Top 5 fish to have on your bucket list

What's your bucket list of fish to catch?

This is a topic that I'm sure is in any fishermen's heart. With nearly 30,000 species of fish in 7 continents and in all of the world's oceans... why wouldn't you want a bucket list of fish? This little blog post will go over my top 5 fish (on the fly) to catch and their location. Also, I'll share what some people from instagram said was on the top of their list.

My complete bucket list of fish is really long. Other fish that didn't make my top five include bonnet head shark on the fly, tarpon, giant travelly off of Christmas Island, milkfish, toothfish in Antarctica, and swordfish on the fly. 

So here we go...

#5........... Golden Mahseer; Himalayas in India

  • Can you imagine fishing the foothills of the Himalayas inside a tiger preserve? Not only is the place so incredibly unique but so are the fish. Golden Mahseer can get as big as 9 feet and reach over 120 lbs. It made my top 5 because the chance of getting eaten by a tiger would always be in the back of my mind, and also because of it's beauty. 

#4........... Arapaima; Guyana

  • So think boney head like a tarpon but 2 times the size and the whole fish is pretty much a single fin and you got yourself an arapaima. They can reach 13.5 feet and 450lbs You have to hike, paddle, and wade through untouched forest to find an area of water suitable for catching it on the fly. With a boney head and the size of an adult lion- good luck!

#3........... Tiger Fish; Tanzania 

  • Tiger freakin fish... the crazy looking river monster with giant teeth. It looks like it could bite your hand off. The big ones are normally found in rushing water so at least that way you can avoid a lot of crocodiles and hippos, but the threat never really goes away. Tanzania is home to the Serengeti, so it'd be awesome to be walking around where so many big game animals live. The goliath tiger fish can reach sizes of 5 feet and 150 pounds. 

#2........... Taimen; Mongolia

  • Taimen, the largest trout in the world reaching 6 foot and 230 lbs, has to be on everyone's bucket list of fish. Mongolia is an awesome expanse of grass and hills with streams and rivers running through it. The culture of the people is interesting as well because many live in circular tents and have their own way of life and rituals. Having to drive a vehicle many hours through a beautiful landscape in order to catch the worlds largest trout sounds pretty awesome to me.

#1........... Golden Dorado; Argentina

  • Golden Dorado is the pitbull of river fishes. Not only are they beautiful but they attack like no other fish. They are built to eat and destroy. Wading and walking along the edge of a river to find these fish in the middle of a jungle with mountains all around sounds incredible to me. The reward for an incredible journey is a golden dorado. Argentina is a great place to fish for them because Fish Simply, a conservation corporation, is doing all they can to conserve and do research on these magnificent fish in Argentina. They recently put the very first tag and tracker on a golden dorado to better understand it's movements. 

 

Here's what people said on instagram was their favorite fishing destinations and what kind of fish they'd want to catch:

@capt_crawford: Puerto Rico to target sailfish
@_blackwell_: St.Brandon's Atoll for Bones, Indo-Pacific Permit, and Monster GT's
@tdyelbrah0407: New Guinea for bass.
@steeliebrosflyco: Mongolia for giant salmanoid
@hayden_cheek: The Rio Malleo in San Martin area of Patagonia. Dry Fly fishing for monster Browns is exceptional year around
@action_johnson: Golden Dorado as well but in Bolivia
@ethompson_1: Seychelles for Bonefish, GT's, and Milkfish @jayboart
@shicks007: Tailing reds in the grass down in charleston. I always loved that pic of @hhtomlinson waist deep holding up that redfish! #fish envy
@stout423: Cuba, untouched waters full of bones, tarpon and permit with only a few avid anglers fishing it
@steven_orrie: Ascension Island for every massive fish known to man. You can't go there and not catch any fish. It's just an insane place to be!
@banditflycompany: Venezuela for payara or Tanzania for tiger fish. Those things are built for carnage you can't even imagine what they would do to a fly. ?
@fbazemore: Or, sprinting down the beach on the southern end of Baja trying to fool a giant roosterfish in the surf... That's the stuff dreams (or nightmares) are made of
@expeditionbroker: Tongass steelhead in April. Endless options for river systems and bears out number people.
@lostatsea13: Brazil for peacock bass on fly
@jsposato3: Arapaima in Guyana.
@flatsguy: Tigerfish in Africa or Amazon bucket list fish
@coach0b: Antarctica, I want to see if it's possible.
Overall, I believe the point in a bucket list of fish is to adventure and discover new things with the people you love. That's what I hope to gain along with countless memories to tell my grand children. 
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2 comments

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Alison Hamilton

Now to start ticking them off your list! Fun post was excited to see your top 5

STEELIEBROS

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