Do you have range and what do you do best?

[Swamp Girl]

12 lb. walleye, 50" musky, 30 lb. pike, 40 lb. lake trout, and on and on. Wow, @Dwight Hottle, wow! 

 

[TnRiver46]

Bruce Hornsby had the range 

 

I’ve fished Alaska to the Florida keys, would rather stay home and catch dinks 😂 

[Mike L]

53 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

The BR gang backstories are so different. 

Thats what makes this place what it is. 

We all come from different backgrounds with different experiences that you just can’t know about by reading a post on a website. 
 

We’re all not just a pretty face 😃😃

 

 

 

 

Mike
 

[Swamp Girl]

13 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Bruce Hornsby had the range 

 

I’ve fished Alaska to the Florida keys, would rather stay home and catch dinks 😂 

 

Your 21" smallies are not dinks. And then there's that striper you caught that could eat 21" smallies. So, I know the real reasons you're staying home.

[Bankc]

I primarily fish from my kayak, but I'm a lot better fishing from the bank.  I just read the water better from the bank.  Plus, I tend to keep focused on the good spots, instead of searching for that next spot.  By limiting my options, I tend to make better decisions.  

[MIbassyaker]

My range is pretty much small northern waters, when not iced over and when time permits, from a small craft, bank, or wading. Pretty limited.

[Pat Brown]

2 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

 

I just realized that a Beetle Spin, spinnerbait, and underspin with a Keitech are the same lure, more or less, i.e. a fluttering spinner paired with soft plastic.

 

 

You ain't lyin!  😂😂😂

 

Somebody prove to me that they aren't all jigs also!!!

[Swamp Girl]

6 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

 

 

You ain't lyin!  😂😂😂

 

Somebody prove to me that they aren't all jigs also!!!

 

Wait a sec. If they're all the same lure, then the lure manufacturers might have tricked me into buying more lures than I need. Thank goodness it was just me and that nobody else fell for it. 

[Jar11591]

I primarily fish in the mountains of upstate NY. My “have fished” range extends to Sinaloa, Mexico though. 

[Swamp Girl]

Has anyone at BR fished Siberia, New Zealand, Argentina, or any place that's beyond yonder?

[thediscochef]

18 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Has anyone at BR fished Siberia, New Zealand, Argentina, or any place that's beyond yonder?

Closest I get to that is deep sea fishing once off the coast of Mombasa, Kenya. I was like 12. The indian ocean doesn't play around, I can say that much. After a few hours the swell was so intense that everyone else got seasick, so we went in. That is the only time I've ever been in a situation where the peak-to-peak wavelength was that much longer than the boat, and I would be happy to never experience it again. We hooked a few sailfish. I've fished the Texas coast some, my first catches ever happened down there as a kid with my dad. But I wouldn't say I know the first thing about saltwater fishing, or that I'm any good at it. As of right now I'm feeling the same way about catching bass lmao

[Swamp Girl]

4 minutes ago, thediscochef said:

Mombasa, Kenya

 

^Beyond yonder, for sure^

[Catt]

I've fished from Brownville Texas to Inverness Florida, from 135 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico to north central Ohio.

 

With 55 yrs experience on Toledo Bend that's where I do my most damage.

 

Joined two bass clubs whose members included John Torian, John Hall, John Dean, Villis P "Bo" Dowden SR, Harold Allen, Larry Nixon, Tommy Martin, & Zell Roland all guides at Toledo Bend's Pendleton Harbor Marina.

 

I've fished around 

Lonnie Stanley, Terry Oldham, Jerry Dean, Shaw Grigsby, Ken Cook, Todd Faircloth, Bob Sealy, Ron/Rick Pierce, & Darren "Mad Man" Mooneyham.

 

On a few occasions I met Gary Yamamoto, Ben Matsubu, & Takahiro Omori at the cafes and boat launches around Toledo Bend & Rayburn.

[Blue Raider Bob]

19 hours ago, ol'crickety said:

@Pat Brown: Pat, I think you could catch bass in a kiddies' wading pool.

I think you both could.

I grew up fishing the oxbow swamps of eastern Arkansas, northwest Mississippi and West Tennessee. Never knew how good I had it until I moved away and realized that fishing isn't as easy as I thought. Never heard the term "skunk" until I moved to middle Tennessee. It was unheard of to come home empty handed from the old river runs back home. Many's the time we would be the only people on the swamp lakes. It would be us, bass smashing shad, gars rolling, and the endless sound of the bream feeding under the trees. The Reckless youth and bellies full of beer couldn't keep the fish from getting hooked. Now in the clearer, deeper, and definitely more crowded waters of my local lakes and rivers, it takes a plan, plan adjustments, and more adjustments to catch fish, muchless the fish I would be proud to show you guys!

[Mobasser]

Ol Crickety, this is a good post. I still miss fishing farm ponds with my older brother. He was my teacher, and a good fisherman for his age.            We used surface baits borrowed from my dad's and grandfather's tackle. My favourite at the time was a small black Hula Popper. My brother loved a frog colored ( wooden) Bass O Reno. He taught me a lot about bass fishing. Mainly, slow down. Slow down and you'll catch more bass. This was in the mid to later 1960s, but I can still picture it very clearly. I was fortunate to have that learning experience.

[Gera]

I grew up fishing southern TX and Northern Mexico, now I fish mainly SE Michigan. 

I guess I have some range now. Smallmouth bass is just a myth down there and now I can efficiently and methodically catch them. 

[Swamp Girl]

43 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I grew up fishing the oxbow swamps of eastern Arkansas, northwest Mississippi and West Tennessee. Never knew how good I had it until I moved away and realized that fishing isn't as easy as I thought. Never heard the term "skunk" until I moved to middle Tennessee. It was unheard of to come home empty handed from the old river runs back home. Many's the time we would be the only people on the swamp lakes. It would be us, bass smashing shad, gars rolling, and the endless sound of the bream feeding under the trees. The Reckless youth and bellies full of beer couldn't keep the fish from getting hooked.

 

Poetry. I wish I'd been there with ya, Bob. 

 

Thank you, @Mobasser. I'm all out of reactions.

[Bankbeater]

I grew up fishing in public parks and conservation areas with my dad.  Most of the time we fished for catfish, crappie, or sunnies, but a few times a year we would make the 2 or 3 hour drive to one of the larger lakes and fish just for bass.

After a 15 year break from fishing, I got back into it again. By then my dad was strictly a bass angler and I met Mr. Bait Monkey, who greeted me with open arms.

These days, depending on the weather and traffic, I might fish locally or make a two hour drive to find bass.

[SC53]

Pretty much a homeboy living here in Florida.

But I’ve fished in Montana for trout, Costa Rica for rooster fish and pacific sailfish, Lake Michigan for lake trout and salmon.

I grew up fishing the south Florida canal systems ( before peacock bass and exotics) for bass, tarpon and snook.

In the 70’s I light tackle fished from Ft. Lauderdale to key west and caught so many fish. Got to fish the wrecks out of key west when they were close to their prime.

 Moved to Central Florida in 84 and went back to my favorite, bass fishing, and competed in a number of club tournaments as well as local tournaments including Redman and World Bass.

Fished with Shaw Grigsby in my first Redman and Jim Bitters in my second on the Harris Chain.

About the mid 90’s got back into the light tackle saltwater gig up here and still doing it. As well as bass. But find I do more freshwater that salt these days as it’s just easier but still fish a couple offshore tournaments a year. 

[Way north bass guy]

I haven’t travelled more than a day or so away from home to fish, but being here in central Ontario, I’ve been blessed to fish just about every kind of freshwater you could imagine. We have quite a range of different waterbodies, from the great lakes, countless small streams and rivers, to literally thousands and thousands of smaller lakes, some are gin clear Canadian Shield waters, and some, especially in southern Ontario are algae covered, weed choked shallow lakes very much like Florida has ( except for the size of bass of course).  Being able to fish such a diverse amount of water really teaches you how to find bass just about anywhere. I think that’s why so many northern guys have done so well on the elite series the last few years, we’ve grown up fishing it all. 

[Blue Raider Bob]

     Really enjoyed learning about my BR friends fishing history. What an extensive, and exotic range we have. Great thread Katy, really enjoyable. I feel like we've pulled back some layers and shared more than just stories, we've shared our souls, who we are, and why we do what we do. Hunters, fishermen, and outdoors people in general, have a restless, curious personality that in the words of one of your earlier posts, "Just want to see what's over that next bridge".

[FryDog62]

Moving from Minnesota to Florida has been a big change for me. We may end up here or likely somewhere else, so it didn't make sense to haul my bass boat 2000 miles and store it here and probably the next place.

 

I already had a motorized kayak here in Florida, so I'm making the most of that. It does change your range and how you fish though. I will likely buy another boat eventually when we get settled someday, but I can say for certain that fishing from a kayak will make you a better angler.  You are forced to become much more efficient in terms of how and where you fish. 

[Swamp Girl]

2 minutes ago, FryDog62 said:

I can say for certain that fishing from a kayak will make you a better angler.  You are forced to become much more efficient in terms of how and where you fish. 

 

My gut agrees with you, but can you unpack your assertion for me? Why does kayak fishing force you to become a better angler?

[FryDog62]

10 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

 

My gut agrees with you, but can you unpack your assertion for me? Why does kayak fishing force you to become a better angler?

Less range and less rods, tackle, etc. makes you really plan your trip out ahead of time and work high percentage spots more thoroughly... yet you have to know when it's time to pull up and cover more water. Sometimes just picking the ramp with best starting location in a kayak is the #1 factor, whereas in my bass boat, you just pull up and rip 50 mph across a large body of water to the next spot. 

[Swamp Girl]

Thank you, @FryDog62. You explained that well. When I'm going fishing, I study the map the night before and plan where I'll paddle first, second, third, etc. And I plan what lures I'll use, after looking at the hourly forecast, and factoring in when the wind will hit which shoreline.