Blast from the past

[Johnsfolly]

40 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

those old station wagons were TANKS

My buddy had a 70's model Gran Fury V8, not a station wagon but another beast on the road. One of the memorable times was sitting/laying on a bunch of beer bottles under a blanket while going through a police checkpoint. Not sure how we got through that successfully. Maybe because we didn't smell of pot. 

[ollie]

The old red wagon does bring back some memories. Living here in SWMO we saw it quite often. I remember my uncle telling me a story about old Harold and fishing for crappie as well. He said they were on the lake and saw him filming for one of his shows. Couldn't catch a crappie that day to save his life. Hollered at my uncle to come over to their boat and talk. Said when he got over there they asked him if he had caught any and he said yes. At that point they either paid him or something like that to get one of his crappie. Uncle claims they kept hooking the same fish over and over just to get some film footage for the day. Whether or not that was true I don't know, but it made for a good story and as I got older and wiser I figured old Harold did pay him for his fish. I mean, many people were gullible enough back then to never know the difference. I always enjoyed McKinnis as well along with his dog.

[Al Agnew]

Well, back in those days I watched those shows because they were about fishing, but didn't really much care for any of the personalities on them.  Ensley was marginally okay, Virgil was pretty much a doofus, I thought.  Jerry was the best of them, but wasn't often on the TV channels we could get.  But I was pretty sure my dad and I knew more about catching big bass than any of them.

When the bass guys started getting shows, I thought they were mostly okay.  Probably enjoyed Jimmy Houston the most...he just seemed to do nothing but have fun, while some of the others were way too serious.

[Terrierman]

Harold and Dusty.  I loved that red Ford Country Sedan.  I learned how to cook white bass dipped in yellow mustard and then breaded and fried from Harold.  Good recipe too.

[Knot Sure]

Does anyone remember Gadabout Gaddis?  The last time I remember seeing anything about him was at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield.  They had what appeared to be all of his old television film reels, cameras, some photographs and his fly fishing equipment.  I can only remember him fly fishing on his shows. 

[Gumboot]

I was a sophomore in college in 1979 and had a little 14' Arkansas Traveler jon boat with a 9.9 Evinrude that I would take to the local lakes.  No trolling motor, just a sculling paddle and a cushion.  One early spring, rainy Saturday morning, I was fishing Horseshoe Lake, just South of West Memphis, and dipping jigs among the cypress trees for crappie.  The lilly pads were just coming out in an area called Happy Jack.  I saw a fancy aluminum tracker with 3 guys hootin and hollerin and catching fish on almost every cast.   There were very few boats out that miserable morning.  As they came near me I asked, very politely, what are you guys catchin?  Whereupon one guy turned, he had on a big TN hat,  and held up a pretty good shellcracker. He asked me if I was catching anything and I told him I had a few crappie.

They trolled over by me, he ripped a card of black roadrunners in half, and threw them in my little jon boat.  Told me to throw to the edge of the lily pads and slowing reel it back.  I caught a bunch.

That guy could have been fishing anywhere he wanted, but he was on a little MS river oxbow, in the rain, having a blast catching bream.  Been a fan of his ever since.

[Johnsfolly]

Maybe not soon long ago but did anyone here watch the Jimmy Big-time fishing/hunting shows? Kind of a spoof. I thought that he was very funny.

 

[MickinMO]

The Fishing Hole with Jerry McKinnis was must see tv on the weekends growing up in the 80s and 90s. I think we got cable in 87 for the first time. Me and my brothers would always watch it with my dad, who had met Jerry a few times and knew he lived in the Mtn. Home area. My grandpa had some type of minor connection with Jerry through fishing on the White River in the 60s and 70s; which my dad also spent plenty of time down there too. I think Jerry may have been a guide or ran a resort at some point, I'm not really sure.  I know my grandpa stayed at Gastons regularly and another place I can't recall. To this day when pan frying fish or chicken, I still check the temp of my oil by lighting a match from its surface (tip that Jerry regularly showed). 

[Flysmallie]

On 3/14/2023 at 8:51 PM, Al Agnew said:

Probably enjoyed Jimmy Houston the most...he just seemed to do nothing but have fun, while some of the others were way too serious.

A group of us arrived at Lake Cuchillo in Mexico a couple of days after he and his group had left. There was only one place to stay on the lake and they assured us that he would never be welcomed back. He treated them like garbage. It was a great week for us. 

[fishinwrench]

I have had a cool collection of "famous" fisherpersons visit my shop.  Mark Zona was the last.  Never met any that I didn't enjoy helping out and visiting with. 

I think pretty much everyone in the professional fishing circle are just solid down home kinda people, especially when the cameras are off.