Reel Repair by Alan Tani

Working a day job , ...that I didn't care about.
playing in bands    at night (that had no chance of making the big time),
partying way too much  ,
and treating girlfriends badly 

.... and every once in a while I'd go fishing.

Similarly, good times playing in punk/ska/psychobilly bands, surfing, navigating life...
An old band photo:

Damn, I was working lots of OT and only fished when I wasn't fixing a broken pulp mill.  A few years later I got hired by the State of Alaska, lot of OT and travel, my "job site" was 16 AMHS terminals (Alaska Marine Highway, the state ferry system  was from Whittier, Alaska to Ketchikan, Alaska) but was home every weekend.  At the mill I did not know when I would be home and was on call 24/7/365.  I was still on call for the AMHS but had peons I could send out to deal with most issues.  With 1 exception my crew took care of me and I took care of them.  My one "problem child" was a PIA.

In college, working at the local Coca Cola Bottling Company during the summer as  the mail room attendant and office supplies order guru, and during the school year, washed and waxed a LOT of lead cars, hearses and limousines at Kriegshauser Mortuary during the week and worked as a greeter in the FH some evenings, even was the "night man" one night a week...slept on a foldout couch in the basement and answered the phone for several funeral homes. If we got a death call I would reach out to the removal/first call crew and let the embalmer know he had one inbound. Made a few removals myself, it's harder than it looks, especially when they'd send me on a hospital pickup by myself...hard to manipulate a 250 lb person onto our cot with NO help from the morgue attendant.

Believe I was ski-bumming in Vail & Beaver Creek.

38 years old, working a 4-letter swing shift at the steel mill...as a heavy equipment mechanic , working all the OT I could get as our oldest had just started college. Fishing almost every day...for a few minutes. Stopping on my way to, or from work (depending on which shift I was working) tossing spinners for Rock River smallmouth! When the water got too stiff for that, I had a couple "ice holes" that gave some crappie, and bluegill action. I miss the three kids...all doing well, thank goodness!..I miss the fishing...can't seem to find the time or the energy for "everyday" fishing anymore, but I DON'T miss working!

I was administrator of a psycho owned commercial landscape company. It was an unlucky year for me. I was talked into marrying a cheating piece of....well anyway. 3 months later I caught her with her boss. I dotted his eye out of respect. I went home, put her clothes on the porch and got drunk. Took longer to get divorced than I was married.
Best decision I ever made. Some years are better than others.

Quote from: the rockfish ninja on October 05, 2026, 12:31:14 AMWorking a day job , ...that I didn't care about.
playing in bands    at night (that had no chance of making the big time),
partying way too much  ,
and treating girlfriends badly 

.... and every once in a while I'd go fishing.

amigo Ninja, it seems that you had a busy life back then

Quote from: Rancanfish on Today at 03:12:30 PMI was administrator of a psycho owned commercial landscape company. It was an unlucky year for me. I was talked into marrying a cheating piece of....well anyway. 3 months later I caught her with her boss. I dotted his eye out of respect. I went home, put her clothes on the porch and got drunk. Took longer to get divorced than I was married.
Best decision I ever made. Some years are better than others.

ouch,  1986 wasnt you lucky one 

1986, I was in my 3rd year of college in the San Fernando Valley, working as a staff photographer for the college newspaper and the local grocery store.  Met my wife 3 years later.

I watched Top Gun and loved it.
I thought we would all turn into a mutant after the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident. 

I was busy making money to feed my "kids."

Quote from: Crow on October 05, 2026, 08:55:17 PM38 years old, working a 4-letter swing shift at the steel mill...as a heavy equipment mechanic , working all the OT I could get as our oldest had just started college. Fishing almost every day...for a few minutes. Stopping on my way to, or from work (depending on which shift I was working) tossing spinners for Rock River smallmouth! When the water got too stiff for that, I had a couple "ice holes" that gave some crappie, and bluegill action. I miss the three kids...all doing well, thank goodness!..I miss the fishing...can't seem to find the time or the energy for "everyday" fishing anymore, but I DON'T miss working!

I fish Rock river a few time ,lots of small smalmouth bass there is a fish that I can't see any where is the cross between Walleye and Sauger

Quote from: quang tran on Today at 03:51:18 PMI fish Rock river a few time ,lots of small smalmouth bass there is a fish that I can't see any where is the cross between Walleye and Sauger

Not trying to change the subject or detail the thread, but it's called a Saugeye. We have lots of them in Nebraska. Walleye do best in clearish water and Sauger prefer moving river type waters. Since most of Nebraska's reservoirs have fairly dirty water as a result of all the farm land NEG&P stocks quite a few Saugeye. It was once thought Saugeye were sterile but they're not. Plus, there is a lot of natural cross breeding in moving Nebraska waters that have both Walleye and Sauger and/or Saugeye.

There are quite a few states now that stock Saugeye because of dirtier waters.

I catch all three species regularly here in NE but probably 75% of them are Saugeye.

Not sure if there are any Saugeye in the Rock, or not...but I doubt it. When I was a kid, it was mostly sauger in the Rok , at least down here in the lower river. But when they put in the Nuke plant, upstream, at Bydon, Il. part of the "deal" was stocking Walleye in return for pulling cooling water from the river......now there are tons of them!