I started fishing around 1950 with my dad, he may have been a natural as no one taught him and he taught me everything.  We started off in a rowboat with a 6.5hp Elgin outboard fishing inland lakes, Lake St Clair, Detroit River and Lake Erie.  Even though he was a city boy and never fished saltwater he knew how to catch them there too, my parents were snowbirds form the mid 70's till my dad passed away in 92.  I had friend that was a fly guide, learned a bunch from him.  Down here in Florida I met a fellow named Wayne, maybe the greatest fisherman I ever met.  Wayne is a commercial fisherman using only rod and reel as he does this for fun and not income. He taught me to snook fish, never saw any better than him.  He lives on a freshwater canal, incredible bass fisherman too.  I'm not a natural, just learned from some great fishermen.

I don't know what a natural is at fishing.  I started trout fishing with the boy scouts 55 years ago.  That led to buying a Mitchell 300 and bass fishing a couple of times a year.  Now 55 years later, its 6 days a week, either from the bank, or in the boat.  I learn something new almost every trip, so I would not consider myself a natural, but rather a journeyman, surviving to fish another day.  It has progressed into a passion, and a way to relax and unwind from the hustle of daily life.  It has become a form of therapy, and since therapy is outrageously expensive, fishing has saved me, and my family a lot of money!!!!  LOL

 

Do you think the wife will buy that argument?

I caught my first fish in the summer of 1969 during the first year of Nixon's presidency.  We were visiting my uncle in Memphis, TN and he and my Dad decided to go fishing.  I was only 8 at the time and I don't remember where we were.  It was a creek and they set me up with a worm on a hook with a rod and spincast reel.  I remember the creek was lined with lots of brush and trees and I could not see them from where I was standing.  It didn't take long before I felt the tug that changed me forever.  The fish was a bluegill and I was quite excited to walk down the creek with it dangling from the end of the rod to show to my Dad.  I fished into my college years and then strayed to other adventures until I returned to the fold in my early thirties.

 

As for being a natural, I wasn't.  There are so many things to learn such as fish behavior and movements in relation to structure and conditions, techniques, knots, boat handling, etc. that I don't think anyone is truly a natural.  Some people seem to have a natural ability for whatever reason that allows them to catch fish when others can't, and there are anglers, professional and otherwise, that are better sticks than others.  I think it has more to do with starting early, having good teachers, and having good water to learn on than innate ability.

I started when I was 4 years old during Bill Clinton's presidency during the year of 1995. 

 

I kind of started natural. I fished a lot cause my grandpa owned a mansion in Lake of the Ozarks. Fishing on the dock, catching crappie, bluegill. Left and right, just catching them for fun and some for food.

 

Then I gradually quit cause of the trend was going on around in my town. I started skateboarding and got pretty decent and quit cause I skated around druggies and I didn't like that and one day my grandpa called his daughter ( my mom ) said, Dillon, you want go fishing? I said YES, after that, I got hooked.

 

Been fishing since, never looked back.