Old Timers Round-up 2024
Hellbenderman reply :
I started bass fishing in 1956 with a fly rod in a local farmers pond. I was ten. By the time I hit 16 I was crazed. My primary weapons were a Rapala Minnow, a squirrel tail Mepps spinner, and a Creme Wiggler with a weedless Eagle Claw hook, no weight. My, my, my, how things have changed, not that any of the afore mentioned lures won't still catch fish, but I was wondering if some of you who have been at this for a few decades, might reflect, good or bad, on how things have changed since dirt was rocks. Do you remember the fuss over the introduction of the Bagley Balsa B?
bilgerat reply :
Well, 45 may not make me an old timer in some people's eyes....I bait fished for carp and catfish as a kid. I got away from fishing in my teens and didn't pick it up again until my twenties. That's when I started using lures. 7" purple worms, Rapalas and 3" rubber shad bodies on 1/8 oz ball jigs were my mainstay for years. I caught a ton of fish on them. Life was simpler then.
Wild Bill [NY] reply :
I started slinging plugs [as they were called back then] in 1960, with a Jitterbug my first lure ever.
Amazingly, they still catch the tar out of them in low light.
Most guys that fished only had a few lures.
My grandfather would roll over in his grave if he ever saw all my tackle and rods, let alone my basboat.
Back then, most guys learned fishing from thier Dads or grandfathers like I did, not by reading about it ,nor seeing it on TV, and we sure as all get out had no internet then.
Times and things back then were way simpler.
There were only a few channels on TV, and after a certain time, programming was DONE until it started again in the morning. In 1960, our family had ONE TV, and it was black and white,
In 1960, we had no A/C in my family's car nor in the house either. We had a fan...{LOL}
I have fished intensely my entire life; have never put it down.
Hammer 4 reply :
First time I fished was 1958, bought a spinning rig at Thrifty drugstore for 4.99 or something. At 10yrs old, I hopped on a bus that took me to the nearest lake, which was Legg Lake in so. cali..the only lure I had was a red devil..I didn't know how to even cast my rig, I released the anti reverse and slug it as hard as i could.
Wound up hooking some mans arm.. :-[ He pops the hook out (wasn't beyond the barb) then proceeds to teach me how to properly cast. I was in heaven..Then my folks got divorced, that was the end of my fishing for about 7 yrs..fished up till the mid 80's then stopped.
Luckly, I got back in it, when my Son bought me a nice spinning rig for Christmas in 08, he's been fishing since he was about 9, at 35 he's still doin it. 
stratos 375 reply :
I was fortunate that my Dad & Uncle were really into bass fishing throughout the 40's & 50's. My first dedicated bass fishing trips began in the early 60's. I remember many Zebco's, Mitchell 300's, old red Ambasadors. I spent a lot of time growing up on my uncle's cattle farm in Levy County that had a ultra private pond, it was my personal playground. I fished it anytime of day or nite I wanted. Words can't hardly describe it. Fast forward to the late 70's, got so wrapped up in fishin, I lost a wife, a house, and two jobs and developed a few personal problems. Started a guide service, then developed some more personal problems.
Jitterbugs, Johnson's spoons, Snagless Sally's, Bill Plummers bass frog, Burke flex-o-lure, Storm Thin fins, Dying flutters & devils horses & Dalton Specials, Buck Perry spoonplugs & No-Bo line. Caught many large fish on all of them. Herters catalogs, the 50 assorted lures from Sports Liquidators for 19.95 (?) Them big ol' plastic worms that had ridges in them & 2 weedless hooks, looked kinda like a piece of tire tread.
That's when fishing was about fishing. Today it's about fishing & money. I see guys on TV roughing up the fish, hootin & hollerin, high fivin & screamin at the fish, The G-man doin a high speed pass on Randy Howell whilst he's fishin! I really don't understand it.To me, it's just all common bufoonery.
I been doin it about 5 decades now, three decades at 150-200 trips a year. I'm wore out, my elbows & wrists are wore out, and my boat's wore out. I'm tired of runnin & gunnin. I do however still manage to squeeze in well over a hundred days a year. There's 5 lakes all within 10 minutes of here.
yeah, I could probably fit into the old guy category
Fishing Rhino reply :
Pshawww, you guys are all youngsters.
I started fishing in the mid 40s using a bamboo pole, kite string, a cork bobber, a hook, and a tin can to carry the worms I dug up in an old, long neglected, orchard on my way to the pond.
The first rule back then was to make sure the worm hid the point of the hook so the fish couldn't see it.
Crestliner2008 reply :
QuotePshawww, you guys are all youngsters.I started fishing in the mid 40s using a bamboo pole, kite string, a cork bobber, a hook, and a tin can to carry the worms I dug up in an old, long neglected, orchard on my way to the pond.
The first rule back then was to make sure the worm hid the point of the hook so the fish couldn't see it.
ROFLMAOOO! ;D How come you aren't dead yet? ;D
I'm a spring chicken at only 65 by comparison! Caught my fist LM on a shiner and a $2.00 rod with a fly reel given to me by a neighbor. That got me "hooked".
Seen a lot of stuff come & go. I still have a tubular steel baitcasting rod (Heddon Pal) and a Pflueger "Silk Cast" knuckle buster reel. My Dad bought me a Heddon "Lucky 13" for Xmas one year (the old wood kind) which I still have as well.
Times have certainly changed! Some for the better and some for the worse.
Fishing Rhino reply :
QuoteQuotePshawww, you guys are all youngsters.I started fishing in the mid 40s using a bamboo pole, kite string, a cork bobber, a hook, and a tin can to carry the worms I dug up in an old, long neglected, orchard on my way to the pond.
The first rule back then was to make sure the worm hid the point of the hook so the fish couldn't see it.
ROFLMAOOO! ;D How come you aren't dead yet? ;D
I'm a spring chicken at only 65 by comparison! Caught my fist LM on a shiner and a $2.00 rod with a fly reel given to me by a neighbor. That got me "hooked".
Seen a lot of stuff come & go. I still have a tubular steel baitcasting rod (Heddon Pal) and a Pflueger "Silk Cast" knuckle buster reel. My Dad bought me a Heddon "Lucky 13" for Xmas one year (the old wood kind) which I still have as well.
Times have certainly changed! Some for the better and some for the worse.
Three years does not a spring chicken make by comparison.
Times have indeed changed. I'm not sure I enjoy it any more than I did as a wide-eyed youngster of five, but it sure costs a lot more to do it.
I remember going to the hardware store where the bamboo "poles" were standing in an empty nail keg. The nail kegs are long gone too.
The kite string was tied to the tip of the rod, leaving a long tag end which was secured along the rod from the tip to the stouter portion of the bamboo with a series of half hitches.
When, not if, the tip broke you still had your line bobber and hook. The cork was slit lengthwise about half way through. Slip it over the line. Then it could be slid up and down to adjust the depth of the bait.
The biggest fish I caught in those days was a 16 inch pickerel. But, I did not catch it on the pole.
We used to put the fish on a stringer, which was also kite string with a twig about four or five inches long tied to the string. We'd slide the twig between the gills and the gill plate and out the back side.
The twig would then prevent the fish from pulling from the line. We'd secure the stringer to a bush, rock, root or whatever. Keep in mind this stringer was about twenty feet long, so it was more like a leash which allowed the fish some freedom to swim about.
One day I had a shiner on said leash. After fishing for a while, I was ready to release the shiner and head home.
That pickerel had come along and swallowed the shiner. To me, it looked like a world record fish. So I brought it home. Along the way, the pic slid off the shiner. I got it home, put it in a wheelbarrow full of water, pulled up some tall grass and put it on the water.
Somehow, I thought it would keep the water oxygenated. After everyone saw it, I put it in a bucket, and released it back into the pond where it had been caught.
It did manage to survive that ordeal. The pond was only a couple of minute's walk through the orchard.
Daniel My Brother reply :
You men soft.
Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
J Francho reply :
So easy, a can do it!
Fishing Rhino reply :
QuoteYou men soft.Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
Rock not sporting.
Concussion from rock can stun fish.
Rock long distance weapon.
Pointed stick more sporting, and does not produce concussion to harm other life forms in vicinity.
Loomis supposed to make best pointy sticks.
Paul Roberts reply :
Now THIS is cabin fever at it's best. LMAO.
As to the topic at hand, I'm a young'n here -started fishing in the 60s, and seriously in the70s. Francho wasn't even born yet however. He's lost little in the exchange though -'cept maybe some respect for his elders. John, lost in the woods without a super-tuned reel, you'd starve bro! Course, it's tough to get lost in the woods anymore. Just follow the sound of engines to the nearest road. Oh...you thought I meant a mapping GPS didn't you. ;D
SirSnookalot reply :
I'm a youngster at 65 and have all the stories as the elder statesman. One thing I remember vividly is fishing with no rod at all, hand jigging for walleye in the Detroit river. Detroiters have the best arms.
Being in Florida I have no idea anymore of what cabin fever is, I go into withdrawal after 1 day off the water.
J Francho reply :
I'm not as young as you might expect, but I'm a mere fraction of these old farts, LOL.
Back in the 80s and 90s, when I cut my teeth, an Ugly Stick and a Penn spinner got me through the woods just fine.
8-)
senile1 reply :
QuoteYou men soft.Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
Me used rock from driveway. Make talk about Shimano fishing rock. Me want to learn.
Paul Roberts reply :
QuoteI'm not as young as you might expect, but I'm a mere fraction of these old farts, LOL.Back in the 80s and 90s, when I cut my teeth, an Ugly Stick and a Penn spinner got me through the woods just fine.
8-)
I think an Ugly Stick is standard military issue survival gear, isn't it. The only rod that'll curl up into a fanny pack. OK J...that's primitive enough.
tyrius. reply :
QuoteI'm not as young as you might expect, but I'm a mere fraction of these old farts, LOL.Back in the 80s and 90s, when I cut my teeth, an Ugly Stick and a Penn spinner got me through the woods just fine.
8-)
Change Penn to Shimano and I match. I fished that ugly stick for a LONG time. It was a ML and my favorite lure was a berkley power worm!!! Had some hook setting issues for sure, but I didn't know any better back then.
J Francho reply :
I'm not sure I want an ugly stick in my fanny pack, LOL. ;D
Fishing Rhino reply :
QuoteQuoteYou men soft.Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
Me used rock from driveway. Make talk about Shimano fishing rock. Me want to learn.
One question. What is driveway?
firefightn15 reply :
QuoteSeen a lot of stuff come & go. I still have a tubular steel baitcasting rod (Heddon Pal) and a Pflueger "Silk Cast" knuckle buster reel.
While they were before my time, this is the type of equipment that I started out with. I then graduated to a Zebco 202 with a ugly light green 5'6" fiberglass rod. I think it was my first combo. Bait/lure of the day was live worms, Rapalas, and DareDevils.
J Francho reply :
QuoteQuoteSeen a lot of stuff come & go. I still have a tubular steel baitcasting rod (Heddon Pal) and a Pflueger "Silk Cast" knuckle buster reel.
While they were before my time, this is the type of equipment that I started out with. I then graduated to a Zebco 202 with a ugly light green 5'6" fiberglass rod. I think it was my first combo. Bait/lure of the day was live worms, Rapalas, and DareDevils.
We're pretty close in age, and that's a very similar progression as mine. God, I hated that stupid knuckle buster with the braided line. The sleek silver appeal of the old "33" performed as well as it looked. I remember actually having a hell of a time learning to reel my first spinner with my left hand. Ended up stealing my Dad's special order Mitchell lefty. Eventually I figured it out. I know we had a few of the metal handle/fiberglass rods at the time, but I'm pretty sure mine was wrapped bamboo. I could be wrong.
firefightn15 reply :
Ha J, I wasn't good enough for the Mitchell's, those were reserved for my older brothers. ;D
Now that I think about it, I believe that Zebco set up is still in my stash. I'm gonna see if I can find it. Ah the nostalgia. 
Catt reply :
I started with a Penn reel & up graded to Abu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 with a Heddon Mark Special Purpose.
Spooled with braided cotton & up graded to braided Dacron & then to monofilament
WRB reply :
Started fishing as soon as I could walk and was water safe. Our cabin was only 50 feet from the shoreline and boat dock. Can't remember not fishing.
The editors of Outdoor Life (Robert Page) and Sports Afield (Jason Lucas) where my bass fishing mentors.
I bought my first bait casting reel a Langley Lure Cast at age 9 from money earned doing chores and the Connolyn rod was my birthday present. I still have the reel and wished I kept the rod.
I caught old Moses the summer of '53. It took me over a year to catch that bass and learned a lot about bass habits watching Moses an trying to figure out how to catch this big 7 lb bass. I caught her on a small live crappie and was so excited, took the bass home and we ate the fish. Moses would be the last trophy bass I would intentionally kill the rest of my life.
I learned to bass fish walking the shoreline and rowing a small wooden boat. My tackle was the rod & reel mentioned, braided Ashaway line and 3 lures; jointed Pikie , Jitterbug and Hawaiian Wiggler #3.
It wasn't until a family vacation to Shasta lake in '55 that I discovered Creme rubber worms, the rigged worm with 2 hooks , bead and small propeller. I had already learned about Doll fly jigs and black pork rind by then.
On another vacation to lake Havasu in '58, learned another lesson; live waterdogs catch big bass! While waiting for my brothers to buy gas, I caught a big bass under the gas dock on a water dog the old man who owned the bait shop gave me to try; 11 lb lake record that still stands today.
I was now obsessed to catch the next world record bass, an obsession that continues to this day.
WRB
Triton21 reply :
I was lucky enough to be born(1943) and raised on the banks of what in 1957 was said to be(Field & Stream) the "Best Smallmouth Stream in the Eastern USA"(Rockcastle Creek in Martin County KY). It is no more thanks to the coal stripmines that have ravished and raped the land. The chemicals used to clean the coal has killed all the fish in many miles of that creek several times.
Enough of that. I caught my first fish, a sunfish(that I remember), with a stickweed for a rod, sewing thread for line, and a bent straight pin hook, worm for bait, when I was about 3 years old. I have fished ever since. I lost many relationships with females because of my fishing and hunting. ;D So be it. I have now fished over 63 years and hope, when my time comes, I will meet my maker with a rod, gun, or bow in my hand.
Kelley
Olebiker reply :
In 1965 I was 14 years old and attending St. Meinrad Seminary in Southern Indiana. There were a couple of ponds on the property so when I was home for spring break I spent $2 on a Zebco 202 and $2 on a solid fiberglass rod. I bought some inline spinners (Rooster Tails and ABU Reflex) and some pre-rigged worms with beads and spinners.
Our next door neighbor, Jack Dolson, taught me how to tie an improved clinch knot. When I got back to school I spent every afternoon after class fishing. I have never really quit, but over the last three years it has become my main recreational activity.
Paul Roberts reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteYou men soft.Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
Me used rock from driveway. Make talk about Shimano fishing rock. Me want to learn.
One question. What is driveway?
Mammoth trail.
Triton21 reply :
QuoteQuoteQuoteQuoteYou men soft.Me had fishing rock.
Throw rock at bass.
Eat bass.
Shimano make best fishing rock.
Me used rock from driveway. Make talk about Shimano fishing rock. Me want to learn.
One question. What is driveway?
Mammoth trail.
Buffalo Trace.
Paul Roberts reply :
My first rod, and first fish. I remember going up along the river with Dad, and he cutting that alder. I look at that pic and can STILL remember the very moment I felt something alive, tugging "down there". I can feel that tippy boat, and the musty smell of that life preserver.
I have my maternal lgrandfather's old brass bird cage fly reel, and have caught trout with it. I also have my paternal grandfather's Jitterbug, and have caught bass on it, as did my Dad. I have a son too who's next up for that old stuff. He's got a new 33 for a "bass reel" too.
Blue Streak reply :
Boy I had to think about this. I was born in 1942 and lived a short walk from the Ohio River. My Dad and brother and I used to go there 2 or 3 times a week. They had metal rods with some sort of casting reel and black line. I don't know what they were but they had to be cheap because we were poor. I used a branch cut from a willow with string from the grocery store that they used to wrap meat with and a small hook. While they fished for catfish I fished for shiners. I can't remember how old I was the first time 4, 5, maybe 6. I can remember using the Pflueger tandem spinner and the Shannon twin spinner, Flat fish and Lazy Ikes. An old neighbor gave me a tackle box with some Pikie minnows, Go Deeper Crabs and some kind of Oreno plug. I caught bass on all of them. The guys with money used solid fiberglass rods and Pflueger Supremes and everything was made in the USA, anything from Japan was just junk. I went from sitting on a muddy river bank to wading creeks in my bare feet to my first johnboat and then my first bassboat. I fished tournaments for some twenty years including the Ohio Bass Federation state tournaments. I got so tired of the tournament crap I won't even go to a weigh in now.
Through it all I had fun, learned a lot, made a lot of friends and got to watch all of the technological advances. It has been a sweet ride and I ain't done yet.
Hammer 4 reply :
Some great stories guys...
Fishing Rhino reply :
QuoteBoy I had to think about this. I was born in 1942 and lived a short walk from the Ohio River. My Dad and brother and I used to go there 2 or 3 times a week. They had metal rods with some sort of casting reel and black line. I don't know what they were but they had to be cheap because we were poor. I used a branch cut from a willow with string from the grocery store that they used to wrap meat with and a small hook. While they fished for catfish I fished for shiners. I can't remember how old I was the first time 4, 5, maybe 6. I can remember using the Pflueger tandem spinner and the Shannon twin spinner, Flat fish and Lazy Ikes. An old neighbor gave me a tackle box with some Pikie minnows, Go Deeper Crabs and some kind of Oreno plug. I caught bass on all of them. The guys with money used solid fiberglass rods and Pflueger Supremes and everything was made in the USA, anything from Japan was just junk. I went from sitting on a muddy river bank to wading creeks in my bare feet to my first johnboat and then my first bassboat. I fished tournaments for some twenty years including the Ohio Bass Federation state tournaments. I got so tired of the tournament crap I won't even go to a weigh in now.Through it all I had fun, learned a lot, made a lot of friends and got to watch all of the technological advances. It has been a sweet ride and I ain't done yet.
Close, but no cigar. Got you by a year or a few months depending on the month of '42. I'm class of November '41.
Blue Streak reply :
You are the winner by 8 months. Hey remember when Gadabout Gaddis was the only fishing show on tv?
Fishing Rhino reply :
Yes I do. I've posted about it a few times.
Gadabout Gaddis, the flying fisherman.
Blue Streak reply :
The good old days. I don't know if they were any "gooder" than today is. I would not want to fish without an electric motor again.
Triton21 reply :
Glad there is someone older than me on here. 10/20/1943
Kelley
Hammer 4 reply :
Well, I for one, wouldn't mind going back to the late 70's, early 80's..
1948..I feel like a young pup..lol
QuoteThe good old days. I don't know if they were any "gooder" than today is. I would not want to fish without an electric motor again.
Triton21 reply :
QuoteYes I do. I've posted about it a few times.Gadabout Gaddis, the flying fisherman.
Harold Ensley
Gatorbassman reply :
This is one cool read. Thanks for starting it.
Paul Roberts reply :
Ahhh.....my first casting reel. :-? 
:'(
Remember those exciting (to a ten year old) ads in the back of (Boys Life maybe?) for the "100 piece fishing kit!" The picture was of a casting reel, lures, hooks, stringer, swivels and split shot (yup they count them individually), and probably other exciting things, layed out in front of a tackle box. I think it cost $12.95.
My friend John and I each saved our lawn mowing money for that kit. And then came the day the packages arrived, both addressed to John's house so we could open them together. I remember the ad, and that box, real well. All I remember about the contents was how CHEAP it all was. And that reel...we wanted to love it, but it was obviously not built to be loved. It wouldn't cast more than about 15 feet -and that with all the sinkers and lures in the box tied on at once!
We were crushed. But we learned a good lesson about "buyer beware".
Blue Streak reply :
Maybe we can start a senior center on bass Resource. Free coffee and fish stories unlimited.
tholmes reply :
I started fishing with my Grandfather sometime around 1958, catching bluegill and bullheads with a cane pole and worms. As I became more proficient, I moved up(?) to a Zebco 202 and channel cats and bass. Grandpa gave me my first casting rig, a Shakespeare model 1920 reel and a tubular steel Wonder rod, and taught me (with infinite patience) how to cast a plug. The first bass I caught on a lure was with that rig, throwing a Lazy Ike. That old rig has a place of honor in my shop.
After high school, I went nuts for bass fishing, spending every available hour fishing. I went through the usual assortment or tackle, Abu Garcia 5000, Mitchell 301, the original Daiwa Millionaire, Pflueger Supreme, Shakespeare 1980 President II etc.
I was forced by circumstances to almost give up fishing in the late '80s. An industrial accident left me with some physical issues affecting my mobility and balance and a divorce shortly afterward left me broke, but I've come back to fishing recently, though I'm pretty much restricted to fishing from the bank.
These days, my greatest joy is teaching my grandkids to fish.
Tom
jt236 reply :
This post is great.I also started fishing in 1956.My dad and uncle took my brother and me fishing in the same area where they fished as kids.Caught my first a smallmouth,looked to be about 5lbs.probably was 10inches.My dad brought us rods and reels at a farmers market.Ever hear of Ocean City reels? One more thing,I am still using the Bagley B'S I bought in the 70s.
Mike O reply :
Born in 1955. Best early memory of Bass wade fishing around 8 years old waste deep in a gravel pit. I was throwing a wooden frog colored Creek Chub Darter, an old lure left in an old box, around some vegetation. Fishing it on a state of the art Mitchell 300 that my dad traded for a case of home brewed beer, really good stuff! I was jerking it and a nice Bass hit it and came up jumping, then burrowed deep pulling hard spitting the bait. When I looked at the lure the hooks had completely been pulled out of the bait. Hooked on Bass fishing ever since!!!
Fishing Rhino reply :
The Mitchell 306 and I believe the 300 had a nice feature. The quick change spool.
Push the button on the top of the spool, and it would release from the shaft, and could be slid off.
Drag setting stayed the same, as the entire assemblly, drag and spool came off. Pop on another spool and drag assembly and good to go.
RAMBLER reply :
I'm a November '41 baby, too. Started fishing when I was about 14. Somebody, (an uncle probably) gave me one of those knuckle busters and a solid steel rod with 30 lb black dacron line. If I could save the pennies and nickles, I bout 30 or 40 lb steel leaders. Put "perch" hooks on the leader and caught a ton of bluegill and a few bass. Got a red and white daredevil and caught some northern pike. Casting that was when I learned to "thumb" a reel. It still just comes naturally without having to think about it.
When the crappie started hitting the mayfly hatch, my brother and I got a couple of cane poles, put some of that 30 lb black dacron line on the pole, the length of the pole, a white popper and went "fly" fishing and caught a lot of crappie.
My gosh, now I need a second boat to carry my tackle and don't catch near as many fish. Might have something to do with no one else fishing where we did.
detroit1 reply :
You guys ARE old. My first fishing experience came in 1964, with my dad and 2 sisters. I had a little plastic "shuttle" with about 25' of line and a hook. Fished off a little bridge and caught 32 bluegills/sunfish in about 45 minutes on 3/4 of a nightcrawler. We threw them all back, but i was hooked. The summer of 1966, on our yearly vacation to see the relatives in Kentucky, my dad bought me a Eagle claw ul outfit for my birthday. I bought a rocky jr. (1 " jointed minnow) and slayed em in my grand-dads and his neighbor's ponds. I thought i was big stuff when i had my 2 tray tacklebox full of baits (age 12 in 1969). Still get geeked out on my way to the lake...later
fshnaddic reply :
Well I guess I'm really lucky, I'm 47 my Dad and His uncle were the first people in the county to have baitcaster so I could throw one of those old shakespeare's before I could ride a two wheeler, But I do miss how simple and relaxing fishing was back then, grab that old baitcaster and my fishing hat which also held my spare lures , a hula popper and a spinnerbait, I usual keep the lucky 13 tied on and tried it first, walk the bank of those oxbows and the river and catch fish all day
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