| TNT's (Terry's) Autobiography |
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Getting to know your GUIDE and MENTOR
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I grew up in Orchard Park, New York watching my dad clean and filet all the fish he would catch in Lake Erie which were usually Yellow Pike or Blue Pike back then, before the lake was polluted. At six, back in 1952, my dad took me out fishing with him in a boat on Lake Erie. I was like a kid with a new toy, I had found my “love of life”, it was FISHING!
My older brother would take me trout fishing all over Western New York, there are lot's of streams and small lakes around here, most have trout in them… we would have a great time, making great memories! My brother was a trapper too, he taught me how to trap. In the winter, we would trap Weasel, Mink, Muskrats, Raccoon, Fox, whatever was around, learning a lot from my brother, but mostly from just doing it myself and learning from my mistakes. Back then the fur trade was high priced I would make $500 in a winter, that was a lot of money with a lot of hard work, but worth it.
At nine I started looking for places on my own around where I lived, found several ponds where I could hike-in and fish to my hearts content… that went on through my school years, fishing every stream and pond I could.
At twenty one I started trapping again with my brother in Virginia on horse back for about 3 1/2 years … Beaver, Otter, Muskrats, Fox, Mink, Raccoons, whatever came along… in between, we would fish. He used to take me to the local streams but sometimes we would drive to Chesapeake Bay and fish in our Dad's "V" hull boat catching Sea Trout and Stripped Bass. When Shad would come upstream in the springtime we would fish the Rappahannock. Our favorite get away, was to drive up to the Blue Ridge Mountains to fish for Trout. My brother has since moved to Alaska where he is a commercial fisherman… our trapping and fishing days together are done.
For the next 18 years in Western Pennsylvania my neighbor, an avid fisherman, showed me lots of places to fish Large and Small Mouth Bass including the Beaver River and the Ohio River where you could not eat any of the fish you caught, but it was fun anyway.
Then I got a job in Eastern Maryland, right next to the Chesapeake Bay, thought I had died and gone to heaven! Fished every chance I could, didn't matter if it was salt water, brackish water, fresh water, or a stream… as long as I could fish! Back then you could also fish off of the Conowongo Dam, they had a fishing walkway, that went all the way across the dam, catching lots of Catfish and Strippers. My wife and I would sometimes stay out all night long fishing, it was heaven, always caught fish, never got skunked.
I moved to Florida after contacting Neurological Lyme Disease back in 1999 to be near family, couldn't work anymore so I fished every day. I fished for Large and Small Mouth Bass in the fresh water and Sea Trout and Red Fish in the salt water.
By then, I had amassed a small fortune in fishing equipment, rods, reels, lures, whatever, if you wanted something I had it, my motto…” if you don't have at least two of everything you don't have enough.”
I decided to move back to my roots, came back to Western New York, moved to Gowanda first, then Cattaraugus and now I live in Otto at the R & R Dude Ranch.
I fished most every day when I first moved up here, as long as I had gas in the car I was fishing somewhere. I fished the Cattaraugus Creek from the mouth to the South Branch, including the streams. I always carry fishing equipment in my trunk, so if I see a stream when I am driving, I stop and fish to see if there is anything interesting waiting around for my bait.
That is how I ended up here at the R & R Dude Ranch as the Fishing Guide. Someday I will write a book on my fishing experiences.
If you would like to fish, I'll be the first person to grab a pole! Whether you are a beginner or avid fisherman, doesn't matter to me, as long as I can fish. I can help you learn the rudiments of fishing.... or us seasoned anglers can share “tricks of the trade”.
Terry L. Youngberg
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