What would you do now?

[Karl F]

Nib ..
yeah, but could ya shoot the nutz off a field mouse, whilst riding horseback?.. could you invent flyfishing the surf, while guzzling cheap scotch in a Souse American Bordello? but. that was back when men wore their hats with the visors facing forward.

Too funny...but ya know.. it sounds like Hearsay to me.
And the emperor's new clothes.. egads man.. he's nekkid!

A little bit back on track.. todays world.. with plentiful stocks, and not knowing we could wipe it out... fill the buggy.. get a check.. it's a no brainer...
there were no innocents then, and there would be none today, if the circumstances were the same...
ya can't fault those in the past for what they did.. they thought it would never end.

[eelman]

I dont think a rod and a reel can desimate the stocks.......

[afterhours]

i did it back in the 80's in ri and ma. my bussiness was doing marginal $$, had a boat and knew how to catch fish. i did what i had to do in my eyes at the time. funny thing is i became one of the biggest c & r advocates for the next 20 yrs, just started taking a couple of fish per year recently.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&

I dont think a rod and a reel can desimate the stocks.......

Thats a valid arguement.
We can only catch em when they want to eat..
You have to admit..
The shear numbers of anglers today make it a scary proposition..

[Flaptail]

In my days where I would sit and watch Stan Gibbs make plugs in the cellar of his little cottage "factory" behind his house in Sagamore I can remember him telling me of the 40' and 50's when there were so many guys fishing that on the canal when tides were good for daybreak breaking fish you would have to get there at 1 in the morning to get and claim your spot. Sometime he told me that they would elect one guy from theIr group, when fishing was really hot, to camp at the spot over night and watch the rods positioned in the rocks for the other guys so that when they got there thier spot was reserved already.

Yes we have a lot of guys ( and women) today fishing but there have been times in the past that had as much if not more pressure, especially the years just after WWII.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

In my days where I would sit and watch Stan Gibbs make plugs in the cellar of his little cottage "factory" behind his house in Sagamore I can remember him telling me of the 40' and 50's when there were so many guys fishing that on the canal when tides were good for daybreak breaking fish you would have to get there at 1 in the morning to get and claim your spot. Sometime he told me that they would elect one guy from theIr group, when fishing was really hot, to camp at the spot over night and watch the rods positioned in the rocks for the other guys so that when they got there thier spot was reserved already.

Yes we have a lot of guys ( and women) today fishing but there have been times in the past that had as much if not more pressure, especially the years just after WWII.

You're right Flap. Guys only think it is more crowded/competitive today.The race used to look like the parking lot at the pats games, and there was a lot of animosity between the "posses". If anything, most of the environments we fish in today are real low key IMO. I painted the picture in the first post just to set the stage a little. Bottom line is the money thing makes you do things that ordinarily wouldn't happen otherwise. I still lie to people though, I can't shake it.