Time on the Water: How much and how do you manage it?

[srock]

No matter how much equipment we have, and I am the first to admit to being a sucker for FF gear, what really matters in the end is how much time we get to spend on the water engaging in our sport.

A little background. When in my early 20’s, now 68, I had to decide on a career. Since I liked to fish more than make money I gravitated toward teaching, and became a college professor. The best thing about this profession is June, July and August, plus numerous other holidays and time off opportunities. In short, I chose a career where I had a lot of time but not a lot of money. I would do it again. I fished probably 90 days a year, maybe more some years as a grew older, and acquired tenure. Speed up to 2019. I am now retired and fish on average 150-170 days per year.

I fish both warm and cold water species to get me out on the water more. I have a primary home near 3 lakes within waking distance (warm water), I am 2 hours to trout water in the primary home. I also have a cabin in N. Wisconsin where I spend essentially May through October. Within a 20 mile radius I have over 150 different lakes to fish, about 5 trout lakes, and 2 trout streams. The Michigan UP, kind of the Yellowstone of the Midwest, has prolific trout streams and is only one hour away.

This model fits me, and it allows me to have a lot of time on the water. I am lucky to have an understanding wife, and feel really lucky to have a career that enabled me to fish a lot. How do you make time on the water?

 

[dillon]

I too am a retired educator. However, I do not spend near as many days fishing now or when i was working. I live in the city but there are several good steelhead streams from 20 min. to an hour away. I only fish them in the winter and due to the weather, traffic, and my aching back I fish them less now than when i was working. But i still get out a few times a year, and i will also occasionally sit on a Columbia River beach sipping whisky with a buddy while plunking for a (unicorn) Spring Chinnok. I also keep meaning to sight fish for carp, or smallmouth bass locally in the spring and summer but so far that remains a fantasy. My closest trout fishing is 2 hours away over the mountain. I have a nice shared vacation home on the river there. This affords me at 8 weeks a year of fishing for both wild trout and summer run steelhead. I also have access to a few ranch stocked trout ponds in the area. My main trout fishing Is a 3 week fishing and camping trip with S&S in Idaho and Montana in June/July. When I return i fish summer steelhead through the fall. I prefer fishing from the cabin or camping and fishing. I will do a day trip if the oneway drive is less than an hour. Otherwise, I prefer a whisky after fishing. No more long day trips for me. I do want to start taking a plane ride a year to explore unseen areas like Alaska, BC, and some warm saltwater fishing. We have the money now, but after leading a frugal lifestyle as an educator, It's hard to imagine spending that kind of our money on myself. I don't count the days, but the number is well under 100 for the year. I dont care to fish more as I have many other interests to keep me busy, including some fishing related ones which are done on a daily basis.

 

[plecain]

I spend 1-2 months per year in Florida. While I'm there it would be an odd day when I didn't spend at least part of it fishing.
The rest of the year I'm in NH. From there I fish NH, Maine and Massachusetts.
From April thru December I probably average 2-3 days a week fishing.
January thru March are pretty slow around New England. That's part of the reason I'm in FL for a good part of that time.

Oh, I'm retired by the way.

 

[srock]

I just thought I would mention to be on the right side of the track that the title, Time on the Water, was not mine, but belongs to a book written by Bill Gardner in the early 1980’s. It is a good read about a guy who quits his job in California, and moves full time to Boulder Junction, Wisconsin to fish for muskie for one year, with the hope of catching a 30 pounder. At that time in Boulder Junction, such a fish would qualify him to display his fish and march in the annual muskie day parade. Gardner’s story is intriguing but he failed to catch the 30 pounder during that year. He eventually did make such a catch, which further raised his esteem for the mighty muskie. SR

 

[old timer]

Get out of bed. Eat. Grab rod and vest. Go fish. Fish until a voice in my head says...Go home. Go home. Repeat with little thought about it.

 

[Meadowlark]

I'm a quality vs quantity person...that is to say I value quality of the fishing experience way, way over number of hours spent on the water. Hence, time on the water is not nearly as important as quality of the fishing experience to me. I seek out the very best quality fishing spots in the World and absolutely treasure the experience of being there.

I have several fishing ponds I've built on my property that I enjoy and can fish them any day of the week for any length of time...and I often do that racking up hours and hours on the water... but I'm always looking and thinking about that special quality experience that is the highest the World has to offer. That's what motivates my fishing at this stage of my life.

When it all comes to an end, I hope to be able to say I have fished the greatest places this world has to offer and caught the greatest fish possible.

 

[WoollyBourbon]

I live across the street from the beach in Central Florida. I try to get at least 2-3 early mornings a week in the surf before getting a shower and heading to the office. Learning to fish the surf has been an adventure to say the least.

Hope to get closer proximity to trout streams one day, although today's "trout-bum" thread is making that look pretty difficult :icon_neut For now, my trout fishing is limited to a few trips a year, but it also gives me something to plan and look forward to year round.

 

[karstopo]

I’ve got some control over my schedule so there’s opportunities to fish at least a little on most days, weather permitting. It helps that I’m living on a lake so that if I get the itch to fish I can do just that by walking out the back door.

For myself, the saltwater scene and fish have always held a greater appeal than anything I’ve experienced in freshwater and I’m fortunate to live within 30 minutes of an expanse of public estuary and the Gulf of Mexico. There’s no closed or fallow season really here, but the fish move around some and wax and wane so there’s a variety of species, situations and settings that I find stimulating. I can see going on like this for as long as I am able or I stop finding anything out there that’s interesting or rewarding, something that seems to be an impossiblilty.

 

[AnglerX]

I was a college professor. I had a tenure offer, kept it on my desk for one month, then turned it in unsigned to the Department Head and said "I'm going to teach people something they want to learn." Then I moved to Wyoming and became a guide. 200+ days a year with trout rivers and spring creeks all around me. Other than the brutal winters it's pretty spectacular. When I need a change of pace I go to OR or WA and stalk steelhead.

 

[lightline]

I live in the most affordable "trout town" in the west. I have great fishing in every direction around me between one hour and one day's drive. I can be anywhere in Montana, Idaho, or Wyoming in 10 hours, and most are half that or less. (Utah and Colorado too, but I don't fish either except for one close river.) My closest river has 15,000 trout per mile 45 minutes away, with fish rising daily, year-round. I can catch a 30-pound char anytime I want, right out my door on the lake, 15 minutes away.

For time, I only choose to work about 130 days a year. I run a charter boat, so I get to "go fishing" on those days too, and love most of 'em. I work for myself, so the pay is decent and the business has its advantages. That leaves 235 days to do what I want! I can choose my 130 work days, I just have to do it a year in advance. My professional fishing and my personal fishing are completely separate and different. Like night and day. I don't go to work on my days off. I go fish at whatever pace I want to, how I want to, where I want to, and when. Haven't found a better gig, its been working for over 35 years.

So, I manage it by setting my schedule in advance, living where the cost of living is damn near nothing, and in a place where I can drive to anywhere I want to be in a day. I can also get on an airplane and head to the tropics a few times a year too, again, because I live where its almost free. And surrounded by trout waters! I fish for personal pleasure about 130 days a year, so its a 50-50 split between work and play, with another 100 to do whatever I need or want to do. "Get things done," the business side of the business, wife, health, tie bugs, build rods, etc.

 

[Ard]

Come to think of it even when I fished a lot I would be unable to tall you how many hours or days I fished. I've met guys who are happy to quote statistics, sometimes since being a member here I've seem people who joined and then posted to the affect that they fish 300 days a year. I never did that I don't think.

What I can tell you is that I managed to be single until age 50 and I had no children out of wedlock. During those years I became very fond of fishing and I did it a lot more than any responsible fellow with a wife - kids and job could have done. But like I said I didn't count days and hours and so never made any claims of how much I fished. I'd leave it to you to guess

At this point I've fished in 22 different states and 9 provinces of Canada and I feel like I fished quite a bit. Now I live in Alaska and have been doing that since 2004 and they say this is a good place to fish. I'd have to agree with that especially if you can pick when and where to do it based on current conditions. Other than when I am hired to take people fishing I don't have to fish, I do if I want to but I don't feel the need just to say I did. Part of that I attribute to the fact that for me to fish I must take my boat, that makes it a little more difficult than parking a car and walking a bit...………….

Like the guy who said he's into quality over quantity I do the same. I plan my days and destinations with solitude in mind and in most of Alaska that isn't a given. I go where and when I know I can expect good results and usually stay a day or 2. I've been casting long enough that I got good at it and don't need practice so that's not a concern.

I have no idea how much I fish.

 

[mka]

I spent a few years in education at the state level right out of college and was bored to death. I made a career change and jumped in the for-profit side of business working in HR management and corporate education/training, spending much time in airports and being relocated all over the country...absolutely loved the work, fast pace, and awesome colleagues. Didn't have much time for fishing during my career, but I have been retired for four years now and i'm having the time of my life.

I live on the west side of Albuquerque so I can be at a trout stream in about sixty minutes...the Jemez Mountains. Last year was weird because of NP closures or tailwaters running high more than typical, but most years I would fish 1-3 days per week for trout in streams all over northern New Mexico. Camping right next to a river and fly fishing for native trout is my favorite thing to do and I'm lucky that I live near so many options. I plan to fish more this year and expect to be on the water a couple of days a week with big 1 and 2 week trips sprinkled in through the year. Fortunately my wife is very supportive of my obsession...she even likes to go with me and two other married couples to camp a couple of times each year. Life is good!

 

[old timer]

I'm into quality as I fish my high quantity.

Quality is what you make it. A trout is a trout no matter where it lives.

 

[fr8dog]

I'm a pilot. Schedule is variable so I just carry my stuff with me and if the opportunity presents itself, I be ready. Been lots of places, caught lot of fish.

My wife likes to fish so when I'm home we go out weather permitting.

We really don't care what we get. Just like being outside. I do like to use the fly pole but she is handicapped so we switch between trolling for her and me waving my fly rod. Is all good.

 

[huronfly]

I work shift, alternating between 2-3 nights and 2-3 days, with a few days off in between. I love it, I only work on average three 12 hour days(or nights) a week it gives me plenty of week days off when everyone else is working so I don't have to battle any crowds!

 

[Redrock]

I'm into quality as I fish my high quantity.

Quality is what you make it. A trout is a trout no matter where it lives.

I dunno. I caught a lot of trout within a few yards of a huge above ground sewer line traversing the Chattahoochee in Atlanta. Sometimes the ambiance was impacted.

 

[al_a]

I would fish nearly every day of the year if life didn't get in the way. But it does. There is more to life than fishing. I average about one day a week fishing, plus the occasional multi-day trip to locales farther away from home, but I'm trying to get in more time on the water. For a long time I lived at least a half hour away from any of my favorite spots to fish, so nearly all my trips were full days. Now we live part of the year right on the Yellowstone River and I can fish right out my back door for a couple hours any day I want to, and we just completed an off-grid cabin on a river in Missouri where I live the rest of the year, so it looks like I will be able to spend more hours on the water there, too. I guess that's how I've managed my time on the water...live closer to the water!

 

[corn fed fins]

Life has afforded me to have a lot of free time but it's still precious. I manage it in such a fashion as to give me the best all around experience. I guess I've had the luxury of having the outdoors at my beck and call my whole life. As a result, I don't feel as though I need to get out there every chance I have as though I might miss something.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[kevind62]

To manage time is to create work. You come up with a plan, create a schedule, pin location routes, figure in breakdown and set up time in-between, and lunch. I don't fish to work or work to fish. As with Ard, I don't count the days per year I fish. I fish every day that I possibly can. As far as time in/on the water, I don't manage it either. I "plan" to fish several locations on a trip. This is simply a back-up plan if I'm not catching fish where I'm standing. Or I'll change locations from day to day to keep from hammering one spot too hard. I'm hoping soon to participate in a forum thread that counts the number of days I don't fish in a year. Guessing I'm still going to be required to participate in Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, Anniversary, and birthdays (4 for now but that will likely change when grandkids start coming along), that wipes out 8 days I can't fish from the start. We'll see where it goes from there.

 

[patrick62]

I fish almost daily between May and September. Maybe only an hour or two, but I'm out there, somewhere.

I managed to wind up in a line of work where I pretty much make my own schedule. I also live close to lots of places to fish. Funny how that works out.

Re: What Ard mentioned -- I'm 57, never married, and no kids, which opens up a lot of possibilities on one hand (and precludes a lot on the other).