Lake Skipper: bloatedbass My Name is Joel, and I have been a Colorado resident since April of 2004. I can't believe I'm hitting 30 this may of 09! I grew up near Chicago and also visited family in Ohio frequently. My grandfather is the main person responsible for my addiction.
Biography: My Name is Joel, and I have been a Colorado resident since April of 2004. I can't believe I'm hitting 30 this may of 09! I grew up near Chicago and also visited family in Ohio frequently. My grandfather is the main person responsible for my addiction. He and my grandmother owned property on a good sized reservoir near Galion Ohio. I spent many summer days there catching largemouth bass, bluegill, crappies, perch, catfish and carp. I became a bass addict when I was about 14 and began developing an immense collection of artificial baits. I fished some local ponds in my hometown that held largemouth and the occasional smallmouth as well as other warm water species. My dad would take me on trip after trip to local lakes, rivers, reservoirs and even power plant cooling lakes, which almost always ended up in a skunk out, damaged equipment and bruised egos. But still, I kept going and fishing. Our success has improved tremendously over the years and I can almost always manage to put my dad on some fish these days. I like to catch anything, but bass is by far my favorite. Just the idea of catching a bass used to excite me as a kid, and I couldn't wait till I caught my first keeper. My grandmother still remembers how loud I yelled out in the darkness when I finally caught one off their property. I measured it, ran up to have my picture taken & then tossed it back in the lake. After high school I decided to attend an art school in Columbus Ohio, and often came up to the lake on the weekends to relax and fish after a stressful week in school.
Today in CO I still spend most of my fishing time targeting bass, but I have grown to appreciate the cold water fishing out here. I am also anxious to start pike fishing more often. I finally got serious last summer and bought a Tracker targa boat after having only a john boat and float tube for a long, long time... I would have had to hold back the water works as I towed it home, if my truck didn't sound like it was gonna explode! My father generously sent me a check soon after my purchase to help me out with some of the license fees, insurance and maintenance. It's something he and I have wanted to share for a long time. I'm sure my mother could enjoy a ride too... Just wish I was not 1,000 miles away!
Fishing has become a big part of my life and I am giving some thought to pursuing it professionally in a few years. My favorite lakes out here are Quincy, lonetree, Pella Crossing and other Longmont area lakes, Antero, Spinney and 11 mile. I will be fishing Jim Baker more frequently from now on as part of my lake skipper duty, so you should start seeing some reports. I like to fish with new people from time to time and also enjoy teaching others how to fish. All of my photos are from the past few years here in CO. Enjoy!
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