Where to begin? Grab a coffee, sit back and relax. Well I never got a chance to fish with my dad (or do anything for that matter that I remember) as a lot of you were fortunate to have done. He and mom divorced when I was about 5 or 6. We didn't have a lot, but were not poor. What we did have plenty of was family. My Grandfather lived about a block and a half from my house, so I spent most of my youth over there, while my mom worked. My mom was one of eleven kids and a lot of them lived at home still back in those days. A few of my uncles were into fishing. I'd watch them go and talk about fishing different bodies of water close by with one another and other family members. They kept their tackle and fishing rods in the trunks of their cars, always at the ready to go. I remember watching them sort through their tackle boxes and they had so many different types of lures, I was curious. I'd ask them "What does this lure do?" and "What does that lure do?" One of my uncles (Uncle Charlie) definitely had a better idea than some of the others, so I paid attention to him the most. When I became old enough where I could fend for myself and wasn't a pest, my uncles would take me fishing.
I'd go fishing with one uncle who while he would take me, he wasn't as interested in catching fish as he was relaxing on a chair and listening to music. We'd get a dozen shiners and go fishing for panfish. When we'd catch one, he'd step on it (just enough to get leverage) to take the hook out. They always swam away, so he was gentle enough, but to this day we make fun of him for being such a wuss back then! That uncle actually gave me the first fishing apparatus (notice I didn't say rod), which was.......are you ready for it....... a Popeil "Pocketfisherman". When I had to come up with a name on another fishing forum, it made sense and has stuck on the few boards I belong to! Eventually that pocketfisherman broke and my Uncle Charlie gave me a Zebco rod for one of my birthdays and let me use/keep one of his rods he had. I remember it was a custom built rod from "Fishing Finatics" in Everett, paired with a Mitchell 300 reel. He started taking me more and more and I graduated from the panfish to the bass fishing soon enough. I subscribed to Bassmasters and Field & Stream magazines. My Uncle Charlie also was into salt water fishing. We used to buy sea worms and catch buckets full of flounder by the Schrafts building in Charlestown and North End. Uncle Charlie got me started more seriously, but my confidence and any skills (as little as they may be) were learned on my own or with my cousin Karl (Kman) along the way. We always knew there was much more than our uncles knew and are still learning nowadays.
Karl lived in another city, but our mothers are sisters and very close to each other. I spent a lot of time at Karl's house too growing up. He had the luxury of living around the corner from a small pond. We'd dig up earthworms in his yard, take some cheese from his refrigerator and go fishing at that pond. We'd catch catfish, sunfish, the occasional perch and one of the biggest alligator snapping turtles I ever saw up until a few years ago, aptly named "Big Alice" by the locals. A quick growl and snap of her jaws and my hook was cut in two, yikes!
Over the years, Karl and I (and I don't mean to talk for him, this is from my point of view) fished more and more together, honing our skills and developing a better appreciation of the sport and our environment. We bought a two-man boat and have been having a blast catching fish together after many years. The next step is to buy a bigger bass boat and take it to the next level, but we'll always have fun regardless of the place, type or trail we are fishing on.
Thanks for reading and believe it or not, this is the short version!
I then found girls in my teen's and got away from fishing until my mid twenty's. I'm now 51 and have had several boats and can't get enough of it!
Very cool thread indeed!
Where to begin? Grab a coffee, sit back and relax. Well I never got a chance to fish with my dad (or do anything for that matter that I remember) as a lot of you were fortunate to have done. He and mom divorced when I was about 5 or 6. We didn't have a lot, but were not poor. What we did have plenty of was family. My Grandfather lived about a block and a half from my house, so I spent most of my youth over there, while my mom worked. My mom was one of eleven kids and a lot of them lived at home still back in those days. A few of my uncles were into fishing. I'd watch them go and talk about fishing different bodies of water close by with one another and other family members. They kept their tackle and fishing rods in the trunks of their cars, always at the ready to go. I remember watching them sort through their tackle boxes and they had so many different types of lures, I was curious. I'd ask them "What does this lure do?" and "What does that lure do?" One of my uncles (Uncle Charlie) definitely had a better idea than some of the others, so I paid attention to him the most. When I became old enough where I could fend for myself and wasn't a pest, my uncles would take me fishing.
I'd go fishing with one uncle who while he would take me, he wasn't as interested in catching fish as he was relaxing on a chair and listening to music. We'd get a dozen shiners and go fishing for panfish. When we'd catch one, he'd step on it (just enough to get leverage) to take the hook out. They always swam away, so he was gentle enough, but to this day we make fun of him for being such a wuss back then! That uncle actually gave me the first fishing apparatus (notice I didn't say rod), which was.......are you ready for it....... a Popeil "Pocketfisherman". When I had to come up with a name on another fishing forum, it made sense and has stuck on the few boards I belong to! Eventually that pocketfisherman broke and my Uncle Charlie gave me a Zebco rod for one of my birthdays and let me use/keep one of his rods he had. I remember it was a custom built rod from "Fishing Finatics" in Everett, paired with a Mitchell 300 reel. He started taking me more and more and I graduated from the panfish to the bass fishing soon enough. I subscribed to Bassmasters and Field & Stream magazines. My Uncle Charlie also was into salt water fishing. We used to buy sea worms and catch buckets full of flounder by the Schrafts building in Charlestown and North End. Uncle Charlie got me started more seriously, but my confidence and any skills (as little as they may be) were learned on my own or with my cousin Karl (Kman) along the way. We always knew there was much more than our uncles knew and are still learning nowadays.
Karl lived in another city, but our mothers are sisters and very close to each other. I spent a lot of time at Karl's house too growing up. He had the luxury of living around the corner from a small pond. We'd dig up earthworms in his yard, take some cheese from his refrigerator and go fishing at that pond. We'd catch catfish, sunfish, the occasional perch and one of the biggest alligator snapping turtles I ever saw up until a few years ago, aptly named "Big Alice" by the locals. A quick growl and snap of her jaws and my hook was cut in two, yikes!
Over the years, Karl and I (and I don't mean to talk for him, this is from my point of view) fished more and more together, honing our skills and developing a better appreciation of the sport and our environment. We bought a two-man boat and have been having a blast catching fish together after many years. The next step is to buy a bigger bass boat and take it to the next level, but we'll always have fun regardless of the place, type or trail we are fishing on.
Thanks for reading and believe it or not, this is the short version!
Great write up Roger !
Very cool thread indeed!
Where to begin? Grab a coffee, sit back and relax. Well I never got a chance to fish with my dad (or do anything for that matter that I remember) as a lot of you were fortunate to have done. He and mom divorced when I was about 5 or 6. We didn't have a lot, but were not poor. What we did have plenty of was family. My Grandfather lived about a block and a half from my house, so I spent most of my youth over there, while my mom worked. My mom was one of eleven kids and a lot of them lived at home still back in those days. A few of my uncles were into fishing. I'd watch them go and talk about fishing different bodies of water close by with one another and other family members. They kept their tackle and fishing rods in the trunks of their cars, always at the ready to go. I remember watching them sort through their tackle boxes and they had so many different types of lures, I was curious. I'd ask them "What does this lure do?" and "What does that lure do?" One of my uncles (Uncle Charlie) definitely had a better idea than some of the others, so I paid attention to him the most. When I became old enough where I could fend for myself and wasn't a pest, my uncles would take me fishing.
I'd go fishing with one uncle who while he would take me, he wasn't as interested in catching fish as he was relaxing on a chair and listening to music. We'd get a dozen shiners and go fishing for panfish. When we'd catch one, he'd step on it (just enough to get leverage) to take the hook out. They always swam away, so he was gentle enough, but to this day we make fun of him for being such a wuss back then! That uncle actually gave me the first fishing apparatus (notice I didn't say rod), which was.......are you ready for it....... a Popeil "Pocketfisherman". When I had to come up with a name on another fishing forum, it made sense and has stuck on the few boards I belong to! Eventually that pocketfisherman broke and my Uncle Charlie gave me a Zebco rod for one of my birthdays and let me use/keep one of his rods he had. I remember it was a custom built rod from "Fishing Finatics" in Everett, paired with a Mitchell 300 reel. He started taking me more and more and I graduated from the panfish to the bass fishing soon enough. I subscribed to Bassmasters and Field & Stream magazines. My Uncle Charlie also was into salt water fishing. We used to buy sea worms and catch buckets full of flounder by the Schrafts building in Charlestown and North End. Uncle Charlie got me started more seriously, but my confidence and any skills (as little as they may be) were learned on my own or with my cousin Karl (Kman) along the way. We always knew there was much more than our uncles knew and are still learning nowadays.
Karl lived in another city, but our mothers are sisters and very close to each other. I spent a lot of time at Karl's house too growing up. He had the luxury of living around the corner from a small pond. We'd dig up earthworms in his yard, take some cheese from his refrigerator and go fishing at that pond. We'd catch catfish, sunfish, the occasional perch and one of the biggest alligator snapping turtles I ever saw up until a few years ago, aptly named "Big Alice" by the locals. A quick growl and snap of her jaws and my hook was cut in two, yikes!
Over the years, Karl and I (and I don't mean to talk for him, this is from my point of view) fished more and more together, honing our skills and developing a better appreciation of the sport and our environment. We bought a two-man boat and have been having a blast catching fish together after many years. The next step is to buy a bigger bass boat and take it to the next level, but we'll always have fun regardless of the place, type or trail we are fishing on.
Thanks for reading and believe it or not, this is the short version!
Great write up Roger !
Thanks Neil. That truly was the short version, as I'm sure you can relate. I could probably fill a whole page of how it all began and progressed. And so the story continues.........................
Here we go, grew up about 2 blocks from the South Watuppa Boat ramp, as a kid I was always in the woods catching snakes, frogs turtles if it was alive I could catch it. I had a baby Eastern Diamond Back rattler as a pet that I caught in a sand pit in Rhode Island when I was 8 (Crocodile Hunter didnt have sh*t on me) I was taught the ways of the Ocean by my Grandfather Westy, he always had a boat always had time to take me fishing, I love the man, he is still around and this upcoming season Im getting out for a Captain Johns trip whether he likes it or not.
As far as Bass Fishing goes, a friend on mine's dad took me and his son to the Watuppa boat ramp every Sunday morning rain or shine, he would buy us 5 or 6 dozens shiners and a hand full of the biggest bobbers Buckos Bait and Tackle had.
He would buy him self a case of 22 oz Naragansett tall boy cans and sit at the ramp with 4 or 5 of his friends and clean 55 gallon trash barrels of Tautog they caught on their Saturday Salt water trips.
Man, back then the yellow perch in the watuppa were the size of bass today, honest to god Ive seen em close to 3 lbs, we would catch fish after fish after fish, the small mouth were abundant as well, thanks to the 3rd world community the pond sucks today
From then to now not much has changed as far as my love for fishing goes, a few serious years of bumps in the road, a few years in prison here and there, lol, but never lost the passion to fish.
I want to thank Buff for posting this topic, Im sitting in my office with a giant smile of my face, reliving all those child hood moments spent with people I loved on the water, the memories are vivid, crystal clear, like they just happened a minute ago, life is good, real good, flash forward 30 some odd years and Im still on the water with a bunch of kids in grown up bodies, chasing the fish of their dreams and having a blast doing it.
NO HOMO! I love you guys, lol, looking forward to many more years of good times and great fish stories!!!!!
Gotta go, I have lives to save!!!! CYA!
First off I think this is about the coolest thread Ive seen thus far on the site.
Here we go, grew up about 2 blocks from the South Watuppa Boat ramp, as a kid I was always in the woods catching snakes, frogs turtles if it was alive I could catch it. I had a baby Eastern Diamond Back rattler as a pet that I caught in a sand pit in Rhode Island when I was 8 (Crocodile Hunter didnt have sh*t on me) I was taught the ways of the Ocean by my Grandfather Westy, he always had a boat always had time to take me fishing, I love the man, he is still around and this upcoming season Im getting out for a Captain Johns trip whether he likes it or not.
As far as Bass Fishing goes, a friend on mine's dad took me and his son to the Watuppa boat ramp every Sunday morning rain or shine, he would buy us 5 or 6 dozens shiners and a hand full of the biggest bobbers Buckos Bait and Tackle had.
He would buy him self a case of 22 oz Naragansett tall boy cans and sit at the ramp with 4 or 5 of his friends and clean 55 gallon trash barrels of Tautog they caught on their Saturday Salt water trips.
Man, back then the yellow perch in the watuppa were the size of bass today, honest to god Ive seen em close to 3 lbs, we would catch fish after fish after fish, the small mouth were abundant as well, thanks to the 3rd world community the pond sucks today
From then to now not much has changed as far as my love for fishing goes, a few serious years of bumps in the road, a few years in prison here and there, lol, but never lost the passion to fish.
I want to thank Buff for posting this topic, Im sitting in my office with a giant smile of my face, reliving all those child hood moments spent with people I loved on the water, the memories are vivid, crystal clear, like they just happened a minute ago, life is good, real good, flash forward 30 some odd years and Im still on the water with a bunch of kids in grown up bodies, chasing the fish of their dreams and having a blast doing it.
NO HOMO! I love you guys, lol, looking forward to many more years of good times and great fish stories!!!!!
Gotta go, I have lives to save!!!! CYA!
Neil couldnt of said it better my self. Finding this place was like finding a bunch kids who all loved fishing, just with bigger and better toys to take on the water.
First off I think this is about the coolest thread Ive seen thus far on the site.
Here we go, grew up about 2 blocks from the South Watuppa Boat ramp, as a kid I was always in the woods catching snakes, frogs turtles if it was alive I could catch it. I had a baby Eastern Diamond Back rattler as a pet that I caught in a sand pit in Rhode Island when I was 8 (Crocodile Hunter didnt have sh*t on me) I was taught the ways of the Ocean by my Grandfather Westy, he always had a boat always had time to take me fishing, I love the man, he is still around and this upcoming season Im getting out for a Captain Johns trip whether he likes it or not.
As far as Bass Fishing goes, a friend on mine's dad took me and his son to the Watuppa boat ramp every Sunday morning rain or shine, he would buy us 5 or 6 dozens shiners and a hand full of the biggest bobbers Buckos Bait and Tackle had.
He would buy him self a case of 22 oz Naragansett tall boy cans and sit at the ramp with 4 or 5 of his friends and clean 55 gallon trash barrels of Tautog they caught on their Saturday Salt water trips.
Man, back then the yellow perch in the watuppa were the size of bass today, honest to god Ive seen em close to 3 lbs, we would catch fish after fish after fish, the small mouth were abundant as well, thanks to the 3rd world community the pond sucks today
From then to now not much has changed as far as my love for fishing goes, a few serious years of bumps in the road, a few years in prison here and there, lol, but never lost the passion to fish.
I want to thank Buff for posting this topic, Im sitting in my office with a giant smile of my face, reliving all those child hood moments spent with people I loved on the water, the memories are vivid, crystal clear, like they just happened a minute ago, life is good, real good, flash forward 30 some odd years and Im still on the water with a bunch of kids in grown up bodies, chasing the fish of their dreams and having a blast doing it.
NO HOMO! I love you guys, lol, looking forward to many more years of good times and great fish stories!!!!!
Gotta go, I have lives to save!!!! CYA!
Neil couldnt of said it better my self. Finding this place was like finding a bunch kids who all loved fishing, just with bigger and better toys to take on the water.
perfectly put!
First off I think this is about the coolest thread Ive seen thus far on the site.
Here we go, grew up about 2 blocks from the South Watuppa Boat ramp, as a kid I was always in the woods
NO HOMO! I love you guys, lol,
!
Wait...... What???
Only you Rich! Only you!!!
First off I think this is about the coolest thread Ive seen thus far on the site.
Here we go, grew up about 2 blocks from the South Watuppa Boat ramp, as a kid I was always in the woods
NO HOMO! I love you guys, lol,
!
Wait...... What???
Only you Rich! Only you!!!
I could write a book on what I have seen go in and come out of those woods at Watuppa
