You guy's enjoy it more then, or now ?
Speaking for myself, and really thinking about it.
It was better then... Less traffic, stupid fish, only 1 maybe 2 rods 1 Plano 747 tackle box...
It's changed, a lot, some good, some bad.imo...

folks had more common sense back then if they felt like something was wrong they wouldn't stew about it on their way home an get on the net an ask folks what they thought about it .

Lot better back then

A lot less people back then and whole lot less people from up north and out west in our state.

Whole lots better back then Red when fast bass boats would run maybe 35, all you needed was a black/blue worm and every bit of shore line wasn't covered in houses and boat docks. Sometimes my memories of yesteryear are detrimental to the realities of today so it's best to not dwell on them. I have Sirius XM on my truck radio and when the realities of today get too much I move to the 50's-60's channel long enough to remember the "good 'ol days" and it helps. With my dad I fished PK, Tawakoni and Rayburn the year they opened, now those were good memories.

North, east and west Doug. That's why we now have toll roads every where.

The 70's was a better time for bass fishing. It was before 300 hp, and fools that thought they were more important and had more rights because the were practising or competing in a tournament. Most boats were about 16 ft long and carried 65 to 85 horsepower. Most were couterious and gave you plenty of room and gave advise for catching fish. The launching ramps were friendly, with everyone helping each other and not complaining because some crappie fisherman took too long to load his little 14 ft. boat.

I enjoy teaching more now than I do actually catching. It was def better for numbers back then. I love me some Dumb Ole Texas Basses.....

I caught my first "biggun" 7 lbs 7 oz in a tournament on Ray Hubbard on 1-25-75. I had my red Garcia Ambassaduer 5000-B on my 5.5' Lew's Speed Stick with 14# Stren fluorescent blue line. I was throwing the only jig I owned. It was a black bucktail 3/8 oz Stan Sloan Booza Bug jig with a fiber weedguard. I had a black 6" Mr. Twister grub on the back as a trailer. I had no idea how to fish a jig but it was winter time and the books I read said to fish a jig & eel in the winter. We didn't have any Uncle Josh pork rind so I stuck the Mr. Twister grub on there.

We were fishing out of my buddy's 14' MonArk with a 35 Evinrude with no TM on front. We just idled around and either tied up or anchored. There was also no livewell on the boat. It was more of a ski boat than a bass rig but it floated and we thought we were hot stuff flying across the lake at a blistering 32 mph!

I was a sophomore at Garland High and we had organized a high-school bass club for all the Garland schools. It was the Top Six from each school that day on Hubbard. It was me and my partner Dickson Ayers in his boat. Kirk Balsley & Joe Smith in their boat. Gary Hughes and Paul Redmond rounded out our six man team. North Garland was there with their formidable team as was South Garland. Lakeview Centennial was there with a few guys. They were the rich kids from the South Side.

Coach Gary Reeves from Garland High (now the superintendant for GISD) did the shotgun start at safe light from the gas dock at Point Royal Marina off Hiway 66. We blasted off across Hubbard in search of the elusive largemouth bass.

I think Lakeview blanked but North Garland brought three or four keepers to the scales for about four pounds. Stories of the big one that broke their line circulated around at weigh in.

At the end of the day, Kirk Balsley had landed two nice 2.5-3 pound fish on a blue Fliptail worm off some old submerged RR tracks in deep water and put us in the lead. I think Paul Redmond landed one small keeper about a pound. Dickson and I show up with a 7 pound 7 ounce lunker that dropped everyone's jaws. It was the biggest bass any of us had ever seen in person! It was the only fish I landed that day but it didn't matter.

Ray Sasser wrote an article in the sports section of the Dallas Morning News about my fish and our school winning the event. We walked away with trophies for Heavy Stringer and Big Bass. The athletic director for the Garland schools paid to have it mounted for me. I was kind of a big deal back then.

Lakeview did not open until 1976

Red 5000 abu's Fenwick rods 20 lb mono that looked like kite string... Jig n eel, cream 6" purple white tail worms, Mr twister jelly flavored curly tail worms.. A couple of hedon top water chuggers, jitterbug, tiny torpedo, lowrance green box flasher..that was all you needed... I have literally thousands of dollars in gear now...
And have nowhere near the fun my brother I had back then...

I beg to differ with you. The first graduating class was May 1976.

Dang Ken, we were seniors in High school...I got out class of 76..
Your the man that talked me into buying a yellow magic for the unheard of price at $ 14.00 that's one I've never regretted and yes buddy you're still a big deal

Everything is always better through nostalgia glasses. In 40 years kiddos now will talk about how great the early 2000s were. It's all perspective and folks will always hold their memories dear.

I went to Garland High as a sophomore then my parents moved out further into the country so I transferred to North Garland as a Junior and graduated after my junior year from there in 1976. I should have been Class of 1977 but I went to summer school three summers in a row so I could graduate as a junior.

Oh Boy, I'm sure glad I gave up three full summers to do that!! NOT!!!

Nowadays I just sit around and talk about how good I used to be Billy.

It's the old saying Ken, "the older I get the better I was". We all use it especially at birthdays, lol.