I think I still have that reel, too.

I can recall fishing as far back as I can remember. Grew up on the Great Lakes and fished most of Lake Erie, its bays and rivers. Grew to love the taste of the Yellow Perch over all other fish. I go home yearly and enjoy a feast of fresh Yellow Perch. (Making myself hungry just thinking about it...) Fond memories of fishing on the ice around this time of the year to fishing for big game fish such as Chinook, Salmon, Muskie and others on the other lakes and around Canada. Funny thing is, grew up fishing crappie only on the spawn then moved on to the various types of fishing as the bite turned on. Always seem to stick to the Yellow Perch for the obvious reasons. After the military and establishing a home here in Texas, I found a great crappie lake which brought back some of the childhood memories. The rest is history�

Good thread, while I may be only 41 years of age and a youngester among some of you, this is my Dad and I in 1967. As some of you know I lost him to cancer this past October so this Kodak snapshot is priceless to me.

My dad had a crappie house on Lake Graham when I was growing up. Had bunk beds and we would spend the weekend up there. I never will forget him waking me up one morning and telling me to watch this. He pulled back his cover and kicked a snake off his feet into the well in the floor. Boy I sure was glad I was on that top bunk. I learned to fish from a tube and we belonged to the Local BASS club. I won my 1st tournament on that lake.

My mom went with us once and all the other kids. I was the oldest and Dad and I were out fishing in our tubes. Mom and the kids were at the crappie house. We heard a blood curdling scream and headed that way. We found Mom and all the kids in the boat untied and drifting. We finally caught her and she told us a snake came up in that house. She said she was about to walk on water until she thought about that boat. She never went back. She can't even look at snakes on TV.

Those were the days of the Lazy Ike in black and White along with a black and white skeleton colored Chugger. We only threw purple or or black Creme worms then in 6". Oh to be happy and care free again!

My grandfather taught me to fish on Cross lake in Shreveport La. We would dig our own night crawlers and cat fish off his pier with cain poles. He also kept us supplied with crickets for catching perch. I stayed the summers with him, we fished everyday, I lived on that pier. My grandmother would make us lunch and bring it down to the pier. It was a grand time, oh to be able to turn back the clock.
Thanks for bring up this topic, what vivid memories.

Started with my garnd parents at Lake o' the Pines. We would wade out at Pine Hill and catch huge bream and catfish. Later in junior high, it was me and my buddy sneaking onto the school ag farm at night. They had 5 ponds and we fished them all. By high school, I was fishing any and everywhere I could.

I stopped for a LONG time and started again in 2004 when I found the TFF.

AMEN BROTHER I AM SAVED!

Agreed, this is a great thread.

I started bream fishing with my older brother at False River in New Roads, LA. We dug for worms and captured crickets after mowing Grandma's what I then thought never ending lawn. Boy, did we catch the bream! My Uncle came by one day and we gave him all we had. He was from Batchelor, LA. and said if he thought we would have that many again he would come the next day. He should have made the trip!

We used old cane poles w/bobbers - what memories. When the summer rains would come from a southerly direction, we would watch the rain as it came across False River and let it get close. Then we would race to Grandma's just to see if we could beat it. I probably got wet a lot - don't remember.

By 7th grade I graduated to the lever wind reel and fished the Atchafalaya Spillway with Dad. He could locate the bass before we went into commercial crawfishing - but that's another story for another day.

Thanks for the memories.

Will I made the age 40. If you here my dad tell it I was in the water any time I could get there. He said to find me, he would go down hill and find water and look down stream about a hundred yards and there I would be with my butt in the air and filping rocks. He never was a fisherman so my early fishing time where after we moved to were they still live in Longview. There is a little lake down the street from them. Me and a friend would go down there and fish. I will never forget the owner of Harrdins hardware that was across the street. He taught us how to clean fish and other things about fishing. Sure am glad ya'll brought this up. Makes me remember alot of good times. Thank you all for sharing and if we do start a book count me in for it and a beer or two.

Im too pushing that Black Balloon 40 year mark in about a month, I haven't been all over the world fishing ,more hunting around and love Texas, but have had countless days and nights on the local area lakes with stories that could fill any book. As funny as it seems on the the days now wondering how we could ever do without the electronics, and still have a bad day in this supernatural underwater cheater world. When I look back I see 2 kinds of answers...1 How can a day of 15-100 fish in an evening seem just decent, 2. Man we caught 10-15 Big Crappie and was the Happiest Camp around with big celebrations of fresh fried fish and tents laying on the rough ground during the spring beating off snakes and mosquito's. I have pic's from a youngster, when we ran trotlines all night with fresh chicken blood, sugared down and cane poles with wild minnows on the back coves of Tawakoni and Ray Hubbard, and frog gigging into the late night was scary but thrilling as youngster, just trying not to go to bed and get left before Dad and Uncle left out to check the lines again. Really brought an awakening to the real world of Campers and nice boats and sometimes not near as many real fish as we caught when we had nothing but an instinct. Man Has life Changed! I appreciate just 1 fish sometimes, instead of as many as I can Catch.

Looking forward to the spring fishing ahead.

Fished with my grandpa or uncle almost every day when I was kid and out of school for the summer--Mostly ponds and creeks--
What memories!
Good fishin'

Grand ma and Grand pa were both fisherPersons. I was fishing in some of my first memorys, Cane pole, cork bobber with the stick through it. by the time I was 9 or ten thier wasnt a tank or creek in this country safe from my pole. I still live within a mile of where I was hatched, so I still haunt some of my old stomping grounds. When I turned 11 grand paw bought me a shiney new zebco 33 and 5 hedon lures to go with it, I still have the reel and 4 of the lures. Ahhh the memorys of a kid growing up in the 50s, the stories I could tell, Slipping the first beer outa unk Fuzzys ice chest (red metal coleman as I remember)and running down to the river to drink it.(wonder if Falstaff is still in business) First experince with a Crank telephone, first expirements with dynamite and then A cord . Its a wonder Im still alive and not in jail. But darn it was fun.

I am older than most of you and I guess I was a liberated girl before it became cool in the 60's. I think my dad put a fishing pole in my hands when I was born. I cannot remember learning how to fish. I do remember watching him. I learn a lot of stuff just watching how he did it.

He just had two daughters and he taught us how to hunt and fish just like we were his sons. I remember him buying the new Zebco 33 reels for us to use because we lost too many fish reeling his reel backwards. That was before reels had an anti-reverse switch. ;o)

We lived in West Texas and fished Lake Ft. Phantom a lot. We fished the creeks around Phantom for crappie. We also made long trips to fish areas on the Clear Fork of the Brazos. Cane pole fishing around Lake Kirby and Lake Abilene produced a lot of fish. I remember catching a lot of cats on Lake Abilene with a cane pole when grown men fishing around me were catching nothing.

I still enjoy fishing. I fish from the bank most of the time. Just let me know how deep, what bait or what color jig they like and I will find my own spot.

If we have a good day of catching fish it is a bonus. I enjoy getting out and being outdoors more than anything. I just hate the dead heat of summer when it is too hot for me to fish.

Wish I had memories of the old days. No one in my family fished. Me and my dad tried a couple of times on Wallace lake in Shreveport, La., thats when I got into fishing and have enjoyed it ever since. Thank GOD I married a woman who grew up with a fishing pole in her hands. She can filet a fish better than most men I know, and lets me go fishing whenever I NEED to. And her family will eat all the fish I enjoy catching and then some. Thanks for all the stories... P.S. I have a 3 year old daughter, and one in the oven due in june, and you can bet your bottom dollar that they will grow up with lots of memories fishin with dad...

My earliest fishing memories were of fishing off of a dock in the Shenondoah River up in Virginia. As I remember the line was tied off to the end of my rod and I used to catch Bluegill. I don't remember being in school at the time so I suspect I was around four or five. I also remember having to wear one of those bulky life jackets the whole time, probably a good thing.

In later years I graduated to a cheap closed face reel. That was a long time ago!

Fishing with my dad on Lake Norfolk in Arkansas at night with a lantern out of a rented aluminum boat. Would do this once a year when we went to visit my grandparents. The owner of the boat would fish with a mitchell 300 spinning reel and I would be thinking one day I'm going to own one of those spinning reels.