I was fishing before I could walk, cut my teeth predominantly on largemouth bass in South Africa among some inshore saltwater species like spotted grunter, shad (tailor), etc.

Also kayak fishing with dad from a very young age remains strong in my memory bank 

 grandfather and father fishing, with me in toe, for Black Fish. My Grandfather was the real fisho, but father was handy.

it was Grandfathers only real hobbie, and took me on occasion. The Mitta was still in a pretty natural sate back then, and was something magical to me.

At the young age of 5 I would go fishing with my Dad in a converted pelican bond wood yacht. This dinghy used to be left upturned on the beach at North Cottesloe with the oars tucked up on the seats. We would take all the fishing gear and a 5 hp British Seagull motor down to the boat in an old pram from Hawkstone Street My Dad used to set a shark line about 200 yds out from North Cott beach and the sharks we caught(mostly bronzies and hammerheads) used to be sold to the fish & chip shop in Napoleon Street Cottesloe for about 3 pence a pound (for fillets) from memory. After checking the line we would troll for tailor off the Grant Street reef, after catching a couple of dozen we would go home and I would have to gut and fillet all the catch.

For doing that I would have earned my pocket money of 1 shilling, a true fortune for me in those days of the 1950s. Mint leaves (lollies) where 4 for a penny for those that can remember them.

I have very fond memories of those times and those days are what got me taking up fishing

For me it was when the old man and Uncle George we taking an old mill house down the Donnelly River to put up again as either the second or third shack.
It was during xmas holidays and we had come down from Northam to Pemberton to give Uncle a hand. The house was in sections that the two men could handle and would fit across the 12 foot bondwood boat powered by either a seagull or anzani outboard for the 11 mile steam down the river.

While the men were erecting to shack we would try to catch black bream on the rock below Dunnetts shack across the river.

When we shifted to Bunbury in 63, the jetty was the place to go, the blacksmiths shop, the red cross landing, under the first grain loader bin or down at the end. Going out on sharkboats on weekend of school, beach seining with the Greeks or up the river hauling mullet or whiting whenever one got the chance.

When son Jeff arrived he more or less followed in my footsteps, he got his first salmon when about 5yrs old on his first overnighter down at South Contos, he finished up with about 9-10, most of which were released. The dye was set and he and his boys are down the beaches off Exmouth most afternoons and in their boat when time permits.

Both him and his half brother Robby became pro fishermen again following in my footsteps with Rob still one today after hating it as a kid.

Dad had a rod in my hand as soon as I could hold one and with my sets of grandparents living in Mandurah and Bassendean it was mostly herring/whiting fishing or chasing black bream at Success Hill.

My best fishing memories are with my Pop in Mandurah casting with our 13' rods out the back on Halls Head and catching a bucketfull of herring and then spending the rest of the day filletting them and setting up the frames to grow some more wogs or pumping for worms at Dolphin Pool and catching huge KGW off the 'new bridge' or pulling nets for him in the Cut.

Pop passed away last year and by the time my 5y old started fishing and I bought my dinghy he was too sick to come with us but trips to Mandurah these days hold a special meaning for me and I think of Pop everytime I go down there and I still have a giggle at Pop climbing down the rocks at the Cut to chase a herring like he'd just dropped a bag with a million dollars in it.

Mine is a Mack caught in a tinny up north.

Here is a photo and a link to a few other stories that are a good read!

http://fishwrecked.com/forum/whats-fish-hooked-you

Vinnie

 Bloody luxury. I can still remember the few times I had the "luxury" of a clinker-built hire boat pushed along by a single cylinder blaxland on the Georges River and Salt Pan Creek where I rew up in SW Sydney. We lived above the creek, and I could go down through the bush and out through the mangroves at low tide to dig for bloodworms for bait. Staple catch was mullet, fished for with dough under a float and small hooks. Then blackfish (luderick) took up residence under the bridge, we were in seventh heaven. I'd ride the bike for miles, or catch a bus or train, to go fishing all over Sydney. Down to the old punt at Lugarno, or in an old market garden lake at Peakhurst to catch carp amd the ultimate prize, goldfish, which we would keep in an old concrete laundry tub in the backyard. or further afield to Scarborough Park, out near Botany bay,where the big lake which watered the playing fields was full of carp and freshwater  mullet, and huge eels which could never again reach the sea to spawn. Or to Scarborough itself, to fish for leatherjackets off the baths or whiting off the seawalled beach at high tide. Or maybe a train to Circular Quay, then the ferry to Manly, to fish off the pier for John Dory or whatever turned up. Probably fished every ferry wharf in Sydney and its immediate surrounds.

All of this taught me far more about fishing than any kid ever spoonfed billfish off the back of an expensive charter will ever learn.

Then I discovered spearfishing. Still at school, riding the train out to Cronulla to flog the Point or go out to the bommie. Speared my first blue groper there, all of 14Lb  Then graduating to getting the ferry over Port Hacking to the south side, can't remember the name, but i can remember lugging the speargun, weightbelt and all the gear by foot over beach and bush, to Jibbon Point , and even swimming all the way out to Jibbon Bombora.

Then we all left school and got licences and vehicles, and got mobile, but that's a whole other story. 

 My old Pop would row myself and Gran out from Siesta Park ,they had access to a cabin along the beach,King George,silver whiting and squid were the main catches,Gran was the real fisherwoman and Pop was the motor etc.Think i would have been around 4 or 5.

 Fishing on the Old Mandurah Bridge, walking down during School Holidays and catching a bucket of herring and a few thumping Skippy. 10 years old without a care in the world....

Fishin with me grandad before I could even hold a beach rod at chinnies, kalbarri and reeling in a mulloway while granddad held the rod and catching whiting in the moore river and running them over to him to throw out on the beach.

When I went on a few mad ones after that an old mate give me an alvey and rod which got me back into it and have never looked back Beauty!

Fishing of a lunch time on the service wharf at Cape Lambert in the 70's pulling in Spanish Mackerel just using a gang hook and a barrel sinker.

in my early days my mates and I,just out of school made ourselves steel tripods and carried them out on the reef at night time or early morning at Triggs point we would bait cast mulies in to the Blue hole , amazing amounts of large tailor, mulloway salmon and the odd pinkie were caught from blue hole , sometimes it was dangerous but a hell of a lot of fun