Old Timers - Who Has 'Em?

[Zoob]

When I was a kid, I went ice-fishing with an old-timer all the time, a neighbor's grandpa down the way (our neighbor was about half-a-mile away). Really grizzly old bear.

I'm meeting quite a few colorful old-timers out on the lake, also. Bringing back plenty memories of the early years.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I ice fished with my grand father a lot growing up. He passed away a few years back now.. Really miss him. I was able to take him out in my boat a few weeks before he passed away as his health was going down. Its one of the things I will cherrish forever.

But ole Gramps taught me a ton!!!

[harvey lee]

Yes, I spent many days fishing with Gramps from shore and in a boat.

One never forgets those days.

[hydro]

When I was in my 20’s, I had a neighbor who always seemed to be out on the ice, standing there in the cold and wind. His name was Ellis and he had emigrated here early on from Sweden. He and his wife had retired to “the lake” and at the time I met him he must have been in his late 60’s and was the archetypical “old timer”. He spent much of his time out fishing, and we all assumed it was to get some peace and quiet (his wife talked non stop).

Ellis still had the old time cotton and wool clothes, leather boots, and equipment, and the first few years he did not have a house, and just stood there regardless of the temperature. He was very tough. He had no auger, and would chop the hole with a chisel all winter long. His tackle was a bucket, a stick with a couple of dowels to store the line, a hook and usually some minnows. Once in a while he fished a jigging Rapala with the same stick. I very seldom saw him catch anything but he was always interesting to talk to with his thick Swedish accent.

[fishwater]

I grew up out in the middle of nowhere, 17 miles to the nearest paved road. Anyhow, when I was a young kid an old timer had a cabin down the road from our house - he paid me to cut the grass and help with his dock and stuff. Pretty cool guy, used to work on the railroads and had all kinds of stories a kid shouldn't hear. We never got out fishing much, but during deer season I used to drop by all the time and shoot the breeze. The stuff I learned from him was priceless, thinking about some of his stories still makes my ears burn...

[Trish]

Does anyone know of a medium size, heated fish house I can rent to take my husband fishing on Valentines day in Wright County? Our kids will probably be with so there will be 5 of us and we need someone that can set it up so we can just drive there and fish.

[LCFB23]

I'm one of those lucky outdoorsman who have been able to share the time with a grandfather. Gramps is 81 and we're taking him with us up north this year, still no greater joy then netting a fish for him and baiting and taking fish off for him. I feel pretty fortunate to share that time with him.

[olbaidhh]

Does anyone know of a medium size, heated fish house I can rent to take my husband fishing on Valentines day in Wright County? Our kids will probably be with so there will be 5 of us and we need someone that can set it up so we can just drive there and fish.

Trish

I may have something available. How long are you looking to stay?

Do you have your own poles?

Its a 7x14 with 6 holes. Its in anoka \ ramsey border though.

[Johnnie15]

Grandpa taught me most everything I know about Ice fishing. I remember being afraid of him out fishing when I was really young because he would yell at us kids for making too much noise in and around his house. Looking back on it though, as soon as I was old enough to sit still for a few hours he let me fish in his house and it was pretty clear by the numbers and size of the fish that we caught over the years that he knew what he was talking about. I used to spend my entire Christmas break in that tiny smoke filled 6 x 8 house with Grandpa, and I'm sure that the war stories, jokes, life lessons, and fish caught have gone a long way in making me the person I am today.

[Surface Tension]

Lots of good memories fishing with some dear old timers that are now gone. I take my dad out on the traditional opener/camping trip.

I like going fishing with "Father Time" Harvey Lee too.

Yes a lot of good memories. That is why it is so important to bring young ones along and make new memories.

[hamms-scooter]

There is a old timer that has a cab from dennis kirk mounted on his honda 300 4x4.He has his plow on there and his auger mounted on a box that is on the back rack and down behind the rack. He is a cool guy and does everything with his mighty old 300 on the lake.Saw him pull a guys perm out with it earlier this yr.Looks like a tank going across the lake

[deadeye]

I learned a lot from my Grandpas over the years. From hunting to fishing they always had some kind of story to tell. We were able to do a lot of fishing and hunting over the years. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

When I was in school up in Ely there was a couple local old timers that I went fishing with a lot. They helped guide me into the right spots and had plenty of stories to tell. I think they liked to tell them as much as I enjoyed hearing them. I learned a lot about the history of the area too. Interesting to hear about all the stuff that used to go on up there. Especially when I was sort of on the other side of things going to school for Wilderness Management. It gave me a better perspective on how everything affects people.

[Trish]

[wahoo]

I grew up in Brainerd, MN. My neighbor was retired but made fishing spears and chisels in his garage shop. If I remember he would make up to 1000 per summer from 5 tine to 12 tine spears which were true works of art. every tine hand forged, cut, reforged, and sharpened--then welded on. He pointed out that spears were to "cut" through water and his did. Louis Gustis spears were, at one time sort of collectors items, and from all my time in his shop I could weld and forge by the time I was 8 or 9.

He took me ice fishing for the first time when I was 5 on Nokay Lake. It seemed hours to chisel the spearing hole, but we finally fished. (He also made his own decoys.) I can still see the first fish (northern) I ever saw in a fish house that day. In and out too quickly, but, according to him about a 12 pounder. To me about 100 lbs. We settled for a 5lb fish and I learned the ones we couldn't spear were something called "walleyes". I learned a heck of lot from him and his window into the water below.

even now, when i return several times a year to ice fish, I cut large holes in our house for angling so I can watch the underwater world.

wahoo

[toughguy]

I learned almost everything I know about fishing from my Grandpa and my Grandma. Yes that's right Grandma. She could hold her own out on the lake. She probably cleaned more fish than 95% of the people posting on this site. Just deadly with that old filet knife. When we were little kids she would bait our hooks and take off the fish. She seemed to have more fun doing that then fishing herself. I miss them both a bunch and think about them all the time when I'm out in the boat.

[fishinfey8]

It was indeed one of these old timers you talk about that got me into fishing all together. Elmer was his name, and he had a cool deal worked out with Berkley where he would get all the rods that were broken. The majority of the broken rods consisted of maybe a broken tip, or an eyehole fell off etc...Anyway, Elmer would fix these rods up, and give them to kids around the community. I was the recipient of 2 Berkley lightning rods with shimano reels and everything loaded and ready to fish. The deal was though, if you were a recipient of a rod, you HAD to send Elmer a picture of your first fish caught. Sure enough that weekend I had sent Elmer around 10 pictures.

Elmer was the next door neighbor to my Grandma, and I had the honor to fish with him a couple of times in my life. I'm pretty sure he was the reason that my Grandma loved fishing as well. I still have my two rods, and every summer I will take them out and catch a fish in memory of Elmer.

[buckx37x]

Fished with my g-pa often,he taught me a lot but more than that he always put my fishing first.He loved to fish he liked to fish panfish himself but my grandma loved her northerns so he had to catch some of them first for her she was always ahead of his wants.I remember one trip to very shallow lake up north rice lake i believe the northerns bit almost always better on cane poles, well we bought his old boat in i'll tell ya he had the ugliest boats you could imagine,kinda like the charlie brown x-mas tree i think he felt sorry for ugly boats and would buy them up. Any way this boat would not start but that did not stop him from getting us fishing he oared us back and forth out there and we got northerns. He was a great man i miss him.

[Mcfin]

Been fishing since I was a kid and over the years I saw hundreds of old timers sitting on buckets with a jig stick fishing without a care in the world. One day while I was out fishing, I suddenly realized that I had become one of them.

[toughguy]

Been fishing since I was a kid and over the years I saw hundreds of old timers sitting on buckets with a jig stick fishing without a care in the world. One day while I was out fishing, I suddenly realized that I had become one of them.

lol. We're all getting closer.

[AndRo]

At first I thought you were talking about the knife. I don't have any old timers around here, but on my anual vacation to Alaska to see my grandma, she comes down and fishes the river with me. Taught me everything I know about fishing the Kenai River.

[Boar]

Life is good huh Mcfin. My grandads were to old to teach me fishing but learned alot from them in other ways, my dad started me ice fishing an now i take him, he usually drives up an I do all the work so he can just relaxe an tell story to my kids. I hope when I'm to old to do the work, I'll be able to just drive up an tell stories. Boar

[Mcfin]

Amen-Life is good.