Symptoms of the disease - Lets here them.

[macojoe]

When I plan a 10 week Camping trip 2005, and pay for it in full, in Wareham cause it is close to the water 1 year 3 months in advance.

My job just asked me if i want to change from a 5 day work week, to a 10 hour 4 day work week with Thutr, Fri, and Sat off and I say ok but I hate the week end ramp traffic so I will do it only if i have Mon, Tue, Wed off!

When I no I will be camping then, and the boat will be there also, and i have figured out how to work only two days a week all summer!!

10 days vacation, 3 holidays, 7 days comp time = 20 days off, 2 days a week off, 2 days work = same money
and only work 2 days a week from June 27 to Labore day!!

Life is good!!

[rivsie11]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by redlite

You name each and every eel and talk to them while fishing like they are your near and dear children.... and yell at them when they aren't working.}


...or you've held a solemn burial at sea ceremony for an dead eel that has done valiant service

[JohnR]

You constantly tell your eels that you will set them free if they bring VERY large

In your best Bill Murphy voice you tell the eel "This won't hurt, doctor's orders"

You have dreams of that wonderfull June morning on the drop at Scorton's with the bass tailing as the sun edges over the horizon...

When you drive east over the Jamestown and Newport Bridges and you wonder if there are any fifties under you RIGHT NOW


When you drive east over the Jamestown and Newport Bridges and you wonder how big the bass are off in distant Cuttyhunk and Gay Head

You stand on you favorite bar or rock and wonder what is the biggest bass that's ever been there...

Damn - gotta go to bed

[Peter Lajoie]

you bring your dog up to a field with your favroite rod and reel, you tie your line to your dogs collar then you throw a bone as far as you can and you set your drag, and close your eyes....Jez I am sick

[BasicPatrick]

You Put a Rod Rack on your 87 Lincoln town Car (true in 96)

You buy Plano 3700 boxes by the case because all your plugs are stored by name and size (true)

You show your local tackle shop what the new items are for the upcoming year (true)

Fishing the Derby is worth more than paying the rent.

Your Gf begs you to stand in a tub full of water so that it will improve your mood in January (true)

You own a small Painting company and find nothing unusual with the fact that your Rod Rack has a secondary use as a Ladder rack (true)

You leave the job site in Onset center every day at 9:30 am to drop by M & D's...just to see if the Sea Spooks came in....you return at 5pm...this goes on for days until you finally read they came in over the weekend (true)

Every time you read an article about fishing the MV derby you well up with tears (true)

You are seen sleeping at the same rest area at the same time of day on consecutive sunday afternoons (true)

You get really really pissed when you realize the birds are all in a frenzy because some damn old guy is feeding them popcorn on the seawall at the beach (frequently true)

On the Thursday before the MSBA show is set up in March, your GF takes you into the bedroom, gives you a big kiss and says.....see you in november....and we live together

[fishaholic18]

Originally posted by Peter Lajoie
you bring your dog up to a field with your favroite rod and reel, you tie your line to your dogs collar then you throw a bone as far as you can and you set your drag, and close your eyes....Jez I am sick

That's funny, in the winter I tie on a plug with no hooks and cast away in my backyard, my dog grabs it and the fight is on. I close my eyes and pretend I have a 50#er on. My wife always ruins it by yelling "What are you trying to kill him?" She thinks I'm using hooks.

[JohnR]

Symptoms of the disease that indicate it is indeed hereditary:

Your 3 year old son gets to your plug stash before you can put hooks on them and uses them as tub toys. He's been doing this since he was 18 months and he will be four next week.

You must wait until son gets tired of a particular plug so you can "lose it", throw hooks on it, and sneak it into the plug bag

All of your Blue Swimming plugs are in the "Tub Toy box" during spring

You tie a leader on a hookless danny plug (or Pikie, or Flaptail or mag darter) during son's bathtime to see how well it will swim while contemplating attaching splitshot to belly swivels to simulate balance factor of hooks.

Son's favorite lures are blue Dannys and Blurple Needlefish

You realize that your 2 ounce Storm Wildeyes are still at home as cut the hooks off two of them to play Big Fish eats Little Fish before stories the night before....

Son STILL has not relinquished Blue Danny plug and did I mention he said BOAT before MOMMA ?

I could go on with this

[RIROCKHOUND]

Ok, you show up at BM's bat cave, cast a limited edition habs into the cave and reel it out slowly... when the BM leaves the cave you run in and grab his plugs..

OK so that hasnt happened... not like I've thought about it

Ok, a true one; I sit at work looking at the Piping Plover Lure I made last winter that hangs from the shark jaws on my wall and contemplate how bad it would professionally to cast it into an Audobon society meeting and start jiggin it.....

[seadogface]

You are having a "romp" with your wife - smell something like bait & sneak out after to go fishing.

Your trunk is always loaded with fishing gear.

You see any body of water & analyzie it for structure, rips, bird activity & access points even if its rain water in the gutter.

You only have $5.00 and buy bait rather than lunch even though you know you will not eat again till breakfast.

Barnicles are your friends.

You have bought macs at the 24 hr. Stop & Shop because the Bait Store is closed & you just can't wait.

You pee in a large Dunkin Donuts cup while you are driving because your back teeth are floating & just don't want to pull over - it would take to long.

[Saltheart]

You buy so much spare stuff that you can't store it all neatly. Then you start stacking spare stuff on spare stuff until the pile is so deep , you can't see what's on the bottom. then you buy more spare stuff of what's on the bottom cause you forgot its there. And so on and so on and so on......

[The Iceman 6]

Sometimes when you cannot make it to CT, RI, and the Cape - you walk to to the East River and fish for an hour or so JUST to say you went fishing....

[Motor Fish]

Whenever you are out to eat and a waiter/waitress is taking drink orders - you ALWAYS order "A large Bass."

And it has nothing to do with how the beer tastes.

[DZ]

John,
Good one! My kids did the same thing with plugs in the bath tub. Also made a childrens mobile over the crib with small plugs hanging from it. Great memories - my kids are now 19 and 15.
How about setting the hook in your dreams? I haven't done that in years.
DZ

[spinncognito]

Seagulls follow you three miles to work just to pick the scraps of herring outta the back of your truck

You turn off (or ignore) your cell phone but your employees know where to find you (although sometimes it takes them a few hours!)

Your Co-Workers put thier striper-fillet orders in during the first week of April

Your children keep asking you what is so funny whilst you are reading this thread

[Chris in Mass]

You check for structure and water movement during ocean scenes while watching movies

You disguise a family trip to Newport as a reason to fondle and purchase more gear at Saltwater Edge ("I'll only be a minute!)

[JohnR]

When JFK Jr's plane went down you called your fishing buds to discuss the structure of Philbin's Beach you saw in the footage on TV - I know, it's rude but it was true

[bassmaster]

any one fall asleep standing up fishing other than Me.
I fell once (eeling)
to many friggen plugs, I got plugs out my ass and out anyone who rides with me.
My waiders are in my truck and I have 2 plug bags in there, Yet I I cleaned out the truck of fishing bags.
I fished so friggen hard I couldnt fish.
not noing some guys during the day with out waiders.
the drive by rod rack look.
i have sand on top of my motor.
so many plugs in all my bags that some of the tubes in my vs bag split. gs rubber hidden and You forget about it.
swivels hooks, splits, leader and then more in the glove and hooks stuck in the visor.
back up swivels to back up the friggen back ups what the frig am i thinking. spare reel in the glove. rods ,I got blanks and back ups of blanks. reels a spare vs new in the box never used it cause its a back up yet the handle is falling of my reel.
more gs rubber hidden as back up so when I run out I freak out at bob only to find the stach under a tote of wood, wtf.,,..,.,
guessing at the tide and going and being close or right on.
a trashed eldridge tide chart book (((thats the Bible Boys))
freaking out cause you left a plug you wanted in the truck only to walk a mile to get it and drop off 1 of the 3 bags you carried with You.
plugs all over the dash. wearing waiders and not knowing why people are looking at You and smelling You I think bass smells good.
FRIGGEN HERRING MENTAL IN SPRING, herring suck yet keeping 3 tanks going and hateing herring only to throw plugs at the fish when they come up top.
that I need a fix feeling sucks and going, when Im home i want to fish when I fish i want to be home.
1 more friggen cast for the last 2 hrs int the turn.
going to work looking like a zombie and thinking that they are geeks cause they dont fish. but they eat well.
what is sick is I look at my plugs and say i am low on wood.
if I have under 10 black and gold bombers Im freaking out.
I bought 200 bombers in 1 shot only to go buy a 12 rapalas from eastmans to troll of the fence.
when some one has a plug i dont have I mental it right out from them with custom wood when i am crazed.
when Your charters and or friends ask why are those people following You. How come alot of people know Me yet I cant remeber no one. yet at 230 am on a new moon some one will say Hi and I know who it is....
when You deside where You work and wont take another job if its to far from a herring run or runs. Buying a house only cause its close to the ramp and runs (falmouth)
getting 1 whiff or walking outside and next thing You know Your down the beach due to a slight wind or that out side look at the sky.
run to the beach catch a fish in between 2 of Your buddies and then leave to go home to watch TV anf then come back out( that was a classic I did )
I just got one thing to say, these fish make me out of my friggen skull.................

[Swimmer]

make me sicker

Blurple is now a crayola crayon color!

[Diggin Jiggin]

In May the crisper drawers in the fridge are 'reserved' for herring.

The kids have named the eels swimming in the bucket on the back porch. (they do all kinda look the same )

Your 4 year old daughter goes with you to the beach and tries to help you find new 'spots' to fish!

You buy a coffee maker with a timer so the coffee's ready when you get up for the 2 am turn.

The honda civic you drive to work contains waders, slicker,shell, 3 sweatshirts, 3 tackle bags, 2 rods, gloves and spare socks, just in case you Need to go straight from work!!

[bud8fan]

You decide to sell a few reels because you could use the $$ and you tell yourself you dont need them all, only to find out that six months later you have bought the same reels again because you need them?

You have had two major surgeries on your arm to repair problems caused by fishing!

Your not supposed to use your arm while recovering from the surgeries and are actually contemplating going fishing with your partners and telling them that they have to cast for you and if you hook a big fish they will have to reel it in for you?

Your trying to decide on what you want to do for a new career and are crossing out the ideas that would prevent you from fishing during the week!

You spend hours in your shed after the wife and kids are asleep re-arranging your plugs on the wall! You especially like it when she puts the kids to bed early and is asleep by 9:00... that gives you even more time.

You fill a cooler with beer and take it into the shed so that you dont have to keep going back to the house!

You spend at least an hour a day surfing the fishing section of ebay.......

[Rob Rockcrawler]

You look at lobsters in a tank and first think yum, then think.... I bet that would catch me a cow.

[Chris in Mass]

Satisfaction of.... Getting home after sunrise, drinking one more beer with your buds before taking a fat nap, setting up shop in the driveway afterward to clean and prep your gear, carefully packing it like a fireman in case of an emergency, being showered and in the chair by 1:00 to catch the Pats or the Sox!


Also another sign.... getting yelled at by wife for taking a fat nap on the couch in the clothes on that you fished in ("I had waders and a dri-top on!")

[ThrowingTimber]

Having your body shut down..(doesnt count as sleeping)

sleeping with all your gear on

waking up on a rock

[Swimmer]

read on THE LETTERMAN SHOW, their great.

I had a buddy of mine use the excuse with his wife he was fishing but he was seeing his girlfriend, and he had to go buy a striper before he came home. He doesn't fish anymore cause he married his girlfriend after he was divorced.


My wife said if I quit smoking I could spend the money on fishing tackle. When I quit smoking I was doing four packs a day at $1.68 a pack. I have proportionally raised what I spend to correspond with inflation and the industry price rises of butts. So 4 packs a day of Winstons would cost about $22.00 a day now, which comes to $154.00 buckos a week. I can't afford that certainly but when my sweetie moans about the gear I buy I remind her about her promise.

Patrick I have to see a picture of you standing in waders in the tub. Gotta see that one.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Going fishing for 9 hours not getting a fish and thinking about this thread as you bust your tail on the rocks.

[Breezy]

Youve thought of a way to sneek into the local aquarium at night to fish the striper tank :-}

[wader-dad]

You have fished with a shirt and tie and suit pants on under your waders.

You have plugs sent to your office so your wife doesn't find out.

You get expense checks, cash them, open a passbook savings account, order plugs, get a money order, have plugs sent to office so wife doesn't find out.

You go into back seat of car, pull down arm rest, get a knife, cut out all the stuff, open trunk, put in rods through trunk, into car with tips up against dashboard. Wife found out.

You by accident left garage door open so mice got in and you trap one and tell wife it was living in the side of the basement that serves as your fishing command central, so she is too affraid to go in there and see what you got.

You ask her if she would rather that you chase after other women and she finally says yes- its more normal.

[JohnR]

When the stripers were in the seal tank at the NE Aquarium in 2000 (the seals were removed) you devised several plans to sneak live eels in so you could truly see how Mrs 40 pounder REALLY sucks down the eel... No Chit

Follow up - the grossest display of idiocy that year was when they reintroduced the seals into the tank without removing the Bass. The biologists didn't think captivity raised seals would attack and eat the stripers....

[CANAL RAT]

im 16 so

girls think your wierd beacause all you talk about is fishing and they say you smell like fish.

teacher gives you hell beacause you read OTW in class.

all you do during class is draw fish on your binder.

dont have a girlfrend beacause it would take up fishing time.

fall asleep during class beacause you were out fishing the night before

when your going home on the bus and you look at buttermilk bay and scan the water for boils and birds working

[Rock Hopper]

When you agree to your wedding day (mid-October) based on the honeymoon being in January.

Buying a house in proximity to prime fishing grounds.

Working for companies that pay less than if you travelled to the city....but you can always go scout the water.

Not eating lunch but instead going to see the same old stuff at the local tackle shops.

Having more back up gear, brand new in storage than gear you actually use.

Having more line in different Lbs. and makes than you will use in a lifetime...because you might need them.

Researching carry tubs and customizing them for your 15 mi. ride to the nearest beach with 300 plugs in it.....not to mention the 3 bags, 3 pouches which are full and loose plugs hanging off the customized plastic around the tub.

Dedicating a whole garage to your fishing equipment and buying a large storage shack for the stuff "that just doesn't fit in the garage"

Losing your space in bed to your 4 year old because "you are fishing daddy".

Not knowing what you have and getting very happy when you find it.

Explaining to the wife, she needs to drive her old car but you need to buy a 35K vehicle (4X4) because you need to be able to get back & forth from work in all conditions.

Buying 5 new rods and 7 new reels, new $1,000 kayak (not to mention everything else that I can't now remember) this year alone but not having the time to use them...and knowing it when you buy them.

No...no, no, no....I am okay, I don't need any help, thank you....but like a lot of us....I don't spend my money on booze & other women.....the wife appreciates that

Mike, you have brought everyones non-problems to the forefront with this thread.

Kadir