Thought there might be some people like me (not life long fisherman) who would enjoy my journey. I'm 35 years old and I bet I only fished 10 times or less as a kid. And when I did, it was with people who assumed I knew what to do, so they weren't very good teachers. I was a city boy and I think they assumed I didn't really care about it anyway. That was the end of my fishing career until now. I literally did not pick up a rod from about 1990 until last fall. In November I moved to a neighborhood that has a pond behind my house, and I guess knowing I was a middle age man that didn't know how to fish bothered me enough to want to learn.
I didn't know anything. I didn't even know how to tie a knot to keep the lure on (you're laughing I know). I'd cast as far as I could with a $12 Zebco setup and drag nothing back. Then spring came here in Fort Worth, TX and the bass started biting. I didn't catch much, but a beginner who catches 2-3 bass over a couple days... well, you start thinking you're doing something right. I really wasn't though.
I went to the library, read online, watched youtube, and even bought books about fishing. A lot of the things I read and watched made sense and some of it even worked. So when June rolled around and temps were still unnaturally low here in TX I decided I needed something better than the Zebco. I upgraded to a $25 spinning combo from Academy. I had never thrown a spinning reel, but I practiced and got it to work. I caught a few on that thing and started landing bigger fish with 8 lb. mono. Then they started dragging me through the muck and grass and testing the limits of that rod and breaking my line. One day I watched what was most likely the biggest bass I had caught to date break my line as I was about to lip him and hoist him out of the water. I darn near cried.
By this time I'd spent hours, and days reading about fishing and trying new things on the pond. I'm a teacher, so with summers off I had time to kill. It got a little hotter and it seemed like the bass left the shallows so I got the notion that I needed a longer rod, and a decent baitcaster to get out there further and maybe deeper. I went to a local place and found a guy who took the time to talk to me about my pond and my needs instead of selling me something I didn't need. We settled on a Daiwa Tatula and saved some money by skimping on $30 Shimano rod on clearance. I thought for sure I'd catch more fish now. I was wrong. It was hot and I couldn't catch anything. Not even with top water lures at daybreak or around midnight.
And that pretty much brings us to where I am now. I've got a nice rod and reel and a decent amount of tackle, but I'm not catching much unless I hit the rock pile where the bluegill seem to always be. I think I could catch a lot more if I can really figure out how to fish a Texas Rig or a Carolina Rig. I tried them both but seem to always end up dragging back slime instead of fish. I think there's an art to those that I need to figure out. I still don't understand how to get the weight right on those set ups. I also don't know how to really use the weedless jigs I bought and I feel like they might work too. They seem to sink too fast and don't really seem to be very weedless at all. I've contemplated getting a kayak so I could get out in the middle, but I like bank fishing and I still have a LOT to learn.
Anyway, I know that's a lot of rambling but I figured maybe there's others out there like me that are still learning. I'm having fun and I appreciate this forum and everyone for sharing their thoughts about fishing. People really do read this stuff and try what you say. Big thanks to all those anglers who are patient with guys like me. I know I drive you crazy!
