Take me Back Tammi.

Tammi in all her glory.

The farm ponds that littered the landscape of San Luis Obispo like acorns from an oak tree, provided the soil for my interest in fishing to take root. My friends and I would buzz from one of these farm ponds to another, like villainous bees on the hunt for our next bass adventure.  

Bishop's Peak.

We would talk about girls, drink an occasional root "beer" and sneak a smoke or two all while pursuing whatever fish would take our bait. This grew into more of an obsession for me as I turned my baseball card collection into an expensive bass lure anthology. It started with bobbers, hooks and crimp weights, then escalated to a few Kastmasters, Roostertails and Rapalas, finally guiding me to the arsenal of bass destruction also known as the Bass Pro Shops mail order catalog, and I have been chasing the dragon ever since.

The view from Tammi's right arm.

Tammi and my arsenal of "dragon" baits mosied on down to a few farm ponds to see if she could be my "delorean" to those carefree days. Hoping each bass I caught would take me back closer to my youth, until finally I would hear Doc say, "Great Scott!", and turn around to see the amigos of my teenage years along the bank. This didn't happen of course, but fishing still gave me a jolt of youthful excitement with every new tug on my rod.

Farm pond. 

Even though my feet were planted in the present, these familiar images dispersed me back in time, like a strong wind does the seeds of a dandelion. Thanks Tammi, for blowing this little seed pod back to where it all began.

Skyman out. 

Don't drop me Pop!

Before I could walk my Father used to balance me like a circus monkey six feet above the ground, and thank god he was good at it or I would not be here today. In fact, he was a natural as he is with most things, well except for maybe fishing. Over the years though, I have taught this old dog some tricks and he has earned the confidence needed to expect the fish to be there.   

Now that is confidence! 

Starting out in fishing the hardest part is getting the confidence that comes with experience. You know this lure or technique works because, hey I have had success with it in the past. My Father has gained that now over time and we decided to see how cocky he and I could get out on Santa Margarita Lake for Father's Day 2012. 

North County San Luis Obispo, looks relaxing right! 

It was a lovely summers day out on Margarita, so nice in fact that I would have really loved an ice cold one of those with some salt and lime. Since there was no blender on board, I kept cool by taking off my shirt and reaching into the cold water as much as I could, hoisting out three nice bucketmouths. My Father was able to catch one, making it a successful outing in my eyes.

Thanks Aunt Wendy for my sweet bass pro shops shirt! 

My happy bass face. 

That is the look of a confident angler. 

Like son like father.

Not everyone in life can be naturals at things like balancing babies or catching bass consistently, but over time with enough practice, your experiences will earn you the confidence needed to get the job done or at least fool yourself and others into thinking you can. It also helps on those tough days to have good support on the home front, so I thank you Pop for not dropping me. 

Skyman out.