It might be fun for you old timers out there to post any photos you have of yourself as a kid fisher.
I didn't really care for fishing when the family would head to a lake. Normally, I'd toss out my bobber with my plastic Zebco Always Tangle Reel and ignore it. Usually the bugs and rocks on shore were much more interesting than watching a red and white bobber on the lake.
Oddly enough, I would normally catch the largest fish of the day whether I planned to or not. My Dad, of course, would need a photo of me with the dead fish. It made him happy. I could have cared less.
Notice the cowboy boots. As a kid I always wore the boots. Thus, my Grandfather nicknamed me "Cowboy" and called me that as long as he was alive. He nicknamed all the relative he liked. My Mom's nickname was "Hollywood" because she always dressed to the T. My sisters nickname was "Suzy"... which I never figured out because her real name is Marcia. My younger brother was nicknamed "Sugar Foot"... that had something to do with my Grandfather's favorite TV show of the time. My older brother didn't have a nickname... most likely because he was the oldest and for some reason, the oldest sons of my aunts and uncles never had a nickname.
Ha Ha, my dad had a zebco folding rod. I forgot what it was called. But I always made fun of him when ever we went fishing. Ah yes, the pocket fisherman.
I don't have a picture but this thread reminds me of the first fish I ever caught (a tiny little bluegill) on Arrowhead Lake in CA. I'm pretty sure it was on a Zebco rod with a Zebco 33.
Is 50 old enough to be an old timer? According to my punk-ass kid it is. No photos from when I was a little kid because nobody ever had a camera around back then. This was in Tokeland, circa 1984. I remember puking so hard from being hungover seasick, while the captain of our ship smoked King Edward stogies all day, the smoke from which wafted around the cabin and mixed with exhaust smoke. Captain insisted we keep fishing, even though most everyone on the boat was chumming heavily...the worst thing was when we had to tend the poles because of a fish on, and we caught a bunch of fish that day.
No pictures because nobody in my family fished except me. Never caught the bug until I was 12 or 13. Been playing around in water ever since.
I can remember my first fishing rod I ever bought myself. It was a bamboo fly rod. I had a paper route and the money from that I got the rod. I paid 15 bucks for it. Three pieces with an extra tip. It even came with a sock. Couldn't afford a reel so I used a stick to hold my line.
Itchy, if the photo is in B&W, chances are you're an ol' timer
(nice fish!)
We had cameras as long as I can remember. My Dad was seriously into photography when he was in High School so he took a ton of family photos when he could. My interest in photography came from my Dad.
I think Zebco sold those old plastic, closed face casting reels just to frustrate fathers. Mine would create a birds nest of mono when it was just sitting there. I learned all of the cuss words as my Dad untangled the mess. It's his own fault. He was a cheap sucker and if he wouldn't have bought me a cheapo reel, he could have spent more time fishing than doing battle with that Zebco demon. Sometimes I could have sworn I would hear the reel laughing manically while my Dad was unraveling the line.
Started my fishing in Florida (60's) with a Mitchell 300 series reel and Eagle-claw fiberglass rod. We'd snag mullet from the canals and sell them to Roy's Bait & Tackle...money for comics, and candy! We'd catch juvenile Barracuda, snapper, the occasional ray, puffer fish and other species I don't recall the name of. One of my friends hooked a manatee, spooled him in the blink of an eye. Mostly used Fiddler Crabs or Blue Crab meat for bait. Never saw a fly-rod until we moved to CA.
That old bamboo rod got a workout on the Fall River in CA. If they were under 24" or 2 pounds they went back in. It was a great place to lean to fly fish. Once I got the hang of it, I never went back to those ugly worms. My Mom always used bait and always out fished Dad and I, But, that's ok, Mom's are special. I had two, one adopted and one biological. Both fished their whole lives. I've since gotten pictures of my biological Mom fishing from my new found cousin. She also showed me where they put her ashes, Big Lake, AZ. I went there to that site and found a bobber floating in the lake near where they sprinkled her ashes. I think it was her's, so I think she was a bait person, which is just fine with me, afterall Mom's cann't be wrong.
Great thread. No pics from me.
Freestoneangler, Ha, one of my first reels was also the Mitchell 300. I think I still have it in a box stored away somewhere.
I don't think I have any photos, but I do remember using a Mitchell 300. Actually put it on an old 9' bamboo fly rod my uncle gave me. Caught a lot of trout on that set up and also a coho at the mouth of a small creek in Lake Washington - those days are gone. Eventually picked up a Medalist for the fly rod.
1964 Bainbridge Island. My Dad and I had fished Sekiu for 3 days without much action and came home early. Next day i caught this one on our home turf...
I couldn't find any photos of me with fish. My Mom was the photographer in my family and she rarely ever went fishing or hunting with us. I cannot recall ever seeing my Dad with a camera in his hand.
Here is one photo of me. I'm the one with no shirt. The other guy is my friend Greg who lives about 20 miles from me now. We still hunt and fish together. I think we were 16. So 1966. Buddy Holly glasses . . .
I had a box full of stuff from my "yout", but the ex threw it out as soon as I moved out. Finding a place to store almost 40 years of stuff isn't easy, and she took advantage of that.
I'll try to find one of my old fishin pics. Trouble was, most of the photogs of that era were off taking pictures of President Lincoln, General Grant, and Civil War battlefield casualties.
Ancient recent history...early 70's off Vashon with a friend of my dads. I still remember this day as it pretty much got the whole ball rolling
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