well, after a many years long vacation due to past health issues with my parents and myself i got away from golf and fishing--it just happened. i've been slowly getting back into fishing, i always enjoyed fishing a lot more then golfing anyways. in my previous life, fishing was trout, pond/lakes and bay fishing--in that order--i always wanted to try shore fishing but never had the gear or knew anyone who did it. fishing from a boat was always my favorite no matter what, wether on a river, bay or lake/pond--just relaxing imho.
i'm really upset with myself now but i gave all my old fishing gear to a relative of mine--he helped me out wouldn't take cash and finally i was like oh man come on--and on a whim i said take my fishing gear it's just sitting there rotting away--he took it--and quite honestly--it couldn't have gone to a better person, well deserved. but man!! do i miss that equipment! it was a mix of a old early 1970's france made mitchell, diawa, a junkie penn (must have been a defect), and my favorites two shimano's that i used the most.
my shimano's were japan made--loved these reels, great for trout and pond fishing--a little too small for larger lakes--okay for crappy but the occasional larger fish was a little too much, then that's when i always would fall back on my all-rounder mitchell--at one time i used the mitchell for everything, stream, pond, lake and bay lol...just would change out the line and rod--this was the most sentimental due to the fact my uncle gave me the reel after he upgraded--favorite for personal reasons.
i'll probably go back to the shimano's, used a lot of diawa's but once i got those two shimano's i was hooked (no pun intended lol) i would expect the same experience
the one thing i'm taken back by is the PRICES HOLY SHIT LOL
i'll have to start off with an all-rounder type reel again...maybe...i'll see
a trout stream and a quarry are within walking distance from my house so that's what i'll target the most--like in the past it'll grow
Sounds like a lot of fun. Shimano is still good. A lot of the famous brands of the 70's no longer are. My pride and joy are some Abu Garcia bait casters made in Sweden. I use them in my boat and they still look newish, but are over 30 years old. Bad modern copies are expensive. You don't even want to know what my fly fishing gear costs. I control myself and it is still crazy expensive.
Great that you're back to fishing. Are you aware that every day that one spends fishing is ADDED to their life. Yup, it's a fact!
I used to be a very hard core fisherman, Canada, Boundary Waters, Northern Wisconsin etc. Now, I'm an urban angler in Chicago and inner ring suburbs-from shore. Believe it or not, I catch more impressive fish now than then. It shocked me, but I am able to catch very nice bass, cats and pike within 20 minutes of my house. I fish subdivision ponds, ponds in industrial parks and forest preserve lakes and rivers.
Additionally, climbing the banks over downed limbs etc. gives a great workout.
As for gear, I am a world class tightwad. This stems from when I was about 5 years old and we were in Northern Wisconsin before my Dad's business took off and he had some very inexpensive (read cheap) equipment. That trip he caught the biggest pike of the season reported on that lake. We went around to other towns to see the sights, ice cream etc. and heard everyone talking about fish. We were all ears and then when we realized it was Pa's fish we all had a great chuckle.
For bass, ALL I use is a green punkinseed Senko rigged weedless. For Pike I throw white or chartreuse spinnerbaits. Dollar ones from Walmart-LOL. For cats-Bar S hot dogs-LOL
Have a good time and remember it's called fishing, not catching. My Dad's business partner used take a rowboat out on the lake and fish-WiTHOUT BAIT, he didn't want to be bothered by a fish.
we have a lot of great fishing spots--the last few years when i did fish it was all catch and release--i would even file the barbs off the hooks for easy release--the only fish i was keeping was the occasional trout, fluke, white crappy and i really like the flavor of tiger/yellow perch--in the walleye family
(06-23-2022, 04:41 PM)rayray Wrote: we have a lot of great fishing spots--the last few years when i did fish it was all catch and release--i would even file the barbs off the hooks for easy release--the only fish i was keeping was the occasional trout, fluke, white crappy and i really like the flavor of tiger/yellow perch--in the walleye family
Same here, since Mom passed in 2005 I haven't cleaned a fish. I do it bluegills off the menu when in Michigan. Maybe this winter I will buy a bag of 100 frozen ones.
Mostly catch and release here as well. Usually a crappie fry in spring, a few walleye and pike while on vacation. I trout fish some and they are not amazing to eat IMO so they always go back. I do like fish that other people cleaned. Those definitely taste the best.
this might seem strange--the older i get the more i find myself going out of my way to NOT kill anything, i don't even want to kill the house spider or a yellow jacket nest--i will if i have too but reluctantly, the wife is usually yelling at me to do it LOL
i grew up hunting and fishing, was always taught to respect the "hunt" and we always ate what we killed
i don't know if it's my past cancer scare or age, maybe a combo of both? but let live just seems like the better option
btw, my buddy's cousin marinates fresh caught trout then smokes it--LET ME TELL YOU!!! IT'S LIKE EATING CANDY, it's soooo freakin good!
06-24-2022, 12:24 PM (This post was last modified: 06-24-2022, 12:25 PM by fenders53.)
(06-24-2022, 06:01 AM)rayray Wrote: this might seem strange--the older i get the more i find myself going out of my way to NOT kill anything, i don't even want to kill the house spider or a yellow jacket nest--i will if i have too but reluctantly, the wife is usually yelling at me to do it LOL
i grew up hunting and fishing, was always taught to respect the "hunt" and we always ate what we killed
i don't know if it's my past cancer scare or age, maybe a combo of both? but let live just seems like the better option
btw, my buddy's cousin marinates fresh caught trout then smokes it--LET ME TELL YOU!!! IT'S LIKE EATING CANDY, it's soooo freakin good!
Smoked sneakers taste good. It fixes anything that needs help. We have a lot of rough fish in the upper Mississippi. Not a meal but even that is good snack food. I like smoked salmon a lot and that is basically a big trout species.
