are faster to unhook fish with.
The rule is that you need to touch the trout for it to count. I took one of my ex-students named Jesse. He tried his best to hit 100 brookies before me but ran out of spinners. Getting snagged is an issue to address and he didn’t. Oh Well!
I have enjoyed many cases of beer using this bet. Catching fish takes time. There are only so many hours in the fishing day. You snooze; you lose. Physically catching 100 fish is a chore. An 8-hour session is more than most anglers can survive.
The most trout that I have caught in a single day is 250. We were doing a study about trout caught using barbed and barbless hooks. One day it was 250 trout barbed and then another day using barbless. That’s 500 trout in 2 days. That trout fishing was in a hatchery with net pens. Trout had escaped when muskrats ate holes in the nets and were swimming free in the pond. In the wild, this would never be possible. It took over 10 hours of steady fishing to capture that many trout. Most were larger, over 18 inches. We had repaired the damaged net pens and placed the barbed and barbless catches in separate pens. The hooking mortality was about the same. 10 % mortality is common. What really helped save fish from injury was using forceps, a wet rubber net, and quick releases.
After this Catch and Release study, I had enough fishing for a while. This was the largest Catch and Release/Barbless hook study that I know of. The best part of the study reinforced the need to carefully handle fish and use forceps to avoid bleeding. If a trout bled, it was dead. Exhausted Big trout were more fragile than smaller ones. The captured trout were stocked in public fishing waters, throughout Maryland.
I have had great days catching yellow and white perch during their spawning runs when they are concentrated in small waters. Hickory and White shad days have also been amazing but again they are stacked up during a spawning run against a dam or tributary.
Not using the net saves time. The less you need to handle the fish the faster you can go through them. A sharp hook is more easily removed. Wet your hands before touching the fish. Keep the fish in the water.
A great day for most anglers is 12-20 fish. At 5 minutes /fish that means 100 minutes. The rest of the time is about fishing and not just catching. Add in the typical 20% for BS and you had a great day.
Catching 55 fish is a big day and out of reach for the majority of anglers. Staying within the limits and having fun is more important than speeding in the fast fishing lane.
Fish hard, fish harder!
Montana Grant
Feature image via CherriesJD at Getty Images Pro
