[ChrisPlatt]

I used to go fishing regularly. Mostly it was for fluke and flounder on Long Islands Great South Bay
with a friend who was first mate on a party boat out of Captree State Park, or with my brother on his boat.

I also had an 11-foot aluminum rowboat on a 525-acre reservoir in Putnam County, about 70 miles north of the city.
Pretty good fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, and plenty of sunnies. No motors are allowed.
Since it is part of the NYC water supply boats must be registered, inspected and remain there year-round.
One spring I got a call from a DEC officer. My boat had been crushed - practically cut in half - by a falling tree.

Marriage, a child, working long and odd hours, totaled boats, moves, limited space for gear etc.
have resulted in little fishing in recent years. I recently sold my old made-in-USA Penn spinning reels.

Chris

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Last edited by ChrisPlatt; 11-12-2018 at 05:05 PM.

[lesmore49]

I used to go fishing regularly. Mostly it was for fluke and flounder on Long Islands Great South Bay
with a friend who was first mate on a party boat out of Captree State Park, or with my brother on his boat.

I also had an 11 foot aluminum rowboat on a NYC reservoir in Putnam County, about 70 miles north of the city.
Pretty good fishing for largemouth and smallmouth bass, and plenty of sunnies. No motors are allowed.
Since it is part of the NYC water supply boats must be registered, inspected and remain there year-round.
One spring I got a call from a DEC officer. My boat had been crushed - practically cut in half - by a falling tree.

Marriage, a child, working long and odd hours, totaled boats, moves, limited space for gear etc.
has resulted in little fishing in recent years. I recently sold my old made-in-USA Penn spinning reels.

Chris

Nice story, takes me back to my fishing days.

I used to fly fish a lot with wet flies, not the dry surface flies. Not so much for trout as their are few in my area of the province, mostly for Northern Pike, Walleye, Yellow Perch. I don't fly fish much anymore ...older, etc...but I still have my fly rod and my English made Hardy fly reel. I used to use Saltwater Barracuda wet flies that are red and white...sort of like the old Red Devil spoon...pike love these colours.

We still have our Old Town Freighter canoe, with it's little 4 hp Evinrude twin outboard.

[ChrisPlatt]

I forgot to mention my rowboat was a Grumman aluminum model.
If I had bought it through Grumman - my employer at the time - it would have
cost me significantly more than from the local dealer from whom I purchased it.

I never owned one of the fabled Grumman aluminum canoes, but when my brother moved back to Long Island
from Louisiana he gave me one of his two K-Mart fiberglass canoes. The model name was "Yankee Rebel"...

Chris

[rml63]

There was another thread on this subject, started later than this one, which I did post to but without "documentation"

so here's a contemporary image of yours truly engaged in my first love - 50 years after giving up on the accordion:

My other hobby is woodworking and here is a pic of my baby a Felder CF741P

Mike

Attached Images

 

[Just1MoreDave]

I forgot to mention my rowboat was a Grumman aluminum model.
If I had bought it through Grumman - my employer at the time - it would have
cost me significantly more than from the local dealer from whom I purchased it.

I never owned one of the fabled Grumman aluminum canoes, but when my brother moved back to Long Island
from Louisiana he gave me one of his two K-Mart fiberglass canoes. The model name was "Yankee Rebel"...

Chris

The Grumman aluminum canoe way outsold the wood canvas canoes by the fifties, turning the wood ones into specialty items. My dad always referred to them as beer cans, which may have colored my perspective. I know this canoe is much quieter, and still floats when it's entirely full of water.

We used to camp a lot on the Great Sacandaga Lake. If you've ever seen pictures by @reeftool of motorcycle races on ice, I've paddled this canoe in the same spot, just a different time of year.

[ChrisPlatt]

The Grumman aluminum canoe way outsold the wood canvas canoes by the fifties, turning the wood ones into specialty items. My dad always referred to them as beer cans, which may have colored my perspective. I know this canoe is much quieter, and still floats when it's entirely full of water.

You could always hear the Grumman aluminum canoes coming. They were anything but stealthy.
Outfitters liked them for rentals. Even in the hands of drunken novices they were practically indestructible.

The fiberglass K-Mart special I had was sort of a hybrid. It was very wide in the middle and so stable for fishing. Pretty quiet too.

Chris

[reeftool]

The Grumman aluminum canoe way outsold the wood canvas canoes by the fifties, turning the wood ones into specialty items. My dad always referred to them as beer cans, which may have colored my perspective. I know this canoe is much quieter, and still floats when it's entirely full of water.

We used to camp a lot on the Great Sacandaga Lake. If you've ever seen pictures by @reeftool of motorcycle races on ice, I've paddled this canoe in the same spot, just a different time of year.

I still paddle the Sacandaga from time to time although I prefer the smaller lakes just to avoid the motorboats and jet skis.

My father in law had an aluminum Grumman canoe and I think it's still in the family. He owned a campground on a lake south of Kingston the Catskills and I used it when we would visit in the summer. He also had a sail kit mounted on it which worked quite well. My fishing these days is on a Feel Free 11.5 Lure fishing kayak. It has a wide beam and is stable enough to stand and fly fish on it.

[Nakedgun]

Delivered day after New Year's, this 4.7-inch refractor is the largest I will be using for another hobby - visual astronomy. Previously, I owned five and six-inch refractors but they proved too cumbersome and lack of use resulted in their sale. At 14lbs. suited up, this one will work easily with my current mounts.

[Kobie]

My hobbies are music production, automotive mechanics/customization and extreme mountain biking (Stock Trials).

[ChrisPlatt]

Not sure if I'll find time to go fishing, but I decided it was time to buy some light freshwater spinning gear
to replace some of what I used in another life and have since given away or otherwise disposed of.

Tackle choices certainly have changed since I last bought any 25+ years ago.
There are no dealers with a good selection nearby anymore.
In my experience rods, reels and even tackle boxes are something you really must see and handle before buying.
Choosing the right gear online or from a catalog sight unseen can be quite difficult.

If I live long enough and can afford to retire maybe this stuff will get some use...

Chris

[lesmore49]

Not sure if I'll find time to go fishing, but I decided it was time to buy some light freshwater spinning gear
to replace some of what I used in another life and have since given away or otherwise disposed of.

Tackle choices certainly have changed since I last bought any 25+ years ago.
There are no dealers with a good selection nearby anymore.
In my experience rods, reels and even tackle boxes are something you really must see and handle before buying.
Choosing the right gear online or from a catalog sight unseen can be quite difficult.

If I live long enough and can afford to retire maybe this stuff will get some use...

Chris

I haven't bought any fishing tackle for the past 15-20 years. Last stuff I got, I recall were two reels...a Hardie fly fishing reel and an Abu Garcia bait caster. The Hardie is set up for Northern Pike, the Abu Garcia for Channel Catfish. I haven't fished for the past 5 years or so, my casting arm ain't what it used to be...age related.

I used to enjoy tying wet flies...large ones for pike. I had my tying table, with a variety of supplies. I found tying flies very relaxing after a long day at work and after the family went to bed. It was a good focus for my somewhat limited creative skills.

I was able to get my stuff...see it, handle it first at a local tackle shop. They had a guy who was a very accomplished fly fisherman and he would stock some wonderful British (fly fishing) and American (Bait caster/ spinning) equipment.

Back in the 1990's I bought a small 35mm Olympus Clamshell camera . Think the fixed lens was a moderate wide angle Zuiko. I carried it on my outdoor adventures to record my catch of the day, etc...so I considered it as part of my fishing tackle.

[timb64]

The vast majority of my scuba dives to date have been in warm water. On a recent ski trip I had the opportunity to try an ice dive!

[grhazelton]

Other than photography, I enjoy cooking, reading, hiking and occasionally tent camping. I used to do most of our auto maintenance, but as I age and cars get harder to work on the idea of lying under a car beating on a rusty exhaust system fills me with revulsion....

[Racer X 69]

I used to do most of our auto maintenance, but as I age and cars get harder to work on the idea of lying under a car beating on a rusty exhaust system fills me with revulsion....

That’s why I got a lift.

Pick the car up and walk under it.

[Perfessor5646]

I’m 68 and a half years old. I’ve played guitar and bass in working bands off and on since 1969 but not since 2000. People ask how long have I been playing guitar and I say fifty years but not in a row. I still have 7 electric guitars and basses but no desire to haul that gear out of the house to a gig.

Around 2006, in my mid-fifties, I took up competitive hand gunning in a local league but haven’t competed since 2013 when I realized I was as good as I was gonna get for my age and what I was willing to spend. Most of the instruments of that hobby have been deacquistioned to fund my return to photography in the last couple years.

I have been a war gamer since 1964. In fact, my sole internet presence, until I joined here, is on boardgamegeek.com. I’ve been a member there since 3/4/2004.

Based on the TEM factor and pure enjoyment, photography is top hobby, gaming is second, especially since my eldest son (40) has gotten into it and buys most of the games. I just play what he has. I’m still a living room picker/plucker so music is third and punching holes in paper targets is at the bottom. I went to the local state of the art indoor range last Mother’s Day with 4 handguns, I dropped nearly $100 on range time and ammunition with nothing to show for it.