Your First Fishing Experience

[milkman]

Anybody interested in telling when your first fishing experience was.

My Father and Grandfather bought me a small fishing rod and a little centre pin reel 38 year's ago from a shop in Dufftown.
We then went down to the Fiddoch to do a bit of worming with the hope of nailing a brownie or two,........and blanked.
The first fish caught on that rod was a couple of day's later from the the Tynet Burn just west of Portgordon, it was a little brownie probably no more than about 5 inches long. We took it back to my Grannies house and she cooked it for my supper.

[vespaman]

sh*tie sadise (saith) from aberdeens sewer outlet into harbour caught loads using maggots as bait,1982

[weste4]

i remember having a little blue rod for my 7th birthday. it was a choice between that and a recorder and music lessons.........no choice really. sadly that rod got caught in a car boot when i was on a scout camp about 7 years later and got turned quickly into a quiver tip!!! i still managed to catch some roach out of a pond on it in that state. i remember my 1st with a beach caster on my grand dads lake (i couldnt wait for the sea). 1st cast went straight over some telegragh cables and that was the end of that!!! happy days

[vespaman]

dib dib dib couldnt help it i was a BB

[Fylde Phil]

About 1958 (ish) when as a young lad someone (can't remember who - not my Dad) took me onto North Pier Jetty (Blackpool) with a hand line and some mackerel feathers - seem to recall getting a few as well just chucking it out and winding it back up. eee by gum - great times indeed.

Phil

[DAVID 123]

1960, paper round money, 3 section rod, bottom,middle cane, top green heart. Quill float size 16 hook,two maggots.Birmingham canal,
= stone loach, i was hooked.

[peeler3]

First fishing experience ,think that would have been about 1977 fishing Kirkcaldy pier with my 8ft rod and fixed spool reel .I remember i didn't have much luck not even begginers but a guy fishing next to me offered to swap his beachcaster for my rod,when i felt the wieght of that rod i said not a chance.It was a heavy beast.

[samfish]

Mine was also a brown trout of about a pound on a worm from the Sussex Ouse near Haywards Heath. Happy days fishing with Uncle Vic some 23 years ago! Never forget it - tasted good too!

[monktonlad]

I got a cane rod for my 7th birthday but as it was November, I had to wait until the summer before my mum would take me.
We went to the river stour at Minster (near Ramsgate) and I caught a small perch.

When I was 10, I won some money on a premium bond (£25) so asked if I could get some sea fishing gear.
My mum wanted me to put it all in the bank but we agreed that I could spend half of it on fishing tackle.

I got everything that I needed from bunnys in harbour street Ramsgate (it's now an indian I think). The guy put the line on my reel, showed me how to tie on hooks and everything. With that and a score of lug we went down to the west pier at the harbour (long before there was a ferry terminal there).

I got two birdsnests but then got the hang of it before I eventually caught a small rockling.

40 years later and I can still catch them :)

Malcolm.

[fishyrob]

Nice stories chaps! My first fishing exprience is also one of my earliest memories. It was before the big sea wall was put up all around Canvey and I remember watching my Dad reel in a big red crab. Probably just a big shore crab, but in this memory it was enormous! I can still see the scene in my mind now, including the pram edges that framed the scene!

[gazthelad]

sure 1st fish i caught was a minnow on a small fishing rod and reel from argos years ago, then used the minnow to catch an eel, was buzzing with that wen i was a kid, maybe that wot got me hooked on my conger fishing today.

[stuartdv]

eighth birthday in 1979- got a six foot rod along with an intrepid FS reel- i really liked the look of a spinner with a holographic pattern as well so that came with it. Off we went to Blyth harbour, northumberland with the old fella who insisted on having first cast to show me how it's done and crack!- off went the spinner flying- silly sod had forgot to flick the bale arm over. wasnt impressed but we caught loads of sprats plopping ragworm baits over the side.

So i never got to cast my first ever spinner-

odd how there are some things you never forget- I remember a touch of kindness from an old bloke fishing next to us who started talking to us and gave me one of his floats and some lead shot to weight it down and adjust the hook length- it was red and made of cork as i remember - used it the week after and caught my biggest coalfish of 3lbs. took it home and didnt taste that good.

happy days indeed.

Really good thread he says through bleary eyes:clap:

[Alec]

I was seven years old and we'd just moved away from Drummore, but when I went on holiday to my grannys at sandhead, my mother bought me one of these Shakespeare kits. Small rod,reel,line,hooks. I was out everyday.Dug my own worms and my first fish was a nice flounder. Also caught mackeral, pollack(Port Logan) Plaice and many other species. Many, many years later, the fishing bug is still with me. But the fish are much fewer.

[ickypimp]

I dont remember mine...my dad bought me a rod and reel on my second birthday, good excuse for HIM to go ... I do remember the first match i won though, i was 5 years old, fishing the wakefield side of the sand quarrys, it was ****ing it down and my old man had had a vasectomy that morning, i had had a couple of small roach and skimmers out, i dropped a double bronse maggot along side a lily bed, withing a couple of minutes my float was showing knocks and twitches, i then go a lift and dip bite, struck and my rod doubled over, i hooked into a 6 lb 2 oz Tench, it felt like moby disck to me, i got it to the surface and ready for netting, my dad said he would net for me, then couldnt reach out far enough because of the state of his nether reigons !! thought i was gonna lose it ... won the match with that one fish... :) happy days

[Johnnygm7lsi]

Great storys lads,,,,, My first one was with my grandfather in 1958, he wasn`t an angler, and never became one, but he loved fish, he bought me one of those orange handlines on the wooden frame and took me down to the mouth of Don in Aberdeen, caught loads of flatties on herring, he made a wee fire and cooked a couple on top of a hot stone, that was me hooked. When I was old enough to venture out alone, most of my fishing was done at the Skates Nose Pier and Banana Pier in Aberdeen. Those were the days, you could catch a *****y Saidie, (Saithe) with just a hook, dangle it over the pier and watch them fight over it, bait helped though.

[milkman]

A good bit of reading there lad's,.....a lot of good memories :)

[Puggy]

Must of been about 5, went on holiday with my nan and grandad to blackpool in carvan. Stayed on this campsite and it had a lake. My grandad only had 2 reels, so he and my eldest brother got the rods and reels while i got a 4ft rod with a bit of line attached to the end and a float and hook. Was told when the float goes under yank the rod up, i see the float go under, yanked the rod up, fish flew over my head and landed on the grass behind me, no records made but it was my first ever fish and will never forget it coz my brother and grandad blanked ;) haha

I was about 8-9 when started sea fishing down the thames. Had been sea fishing for about a year and never caught anything, had crap tackle, like a boat rod on the beach (which i still own to this day) and a massive penn boat multiplier. My dad brought me a 10ft rod and fixed spool and on its first outing it got christened. My first sea fish was a flounder from the thames, and from then on i couldnt stop catching.

[shipscat]

1970, Peel harbour IOM. i'd got bored with the TT, but then there is only so much of motorbikes you can put up with at 4 years old. So my dad bought me a cheap green fibreglass rod (which i've still got) and took me down to the pier. Ten minutes later i've got the fight of my life and my dad holding on to the back of my shirt trying to stop me being pulled in. damned fish must have dived for every rock it could find. not sure how long it took me to land it but it seemed forever. Mum was stunned when i turn up with my prize of a 5lb coalie for her to cook.
got me hooked on fishing for life, pity its all been down hill from there,lol.

[Kleftiwallah]

Caught three perch from the landing stage at Pooley Bridge (Ullswater)on a rod made from a tank radio antenna. After that caught trout sans rod ! ! ! up the becks. Tony.

[frostman]

1982 on holiday in cornwall and i bought myself a fishing rod real and float tackle. Ended up on a rock in harlyn bay near padstow as we were staying close by. I was using granny knots as i knew no other and was having no success. There was another bloke on the rocks spinning for mackeral, he taught me how to make the rig even gave me a float as i had lost all mine, and how to do a knot. Once setup, first fish was a gare fish second was a 6 inch pollack and third a mackeral.
Since then ive been hooked, i never knew the blokes name but he lighted the fishing fire within me and i owe him 25 year of wonderfull fishing experiences.
I have made it my objective to pass on the flame to all i can, my favourite is when im on the beach and kids are walking with their mum and dads, and they say to me have you caught anything and just then i get a knock, i always give the kid the rod and let him bring it in.
The look on their faces when they see the fish (usually a doggy) is one i will never forget, and im sure they wont. It give me far more pleasure than landing a doggy unless im blanking.
Ironically last year i was on one of my regular beaches and a lad and his parent came upto me and asked if i had caught anything, he had a fishing rod in his hand and tackle box ready to give it a go. I didnt recognise the lad, but he did me and 3 years earlier he had brought in a dogfish for me, his parents said since then he has told everyone about the fish he caught and drives them mad going on and on about fishing.

You could not wipe the smile of my face with a lemon.

Frostman

[BillyFISHING]

Anybody interested in telling when your first fishing experience was.

My Father and Grandfather bought me a small fishing rod and a little centre pin reel 38 year's ago from a shop in Dufftown.
We then went down to the Fiddoch to do a bit of worming with the hope of nailing a brownie or two,........and blanked.
The first fish caught on that rod was a couple of day's later from the the Tynet Burn just west of Portgordon, it was a little brownie probably no more than about 5 inches long. We took it back to my Grannies house and she cooked it for my supper.

Seven years of age in 1962 fishing Hornsea Dyke that did run from Hornsea Mear into the sea via a pipe.
Tackle a thick bamboo pole used for moving carpets with 50lb line tied to the end a massive hook and a big bunch of lob worm.
Fishing the Dyke at high tide the Eels would swim up the pipe and into Hornsea mear but as you walked along the Dyke you could see two holes in the mud under the water at low tide. We then dangled the worms over one of the holes and then the other hole the head of the eels would then come out of the hole and grab the worms. The fight was now on as the eel had the advantage of all the mud on top of it and a fight of at least 30 min to get the eel out grab a hold of it using grass and dock leaves remove hook and then release taught at an early age to catch an release. Spend days down the Dyke and went home fully exhausted good old days. I now know how far the eels have traveled What an amassing trip for both them and me. The average weight would be 1lb but to me at that age they would be 5lb.
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff191/BILLYFISHING/avatar11098_4-1.gif

[Alec]

Although this isn't MY first experience with fishing, it is a great memory. One day I was in "Reel em in" at dumfries when a young boy came in and said he was fishing a pike competition the next day with his dad and needed a rod. He got one for £2 and off he went. The match was quite near where I live so I went down to watch.There were around 50 anglers taking part. Near the end, the boys dad had a cracking fish on a plug and just as he was about to land it, it broke off. The wee boy's next cast got him a good take and he struggled for a while before landing a big pike that actually won the match. AND TO CAP IT ALL, THE WINNING FISH STILL HAD HIS DAD'S PLUG IN IT'S MOUTH. Incredible, but I assure you that is true.

[Maximilliano]

In 1948 our family lived in Weston-Super-Mare. Dad was going out into the bay with his mates and I pestered the life out of him to take me with him. When we got away from the Nightstone baths jetty, my dad gave me a line with a round lead and a huge hook (don't forget I was only 11 at the time) baited with a half a mackerel. Over the side it went and I waited. After about half an hour I said "I think I've got something on my line, Dad" He hefted the line and said, "No. Not yet. Patience boy". And I replied. "Which way's the tide running?" "In", "So how come my line's going out to sea, Dad?" (A Smart Alec at that early age!) Had to pull it up myself.
It was a 2 lb skate and my dad shoved an old paint brush in it's mouth to show me the power of the rasp. Boy! Was I proud as punch when we went home. Dad blanked. Served him right!:fishing:

[milkman]

Thank's for all your replies to this one, lot's of good little stories so far.

[nuts about fishing]

the 1st time i went5 fishing was in thge river orwell on a little boat and i caught my biggest bass of 4lb

[sweeper driver]

Going back a lot :whistling of years, my first rod was a bamboo cane one my father made for me, and fitted with a little centre pin reel, I used to catch loads of immature perch from the local rivers and farm ponds using worms dug from the garden compost pile.

Progressed to a tank aerial rod and a small fixed spool reel, then to a cane three piece rod, I can remember buying a wicker creel which creaked every time you sat on the thing.

From then on it was downhill all the way..Richard Walker Mk 1V carp rods, Mitchell 300 reels and big eels.

[SmellyFerret]

I was about 12, East beach at West bay.
9 foot boat road and some sort of bottom fishing tackle (may even have been bacon for bait!)...
Remember struggling with casting and then when it was out beyond the breaking waves waiting, waiting and actually getting a bite!
Reeled it in and had a red 'fish shaped'' fish (so not a gurnard). chuffed to bits it got taken home an eaten :)

At the time I don't think we knew what it was! but we now think it was a red mullet!

Never even seen one since :(
(I'm 32 now!)

(One of my theories is a tackle dealer was out snorkeling and put the fish on the hook - as I can't now pass a tackle shop without spending at least £10+!)

[trev]

think mine was sat on a commercial fishing boat in grimsby docks with a blob line. waiting for my dad while he baited long lines. then onto the royal dock with a blob line with a few mates. absolutely overjoyed when i got my first rod and reel,aged about seven. fished off corporation bridge for bullheads.

[Vaughany]

my first was on whitehaven pier,think i was about 10 ,it was summer time and the sea was bubbling with mackerel wat a cracking time we had with our spining rods and tobby spinners

[Cascars]

My first rod was a split cane one of about 7ft when I was about 4 years old. I remember it cost 7 shillings and sixpence with a reel and all the hooks, floats etc. My dad took me to an old mill stream nearby and I must have had 50 roach and rudd that day.
When I was 7 I got a new rod for my birthday and started fishing the junior comps when my dads firm had their matches. Within 2 years I was even beating the adults so they allowed me to fish against them. I was so proud when got the cup 2 years running.
I fished the Kent cubs matches and when I was older for the scouts.
At 14 I won the Chief Scouts Award and my prize from the troop was a brand new 13ft match rod in bright orange fibreglass. Believe it or not I only got rid of it last year. I had many a good fish on that rod as a teenager including a 28lb Pike, 12lb Bream and Tench to 6lb.
My first sea fishing was from the age of 6 or 7 with a solid glass rod made for me by my uncle.
I remember crying with the cold sometimes sitting on the beach at Dungeness mid winter, when it was so cold the pebbles were frozen together.:cold:
But I also cried when it was time to go home because I wanted to stay and catch some more!
Nothing changes, lol:cry:

[itshowifish]

I guess it must have been somewhere round 79 or 80 I woulda been 7 or 8. My grandpa gave me his old rod and reel, and I got a nice mackerel at half tide on the Albert Pier in Jersey, darn thing seemed like such a monster I couldnt reel it the rest of the way up the wall once the fish was out the water so I had to call grandpa over to finish landing it. I didn't try any but I heard it was real tasty that night. Did I feel like the hunter gatherer or what!! :)

[Nos4r2]

I think mine was aged about 4 or 5, towing a mackerel line on a wooden frame with line like string and a huge lump of lead on it. It was so heavy that it slowed my dad's 23' wooden Debutante down by half a knot when we were sailing :D

The one that really sticks in the mind though is trolling up and down the Training Bank outside Poole at 2 knots towing what was the 1st plastic sandeel I'd seen that wasn't red. Over 30 minutes I pullled in 7 bass, a pollack and a mackie. Ihad that lure for 4 years and always caught something trolling with it. Eventually it split.Never had it like that since-and haven't seen one the same since.

[Bungy]

Any one out there remember the days in the 1950s when the Sallyport bunny in Pompey was a hot spot for Bass.
I can clearly remember standing shoulder to shoulder with about 20 anglers on the railings , casting into the hot water pouring out of the powerstation, Using King rag or small spiners and catching loads of Bass, The only drawback was the numerous local youths who wanted to swim in the HOT water once they had finished Mudlarking in the harbour by the Gosport ferry ramp., Put my face in the mud for a tanner(sixpence) was the usual cry

We had to climb up onto the railings every time an IOW paddle steamer or Warship entered Pompey harbour , because the resulting wash would swamp the bunny.Victoria Pier was also very good for Pollock and Mullet as well as the numerous Wrasse .

I caught my very first fish, A Bass of about a pound from the pipe in front of The Gunnery base at Far Eastney, using a hand line with a 3 hook brass paternoster and watch weight , thrown, Yes thrown not cast about 20 yards out.

In those days , Early 50s you could catch, Bass, Plaice, Mullet, Black Bream,and Flounder within a casting distance of 30 yards , Also In those days believe it or not, there were about 8-10 steps going down from the prom to the beach, Now you can step off of the prom straight onto the shingle, How things have changed. I really wish that we had the type of tackle available now ,Then.

We had to put up with Wooden centre pin reels, Wooden rods, some made out of converted snooker cues or shop bought made out of Bamboo or Green Heart wood ,and woven cotton lines that were just like strong string, Then The Fixed Spool reel came on the market, What a difference that made( If you could afford one).
My first ones were made by Intrepid, The best at the time was the Intrepid Supreme, (only multis were bakelite Penn sea Boys) that cracked under any sort of pressure .You could hit 50 -60 yards if you were good enough. Rods were not up to distance casting. We bought six pennoth (about 2.1/2p in new money) worth of rag from a tackle shop, hooks at 15 for a shilling, (5 pence) We made our own weights from lead collected from bomb sites (there were plenty of those in Pompey Post war).

Now we have to cast at least 100 yards to get amoungst the fish
Still that is just a sign of getting old,
What will my grandchildren be saying in 50 years time, if there are any fish to be caught that is.
Gray

[pistol pete]

Ye my first time age 7 at allonby first rod ABU atlantic and still got it had 6 placie but my brother had one go and never fished again, think i was around 4ft at the time now i'm a big 5ft at 44year's old and getting shorter.:schmoll:

[Tipper]

I was about 6 or 7 and me and my sister had been given one of those Winfield fishing kits you used to be able to get in Woolworths. My sister dragged me unwillingly down to the Medway at Forest Row in Sussex. After ten minutes the float went under and we caught a minnow. My sister freaked and I was hooked for life!

[mesito]

My first Sea fishing experience was at Shoreham West Arm at the age of about 12. Although I had been fishing before on the banks of the river Severn where I grew up, this was my fist go at salt water.
I remember being a little over awed at the prospect of the main wall so I chucked (yes, "chucked" best describes it !) my hand line off what was then well known as the "wooden" arm. Was rewarded almost immediately with a large flounder which had somehow managed to find my bait on what was probably a two inch trace tied directly to the lead lmao.

Large it probably was too, those days big flatties seemed ten a penny. More importantly though, catching on my first attempt probably hooked me for life. ....
God Bless Flounders!!

[billy bennett]

in about 1962/3 I was about 7 ,on holiday in peel I.O.M. armed with a 6 foot solid glass rod and a wooden centerpin reel that someone over there lent me loaded with about 50lb line .
lowered it down from the end of the pier and hooked a cole fish , that was me hooked for life. ,the next year armed with the same rod and a little fixed spool 20lb line started feathering for mackeral and go a few, from then on all my chrimbo pressys where fishing tackle, and the rest as they say is history.

[NobbyC]

about 1964. Managed to persuade my cousin Pete to let me tag along with his mate and my brother to the River Roding in Abridge [Essex] where I distinctly remember catching my first fish on rod and line - a minnow!
Imagine, four of us, the oldest one about 13, the youngest 8, taking the bus about 20 miles from home without any adult knowing exactly where we were or when we were coming back. Oh for the days of such innocence and carefree freedom! It's such a pity we're not able to let our own kids experience the same.

[the-fox]

My first fishing experience will always be etched in my mind. It was 1981 and a weekend trip down to the Helford in cornwall with my grandad, my dad and his mate mike we were in a VW camper van. Got there 10pm and started fishing, i insisted on casting myself and first attempt the rig flew out ten yds along with the top section of the rod into the rocks. Line snapped and i thought it was game over for my weekend fishing as we didn't carry spares then. I was crying my eyes out but dad said don't worry son we may find it washed up in the morning. Sure enough in the morning there it was and i was able to fish albeit wiv my grandad casting for me. That night i was woken up by something whacking me from beneath (i was in a bunk) I had p*ssed the bed and it was dripping onto mike my dads m8. He took it well (i think) and nothing else was said about it for the rest of the trip. I never caught anything that weekend but i fell in love with that place and i have been every year since, sometimes 3-4 times a year.

[Grant Letts]

Woolworths Rod and Tackle aged about 4, caught a Gudgeon in the local Canal with my Old Man.

Havent caught since :roll1::roll1:

[shy tangler]

My nan bought me a rod and reel for my tenth birthday, and I can remember I could not wait for school to finish so that i could go fishing because I was so excited. Went to the local docks and fished down the side, catching small pouting, bullheads and gobies. The rod then went crazy and I caught the biggest fish I had ever seen at that time - a 1lb Pollack. I can recall putting string through its gills so that i could hang it off of my belt so that everyone could see it, I was that proud. Happy days. 41 years later I still have that rod, though no longer used-sentiment LOL:thumbs: