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Posts: 3909
| Not scary. But tell you what, I've knocked turbo big spiders off of tree trunks into the boat. How big? I could hear the biggest scrambling along the boat bottom to punish me for the disruption. Anyway, this is pretty cool, hope you like....
Spiders as a Fishing Barometer
by Jack Lamb, How to Catch Game Fish, 1937
In Louisiana and other southern states there are innumerable lakes filled with trees, in fact some are so wooded it is nearly impossible to fish them. I happened to go fishing on one of these with a group of natives one day and although we arrived early and supposed to be right in the heart if the best fishing, no effort was made on the part of my companions to begin. Of course this seemed strange to me, but questioning only brought the statement that “It is not time yet.” Being curious, I questioned further, and a dark-skinned boy from the swamp country said: “Do you see them big spiders on the tree trunks?”
“Yes, but what do spiders have to do with fishing?” I queried.
“Waal, it’s like this. Them spiders are sittin down close to the water, ain’t they? That’s the way they catch food. They git down close to the water and grab little insects that floats by. But a spider tastes mighty good to a big bass, you know, and when Old Mr. Big Bass gets hungry, he makes them spiders git high and dry. You’ll know when the bass begin to strike, fer the spiders will run up the trees, and stay there till it’s all over. There ain’t no use to fish when the spiders are low, and we don’t start till they run up the trees.”
All of which may seem strange to you, but it is logical and true, and the smart Louisianna fisherman never wastes his casts when the big spiders are near the water. This same condition doubtless holds true in other wooded lakes. At any rate, I took lessons in observation from a nestor in the swamp land, and materially added to my fishing knowledge thereby.
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Posts: 667
Location: Duluth | Spiders must've been close to the water all day today |
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Posts: 793
Location: Ames, Iowa | As a young lad growing up on Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base in the late 1960's, I used to catch black widows under the post office, and in squirrel and gopher holes. Now I'm 66, and been deathly afraid of spiders since my 20's. Can't imagine having great big, sneaky, quiet, poisonous spiders over my head on a lake. I guess I'm staying away from fishing in Louisiana. |
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Posts: 2364
Location: Chisholm, MN | I witnessed a fishing spider yank a 2" largemouth out of the water off my dock. My brother saw it too. I told my parents and of course they didn't believe us but we knew it was true. Several years ago I came across an article in Minnesota Conservation Volunteer about fishing spiders and that they actually do this. Glad they proved me right but I don't love the thought of spiders that large living on my dock hunting fish. |
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| There is a baseball team, college level, in Fond du Lac, called the Dock Spiders. Since Fond du Lac is on the southern end of Lake Winnebago, I am guessing that lake has these big spiders. Always thought it was an odd name but it sold a lot of merch. |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | Similar to what I learned abt gar fish. Once you get near a pack of them, up the trolling motor and go fish somewhere else; there won't be a game fish within reach otherwise. m |
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Posts: 24
| I don't like spiders; they give me creeps. I seem to be a bug, spider and insect magnet. Been bitten and stung too many times. Glad we don't have many, if any poisonous critters around. I have heard there are Brown Recluse spiders here. |
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Posts: 400
Location: Selkirk, Manitoba | North of 8 - 6/3/2025 10:59 AM
There is a baseball team, college level, in Fond du Lac, called the Dock Spiders. Since Fond du Lac is on the southern end of Lake Winnebago, I am guessing that lake has these big spiders. Always thought it was an odd name but it sold a lot of merch.
We have the same ones here, a species of Dolomedes (Fishing spiders) that are commonly called dock spiders. They are just a variation of the tree dwelling fishing spiders further down south. They are the largest spider in Canada and get the size of the inside of your palm. Super fast and aggressive and will attack a lure if you dangle in front of them. Their native habitat typically around big granite outcrops near the water, but fallen trees, docks obviously good places to hunt. Not a spider fan - these are not small, not slow, nor have a tame personality (a bit territorial actually).
Edited by Angling Oracle 6/5/2025 7:45 AM
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Posts: 8818
| I fished with a guy who used to drive past the local farm on the way to the lake. If the cows were up and around it was likely to be a good day. If the cows were all laying around not so much. Proved to be true more often than not. It makes sense the same changes in barometric pressure that affect the fish affect all the animals. When the birds are just laying around on the island, it’s probably not worth fishing. If they’re active, different story. And if they’re not there at all, it means somebody just fished it. |
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| Those big green spiders I see around my dock and lifts are spooky looking but don't really bother me. However, I never put on a pair of boots that have been in the garage without shaking them and tapping on the floor. The brown recluse spider likes that kind of habitat. Had a guy in my class in the Army get bit by one and while we all thought at first he was making a big deal out of it, his leg swelled and it took weeks to fully heal, even with prompt medical care. Nobody went to bed without checking their sheets thoroughly after that. He lost tissue and had quite a scar. |
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