Symptoms of the disease - Lets here them.

[Backbeach Jake]

You see gulls circling and you look for fish breaking, but you're in a Micky D's parkinglot. You wake up at 2 AM because it's "time". It's February. You knowthat and start thinking about which plugs to build next.

[The Dad Fisherman]

Now when you leave the house it sounds like your going to Justice League Headquarters

"I'm heading out with Nightfighter, Sluggoslinger, and The Specialist to see if we can Track down Steelhead, Clammer, and the diabolical Professor Moriarty......Quick Young Salt, to the Bass-Mobile"

[nightfighter]

It's 24 degrees out and my surf gear is still in the Tahoe...

[jimmy z]

Originally Posted by Tattoo

You tell yourself you not going to buy another plug, then log on to Ebay and start bidding on more stuff you "need".

You tell your buddies your done fishing for the year, only to call them back 2 hours later to find out what time to meet up in the AM the next day.

You tell the wife you can't take any time off to go on vacation because you need to save your days for good tides.

You convince yourself you need another backup rod for the 9 you already have marked as "backup".

You stuff 35 plugs in your Aquaskinz bag and fish the same three all night.

You convince yourself that you will eventually use the 30 yellow bombers you bought and it was a good investment.

Yup, that about sums it up.

[JohnR]

Your son would rather drive with mom because your truck stanks like bad fish.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

You see gulls circling and you look for fish breaking, but you're in a Micky D's parkinglot. You wake up at 2 AM because it's "time". It's February. You knowthat and start thinking about which plugs to build next.

I drive past he city landfill every day on the way to and from work. I think the same thing. Somedays i will just make the wrong turn and head to RI after work, its only 170 miles round trip.

[Brian L]

You come home on friday night from a vigorous week's vacation in Vegas, and you know the tides and marine forecast for sat morning.

Your eyes water when you winterize the boat.(because it's dec. 12th and subzero wind is whipping at your face)

When your daughter plays with Barbie and Ken, and Barbie's friends come over to visit, the answer to "where's Ken?" is always "out fishing."

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by Brian L

When your daughter plays with Barbie and Ken, and Barbie's friends come over to visit, the answer to "where's Ken?" is always "out fishing."

Thats was SOOOOOO good

[Brian L]

:^)

And true, believe it or not!

Awesome thread! This should be filed with the "best ever"

[The Dad Fisherman]

When you daughter Writes a song about you....to the tune of "Real Men Of Genius" called Mr. Over-Obssesive Fisherman....you'll have to ask her to sing it to you if you ever meet her, its actually pretty friggin funny

[Brian L]

Thank god Barbie and Ken's baby likes to fish too, as evidenced by my avatar.

I took her out in the boat last Saturday to a local freshwater spot. Fishing was horrible, though we had a blast. Halfway through the trip, she says, "Daddy, let's have a contest. Most fish and biggest fish wins." "What's the Prize?" I asked. "Three fishing lures," she replies. I (arrogantly) say, "so, how do you expect to buy me six fishing lures? That's quite a bit of money!". She goes, "don't worry, daddy, I'm going to catch the most ANNNND the biggest." I, of course, crack up and say, "ooookayy, that's a lot of extra chores if you don't!"

Three hours, and an amazing grind by a 7 year old in misty 55 degree conditions later, the contest stands 3-2 in her favor, with lunker award up for furious debate. She caught two fish by simply employing the figure 8 technique known to Pike fishermen everywhere, and one other on a long cast and retrieve with her "big girl" fishing pole. (6'6" spinning rod).

I made good on the bet this last Sunday at Bass Pro Shops. 50 bucks later she'd chosen a nice topwater jerk bait in a purple color, a red balsa crankbait, a rainbow trout pattern rapala jerk bait, and three rapala crankbaits. "Can I use those Christina?" I asked.
"Uh, well, only if you're fishing with ME!" she replies.

At least it's now certain she's a Luccini kid.

[ProfessorM]

When you realize you are probably the only nit wit on the road in the state towing a boat at 12:30 am in late Nov. in a snow shower. Finally took my boat home from work last nite. Plugs, no need to go there.

[Mr. Sandman]

You find you must unsubscribe from this thread in order to get anything done...because the email updates trigger you to start re-reading them all again and again and laughing each time.

[steve]

It's when you have a striped bass tattoo. It's when you have striped bass underwear. It's when you have Danny plugs hanging in various locations all around your apartment, condo or home. It's when no matter what you are talking about it always comes back to some related element of striper fishing. My girlfriend claims that I can be talking about nucular physics and somehow equate it to bass fishing. It's when you schedule your vacations around the new moons in may, june and october. It's when you........

[bassballer]

when this convo occurs

GF: where are you going? its 2:30am

ME: going to watch TV, I cant sleep

GF: how come?

ME: its that fish from last night. I cant figure out if it was my knot, my leader, i dont know i cant stop thinking about it.

GF: Oh my God, you are rediculous

[HESH2]

you call the foot dr to cut off your little toe cause after 3 hrs in your waders standing in the water it starts bothering you real bad.tell your family if someones calls and tells you they found me dead on the beach that means i caught and released a 50 lbs and had the big one.have milk crates full of plugs and tackle all over garage,downstairs family room filled with family fishing pics along with rod rack i built .measure inside of suv your buying to see if it will fit your 1 piece rod.

[eskimo]

When you get voice mails that start with, "I know your probably out fishing but..."

when your girlfriend walks past the computer and your on a thread looking at plugs and all she says is "you want that one huh?"

when you walk in you're apartment at 4am and your roommate and his trashed buddies see you with all your gear and just give you the most confused looked ever.

when anyone tries to use your shower and its filled with gear, there is also gear/plugs in every room including the bathroom.

when you turn down expensive dinners from you're boss only to have two 99 cent junior whoopers so you can get the water sooner.

when you tell your boat friends you 'have to work' and can't make it out with them, only to go rock hopping.

when your girlfriend knows that when she wants Perry's ice cream in wareham she just has to ask if I need to go to M&D's.

when your girlfriend decides she wants to doodle pictures of you at breakfast this is what shes comes up with.

the list goes on...
p.s. I like st. croix rods, i don't know where she got this from

[The Dad Fisherman]

Originally Posted by eskimo

when your girlfriend walks past the computer and your on a thread looking at plugs and...

......you bring up the hustler.com web page quickly to cover what you are really looking at.

[doc]

that reading this thread makes you know that you are not alone and therefore nothing is wrong with you...

[BassDawg]

when the last five books you've read cover-to-cover and
plan on reading again-and-again are on the "top ten" of the Striper List.
let's not forget the new Zeno, Nolan, and Coleman books for THIS winter.

when the wiff FINALLY understands the difference between the New and Full,
and why family plans/vacays NEED to revolve around them.

when the 4yo daughter says, "Dadda, are stripers more important than me and Mommy?"

when you start counting stripers to get to sleep instead of sexy Swimsuit models

when you draw stripers everywhere you go,,,,,,,,,,,,
on the beach,
on the iron,
on the porta-john's at work,
on XMAS cards,
and sign them at the bottom~~ MY FATT COW!!

[BillM]

Your live eels freeze solid in a mesh bag and you must remember to bring them in a cooler next time so they will stay warm.

[ruhroh]

You're at work reeling in your string-line and it gets caught on the foot of your ladder and for a split second you think you've got a FISH ON!

[ray]

The only time you get on a bike is to chase fish.

[k-e-v-i-n]

this thread should be STEP 1 in the 12 step program of the offseason striper addict...

How bout me telling my recruiter, who in this economy found me a job in boston ( i live in providence) that I wasn't interested because I needed to be closer to the RI coast

or convincing myself that I will forever be a Rhode Islander because I want to fish here for the rest of my life...im 28.

having a "secret" savings account for my fishing gear

mentioning to my GF of 7 years that I can't get married between the months of may - nov? and if she'd think it would be "cool" to get married on Cuttyhunk because of the "scenery"?

is it april yet?

[Fish_Eye]

You leave your corporate job of 23 years to chase fish with a camera full time.

If I'm not eyeballing fish I trying to yank them out of the water on light tackle.

I sometimes think I AM A FISH!

[whiplash]

When you live 9 miles from work but you drive 24 because you have to check out the Matt. river , WEWE river, onset bay ,canal on your way to and from work, thank God gas$$ has gone down. Somehow the canal always seems to be on the way to everywhere . Believe me living on the coast is a curse during the winter.

[Rob Rockcrawler]

When you know that sitting in a crappy computer chair will hurt your back and you watch youtube for 2 hours, then go the the SWE website and buy crap because you are done fishing for the year. You tell yourself amd your girlfriend your not going to by any fishing stuff during the "offSeason" and you bought 3 books, 2 reels and a mess of plugs that you MUST have, but will only be thrown on 2 trips to block island. The toughest decision im having at the moment is whether to hit BI or the canal around the 1st new moon in june.

[saltwaterhabits]

Tonight I heard Burl Ives singing 'Silver and Gold'.
I thought of Van Staal reels.

[Colombianrico]

When you stop at every single body of water, and wonder if it would be possible to secretly stock it with a few schoolies in hopes of producing a great striper spot in 8 years.

[Pete F.]

Originally Posted by Colombianrico

When you stop at every single body of water, and wonder if it would be possible to secretly stock it with a few schoolies in hopes of producing a great striper spot in 8 years.

Lake Champlain would be nice, please do