minimalist fishing

[single action]

have any of you tried what some people call minimalist fishing or (stupid term) survival fishing? What it is is the way we used to fish when we were kids,before we "grew up" and could afford ( or not) Bass boats, trolling motors, depth finders, $100.00 rods ect.
When I was a kid, my family was poor and we didn't have the money for such things, but we could pick up refundable bottles off the road or haul hay for extra money and we could buy a roll of line, some hooks and if we were feeling rich some split shot. We could cut a pole off the bank, dig some worms or roll over some logs or rocks for some grubs and we were set. We had a blast!
As I have gotten older, I have grown discouraged with what fishing has become..... a big business. I get tired of seeing signs for bass tournaments, crappie tournaments, trout tournaments etc, and I am sick of seeing some guy on tv telling me its dang near impossible to catch a bluegill or a bass without at least $100,000 worth of equipment. it actually got to the point where fishing wasn't that much fun anymore, it got to be kind of a chore, getting all the proper gear together for the type fishing we were going do, hauling the boat ect. I actually quit fishing for a while, it just wasnt that much fun anymore, it was almost work, and anybody who knows me can tell you i dont want any part of that!
Well,  one day I was with my wife at the local china mart, and to kill some time I decided to check out the sporting goods department.  In the clearance rack they had some collapsible graphite "cane" poles  for $5.00 each. I suddenly had a overwhelming moment of nostalgia and bought 2 of them. I have not regretted the purchase since. I rigged them out, grabbed a few jigs and a can to put worms in and off I went! I was 8 years old again and fishing is FUN!!! My wife and sons think I'm nuts, ( you would think they would be used to this after my single shot .22, .12ga, .410 rifle and muzzleoader phase) And I get some really strange looks from tourists floating the local rivers when I'm standing waist deep (weraing overalls of course, gotta live up to the ozarks stereotype!)  fishing with my cane pole. But it is a blast! Give it a try and remember when you went fishing for the fun and relaxation and not the trophies.

[Cheesehead]

I remember when we fished with real cane poles and worms we dug. The local sporting goods store had a barrel full of them outside the store and they were never stolen.  I also bought some of the fiber glass extendable ones recently. We fished off my wifes grandmother dock for crappies. I called my father and asked how much line to put on since I could not remember. He asked how long the pole was, I said 16 feet, he said 16 feet of line would work best, I felt kinda foolish for trying to over think it,lol. Its a fun low tech way to fish. When we were kids and ran out of worms, cut bait was used, dismembered parts of the fish we caught. Good times.

Cheese

[GRIMJIM]

I go down to lake of egypt once in a while and that's all the old timers use down there. You can get right into a pile of stumps and they haul some nice crappies out of there.

[Beers]

I posted my feelings on this subject a while ago in another thread about red hooks:

I fish for channel cats, smallmouth, largemouth, blugill and crappie.
I use the same rod&reel, same hooks, same bait for all of the above. I use different rigs, fish in muddy water and clear.
In ponds, lakes, creeks and rivers... morning, afternoon and night. (I love summer.  )

I think the vast majority of fishing equipment is better at catching fisherman than fish.
All of the fishing equipment I currently own cost me less than $50.
I generally catch more fish per outing than anyone I know, and have had several tell me they wish they could catch fish like I do.
Rod, reel, line, hooks,sinkers (depending) and nightcrawlers.... That's all.
I don't even own a tackle box. Not counting food and drink, everything I need to fish all day will fit in my pockets.

Although I mostly use lightweight spinning tackle, a cane pole is hard to beat for pure fun... those bluegills feel like monsers on the end of that 15" piece o' cane!

[deernhog]

When wading with the long poles in thick cover shorten the line to 6 'with a 14  to 18 ft pole. Dab around stumps or standing timber,when you catch one of those 2# crappie raise him to the top or just out and walk the pole back until you can get the line. We found that a lot easier than dealing with 16" of line in the brush or over hanging limbs.

[corbanzo]

When I was a kid, I remember going to a boy scout camp down in new mexico.  We were hiking for 12 days or so I think, and didn't bring any fishing gear.  One of our camps was by a stream, and I couldnt help my self.  So I got out some dental floss, a safety pin, and caught some moths.  Worked great!!  I ended up catch a few fish on that setup....  Who needs expensive gear?

[Moss88hunter]

Single, I have an extend-able pole similar to what you were talking about that my grandpa gave me. I have tried fishing with it but have always had the line slip out and it is almost impossible to thread line into it in the field. I have bought some lures but have never had much luck fishing with them. I haven't found anything that will beat crawdads or mealworms!

Evan

[pab1]

One fish that always stood out in my memory was about as minimalist as it gets (for me). When I was about 10 years old my dad and I did a day hike to a lake in NW Montana. We had not brought along any fishing gear, but while eating lunch by the outlet stream, I found a snelled hook on the ground. I wrapped  a small piece of aluminum foil from our lunch onto the line and attached the loop end to a short stick. I crept up to the stream and had a 10" rainbow within a few seconds.

[Cookiemann]

This is the kind of fishing I like.  I caught more fish, out of the boat, with my 10' fiberglass pole than any other setup this summer.  It's simple and effective.  I also have a 12 and 13 foot fiberglass pole.  All three are collapsable.  Only problem I have, is that the line sometimes gets a big bow in it from where its tied on the handle end and the eye on the end of the pole.  You don't have that problem with cane poles as you are able to tie it to the pole below one of the cane joints, so it doesn't hang down.  Anyone got a cure for this when you're using the collapsable poles.

Out fished my grandson a couple weeks ago, with my 12 footer.  He didn't like that much, but I had fun.  Since he pretty much out fished me most of the summer.

Hooked but didn't land a 22" northern on my 10 footer this summer...he straightened the hook on my jig before we could get a net under him...was a TON of fun.

cookiemann

[deernhog]

A  couple of rubber bands up the pole or keep a roll of electrical tape in the tackle box to do the same.

[Swampman]

An excellent topic.

[Cookiemann]

Check out this link, I think this may be what I have been looking for.

http://www.bnmpoles.com/c-3-new-products-2009.aspx

cookiemann

[Duane]

Dont know much about minimalist fishing but spend many a day watching big bay boats come in empty handed at the landing only to idle up in my 14 foot jon boat 15hp outboard with Redfish and catfish and flounder .Man I get some pretty good stares I use no fish finder unless my 6 foot paddle could be considered.My grandfather used to say people will pass up good water to fish bad water all the time.Here in South Louisiana you can fish brackish water and catch flounde ,redfish and Blue catfish all in the same day.I fish protected canals along the ICW .I use a cast net to catch my bait mullet and shad and shrimp .

[squirrellluck]

We use telescopic fiberglass poles almost every time we go out. Usually looking for hand sized bluegill(bream) to bait our set hooks on Blacklake or Darboune creek. Can't beat em for fishing brush or lily pads