# Best Day On the Water .....



## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

*What's the best day on the water, fishing, you've ever had? Quanity, Quality, Friends, Family, Big Fish, Most fish, Kids, Wives, Girlfriends, Grandmas, Grandpas, you name it ..... your favorite ... My overwhelming favorite, was getting my Mom, and Dad, on Lake Conroe. They were scared to death of fast boats and big water. We didn't catch many fish, but it was a special time, and I took many, many, pictures! the pics will last forever!*


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## wshniwasfshn (Oct 14, 2010)

Second time taking my boat out on the water ever. I took a buddy (whom I bought the boat from) to Sommerville on a weekend. It was supposed to be cold but was about 60 and sunny. We were 1 of 4 boats on the lake and the water was like glass. I ended up landing only one large white bass, nothing special. We spent the day making "magazine" boat turns and runs across the lake. It was nice getting out and having fun...hopefully many more time like that to come once it warms up.


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## Fishon21 (Jul 16, 2010)

*Best day*

I remember some time back around mid 90's, my mom,wife and myself
went to seawolf park flounder fishing ,we had a blast, we were catching
flounder during the fall migration , those girls were catching fish so fast i almost didn't have any time to fish myself , i was to busy netting and re baiting for them , and that was fine with me they had such a good time.
We ended up with 34 flounder up to 5lbs.

Got to love those memorys of family and friends.

In memory of my wife Donna & mom Vi 
May they rest in peace.angelsm


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## great white fisherman (Jun 24, 2008)

One year when my daughter was 15 she and I and her brother and another young man where fishing on Richland Chambers. Kristy was setting right beside me and the two boys where in the back. Her rod bends over almost double and at first she thought she was hung up. Fight on and all the sudden this big ole fat female bass trys to jump but she is to big. My son goes nuts and grabs for the net. We are all coaching her on do this and do that. Finally we get the monster bass in the boat. We knew she was huge so we dump all the fish in the ice chest on the floor of the boat and fill the ice chest with water and take off to the marina. The bass weighed in at 12lbs and 10oz and turned out to be the world record IGFA bass for a female. The bass passed away and I had it mounted in a glass case. Kristy was the guest of honor at the opening of the Bass Pro in Grapevine. If you ever want to see this bass it is located inside the front door at Bass Pro. Kristy is now 28 and a doctor. I am so proud of her!!!


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

One of the best days has to have been in the summer of 2010 on the Kamishak River in SW Alaska. It was late August, and we had clear skies and temps in the mid 60's. We didn't see another boat on the river all day, but caught easily 20 silver salmon per person (2 boats, 2 guides, 2 anglers per boat) in one slough. While fishing, we had several large brown bears watching us. We cooked a silver for lunch on the bank and enjoyed the scenery. At the end of the day we ran up the Little Kamishak River--which is incredibly beautiful--to an impassible waterfall, which we took photos in front of. Bears abounded on the Little Kami as well, and we finished the day by drifting down the river, catching dolly varden on the fly before jetting down river to the waiting DeHavilland Beaver float plane. The flight back to the lodge was gorgeous, flying through the mountains of Katmai National Park, where we spotted 2 bull moose from the air. It just doesn't get any better.


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## MrG (Apr 10, 2005)

Too many to pick just one. That's why I fish.
A few memorable ones.

Any trip with my Dad at Falcon back in the '70's
Any trip with my Dad at Rockport in the '90's
Any trip with my kid(s)
Winning our first striper tourney was a good day too. That was also the worst weather day I've ever had. Waves you couldn't see over the top on Texoma.


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## 9121SS (Jun 28, 2009)

Last year I skipped out of work early and took my then 14 year old daughter to Lake Conroe Crappie fishing. What a great day that was!!


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## Lonestar Proud (Oct 26, 2010)

Hmmm...
Youngest daughters 2.18 white crappie junior record on Conroe last weekend.
My dad coming down from Kansas and fishing with me up on Lake Palestine last spring for 8 days, but of those days it'd be the day he caught his PB white crappie at 16 1/2" and 2 lbs 13oz.
My wife catching her first hybrid striper on Tawakoni.


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Too many to count oer 66 yrs--60 of which have been in a boat and/or in the woods.

Toledo Bend in the late 60's-Rayburn in the Spring.

I guess the times on the water with my Mom and Dad vacationing on Lake Bisteneau in La, with friends I have fished with over 50 years and still do, and the times with my son and daughter. and now my grandgirls.

Single best fishing day--with my best bud on Toledo Bend in 1969-Housen Bay out of Fin 'n Feather. 2 Limits of bass--30 fish--with 10 fish over 4 lbs and 5 over 5. Almost all on spinnerbaits.

Largest bass- 9 3/4 lbs-Lake Jackson in Tallahassee, Fla. 1970. Caught at night.


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## SetDaHook (Oct 21, 2010)

Like everybody else.....too many to count as just one day. But...

Toledo Bend back in the 80's when you could'nt leave a dangling topwater bait over the side of the boat in the evening without getting bit.

...and an isolated lake in Canada in the 80's when an uncle and cousin of mine took a ranger's adviced and hiked back to an isolated lake. Looked like no one had ever set foot there (no trash, not a cigarette butt, nothing), and we started catching huge pike left and right. We caught so many that we remembered that in our excitement, no one brought a stringer. So we split some willow branches and hauled out as many as we could. What a day!!!!


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Boboe said:


> One of the best days has to have been in the summer of 2010 on the Kamishak River in SW Alaska. It was late August, and we had clear skies and temps in the mid 60's. We didn't see another boat on the river all day, but caught easily 20 silver salmon per person (2 boats, 2 guides, 2 anglers per boat) in one slough. While fishing, we had several large brown bears watching us. We cooked a silver for lunch on the bank and enjoyed the scenery. At the end of the day we ran up the Little Kamishak River--which is incredibly beautiful--to an impassible waterfall, which we took photos in front of. Bears abounded on the Little Kami as well, and we finished the day by drifting down the river, catching dolly varden on the fly before jetting down river to the waiting DeHavilland Beaver float plane. The flight back to the lodge was gorgeous, flying through the mountains of Katmai National Park, where we spotted 2 bull moose from the air. It just doesn't get any better.


May 2005-rented a motorhome in Anchorage-my wife and I traveled for a week. Fished the Kenai but no luck--too early for kings. Cooked lunch on the shore of Skilak Lake, camped on the beach in Homer, spent 2 days at Denali Nat'l Park. Awesome-hope to go back-after Labor Day maybe this year and give the Kenai another try--salmon and maybe those big rainbows. Best trip I ever had. Everyone who loves the outdoors must go.


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

wwind3 said:


> May 2005-rented a motorhome in Anchorage-my wife and I traveled for a week. Fished the Kenai but no luck--too early for kings. Cooked lunch on the shore of Skilak Lake, camped on the beach in Homer, spent 2 days at Denali Nat'l Park. Awesome-hope to go back-after Labor Day maybe this year and give the Kenai another try--salmon and maybe those big rainbows. Best trip I ever had. Everyone who loves the outdoors must go.


After Labor Day you'll be fishing silver salmon, as the king run should be all but entirely over. There is good silver fishing, especially in Seward. The Kenai Peninsula is a really beautiful place. The big bows on the upper Kenai ought to be biting by then, with the sockeys in full spawn. Y'all have fun!


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

I'm heading back to the Kenai this summer, this time in time for kings. But I have to admit to liking the rainbows (largest was 36 inches) and eating the halibut. I highly recommend All Alaska Outdoors in Soldotna for a 6 night, 5 days guided trips, cleaned packed and frozen to come home. Watching the grizzlies fish is a bonus. Once caught and released silvers on EVERY cast until finally I had my limit from fish that got gilled hooked and wouldn't make it. It went on for over an hour and a half.

But my best trip? Hard to pin one down, but probably 10 days with my brothers and Dad 20 years ago up in Saskatchewan at Hatchet Lake. Three northerns over 42 inches and one 23 inch Grayling, plus a veritable crapload of better then normal fish, catch and release other than what you eat on the shore for lunch. Whitefish, Walleye, Laketrout.


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## bluewaterrip (May 8, 2006)

One of my top favorites happened last year on the rock groins in front of Rainforest Cafe. Me and my 5 year old had been catching pompano, spanish macks and whiting. I was retying hardware on his rig so he used mine while I was retying. We he hooked into a 24" spanish Mac and was fighting it. All of the sudden he slipped and fell on his butt on the rocks. When he landed he slid to the next rock and was still fighting his fish. He tried to get his footing then his feet hit the moss on the rocks and he slid further down. At this point the rod his in his left hand with his arm up in the air, his right hand is holding on to the rock. I get down to where he is and the whole time Im pulling him up his keeps telling me....."dont worry there is no slack in this line" so I pull him up he stands on his feet and lands said fish about 2 minutes later. He told me there was no need to worry that he was in control the whole time....I just had to laugh.


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

markbrumbaugh said:


> I'm heading back to the Kenai this summer, this time in time for kings. But I have to admit to liking the rainbows (largest was 36 inches)


36"!!! Was it a steelhead? The only river that I know of that can make a non-sea-run fish that size is the Naknek. What a hog!


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## A Draper (Aug 14, 2007)

In the last 5 years or so, I've had some amazing trips. My best day occured three years ago fishing nearshore out of Port Oconnor. It was early August and was my official yearly birthday trip. My dad, mom, sisters, thier husbands and kids, basically the whole family went to POC and rented a rooms at Clarks. I had a full boat of fisherman for three full days. We were fishing the big jetty and just past. The water was blue and king fish were everywhere. We caught kings, jacks, and big smacks on ribbon fish in the wash, magnum diving rapalas, and trolling spoons almost at will. It was the perfect combination of the right people, right time and right conditions. 

It was also a sentimental trip for many of us especially my father. My grandfather had died earlier that year. He loved kingfishing and booked a charter for all his sons every year for years. That stopped before I was old enough to go. I'm really the only person left in the family that fishes saltwater regularly anymore. My uncle was tasked with taking care of the will and estate. A month or so earlier he sent me granddads old kingfish rod a reel. I cleaned the thing up, spooled it and leaned it in the corner of my garage. I did not intend to fish with it. My nephew was helping me load for the trip and he mistakingly loaded the rod into the truck for the trip to POC. With the family helping me load the boat with equipment, granddads rod ended up making it into the boat for the first day. I noticed it as I was rigging baits near the bay side of the jetty. At that point I figured it was fate. The rod had traveled from central texas to Lufkin and then from Lufkin to POC then to the mouth of the jetty. Who was I to argue? It was going to fish. I tied on a leader and a silver mag rapala. The rod out caught every other rig in the boat, 3 to 1. Everyone caught a kingfish on that rod that day. It was TV show crazy fishing. Multiple hook ups, my sisters and their kids who dont even fish, hooking 30 lb kings. Grown men handing off rods because their arms were tired. 

I never fished for kingfish with grandad during his life but I have to wonder if we all didn't get to take one last trip with him that day in august. His rod earned a permanent place in my boat's rod locker that day.


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

Boboe said:


> 36"!!! Was it a steelhead? The only river that I know of that can make a non-sea-run fish that size is the Naknek. What a hog!


It would be called a steelhead anyplace else in the world, but on Kenai, they call 'em rainbows.


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## Lone Eagle (Aug 20, 2009)

Can not say it was the best day I ever had on the water as several things happened that cost me a lot of time, trouble and money in regards to boat repairs. However, it is undoubtly the most fish I was ever involved in catching in fresh water on a guide trip.

Back then I was strictly guiding at night. Worked out of Penwaugh Marina, back when Lenard Davis owned Penwaugh. It was Saturday night of Memorial Day Weekend in 1989. I had Six (6) of "Houston's Finest"...HPD, on my boat that night. We left Peneaugh Marina about dark that evening headed to one on my South Lake fishing holes....I might add that at that time, I was the only person that fished there back then. However, that is not true these days since the word got out that Sunday about all the fish I am about to tell y'all about.

Anyway, I got the boat set up and anchored about fifteen (15) minutes after dark. Turned my generator on (used to power eight (8) 500 watt halogen lights that I had attached to the side on the deck boat. It lit the water up like the city. Told my clients to relax and just start fishing at depths ranging from 15 ft. to 25 ft. We were using trotline minnows and tight lining. 

About an hour later, the bite started. First, we were catching high fin blues with an occasional white bass every now and then. About midnight, the catfish and whites stopped biting. Then nice crappie slabs started biting. In about 40 minutes, we caught 26 slabs. all were 12" or longer up to some 14". The men were estatic. This was all right...and I might add, I have "never" caught that many crappie in that spot since that night. 
After they stopped, it was catfish and whites again. They were biting fast and furious. By 4:00 A.M. we had gone through all out live minnows. Not to worry though because shad were so thick around the boat I simply used a long handled minnow net and scooped up several hunderd and put them in a couple of 5 gallon buckets. We then used the fresh shad.

At 4:30 A.M. the Stripers moved in and we caught nice 4 to 8 pound stripers for the better part on an hour. When they stopped, the whites began biting again. When we quit fishing, about 15 minutes after daylight, we had the following catch for the night. 26 Crappie, 30 Stripers, 54 high fin blues, and 175 white bass; for a total catch of 285 fish that night. Not too bad for 7 men fishing if I do say so myself. 

When I pulled anchor and started out, I put that deckboat on top of two trees in 38 feet of water. Thus, my troubles and expenses started....But; that is another story. 

I have "Never" duplicated another day or night of fishing like we experienced that night.


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## Git$um (Feb 11, 2008)

The best night of fishing was last May when we anchored on top of a school of stripers so thick, they blacked out the depth finder. 
Also, about 10 years ago, my 2 nephews and I spent a week at Livingston putting a new roof on the boat shed. We would fish in the morning, then work on the shed, then fish that night. We hammered them on every outing, fishing in different places until we found them. It was a blast.


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

markbrumbaugh said:


> It would be called a steelhead anyplace else in the world, but on Kenai, they call 'em rainbows.


What I'm asking is if it was sea-run. There are many rivers on the Kenai that get steelhead runs. Then there are some insanely large resident fish in the state. The Kvichak, the Naknek, and the Kenai all make 30"+ fish. So which was yours?


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## wwind3 (Sep 30, 2009)

Boboe said:


> What I'm asking is if it was sea-run. There are many rivers on the Kenai that get steelhead runs. Then there are some insanely large resident fish in the state. The Kvichak, the Naknek, and the Kenai all make 30"+ fish. So which was yours?


Boboe--where is this located?
*The Alaskan state record for Rainbow/steelhead trout was caught on 15 lb. line 42lb 3oz in 1970 on Bell Island by David White*


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## Danny O (Apr 14, 2010)

June 27, 2010 - This is the date that opened our eyes to the great fishery at Lake Livingston. Here is the fishing report....Jenny aka "Pet Spoon" wanted to fish the old 190 road bed for white bass. Didn't see a single boat out there, which was surprising for a Sunday afternoon. We got out there around 5:30pm, and the weather was calm. Found a huge school at about 6pm. Doubles were common, with quads occassionally (her and me with doubles). The wind started to pick up, so we couldn't finish our limit. We caught about 45 and kept 31. It was fast and furious. 

July 29 and 30th, 2010 - Day one, Shadslinger showed us how to catch stripers. They were busting the top, shad trying to escape, pencil poppers flying straight up in the air, birds diving, etc. We limited by 6:51am and caught 28 white bass on top of that. Day two, we used those skills to catch stripers on our own. We became infected with striper fever, and fished a majority of the month of August....before church, before work, and took many vacation days that month. At one point, I think Pet Spoon fished 11 or 12 days in a row, with or without me. 

August 28, 2010 - Pet Spoon went hog hunting, so I invited my dad to go striper fishing. When I was young, he took me on those Kemah party boats to catch sand trout (the Judy Beth). It was a great time as a kid, so I was trying to return the favor in a small way. We fished Pine Island. The birds started circling and we caught 6 stripers in the 1st school, jigged up 2 more, then found the stripers surfacing on the other side of the island. 2 casts = 2 fish, and we limited with 10 stripers by 7:30am.


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## wshniwasfshn (Oct 14, 2010)

MAYDE CREEK RAMS!!! I graduated from HS there!!


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## jas415 (May 25, 2009)

*best day??*

When I was 12 (1954, and before Alaska was a state) caught a 47.5 Lb Chinook in the Naknek river (I lived with my folks in King Salmon, and to get to school, rode in a Checker cab with halftracks back and forth to what was then the Naknek Indian Village, to a Territorial Indian school). Still have the 8mm color film of the fish.

When my youngest son was 14 back in '90, he caught a 30" 9lb Speck at the south Jetty on a little tiny brown shrimp.

When the twin grand daughters were 10, they each caught a 5+ lb bass from the golf course lakes within 5 min of each other and every day that I am on the water when the sun comes up!! Every day is a gift!


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## shadslinger (Aug 21, 2005)

Those are great Lake Livingston pics Danny O.

The best day that comes to my mind is the day that Lake Nacogdoches was opened to the public.
It had received a double stocking of Florida strain large mouth bass and some of the fish were over 4 years old. Two large creeks had also filled it up with a lot of native and spotted bass.

The first day it was like fishing in a giant farm pond that no one had ever fished. It was the first time these bass had seen lures.

My girlfriend and I drug a john boat down a short stretch of an old gravel road that ended in the lake and started fishing from one of the back creeks.
We used dark, gray or black with black skirts, medium size spinner baits with an added short flounder type worm added to the single upturned hook.
It was devastating on the bass. The fish were deep at first as it was January and we would let them sink and jiggle it, bam! you had a bass on.
Several times while looking at a fish I had just caught my spinner dangled over the side and a big bass would streak up and slam it, breaking me off a couple of times.
I counted 100 bass that I caught that morning and stopped counting. 
We kept 8 big bass, one that was 8lbs and all over 6 pounds that morning, I think the limit was 10 a day at that time, and people did keep bass to eat.
We went back that afternoon and the sun had come out and the fish were shallow and we caught them on topwater baits. 
We let everything go that afternoon, the liberal limit of the day was almost a total downfall for the lake. The fantastic fishing of the first 8 months was followed by a very poor population of LMB in the lake.
TPWD came to it's rescue with a slot limit to protect the bass and it came back to some of it's former glory as a large mouth bass lake.
It was sweet.


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## boat_money (May 21, 2004)

i don't think this is my best day ever, but best recently...

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=101836&highlight=boat_money


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## Danny O (Apr 14, 2010)

Early 70's Toledo Bend Reservoir. Fished every day in the summer. LMB in the morning on clear top waters around tree tops. Grand daddy Bream on crickets over brush piles in the afternoon. Minnows under the Pendleton Bridge for Crappie @ mid-night. I'll never be able to duplicate the quantity and quality of fish caught those summers long ago on the reservoir!

Early 80's Gulf of Mexico. Red Snapper fishing was at it's best. Never came home w/o a stringer of those flavorful snaps!

Jan. 2002 Ambregis Caye, Belize. The newlyweds decide to fish Vermilion and Yellowtail Snapper @ the reef. Javair put us on the fish in short order and before you knew it, supper was in the boat. The chef at the resort prepared our catch and it was delicioso!

Nov. 2004 Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. After watching my beloved Tennessee Volunteers hiccup and hand the Fighting Irish a win in Knoxville, Danny O and I head to The Great Smoky Mountains for some trout fishing. We meet up w/ our guide and drive to Little Pigeon River just outside Gatlinburg. We walked to the river after parking on the side of the road and Benny got us rigged up for fishing in the current. Wasn't long and the trout start hitting. Fast moving river fishing is the BOMB!!

August 2010 Lake Livingston. It wasn't long after Shadslinger and Lee taught Danny O and I how to chase the stripers that the FEVER hit! Danny had to harness his enthusiasm after a week of fishing and headed back to work. However, I fished non-stop...10-12 days @ a time. It was during this FEVER that I picked up my neighbor, his 12 year old nephew and 7 year old grandson and headed to Pine Island. It was still dark, too early for the birds to start working, when we idled smack dab on top of a school of stacked zebras! I told the boys to get the nets ready and drop start dropping slabs. We landed fish after fish, after fish, and more fish, making our 4 man limit in 30 minutes! In disbelief, we sat in the boat, in the dark, trying to fathom the blessing we just received. By the time we iced the big fish down and found Shadslinger, the school had moved. I put the Skiff in the slip @ day break and headed home to crash. The guys cleaned the fish!!


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## markbrumbaugh (Jul 13, 2010)

wwind3 said:


> Boboe--where is this located?
> *The Alaskan state record for Rainbow/steelhead trout was caught on 15 lb. line 42lb 3oz in 1970 on Bell Island by David White*


Mine was on the Kenai river, right above Lake Skilak in the rapids.


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

wwind3 said:


> Boboe--where is this located?
> *The Alaskan state record for Rainbow/steelhead trout was caught on 15 lb. line 42lb 3oz in 1970 on Bell Island by David White*


Google maps says that's in SE AK, which makes sense. Lots of steelhead runs down there, and lots of islands.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sou...936895,-131.495361&spn=3.816009,11.634521&z=7


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## Boboe (Feb 11, 2009)

Pet Spoon said:


> Early 80's Gulf of Mexico. Red Snapper fishing was at it's best. Never came home w/o a stringer of those flavorful snaps!


If you think it was good then, you should go now. There are more and bigger red snappers in the Gulf than anybody has seen since the 60's, and maybe longer ago than that. Snappers cover up pretty much every piece of hard bottom from 50' all the way out to over 300'. I know a couple guys who even caught snappers in 500' last week when fishing for deep groupers. They're INFESTED!


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## Ditto (Apr 18, 2005)

*Best Day Fishing*

I've been fishing most of my life. Spent many days on the water with my grandfather, friends and now my own kids. Have many great memories. I'm thankful my grandfather took me fishing when I was a kid. Spent my 20's and 30's fishing with friends and now I take my own kids when I go.

Last year my 12 year old and I had a really good day catching catfish on Livingston around Easter. This 8 pounder was on his first cast. Then later that summer we limited on white bass then started catch and release. I bet we caught 200 fish that day. It's fun for a 12 year old to catch fish on every cast for a couple hours. He had a pretty ggod size bruise on his belly where his put his rod butt.

Those are the memories that I have now. Being able to share with my kids. My youngest is always pointing out the fact that he outfishes me on every trip. I like it that way.


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## tbone2374 (Feb 27, 2010)

Really great stories, Guys! Good reading.


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