Quote Originally Posted by Eyezcrazy View Post
Jonk, I remember those days well! I started fishing Erie in 1988 and Erie Dearies were the weapon of choice back then. We used to love those Super Erie Dearies too with the added side spinner. Boats would be strung out in lines and drift over fish until you lost the school and the slowly move back up for another drift. People seemed to be much more courteous back then.

What I like about trolling is not being tossed around as much and being able to cover more water and be in control of where you want to target. Also being able to stay at a consistent speed to figure out what they like. Plus the fact that my arthritis kills me from reeling all day!

Still might be fun to get back to my roots some day!
Some days, when the wind was just right, you didn't even need to cast. Let the line out to where it hit bottom, and either set the bail there for a mid depth presentation, or let out another 30 feet or so to keep it near the bottom, and drift. Back in the day...

I remember the side spinner lures too! Still have a couple of those also.

Last 2 trips on the lake were like days of old. Drift over a spot, pick up a fish or two, move back, repeat.

I hear you on the arthritis. I'm only 37, but thanks to a nasty car accident that broke both my legs, both shoulders, and one arm, I got an early taste of it starting when I was a teenager. It's only gotten worse in the shoulders and one knee since then. I can't wait for middle age to set in in force, leading to, ahem, seasoned age.

Praise be, my dad is still with me, and still in good shape to go fishing; though the arthritis in his hands is so bad that he had to make a custom grip for his pole to hold it without closing his fist much, and I clean all the fish that we catch. His health is good (knock on wood) and his dad was going fishing with us until he was almost 90, at least for perch on calm days... he couldn't take bouncing around a lot by the end. I hope my own pop is with me a good number of years yet. He still has to catch that elusive 30 incher. I've gotten half a dozen of them over the years, he still hasn't.