Going back... 2024

N Florida Mike reply :

If you could go back to an old fishing hole from your past ,where would it be and why, and what you caught them on there. Its ok to pick a couple.

I'll wait to hear some responses and post mine later.

Mike

RO_Watkins reply :

I used to have permission to fish a pond here in my hometown that I would kill to have again. Some people came out there and left tracks, trash, were loud, etc. so he won't let anyone back. But it was a dynamite fishing spot. 8+lb bass, 16+in crappie, good channel cats, big bluegill. Perfect balance.

visagelaid reply :

I used to fish this place in SW Virginia. Right on the NC boarder. The spot was called the "Canoe Hole", and was part of Fox Creek. It had redeye, smallmouth, and some native trout, among other things. It was a wide deep section of Fox Creek that butted right up against a rock wall that was probably 100ish feet high. I recall if you are not catching anything just looking at the patterns in the rock. That could keep me occupied for hours when I was a kid. I remember a lot of good times at that spot. I dont recall catching anything massive, but every time I went there it was a blast when I was a kid. I lost access many years ago when the property owners died. I would like to fish that place again just to see what it looks like now.

flechero reply :

Turkey Run!

Some here will recognize that name, as it was much more than a lake to me.

Sadly it was drained years ago, and all fish lost. It was (because it was sold and subsequently closed) a private pay lake ($10/person/day) with a decent ramp. To the casual observer it was just a generic 75ish acre "depression" with few stand out features and very little structure to hold bass offshore, outside of 2 small, silted in ditches from the original creek... however it was lined with cattails about 20 - 30 feet thick and held surprising depth in those tails. It was an absolute dream to fish... pitching into the cattail lanes from dawn til dark, except the half hour of buzzbaits ticking off the edge tails. It was close quarters battle all day long. Strong healthy fish until you were tired! Days of 100+ fish were common and we caught lots of big fish. Ironically enough, we rarely saw another boat out there, and have to think it was the appearance combined with a pay entry that held people off.

It's kind of how I picture Heaven on earth. I sure do miss it!! (and the good buddy I used to fish it with!!)

RichF reply :

My dad was stationed at Fort McCoy in WI when I was 4. That's when he got me into fishing. I vaguely remember a place called the North Flowage we used to go to. I remember there being a ton of timber in it. My dad liked it a lot. I'd love to go back there with him, now that we really know how to catch bass.

ThePolkFolk reply :

When I first moved to Florida from Germany with my parents 14 years ago, we were blessed to be able to stay with my great aunt and uncle (dad's aunt & uncle) while my parents were setting up all their assets. It was a 55+ "trailer park" so there wasn't too much to do for a 10 year old, with no friends, in a Florida summer, with parents preoccupied with house shopping. There is a lake at the end of the trailer park with a little dock jutting out. I used to take my uncle's poles and using some crappie nibbles, would slay bluegills under that dock for hours on end. Sometimes my dad would come but I was mostly alone. That little spot made the transition back into the US a little easier. They moved out to California to be closer to their children and are now in a nursing home, but I will always remember and be thankful for their kindness. That little dock always reminds me to face the unknown and accept change, but it most importantly reminds me of family and the importance of helping others.

crypt reply :

I used to fish a small residential lake that had a few houses around it. was the best place for bass,bream,shiners,catfish. then developer bought the rest of the lots and you know what happens after that. but for about 5-6 years it was the go to place after school,weekends, just to be able to go.

NYWayfarer reply :

My dad and his friend used to own a jon boat with a trolling motor. They would put it on top of his friends Gremlin and take me to a state park to fish one of the lakes there when I was ten years old. We did that for three summers back then.

We used to catch Sunnies on worms and floats. One day we saw a guy with a stringer of 2-3lb Bass and my dad asked him where in the lake he got them. The man informed us that he was around when the lake was real low due to drought and saw all the structure Bass like to hide in. He wouldn't tell us where though. Never did get many Bass from there and certainly not the size we saw.

I would love to go back to that lake then knowing what I know now about Bass fishing and catch all the 2 and 3lbers that lake had to offer.

MIbassyaker reply :

If I could go back, it would be to a spot on the river where where I grew up that probably can't be accessed publicly anymore, below a dam that no longer exists, where I caught my first bass -- a smallmouth.

Honestly, my memory of that place and that moment is much more satisfying than a return trip would probably be.

XpressJeff reply :

Harris Lake in Vilas County Wisconsin!

It's about 100 yards from the Ooopers!

N Florida Mike reply :

I fished nearly all the well known lakes/rivers etc in much of N. Florida,and a lot of places that arent well known, and many with no name.

Its hard for me to pick one or two but I'll try.Every one of them has special memories with some of the best friends Ive ever had.I wont count the lake I live on,but it has the most memories.T hese aren't necessarily where we caught the most fish ,but where the EXPERIENCE was outstanding.

• The St Johns river at Lake George,and Crescent lake.Picture Cypress trees and spanish moss.They are different water bodies,but they are very similar to me.We would have our churches mens retreats at one or the other of these 2 spots each year.Everyone (40 + )men,would fish all day, then we would clean them all and have a fish fry and fellowship ( and a lot of practical jokes as I recall ) I was in my 20s then,and learned a lot about life being around all the wisdom from the older men.

Once, one of my best friends found a little hole near an Island in Crescent lake.It was only 4×4 or so.We caught easily over 100 bream of all varieties out of that one little spot.We used all the live worms we had,and they even bit DEAD worms.It pretty much supplied the whole fish fry that time.We believed the MASTER fisherman had supplied for us.

One of the special memories at one of those was when I had a special needs young man with me.We were fishing behind drayton Island near lake George.I was running the boat fixing to stop and fish.I saw a bass hit,killed the motor and cast to the fish,and handed him the rod.The bass took the worm and even though he didnt fight the fish well it was eventually landed.3 pounds.It was the biggest fish caught that trip.He was so proud and excited from all the attention.

Sorry for the long post but I could go on and on.

CoBass reply :

I used to fish a pond that was in the middle of a trailer park for retirees. It was loaded with 2-5 lb bass, giant crappie, and bluegill in the 12 inch and up range. You had to have permission from one of the residents to fish there, so it got very little pressure. Unfortunately, it suffered a severe Winter kill about 10 yrs. ago and never recovered. The pond is still there, but now it is overrun with nothing but stunted, 3-6 inch bluegills and crappie.

everythingthatswims reply :

The cove on Kentucky Lake that produced the winning fish for the Colorado Team, and the 2nd place fish for my partner and I , over the course of three days in the BASS High School National Championship.

My partner and I threw spinnerbaits, squarebills, drop shots, and senkos and caught largemouth ranging from 2lbs to 5 plus, the team from Colorado fished jerkbaits and caught some very big smallmouth (5lb plus) along with nice largemouth. In AUGUST!

180,000 acres of water and the top two teams out of a field of 175 both found the same 3 acre cove, and it had enough fish for three days, that says something about the type of spot we were dealing with.

IndianaFinesse reply :

A a couple of small gravel pits 20 miles out of a town with a population of a whopping 500 people. It can only be accessed by driving through sand that can and will sink if you park on it (I've got a funny story about how we figured that out) and then climbing over old barbed wire to get to the lakes. They are public, but I have only ever seen one person fishing there before. Great fishing, 4-5 pound bass are the norm with much bigger fish available, 10 inch gills, giant pike, and 1.5-2 pound slab crappie abound.

soflabasser reply :

There's a couple lakes that I spent a big part of my childhood fishing which I might go back to fish in the near future.In one of these lakes I have caught largemouth bass over 10 pounds, channel catfish over 20 pounds, bluegill over 2 pounds,redear shellcracker over 2 pounds, and peacock bass over 8 pounds.I have very fond memories of this lake and would consider moving close to it.

Bluebasser86 reply :

The small lake I grew up on and learned a lot of what I know about fishing. Fished it for a decade before the guy that owned it decided to divide it up and build houses on the shoreline. It wasn't the best fishery I've ever been on, but it was great for around here.

OCdockskipper reply :

I grew up fishing Canyon Lake (Railroad Canyon Reservoir) in Southern California, the home lake of BR member JustJames. It was (& still is) a private lake, but in the late 70's & early 80's, only about 25% of the lots in the community had been built on and of those, maybe 1/3 had full time residents. Most people would only come out on weekends and use the campgrounds, even during the summer, so as a teenager, we had the lake pretty much to ourselves during the week.

In retrospect, what turned out to be cool was not just the fishing, but the few other bass fishermen on the lake (all over 30 years old). They had bass boats, from an older model that looked like the ones used in the 1971 Classic on Lake Mead to brand new Rangers & Skeeters. If I recall correctly, most of them belonged to a bass club called the Ambassadors. Being a teen, I tried to modify my 12 ft (14ft?) Gamefisher from Sears to match their boats, complete with a foot controlled electric motor and makeshift livewell. These older fishermen always treated me very well, stopping to talk when we were both on the lake and always wiling to answer my questions about how to find & catch bass. In fact, I still have a couple of handmade jigs that a man named Bob Dashell gave me over 30 years ago.

I have visited the lake recently and it is very different, the community is nearly 100% built out and not near as isolated as it once was. However, based on JustJames reports, the fishing there is still very good.

dmainor reply :

I grew up fishing the sloughs of the Mississippi river in Prairie Du Chien WI and I remember very distinctly so many moments. My favorite. Heading back to the marina on my friends boat (his dad owned the marina) and i had a small black jig tied on to my pole. I saw a water snake slither through some vegetation right next to the boat, and popped my jig at it, thinking I might snag it (kids!?!) But, I caught my first 2 plus pound Smallmouth when it leapt up and took that black jig out of the air. Startled the heck out of both of us, but what a blast. Spent many summers catching every type of fish those sloughs had to offer and I would love to go back and fish them like I did, with the same energy I had 40 years ago.

Dug

Bankbeater reply :

There was a private lake over in Illinois that my Dad use to take me to back in the mid 70's and 80's. It was owned by a club, and for a yearly fee you could fish it all you wanted. Around 1990 or so the club changed the lake to more of a campground / resort area, and they raised the yearly fee quite a bit. I caught a lot of catfish and nice bass out of that lake, and have some good memories.

Austin11C reply :

A spot down on the river a few miles from my house. My papaw would take me there almost every day if it wasn't raining. I've caught more trout there than I could even think about counting, he got sick and passed on and that's still some of my favorite memories of when I was little. I can still go to that spot and I do occasionally but it's not the same by myself. Maybe one day when I have kids or grandkids I can take them and teach them what he taught me. Also when I was in college my roommate and I had a little Jon boat and would go to a local golf course and fish the ponds there. Caught some nice bass there but it's way too far of a drive to go back to even if it's still accessible.

Sam reply :

I was blessed to take my wife back to the Biloxi marsh southeast of New Orleans to go redfish fishing as I did while growing up in New Orleans. She had a blast.

Uncle took me and my two cousins fishing the Biloxi on weekends and it is still a great place to fish and see wildlife.

As for freshwater, Audubon Park Lagoon, across from Monkey Island. That is where my cousins and I fished growing up.

Lots of fun memories, such as the time we were flying fishing the Audubon Park Lagoon down from the bridge and I tried to cast to the far bank. I fell into the lagoon. Still remember seeing my cousin fall down laughing. Brings a smile to my face every time I think of it.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

On 4/26/2017 at 2:40 PM, OCdockskipper said:

I grew up fishing Canyon Lake (Railroad Canyon Reservoir) in Southern California, the home lake of BR member JustJames. It was (& still is) a private lake, but in the late 70's & early 80's, only about 25% of the lots in the community had been built on and of those, maybe 1/3 had full time residents. Most people would only come out on weekends and use the campgrounds, even during the summer, so as a teenager, we had the lake pretty much to ourselves during the week.

In retrospect, what turned out to be cool was not just the fishing, but the few other bass fishermen on the lake (all over 30 years old). They had bass boats, from an older model that looked like the ones used in the 1971 Classic on Lake Mead to brand new Rangers & Skeeters. If I recall correctly, most of them belonged to a bass club called the Ambassadors. Being a teen, I tried to modify my 12 ft (14ft?) Gamefisher from Sears to match their boats, complete with a foot controlled electric motor and makeshift livewell. These older fishermen always treated me very well, stopping to talk when we were both on the lake and always wiling to answer my questions about how to find & catch bass. In fact, I still have a couple of handmade jigs that a man named Bob Dashell gave me over 30 years ago.

I have visited the lake recently and it is very different, the community is nearly 100% built out and not near as isolated as it once was. However, based on JustJames reports, the fishing there is still very good.

Not nearly as good as it was before from what I've heard and talked to other. There are too many ppl fishing here someday I found a park full of fishermen, luckily there are quite a handful of spots that you can fish of. Lately I choose to fish where just a few ppl can get into (the north ski lake) I have to walk the trail (a mile long trail) a little bit and have just enough room to pitch between trees and brushes.

Now what the question of this post again?

Hmmmmm going back?

Yeah right, I'm not going no where, this canyon lake is my forever home lol. This is the best place to live in SoCal if you like fishing. I fish almost everyday but only a couple hours. I catch may be one or two fish each trip but at least challenge enough that I have to change location or bait quite often.

Btw, you gotta come and fish with me some day so you can show me old trick that might still work for this lake.?

Oregon Native reply :

Soooo much fishing...so many memories. Not sure wether to put tourney memories, steelhead/salmon memories. (grew up in Oregon) As I get older I think back quite a bit. I still remember winning my first tourney .... it was a Western Divisional for BASS where all the western states met on the California Delta in Stockton. Rough place. We were told not to walk around after dark due to the shadyness of the area. Someone I believe was even shot at the boat ramp the night before!!! Was an amazing fishery...I won the tourney and got big bass....I had the second slowest boat in the tourney and never went far as I didn't have GPS and was afraid of getting lost. I caught so many big fish and met some amazing people.

Now I'm creating memories in Tennessee with my son and grandsons.....I am blessed.

I have photo albums that have only hunting and fishing pictures of family and friends......awesome

Thank you for the thinking back

Mosster47 reply :

All of the log ponds in southern Oregon. Those mills have all went under and the ponds have been dried up for years now.

ww2farmer reply :

I am fishing the same body of water I grew up fishing.

My grandpa used to take me there all the time when I was a kid, and we'd bank fish a couple times a week. Then we'd rent small aluminum boats with little tiller outboards from one of the handful of places around the lake back then on weekends and his days off.

We swapped roles 20 years later....and I took him with me all the time, until he had a stroke about 8 years or so ago and he was no longer stable enough or it was safe enough for him to be in a boat. He passed away last summer.

So that's what I'd bring back.....

Paul Roberts reply :

Wonderful thread.

HawkeyeSmallie reply :

Quetico Park - Canada.

Went there three different times with my father and group of guys. Smallmouth, Walleye, Pike, the best. Beautiful with close encounters with bear and moose.

My life won't be complete until I take my kids up there. Amazing place. Takes some hard work but it's worth it.

lonnie g reply :

a neighbors pond that no longer exist. had line broke more than once there, of course that old gear dad had wasn't much. its a place my dad took me often as a boy. and anther lake that we pretty much stocked over several years that was bought by out of state people, that doesn't allow fishing. again done with my dad. I know one day we will get to do it again, just in another and better place.

Bucky205 reply :

Outside bream fishing with my dad or granddad on the Black Warrior, bass fishing on Rodman Reservoir is my definite all time favorite.

jbmaine reply :

Mine is Mousam lake ME.

We had a camp there when I was a kid. It's where I learned to fish, swim, and water ski.

Unfortunately we had to sell it when I was 13. I'm 62 now and still dream of it.

My wife and I still fish there but I always get sad when we go past the old camp.

Jim

RPreeb reply :

Balsam Lake, Wisconsin.

Like most of the posts here, my best memories are from where I fished when I was growing up. We lived in White Bear Lake, MN, but we had a cabin at Balsam Lake which had been part of a resort that my great grandfather owned and operated in the '20s and '30s. My grandmother, my mother, and my brother and I all grew up there during our summers at the lake, and that is where we taught ourselves what little we knew of fishing. I never caught any monsters, but I caught a lot - largemouth, crappie, walleye, bluegill, punkinseed, rock bass, perch. There were northerns in the lake, but somehow I never tied into one through the 10 or so years that I fished there.

I was back to Minnesota for my 50th high school reunion 3 years ago for the first time since 1963, and I made the short side trip to see the old stomping grounds. I was surprised at how much smaller the lake looked than what was in my memories. I didn't get to fish on that trip, but I did talk to a couple of guys putting their boats in, and they said that the fishing was still pretty good.

Bass_Fishing_Socal reply :

Come to think of it, I'd like to re-answer this question. I also would like to go back too not place but in time.

I remember when I was in teen, my mom was the one start all of us fishing. It wasn't any kind of hardcore fishing, just a resort/restaurant type with man made pond where you can sit down next to the pond fishing for tilapia or catfish while eating dinner. We did that may be once a month where all family get together, talk, eat and enjoy each other.

A-Jay reply :

Like so many, my memories are sacred and seem to become even more precious with time.

Not so sure I'd be willing to go back.

Don't want to mess up a good thing . . . . . . . .

A-Jay

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