your earliest memory of fishing

[tincatinca]

The first recollection of my interest in fish and what lives beneath the surface goes back to around the age of 6 when my dad used to take us to the local park armed with net and jam jar.I remember you could get do the water by a shallow weir where you would look for sticklebacks and hunt among the stones and weed for stone loach and bullyheads as we used to call them. As regards fishing proper my earliest recall is going with my dad to the river bythe local gas works where he would fish up against the gas works wall where numerous big Perch were caught and I would fish under the arches of the road bridge armed with my tank aerial rod, plastic centrepin and bob type float. I caught my first fish under that bridge which was a decent Roach and from then on I was totally hooked.. Luckily for me, my dad had many fisherman friends who used to take me to many places (at that time usually farm pools and the local canal) and with one of his friends in particular, on the back of a motorbike which to a youngster was another big adventure. There was a rod maker who used to live just down the road from where we lived and as I got older,I used to spend many hours just watching watching him and learning and at the age of 12 I was the proud owner of my first proper rod which my dad bought for me for my birthday. It was a 12 foot match rod with the butt and middle sections made from wholecane with a spliced in split cane tp section. This was coupled to an old Ambidex given to me by one of dads freinds and didn't I think I was the bees knees. Once I was allowed out on my own virtually every spare hour was spent on the river. Another recollection that I have is getting the bait. There were no big tackle shops in the area at that time and the only one was run part time as the guy who owned it used to work in a shoe factory as his main job. The thing that sticks vividly in my mind is that the maggots used to be kept in a crisp tin and it was pot luck as to how fresh they were. THe only other place to get bait at that time was the local pet shop. Fortunately many of dads fisherman friends used to have allotments with a compost heap so if there was a weekend triin the offing, a good deal of my time would be spent in digging and scrathing for worms. I think that I was very fortunate to have had such an interest taken in me during those early years which certainly had a great influence on my future development as a fiherman

[pfcruleok]

While having my rice crispy's for breakfast one morning, back in 77. I notice an offer for a 5"ft solid fibreglass rod, a little basic reel and some line, a plastic red and white perch float and some hooks to nylon. All i had to do was collect 3 token and sent of a cheque for £2.50 P & P.

I dont know why i did this, as no one i knew fished at the time.

I use to cycle on my old Tomahawk the 4 miles to the river Wallington, catching mostly beautiful golden Rudd.

If i was not fishing, then i was cleaning or sorting my tackle, i even started to read fishing books having ever been near a book before.

I have some excellent memories of times spent on the bank in all weathers, especially those long summer evenings and misty dawns.

I remember when i snapped that rod in the garage door, boy did i cry!

After getting a proper fishing rod for christmas that year and a Michell 206, i progressed to fishing Peterfield lake.

Here i made friends with an much older lad, who had a pair of Northwestern, 410's, and a couple of herons.

I use to spend every friday evening up there, learning and watching this lad cast great balls of free lined trout pellets paste, the monster he caught ( probably about 5lb ).

I also had the pleasure of spending my summer holidays at my nans, who lived in fordingbridge and working in the pub that was right next to the bridge over the Avon.

This pub ( forgotten the name ) was always full of fisherman and they use to take me out with them on the Avon.

Still think about those times and the the people i meet ( i'm sure there was more characters around in those days )

It seems to me that the older you get, the more you remember about things you did as a kid, or it might be that i now have young children of my own !

[pikergonecarpin]

My first memory of fishing was when i was probably 5-6ish.

 

I was on holiday with my parents in Stonehaven, and my older sister and i were taken down to the Stonehaven harbour where there happened to be a kids fishing competition about to start. My dad being a keen fisherman, duly entered us both and everyone was given a short little rod and reel to begin. If i remeber correctly everyone just dropped their lines down the side, near the harbour entrance.

 

And then it happened after about an hour of boredom, i caught my first ever fish. It was a coley (coalfish,saithe whatever you want to call it ) and it must have weighed in at a good 4-8ozs.

 

This was the only fish i caught, and i doubt it would have framed in this grand contest. At the weigh in i was given a bag a sweets, probably because i was just one of the young 'uns. This i seem to remember was the highlight, as i can't actually remember being particularly enamoured with this fishing thing

 

I've been back to fish and holiday in Stonehaven in my adult years since, it always brings a smile to my face

[chesters1]

i was 7 ,i have a photo somewhere .my old man needed hobbies but rarely kept interest for long .fishing was with him for a weeks holiday by the next year his interest had gone and mine still there so my uncle took the reign.by the time i was ten i was self sufficiant

[poledark]

What a lovely topic indeed......................

 

One day, when I was about 9 years old, my Dad came home from work with 3 "fishing rods" various assortments of cane and lancewood and greenheart. My two brothers had first pick, and I was left with the greenheart one....like a billiard cue (may even have been one)

 

Shirley Park hotel with some mates, can't remember the tackle used, but certainly home made/purloined from Mums sewing box Pretty sure my first fish was a small brown one, could have been a small common or even a crucian. I can still remember how I trembled with excitement (I still do on occasions, even after 60+ years)

 

First proper tackle was from the local ironmongers shop, twisted silk line (sold on a card winder) No16 hooks to gut (you had to soak them to get the curl out) Bait was always bread/flour paste or worm.

 

Den

[ahop0911]

I lived in Wraysbury from 7 years old.

 

I went fishing on 2 local lakes on a Leisure Sport permit from about 12 - can't remember why but my mate Adrian might have started it. We thought about big fish but were content with small stripies and roach.

 

Apparently these 2 lakes, Fox Pool and Road Lake are quite well known now!

 

May get back there some day.................

[wotnobivvy]

I started in the 1950's. I got a Milbro fibre glass rod about 4 foot long and a small centrepin from the local pawnbrokers. I remember it well as it was next to the spice merchants, which had a lovely smell. My mum used to take us to Battersea park on a Sunday afternoon picnic. I used maggots for bait (couple of pence a pint), but never caught a thing. This was a challenge for a primary school kid, so my relations were instructed to give me 'How to catch them' books for birthday and Christmas,I still have the books, a bit worse for wear, but still containng useful advice. I got a Saturday job at the local CO-OP, and saved up for a 10' cane rod. It was the bees knees for me, whole can butt and middle, split cane top. This would become my prime weapon when I went camping wiht the Cubs. We went to a country estate in Berkshire called Wasing, where I was introduced to carp fishing. Not the modern monsters, but handy fighters up to a pound. This was what I had trained for and we managed to keep our maggots useable for a few days, then we had to resort to bread, or any berries that we picked from the bushes. There were 3 lakes there, the top and middle with coarse fish where we were allow to wet a line, and a middle lake that was out of bounds as I think it was being stocked with trout. I remember night fishing with a few mates (no worries for young kids then. Were were frightened out of our skins when a large (2 feet long) eel swam past. Couldn't afford to fish there now, it's a big bucks syndicate water.

[Dick Dastardly]

One of my most precious things I have are my vivid memories of early fishing trips.I can smell,taste,feel the days even now.I was only thinking of this when I laid in bed this morning.Why was everything so much more intense/vibrant back then? why do those memories include the smells,sounds feelings etc of the day so much more than recollections of later (even if far more sucsessfull) days? Pure magic that cant ever be brought or sadly it seems recaptured.

 

I might have tried to share them but its just impossible.

[tincatinca]

Just had a memory flash of my dads Pike rod. A truly awsome thing which if it had been longerr would have done justice to a pole vaulter. It was about 6 feet long and made of split cane. I can picture it now with its big red agate rings coupled with a big gazette and pilot float. I also remember him having a greenheart rod which weighed a ton. I often think what it would be like to go fishing again with some of the old gear coupled with a simplistic approach but unfortunately all my old gear has long since gone. I don't know whether it is nostalgic abscence but I do often think that fishing was a lot more fun in the days of pioneering.

[Dick Dastardly]

I agree Tinca but hope that "pioneering" is relevant and that the guy going out on his first couple of trips to his local commercial with his carbon pole and pellets feels that same feeling as we did then.