Why do you fish?

[crod]

Its fun.

 

[cast4bass]

I fish therefore I am! HA HA! Seriously, I got "hooked" on fishing when I was a little boy. I caught a 3.5lb smallmouth at my Aunt's house at Lake Lure NC when I was six years old. I still have that fish on my wall. My Dad loved the outdoors and took me often to fish or hunt. I remember good times and bad times fishing but always great memories and fun. One time we rented a jeep to drive out on Cape Hatteras NC so we could surf fish for blues, specks and red drum. My Dad and older sister and I set out early in the morning. The jeep broke down (these were days when hardly anyone was out there in January fishing in the surf) and nobody was around. The tide was coming in and my Dad was so mad that he told us to start hiking back to the road. I still can see the waves lapping against the tires!!! Years later as soon as I could afford a 4 wheel drive I took my Dad back to the outerbanks and we were catching blues every cast. When we were ready to go I got my jeep wagoneer stuck and the belt broke on the engine and there we were again - Like father like son - LOL! Only now the beach was packed 25 years later and fortunately an auto parts store was close by. We always fished saltwater. My Dad loved it. It was feast or famine. One time we caught some big blues in the surf ( I am talking 20 lbs) and brought four home in the cooler. We fileted them out and we had a little garden in the backyard. Well we buried the fish heads and skeletons in the garden because we wanted to be like the Indians and fertilize the garden naturally. Little did we know that about a week later our dog would dig one up and gnaw on it. If you have ever had a dog eat something dead and smelly and come into your house and pant then you know how awful that was! A few days later a neighbor told us about his dog dragging a stinky fish head under their bed... Well it was all we could do to keep a straight face. If that neighbor is reading this - well now you know where it came from! emoSmile I like the challenge of fishing, I like to relax (being on the water no matter how short of time it always seems like I have been on vacation when I get back) I like to think about my Dad (who passed about 5+ years ago), I like to pass time with my boys on the water and talk about things Dads and sons should share together, I like the friendly competition, I like sharing time with new friends who like to fish and talking about the ones that got away, I like posting fishing reports and reading fishing reports (especially when I can't get away to fish) - It is a great sport. Like Richard said we are still hunter/gatherers (in our nature). Like FA its about friends. Like DK said its about God's creation. I am thankful we have such a great fishery close by. How lucky we are! emoFish emoFish emoFish

 

[Labman]

A great thread. I too was introduced to bass fishing by my uncle who partially raised me and bought me my first gun and rod and reel. I remember practicing with a rubber casting plug, trying to cast that no free spool reel without a backlash. After a couple of weeks of that he decided I was ready to go fishing. We went to Standard City in Ill. where he was a club member that owned an old reclaimed strip mine that had filled with water and was full of bass and blugills. We rowed the boat along the weeds and I got to go first. I was throwing a creek chub darter top water. My third cast a bass exploded on it and I hollered "I got him Unk, I got him". I was 8 years old and the bass weighed 4 3/4 lbs. He told me to take a good look at it as I may never catch another that big. That was over 60 years ago. That same uncle took me to Canada every summer for 3 weeks to fish for walleye, northern, smallies, musky and lake trout. How many kids back in the early 50's were lucky enough to get that chance to fish. Needless to say I was hooked on fishing.

I have fished all over North America and met a lot of nice people and made some really good friends. I just enjoy being on the water, and sharing it with friends and family is just icing on the cake. I love to feel that "peck" and trying to figure out how to get that bite is what makes it fun. My Uncle is long gone and now so are some of my friends, but the memories will stay with me forever. The best thing of all was when I had a chance to do a little payback to my uncle. I was a guide and outfitter in Canada at this time and uncle Roy was getting old and infirm. I convinced him to make one more trip up to Canada and we would fish together for a few days. He came with 2 friends and we went fishing. I was lucky enough to put him on the largest musky he had ever hooked. A bad shoulder was forgotten when that fish hit and he handled it like a pro. We took a picture of Uncle Roy and me and a 34# Musky. I will never forget it, and I still have my first rod and reel.

I probably will only have a few more years to fish, but I treasure every time I get to go. Thanks Uncle Roy, and thanks all the friends I have made along the way. And especially thanks to all the friends and members on CFF. You all are great.

Regards, Labman

 

[loc doc]

For the Halabit

 

[buzz]

Great thread..great reads. My love for fishing and hunting also comes from a long time ago. I will cherish the memories of rabbit hunting with our beagles on those frosty morns...with that trusty .16 gauge..single shot shotgun. Going fishing with Dad, using those Langley baitcasters with the black line...that would tow a boat, those short steel rods. Dang, I'm old. I remember when Mitchell came out with those 300's....We were moving up to hi-tech. I also remember when the famous BIG-O hit the market, as well as the first buzz-baits. It's funny how we all remember the exact spot where our first decent bass came from, or loaded the boat with crappie. Hoping that the stautue of limitations has run out. I fished Noth river in Tellico...the first time I went up there..and had "my limit" on big browns. Little did I know...IT WAS CLOSED..as they had just stocked, in the fall. A fellow stopped me as I was walking down the road and asked.."where did you catch all those fish"? I told him...right there in that stream. He commenced to tell me of the FINE, I would get, if I got caught. Stupidity....doesn't count in some cases. I cut across the ridges to get back to the truck. They sure were tasty around the camp-fire that night. Fishing also has it's hazzards. From hooking your self, or your partner. I think back to setting in the back of a little flat bottom boat...when my buddy hooked a tree with a big wooden plug....he gave a yank..and the next thing I knew...my right ear was adorned with a Creek-chub injured minnow. I really didn't see it as funny as the folks in the ER did.

 

[WOBBLE HEAD]

The first bass I ever caught was at CFP off of a dock that is no longer their. It might have weighted 1 pound....but...when it came out of the water and danced on it's tail......I was hooked for life