Yes I admit it I am and have been a fishing junkie all my life, this affliction has cost me dearly from the beginning to this day.
I have worn out two wives in the process, spent untold amounts of money that I didn't have!
I warned both wives about my problem before we signed the agreement,both told me "don't worry about it sweetheart I can handle it" neither had any
idea what they were getting into.
My first wife is in rehab as we speak, the second is hanging on by the skin of her teeth,she is 14 years my junior but never has been able to keep up
with me.
So now I spend my time reading your reports and b-tching or so she tells me but this weekend we are headed for the mountains for a few days,its cooler
and hopefully the trout will be biting and I can dream about those big Roosters and all will be well.
Rob
Anyone can catch fish in a boat but only \"El Pescador Grande\" can get them from the beach.
[Edited on 4-27-2017 by baitcast]woody with a view - 4-27-2017 at 03:10 PM
Good to hear from ya Rob! Go get your line wet!!!MMc - 4-27-2017 at 04:38 PM
So truly put. I have many addictions, most are not centered around motors or I would serious debt.
With the money I have spent or hunting and fishing, I could eat sushi grade fish and kobe beef for the rest of my life.
I hope you get a trout or two....SDROB - 4-27-2017 at 05:52 PM
So are you more of a saltwater or freshwater junkie?
As soon as I started fishing the Sea of Cortez I rarely fish freshwater. Still fun but once I got a boat Id rather spend a day out on the ocean.
My favorite fish to catch is probably a YT on the iron. However I can C+R spotties + cochitos all day just for fun too.
2 boats and 2 kayaks all dialed in for fishing. The addiction is real!
[Edited on 4-28-2017 by SDROB]fishbuck - 4-27-2017 at 06:37 PM
Fishing is an obsession for me. Most recently I am thinking of living on my boat. So I can fish or be preparing to fish.
It makes no sense.
I recenting turned down a voluntary layoff and retirement. But now may get involuntary layoff. 3 months minimum and maybe 6 months maximium.
So now I am scheming on a couple year layoff/mini-retirement.
So I want to live on my boat in the fee achorage in Newport beach so I can prepare for baja.
It sounds strange but I think it is doable. And I haven't bought a new boat yet either.
I think I can live on a 1990-1993 Searay 270 Sundancer.
It will serve as a camper and an ocean capable fishing boat. Right a the top end of trailerable too.
Insane right?baitcast - 4-28-2017 at 07:13 AM
I genes I got from my Father left me no choice but to pick up a rod and follow him down many streams,rivers and lakes in Idaho Washington,Montana
and BC before most of you were born
My salt water career started in the Navy in 54 which gave me a chance to fish in some interesting place hell I even fished in Hong Kong
harbor where ever we stopped long enough for me to get my rod
My life has been one long fishing trip.....I can't even pass a body of water without wondering what kind of fish lives there, just the other
day I finally cracked the code on the Stripers in Lake Mead.
82 years and I still see no chance of recovery for me, on my death bed my last thoughts will be of that big Rooster that I didn't catch
RobSDROB - 4-28-2017 at 09:28 AM
Super cool Rob! Thanks for sharing...
[Edited on 4-28-2017 by SDROB]
fishbuck - 4-28-2017 at 05:57 PM
Great! Now I will be thinking of roosterfish all day☺
I just don't get you guys
Howard - 4-28-2017 at 06:24 PM
You wake up at 0 dark thirty and go out to try and make bait in the dark. You hope for a calm flat day and get bumped and tossed around, at best.
You get hungry and have to eat some tiny, skinny little burritos that were pre made at the dock or worse yet, soggy sandwiches you made the night
before. You hope your boat performs well enough to get you back to the dock but sometimes a strange engine noise gets your attention and it turns out
to be nothing. You drop this poor little bait down in the water only to have a hook up and if its a Yellowtail, it kicks your ass and your arms are
so tired but for some reason you do it again and again. You get back to the dock, have to pay to put gas in the tank, clean the bloody fish, attract
flies and then eat the damn thing. I could go on and on pointing out that it would be so much cheaper to just go out and order a fish dinner but you
fools just don't get it!
Damn, I cant wait to do all of the above on my boat. Santiago - 4-29-2017 at 05:50 AM
Howie: Good description of the stoopidness we go thru to fish, but there is a group of sportsmen, and I use that term loosely, that is even crazier:
duckhunters. Those guys are nucking futs.Paulina - 4-29-2017 at 07:18 AM
Hi, my name is Paulina and I'm a fishing junkie too.
I blame genetics.
My addiction can be traced back to my third year of life, on a day boat out of Ensenada. I spent the day fishing in the bait tank, catching sardines
by pulling open my long sleeved shirt at the wrist. A full sleeve and tickling arm pit let me know I'd reached my limit.
I dream about fishing, catching the halibut that swim through the carpet and hide under the sofa.
I keep a surf rod at the ready all summer, siesta with one eye open for the birds that will let me know the Toro are crashing the beach.
"Guess where I just was?" is a question I'm known to ask my husband. Usually the answer is, some place in my mind, at a time in the past, remembering
the fish I caught in Baja.
I no longer fish stateside. When my dad was alive we would fish the Kern river. Now we are too busy working here so we can "live" in Baja later. Thank
goodness for school holidays as it gives this preschool teacher a change to recharge her batteries and get my fishing fix, but it never lasts long
enough till the next time.
ps. Yes, I do keep some Toro. My Baja rescue dog Mooney Munoz prefers it to her kibble. She usually knows they are crashing the beach before I do.
P>*)))>{
[Edited on 29-4-2017 by Paulina]bajabuddha - 4-29-2017 at 07:25 AM
"The time one spends fishing should not be deducted from their life".
Anon. BornFisher - 4-29-2017 at 07:37 AM
Paulina---- great fish!! Your dog is a lucky dog!!
Me-- must be genetics!!! My last name is Fisher!!!baitcast - 4-29-2017 at 10:42 AM
The weight of obsession,What we can learn from anglers who have crossed the line between passion and addiction.
James Hall
While at the dentist office this morning I found this page in a outdoor mag. had to have it so I ripped it out and stuck it in my pocket,I knew you
guys would like it as well!
Sometimes a fish gets in your blood. There's something about its personality, the challenge of catching it,that not only speaks to your soul but swims
through it.It leaves in its wake a clinical obsession to keep that connection alive,no matter the risk or sacrifice.
Fisherman with this disorder are, admittedly,plagued.But what a sweet disease.To a man ,they believe their lives have been altered.They did not choose
to be this way-the fish chose them.
To abuse one's body as well as one's equipment in the pursuit of that ultimate hook-up is acceptable.
Rob
woody with a view - 4-29-2017 at 11:58 AM
Rob, I know you loved the world record Spotfin form 10 years ago! I still have a spot to show you so we can get on a bunch of them. In the mean time,
here's last Oct. BdeLA and I'd love to put you on some of these models! 20-30# Yellowtail might have to suffice!
[Edited on 4-29-2017 by woody with a view]baitcast - 4-29-2017 at 12:03 PM
Whoa!! you have been busy!! Woody
RobHoward - 4-29-2017 at 12:11 PM
Looks like a photo shop to me! willardguy - 4-29-2017 at 12:22 PM
more fish for you fellows...I've tapped out, 45 years of hitting it hard, im done. salud! Genecag - 4-30-2017 at 09:18 AM
As a kid growing up in San Diego, I met some of the nicest and friendly people while fishing from the Shelter Island Pier.
On the weekends, I was bored hanging around the family bar and grill and one day a customer took me fishing at the pier and was hooked.
As a 10 year old, I convinced my Mom to drop me off before the biz opened in the morning on Saturday and would get picked around 3AM on Sunday.
As I became a regular on the Pier, many old timers and families befriended and took me in and watched over me. I used the dollar that I got to buy
some bait and would trade and sell my catches through out the day and on good days would end up with $20 bucks.
So many of the Old timers shared so much with me, teaching me various knots and teaching me English and compassion for sharing.
In those days, fish were so plentiful...There were times when the sea below was white from the huge schools of croakers and we could catch octopus
(sold very well to the Filipinos), sharks, bonito, mackerel, Halibut (Top seller for me , baracuda and on...
San Diego always has been a conservative town and in the late 70's and 80's, I experienced lots of racism. I couldn't understand why adults would yell
out racial slurs at a kid walking down the street. But, fishing somehow made people relate or fishermen are more developed?? On the Pier, I always
felt welcomed and never felt anything negative. We all enjoyed fishing and enjoyed swapping tales of the week before and the lost "big ones".....
Fishing is a great friend and I wish all the fishermen a great day in the water!westafricancaptain - 5-6-2017 at 05:30 AM
OK, your surf fishing the Pacific side. You want to reach down and grab a sand crab out of the sand. How do you tell which ones are soft shells?
I believe they are the last ones to dig in.
[Edited on 5-7-2017 by westafricancaptain]
[Edited on 5-7-2017 by westafricancaptain]BajaMama - 5-6-2017 at 08:29 AM
I love fishing! Whether it is off shore San Diego, Newport Beach, Ventura, or San Francisco... casting a fly on a lake or river, or shore fishing and
just off the shore (boat) in Punta Chivato. Bring it I will do it all (except really big fish, too old for that). Most is catch and release but I
keep what I will eat.
Fishing and memory loss
AKgringo - 5-6-2017 at 08:55 AM
Comparing my recollection of fishing trips I have been on to those of family and friends, I suspect my memory has been impaired.
I remember catching a 120 lb halibut on a salmon rod, while trolling a herring along the beach. Best day ever, but others insist that we sat on the
beach for four days waiting for the weather to break. Was I there for that?
I remember being in swift clear water surrounded by aggressive Sockeye salmon, intent on ridding me of all my streamer flies! There may have been
several trips in the weeks before that when we drove all night and fished all day for nothing, but I just don't recall that!
All the stories I hear about swarms of bugs, trekking through thorns, sunburns, scrapes and sprains.....did any of that happen to me?
And then there is the freezer full of free fish [/b! I have no idea of what the toys, tools and transportation cost to acquire them, until
talk to my ex-wife. She was an addict too, so her memory can't be all that accurate!
Sorry for shouting, I screwed up on the edit!
[Edited on 5-6-2017 by AKgringo]fishinsteve - 5-6-2017 at 03:24 PM
I guess you could say I'm a fishin junkie..
I've live in San Diego since 1968 I have fished from Baja to Alaska pretty extensively with conventional rods and reels. Well about 8 years ago I
felt like I needed more of a challenge so I got into Fly Fishin. Wow what a learning curve. Now I fish with only Fly Rods and sometimes I get so
frustrated by the challenge I ask myself why I ever started but that only last a short while. I fish fresh and saltwater so I'm trying to learn both
at the same time and on top of that I'm also learning to tie the flies for both. It is very rewarding to catch a fish on a lure or a fly that you have
created yourself as some of you may know.
So I have my doubts now that I will ever be as competent as a fly fisher as I was a conventional fisher but its a hell of a lot of fun or I may just
be a Fishin Junkie. Woody I have been drooling over your spotfin reports. My personal best was just over 7# those fish are fun.
Flyfishinsteve64 new user name for the other sites.fishbuck - 5-6-2017 at 11:20 PM
I 'm due for a trip. Either Bola in June-July or San Quintin strarting August 1.
Maybe bothBubba - 5-7-2017 at 06:14 AM
I'm bad, so bad that it would take me a day just to put it in words. So, I'm just agreeing and loving all the other posters stories.baitcast - 4-2-2019 at 11:24 AM
This one was fun and things are really slow so bump
Robfishbuck - 4-2-2019 at 11:27 AM
Fishing is the solution to alot of things...
Any new addicts on this board?
AKgringo - 7-13-2020 at 09:08 PM
A bump to give any recent Nomads a chance to talk about their problem. If you are ready to share....we are listening!SDROB - 7-15-2020 at 07:12 PM
A bump to give any recent Nomads a chance to talk about their problem. If you are ready to share....we are listening!
Wow. I clicked on this thread to read it and was shocked to find a post on this thread I did about 5 years ago. I don't even remember. Haha. Damn! It
sucks getting old. Im still a fishing junkie thou so it makes sense I would participate. Cheers.elskel - 7-15-2020 at 07:33 PM
From the beach or boat, doesn't matter!
Tight Lines, bkSkipjack Joe - 7-16-2020 at 08:41 PM
Last fall I fished the area you lived, Rob - Coeur deLane. We fished the North Fork of the Coeur deLane River and the St Joe with flies. I think
that's all you're allowed to use now. We caught lots of cutthroat trout. There were cutts in the St Joe were smaller but the scenery was prettier. The
Coeur deLane had hatches every day so you could fish dries a good portion of the day. My son out fishes me now by a long shot these days. All those
trips to baja resulted in a fishing addict, like you. Perhaps I can find a picture or two. jureal - 7-17-2020 at 03:41 PM
Dam Covid. I am supposed to be roosterfishing now.baitcast - 8-30-2021 at 10:05 AM
Still slow so here is a little more.
RobLee - 8-30-2021 at 11:20 AM
Fish junkie when they're around. No fish no junkie.
Surfing junkie 24/7. Dream of waves, water, sand, tubes.
Im a fish out of water.Mulege Canuck - 8-30-2021 at 11:29 AM
I love wading those shallow mangroves at low tide at Estero de Coyote. Making flipcasts with rubber worms, nailing corvina. Have to get the bait to
drop right at the mangrove edge without getting snagged. When you hook into one you have to break his neck to get him out of there.
Love that. I hate Covid! Missed out this year. Paco Facullo - 9-3-2021 at 11:40 AM
Finally, a thread that I'll be happy to post on.
As a Kid growing up in the 50's my Mom and Grandma would take me down to Santa Monica pier where we would catch halibut, barracuda , croaker, smelt ,
mackerel , and bonito ( once in a long while Yellowtail and White Sea Bass were also caught )
Every vacation , my Father would drive a Ford station-wagon with a LOADED roof-rack, full of camping equipment.
The vacations focus was ALWAYS centered around fishing, He was a driving force and would always choose to take a "dotted" line on the map, instead of
paved roads. He would call them "shortcuts" , and more often than not, we would find some great places to camp and sometimes streams to fish. Back
then most of the trout we caught were natives... My Mom would fry um up in a cast-iron skillet dusted with flour, Lawry's season salt and black
pepper......
We NEVER made "reservations" ( something that I still despise and don't do, to this day ) This is a BIG reason that I love Baja so very much, no need
for reservations
Every Summer, I would make my money by going fishing under POP ( Pacific Ocean Park) I would go early in the morning and stop at Davey Jones liquor
Locker and buy some cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk . Go under the pier , wade out waist deep and use a knife to get mussels for bait. To get out to
the end of the pier, I had to navigate around the locked and fenced-off Catwalk , that lead all the way out under the pier. This would involve holding
on and walking on narrow wooden supports with waves crashing just below me. A fall would have been disastrous, as the pilings were huge with tons or
sharp mussels.
It was illegal to be under the pier, but the fishing was SO worth it, as nobody fished there. There was one other that would occasionally come out
there fishing, an old Black Man named George. He used a method of fishing that was unique to me. He had a tied-up ball of mussels about 8" in
diameter with lots of hooks attached to it. He would bait each hook with mussel innards and drop that ball into the water. He really knew how to load
up on the perch, I'll tell ya. I preferred a small rod and reel , as I liked to fight them. George was such a cool old-timer and he would tell me
stories of old , while sucking on his bottle of Brandy.
After a day of fishing, I would find a box and some newspaper in the trash and walk along Venice beach promenade to sell my catch to all the
old Jewish ladies that sat on the benches...
I mostly went alone but surprisingly my Sister went with me lots of times and a few times other friends would come along also.
There was great Corvina surf fishing during Summertime . I had a metal hand-held scoop type apparatus that I would use to catch sand-crabs, you
would wait till a wave was reseding to the sea and quickly start doing a kinda dance like the twist. The soft-shell sand-crabs were few but were by
far the best bait.
When the Grunion ran, we would go late night /early mornings and try to find them. The trick was to NOT go running for them when you first saw a
few. You need to wait till the Grunion were lost in their sexual frenzy, so as to not notice when they are getting picked off by hungry people. One
time up on Malibu beaches, there were SO many Grunions that every step you took killed a few and when bending down to grab them you would often get
sand in your eyes as the Grunions were wildly flipping themself all around making wild sex with one another. I was trying to get only the smallest
ones, as when you fry them up, the small ones could be eatin bones and all.
I remember when I was very young, my Uncle James (an avid Fisherman) took me on his boat. We were just North of the Malibu Pier, we were fishing for
Halibut , but while dropping out anchovies down, most every time the the mackerel would hook-up before you reached the bottom. When you were lucky
enough to get through the torrent of bait stealers you were rewarded with a hook-up on huge Halibuts.
Whenever I went fishing local, I would save a few mackerels for my Aunt Jessie, they were her favorite fish. I thought that she was crazy, until I
discovered just how good mackerel can be. surprising, mackerel is one of the favorite fish worldwide.
We also used to go to Redondo harbor to fish for Bonito , it was wide-open near the live-bait tanks. We would rent a skiff for the day, NO
motor , so we would row out to the bait tank and get a 1/2 scoop and fly-line the chovy's.. It was a game to start counting to 10 and see how fast you
were "Hooked-up" usually you didn't get past 6 or so. We usually catch and release them except for one time we loaded up and took them to Venice Beach
to sell. We had SO many that we had to find a shopping cart to haul all of them. It was a complete failure as we soon found out that those of the
Jewish religion, do NOT eat fish without scales. We planted some in my Moms garden as fertilizer but had to throw away many, bummer.
There was a period of years that we fished at the end of Venice pier in the wee hours to catch Pin-back sharks.
Other years there was a fun run of Thrasher Sharks. They were GREAT ! There's a reason that they are named the "Poor Man's Marlin" An added bonus is
they are darn good eatin !
This is just a snippet of a lifetime of Fish'n Fun.. I'll writ-up and post more if'n there is a bit of interest ?
Oh, and there is Baja fishing to !!!
[Edited on 9-3-2021 by Paco Facullo]Mulege Canuck - 9-3-2021 at 12:38 PM
That was a great read!
When I was a kid we use to go out on the log booms and jig for Lingcod. This too was illegal. Every now and then the Harbour Patrol would try to
kick us off the booms but we just skipped along the logs to another boom. They were old fat guys who never got out of the boat anyways. I guess as a
kid we loved that part as much as the fishing.
One day we were hiking back to our bikes from the booms with our fish. There to greet us was an RCMP officer with a big grin on his face. That was a
last time screwing with the Harbour Patrol.Skipjack Joe - 9-3-2021 at 04:01 PM
My earliest fishing experiences were at Echo Park fishing for bluegills. There were times when I ditched school to go there. Who would even consider
Echo Park a fishing destination? I was mad about fishing back then. It didn't matter how big they were or how many I got. I would get up at 5 and ride
my bike there in order to catch the 'morning bite'. BajaBlanca - 9-3-2021 at 10:05 PM
Share away! This is a GREAT post. Les is over fishing ...he would much rather just go to the store and buy fresh fillets. Of course, we get gifted
fish too.
When we first moved to La Bocana, he took me out on his boat fishing. Before we left, I said, a couple of hours and then we can come back, right?
Sure, he answered.
Ummm not quite true and this is when I really understood the passion for fishing because every time I said, OK, ready to head back, we would start
back and then suddenly he would say, this looks like a really good spot, let me just try a bit! We finally got back to shore hours and hours later!
The good news? I caught a dorado, a real beauty that day. Maybe I can find that photo somewhere. Just as well 'cause this fisherwoman began and
ended her fishing career that day LOL
, baracuda and on...
