old school..maybe not

chris ball · Post by **chris ball** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:09 pm

went through some old tackle today and found my first setup, a bantam 100 with wood handles and a shimano karate stick!! now if i could only get my hands on some old haddock creppy crawlers and a couple of mister twister keeper hooks and a simple 1/8 lead cone sinker along with a blue jumpsuit and a old rebel baits hat.
i would be 13 years old again and i wish i had kept my first boat a bass pro shops single man bantam with the 14lbs thrust handheld minn kota.
i sure miss the mornings dragging that boat and batteries to hidden lakes and pretending to be jimmy houston...ahh the good ole days of doing somthing real without all the b.s..

i feel for the up and comers that skip that part of fishing and jump right into the shirts and boat deals along with the internet information highway the whole time trying to be the man ,instead of keeping it real and learning the old school way by earning it and puttin in your time on the water.
makes you think about were this game is headed!!

p.s
i forgot to mention the greatest book of all time which i still have...buck perrys guide to spoon plugging..for you new school guys dont let the title fool ya!! bucks concepts and theroies are time tested and still hold true...you should check it out!!

im out.... its time to go through my old rebel excaliber double side tackle box.

boy do i need to go fishing!!!!

RichThiel · Post by **RichThiel** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 10:50 pm

Your right Fireball. Them days have past. I remember fishing out of a Decoy boat with a (it was Green) troll'in motor up in Prinston along the Sacramento River. Biggiest fish then was a 7.4 caught on a Bagleys "B".

Times have changed in the last 30yrs thats for sure. New Comer's today have access as you see to the best information in print. For Buck Perry's "Spoon Plugg'in", little green book.

Depth, Speed, Color

Rich Thiel

912nitro · Post by **912nitro** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:45 am

ahhhhhhhh, trips down memory lane.....
my first reel was some kind of zebco.. it was plastic, & i was about 5..... that would be 1954..... when i was older. say 9, i got the zebco 33......... supposedly the best thing that ever happened to the fishing world, while my grand father was still using old pflugers & johnson reels with cotton string & square rods made out of steel.
I still have some of the old lures my dad used... hell benders, river runts & the hawiian wigglers what was the designer of that thing thinking? or drinking ?
Jerry Mckinnis is good for taking us down memory lane, reminds me of my father, fished the same lakes & era......... i bet they even crossed paths...
ahhhhhhhh, trips down memory lane.....
But i like the new equipment much better.......

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 5:53 am

Old school, to me was walking the banks of numerous North Texas stock ponds (the locals called them tanks), slinging Creme Lure pre-rigged worms and Sonics, using a South Bend rod and a Zebco reel, both purchased with summer jobs earnings at the local Whites Auto store..The bass quickly learned I was after them and forced me to become very resourceful in nailing them..Yeah, I miss those days..

mac

Tobe · Post by **Tobe** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:14 am

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:22 am

Geez Tobe, that is all "new" stuff..

mac

Wolfeman · Post by **Wolfeman** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:55 am

I bet that first reel of yours was Zebco 202 on that little fiberglas rod. That was the first one I had. Used to have to unscrew the cap and fix the line problems about every 10 cast. Good times walking the small creeks of Western PA catching chubs and an occassional trout.
NaCl wrote a great article awhile back about that setup.
Maybe he can post it here.
- Wolfeman

Ron C · Post by **Ron C** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 8:59 am

...the very first bass I ever caught in my life was on one of them pre-rigged Creme worms. It was a 3 pounder at Lake Cachuma and I was 13 at the time.

Before that, I grew up fishing Convict Lake for little stocked trout. Then, one day, I saved up enough Blue Chip Stamps (or maybe it was S&H Green Stamps) to get a Zebco rod and reel and this new lure called a Super-Duper and I started catching bigger trout. In the Super-Duper kit was a larger one that said it was for bass. One day I hooked a big bass on that lure and the fish smoked my Zebco reel and broke off, taking my one and only big Super-Duper with it.

Ah yes; those were fun and simple times. Thanks for sparking the memories guys!

Tobe · Post by **Tobe** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:18 am

MN · Post by MN » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:20 am

Yep my first boat was an old 12' aluminium jon boat with a 3hp Sear's seaking where you had to put the gas on top of the engine like a lawn mower.O f course i had to have a coffee can to bail out the water every 15 minutes

Then i had my good old Mitchell 300 spinning reel and one tackle box with the old what we called the stinger,you remember the worm with the two blade's and hook's pre rigged,my trusty go to bait the Roostertail.

Then i graduated to the old original Creme worm's and Mann's original Jelly worm's remember those.And then the big time's hit when i got my first spinnerbait the old Tarantulla .79 cent each ye ha.

Now all these year's later i have my 20' Ranger big old motor on the back and still catch the same amount of fish.At least i dont have to bail anymore

Riplip · Post by **Riplip** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 9:37 am

Yeah, $60,000 later and I don't really have more sucess, just more luxury...

Twitchin Rebels, Jelly worms...Then Action worms and Balsa B's, flippin hair jigs with big ole curved strand fiber weedguards...

and we caught a lot of fish!!!

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:19 am

I still have a bunch of the Jelly Worms, I break them out every once in a while and do a little Texas or Carolina rigging..Of course I still have some Hula Poppers and Lucky 13's in my tackle bag..I will admit I don't use them much at all any more..I just went through all my stuff and found that I had lost the fire tail for my Fire Tail Sonic..Dang the bad luck..Still have a couple of Mirror Lures though..

mac

Kevin Evans - Kap · Post by **Kevin Evans - Kap** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:49 am

Heck, You had it made

I started with a old 8ft cane pole with this like 90Lb cord type line and a bobber with Night crawlers caught in the yard the night before. I used a nut for a sinker if I was fishing for catfish...

Great memories...

Take a kid fishing.

Kap

Jim Conlow Sr. · Post by **Jim Conlow Sr.** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:51 am

Your old time days are like last week to me HAR

Cooch · Post by **Cooch** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:05 pm

Stop on by the house dude, we'll go down memory lane! Still got my old 10' John boat and 12v Sevylor electric troller. 35 years old that alluminum boat is! Now if'n I can just find my original Shakespeare Combo Presidential reel and Bambo pole gramps gave me we'd be in heaven! LOL Still got me old school Flat fish lipless and Quick Fish cranks too. The Jitterbug and Hula poppers are all locked up! Oh mang, that Creme worm with the three hooks, red beads and that lil silver prop. And the metal blade baits we had back then, wow!

MN · Post by MN » Fri Sep 01, 2006 12:52 pm

Have we just exposed the AARP over 50 club here,aaahhh now i have an idea to start my own Circuit

hydro · Post by **hydro** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 2:31 pm

AHHHH think about it though......

back then fishing was peaceful - not stressful
(no jet ski's, Rap blaring wake boats, armies of bass anglers)
you did your best to catch fish but it wasn't essential

the only competition was between you and the bass(or maybe your buddy(s) but it really did'nt matter)

it was simple - just one rod and a small box of lures , bank fish or small boat

you could actually afford it

it was in a word - Magic!

Marc · Post by **Marc** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:10 pm

Let's see...I still have Fliptail Worms (8" Brown), DeLong Creme Worms (Made the Federation Nationals in 1975 on them!), original Rebel Ring Worms, Big O crankbaits, Balsa B's (even rare jointed models that I never caught a fish on), original Lew's Speed Sticks (even with white pistol grips), original graphite rods (Skyline 100% Graphite), Herter's blue worms from the '60s, Hellbenders and Mud Bugs, Zorro Aggravator spinnerbaits, Jitterbugs and Hula Poppers, Johnson Silver Minnows with Uncle Josh pork that is forever preserved in jars that won't open, two one-piece jump suits complete with patches like Bomber, Zorro, Abu, etc. and much more...but that is all new compared to the Creek Chub plunkers, Crippled Minnows, Hawiian Wigglers, etc. I first fished bass with as a kid.

Wish I still had my Lowrance "Little Green Box" that I grew up with.

I don't miss the inboard/outboard Rangers though.

OK, now I'm over all of that and can honestly say I much prefer my Calais, Lamiglas, Skeeter, etc............that I get to fish with now!

MIKE TREMONT · Post by **MIKE TREMONT** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:35 pm

I still have a few old plugs that my Grandfather gave to me. He made a lot of his own stuff as well and I keep the jar where he kept his feathers and all on my work bench. He had a bunch of red feathers that are still good. Tied one on on to back of a rip bait and got a 5+ on that bait.
Very cool, thanks Papa.

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 4:36 pm

;Sonic lures ? wasn't that before rattletraps? waaaay before and Nick Cream that was an original worm ,rubber worms back then the Sonic was by Heddin Lure Company Creme worms ruled, then came jelly worms and ding a lings, later mister twister, Fred Arbogast lures and Lews Speed Sticks usta Rule The Hula Poppper still catches lunkers.....and jitter bugs still work at night..

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 6:44 pm

Yeah, the Sonics were made by Heddon and were a few years ahead of Rattletraps or any of the popular lipless crankbaits you get today..I still have my first Hawaiian Wiggler, although it does not have the original skirt..Talk about a heavy chunk of metal to cast..How about a Pico Perch another one of those early lipless lures..I was just remembering about the pre rigged Creme Worms, they came with very light wire hooks, I caught several bass in the 5 to 8 pound range on them and never had one of the hooks straighten out..Now days, you would never really think about fishing for bass with such a light wire hook..

mac

bassindon69 · Post by **bassindon69** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:07 pm

LOL! I had a old Scott Atwater out board. Then the sea king. The Scott motor was older then me at the time (23 years ago) but they were still around.

Mister Twister worms,hand raped rods and Mitchell reels. Used spinning tackle for a while. My first bait caster was a Ryobi. I used a Daiwa 30 H with a Fenwick Pacific Stick for ocean fishing before bass fishing.
Keeper and Hoppers worms had the market at the time for hand pour worms when the came out.
What fun it has been. It just keeps getting better!
Best to all.

Don.

Johnny C · Post by **Johnny C** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 7:17 pm

Man you guys bring back memories or the early arsenal, mepps comets, sonics, thin fins, bushwackers, flee flys, creme worm with the propeller and I still have jigs with the polypro weed guards that you can spread. Where are all the vynil skirts!!!!

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:13 pm

I'm with ya MAC I grew up fishing the very same way. My old man was a die hard trucker so not around much and the little town of Bridgeport,Tx didn't have much more then ponds and fields of corn
Not much to do except go huntin with our bb guns and fishing I remember my 2 best buddies Shaun and Eric, we would grab our Zebco 404's ( I know alittle later in time LOL) and walk to Kelly's Pond for a hole day of fishing and swimming in our under roos LOL

I remember land owners being alot more nicer back then Mr. Kelly was a rancher and he told us he had no problems with us fishing his pond but dont tear up the fence and dont leave the gates open he had cattle gaurds but like most cows are stupid they will sometimes try to cross em and break a leg , get stuck, etc...

Tight Lines Dom

Paul W · Post by **Paul W** » Fri Sep 01, 2006 10:41 pm

I'm not that old (25) but miss alot of how fishing used to be when I was growing up. Too much phoney baloney people/stuff around these days. Props to the guys who "keep it real" lol

Paul W

bassrippin365 · Post by **bassrippin365** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:38 am

one bait comes to mind for me and that is a rooster tail.I think sometimes when those fish aren't biting,I probably could get them on that trusty rooster tail.

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Sat Sep 02, 2006 8:46 am

Hey Dom, I even did a little of that Bridgeport fishing..My Grandparents lived there, about a mile and a half out on the lake road..From the sounds of it you were mostly on the east side with the cornfields..Weren't many of those west of town..I had access to a few ponds and most held bass, but all had catfish and some bream..I sure miss those days..

mac

Rich hamilton · Post by **Rich hamilton** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 1:40 pm

Berryessa with "lunch"; hard boiled eggs, baloney sandwich, oly beer, camel's without filters and some coffee with creme and sugar. throwin a hula popper and a "shannon" twin spin. I can still remember that first huge bass coming out of the weedbeds eating my hula popper. It took forever to get from rancho montecello to the vineyard in the old sears/ sea king. I was proud my old man had that cool boat though.

Come to think of it, I fell in love with bass and girls on that same trip. Failed with both so far...

CATCHEMCARO · Post by **CATCHEMCARO** » Sun Sep 03, 2006 8:45 pm

Ah memory lane. I remember having to sit while the Paskies Ball O Fire sat waiting for a trout to bit. My Pop and uncle reminding me not to move the old blue fiberglass rod complemented with a Mitchell 308. Then one day I found a small minnow bait and tied it on and started casting it. Caught my first bass with it at Scotts Flat Lake in 1969 and have been hooked ever since. I still have one of my first pistal grip rods bought for me at Clear Lake with a Zebco 33. I still have an old bakeolite green swirls tackle box my uncle gave me back then. It has the Lucky 13 and Hula Poppers with the rotten skirts and a few sonics and old beatup Rapala's and a few Super Dupers and Red Devil spoons.

Then I was able to walk to Spring Lake and fish the bank with broken back Rapala's. Our next door neighbor was an old timer who loved bass fishing and the doors opened then. He showed me how to do a Texas rig with Manns mister twister worms, grape flavored. My first real bass rod was a Shimano MLX 200 spinning reel and a Tennessy Special rod.
Then I started to hike up to Lake Elsanjo while back packing in a Caravel two man raft. The raft lasted a year and then I saw my first float tube, it was a Mountain Trader with one small pocket in the front and its been love ever since. These where the days when I got broken off all the time and I never knew how big of a bass I could catch. I didn't realize that there was any other fishing line other then Florecent Blue Stren. I never felt as if I had the upper hand on the fish. Those were the day for sure. I still have a pair of Roland Martin sunglass's I got for my 13th birthday. All my buddies started calling me Roland Rich. I still haven't shaken the name from some good ol friends. Its one thing to watch Mackines going down memory lane, but its cool to hear from some of you guys that are still out there slaying toads talk about your old gear and stuff. Thanks for sharing those memories.

Rich

swordfish · Post by **swordfish** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:30 pm

Oly beer and camel straights rocked then, Super Dupers well every trout fishermans box had u'm along with flatfish and colorado spinners....they were da kine............and roostertails still will catch em bass and all the rest.. my first spinning rod was a garcia with a mitchell 300, which I snagged while fishing off the dam at Stevens Creek Res for trout with a deep sea rig I got for christmas in the early sixties salmon eggs on 4/0 hooks, didn't have a way to the coast and haddddd..to fish my new set up. still have it.

Iceman · Post by **Iceman** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:38 am

cane pole and a flatbottom wood boat on my uncles farm pond back in minnesota with a bunch of crawlwers and my dads daredevel that i "bowwared" out of his metal fishing tackle box. those were the days.
iceman

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:50 am

While on deployment to Adak, Alaska with the Navy, I found out the local landlocked Dolly Varden really loved those red and white Daredevil spoons..There just weren't enough of them in Alaska to go around, had to send back to the states for as many of them as my wife could find..Ended up being able to sell them for about three times what was originally paid..Talk about fun fishing, it is very exciting watching a big one tail walk across the water..Can definitely get your heart rate way on up there..

mac

Iceman · Post by **Iceman** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:05 am

they still are a great bait i use them when i go to canada the pike love them, so do the bass here i used one about 3 months ago and had pretty good luck jigging it by shag rock on clearlake.
iceman

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 9:56 am

I haven't had much success using them for bass, but have caught numerous trout, salmon, grayling, Dolly Varden and some pike on them..Those spoons are a great bait..

mac

fishwithwill · Post by **fishwithwill** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 6:06 pm

Old school, new school, play school, DITCH SCHOOL. My first memories of fishing were bobbers and Wonder bread and watching for the school bus to leave so I could make my way to the lake unseen. WFO bluegill and bass but when I went home to get more bait (yes, I ate some of the bait, too) our domestic asked in her Jamaican accent "Willy, why you home so early?" I replied, "We had a half-day" She paused and asked suspiciously "Where the other kids?" :shock: Busted, but hooked forever.
Fat sacks,
William Wright

Dom · Post by **Dom** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 11:00 pm

Hey Mac

I dont know if it was there but do you remember where the Bridgeport Elementry School was? It was down the street from the DQ and the affilieated food store. Anyway I lived 4 blocks from there I still remember my address (parents owned the house for years then sold it about 10 years ago) 1903 Cates St. right on the edge of town few houses then nothin but corn fields/woods.

Do you know if they ever got that Prison? I remeber we had moved to Grand Prairrie by then but the big hupla was it would grow the town,etc... late 70's early 80's moved to the DFW area in the mid 80's

I spent alot of time on Lake Bridgeport when I was much younger fishing with my buddy Rodney and his dad Butch they are the ones who got me into bass fishing Butch had a Ranger with a 200 blax max and lived right on the lake would spend week-ends out there all the time. We would even troll for sand bass they call em stripers out here but they same fish I think (hey im a black bass angler

)
aint it ironic we fight,argue,lie,sneak trying to grow up only to wish we could go back once we make it. Now if I can only get my almost 11 year old daughter to understand she has it made and to quit trying to grow up so quick, she thinks she is old enough to stay by herself. NOT!

Tight Lines Dom

mac (Doyle McEwen) · Post by **mac (Doyle McEwen)** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 2:43 am

Dom, I departed Texas in 1963 and haven't been back more than a dozen times since..I am not sure, but I don't think the prison thing ever went through..I still have a sister in Denton and a brother and sister around Irving, but I haven't been back there in almost 20 years..When my parents met he was living in Booneville and she lived in Balsora..

Nice to run into someone that even knows the area..I remember catching the sanies at the lake, if you could find them schooling all you had to do was toss anything that glittered in their general area and hang on..

mac

Jim Conlow Sr. · Post by **Jim Conlow Sr.** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 2:53 pm

I caught 3 spots at Oroville last week with a wooden jitterbug from the 50's. It was great fun, now I will retire it again for a while

Jim

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