First fishing memories

[bunkerjoe4]

Everyone has to start somewhere. I started in fresh water, lakes, ponds, and rivers. I remember being ready to go hours ahead if time if I heard we were going fishing.

One time, my parents were going to a lake in Pennsylvania to look at some property. The night before, my brothers and I were in the garden digging up worms to put in a coffee can. We filled that can with worms because we were sure we would catch the biggest fish with them.

When the next day arrived, it was raining, and got worse as we continued to drive to the lake. My parents met with the sales rep, but we didn't care about any of that. We only wanted to know when it was over, so we could fish!

When we finally got permission, we were out there in the rain and mud, throwing our little cheap poles baited with worms, and the plastic bobbers.

My parents said because it was raining, they didn't want us to fish, so we were just going to go home. But we begged and pleaded for them to let us fish for just a little while. I remember being out in that driving rain for about an hour until it got too bad for us to fish. My parents said it was time to go, and my brother's lips were turning blue.

We really didn't want to go, didn't care that it was freezing, and didn't know that during the middle of a rain storm it was not the best time to catch (maybe right before, or right after, but usually a driving rainstorm shuts the bite down). We just were not sophisticated enough to know that. :idea:

So we eventually packed things up, put our little kiddie rods in the car, dumped the worms, and got dried off for the ride home. I still remember days like that, and the anticipation I felt the night before a fishing trip. I didn't always catch fish when I was younger, but I always had fun.

Eventually, I learned a little more, and became better at it. I could have fun and catch fish at the same time.

But I will forever remember some of those earlier experiences, when I and my brothers were just learning. They always bring back good memories.:thumbsup:

[katiefishes]

I lived down a path from a lake and I remember begging my dad to take me fishing I was probably about 6 years old. My mother had an old H line, so dad took me up to the lake. I unraveled the string and baited the hook with the handy worm. After two or three tosses of the line in the water (There was no pole) I was successful in catching my first sunny.

[pinhead44]

My parents had friends in Virginia. They used to take us to visit them in the summer. They had a farm pond that they stocked. Mostly us kids would catch sunnies with worms. One day, I threw a big worm on the end of the hook, cast it out as far as I could. A few minutes later, I was distracted, and almost didn't notice as the pole bent in half, and the fish on the other end almost ripped it out of my hands! :dribble: I eventually lost that fish after a brief fight. It was too big for the 4lb test I probably had on, and snapped the line. Maybe a big catfish. But from them on, I remembered that experience every time I went fishing, always trying to re-create it.

There are days when I go out and catch nothing, sometimes it's discouraging. But the memory of big catches brings me back every time.

[dogfish]

Grew up near a bay. My aunt and uncle had a summer trailer near a popular tourist area. Sometimes we would visit them and stay over. The coolest thing was when we went crabbing at night, back then the blueclaws were huge!

The way we used to get them was go around high tide, sometimes at 1 or 2 in the morning, and take kerosene lanterns and hang them from under the wooden dock pilings. The crabs would come to the light, and we would scoop them up in nets, then go back and cook them. One time a crab came by and was so big it had a small snapper in its claw, I almost fell in trying to net that crab. It looked so big to me, I wanted to jump in the water and get it, but Dad wouldn't let me.

Great times from that pier, anyone remember catching oystercrackers, and other wierd stuff? When you're a kid, anything you catch is a great thing, even the smallest trash fish, you just want a fish. Great memories, good thread.

[bababooey]

Trout in a river - Dad used to take us fishing on opening day, probably the first memories I have. We would get ready the night before, and we would go down to the river and put worms on the hook. We tried not to get snagged, but the river was a snag monster, and half the time was spent retying. Then we would catch a few trout, and jump up and down because we were so happy. One time I almost caught a big turtle, had him halfway in before the line broke.

[clamchucker]

We used to go to a lake down the street, and catch sunnies and pickerel. Then I met this old fisherman, friend of the family. I could listen to the stories for hours. They didn't have too many clubs back then, but would take a busload of guys to good fishing spots, for one fee.

They took me on one trip to Quincy Mass, for spring flounder fishing. We used clams, and were in a small boat with an outboard. We killed the flounder that day, don't remember how many, but it was one of the greatest memories I have as a kid fishing. Seems like every minute or so, there would be a flounder on the end of the line. Have not seen as many flounder since those earlier days, but we had fun.

[strikezone31]

My first memory was when I was fishing with my father and grandfather. I was about 5 they loved fishing. We'd go down to Lake and sit on the sandy shore and cast out and catch pan fish or whatever happened to take our bait (worms, minnows, whatever). We used to go all the time. We'd come home with buckets full of panfish and they would sit and teach me how to clean them.

[plugcrazy]

My first fishing memories are of my brother and I going down to the small brook not far from our house. There were plenty of small trout there and I can remember trying to catch them. What an experience when we finally caught our first fish!

[nitestrikes]

My Dad and Uncle used to take me up to Sunset Lake. I remember going to the local 5 and 10 and them purchasing my first rod.

Then we went down to the lake we dug up some worms and spent the day catching Sunny's.

[albiealert]

I fishing with my father at small ponds and it was quite an experience. I remember being able to walk around the whole pond and fished mostly for Bluegills with a simple cane pole and bobber.

[plugginpete]

First time I ever went fishing my dad and a friend took me out on a charter boat. The first and only thing I pulled in was a shark!

[fishinmission78]

Used to go fishing in Shark River inlet with my uncle Walter when I was a kid. He drank a lot, always carried a hip flask with him. A few times he almost fell in. :scared:

But we were kids, we didn't know any better. He would bring us there on weekends in the Spring and summer. We would catch snappers, and little seabass. Never caught a striper, but it didn't matter, we always had a good time. I can remember the sights and sounds of that place like it was yesterday. It's a lot different there now.

[stripercrazy]

Crabbing and catching snapper blues in the summer in the inlet bays in my cousin's boat. Then one day when I was about 12, saw a guy with a monster striper (looked like monster to me, maybe was about 25lbs).

After that I decided I wanted to learn more about catching these magnificent creatures, and have had fishing fever ever since.:fishing:

[Monty]

With my father on Lake Wawayanda.
Loved getting up early with him and going out in the row boat.
He had great patience with me, great times.

[williehookem]

I fishing with my father at small ponds and it was quite an experience. I remember being able to walk around the whole pond and fished mostly for Bluegills with a simple cane pole and bobber.

This is a great thread. I started the same way with a bamboo pole fishing for sunnies. I caught what I thought were some monster ones when I first started, but they were only about 4". My Dad taught me to clean them. Mom cooked them for us. So many bones! Hey, but you learn from all that stuff, it's priceless. :fishing:

[VSdreams]

I started on my cousin's boat on Barnegat Bay. He would take us out bluefish fishing when we were little. At that time we were probably catching snapper blues, maybe even some a bit larger, 3lbs. We had such fun catching those bluefish, I didn't even know about striper fishing until I was 13. He drifted us right into the schools of fish crashing bait, it was so intense. I thought there were millions of bluefish in the world, it was all I wanted to catch.

[basshunter]

We lived near a river, and some of the older kids in my neighborhood used to trout fish. I learned from them. I got tired of trout and started to get good catching largemouths. After 3 saltwater trips on my grandfather's boat, I was hooked on the salt. We didn't catch big fish until the third time, but they were the biggest I had ever seen. I needed more. :dribble:

[cowherder]

I fished freshwater like everyone else. We fished the Raritan and some other rivers for catfish and carp. My biggest carp was around 15lbs, right around the winter time. It was a great rush to hook into one of these things. For us kids, we were in our glory, they were the hardest fighting fish we could find.

Nothing came close to that until I started fishing for striped bass, and came here and finally caught a keeper.

[basshunter]

With my father on Lake Wawayanda.
Loved getting up early with him and going out in the row boat.
He had great patience with me, great times.

Very cool. I always wanted to fish that lake. How was the fishing there? Sounds like you had some good times.