I fly fish primarily for bluegill in a farm pond of approximately 12 acres. Over the past couple of years I have caught 3 bass ranging from 7 to 9 pounds that attacked bluegill that I had hooked on bream bugs. Yesterday I caught a 3 pounder the same way.
The bass are fun but the bluegill are fine eating.

I am with Papa J. Rather do without than buy from Dicks.

At one point in my adventurous if misspent life I was leading a mine sweep near Nofukinwhere, Vietnam.
Along with my merry band of Marines were a couple of South Vietnamese Popular Forces guys to act as interpreters.
(Worked well as they spoke as much English as I did Vietnamese-lots of shouting and hand waving).
We had just crossed a bridge when there was an explosion. Had I not been a combat hardened Marine it may well have scared hell out of me rather than the temporary cardiac and respiratory arrest I experienced.
Turned out one of the PFs had tossed a grenade in the river in search of lunch.

No better eating in fresh water. At least a tie from any water!

Quite a few years back I went into a very exclusive (read expensive) fly shop and saw a selection of beautiful bambo rods. I asked the man behind the counter if I could hold one, and he said, “Sure.”
While holding the rod, I remarked on the beauty and feel. The salesman replied; “Yeah, but when you slam the car door on it it sounds just like the $15.00 job from Walmart.

Clearly I had encountered that most rare of salesman. A man of experience and judgement.

In the past three years I have caught five bass ranging from four to nine pounds while fishing for blue gill with a fly rod and popping bug. While bass on a bream bug are not uncommon, the five were memorable because they all struck bluegill while I was in the process of landing the (in one case sizeable) brim. I have photos of one of them with the tail of the ‘gill protruding from the bass’s mouth.
I would provide photographs, but I am rural and am assured by the Vice President of the United States that I lack the means and skill to do so.

I like knots in principal, but being 78, with one eye which has been damaged, I find snap type attachments convenient. Fly fishing can be a bitch, but I still try.

Jarhead, does your screen name indicate USMC service at some point?

Same, except I use buttermilk. Never really compared with plain milk. Mother, wife, grand mother’s and M&L used buttermilk, and I was never curious or inventive enough to change. They also used plain ole corn meal with salt& pepper.
What ever you use enjoy!

Really? Maybe I need to change tackle before It habbens to me. I had thought about a cane pole, but I have had serious issues with them as well.

I avoid purchasing anything at all at Dicks’ because their stupid statement on guns makes them dicks.

Fisher, I admire your spirit of adventure, fishing in the Amazon. I also envy the experience, aside from the idea of being bitten by one of any number of deadly reptiles, stung by some deadly bug, eaten by a large cat,catching mysterious disease etc.

Seriously, would love to hear the whole story. Having experienced a monsoon season in another part of the world it requires a bit more determination than my catching bream from a farm pond.

Normally I try to stay the Hell out of it, and recomend that to all.

I realize that is not always possible. In that case I change “stay” to “get”.

Once when I owned a quite powerful Bass Boat I had taken my Father in Law fisheng. A wonderful man who did not to go fast in boat. usually he would yell Slow down! just before I Gould get the boat on plane.

On this occasion a bluebird day very suddenly turned into a violent storm with heavy rain, hale, high wind, and far more lightning, far closer than I ever wished to see.

While never compared with any of those Quantum Physics guys, I was smart enough to fire up and fire wall the throttle.

Over the noise of the engine, rain, wind and thunder, I could hear my Father-in-law Law shouting: “Is this as fast as this damn thing will go!?!!

I once watched South Vietnamese soldiers have great success with hand grenades.

Thanks. Btw cyclops, obviouly, because I used up half of my eyes in a lovely tropical paradise. And everyone knows, 313 is Donald Duck’s tag number.

Great stuff !

After the past year I would not be surprised to catch a pink Chinese Submarine from the family farm.

I have caught a number of water snakes over the years and one of the larger, as in trophy size, cotton mouth.

Obviously none of that is in any way unusual. My fishing partner was.

The partner was close friend who played defensive end Alabama, along with a guy named Joe Namath. The coach at
The time was Paul (Bear) Briant. This was In the first championship year.

In any event, I had placed a little popping bug on the bank a couple of inches from the water, thinking to imitate a tiny frog. The bug was instantly struck by the huge mocason, prompting me to say Gosh! Or Gee Whiz! I can’t recall the exact words , but I am sure it was something similar.

The serpent was putting up a pretty good fight and seemed to be kind of pissed off for some reason.

I was attempting with my usual finess and grace, to get the angry reptile to stern of the little jonboat and said “Knock that damn thing off with the paddle.”

I then heard a loud, high pitched voice screech “KEEP THAT SOMBITCH AT YOUR END OF THE BOAT!”

Startled that a little girl had boarded the boat, I turned to see my large, muscular buddy was STANDING on the

transom

It was an amazing display of athletic ability. I marvel to this day. The tiny boat had barely rocked.

I don’t believe my daughter who was a highly ranked gymnast at less than a hundred pounds could have done it.

After one War, one helecopter crash, a bit of professional rodeo, around a year of semi-pro motorcycle racing, and decades as a complete fool it is still the damndest thing I have ever seen.