Hat's off to Mr. Bluegill

[mch]

I wanted to just say the without old mr bluegill I would have never started fishing. My grandfather took me fishing for them when I was 3 & I loved it ever since. I don't have any kids of my own yet but my girlfriend has a three year old daughter & I plan on taking her out this spring & I cant wait to see the look on her face when that bobber goes under.

Anybody else get started this way?

[BayRat]

Yup, at the Paint Works lake with my dad who hated fishing.

[Makojoe0317]

My dad took me fishing when I was about 4 with a snoopy rod to Crum Creek. I caught a few sunny's and that is how it all started.

[outlaw]

First time fishing was with my Grandpop too. I was about 7 years old. Took me to the stream side of Willow Grove Lake. Remember as we walked up the side of Weymouth Rd. to the bridge a big truck went flying by and blew off Grandpops fishing hat and landed in the stream. I tried to run to get it and he just about had a heart attack yelling at me to stop. We watched it float downstream. I was sad for him, it was his favorite fishing hat. That was 46 years ago, seems like yesterday. smile.gif

[Fly Ty R]

Catching sunnies on a safety pin with bread, a stick, and some kite string in Birch Grove. That's how I got started!

[Loop Job]

Great topic,

Lake Hauto, 6 years old push button Zebco, bobber and hotdog for bait. Walkin' down to the dock before Mom and Dad even wake up. Smellin the morning air, and catching hundreds of sunnies and bluegills. Every once in a while a small catfish would take down the bobber. I'll never forget those days and my Dad for getting me started.

Paul

[ 02-14-2005, 11:33 AM: Message edited by: Loop Job ]

[rustyreel]

Announced to my kids that I was gonna celebrate my 70th birthday by swimming @ fishing in a lake at my old homestead in Hammonton NJ which is now owned by another business @ is now "off limits."I've been swimmin' there since I was a kid of 8, and nobody was gonna stop me even if it meant goin' to court. Unknown to me, the kids gathered to watch the event, even bringing picnic lunches. What a great day!! Later while fishing, I had a large sunfish on the line, and asked a lady who was there with a little 4yr old girl if she had ever caught a fish. She replied that her little girl never even held a fishing pole in her life. I have a picture of her catching her first fish that I will Cherish forever.

[Jerseyjoe]

Bluegills and carp. They are two fish that I started catching in Pitman when I was a kid. We would take a hook with no weights and hide it in a peice of bread. The carp would come to the surface and suck the bread in.

[reelinron]

Dad took me bluegill fishing at west chester reservoir when I wa still in diapers. In the fall we caught em by the hundreds. Mealworms!

[stonefly]

I still routinely take trips to certain "nameless" lakes and spillways to catch bluegill on the fly rod. It is my mission to catch the state record, or at least a citation sized gilly this year. I'm only 23 now, and if it wasnt for bluegill and chain pickerel, I'd go absolutely nuts throughout the winter.

[CastawayRay]

sunnies at munn lake, right on the township line between haddonfield and cherry hill. tho carp and catties were the usual fare there ...

a GREAT sunny lake (as if there is a lake in south jersey that doesnt have a decent sunny population, lol) is at a development called Barton Run, down 70 to north elmwood, make a right, then a left at the next light and go down to Barton Run, about a mile or two, and hang a right ... youll see a bridge, and the lake runs along that road you made the right onto, in the back side of the bridge is a bass lake filled with hawgs, but also logs, so id stuck with sunnies rather than lose rigs

but now and then, well, ya gotta throw a few to Mr Bass ...

fun lake, my favorite for sunnies

[Clamboni]

Ray, my first fishing experiences were at Munn lake too. My dad grew up in Cherry Hill and used to fish there. We would go there and catch carp. I remember him telling me stories of carp he'd caught that were bigger than me. Then, I mean, not now. But I do have to say that without bluegills, I may not have become as into fishing as I am now. I remember riding my bike to the lake near my house every single day in the summer and spending all day there and getting in trouble cause it was after dark when I got home. Didn't have close to the knowledge then that I have now, so many days were spent catching bluegills after giving up on the bass. I don't know if I would have wanted to still go there every day if I didn't have them to fall back on. And they're such a great way to get a child interested in fishing. You can just go out and catch them all day most times, and that's the way to get someone's interest. They will have fun all day and you usually won't have to worry about them not wanting to go again if they've caught a lot of fish before. Stating the obvious I know, but a lot of people seem to forget.

[ClifR]

Originally posted by CastawayRay:
sunnies at munn lake, right on the township line between haddonfield and cherry hill. tho carp and catties were the usual fare there ...

a GREAT sunny lake (as if there is a lake in south jersey that doesnt have a decent sunny population, lol) is at a development called Barton Run, down 70 to north elmwood, make a right, then a left at the next light and go down to Barton Run, about a mile or two, and hang a right ... youll see a bridge, and the lake runs along that road you made the right onto, in the back side of the bridge is a bass lake filled with hawgs, but also logs, so id stuck with sunnies rather than lose rigs

but now and then, well, ya gotta throw a few to Mr Bass ...

fun lake, my favorite for sunnies I'll have to try out Munn. As for the Barton Run lake, if ya want to get the bass out of there, try a texas rigged worm with a light bullet weight. Down south, that rig stayed on my line about 90% of the time. The other 10 was a crankbait.

[dude33]

got my 2 daughters on sunnies at an early age. my 2 grandsons got hooked on fishin for em too. got a picture of andy catchin his very first fish a 3 inch sunny shoutin pop pop i got a big one. later after sunnies, he hooked into a 4 pound bass, his big brother had to use the landing net to lift it over the railing. really makes your day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dante413]

Bought my son a fly rod for Christmas. He's ready to bag some sunnies!

[drunkenfisher]

hey jersey joe, i think i know you. you still got gunner?