CeeJay

haha yes!

Yeah they're cool stuff My grandfather (on my dad's side of the family) was a fighter pilot, but his father and grandfather were field medics serving in Africa, and parts of Europe. They collected quite a lot of military and tribal weaponry.

Actually I'm not at all opposed to carrying a gun...my brother just mentioned the machete since he's more into sword and spear collecting and thinks it would intimidate any would-be bandit (We have an actual Zulu spear from the 1800's mounted on the wall) With guns though I'm just not clear on the laws out here.

Wow, I'm so sorry that happened to you. But you made it through and are still here to fish, thankfully.

Hey A-Jay can you PM me about what open carry entails, or maybe point me to a link? Gun laws in WV are so long-winded and give me a headache so I'm not clear about some of them.

No disrespect taken at all, I appreciate your input Is 39 young? That encounter happened when I was 21. I was naive at the time I suppose...the last thing on my mind was personal safety, I was simply bass fishing that morning and that was all I was thinking about. I'm a wee bit older and wiser now, have adjusted to the country life well, and really I don't think about these types of things obsessively or anything...but still I'm weary to night fish on the river alone. The simple solution is of course to bring someone along with me.

Thanks A-Jay and Alonerankin. I'll be sure to be prepared if it ever happens again. It's actually interesting that it doesn't happen more often. Usually I'm perfectly at ease when angling alone...but yeah that inner instinct was intense...I was very sure I was going to be robbed, and there was nothing I could have done about it. Anyone ever recall anglers being harmed or robbed in the news? I do recall hearing about a guy not far from DC who went night fishing and never came home. Turned out he was killed in his tent that night. Scary stuff.

Guns are fun no doubt....I really enjoy target shooting, with everything from .177 pellet rifles up to .45acp My brother suggested that rather than get a carry license, I should just strap on our WWI era machete haha (vicious looking thing! we inherited our grandfathers war collectables when he passed away). BUT.... before this thread gets moved to another forum ( ) I'd like to hear some other fishing-related stories similar to mine so I know I'm not being paranoid haha.

My home is well defended...but when out and about fishing on the bank sometimes I feel a bit less secure. I don't know, I'm probably over-thinking this and worrying too much...but I love fishing alone at night and lets face it there are some evil people in this world. I fear humans much more than any snake or rock that I might slip on.

I had thought about that before... Although where I live now in WV, it's kind of wild here at times, but not really known as dangerous for lone anglers. Anyone had troubles before? Stories? Not really a fun topic haha, but it's been on my mind ever since that one morning.

Oh it's entirely possible they were just out for an early morning stroll. But they didn't seem like the types that would do that unless they were trying to sweat out a "night of fun" haha I've encountered many folks in some pretty remote areas...but these two, well they were the only ones who gave me that inner feeling of trouble, if that makes sense. When I would night fish at that very same place I would notice plenty of people pull in, sit in their cars after midnight and "smoke" I left them alone and they let me fish. But that one experience...I was truly scared. What's funny is that after they left I had a great morning of bass fishing

I generally fish alone, and always on the banks of river or lake or pond. The solitude is great, of course. BUT, at some places at various times fishing alone can be kind of scary. One morning way back, I hit up a local pond that is located near a major highway. Right before sunrise, when the sky was just beginning to lighten. I was slowly working my Hula Popper, oblivious to the world around me, when all of a sudden two young men approached me. I did the usual small talk, they were asking about fishing, etc. But they kept looking at the parking lot and at the road nervously, frequently looking over their shoulders...it was then that my heart sunk and I thought I was going to be robbed or worse. Maybe they thought I was a good enough guy, maybe they saw someone nearby, but thankfully I was not harmed or robbed... but for a couple minutes there I was quite convinced they would threaten me and demand my wallet. In fact there is little doubt in my mind that that was what they were planning. In the end they asked a silly question about what direction to go to get to the highway, which was right there and very obvious. Then they left. Anyone else have some nervous moments while fishing? Approached by someone who appeared to be "up to no good"?

Hello and welcome Comcam Great people here on the forums.

Somewhat shockingly, no I haven't lost a rod to the water depths. Car keys, yes...as well as cameras, shoes (!), cigars, and of course plenty of terminal tackle. The rods I did lose over the years were stolen from my garage....what kind of angler steals other angler's rods?? Oh well, there are knuckleheads in any sport/hobby I suppose.

Yeah pretty much everywhere I've fished, bluegills and other sunnies are called "Perch". I once targeted a specific lake for them because someone said it was full of "good-sized perch". Nope, turns out they meant bluegill and/or sunnies. One angler referred to crappie as calico bass...I too have heard them called "specks" as well. I also don't get calling bluegills "Bream", as that is technically a completely different European fish.

I have a Senko that I retired with a triangular bite cut clean into it. I've also caught plenty of snapping turtles when catfishing...gets annoying after a while.

Haha very true...I need to start catching up on the local fish slang

I remember the first time I caught one, on a swimbait...this was many years ago. I had no idea what it was for sure, but it looked like a young smallmouth to my then uneducated eye Once I properly ID the fish I began catching them in numbers. Spinnerbaits, swimbaits, inline spinners, topwater poppers, flies...they were all nailed by the aggressive Rock Bass. If only they grew to a larger size...because wow they will attack anything! Not amazing fighters, but stunningly aggressive and fun to catch on UL tackle. Panfish are great, I love them.

Common carp have been here in the US for over 180 years. They are well established, yet bass are still prolific and growing to enormous size. No one here is old enough to know if bass fishing was "better" before carp were introduced.

Just over 5lbs (Largemouth) on a T-Rigged green pumpkin 3" Senko. It was at a crowded park lake in Va. My arm was tired from slinging spinnerbaits and inlines so I tied on the Senko, relaxed, and caught my PB bass This was about 10 years ago, but I remember it like it was last week.

I've often thought about trying to catch a state record fish that many people don't specifically target, like Bullheads for example. Might be fun to have your name in the record books

By the way, what did you catch it with? Cant quite tell by the pic...a black curly tail grub, maybe?

That's a fat bullhead! I remember my very first catfish was a 16" yellow bullhead, but it was rather thin. If you released it...try catching it again and get a weight on that yellow bull.

Me too

You guys are making me want to spool up my UL reels with braid I guess you really can teach an old dog new tricks (not that I'm that old haha). I'll look for Fireline Crystal, thanks for the info on that line Crestliner.