MindfulMuser2246 Loc: Michigan / Florida

I don't have much in terms of my own stories. But I would love to hear from others.

charlykilo Loc: Garden Valley Ca

Minn. early 50s caught first walleye and northern. Met grand parents first time. Taught them to cut perch for bait. All they used were lures and minnows.

Allen D Loc: Texas

I have many but my most memorable one was in Alaska when I lived there.
Did a fly out trip to fish rainbows in a small river...almost stream size.
There were 5 of us and a guide. We landed ,got ourselves geared up to fly fish, got on the raft and started down the stream. We'd stop every now and then on good areas and wade walk the banks fly fishing for Rainbow trout and Dolly varden. We all caught fish... I was leading group while fishing and came across an island mid-stream...I waded out to it and started fishing whe everyone else kept moving down stream with the raft and guide. I stayed there about 30 minutes and wS watching a black bear and her 2 cubs on the other side of the river. We were warned about bears in the area and knew our guide had the bear gun in the raft so I wasn't to concerned as I had been around bears in the wild before.
For some reason unknown to me at the time, the hair on the back of my neck rose and I felt like something was wrong.
I slowly turned around and on this 2' cliff above the bank about 40' from me was the largest brown bear I've ever seen. He was staring at me and scratching the ground like a bull in a bull fight..I just thought to myself Oh Sht...then he started clackin his jaws together..at this point I figured I was his lunch..
I knew never to look in a bears eyes and held my rod just as high and wide as I could and slowly backed across steam to the other bank. I kept backing down the bank about 75 feet from where I was on the island. The bear stood up on his back feet and stared at me for about 3 minutes then dropped down on all fours and came down the bank to the island while all the time eyeballing me. He decided I was no threat and took a left to go down stream from me. It's then when I started breathing again.
He hot about 30 ft. Off the island and sat right down in the middle of the stream. I concluded that I was in his way to his fishing spot and he didn't want me there. I managed to get my shaky butt up and back down the bank I was on about 50 feet still watchin him to make sure he'd stay where he was.
I heard a loud voice yelling at me from upstream.
The guide was yelling for me to turn around and look. I had forgot about the black bear and her cubs and they where about 40 yards from me...oh crap...here we go again..so slowly crossing the stream I got down to where the raft was...and stayed real close to it the rest of the trip.
I'm still surprised to this day that I had clean britches after that trip.
I was also glad I'd done some previous reading on how to survive in bear country as I did alot of back country hiking in my 20 years up there.
This is a true story..I'm now 70 years old and surprised u made it thru the 20 years there...lol

Papabear65 Loc: Salem oregon

1978, fishing with my Dad for sturgeon, from the bank, on the Columbia River in Oregon at Bonneville dam's Bradford Island. Dad started the day with a 2 hr battle. Finally got it to shore and it measured 9 ft 11 1/2 inches. Current retention limits at the time were that it must be between 3 ft and 6 ft to keep (36" to 72"). About 45 minutes later my pole did the jiggle and after setting the hook it took me about an hour to land. My first keeper sturgeon measuring at 5'2. That was one of the best memories of my life while fishing with my dad, May he rest in peace.

john1941 Loc: CA

I have several but i guess my favorite was a 5 day trip to alaska. 16 people max on the trip, flew to alaska, then got on a puddle jumper, flew to a floating dock, picked up by a 26 foot fishing boat, ferried to a huge houseboat. We fished four to a boat, and caught daily limits of silver salmon king salmon, Bass, red eye, and huge halibuts. It was all inclusive, the only work we were required to do was bring in the shrimp pots at the end of the day, remove the tails, when we got back to home base the cooks would cook the shrimp, (best shrimp i ever had) then dinner would be served.They fileted all the fish, vacuum packed them, and put them 50 pounds to a box and froze them. I personally brought back 150 pounds o fish, my son in law brought back the same. They stayed frozen all the way home.... what a trip

Allen D Loc: Texas

Alaska is truly a remarkable place for sport fishing.
And hunting to for the residents. I got caribou on hunts and I'm here to tell ya the hamburger is better than beef.
I was fortunate enough to live there 20 years. Just 5 minutes from the Famous Kenai river and did some unsolicited guiding on the river for Sockeye , rainbow and Dolly varden.

mistred64 Loc: Grayslake, illinois

That sounds awesome!

mistred64 Loc: Grayslake, illinois

Mine is not nearly as exciting but fun. When we were about 21, one weekend my friend and I went to my family cottage to go fishing. On Saturday the Northern Pike were hitting our lures frequently all day but let go and we didn't catch one. Sunday they were hitting but really took the bait. They were all good size fish in the mid and upper 20"s. We took 6 Northern and cleaned them. I was tired of cleaning fish and my friend had never done it so no help. We went back out and caught some more but put them back and then we headed home.

JimInCanton Loc: Canton, Ohio

It was 1965, myself and 2 fishing buddies had 1A Draft Classifications, and the the Viet Nam war was in full swing. We were all going to enlist, as businesses hesitated to hire eligible males if they were going to be called to duty and have to save a job for them for several years. Before we enlisted, we decided to work odd jobs and save money for a fishing trip to Canada. One of the guys mother was a nurse and had just bought a brand spanking new full size Mercury and graciously allowed us to use that car for our trip. We drove something like 650 miles to a place called Gowganda and Gogama, where one of the other frirend's grandfather owned a camp that had been in the family for many years. We also learned that if it were not in use as first come first served, we could boat across a lake for 3 miles and have the use use of a very remote moose hunters cabin. It was way WAY out in the boonies in moose country, and of course that meant bear country too. A little about the bears in a moment.

We had the time of our lives catching walleyes, northern pike, and smallmouth bass. From the hunters cabin site we even portaged to an even more remote lake for a day and night fishing trip. The weather was perfect except for the black flies. The mosquitoes like to have eaten us up that night as we lay tarps in our sleeping bags on the ground. None of us slept much that night for trying to swat mosquitoes and hearing them buzzing in our ears all night. Between the black flies biting our ankles and the skeeters dining on any open flesh, we were pretty well eaten up.

Back to the bears.... one night while we were sleeping the bears came into the cabin. The first person that woke up yelled at the top of his lungs sending the bears scurrying. There was no lock on the door of that moose hunters cabin, being way WAY out in the boonies far from even a small town and civilization, miles away by woods and water. Another day while we were out fishing for the day we came home late afternoon to find the bears had been in the cabin, and had made a mess of the frying pans that held oil used to cook our walleye. Then they tore a flour sack open and had bear foot tracks all over the cabin, it was a mess. We were later told that true woodsmen up north keep all their vittles in glass jars to prevent just a scene, but we didn't know. Too soon old, too late smart.

Fast forward to 2014 when talk began of a 50 year reunion trip to the same lakes by the same three amigos, and in 2015 we made such a trip. Two of us were veterans of the Marine Corps and one of the Air Force. Plans were made, and by the grace of God another trip of a life time was made, one where we could and certainly did relive old memories to the fullest. The moose hunters cabin had been long ago burnt down by some hooligans. But from the local tales it was barely a protective shell anyway and hardly useable by then when it was burnt down. But it was fun boat across the lake and stand on the spot and reminisce. Besides, with our advanced age the creature comfort of a modern cabin with electricity, electric stoves, comfortable furniture and beds were more suitable to our liking as seventy somethings.

nutz4fish Loc: Colchester, CT

MM, mine wuz a trip to Lake Okeechobee to fish for Largemouths with huge live shiners from a really cool airboat. Small block Chevy with a huge fan, never been on one before or after.
2 to 5 feet of water and monster shiners, 8 to 10 inches long underneath balloons. Guide knew his stuff, and put the two of us on about twenty bass in four hours. No scale on board, but measured a bunch of them @ 20+ inches. Released 'em all. Thrill of a lifetime for me, and worth every $ we spent.

Close 2nd was a trip to Rhode Island that produced some big tuna, blue sharks, & a Mako for our group. Tuna were like being hooked up to an underwater race horse. Mako jumped and tail-walked almost like a Marlin. Blue sharks, lotta work and not really much of a gamefish, and NOT for the table !
Big day for all four of us ( normally) fresh water or inshore guys.

ghaynes1 Loc: Strawberry Plains, TN

Fishing with my buddy Bear(he's holding two fish), the other guy is me. FStagers helped us cover the cost of a guide that day with their generosity. We fished the French Broad River in NE Tennessee that beautiful day in May. Thanks to you guys. You know who you are.

Old Coach Loc: Corpus Christi Tx

1989 Kenai River Alaska. After a few great days fishing and roughing it, we had to return to Anchorage. My brother in law had to go back to work, but I had day left before the big bird back to Texas. I drove to a roadside rest stop and made a short walk through the forest to the riverbank. So many red salmon on light tackle I took breaks to rest, eat, drink and enjoy the day. Within the first hour, 3 keepers made it back up the trail into the truck and ice chest. I fished for hours and easily lost track of time. The long daylight helped, but the action was non stop and I knew I may never do this again. As I rested on the bank, I realized the road traffic noise had almost disappeared and decided my best day fishing was about to end. No fishing partner, only a couple of drift boats to wave at, no one to share the day with. But first, just a few more casts. As I released another salmon, I heard the snaps and rustling in the forest above. I had seen only one pair of deer earlier but no bears all week. I looked up the bank, and saw nothing. My mind wandered with bears in my brain, but one more cast. I heard the snap and crackle one more time, but decided to die happy. Hooked up, monster run and jump, shook the hook. When the voice behind me said, “hello, that’s too bad”, I about crapped my pants. The federal game warden looked like Doogie Howser, a rookie on his first assignment out of Podunk, Ohio. I was still young enough to get pissed off, and enlightened the young warden about etiquette in the most impolite way. Now that I’m old and retired, a return to Kenai is on my bucket list.

Allen D Loc: Texas

I lived there 20 years 5 minutes from the Kenai river.
Always loved the third week in July til end of August fishing the reds...I still think they are the best eating Salmon of all. Managed to never do dipnetting though...to much work cleaning fish...lol
Halibut ain't bad either

Commander Bell Loc: Lafayette Indiana

I have 2
My first one was battling a 30 pound Coho Salmon in Alaska.I thought I had hooked a freight train.
The second one is anytime and every time I go fishing with my Grandson.
Commander Bell out 👍

MedMarine64 Loc: southwest Oregon

1960's Waking up in lakeside camp and eating breakfast as Dad came to shore from fishing from 2AM till then. Mom made food and set the food out for us. Going out to fish again and Dad catching More fish than the three of us together as he slept !! Family time with God and Christ in our hearts. Before they killed off all of the fish due to Tui Chub that had been used as bait and thrown out when they left.
Had Family Fun lake till then with Crappie to 3-4 lbs, Bluegill, Small Mouth Bass, Trout (Rainbow) to 24 inches, Brown catfish to 18 inches + . Now, it is a reservoir that gets low water and mud tasting fish. Trout planters each Spring and Bass a few years back. Sucks as a family lake now ass the best side ffor camping is all private homes now. Hyatt Lake in southwest Oregon.