# A flop and a challenge. It was worth it.



## richg99 (Jun 16, 2018)

Yesterday, I was committed to taking a golfing friend and his grandson out. It seems that last year when his then 9-year-old grandson came to visit, they couldn't buy a bite off of our free, designated, fishing pier. The pier isn't really set up for catching as there is little structure near the end, where all the fishing must be pursued.

I thought that with some small red worms, some small hooks, and a light bobber that we could catch a dozen bream/bluegills. Much to my dismay, we watched the bluegills swim right by our worms. I went and bought another package of what appeared to be really fresh wriggly worms, and we still couldn't buy a bite. I was using 4 lb test line and a #8 hook. I was threading just a portion of the worm on the hook, as I learned 70 years ago. Nothing worked. 

After nearly an hour, we moved to another spot where I knew plenty of bream and even some catfish hung out. The youngster finally caught a couple of tiny bluegills. 

There were three 20/25 inch catfish swimming around. I had purchased some Stink Bait at Walmart and cast that in the area. But, the stink bait fell off of the hook about as fast as it hit the water. So, no real shot at the catfish.

He was feeling the heat and wanted to head back in. I suspect that, if we had him on fish for an hour or so, the sun wouldn't have bothered him very much at all.

What I learned from this venture was to be far better prepared than I was. I thought catching those bream would be like falling off of a log. It wasn't. 

I went back to the same spot this morning, at just about the same time. I did mess around with the catfish bait and added some tiny portions of rope to give it more body. Sure enough, ten minutes and one cast later, I had a nice 24-inch cat in the boat. But, my friend and his grandson were long gone. Never again will I not pay more attention to the challenge at hand. 

It is fishing, not catching, every day! 

rich


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## handyandy (Jul 3, 2018)

Ha sounds like your luck is like mine I'll do well and then try to take someone else newer to fishing and then that day sucks. Kind of like a trip to louisiana I took last year memorial day weekend 2017. The year before memorial day weekend 2016 buddy and I completely winged a trip down to louisiana to pick up a boat hull he had made down there. We spent two days putting the engine and basic rigging/wiring the boat then spent two days fishing. Needless to say we slept in the truck since we didn't make any reservations anywhere just winged it we said we will get the boat get the basics rigged and see what fishing we can get into and where. Well needless to say that 2016 trip weather was good hot but good conditions very little rain, wind wasn't bad, and we were able to take his boat all the way out to some oil rigs and catch a lot of big reds. We caught some big ones over 40" that gave the tackle we had a run for it's money each time. It was great outside of sleeping like crap, and being hot, and dirty. 

So after that we decided we would go back next year exclusively to fish and actually plan the trip bringing camping gear, food, more tackle, you know actually be prepared. We made reservations to camp at grand isle this time I brought my fiance at the time now wife and buddy from work. Who both fish with me, but aren't nearly as avid anglers as me or my buddy I did the first trip with. Needless to say despite actually trying to put together a well thought out trip mother nature had other plans. Every night mother nature stormed her arse off, water was horribly muddy, gulf was way to wavy to get out to rigs in our boat so we had to stay in shore. Which sucked with the water conditions, winds, and rain every night. We didn't catch much considering we fished pretty hard for three days, that and on the way down truck blew a tire and the boat trailer. Needless to say I have a hard time talking my wife or friend back into a trip to that region despite it offering some of the best speck trout and redfish to be had. At one point one of the nights the wind and rain blew so hard it blew over a side of the tent my wife and I were in. If someone had been watching they would have got a laugh at me out there in my under wear in a storm re staking the tent. Needless to say since then that tent has some heavier duty stakes that are kept with it.


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## richg99 (Jul 3, 2018)

Good (well, not really for you) story. I'll bet most of us on this site have had some disaster type trips. Taking your fiance sounds like a test. Glad she passed, even though.... the fishing part and .... the sleeping part...and the tent part...and the weather part...all didn't turn out so well. Ha Ha.

Now, you can tell her about an old codger ( me) who took his newlywed wife onto a night kingfish boat off of West Palm Beach Florida on the *honeymoon. 
*
Somehow the bride-groom (me) forgot that she got car sick, let alone drifting in the Atlantic at night. She was hung over the side and she didn't understand why the boat captain wouldn't take us back in. Just because there were 40 or 50 other people on that head boat..." they would understand!" 

Everyone on the boat caught a kingfish that night, except for my wife; me; and the poor guy who was downwind of her chumming exhibition. She didn't get on any boat with me for 25 or more years, and that boat was a 2000 person cruise ship!

regards, rich


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## DaleH (Jul 3, 2018)

richg99 said:


> The pier isn't really set up for catching as there is little structure near the end, where all the fishing must be pursued.


Is there any change to submerge some debris, e.g., cinder blocks, big rocks, or an old scrap grocery store cart, at a _designated spot/locale_ off the end of the fishing pier, to improve the structure and enhance _fishability_?


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## richg99 (Jul 3, 2018)

Dale...I don't think that the quote you have above came from *this* thread...but....some skids have been placed at the ends of the piers already. 

It is actually out of my hands...but...I will suggest that we put MORE skids/debris down there. 

Unfortunately, any such placement has to go through a number of committees to get approval before anything like that gets accomplished here. It is a great community and the powers that be take great care in seeing that things look, and work, great. But, like any bureaucracy, things move slowly.

Good idea. rich


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## handyandy (Jul 3, 2018)

maybe some night operations are in order :LOL2: My wife has been put to the test a number a times and has always done well. She handles waves pretty well she was navy for 9 years before we met. That was a big plus for me being Army she knows how it is to have to leave for extended periods. She gets a little sea sick when I proposed to her it was on a cruise in the galapagos last summer my Mom graciously took us on as it had been her dream trip she was wanting to do before she is too old to enjoy a lot of it. Anyways it was pretty tippy on the smaller cruise ship we were on and she did well got a little green at the gills at rougher times, but she did well. Also did well when we made our LA trip and tried to get out to the rigs in rougher seas. Our honey moon won't involve any high seas being that we are going out to yellowstone and parts of montana


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## richg99 (Jul 3, 2018)

If you wander near Thermopolis, WY, check out the Hot Baths. They were a fun part of our trip to Yellowstone about 25/30 years ago.


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## handyandy (Jul 5, 2018)

Rich thanks for the tip we will be going through there and I went through that town a couple years ago on a trip I made there with my mom, sis, and niece didn't know about those we just passed through.


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## richg99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Way back when we did it, probably 1980s, the town or county owned the baths. Inexpensive, clean and an interesting experience. 

You get into a 100-degree pool for a while, then sit on a tile wall, and fall off into the 90-degree pool. 

Felt like it was ice water!

Great experience.


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## handyandy (Jul 5, 2018)

sounds much like jumping from a hot tub to a regular pool I'll have to look into them hopefully they're still around and nice.


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## richg99 (Jul 5, 2018)

Still there and even more to do than we knew...

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60564-d107631-Reviews-Hot_Springs_State_Park-Thermopolis_Wyoming.html


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## handyandy (Jul 10, 2018)

rich you just added another thing we want to do on the trip. I really want to move out that way


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