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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Before my computer went TU, I posted that I desperately wanted to learn to fish. Every SOB and his brother told me that it was damn near impossible for a person to teach himself to fish. I joined BASSMASTERS and started reading the magazine....Took the advice of the folks at the BASS PRO SHOP in Ashland Virginia....Jonny Krup gave me instructions over the telephone and sent me a load of "bright yellow triangular casting plugs". Folks, If you know any clueless sonuvabitch who needs help in figuring out how to jerk fish out of the water...practice casting plugs are the way to go. I bought a bright orange Hula-Hoop from Toy's R' Us and I lay it on the lawn with a 75' seperation and use the damn thing for a target for my Jonny Krup casting plugs. No bragging but I not half bad at dropping the damn things in the hoop. Have I caught fish? Yes.....I caught a 7.5 pound largemouth bass aonth ago at a fishing contest in West Virginia...We fished a lake that was stocked with fingerling size Bass three years ago and removed from the West Virginia inventory of fishable locations. They reopened the lake for the Redhead Clothing tournament....folks caught some real whoppers. I am a prize example of beginners luck....but I am getting better. I would like to thank the wonderful fellow who put me onto, and mailed me the knot book ( that taught me the Bimini Twist knot....The same fellow tauight me about casting plugs....I need to thank the tree wonderful shipmates that mailed me the Shakespeare "Ugly Stick" with the Phleuger bait casting reel....with the North American Bass species identification book....Also the gentleman who sent his grandfather's lure....what a wonderful gesture....I also am deeply indebted to Chief Bill Ehney for his advice, cautions, explanations, fishing lore and marvelous stories...Like Skimmer Krup, I am also deeply indebted to Mister Ehney.....I love going fishing...I'm not so stupid as to think I have reached the point where I can legitimently call myself a fisherman....but I love doing it all the same. Nothing brushes away the dark clouds of loneliness like dunking a baited line in a body of water with fish in it. Thamnks to all of you who encouraged me and in point of fact, gave me the wonderful present of "love of hook dunking." THANKS, Your Indebted and Deeply Grateful Shipmate DEX |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1405
Location: Houston, TX (Best state in the US) | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Well, as we all know to be a good fisherman, you have to be a good liar!!!!!!!!! But anyone with a set of dolphins on his chest already knows how to spin a NTINS and I'd guess, Dex, you have a head start on a lot of us!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah...fishing is great fun whether you catch anything or not. When I was a kid on the outskirts of the Oklahoma plains, I'd steal a piece of a hotdog or a slice of bacon, grab my tackle box, rod and reel, and jump on my bike and ride the section lines to find a farm pond to explore. Generally got sunburned and nothing but pan fish to bring home, but every now and then I'd hook a good size crappy or a bass. Sometimes I'd get caught by a rancher who marveled at my inability to read and understand the POSTED sign every twenty feet of fence. This usually involved a 5 minute diatribe similar to the things I have heard come out of the mouthes of folks E7 or above!
Every now and then, if I had been good during the week, Dad would take me down to the spillway at the lake's dam and we'd spend all morning hauling out catfish or crappie.
Never was much good with lure selection though I had one spinner worked well for me. Can't remember the name of it...Never got the hang of poppers or top water lures.
I just enjoyed sitting on the edge of the water imagining what was below and hoping I'd hook the "big one"....
Thanks for the memories, Dex!
Glad to know you are getting the hang of it! |
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Old Salt
Posts: 402
| Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
There is something about fishing that is very relaxing. Ya can get away from all the problems of the world and life in gerneral and just relax. I used to fish off a barge that was anchored in the Santa Monica Bay just off Redondo Beach. One day the Bonnita was running. I was told by the other, more experianced fishermen to use a silver spoon shaped lure. I was told to cast it out, let is sink a bit and then reel it in as fast as I could to attract one. The fish that were being brought aboard were a little longer than a burlap potato sack. I tried this fishing as I had been told but did not catch a thing. After about 30 minutes of this I cast out, and just quit. I didn't reel it back. I turned my head and began talking with my buddy and WHAM!!! I thought my rod would leave my hand. I began fighting the fish and my buddy looked out and saw a sealion making for the fish. I finally got the fish out of the water. The sealion had left teeth marks in the tail but I had won!!! That was the only fish I cought that day, and was only the second fish I had ever cought. But I'll never forget that one.
Take Care
Steve |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1603
| Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Steve, I know that old ferry boat you use to fish off in Redondo Beach very well. Besides that in the 60's we use to fish off the big rocks and little rocks (as we called them then) at least one day of the weekend. |
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COMSUBBBS
Posts: 3202
Location: Alexandria, Virginia | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
As in any discipline, there appears to be a complete vocabularly spoken by the prctitioners of the art, that you can only master by actually associating with other more senior members of the fraternity. I was introduced to a small contraption called a HULA-POPPER...the little boogers come in a variety of sizes and color combinations. The guy in Dawson's fishing gear department recommended a small one...the little green guy with the small black spots on his back...and the little fellow has his mouth open and has a triple hook arrangement....I don't know if these frog looking guys have nationwide appeal but around here they pass for bass breakfast, lunch and dinner....It's to fish what double cheese Whoppers are to teenagers....or big busted wimmin are to Doc Beeghly. So far, here's what I like about folks I've met fishing...They are never angry...like sunny days...never seem concerned about the DOW JONES averages, swine flu, the price of cucumbers, elections in Pakistan, the details of Michael Jackson's career, global warming (except the temperature and humity within a fifty foot radius if their hippockets), the merits of any wine that costs over a buck fifty a quart, imported beer....and they, by in large, are religious backsliders but believers....They buy their booze in flat pints and can survive for weeks on baloney sandwiches and diet 7-Up. My fishing pal is a gentle, soft spoken African American fellow, I met one day early on, when I spent most of my time untangling backlashes on a Pfluger bait casting reel. Nobody ever had a more common sense professor of fishology. Eddie smokes cheap as hell seegarz, owns a pocket knife with the main blade worn to a funny shape from years of being sharpend on a little Arkansas hard stone he carries in his pants pocket...He drinks ice tea he cools in the ice inside his "caught fish" box and never tires of telling you,"Them damn sodey pops you'se drinkin ain't no gahdam good fer ya...they rots yer teef and f--ks up everthing from yer gizzard to ya liver." Great friend to share your lunch and most of your afternoon with...Eddie's seen a lotta years of hard living and fishes for food not sport...I give him what I catch to cover my tuition at Eddies Riverbank U. I've never met a mean or undesirable person fishing...All the sonuvabitches must play golf and tennis...or drink all afternoon in neighborhood bars. Eddie uses Eagle Claw snelled hooks and dough balls...not that that would be of interest to anyone, cept me n' Eddie and a number of unfortunate fish swimming around about a mile north of Mount Vernon. Eddie used to smoke a pipe...but,"all that pipe s**t got spensive as hell...all them pipe cleaners, tobacco bags, Dr. Graybow feeelterz and that Walter Raliegh toobakker....man that started running into Abe Lincoln level bills, so's I swapped off to seegarz." Eddie has a damn near wornout aluminum folding chair ("That sumbitch gonna fall apart on me sumday") I bought him a new one and it's sitting in the back of my van along with a blow-up rubber ring for his "Gahdam roids...Them sumbitches is a special kinda hell tha Lord done come up with so's loafin' old men like me don't spent too much time down by the ribber.")...Philosopher, history witness, life advisor, fishin' knowledge dispenser, appreciator of large fannied wimmin....consumer of cold-cut sammidges....and a wonderful friend who gives unqualified friendship in exchange for caught fish and Lipton tea bags. DEX |
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 877
| Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Hmmm...why go to all the trouble of learning the lingo when a few grenades or M-80s would do the trick... |
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Old Salt
Posts: 403
Location: Sacramento/Twain Harte | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Dex,
Read the new rule put out by the D.F.G. You must share your lunch with a game warden if present They like baloney sands. and seven up. Great sport, I fished for fifty years both salt and fresh. Did a little commercial out of San Fran. salmon/ crab, but found I could make alot more money in the produce buss.  John396 |
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Old Salt
Posts: 431
| Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Cool Dex,
Reminded me of fishing with my Dad.
One beautiful day we had caught a few nice keepers. I had surreptitiously stopped baiting my hooks, because I just liked being there on the beautiful Choptank River with him. At one point I had reeled in because I thought my line was going to get snagged on something. It wasnt and I dropped the empty hooks back into the water.
But not before Pop had noticed,
"You arent baited anymore"
I answered, "Being here with you is enough, Pop."
He kinda grinned and said, "ok"
A while later he reeled in after a nibble, seeing his bait gone
He dropped the empty hooks back in and said,
"Fishin and catchin is good, but sometimes just fishin is enough."
Yeah Pop it was.
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 998
Location: NE Florida | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Except that the size of the things he catches often appears exaggerated.
DBF
Coyote
Edited by Coyote 2009-06-29 9:21 PM
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 602
Location: Visalia, Ca. | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Coyote - 2009-06-29 7:20 PM
Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Except that the size of the things he catches often appears exaggerated.
DBF
Coyote
Except.... You mean that's NOT a good thing? 
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Great Sage of the Sea
Posts: 998
Location: NE Florida | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Donald L. Johnson - 2009-06-29 11:29 PM
Except.... You mean that's NOT a good thing?
Now we're standing into dangerous waters.... sayings come to mind like
the older we get, the better we were
and so forth...
Good to hear from you, Coyote |
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Master and Commander
Posts: 1323
Location: Oxnard, CA | Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
Coyote - 2009-06-30 4:20 AM
Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
Except that the size of the things he catches often appears exaggerated.
DBF
Coyote
New proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will sit in the boat drinking beer for a lifetime. |
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Old Salt
Posts: 402
| Subject: RE: An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
("Fishin and catchin is good, but sometimes just fishin is enough." )
Amen to that. Sharing good times with someone ya love is priceless.
Take Care
Steve |
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An Idiot is Teaching Himself to Fish
