If You Could Go Back

[Mobasser]

Many of us have been fishing a long time. 50yrs and longer. If you could go back, is there anything you would change?                                              Are there any techniques you wish you would have focused on more?                             Looking back, is there anything you would do differently with your fishing?

[JMac603]

It's been over 20 years for me so not the same perspective as a lot of guys on here. I wish I had taken it seriously sooner. I trash fished for years and didn't LEARN so it was really a passive thing to do. Once I started learning their behavior, it became so much more enjoyable. I still trash fish a lot but it makes fishing really enjoyable when you can target the right area and technique. I'm someone who doesn't use electronics so knowing how to break down the water I'm fishing and finding success gives me a feeling of accomplishment.  

[A-Jay]

31 minutes ago, Mobasser said:

Many of us have been fishing a long time. 50yrs and longer. If you could go back, is there anything you would change?                                              Are there any techniques you wish you would have focused on more?                             Looking back, is there anything you would do differently with your fishing?

Interesting topic @Mobasser ~

Had to make myself 'think' about this one a bit.

I'm not a bit 'regret' type of man. 

Decided some time ago that it didn't help me moving forward

and could be the source of a lot of wasted time

(If I let it)

While I've had my share of total crash & burns in my fishing

I try to look back at those times in a positive rather than negative way

knowing that's what made me who I am today. 

And "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been."

 Finally, something I could never regret and am actually immensely grateful for,

Is this forum. 

#14years

A-Jay

 

 

[J Francho]

Not a thing.

[Jigfishn10]

I'm not sure. There really wasn't a lot of information on different techniques back then. When I was a kid dad wasn't into fishing and we didn't have any magazines like Field & Stream or Outdoor Life come to the house. I just learned what I could learn from watching others. 

 

Back then and just like now, I'm just happy to get out and enjoy being on the water and forgetting about the stresses in life that generally persist day by day.

 

I guess if there is a regret it's not having the information we have now.

[Mobasser]

9 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Interesting topic @Mobasser ~

Had to make myself 'think' about this one a bit.

I'm not a bit 'regret' type of man. 

Decided some time ago that it didn't help me moving forward

and could be the source of a lot of wasted time

(If I let it)

While I've had my share of total crash & burns in my fishing

I try to look back at those times in a positive rather than negative way

knowing that's what made me who I am today. 

And "What a Long Strange Trip It's Been."

 Finally, something I could never regret and am actually immensely grateful for,

Is this forum. 

#14years

A-Jay

 

 

I don't have anything either A-Jay. I've always tried to be a forward facing person. Made plenty of mistakes, but learned from them.

[scaleface]

I wish I hadnt bought that Force motor .

[Junk Fisherman]

There's a fantastic cooling lake in Illinois, Newton Lake, that is literally 4 miles off our 5 hour journey between my parents home around Chicago and my father's second home in southern Illinois.  We always drove past and said how we should fish there because we always heard such great things about the lake.  But there was no camping, no nearby lodging, and it has a 25-HP restriction.   So we always opted to go elsewhere and that was a HUGE mistake.  20 years ago or so, we finally went there and absolutely smoked them.  The next couple years we enjoyed great success.  But then everyone became aware of the lake, Zona and other pros had shows there, and it blew up on the internet.  It's still a very good lake but not like it was.  And I can only imagine how it was in the 90s when always drove past and hit more convenient, easy to fish lakes.

 

Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan is the same way.  10-12 years ago it was unbelievable with little pressure.  As a very novice smallmouth fisherman, I caught 2 5 lbers the first day I went there.  But then it blew up and fishing pressure in June has become crazy.  Oh well, you just have to find the next sleeper lake.  

[Chris Catignani]

I wish I had taken up Flippin' and Pitchin' techniques earlier.

[Jar11591]

I would go back and tie a better knot for that huge smallmouth that broke me off on a Pop-R at the lock when I was 12 years old ?

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

I would go back and tie a better knot for that huge smallmouth that broke me off on a Pop-R at the lock when I was 12 years old ?

Bummer you lost that one.

But I'm betting you've tied some Great knots ever since. 

A-Jay

[Mike L]

Bought a boat. 
When I started getting serious about tournaments there was always another bill to pay or the kids needed something which was always the priority. 
 

When I retired it was one or the other…. either a boat for me or a motor home for us. 

No regrets

 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[uglyasheck]

23 minutes ago, scaleface said:

I wish I hadnt bought that Force motor .

I actually have a Force that I love with no issues but it is the one made by Mercury.

[gim]

Wish I would have learned how to finesse fish at an earlier age.  When I started bass fishing, it was basically a scaled down version of muskie fishing...chuck and wind hard baits.  One summer during my college years I had a fair amount of down time as a surveyor for the DNR that allowed me to fish on several small lakes, and that's when I learned the soft plastic finesse stuff on my own.  I didn't really know anyone who specifically bass fished here though, all my family and relatives and friends never specifically targeted them.

[Deleted account]

38 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Not a thing.

Same.

[Way north bass guy]

About the only thing I would change is to just go out more often, especially in the last few years as work, changing homes, and growing family has been at the forefront of things more often. There’s still been plenty of times where I sat around and waffled about going out, even for an hour or two, and then decided it wasn’t worth it. I gotta stop doing that, and just go. Who knows how many good fish I could’ve caught in those many, many couple hours sessions. 

[redmeansdistortion]

53 minutes ago, Junk Fisherman said:

Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan is the same way.  10-12 years ago it was unbelievable with little pressure.  As a very novice smallmouth fisherman, I caught 2 5 lbers the first day I went there.  But then it blew up and fishing pressure in June has become crazy.  Oh well, you just have to find the next sleeper lake.

I understand where you're coming from, but the Great Lakes, particularly Huron, Erie, and Michigan are world class fisheries regardless of traffic, whether you're targeting bass, walleye, salmon, steelhead, or even sturgeon.  I'm sure Ontario is as well, but I've never fished it and have no first hand experience.  Any of the piers dotting those lakes are crazy good for smallmouth throughout much of the year, as well as salmon and steelhead outside of the dog days of summer.  A couple of my friends moved here specifically because the fishing is so good, one is from southern Indiana and the other from Iowa.  People that were born and raised in this state are often ignorant as to how good the fishing is, while visitors and transplants are greeted with an eye opening experience.

 

My one friend from Iowa was telling me not long ago, a good day of walleye fishing there might get you a limit for a full day outing if you're lucky.  You can limit out in 30 minutes or less on the St. Clair River, Detroit River, Lake Erie, or Saginaw Bay when the bite is hot.  The St. Clair River delta, where it feeds into Lake St. Clair is quite possibly the best smallmouth fishery the world over.  There's hundreds and even thousands of them in there at any given time, even in the shallows during the summer.  I fish perch in that area often and some days I catch a lot more smallmouth than I do perch, and perch is a 25 fish limit lol.

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, redmeansdistortion said:

I'm sure Ontario is as well, but I've never fished it and have no first hand experience.

It's pretty good, especially the eastern shore, featuring Chaumont Bay and the St. Larry.  Never mind all those pesky Finger Lakes just a short drive south.

[gim]

1 hour ago, Junk Fisherman said:

Grand Traverse Bay in Northern Michigan is the same way.  10-12 years ago it was unbelievable with little pressure.  As a very novice smallmouth fisherman, I caught 2 5 lbers the first day I went there.  But then it blew up and fishing pressure in June has become crazy. 

 

Mille Lacs Lake here in Central MN is exactly the same now.  The pressure is outrageous.  The lake has greatly cleared up the past 15-20 years because of septic improvements, shoreline habitat improvements, and zebra mussels, and it has gone from a walleye stronghold to a smallmouth lake.  There are still walleyes there in decent numbers, but the harvest is very restrictive.  Then BASS had two back to back AOY events in 2015 and 2016 out there and it was ranked as #1 in the entire country.  I'm glad that it showed everyone how great the bass fishing up here can be, but it also created a situation where the pressure has erupted.  Its a massive lake too, over 132,000 acres, but I refuse to even fish it on the weekend anymore.  I'm fairly positive that the next MN state record smallmouth is currently swimming in that lake.  When I fish it (about 2-3 times/season), I never catch anything small.  Every fish is quality size.  I never catch a lot of fish, but the average size is incredible.

[volzfan59]

55 minutes ago, uglyasheck said:

I actually have a Force that I love with no issues but it is the one made by Mercury.

I had the exact same experience. My first real bass boat was a 1997 Nitro 640 with a 90 h/p Force on it. Neither the boat or the outboard ever gave me a problem. 

 

To the topic, I wouldn't have purchased so much tackle.

[Cbump]

I’m only 37 next month but I’ve been fishing 30 years. Only thing I wish I had done was get into bass fishing sooner. Although when I got into It a few years ago, It was probably the right time since bass fishing can be expensive. 
 

Grew up fishing for mostly catfish. Never needed more than 3 or 4 round reel setups and a cast net. 

[Jar11591]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Bummer you lost that one.

But I'm betting you've tied some Great knots ever since. 

A-Jay

Funny you say that, because to this day every single knot I tie, I tie with this fish in mind. It haunts me. Has me thinking maybe I should change my answer in the “what do you do best” thread. I tie a good knot because of this incident. 

[Dwight Hottle]

If I could change the past I would have fished more but especially would have explored more different locations foreign & domestic places. So much water & so little time. 

[Drawdown]

I should have gone more often with my dad when I was college-aged and living in the same town.

 

I’m back in the same town, and we do still fish together, but now I have 2 small kids and a wife. But I’ve learned a lot more about fishing this past half year researching and trying new techniques. So I’m enjoying it more now than ever, whereas back then all I did was grab a heavy shakeyhead with a Zoom UV Speed Worm or a crankbait and beat the bank. Still caught fish that way—but now fishing is intellectually stimulating, too.

[king fisher]

I wish I would have brought a scale with me the day I caught the bass in my Avatar.

I wish I would have never taken my loud mouth friend to my favorite fishing hole.