Good Old Days

[captnn]

To me the good old days were when you didn't have a boat you rented a cedar strip one with oars from Rays Boat Livery on Gravelly Bay. You either trolled by rowing or fished for perch near the dynamite shack inside the break wall. You very seldom went too far into the lake. When you got a boat with a small motor a trip to the 5 mile bell buoy was something to talk about. Blues, perch and blackbass were plentiful. You never had a depth finder so you found your spots by using Sugarloaf Hill, Nickel Plant smoke stack, Point Abino plus other points on shore. When you went ice fishing you could drive a vehicle out onto the ice from Holloway Bay. No one had power augers . You used an axe or if you were lucky you had a spud to go through 2 - 3 feet of ice. When you went into the gorge there wasn't all the garbage. Maybe a broken thermos that was dropped. No paper cups or worm containers. You learned how and where to catch fish by watching others or trial and error. If you were lucky you had an old timer take you fishing. Bring back some of the good old days.

[smerchly]

Those were the days my friend , those days will never.... be back , only in our minds because we lived them . But , I have some nice perch ready for the table and they will be fried in LARD ! That makes them taste soooo good .....a reminder of those good ol' days !

[splotch]

the amount of garbage on all the rivers is indeed sad...I always try to take a bag out with me,but it's endless:(

[captnn]

Those were the days my friend , those days will never.... be back , only in our minds because we lived them . But , I have some nice perch ready for the table and they will be fried in LARD ! That makes them taste soooo good .....a reminder of those good ol' days !

In the good old days if someone knew your spot they invited you over for perch fried in LARD. lol

[bigdog]

I will give you the garbage in and around the waterways and outdoors...but the good ole days are still here, you just aren't looking for them hard enough.

You should appreciate the fact that people can afford to have a nice boat with a big motor and a GPS. A GPS and VHF radio have probably saved more lives than not having them. Having all those items means we are doing well as a society. No one says you need to have those things to have fun fishing...but fishing is different for everyone. Some like to wade in the cool waters of a slow, meandering stream...others like to fly across a lake that looks like glass with the hard rumble of a big 250 Merc. Its still fun either way you cut it. I still learn something everytime I'm on the water. I always try and figure out different techniques and fine tune the old ones. I never turn down advice from the old timers...and I may even offer up some in return. Just because your old doesn't make you Bill Dance or Al Linder (unless you have an epic beard) we need to learn from each other and offer up new ideas as the local waters become clearer and more pressured.

Without the "Great New Days!" we couldn't even be discussing this topic from the comfort of our homes through an itty bitty wire connecting an entire world of fishing knowledge and passion for the whole universe to read and join in!

I will see your "good ole days" and raise you...all in with the Great New Days!

[dave524]

I remember those days as well, dad had a green 5 1/2 horse Johnson, rented one of those cedar strips on many occasions. Heck we sometimes made it all the way out to the foghorn for smallmouth and beyond if dad was trolling for pickerel. If I recall correctly, the name was Ray Prophet and he was actually an American from Florida, boats were 50 cents an hour or $3 for the day, that would have been the late 50's.

Edit: the other marina was Schofield's but ray had the better boats, Schofield were flat bottom, lapstrake board construction it I recall.

[bigugli]

Some of the things that were so different from now. Going to a tackle shop and just listening to the old sweats swap tall tales over a cup of mud. That was Epps when I was a boy.

Going to the marina, tackle shop, etc,,, where the owner always handed out suckers to the kids That was Mr Bye, Tolles, old man Epps.

Going fishing in the morning, bringing your catch to the back door of the local restaurant, and have them add it to your breakfast platter. That was just about anywhere growing up in the Muskokas.

Driving to Toronto was a real adventure. There was no 400 hwy past Barrie. You could take the 11 up to Orillia and then the 12W to Waubushene, or the back route. For that you took the Penetanguishene road to Coldwater and then up to the 69.

I remember smelting on Simcoe. My cousin catching one of the last known lakers in 6 Mile back in 75 using the old broomstick rod.

[cplummer]

Great stories. Please let em roll

[curious]

I remember paying Ray a couple of bucks and he would bring you out to the break walls to you off we'd fish all day them he'd come back and pick you up. That was some fun!

Sorry make that drop you off!

[fish4life82]

I would have to agree with bigdog. I never had anyone in my family that could teach me how to fish properly. When I first started a rock bass would make goosebumps on my skin using a worm and bobber. Thanks to sites such as this and meeting people through forums I have learned more then I ever could have taught myself. Now I can proudly say that I have a son of my own and although he is only 2 and a half he will one day be sitting on these forums sharing the knowledge with others who need help just like I do these days. The old days were great and I have learned a lot from anglers who lived through them but now it's time for this generation to start doing what the "old timers" reflect on now and that is pass knowledge along. The future, knowledge and respect for this sport lies solely on our shoulders who have the knowledge to pass along to others.

[jordanl]

its sad thinking il never get to experience what you older guys did, being 19 iv only been fishing "seriously" for 2 years now. back then im sure there were a hell of a lot more people interested in fishing, now-a-days it seems im one of the very few of my friends who fish. all my fishing buddies are at least 4 years older, im making me memories right now, im sure il recall the same salmon and steel i caught this year 40 years from now, although im sure the numbers will have gotten bigger by then, and the fish would have been bigger by another 5 lbs. keep up the stories though, reminds me of the ones i get my great grandpa to recall when i visit him every week.

[captnn]

its sad thinking il never get to experience what you older guys did, being 19 iv only been fishing "seriously" for 2 years now. back then im sure there were a hell of a lot more people interested in fishing, now-a-days it seems im one of the very few of my friends who fish. all my fishing buddies are at least 4 years older, im making me memories right now, im sure il recall the same salmon and steel i caught this year 40 years from now, although im sure the numbers will have gotten bigger by then, and the fish would have been bigger by another 5 lbs. keep up the stories though, reminds me of the ones i get my great grandpa to recall when i visit him every week.

You are experiencing it now. You are learning to fish with techniques that are available now. In a few years the ones you are using now will be obsolete and there will be new ones to make finding fish and coordinates easier. New lures will attract more fish. In 20 years you will say do you remember the good old days.

[dave524]

Jordan I wish the fishing in Lakes Ontario and Erie were as good in 1969 when I was 19 as it is today. Erie was all but dead and no salmonoides in Ontario yet. Erie is the best it has ever been in my 63 years and Ontario is great too, might have been a bit better in the 80's but still great. The good old days are today young man.

[captnn]

Some of the things that were so different from now. Going to a tackle shop and just listening to the old sweats swap tall tales over a cup of mud. That was Epps when I was a boy.

Going to the marina, tackle shop, etc,,, where the owner always handed out suckers to the kids That was Mr Bye, Tolles, old man Epps.

Going fishing in the morning, bringing your catch to the back door of the local restaurant, and have them add it to your breakfast platter. That was just about anywhere growing up in the Muskokas.

Driving to Toronto was a real adventure. There was no 400 hwy past Barrie. You could take the 11 up to Orillia and then the 12W to Waubushene, or the back route. For that you took the Penetanguishene road to Coldwater and then up to the 69.

I remember smelting on Simcoe. My cousin catching one of the last known lakers in 6 Mile back in 75 using the old broomstick rod.

Right on Bruce. The worst was trying to get out of Niagara before the Burlington Skyway was built. If the bridge went up to let a boat through at least a 3 hr wait. Coming back from up north traffic was so slow some of us got out of the car and walked. Car caught up to us after an hour or so. Made the best out of a bad situation. A trip to North Bay was an all day affair.

[bigugli]

Right on Bruce. The worst was trying to get out of Niagara before the Burlington Skyway was built. If the bridge went up to let a boat through at least a 3 hr wait. Coming back from up north traffic was so slow some of us got out of the car and walked. Car caught up to us after an hout or so. Made the best out of a bad situation.

When My family relocated to Toronto (where steady jobs were to be had), My uncle Jonni would drive down to Toronto just about every weekend in June and September. He would bust me out of school at recess, to beat the traffic, and run my Gram and me back up to Pt Severn for the weekends. Of course each trip required the mandatory stop at Epps. My uncle saw no good in staying in the city.

I got a rude awakening in my early teens when he died. Barely anyone I knew in Toronto liked to fish or hunt ( stepfather couldn't even tie on a hook or swing a hammer) and it got a lot harder to get back up north until my cousin got his driver's license.

[coyotehunter]

Captnn....you are showing your age when you can remember driving out on Lake Erie ice as opposed to having enough ice to walk out and drill a hole without falling through.

I can remember my father trolling for blue pickerel on Lake Erie...no motor....rowing for hours on end. Men were men in those days. Chopping through 3 feet of ice with an axe or spud...not even a hand auger....no atv to pull out a sled of equipment....no internet to find the fish, how deep... waht temp the water was....generally you ate what you caught....bass, catfish, perch.

The first .22 LR rifle I bought was at the General Store in Wainfleet at Winger Road. They had a few .22s, a few shorguns, ammo, etc. No moreof that stuff down here.

One of our best fishing experiences as a young'n was in the pre HWY 400 days when we went up the Hwy 11 and sidetracked a bit pulling up next to a small river with my brothers and my father. Being kids and having fishing tackle, our rods were in the water lickedy split. Before we were dragged away to continue our northward trek we had caught bass, perch, pike , and a small muskie and one old timer we met told us the pickerel (called it back then and now) were thick as fleas on a hound in the spring.

But I do think there are better fishing opportunites now compared to the old days especially with the introduction of salmon and trout. You can walk Lake Erie beaches without getting blackfoot and gagging from the smell. Certain hunting is better.....lots of deer and turkeys. There is the loss of habitat and huntable land along with the antis. Gone are the days of pheasants crowing in the back field or the flush of grouse in the nearby bush. Not a lot of jackrabbits unless you know where to look.

I don't really "miss" the good old days, although there are a lot of fond memories. I do miss the simplicity (for lack of a better word) of purpose and reasons for doing hunting and fishing. Of course you would do it because you liked it but a main reason was to put food on the table. It was a mark of prestige to be a good provider. Many of the people the never worried about the size of the horns or the weight of the fish. It was good for the occasional brag but it mattered more if you had enough for supper.

[captnn]

I really don't miss the good old days but like to reminisce every so often. That was yesterday. All we have is to day and here is to a better to morrow.

[deetch]

My memories of fishing in Lake Ontario was launching at Campbells Marine (good ole Donny Campbell) hoping the water level

was low enough to make it under the bridge, remembering to put the aerial for the CB down and hoping you don't catch a wave that will

bounce you up and break your windshield. Trolling west behind the waterslide and the old canning factory flat lining with J9's, and catching