On 4/17/2026 at 11:13 AM, SJS said:

This is mine. I mostly fish a small pond near my house, and it is full of gators. I fish from the bank, have a gimpy knee and am not originally from SC, which is the gator capital of the world as far as I can tell. So, I am not entirely comfortable when they get real close.

This little guy is a baby, a little over 3 feet long and I have a pet name for him, but it is not a term of affection and not suitable for posting on a family friendly forum. Every time I get a fish on, he shows up and tries to scoop it up before I can land it. He is small enough that I could probably beat him in hand to hand, combat but I think he would score some serious damage to me in the process.

This is annoying because I can't get a bite these days except on light tackle, currently 6lb floro, and I can't land larger fish quickly on that. I went to worms yesterday and got a large catfish on and it was a close call.

The real problem though, is he has a Momma and she is about 9 feet long and not at all a lady. She doesn't seem to accept my explanation that he is bothering me, I am not bothering him. She gets very aggressive and I take the cowardly way out and walk away when I see her coming at me. Problem is, she snuck up on me a while back and roared. I jumped, wrenched my knee and hobbled away as fast as I could while screaming like a little girl, well, not out loud anyway.

I have told this story before and always end it with the comment: if you don't hear from me again you will know what happened.

Is your fishing buddy this much fun?

I wouldnt worry about your buddy anymore.

Unfortunately I've had a few that have passed on, and a couple who can't anymore due to health issues.

My son goes with me on some camping/fishing trips.

I have one that I've been fishing with for over 20 years, was a fly fishing guide up in the Catskills for years. Were equal now as I don't fly fish.

Couple of other's that we meet up a few times a year.

I do a lot of solo trips, so I talk and curse to myself.

Here’s my fishing buddy. Never argues, never says it’s to early to leave, takes naps. Will yell at anyone who gets to close.

On 4/17/2026 at 4:04 PM, GreenPig said:

Sadly, just a couple days ago my fishing bud said he's done fishing and selling everything fishing related. I think I've talked him into keeping a few rods so he can go with me occasionally. He turns 87 in November and said every trip takes him 4 days. Day one is prep, Day two is the fishing trip, and Day three & four are for recovery. I'm certainly gonna miss him on the water, but I'll be checking in on him regularly.

My dad started taking my sister and me crappie fishing before I can even remember. We had a place on Lake Wateree that I grew up fishing from. I cherish those memories. I know not everyone gets to grow up like that. We fished every chance we got and kept and cleaned almost everything we caught. Fast forward until I was able to afford my own fishing boat and do all the work. All he had to do was reel in the fish. I thought we would fish a lot. He was getting old and told me it was just not fun for him anymore. I got him to go to our friend's pond with me one more time the fall before he passed away unexpectedly. He caught a few bass on the Trick Worm I rigged for him, then sat and talked to our friend on his golf cart while I caught bass. I'm so glad he went one more time, even if it was just for me.

The love of my life is my fishing buddy. She is a very good angler, the one who keeps casting and casting until she catches them. There have been so many times when I’ve sat down to rest and just watched her go nonstop. I am blessed to have someone like her in my life and I thank God every day for that.

I do not.

My fishing buddy used to be my oldest son. We did everything together. But now he's a sophomore in college playing D1 golf with a very serious girlfriend. So fishing is low on his list of things to do.

My youngest son is in high school but also active in sports and friends. Only difference is that he just dumped his girlfriend. SMH

My wife isn't a fisherwoman. Give her a folding chair, a simple spincast combo with a worm and bobber and I'm sure she would have fun. But there's no way she's going to touch the fish, or the worm.

She's gone with me just because she feels sorry for me mostly. She will paddle around, get some sun, and read a book. But after a while she will head back to the truck and just read or scroll on her phone. I can't imagine she has much fun so I hate asking her. Whenever I get a boat, I think it will be much more pleasant for her and I might just find me a fishing buddy.

Otherwise I need to get a dog or a grandkid.