THE GOOD OLE DAYS

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Comment by Jim Gronaw on February 27, 2012 at 9:08pm

So many memories...

One of my fondest  was at an old farm pond that was on my uncle' property back in the 60's. I would walk to it from our house, about 2 miles, and slide under barbed wire fences and sidestep cow patties en route. Us kids cut a path through the woods and when we broke out of the forrest you could see the 1 acre pond nestled in the tiny valley below...fishing paradise! At least to me, it was.

The pond had a little of everything in it...bass, gills, white and yellow perch and a few big crappies. Every spring for a number of years the local jaycees would stock it and have a kids fishing derby there, giving prizes and free hot dogs. Their goal was to see kids catch fish and give away, FREE, 1000 hot dogs per event...and they did! It was great, great fun, and all kinds of prizes were given for a variety of fish, from biggest to the smallest.

One year, I caught a 1 lb. 2 oz. crappie that actually was the largest fish of the derby. A young and budding reporter was covering the event that day, and he took my picture and put it in the local newspaper with that big crappie. That reporter was C.Boyd Pfieffer, the author of Tackle Craft, one of the finest technical books on fishing ever written. To this day, we stay in touch with fishing tales.

That pond is no longer there, as housing and urban sprawl consumed it. I cannot return to that scene, as I would surely come to tears over it's fate. I remember the woods, the farmland, the old farmhouse that overlooked the pond and some of my cousins and relatives that ran that dairy operation. I also remember always catching something there, and getting up at 5 AM on a Saturday in May to hike to the pond from our backyard. It made me fall in love with small, seemingly insignificant ponds and lakes and their charm and potential. I miss it terribly, and will never forget the many days I spent there, hoping I could grow up to be a fisherman.

Literally...I have had dreams about the pond, and I always wake up with tears in my eyes.

But I still have those memories! Thank God!

Comment by David, aka, "McScruff" on February 27, 2012 at 7:50pm

Youre right, Jeff. Im certain the outdoors activities of our youth are expendable these days. They are too often seen as frivolous and not worth spending money on, particularly by our lawmakers.

Or worse, they sequester and block them off as a way of "preserving" them. I want to think that these things will always be there for our future generations...but I have my doubts. 

Thos canals look sweet!

Comment by Jeffrey D. Abney on February 27, 2012 at 7:30pm

Throughout Southern Louisiana there are canal systems that have been dug by the Army Corps of Engineers to facilitate flood control......Over the years these canals grew up and developed cover and became great Bluegill destinations.....Most of my pirogue fishing was done when I was younger......Back in the mid 70s I would get dropped off with all my gear and arrange a pick up time with my parents........In the Lafitte National Swamp I had a couple little spots that were my favorite including the one pictured in this post........We poured quikrete into old coffee cans to make anchors. I would find me a shade spot, drop my anchors and bust gills with my bamboo poles and grass shrimp........Sometimes I would catch a 10" or a rare 11" gill but most were 6 to 8 inches and chunky........Almost anytime I wanted a mess of gills I would visit this spot and then work my way back to the highway ready to load up.....How many parents would even think of letting their children go fish like this today.........The fishing was great, but like I tell my daughter and the mother of my three grand children, I'll do the best I can but I won't be able to show them what I had because life and society has changed........I caught hundreds of gills in here during the bicentennial.......Don't know what you got until it's gone!

Comment by dick tabbert on February 27, 2012 at 6:50pm

I didn't have it to bad but still won't talk about it. Just something I had to do.

Comment by DAVID L EITUTIS on February 27, 2012 at 6:42pm

HEY DICK AND LEO, I was in the Marines 68-71 and spent two years on sea duty aboard the USS HANCOCK south china sea.

  Never made it in country so to speak , GLAD I DIDN'T HAVE TO , but saw my share of the orient. Was a brig guard and so forth in the Corps and was an 0311 grunt . Got lots of those stories but not printable here I suppose.

  SEMPER FI

Comment by Leo Nguyen on February 27, 2012 at 6:39pm

Ah..70 and 71. I was born on 75, and didn't fish well until 77 to 81. So, plenty of years for the gill to spread. Nice!

Comment by Leo Nguyen on February 27, 2012 at 6:35pm

Oh, and on top of that, after the military personnel provided me the upgraded gears in Da Lat, I was able to catch more fish which could have been the gills. I spent most of my life in Ho Chi Minh City. So, the scenario could have played out. Hm..small world. Gills got me into fishing, and gills come back to greet me after all these years.

Comment by dick tabbert on February 27, 2012 at 6:33pm

Mr Fish Professor I was there in 1970 and 71.

Comment by dick tabbert on February 27, 2012 at 6:32pm

If thats the case I guess I can easily be replaced. 

Comment by Leo Nguyen on February 27, 2012 at 6:32pm

Dick, I'm truly uncertain of the gills being in Vietnam. However, there were some discussion in the past that gills were introduced in the early 70's in portions of Vietnam, so, it fits my scenario. The training ground was Da Nang, so, yes, it could be the gills that I was able to catch.

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