Some local boys just brought back some powerfully good memories

[BrianMDTX]

Here I was, getting in a couple hours at the local pond, trying seriously to catch something of decent size (caught two dinks lol). Meanwhile, these three boys (one maybe 11-12 and the other two 9-10) are tossing tiny pieces of nightcrawlers and catching 27-30 fish…apiece. Every bluegill was a monster bigger than the previous one (“this is the BIGGEST bluegill I’ve ever caught in my LIFE!”) and when one caught a 12” bass I thought he was going to have an apoplectic fit! By the way, bass were worth ten points. Not sure what the bluegills were worth lol. 
 

Man, my friends and I were EXACTLY like that fifty years ago. Point levels for fish, happy as clams to catch anything, asking Mom to stay out longer (and can you get us more worms?). A lot has changed in half a century, but wow, that was a pleasure to watch. It gives me hope. 

[GRiver]

I had to smile when reading your post. I remember running all the way home from the river…. Trying not to be late, but knowing I was late an hour ago. 
Thanks

 

[BrianMDTX]

3 minutes ago, GRiver said:

I had to smile when reading your post. I remember running all the way home from the river…. Trying not to be late, but knowing I was late an hour ago. 
Thanks

 

It’s always that “one more cast” that turns into 50 that gets you! 

[volzfan59]

@BrianMDTX, Thank you for posting this story. Takes me back too

[scbassin]

Good One!!

[islandbass]

1 hour ago, BrianMDTX said:

It’s always that “one more cast” that turns into 50 that gets you! 

Much truth, but in my case, it’s the 50th cast in the dark when the sun is already down that results in a bird’s nest that really gets me, or else it would be closer to 75. ?

 

Great story. Thanks for sharing. 

[jbsoonerfan]

I remember when I was 9 or 10 riding our bikes to the "city" lake and trying to catch anything that would bite. One of my buddies caught a bass that was maybe 3lbs and we thought he had just caught one of the biggest bass ever. LOL

[Columbia Craw]

That’s passion. 

[LrgmouthShad]

21 hours ago, BrianMDTX said:

Here I was, getting in a couple hours at the local pond, trying seriously to catch something of decent size (caught two dinks lol). Meanwhile, these three boys (one maybe 11-12 and the other two 9-10) are tossing tiny pieces of nightcrawlers and catching 27-30 fish…apiece. Every bluegill was a monster bigger than the previous one (“this is the BIGGEST bluegill I’ve ever caught in my LIFE!”) and when one caught a 12” bass I thought he was going to have an apoplectic fit! By the way, bass were worth ten points. Not sure what the bluegills were worth lol. 
 

Man, my friends and I were EXACTLY like that fifty years ago. Point levels for fish, happy as clams to catch anything, asking Mom to stay out longer (and can you get us more worms?). A lot has changed in half a century, but wow, that was a pleasure to watch. It gives me hope. 

That's awesome. Had a similar experience today. Two young boys out kayak fishing on the same lake as me. Both catching em pretty good, and were excited every time. One of the boys hooked up with something and exclaimed "woah, I don't know what this one is?" And the other boy said he was gonna ask me. I already heard, and started to paddle over to see. It was a pretty good sized perch. The guy was ecstatic. When they got done, they went over to where their Mom was sitting on the bank and exclaimed what all they caught that day. Yup, I felt pretty good about the world just then. 

[Derek1]

That’s awesome

love seeing kids having a good times fishing. 

[Bird]

When I take the wife fishing it's always worms and bobbers and it's non stop action.

Wish I could say the same when I leave her at home.

[Big Rick]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Wish I could say the same when I leave her at home.

No, it's PEACE and QUIET when you leave her at home.....

[dodgeguy]

My brother and I caught 153 fish in 1day on worms out of a little cove.

[WRB]

Back in the late 60’s to early 70’s it was generally accepted “fact” that FLMB wouldn’t strike artificial lures in San Diego lakes. I lived 160 miles north of San Diego and traveled to the famed Lower Otay, San Vicente, El Capitan, Sutherland and Lakes Wolford every Wednesday and weekend I could.

Live bait fishing with crawdads, mud suckers and water dogs were they go to baits. 

What does this have to do with night crawlers? I am getting to this. Lake Wolford wasn’t on the big bass radar at that time and open on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. All the other SD lakes were closed on Thursday so I fished Wolford. The famous spot was split rock a giant boulder split in 2 pieces known to hold big bass on the south shore and you needed a boat to fish it. The locals knew about split rock and difficult to  be 1st to get there. 

So being a sonar fisherman I learned about the main channel structure and fished it a lot with good success. I noticed a shore angler walking the north shore often and catching big bass regularly. I decided to offer this shore angler to fish in my boat, he declined. The angler who’s name escapes me now carried a spinning rod and a nap shack with big Canadian night crawlers, that is all he used. He showed me how he tail hooked the 8” crawler and fly lined it using no weight.

This local shore fisherman caught every lake record bass at Wolford at that time using nightcrawlers.

Tom

 

[12poundbass]

We finished moving to our new house last night and 6poundbass spent a couple hours sorting through his fishing gear and loading it into his new fishing backpack he bought a couple months ago and off he went with our nephew down the street to the end of our cul de sac to the river to explore the new waters. They didn’t catch anything. Their trip was cut short though due to the bugs.

 

Like a lot of you it took me back to his age, my friends and I riding our bikes to the local lake to go fishing. I wish they had fishing backpacks back then like they do now. His holds four trays, has a ton of pockets, and holds two poles. Back in our days it was one hand holding a tackle box and another holding the pole, and you just figure out how to hold the handle bars too. ?

[BrianMDTX]

14 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Back in our days it was one hand holding a tackle box and another holding the pole, and you just figure out how to hold the handle bars too

My friend Mark and I used to ride our 10-speeds 14 miles one-way to fish Loch Raven Reservoir (north of Baltimore). We had 2-pc rods that we strapped to our handlebars. That left one hand to steer/brake and the other for a tacklebox lol. 
 

WRB, you brought back a memory. My dad had friends that lived in a community with a private pond that we used to fish regularly. In the early-mid 70s my friend Mark and I were ate up bad with fishing. Like most kids, we often used nightcrawlers, cut it half and threaded on a small baitkeeper hook. One time we went and were introduced to an acquaintance of my father and the homeowners. He was in his early 30s and had a nice spinning reel on (IIRC) a Fenwick boron rod, which we were NOT allowed to touch. His method was to use a whole nightcrawler threaded on a straight shank hook like a weightless TR plastic worm. He’d throw it in the deep end and let it sink, keeping the bail open. He said it was “the only way to catch the big ones without them spitting out the hook”. 
 

One day Mark and I were having a great day, catching some fat bluegills and 10”-12” bass. All of a sudden, this guy starts yelling to my dad. “Bert! Bert! 5 pounder! He’s taking my line across the pond!”  He finally closed the bail and set the hook. He must have been a magician, as he turned a 5 lb. bass into a 6” bluegill lol. 

[Mobasser]

Thanks for sharing this. Brings back memories for me also. As a kid, I fished much the same as these boys. I was thrilled to catch anything.

[QED]

I was lucky enough to grow up near the SJ County delta system.  I used to cut high school to go fishing at the nearby deep water turning basin where one could catch really large stripers or largemouth bass and occasionally salmon.

[Dwight Hottle]

Got to love seeing the old experiences recycled by another generation.