What's it all about

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by piemma

WOW. Mike, I don't feel real old anymore

LOL. I think Ron Arra, on the right, is younger than me. Robbie, the guy on the left, just turned 61. I'm not too far behind him.

[stinkyink]

Originally Posted by JohnnySaxatilis

Besides moose I feel like one of the youngest aglers around this board.

It's quite a shame that I don't see many more fisherman my age (late 20's) out there hitting the surf. I can remember growing up as a kid spending most of time with my friends fishing ponds, rivers and streams for bass, pickerel, trout etc. We couldn't wait to get out of school, go buy some shiners or plastic worms, and get a line wet. It was basically like a ritual every other day seeing each other in school and being like dude did you save your lunch money only to have scrounged enough to go and buy some bait, hooks or whatever tackle we needed to catch something. I used to starve myself some days thinking chit at least ill be able to go fishing. As the years passed my friends grew out of it but I kept searching for that trophy to put on my wall. It wasn't until a couple of years ago I discovered surfcasting. At this point I was totally unaware on how to catch a striper i used to see guys chunking all the time so i thought that was the way to do it. So one day a gentleman saw me fishing and asked what i was fishing for. I told him stripers. We chatted for a bit then he told me to meet him at his truck in the parking lot because he had something for me. I wasn't having any luck so i packed it up and headed to the lot. To make a long story short he gave me 2 pencils, a tin and 2 spooks. Told me that i should go buy some gear like korks, waders, rod and reel and hit the rocky shoreline during the early morning and late afternoon. So I took his advice. It didnt take long to catch one. After that I was hooked. All and all I guess what im tryin to say is that It's a shame alot of my friends that i used to fish with all the time lost interest and im still out there thinking about the next upcoming season and how im goin to plan each of my outings around wind,tide,location, and moon phases. They still to this day say hey lets go out this weekend and have some beers. Don't get me wrong i like to go out and have a good time but to me having a good time in my book is grabbing all my gear and my plugs and hittin one of my favorite spots for a couple hours. I know fishing is going to be a lifelong addiction for me and i know some people on this board can abide to that.I have come a far way but the journey continues. I may still be a youngster but the knowledge ive learned from this site and just being out there in the surf over the years has made me a better person and fisherman as well. so thank you s-b and the few that i fish with.Oh and Ron i didn't forget about you thanks for the pencil you gave me that was a generous gesture to throw me a plug. She was put to good use.

[RIsurffishing]

Everyone in this post, thank you very much for sharing all of theses. Going to make sure my kids read this tonight. Passing it on.

[Circlehook]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I met Bob Pond at a sportsman's show in the late 80's. I was stunned a bit by this old man with such passion and love for the fish.......it seemed his love just energized his entire being and overwhelmed his age. Incredible lesson.

I met Stan Gibbs once while doing a medical test on him. Talked for maybe 10-15 minutes. He was a kind, open, friendly bear of a man. so willing and eager to help. Like Pond, the love and enthusiasm for fishing just oozed out of him.

Steve Shiraka was every bit the same as these two guys (and he knew them both well). He had so much love for the sport he just couldn't contain it. It would just pour out for the benefit of whoever wanted it.

The best mentors are people who share their love, not just their knowledge.

Steve gave me some unsolicited advice once and he didn't know me from a hole in the wall. Never got a chance to meet him in person.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[bart]

Originally Posted by stinkyink

It's quite a shame that I don't see many more fisherman my age (late 20's) out there hitting the surf.

I'm in my late 20s and feel the same way. I got started just like you more or less. When I was real young, maybe 10 or so, my buddy's father took us fishing for whatever with nightcrawlers. I don't remember what we caught but I told my father after I wanted to fish and he did his best to get me out there despite him knowing nothing about fishing. We did the freshwater thing for a while and then somehow I got the itch to try the salt. We were vacationing on the Vineyard and my father bought me a 9ft Ugly Stick paired with a 704. We went down to the beach at Lobsterville and right before dark a school of small bass crashed the beach. We took turns landing schoolie after schoolie on the one plug we had, an Atom popper. I was HOOKED after that. We started chunking the canal soon after and I got a 27 lb fish down the east end when I was 13. When I beached the fish my father started yelling "Help! Help!" He had never seen a fish that big and didn't know what to do Again, I was HOOKED.

In high school I would do the canal and some RI fishing with my father, but my grandfather gave me his Old Town canoe and I really got into tossing rubber worms for LM. I fished EVERY day after school with one friend. So much that I never took my canoe off the roof of my jeep. I drove all around town with it on there, went to school like that, just so I could fish any time I had the chance. I think throwing rubber worms is what ultimately got me into plugging for stripers.

My friends all went off to school and stopped fishing. I went to school and dropped out and became obsessed with fishing the RI surf. If anyone remembers me back then I was a complete madman(much more so than now which is scary). I would go down to SoCo and sleep in my truck for days and fish until I couldn't function. I took "putting in your time" to the extreme. I didn't fish smart and my biggest fish during that stretch was only 30lbs, but again, I was HOOKED.

None of my friends from HS fish anymore and I miss that, but by coming to this site I have been fortunate to meet some great guys, who became good friends, and who just happen to be GREAT fishermen as well. I don't know why they put up with me, but I will be forever grateful. For a few years I felt completely burnt out, but this year the fire came back. Fishing is my favorite thing is in this world besides my family and it is the one thing that truly makes me feel alive and "human." I already can't wait for next season. Going to be fun putting my new VS to the test. Tight lines...