Back in the day I..............

[mcully]

Back in the day I'd say "just one last cast' and next thing two hours would go by--wait that was just two days ago- 29 year old son was with me freezing and said I'll never change I said I hope not to

[Mac Attack]

.............I was younger.


.........dumber.

...........lighter.


............more active.


...............less sore.


................but not as attractive.     

[taxid]

Back in the day Ignorance was bliss. Didn't know the fish had a limit on how big they could get or that a particular lake would not produce really big fish no matter what due to stunting.

[rivereddy]

Before my first fishing trip, I went to the woods out back and cut a paw paw sapling and strung it with kite string.  I dug a ton of worms and put them in a
coffee can. My dad had to work that Saturday morning and when he came home about noon he said look in the car.... In it was a two piece cane
pole!  I was in hog heaven. A year later, I graduated to a Zebco "Junior 77", a one piece plastic rod and reel combo.  I still have it.  I then did
chores and odd jobs until I had enough to plunk down $14 bucks for a Zebco 33 Spinner and a "3300" two piece fiberglass fishing rod. A couple
of years later, while riding my bike to the river, the tip section slipped and ran through the spokes of my bike.  I wrote to Zebco in Oklahoma, asking
what a new tip section would cost and they sent me a new one free..... In the early '70s I bought a Zebco Cardinal 3 made by Abu in Sweden.  I use it to this day.  I've always had a soft spot for the Zero Hour Bomb Company.....

fish on,

rivereddy

[geo315]

geo, you should put all the names of people that learned with it.  maybe even the story of where it came from.  that would make a great family keep sake to pass on!

Good idea.  Thanks for that. Geo.

[fontona19]

...... I realized that fishing is a way of life.

[SKUNK-MASTER]

....never realized that those old yellow zebco poles would bring up so many memories 40 yrs later!

[caught_the_fever]

Didn't care if I was at the local stream with questionable water quality or on the Belgrade Lakes; I was outdoors.
Didn't care if I was using spincasting, open faced spinning or fly rod/reel; it only mattered that I was fishing.
Didn't care if it was a salmon, bass or sunfish nor if it was stocked or native; it only mattered that I felt the excitement of catching a fish.
I would also get especially excited if I was the first one to land a fish as my father would often put out a dollar bet to whomever landed the first one.

While our gear or techniques may get more complicated (and expensive) often what we seek remains the same.  For me, it's an opportunity to spend time outdoors and on/near the water.  Back in the day, I couldn't outfish the "old man" but now I can show him a few tricks - however, I also realize I am only able to do so because of the sacrifices he made for us.  I also realize some day in the future, I will happily spend my time making those same sacrifices for our little one while treasuring the time I am able to spend outdoors with him.  It's funny how after all is said and done, regardless of how convoluted things can become, it all comes back to the basics. 

This is a great thread - kudos to whomever started (sorry, don't recall now).

[SKUNK-MASTER]

well said.....fishing is really hunting.....hunting memories.

[esox_xtm]

You guys are silly, I cant remember that far back..  Heck my bride says I cant remember yesterday...      

Get over it Dom.... I'm a pretty old guy too and my memory's about as long as my...... fingernails. And I keep 'em trimmed pretty close these days.   Nevertheless....

I started out with the bamboo pole out of the barrel at the hardware store and beachball bobber. Caught plenty of fish with that.

Then Grandpa gifted me one of his spares, a Langley Streamlite on True Temper steel casting rod spooled with probably 20# black nylon. It was a backlash machine.......until I mastered it. Those skills repaid me handsomely in my transition to (more or less) present day casting for muskies. Caught suckers and carp in the spring for fish cakes and garden fertilizer respectively. Dabbled for crayfish (on purpose) 'cause they were weird and learned how to cook and eat them too (Yum!) besides plenty of bass, catfish, pike, walleyes and assorted panfish.

Back in the day.... No locator, no "high tech" line or leader, no expensive rods or reels, heck, no boat and when I did the first tinfoil boat had a noisy, no motor cover 7.5 hp Ted Williams on the back, picked my own nightcrawlers (wait, I still do that  ),made lots of my own lures and leaders (still do except they're alot better than they used to be).

Hmmm, come to think of it, I still do alot of what I "used to do" only now I'm just better at it. That and there are better tools available.

[fishnmachine]

Back in the day.... I ADMIRED my grandpa's Johnson Century reel and True Temper rod! I couldn't wait until I was bid enough that I could fish with something like that!