What aspect of fishing most stirs your soul? What is the one feeling, moment or act that just drives to to need more???! Is it just being out there?? Is it the hit on a topwater plug??! Is it the feeling of a slowly moving eel being taken by a fish??!! I am looking for the single favorite feeling that you love the most about fishing!!!:uhuh:

very tough question kimosabe...right now i have to say the strike on a slow swimming plug in the middle of a dark night- that is subject to change :humpty: :call:

There are a few feelings that I truly love such as the topwater smash on a pencil popper, but I think number 1 for me happens most in the fall season! Its fishing metal lipped swimmers at night, slowly and methodically working a favorite expanse of water and as I feel the gentle "thrum" of the swimmer at the rod tip and the sudden violent strike as a nice striper takes the plug, I set the hooks and the fish thrashes to the surface then dives below taking line and pulling drag!! The take on a swimmer is definitely the biggest thrill for me!!!:drool:

Ahhhhh.......Don......great minds fish alike!:uhuh:

drifting a bucktail up current and waiting for it to swing arround waiting for that nick you feel and setting the hook on a bass.even the days you don't get a hit just being out there by your self or some great fishing friends there's nothing like it.

Its the sound: ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ ! Any type of fishing will do as long as you can hear the scream of the reel.

The powerful headshake of a big striper... you know what you have with that headshake

drifting a bucktail up current and waiting for it to swing arround waiting for that nick you feel and setting the hook on a bass.

That, and the first few seconds after you set the hook, when the fish tells you what kind of shoulders it has. :humpty:

for me it's a toss up ......seeing the trash can just before the top water hit.... as the anticipation builds...

but what keeps me coming back is the moment just after setting the hook and you feel the weight as if you just hooked a stump

and at that precise moment your thinking

i hooked a Big one...

I agree with you guys. The strike (and the time just before and after it), regardless of what I'm using to catch them, is the number one reason I fish. There's a thousand other reasons, but that one tops the list.

tough one. the only thing that i don't like about fishing is "not fishing". love the smash on a pencil, then the dive after...love the stillness of a late night retrieve interrupted....love the smack on an eel....love walkin' out, geared up for battle...but probably the biggest thrill starts that moment, on soft plastic, wood, eel, doesn't matter, where the pole just bends and its game on. its an even bigger thrill when i first see that striper in the water in front of me. bigger is better, but they are a beautiful, awe inspiring fish, no matter what size.

There are a few feelings that I truly love such as the topwater smash on a pencil popper, but I think number 1 for me happens most in the fall season! Its fishing metal lipped swimmers at night, slowly and methodically working a favorite expanse of water and as I feel the gentle "thrum" of the swimmer at the rod tip and the sudden violent strike as a nice striper takes the plug, I set the hooks and the fish thrashes to the surface then dives below taking line and pulling drag!! The take on a swimmer is definitely the biggest thrill for me!!!:drool:


So you caught large last night, heh?

has to be pluggin on top. to see the hit still excites me after 50 yrs. of doing this.

I think its the drift of an eel, freespooling an abu, thumb just brushing the line, the tap, pretty sure its a fish, another tap, you know its a fish, 5-7 seconds engage, the hookset, the drag screaming, the moment she stops and holds her ground, you feel the power, the shoulders... Those 5-7 seconds before i engage are the best 5-7 seconds of a night. The anticipation of what is about to happen.

Topwater, just a the first light washes across the surface and the
hit looks like someone dropped a fifty pound boulder into the water.

The moment you realize..."Oh man!This one's big!".

A great example...5yrs back fishing with a 8' light action rod in the dead of night I hooked into a fish on a blurple bomber.When the drag started going and wouldn't stop I uttered that phrase.

24lb bass.By no means a monster but on that rod........

da da - da na na - da na na na......da da - da na na - da na na na....:smash:

This should go ever big with this crowd :grins:
For me,
$$$

I know that for stifftip it's the feeling of a rod between his legs.:jump1:

For me the two exciting things is the feel of an eel being picked up and the feel of the tail thumping the line. The other one is when a nice fish takes you into the rocks and you feel the line rubbing against the rocks as you struggle to get it out.

From a sheer satisfaction and enjoyment stand point you just can't beat being out in the rocks on a dark night with a sky full of stars.

Hearing the pounding surf at night before you see it knowing you're gonna be in it

Cooking/eating truly fresh fish that you caught hours before...the crazy jumping antics of big bluefish come a close second :-)

meeting people like you Larry ,,,cia ..

Line peeling that needs to be reversed :hee:

tough one. the only thing that i don't like about fishing is "not fishing". love the smash on a pencil, then the dive after...love the stillness of a late night retrieve interrupted....love the smack on an eel....love walkin' out, geared up for battle...but probably the biggest thrill starts that moment, on soft plastic, wood, eel, doesn't matter, where the pole just bends and its game on. its an even bigger thrill when i first see that striper in the water in front of me. bigger is better, but they are a beautiful, awe inspiring fish, no matter what size.

You LOVE to fish Jeff. The passion. Nice!!! You fish hard my friend and you will be rewarded. Maybe Montauk??..You can tell that fishing makes you happy. Me Too:) I love that Passion. BIGFISH has it. I guess we all have it to some extent. Tight lines.... :)

...Those 5-7 seconds before i engage are the best 5-7 seconds of a night. The anticipation of what is about to happen.

Same here...in fact, reminds me a lot of my days as a bachelor...:hee:

Come to think of it, those 5 to 7 seconds afterwards were nothing to sneeze at, either...:laughs:

Seriously, for me it really is the first bump while eeling...dropping the rod tip...the countdown and an agonizing wait...and BAM!

And then realizing the fish hasn't moved and your rod is doubling until she realizes what happened and takes off on the first run....:)

not being at work

The anticipation of the strike.

here i go again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,coloring outside the lines~~~~

i'd have to honestly say that, for me, it hasn't happened YET!

i'll try to explain. yes! i've landed several 30#'s, two that were just "shy" of 40# and with every single one of them(the surface smashes and the swimmer slams and the eeeeeeeel takes that were AMAZING ~as well as something i place an extremely high "stirs my surfcaster's soul" value upon) what keeps me awake at night and inspires me to Fish Hard and Live Long is my next personal best, THE 80#'er/new IGFA WR that lurks just beneath my offering, and more than ALL of these are the 5 monstahs that "got away" or the landing of my FIRST fish of a lifetime!!!

having been bested and taught by those supercows has fueled a burning hunger DEEP within me striperin' spirit as each one's battle and lessons are etched upon my cerebral indelibly. whether it be day dreams, nightmares, or conscious strategic endeavors to take my pursuits to the next level~~~it is the Journey to Fiddymanjarro(and beyond) that stokes my fires within~~~.

let it not be misunderstood, i love the LAAAHGE take just as much as the next man and i also love playing a beetch from the rocks; however, when i do finally unbutton a worthy Cow, then i believe that THAT will be the moment that grants me the MOST satisfaction as you inquire about and it will be the desire to repeat that feat over-and-over-and-over again that will continue to provide the most joy/no joy for what remains of me Striperin' Daze.

getting a pb :uhuh:

quality fish hitting a riggie is tough to beat IMHO. especially the first one of the night, or the first one in a while, when you're not anticipating it.

The smashing of a big pencil and catching when nobody else is. That's a good feeling.

For me it’s just being out there. I like the simplicity of it if that’s the right word… Focusing all of my thoughts and senses on just one thing while everything else just melts away for a few hours. It doesn’t really matter whether I get a new PB or skunked, I am always in a better state of mind after a night on the rocks.

Getting an explosive surface strike while fishing in a kayak.
You don't know what you have, or whether or not you'll be going for a ride!

I agree that the take on a swimmer is tough to beat. I love how the take and initial run is all one process. Just slowly reeling that metal lip and out of nowhere ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ, and your rod is doubled over. And your fishing partner in the backround "fish on!", but you can barely hear him because you so focused on the task at hand.

honorable mention:
1. just being out there. Solitude, taste of salt water, taking waves in the chest, pulling bass on to the rocks. the whole experience for me is addicting.
2. Watching a big healthy bass swim back into the night, and my legs still shaking afterwards.

There is a moment in fishing that does not always happen. This moment only occurs when a fish is at least decent. Somewhere between the take and the fight there is a moment when the angler comes to realize the predator on the other end is a worthy opponent and landing this fish at this moment is far from guaranteed. This is the moment when fishing an 8 foot rod a 12 lb Albie makes it's first run. The same moment can occur right after a live pogie has been taken wit no warning and in one hit way out at the end of 450 feet of wire line. This is the moment when the smile is put on hold and replaced with concentration. The momet when average hope is replaced by is it my turn hope. We all know the moment and that moment is what I cherish.

I like the moment just before the hit... more than once,
I've known the hit was comng a split second before it happens. Maybe it's feeling the line go slack for a nano-second... maybe it's voo-doo, regardless, it's just too freaking cool.

for me it is when my hand actually touches a 30+# fish and I lift it out of the water... I am usually shaking a bit from excitement and the battle.....:uhuh:...

and the anger from Joe givin' you crap!!!:rotf2::rotf2::rotf2:

and the anger from Joe givin' you crap!!!:rotf2::rotf2::rotf2:

:rotf2:
I don't think any of us will forget that fishing moment/lesson....:smash:

I wouldn't call it the "most satisfaction" but oddly enough I think about the ones that got away....those special ones that you never forget. It doesn't kill me to think of them it kind of gives me greater admiration and makes me want to get out there even more.

The anticipation.... the hightend sense you get when you feel that every cast is just where you want it... and you just KNOW your bait or plug is going to be blasted....

I fish for the zzzzzzzzzt zzzzzzztt zzzzzztztzzzzzzzzzzzzzt, splash splash zzztzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt gotta love it when you get one on that really gives those drag washers a work out :drool:

A Penn 130 dumping with a freight train on the other end.

I get out on the water before first light all the time, my family thinks i'm nuts! One time I got my daughter out with me and she said "dad, now I know why you get out here so early, it's beautiful and peaceful to see mother nature waking up" That day she caught blues, we saw a sea turtle and a sun fish, good stuff!---LOUIE

I think it's the moment/instant of a strike -- whether it's a big bass on a pencil popper or an eel; bulging behind a live pogie swimming in an eight trying to evade it's inevitable doom; a bluefish (yes it's exciting to have a bluefish crash a plug); a bass hitting a jig and your rod doubles over; a tarpon turning on the fly - the site of a big maw, the flash of the silver and the fly line coming tight and practically ripping the line through your fingers; a bonefish or permit rocketing over to your fly and shredding off the flat with the fly in its mouth ... these are the things that give the most satisfaction ...

... although the sun rising on a flat day with fish breaking surface in feeding mode - be they stripers, blues, albies, tuna, tarpon, permit, bonefish, redfish or whatever is equally satisfying ...

... as is working your skiff under hours of mangrove branches in the Everglades to come into a section of a creek or a bay that doesn't get much pressure from humans and finding it full of tarpon, snook, reds and seatrout also gives me a lot of satisfaction ...

... or, finding a new spot or figuring out a piece of the puzzle along the striper coast you believe has been overlooked or unknown that produces for me ...that is satisfying too ...

... uhmm ... Larry, there's too much to contain in a little post like this.

The best part(s):

Anticipation.

Nights’ so black I retrieve the swivel into my tip top.

The sound of cobble in a receding wave.

The taste of salt spray.

The smell of a confused sea.

Discussing strategies with myself.

Fire.

Lying on a flat rock at night and looking at the heavens.

Cold air flowing from a hollow in the bluffs.

Combine all of the above with “The take”.

And the opportunity to do it again.

DZ

The only thing I enjoy about fishing is that it's an art and it takes an effort, a dedication, and a patience to hone myself into catching fishes, embracing the nature and its' surrounding, look for prime holes, and putting time into it. That's why I love fishing. It takes skills to fish well.

I know that for stifftip it's the feeling of a rod between his legs.:jump1:

dont forget the feeling when you pick up the check

The smashing of a big pencil and catching when nobody else is. That's a good feeling.

Same for me. Nothing like seeing a pencil popper get knocked 3 feet out of the water and trying to be patient knowing that there's a big fish waiting to inhale it once it settles back into the water.

But, I also just love fishing even if I'm not catching. Boat or shore doesn't matter. Any time I'm out there on or in the water, I'm enjoying myself.