Great Thread guys. Like many of you my grandfather was my inspiration. He was a bi-vocational pastor and never had much. But he always had a very used boat. I can remember fishing with him in the boat and I was so small that he tied a rope to my belt loop to make sure if I fell out or got to far away he could "reel" me in. Lots of good times. I still have one of his favorite baits the "jitterbug", I still fish it today and it has brought in many fish. Of course my dad continued fishing with our family...we never owned a boat, but always had access to a pond, creek, or river and sometimes a friends boat. As I got older we moved 2 miles from Lake Erie...did lots of perch and walleye fishing. But bass is where it was at. I never really new about the small mouth fishery on Erie when I lived there (everyone was perch/walleye), but I would love to go back now. I could go on and on about the memories on Dale Hallow and Barren River as a very small child and Lake Erie as a pre-teen and teenager. As far as I am concerned God, Family, and fishing is were it is at!! My family lived by that order and continue to do the same today!!