Stuff You Hear at City Park Ponds

[DarkShadow]

Scott, this is actually a much more accurate description of the Barrett crowd.

I could make an entire post about Stuff You Hear At the Barrett Lake Parking Line all to itself.

One of my all time favorite past times at Barrett is for my buddy and I to sit on the tail gate of the truck after we park, sip our coffee, and watch the Bill DancersRUN down the hill, trolling motor prop hitting the ground, 75 pound lead battery swinging, 12 rods, 5 bags, 3 coolers, 9 Go Pro tripods; as if the rentals or the bass are going to run out, all so they can be off the water by 12.

We put money on the winner, and have seen quite a good few face plants and spills throughout the day.

The Dock Talk that occurs is also very impressive.

"Nooo...you need to use the Ika with the RED flake, not the BLACK flake. They don't like the black flake here."

or we all know these guys:

"You need to drag a 7 inch worm, not 6.5, but 7, chocolate blue vein, not dark chocolate blue vein, but regular chocolate blue vein that my buddy pours in his garage, with this 3/0 hook here that I hand forge in my basement. No other hook will work here except this one. And then you need to use a 7'2.5" rod, not 7'3, and use 11.5# test and find water temp that is 69.9 degrees, but not 70 because that's too hot, and then work shelves that are north facing in exactly 19 feet of water....."



I miss that place, haven't been since before Covid and my first time there is when you still had to apply by sending a Postcard and entering a lottery.

Are people still hootin' and hollerin' and making breakfast in line at 3:00 am while people around them are trying to sleep?

[DarkShadow]

How about when a huge carp boils?

"OMG DID YOU SEE THAT HUGE BASS!?" and then they proceed to run over there to cast their bait at the dissipating ripples.

[bendopolo 44+]

“Are there Fish in here?”
There aren’t any Fish in here, I’ve never caught one.”
The Fishing here Sucks.”
You are the Devil”
How would you like it if I hooked you in the mouth?”
Why did you throw it back? I would have taken it.”
Can I use your Pole?
Can I have one of those Lures?”
Why do you only have one Rod?”
“ You see that Son? It’s a Bobber, just like where you get your hair cut.”
“Your Lure us too big”
“You need to use Bait”
“You got a snag” (While the fish is taking Line)
You can’t fish here” You can’t fish here” You can’t fish here” “You can’t fish here”
I fish too many Park Lakes.

[Mcfish]

“give me your phone and wallet!” “Ok, FA, FO”

“Do you have any extra weed or cigarettes?” While it’s not uncommon for the sack to be heavy, depending on how generous the source is, I’ve never seen a pack of cigarettes that actually had more than 20. Never forget the first time some scrub asked a buddy “you got an extra grit?” “Let me check…NOPE!!! There’s only 20 in there!! Go get a job!!!”
I mean, when was the last time you went up to a stranger and said “hey do you have an extra dollar?”

Just last week I asked Mr.Vinny if he had a spare $5000, which I promised I would never return....

[Carpkiller]

Hollering from up on the trail: "Are you fishing?"

(hey guys, check it out, this dude's fishing!!)

stomp stomp stompity stomp stomp.

"You catching anything?"

"I was."

[DarkShadow]

Hollering from up on the trail: "Are you fishing?"

(hey guys, check it out, this dude's fishing!!)

stomp stomp stompity stomp stomp.

"You catching anything?"

"I was."

Or, when you're fishing and a family comes by and either

1. Starts feeding the ducks right where you're fishing.
2. Starts throwing rocks, right where you're fishing.

"Are you catching anything?"

"Yeah, I'm about two seconds from catching a duck."

[Fishtricks]

“can you fish here? my cousin’s mailman’s roomate’s auto mechanic fishes, can he fish here?”

have you ever had somebody “catch” you fishing in a low key(legal) spot and then feel like they have something on you and you must now tell them everything you know. its tor that reason i never ties my lures on until i get to the water. or sometimes its the lure itself in a populated spot. try walking around with a frog tied on and see what happens. or a big jerkbait around the bays.

its amazing how many people essentially stop fishing themselves and focus on you.

[Fishtricks]

its like the kook golden ticket- if you don't catch anything, they get to say, “pffft i knew that wouldn't work” and if you do well, they get to copy you.

[DarkShadow]

its amazing how many people essentially stop fishing themselves and focus on you.

I have been using a particular bait the past 2 years that has been quite phenomenal and has not really gotten any attention and has out fished any other bait 10:1 at my local pond. At this point, I palm this thing when I fish my locals just because as you mentioned, there are people that will just stare. Some will just walk up to you, ask you what you're using. I usually say, "A senko."

"Can I borrow one?"

"You want to borrow a Senko?



Then they'll cast right next to you, while regaling you with fishing stories.

[VinnyBass]

Or how about when you are coming in to go home in your kayak or boat and some guy asked how many did you catch? Being that there are days when the bass fishing is tougher and the numbers are just not there, you might say for example..."I worked hard and only caught 3 bass."
Then Mr. Bass Pro(in his mind only) proceeds to tell you how many bass they caught last week, as if to say or make you feel like you must not be that good of a fisherman. Actually wondering what he was using that I may not have tried or stuck to or a certain pattern, I of course have to ask "what were you using?" The moment he says "we used shiners and we always catch bass"...I think to myself...."Because you probably can't catch bass on artificial baits" and continue unloading my kayak or continue getting my boat ready to leave. I wonder how many bass he would have caught without using shiners if he fished today?

[DarkShadow]

Or how about when you are coming in to go home in your kayak or boat and some guy asked how many did you catch? Being that there are days when the bass fishing is tougher and the numbers are just not there, you might say for example..."I worked hard and only caught 3 bass."
Then Mr. Bass Pro(in his mind only) proceeds to tell you how many bass they caught last week, as if to say or make you feel like you must not be that good of a fisherman. Actually wondering what he was using that I may not have tried or stuck to or a certain pattern, I of course have to ask "what were you using?" The moment he says "we used shiners and we always catch bass"...I think to myself...."Because you probably can't catch bass on artificial baits" and continue unloading my kayak or continue getting my boat ready to leave. I wonder how many bass he would have caught without using shiners if he fished today?

That sounds like, what I affectionately call, a "Bill Dancer." We don't get too many "Bill Dancers" at our local ponds, as those dudes are usually too busy milling around your local reservoir's launch ramp, telling the boaters how they killed it from shore, and how they get 40% off Phenix rods cuz they're on their pro staff, and telling other people their FishBrain(less) handle. "Dude you should follow me."



*

What we do see plenty of at the local ponds is the "JDM Fisherman."

This is the guy that only uses Japanese, and probably imports their toilet paper from overseas because Charmin is too mainstream. They will mention their JDMness every time that they can, letting you know how much their limited series Megabass rod cost and how it's the Japanese version instead of the US version, or how you can't get a certain bait stateside but he has 'connections' with Deps in Japan that can get him anything they want. They talk incessantly about the new ZPI bearing upgrades they just got, and show off their new carbon fiber aftermarket handle and they claim to be the inventor of every rig known to man, and claim to have caught 'various' 10s out of the pond, even though every time you see them, they're picking backlashes from their new DC reel that just cleared customs at LAX, or trying to get a $30 jerkbait out of the trees above them that they inadvertently snagged.

Those dudes crack me up.

[VinnyBass]

Or how about when you are coming in to go home in your kayak or boat and some guy asked how many did you catch? Being that there are days when the bass fishing is tougher and the numbers are just not there, you might say for example..."I worked hard and only caught 3 bass."
Then Mr. Bass Pro(in his mind only) proceeds to tell you how many bass they caught last week, as if to say or make you feel like you must not be that good of a fisherman. Actually wondering what he was using that I may not have tried or stuck to or a certain pattern, I of course have to ask "what were you using?" The moment he says "we used shiners and we always catch bass"...I think to myself...."Because you probably can't catch bass on artificial baits" and continue unloading my kayak or continue getting my boat ready to leave. I wonder how many bass he would have caught without using shiners if he fished today?

That sounds like, what I affectionately call, a "Bill Dancer." We don't get too many "Bill Dancers" at our local ponds, as those dudes are usually too busy milling around your local reservoir's launch ramp, telling the boaters how they killed it from shore, and how they get 40% off Phenix rods cuz they're on their pro staff, and telling other people their FishBrain(less) handle. "Dude you should follow me."



*

What we do see plenty of at the local ponds is the "JDM Fisherman."

This is the guy that only uses Japanese, and probably imports their toilet paper from overseas because Charmin is too mainstream. They will mention their JDMness every time that they can, letting you know how much their limited series Megabass rod cost and how it's the Japanese version instead of the US version, or how you can't get a certain bait stateside but he has 'connections' with Deps in Japan that can get him anything they want. They talk incessantly about the new ZPI bearing upgrades they just got, and show off their new carbon fiber aftermarket handle and they claim to be the inventor of every rig known to man, and claim to have caught 'various' 10s out of the pond, even though every time you see them, they're picking backlashes from their new DC reel that just cleared customs at LAX, or trying to get a $30 jerkbait out of the trees above them that they inadvertently snagged.

Those dudes crack me up.

That was great!!!!!!!!!

[Carpkiller]

I feel triggered and targeted, Vinny....as I just got my first JDM reel this year.
You should bring a handful of combos out the the creek sometime, and we can tally up the $$ spent to try and catch that solid 10 inch Green Sunfish I saw on Tuesday.

[Neuroshima]

You can FLYFISH for [insert species here] ?!?!?!?

You can FLYFISH in the [insert body of water here] ?!?!?

[Zach]

Some unknown angler was fishing on the opposite side of bank when an older woman walked by me. The angler just happened to get a bite at that moment and the woman stopped to observe. She turned to me and said, "You should be fishing over there, that's where the fish are". Our lines were more or less crossing the same body of water where he got bit. Just shook my head and went back to fishing.

[DarkShadow]

You can FLYFISH for [insert species here] ?!?!?!?

You can FLYFISH in the [insert body of water here] ?!?!?

The first time I fly fished my local pond, I may as well had monkeys flying outta my @$s considering the number of people that were just staring.

Some guy asked me, "Are you fly fishing?"

"Naw, I'm trying to fly this tiny kite."

You should be fishing over there, that's where the fish are."

I forget about those people. It wouldn't be a City Pond without them

I get quite a few of these:

"You're fishing in the wrong spot. About 45 years ago, I caught a 20 pound catfish right over at that spot on a nightcrawler I dug up. That's where the BIG ones are!" as they point to area where all the ducks and geese &hit.

"Sure grandpa, let's get you to bed."

[Nick Arevalo]

While I was fishing at Santee Lakes once, some person asked me, "Are there pike in these lakes?"

[DarkShadow]

While I was fishing at Santee Lakes once, some person asked me, "Are there pike in these lakes?"

I caught a Pacu once at another local pond a block from where I grew up when I was like 13.

Some dude swore up and down that it was a piranha and I just had to end the convo with, "Ok yeah dude, it's a piranha," even after showing him the Pacu teeth.

"....so you know there's peacock bass in here, right?" My friend caught one a few weeks ago.

[Zach]

I remember years back someone pulled out a spotty from Santee Lakes wonder if karma ever caught up to the planter.

[DarkShadow]

I remember years back someone pulled out a spotty from Santee Lakes wonder if karma ever caught up to the planter.

That would take some effort to get them to establish a population.

And I don't think spots would fair well in a city pond. Even if you stocked it legitimately, I think they'd get over run by other species.

Look at Lake Perris.