New Here

[David 'PcolaPaddler']

Hi, If you will indulge me for a moment, I will tell a little about myself...

My name is David and I'm new here to BigBluegill.com.  My wife and I make our home in Florida's panhandle.  We have been married for... well over half of my life to this point.

I was introduced to fishing by my older sister's boyfriend when I was in middle school.  He and I spent a good deal of time chasing both fresh and saltwater fish.  We even caught a few.  I just about drove my mother crazy to take me fishing before I was able to drive.

I became interested in fly fishing through magazines and books.  Several years ago, a local fly fishing club held continuing education classes on fly fishing at the local junior college.  My wife and I attended and had a great time.  The classes were very inexpensive (around $25 per person) and covered an intro to fly tying and casting instruction.  If local clubs in your areas offer such classes, I would encourage you to participate.  If they are well run, it is a good bang for the buck and the instructors are usually an interesting bunch of folks.

My wife and I are the proud parents of Buddy, a miniature American Eskimo dog (Eskie).

[David 'PcolaPaddler']

Favorite fly rod & fly...

 

I haven't had a lot of rods.  My favorite was probably a Lamiglas 8wt.  I fished mostly salt water with it.  Alas, it broke many years ago.  I caught a bunch of Ladyfish, Blue Runners and a few Specks - even some Rainbows with that rod.  My wife gave me that rod for birthday, Christmas or something.

Favorite fly... Hard to say. I think my favorite store bought Bluegill bug was the Round Dinny - still have a couple of those. Favorite to tie, would be just about any fairly simple bug - Bully's Spider, Cap Spider, Wooly Worm/Bugger. I also just like poppers of various shapes & flavors. And don't forget Clousers... Now look what you've started!

:)

[carl hendrix]

hi david- if you really love fishing and sharing information-- not to mention a story or two  this is it buddy!!  greatest site on the web! 

[dick tabbert]

David careful it's a trick question you gotta watch out for that Greghopper fella..

[Greg McWilliams]

WELCOME DAVID!!!!!! What is YOUR FAVORITE FLY ROD and FAVORITE FLY?????

[Leo Nguyen]

Welcome to the family David. Great to have a veteran on the water joining the family, sharing the catches, experience, and wisdom for the rest of us to enjoy, and learn from.

As all those who know me, I get beaten left and right by my wife in, on, and around the water. We practically lug our kids around on our kayaks since we got our kayaks recently, and if there's any extra room, I wouldn't be surprised if my wife haul our two dogs with us as well. We'll see about that next summer.

Definitely share your knowledge and wisdom with us on your outings. We will love to hear and enjoy the days of your adventures.

[Allen Morgan]

Welcome aboard Pcola.  I'm a kayaker as well.  Love using it to fish with.

My wife would kill me if I took any of our Chihuahuas out on my kayak.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Nice pic of the dog. My dog would capsize a kayak just getting in. My WIFES dog wouldnt be allowed to go afloat.

[dick tabbert]

Eskimo Spitz I use to have one when we first got married but that was long long ago. Very well behaved dogs owner orientated. 

[David 'PcolaPaddler']

This is a picture of our little Buddy.  I won't say that he likes being on the kayak, but he does like going with us. 

I have fished with him on the front of my kayak.  It worked OK until I caught a fish and he got excited.  Turned over my cricket cage & I had crickets crawling all over me.  :)

He gets enough after a while and will cry to go to the bank.  He likes to be on the lead kayak too.  We keep him tethered to the kayak with a 6' leash so he is easy to grab if he loses his footing and of course, there is the life jacket.

[David 'PcolaPaddler']

The kayak isn't too bad to load/unload.  I used to carry it on a Ford Explorer and load it alone when I fished by myself.  It weighs about 65lbs, but that is spread over the length which can make it a bit unwieldy.  Like a lot of things, there is a sort of technique to lifting it to the top of a vehicle.

I don't have the Explorer anymore (traded for a Tundra), and have acquired an extender for the hitch on my truck.  That enables me to carry it in the bed of the truck - a much easier lift.  Probably the toughest launch I have done was dragging it across a couple hundred feet of beach to launch into the Gulf.  I did that once and went out and bought a RollEze cart - much easier.