Upstate NY, fished Lake Ontario and Lake Oneida as well as many little rivers in between them with my dad. We did the thousand islands area every summer too. Could walk to the Little Salmon river from the house. A long time ago.

Hohwaiian:

How about the quarry pond at UH Manoa fishing for tilapia... that was my hangout during med school. Best substitute for Alaska salmon that I could muster on zero income at the time.
:p

I was born in the Bay Area and moved to Washington in '69.. However, I still have vivid memories of catching trout on the Klamath and Trinity- that started it all...

My Uncle introdiced me to steelhead at the age of 11. My first came from the Toutle in 1976. Not a weekend went by without hitting the Kalama, Cow or Toutle!

My folks bought a 21' Bayliner in the mid 70's and grandpa, who was a ol' timer that hung out at the boathouse, intorduced me to meatlining with a plug.

By the time I was 13, I had my first boat earned with paper route money- a 10'r with a Johnson 6hp at the PD boathouse. When I reached driving age, I was lucky to be in school!

That was 26 years ago! I still have a passion for salmon and spend roughly 90-150 days on the water every year!

Grew up on the "Rock" and lived a stones throw from the Winslow ferry dock. As a kid I fished for pile perch off the local docks using the little dacron hand line fishing kits you could buy at Vern's Drug for .50 back in the 50's & 60's. Maybe some of you remember the thick green dacron (150# test?) on a square yellow plastic holder that would fit in your back pocket with your slingshot and pocket knife? Didn't take long before I was commandeering dingy's off the beach and fishing for flounder, dogfish and rat fish with my buddies using the same hand lines tipped with bacon. Our hand-line adventures continued as we ventured further afield to places like Restoration & Port Blakely for rockfish & ling cod, always looking forward to the incredible annual true cod migration near Agate Pass where the entire town of Poulsbo turned out enmass with their hand lines too. But before I moved off the "Rock" I had cobbled together a few salmon "poles" and gained access to a wobbly 12 ft Sears Gamefisher with a Evinrude Fisherman. If you would have asked me then and I would have told you that no salmon from Jeff Head to Blake Island was safe in those days. But big salmon lies aside, I will still cherish most the countless days and hours of CNR fly fishing for fiesty cuttthroat off our dock on Agate Point; just me and my dog. Only she wanted to fish as much as I did as a kid.
It wasn't till later that I ran into other wackos like myself and many folks on this board.

Great topic! Call me the urban fisherman. Grew up and raised in Seattle, but, learned how to fish for shiners on the piers around 4, then went to work on my uncles' farm in Auburn at age 9 and he would take me down on the Green and fished for trout! Not steelies, but, trout in the 60's on the Green. Use to be many access until the the trash and vandalism got bad so farmers along the Green stopped that. Then learned salmon fishing at Pt. Defiance for blackmouth only. Didn't start on Kings after a few yrs. then figured out fishing is just as good in Elliot bay too! Now I'm a nomad fishing on the Columbia to the O.P.
Yet I'm only 5 mins. to Armeni or 5mins. to Stan Sayers.....go figure.

Robert

KK,

Thanks very much for the post identifying the Catalpa Tree. Your quote is the only place I've ever seen Catalpa Worms/Trees mentioned and my experience with the worms as bait confirmed.

Thanks again!

Well, let's see. Growing up in Weed, California my grandparents were avid trout fishermen, so we grew up fishing NorCal lakes such as Lake Shastina, Lake Siskiyou, Castle Lake, Gunboot Lake and Juanita Lake. Fished a couple times for crappie down south at Black Butte Lake. Fished the OR coast at Brookings in summers for salmon, and Sunset Bay. In the Air Force fished little lakes on base at Beale AFB in Marysville, CA. Base had 8 lakes, nice bass. Great memories.

growing up. grown up in Bellingham I fish fish the north sound rivers and streams.

I grew up on Lake Ballinger in the 70's & 80's. Caught lots of trout, perch, catfish, crayfish, fresh water clams etc. Funny thing is while fishing that lake for 14 years I never caught a bass! Used to walk right outside my bed room onto the dock & catch 16-19inch trout all the time. Used to play "Hobbit" on the island & sneak out at night to wander all the way around the lake thru everybody's yards & the Nile Country Club & Lake Ballinger Golf Course.
I remember the first time we witnessed a flock of Canada Geese fly in for the winter! We were delighted & noted the day! 10 years later we hated the things- they never left.

I grew up in Waddel Creek S. of Oly; also the millpond and rock quary in 10-9-0 before that.

I started fishing in the 6th grade (not for girls that was to easy) in Federal Way at twin lakes.
Then moved by Saltwater state park where I really got hooked into fishing and we use to go all the time to the HOKO river camping at Kadaka point, think I spelled that right. Then we moved to Renton ( we moved alot) and I would ride my 1970 honda CT70 to the cedar river and have been hooked on rivers ever since and of course still like the lakes. I just can't quit.

the ala wai for tilaps ....and wilson res...nuuanu for catfish.....but o'io on da north shore is no ka bes....

West Seattle, sat. trips to the Cedar River up by the dam (Landsburg?). My dad was a spinner fisherman, liked to drift the colorado spinner for trout and the odd steelhead. We fished in the late spring and summer. This was 1965-1973 for us two, lots of fun......

I tried to read every post to this thread. Seems to me most everyone here had a Mentor, be it their father or a good buddy who had the opportunity of a benefactor who knew a thing or two about fishing. Point of the message is: take that kid down the street who may not have a father who fishes. This day and age, he or she may not have one at all. T ake a kid fishing; I gurantee, you will not regret it.

Best regards to the board,
Santiago

the ala wai for tilaps ....and wilson res...nuuanu for catfish.....but o'io on da north shore is no ka bes....

AK

Allow me to translate haole style:

Ala Wai is a navigable channel in Honolulu where you can catch a cichlid called a tilapia (tropical version of a crappie).

Nu'uanu is a stream flowing thru Honolulu and Lake Wilson is a reservoir where you can catch catfish.

The North Shore of Oahu is a very good place to catch bonefish.

Better?

before posting.