Where did it start?

[Roper]

I’m a victim of adult onset fishing experience. My grandparents who I lived will as a juvenile didn’t take me fishing. Friends of mine turned me on to spin fishing for bass. When I moved to WA a young man I hired at Boeing turned me on to fly fishing with Dec Hogan as a mentor. The rest is history…

 

[dirty dog]

Sorry, I don't have any pics from the beginning days of my fishing addiction.
My first memories of fishing was at a mountain lake here in Southerner OR.
Crappie, blue gill, LMB, and brown bull head catfish.
Us kids could fish off the boat dock.
Great fun, caught lots of fish

 

[Triploidjunkie]

I first started fishing in the early eighties, around three. Funny, I can still remember those trips to the pond down the road from our house. We'd toss out a chunk of worm under a bobber and fill five gallon buckets with sunfish. When I was around five or six, I'd go with my grandparents for most of the summer. They'd camp for about a month at Mar Don resort, along with my uncle's, and we'd fish every day. I was filleting hundreds of perch a day by the time I was six. Then when the adults were drinking around the campfire in the evening, I'd go down and catch bigger fish off the docks.
When I was seven, I started accompanying my parents horseback into the high country. I loved fishing the high mountain lakes, and still do. That's where I saw fly fishing for the first time, and was hooked ever since. I talked my dad into getting me a beginner fly set-up, and would have him drop me off at a creek on the way to work, and pick me up on the way home. When I was twelve, I got a dirt bike. My whole world opened up. I would stuff a raft into a backpack, and blow it up at one of several lakes I could reach, or even strap my fly rod to my handlebars and ride clear over to the San Poil (a parent would probably go to jail for letting a twelve year old do that now). One summer, my older brother who had a driver's license and car, and I vowed to fish every day during summer break. My did, too!

 

[Scott Salzer]

What a great thread and stories . Thanks for sharing!

 

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

My family did not fish, but there was an “old” man in the neighborhood (Al) who started taking me whim when I was 7. Doing the math now he was probably 65, but he seemed ancient at the time. He brought me out dozens and dozens of times before I started fishing with a buddy my age about junior year of high school. After college I started taking Al fishing a couple of times a season until he broke a hip and moved to a retirement center. I never out fished him, and I owe him for introducing me to my favorite outdoor activity. He also taught great lessons,which basically revolved around “don’t be a dick”. We need more like him.

 

[Buzzy]

When I was five, my folks moved to Carlsborg about halfway between Sequim and Port Angeles. My dad got a boat and started fishing for salmon, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the many places it offered were his haunts. He loved Pillar Point, maybe it was magic for dad. I remember him coming home one day, towing the old Uniflight, he started honking the horn on the truck when he pulled off the country road. He had a couple big silvers, BIG silvers. He was so jazzed!

Backtracking some, that first year we moved to the country was also the first year I went fishing (and catching). Every summer we'd spend a couple weeks camped at The Dean's place on Sequim Bay. On my fifth birthday, July 4th, dad fashioned a "pole" and off we went to a nearby creek. Five fish on my fifth birthday and I too was hooked.



The farm in Carlborg was off Cameron Road. In those days, there weren't many homes along Cameron Road or along the bottom two miles of Mcdonald Creek. The west properly line of our place was the "thread of the creek". My brother and I fished that little creek all the time. What a great place to grow up.

 

[Wanative]

Growing up the youngest of 7 kids in MN, the only vacations we ever took were to fishing resorts "up North" - i.e. a hundred miles outside of the twin cities with all 9 of us piled into a Plymouth Fury wagon.

It got lost when my folks passed, but they used to have a pic of a 2 yo me crouched on a dock, fishing for sunnies with a line tied to a yellow plastic beach shovel. Canned corn still smells like bait to me!

I do have Dad's old pike lures. Torn between framing them and trying to catch a pike for him. Miss you, Dad! View attachment 4536

I'm digging those classic lures. Very nice.

 

[John Svahn]

Lucky me- My Grandmother used to take me to the Shelter Island pier in san Diego to watch people fishing when i was three or so. I started fishing sometime there after and don’t remember a time pre- fishing.
My Dad has fished his whole life. Iirc his first fish was a cuttie from a pier in Keyport Wa. I think he started fly fishing in the late 60’s and was involved in fish conservation and advocacy back then with Ca Fly Fishers United. My Mom has gear fished her whole life and fly fishes on occasion. Dad had me tying flies by age 8 and fly fishing soon after. I lived on the east coast, fishing for breams, stripers and bluefish in brackish water and the small trout streams in Maryland and SE Pa. we gear fished and fly fished and still do. My folks’ passion for conservation rubbed off and i work in that field.

 

[JACKspASS]

My 'ol man started me small stream and lake fishing at 4yrs old, I buried an egg hook in my arm on one of my first expeditions fishing and haven't been the same since. The world went on pause when I learned about salmon and steelhead. Mom dropped me off after school at Reiter Ponds so I could get my PhD on steelhead and cussing. I think about fish and fishing 24/7. My wife said she knows that fishing is the true love of my life, which is correct. I grew up watching the greatest rivers on earth slowly degrade to the point that all serious fisherman drive by them on their way to Idaho and Montana. It hurt bad. Now I am happy to fish and be grateful for what is left. I guess it all started wherever my Dad took me, I love fishing with him to this day, I can't ever repay what he's taught me

 

[Wanative]

Where to start.
As was mentioned in a earlier post my life has been wrapped around my obsession with fishing as long as I can remember.
I believe it started at my grandma's property on Race lagoon on the east shore of Whidbey Island south of Coupeville. My grandparents built a cabin there in the 1930s or 40s.
My Grandma was born in 1908 and was raised on her Grandpa Henry Race's farm above Race lagoon.
As a kid we lived in in Ferndale and spent a lot of time at the cabin during the summer. I was allowed to bring a friend along whenever we went there.
We'd build rafts Tom Sawyer style and pole around the lagoon fishing for starry flounder and sculpins (bull heads back then) using bacon or weiners for bait.
The lagoon runs out into Saratoga Passage and we'd ride the raft out of the lagoon on the ebb tide and fish out in the bay. The water was clear, we'd peer through the gaps in the log raft and watch the fish take our baits. My first experience with sight fishing now that I think about it.
Salmon swam in the passage a lot of the year. Grandma always had a boat and small outboard available.
She would take my brother who was 4.5 years older out mooching for blackmouth and silvers. I was so jealous but I was too young to go.
I'm convinced this was the basis of my obsession with fishing. I vowed at age 6 or 7 to catch more and bigger than my brother.
My brother and I were on our own mostly as we were raised by a single mom who worked a lot. Free range kids so to speak.
At home in Ferndale fishing revolved around local ponds, creeks and the Nooksack river. A fishing rod, a can of worms across the bike handle bars and I was good to go. Searun cutthroat were the primary quarry.
I sent away for a Roddy spinning rod and reel from a cereal box and felt like a king when it arrived.
Bro and me were fishing for SRC in Ferndale and he said I'm going to use your rod and he took it and hiked down to Hovander park bar ( pre park days). I stayed put and fished with his pole. Later I went home and here he comes dragging an 18 lb. King Salmon he had caught on my rod with a June bug spinner.
As a teen I watched the tv fishing shows of the day. Jim Conway and Gaddabout Gaddis being the primary ones on the 4 channel black and white tv we had. They fly fished and I remember a particular episode on fly fishing for half pounder steelhead on the Rogue River. Bam..... I want to fly fish!
Off to H&H sporting goods in Bellingham. I met Jerry Wells there and he set me up with a 7wt glass Fenwick, probably a Pflueger reel and fly line, tippet and some Carey Specials for the local stillwaters.
I caught my first trout on a fly at Fazon lake on a red Carey special. It was a long steep learning curve from there I'll tell you. No you tube, no internet, just magazines basically. I knew no other Flyfishers or about flyfishing clubs and rarely saw other Flyfishers.
I'm rambling now, fishing has had a profound effect on my life and really has shaped the person I am today.
Chapter two at a later date.
Thanks @Scott Salzer for this thread.
Thanks@ Stonedfish and @Buzzy for
the help, and guidance as I continue to learn this incredible sport we all love so much.

 

[Greggor]

Where did it start?

Hmmm. I think it started with me at home, exploring my Dad's tackle box when I was around 5 years old(1960). A true treasure chest of flashy, colorful fishing things, and a mystery as to what it all meant. I had two older brothers, and I was third in the batting order so to speak. It took a couple more years before I got an open seat with my Dad in our pram out on Green Lake(Seattle). Urban beginnings for sure.

We lived in Seattle about half way between Carkeek Park and Bitter Lake. After they demolished Playland Amusement Park on the south shore of Bitter Lake and carved in 130th St. between Greenwood and Aurora, I hooked up with some schoolmates from Broadview Elementary to find our way to fish Bitter lake. Bobber and worms for yellow perch, drop the bobber for small catfish, and form bread on a bare hook for trout. The trout had bread on their mind due to the senior citizens(Four Freedoms) feeding the ducks bread! Later, we dialed-in the tried and true slip sinker, marshmallow and egg setups for trout.

Queue-up Carkeek Park(and Camel's Hump) and saltwater fishing. Casting off the railroad bulkhead at high tide for bullheads(sculpin), flounder, and perch(grey and striped). Those colorful red and blue striped perch could not resist cooked salad shrimp! Again, how is it that I am doing this so young!

This led to a huge pursuit of fly fishing, and at 11 years old I was taking metro transit regularly, to pester the crap out of Roy Patrick on Eastlake. When we got our driver's licenses, the world of fly fishing expanded rapidly from there.

 

[MoreQuestionsThanAnswers]

Where did it start?

Hmmm. I think it started with me at home, exploring my Dad's tackle box when I was around 5 years old(1960). A true treasure chest of flashy, colorful fishing things, and a mystery as to what it all meant. I had two older brothers, and I was third in the batting order so to speak. It took a couple more years before I got an open seat with my Dad in our pram out on Green Lake(Seattle). Urban beginnings for sure.

We lived in Seattle about half way between Carkeek Park and Bitter Lake. After they demolished Playland Amusement Park on the south shore of Bitter Lake and carved in 130th St. between Greenwood and Aurora, I hooked up with some schoolmates from Broadview Elementary to find our way to fish Bitter lake. Bobber and worms for yellow perch, drop the bobber for small catfish, and form bread on a bare hook for trout. The trout had bread on their mind due to the senior citizens(Four Freedoms) feeding the ducks bread! Later, we dialed-in the tried and true slip sinker, marshmallow and egg setups for trout.

Queue-up Carkeek Park(and Camel's Hump) and saltwater fishing. Casting off the railroad bulkhead at high tide for bullheads(sculpin), flounder, and perch(grey and striped). Those colorful red and blue striped perch could not resist cooked salad shrimp! Again, how is it that I am doing this so young!

This led to a huge pursuit of fly fishing, and at 11 years old I was taking metro transit regularly, to pester the crap out of Roy Patrick on Eastlake. When we got our driver's licenses, the world of fly fishing expanded rapidly from there.

I never met Roy but I dealt with his wife for awhile at the shop. I was glad to be on her good side.

 

[Xoxo]

@G_Smolt …. I especially love the 4th photo in your striped shirt with that heavy rod!

 

[GAT]

Like most, I started as a kid spin fishing. I didn't really care for it because Dad kept everything we caught (as you can tell by the plywood shot). But for whatever reason, I'd normally catch the largest fish. I only started enjoying fishing when I took up flyfishing in my twenties and discovered that I really didn't need to keep the fish.

The younger dorky look'n kid is my younger brother. He grew up to be much taller and larger than me !

 

[cody-]

I’m a victim of adult onset fishing experience. My grandparents who I lived will as a juvenile didn’t take me fishing. Friends of mine turned me on to spin fishing for bass. When I moved to WA a young man I hired at Boeing turned me on to fly fishing with Dec Hogan as a mentor. The rest is history…

Similar story for me. The only fishing I ever did as a kid was when the family would rent a big pontoon boat on some of Tennessee's bigger lakes on a holiday weekend once a year. We'd throw some night crawlers for bluegill, and that was about it.

I probably hadn't done any fishing for 10-15 years before I bought a relatively inexpensive 5wt combo after moving to Utah. Took another year and a half to find someone to mentor me, since I really, really had no clue what I was doing for the longest time.

 

[Xoxo]

My dad (nor my grandfather, with whom we lived with for awhile) never fished. I have two brothers who also never even tried fishing. I am the only person in my whole family who fishes, though my 30 something nephew has wanted to start fly fishing. I bought him an Echo five weight from the Puget Sound flyshop about two years ago but he’s not had much chance to get out.

I never fished until i was 40 years old. And i have never fished any other way than fly fishing. (Had i known how difficult it was i likely would have gone with fishing with a spinning rod, but i was naive. ) I took casting lessons, hired guides to wade fish with me and took not one but two classes on fly tying until it became apparent that my embroidery talents did not make me a good fly tyer and I didn’t need the added sabotage.

Here is a photo of me (I’ve shared it on the old site before) my first year on the Yakima. This was my first and last time i went fishing during winter. I was so cold that day! And since it was my first year i still refused to fish with anything but dry flies. (I never did master nymphing and had/have no desire to learn.)



The vest was given to me as a gift by my brother in law. I hated wearing that vest because it had too many pockets and was too big. I only put it on that day cause i was freezing, (I’m such a weenie cause there is not even any snow.) The Goretex coat was used and given to me by a friend. I did love that old blue coat and still have it.

 

[Jerry Daschofsky]

I unfortunately don't have a lot of fishing and hunting pics from before I was 17. A mix of money issues and an angry parent burning pics in defiance there's very few left of what were taken. In fact a lot of our fishing pics in first place, and reason we had any, were because my grandparents originally took them. Have some fish I really wish I had pictures of that were destroyed.

Started really young. By 5 I was pretty much only fishing bigger fish. Trout was only done occasionally.

This pic was when I was 5 or 6. Dad had a close friend that owned a charter boat. So when there was open room Dad jumped on board.

 

[GAT]

This is a great thread. I love the old photos.

 

[Northern]

Growing up the youngest of 7 kids in MN, the only vacations we ever took were to fishing resorts "up North" - i.e. a hundred miles outside of the twin cities with all 9 of us piled into a Plymouth Fury wagon.

It got lost when my folks passed, but they used to have a pic of a 2 yo me crouched on a dock, fishing for sunnies with a line tied to a yellow plastic beach shovel. Canned corn still smells like bait to me!

I do have Dad's old pike lures. Torn between framing them and trying to catch a pike for him. Miss you, Dad! View attachment 4536

I left MN behind when I left for college at UT Austin in '85. Hated TX, but pretty much "forgot" about fishing for the next decade, what with school and starting a career.
Funny thing is, that entire time I had frequently recurring dreams where I'd be fishing, hook up, but could never see or land the fish. I often wondered what the meaning of those fishing dreams could possibly be!

Married and moved to Seattle in '94. Shortly after getting here, I bought a spinning rod and started fishing again. The dreams stopped. Apparently they meant I needed to go fishing. Duh!
A couple years in I decided to try fly fishing, bought a setup and the book Fly Fishing for Dummies, taught myself to cast...and you all know how that goes from there!

 

[Xoxo]

I left MN behind when I left for college at UT Austin in '85. Hated TX, but pretty much "forgot" about fishing for the next decade, what with school and starting a career.
Funny thing is, that entire time I had frequently recurring dreams where I'd be fishing, hook up, but could never see or land the fish. I often wondered what the meaning of those fishing dreams could possibly be!

Married and moved to Seattle in '94. Shortly after getting here, I bought a spinning rod and started fishing again. The dreams stopped. Apparently they meant I needed to go fishing. Duh!
A couple years in I decided to try fly fishing, bought a setup and the book Fly Fishing for Dummies, taught myself to cast...and you all know how that goes from there!

Ha! I did not know there was a book Fly Fishing for Dummies! When i first started i thought all i had to do was be a good caster and the fish would come.