Friends thru Fishing

[BilletHead]

     Oh yes Wrench sometimes I bite my tongue so hard it bleeds to keep from saying what I really feel. Shouldn't have to be that way but sometimes some people get real butt hurt if you say something they don't agree with. We should all take some things said here like a grain of salt. Lots of opinions here like all those little grains in that bottle of salt. If we were all the same it would be a boring world to live in.

  Oh Ham Richard is a member but one of those closet members. He prowls this place but keeps quiet but when we are together he and I are not so quiet. We tend to let the world know how we feel about things. Keep it on the water though. Heck we even bump heads from time to time while fishing. And don't think the fishing is always off the hook or on the hook so to say like it was for you two . Next time you make the trip it could be different but days like you had makes it balance out,

BilletHead

[JestersHK]

I've met a few forum members from here fishing.  Had nothing but positive experiences as well.  I found this site only a year and a half ago and I've only seriously gotten back into fishing 3 years ago.  I feel robbed that I wasted so many years just always finding excuses not to go...  

I generally meet good folks on all the lakes rives and streams.  Theres been a few bad ones but not many.  Out of all the online communities out there I belong to this one sure has a whole bunch of "good people"  People I'd be happy to meet and fish with.

[Ham]

1 hour ago, BilletHead said:

    When I got back I was so spent and beat I couldn't get up the next morning to get with you two. I was up there this morning with not much luck. Will be doing the evening shift here in a bit, well you know just where I will be. You wore Richard to a frazzle so he is resting today doing his driving job.

 

I hear you Marty. I'm more than impressed that you get them with a fly rod in that environment. Banging that fly out there repeatedly to get the strike. Getting them hook, and then getting them landed are all significant hurtles.

I'm not sure who wore who down more. Long days and short nights. I'm sore, sleepy, and reliving catching those fish. I'm pretty sure I'm ruined.

[Al Agnew]

I too have met a lot of people through this forum (and the riversmallies forum as well), and a number of them have become friends and fishing buddies.  Thinking back, I can only remember one bad experience fishing with someone I'd previously known only from a forum.  It was a guy who infrequently posted on the riversmallies forums.  He was from somewhere in the eastern US, and one time he posted that he was going to be visiting the St. Louis area on business, and had a day free and wanted to know where he could fish for smallmouth.  Like a nice guy, I sent him a message telling him that if I was free that day I'd take him fishing on one of my stretches of river.  He was all enthused about it.  It was about six months before the date of his visit, but he said he could soon tell me the exact day he would be able to fish with me.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a July Saturday, which automatically meant that any stream served by a canoe rental was pretty much out.  Ah, but I could take him on the upper end of Big River.  No rental canoes, no jetboats, probably no other people at all, since it was likely to be extremely low.  I tried to impress upon him that it wouldn't be easy, that we'd probably be walking the canoe down almost every riffle, but that it was our best chance to have the water to ourselves on a Saturday.  

As time passed, I continually repeated what I wanted him to understand, that this trip would be strenuous.  It would be about 7 miles of walking the riffles and fishing the pools in probably very hot weather.  He kept assuring me he understood.  

Finally the day came.  I was to meet him at the Desloge Walmart.  Mary would shuttle us to the put-in.  I pulled into the parking lot at 7 AM, and saw a guy sitting in a little car in the corner.  I pulled up alongside, and he got out of the car...it took him about a minute to slowly work himself out of the seat and stand up.  The guy looked to be about 60 years old, but it was a hard 60 years.  He was simply decrepit.  He could barely straighten up.

I should have gone to plan B at that point, but I told him once again that the trip we had planned was going to be a tough one.  The river was indeed very low, so low I knew for sure we'd be walking every riffle, and it was going to be a hot day.  He said again that he understood and he was ready.

The put in required carrying the canoe down a steep highway embankment to the water.  He could barely get himself down it, forget about carrying any gear or the canoe.  I schlepped all the stuff down to the water and loaded it.  He plopped down into the canoe.  We fished through a short pool to a long riffle.  I told him we would have to get out and drag the canoe over the riffle.  He very clumsily got himself out of the canoe, but absolutely could not negotiate the cobble-covered bottom of the riffle, falling twice.  Now I could really see the handwriting on the wall.  There was simply no way this guy could walk the riffles.  I was going to have to drag his rather fat butt, in the canoe, the whole trip.

He wasn't all that great company.  Kept talking about his company and other business stuff, which I didn't care much about though I tried to act interested.  He was a decent fisherman, and we actually had a good day of fishing, with about 60 bass caught and a number of them in the16 inch class.  But after dragging the canoe, with him plopped in the front seat, the whole trip, I was beat.  And to top it off, he never said a word of thanks, or even acknowledgement that I'd worked my butt off getting his butt down the river and showing him some good fishing besides.  I never heard from him again.

[Gavin]

Have met some great folks on fishing forums. Fished with a bunch of them, and not a bad one in the mix. 

 

[Smalliebigs]

11 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

I too have met a lot of people through this forum (and the riversmallies forum as well), and a number of them have become friends and fishing buddies.  Thinking back, I can only remember one bad experience fishing with someone I'd previously known only from a forum.  It was a guy who infrequently posted on the riversmallies forums.  He was from somewhere in the eastern US, and one time he posted that he was going to be visiting the St. Louis area on business, and had a day free and wanted to know where he could fish for smallmouth.  Like a nice guy, I sent him a message telling him that if I was free that day I'd take him fishing on one of my stretches of river.  He was all enthused about it.  It was about six months before the date of his visit, but he said he could soon tell me the exact day he would be able to fish with me.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a July Saturday, which automatically meant that any stream served by a canoe rental was pretty much out.  Ah, but I could take him on the upper end of Big River.  No rental canoes, no jetboats, probably no other people at all, since it was likely to be extremely low.  I tried to impress upon him that it wouldn't be easy, that we'd probably be walking the canoe down almost every riffle, but that it was our best chance to have the water to ourselves on a Saturday.  

As time passed, I continually repeated what I wanted him to understand, that this trip would be strenuous.  It would be about 7 miles of walking the riffles and fishing the pools in probably very hot weather.  He kept assuring me he understood.  

Finally the day came.  I was to meet him at the Desloge Walmart.  Mary would shuttle us to the put-in.  I pulled into the parking lot at 7 AM, and saw a guy sitting in a little car in the corner.  I pulled up alongside, and he got out of the car...it took him about a minute to slowly work himself out of the seat and stand up.  The guy looked to be about 60 years old, but it was a hard 60 years.  He was simply decrepit.  He could barely straighten up.

I should have gone to plan B at that point, but I told him once again that the trip we had planned was going to be a tough one.  The river was indeed very low, so low I knew for sure we'd be walking every riffle, and it was going to be a hot day.  He said again that he understood and he was ready.

The put in required carrying the canoe down a steep highway embankment to the water.  He could barely get himself down it, forget about carrying any gear or the canoe.  I schlepped all the stuff down to the water and loaded it.  He plopped down into the canoe.  We fished through a short pool to a long riffle.  I told him we would have to get out and drag the canoe over the riffle.  He very clumsily got himself out of the canoe, but absolutely could not negotiate the cobble-covered bottom of the riffle, falling twice.  Now I could really see the handwriting on the wall.  There was simply no way this guy could walk the riffles.  I was going to have to drag his rather fat butt, in the canoe, the whole trip.

He wasn't all that great company.  Kept talking about his company and other business stuff, which I didn't care much about though I tried to act interested.  He was a decent fisherman, and we actually had a good day of fishing, with about 60 bass caught and a number of them in the16 inch class.  But after dragging the canoe, with him plopped in the front seat, the whole trip, I was beat.  And to top it off, he never said a word of thanks, or even acknowledgement that I'd worked my butt off getting his butt down the river and showing him some good fishing besides.  I never heard from him again.

Just so you know Al I would NEVER do that to you hahahaha

[Mitch f]

I went with a guy on the Upper Jacks Fork once in the trophy area. We drug the canoe half of the float. He still complains to this day about how much fiberglass he lost on that trip. 

[Smalliebigs]

2 hours ago, Mitch f said:

I went with a guy on the Upper Jacks Fork once in the trophy area. We drug the canoe half of the float. He still complains to this day about how much fiberglass he lost on that trip. 

The more I drag, the more I feel the fishing  is good because not many are willing to do it.....an extended  drought is when the BIG fish come to hand for me. My canoes and kayaks were made for dragging as far as I'm concerned and I love the thought of floating where others aren't.......the creek I fished  yesterday with no signs of footprints other than animals was making me so happy inside. I can't  tell you.....just awesome 

[Flysmallie]

1 hour ago, Mitch f said:

I went with a guy on the Upper Jacks Fork once in the trophy area. We drug the canoe half of the float. He still complains to this day about how much fiberglass he lost on that trip. 

Was he saving it for some reason? They do make more. 

I agree with Smalliebigs, it's sort of a pain in the butt but you usually don't see anybody else. I can always use the exercise.  

[Greasy B]

40 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

Was he saving it for some reason? They do make more. 

I agree with Smalliebigs, it's sort of a pain in the butt but you usually don't see anybody else. I can always use the exercise.  

Yeah same here. I wore a Mohawk solo paper thin in 10 years going down creeks that hardly had any flow. 10 of the best years of my life.