Teach me to fish!

Share your fishing adventures, especially ones using antique tackle!
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orourke
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Teach me to fish!

Post by orourke »

OK. Bought the second fishing license of my life. (Just turned 53) Got out two old Bronson combo's and convinced my 11 year old daughter to try casting against me.

We bought a house on a small lake in North Eastern Indiana. The lake is supposed to be good for blue gill and crappie. It has a very mucky bottom close to shore and weeds that seems to stay fairly close to the lakes bottom. No lily pads or other floating vegetation.

Our first casts with artificial baits got caught on the weeds and I switched them out to some weedless baits. We had a blast just casting against each other and later laughing at my wife's futile attempts at wetting the line.

While it was an enjoyable couple of hours of family fun, it would have been so much more fun if we caught something. I don't have a clue really how to fish. As a child the half dozen times I went with friends we used worms and bobbers. Is that still what I should be using now?

If I reel the bobber up to the rod tip won't I still have a length of line with hook and worm hanging loose? How will that affect casting? I'll tell you right now neither my daughter or I wish to be impaled by a wayward hook, each others or our own! I didn't say we cast well, just better than my wife :D

Please give an ORCAN a lesson so I can get the rest of my family into the hobby and we can have fresh fish every once in a while.

Right now we are just shore fishing. I bought a small row boat that has four coats of peeling paint that I want to clean up before our maiden voyage. Any hints on removing paint from the aluminum boat would be greatly appreciated too! My electric hand sander is slow and the wire wheel on a drill has me breathing in all the paint dust.

Thanks one and all for any tips and pointers or nods towards good books or websites to read. I have done zero research.

Your lazy friend.

Dave "O"
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john elder
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by john elder »

Dave: Use Zip Strip or another methylene-based stripper on that aluminum and it will come right off. Wear gloves. Do it outside and put it on with a brush thick...you can cover it with newspaper to keep it from drying out. Do it in sections...you can use the "used" stripper to help start another section. Scrape if off after it cooks for about half hour. Do the whole boat to get the big pieces off, then go back over it again...and again until it's all clean. Wash down with water and when it's dry it will be ready to paint. Steel wool is invaluable to doing those last clean-ups.

As for the hook, yes it should hang down a bit from the bobber about a couple feet. ..just watch your backswing!
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Len Sawisch
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by Len Sawisch »

Invite Jim Madden over to fish your pond - he'll teach y'all all you need to know . . .
Reel Geezer
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by Reel Geezer »

Bobber and worms, Dave. I love to fish that way. In fact I'm heading to a pond tomorrow to fish for bluegill, and have already dug a can of worms.
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orourke
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by orourke »

Thanks Guys!

Realized how pathetic I sounded right after I hit send. Googled "how to fish" and have been reading up on it a bit.

Will be joining the Lake Association in June and am sure I will pick the brains of the long time residents. Really have only met four neighbors on my dead end road so far. Unlike a few of the recent posters I still have to work. Missed out on that 630 million dollar lottery last week. dang

Dave "O"
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Jonathan P. Kring
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by Jonathan P. Kring »

Bass Magazine has lots of fishing info and tips. Being a collector of old equipment but not being a big fan of using it, if you are serious about fishing, if you invest in some up to date tackle it will make fishing a lot more fun and easier to do. (That's just my personal opinion, I'm sure there are others who would disagree with that.) Indiana has some great fishing. Good Luck. Aside from
books and magazines , you have the internet as a resource. You can find information about any subject related to fishing on the internet. Just give it a try.
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1FSHNDAD
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by 1FSHNDAD »

Hey Dave,

I am in favour of the kiss method. Worms, needle nose pliers and a bobber is all you need to catch fish, pinch the barbs on the hooks to make releasing easier and accidents less likely. If you are using the standard red and white bobs just pinch them on the line at the desired depth ( I like the spring loaded Thill bobbers if you can find them). I don't like using sinkers on this kind of rig as the bait has a more natural fall without them. Look for the edges of weed beds and lily pads and cast for the edge. Vary you depth presentation to find where the biggest fish are and good luck catching.

Dave
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orourke
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Re: Teach me to fish!

Post by orourke »

Thanks Dave!

Haven't had a chance to get back out yet. While I was doing some yard work the other day a nice BASS boat with two fisherman anchored for a spell just off my property.

It was an incredibly windy day and I inquired as to their success in such conditions. To my surprise they replied they had already caught 23 Bass. They were using rattletraps.

Dave "O"
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