Fishing And Relationships

[AQUA VELVA]

I have to interact with people, for better or worse, every minute Im on land and for me, thats enough. When I step on that boat it's just me, the water and the fish and I would'nt have it any other way.

[FD.]

I don't associate with people who don't fish.  Not on purpose but that is the way it has worked out over the last decade.  My two best friends are actually my tournament partners.  I spend more time on the boat with my wife and daughter than anyone else.  Except for tournament days they are usually with me.  And they occasionally fish a tournament with me. All of our family vacations are on a lake in the SE USA somewhere.  My honeymoon was even on a lake with our boat (her idea).   My life is pretty good.

[RB 77]

You could say fishing and relationships are the most important thing in my life. My dad (and my mom to a certain extent), my old lady (don’t tell her I said that even though she is ten years older than me), and my best friends (well, two out of three) all fish.

 

Before I dove headfirst back into fishing (I fished a little bit with pops when I was little) I spent my entire teenage and adult life pursuing surfing and everything related to it. I built my life around it. I built boards for a living, lived within a couple blocks of the beach, worked odd hours all so I could surf every free moment of my life. I used to put surfing and myself ahead of everything else.

 

Then one day it all changed. I called a surfing buddy (who also fished) up to go surfing. He said he was going fishing. I asked where and he said an old lake when my father and me fished when I was much younger. I said I was in. I borrowed some dilapidated equipment from my father and off I went. I caught my first two bass in several years (if not a decade or more) that day and I was hooked!

 

Fast forward to today. Because of fishing I have rekindled a relationship with my father that was lost through the decades and we are closer than ever which has also help strengthen the relationship with my mom who I have always been close to. We fish fresh-water and salt-water bass (and some offshore pelagic trips and inshore rock fish trips) together all the time. My lady and I both love the outdoors and fish together several times a year. She’s quite the natural and I am very proud of her ability. Myself, a good buddy and my cousin all live within walking distance of each other and fish together regularly. Life is good, God is great and I cherish my friends, family, and fishing more than ever!

[roadwarrior]

Hmm...
 

Might be the difference in North and South. I'm just talk'in fun fishn', but beer in the summer around

here is mandatory.

 

[skekoam]

If anyone has found a way to fish more with 4 kids all under the age of 11, please let me know.  My wife thinks it just another hobby for me to spend more hours away from her. 

[Bankbeater]

I have some very good friends that don't fish and also have friends that fish that I would be afraid to get in a boat with.

[Ogandrews]

Girlfriend wise she’s pretty cool with me fishing. Obviously I would be fishing more if it wasn’t for her, but she gets it that I need to get out a couple times a week to keep me sane. Haven’t really lost friends because of fishing but definitely see non fishing friends less than when I wasn’t fishing as seriously. Probably the biggest impact it had on me is the fact that I huge part of the reason I dropped out of college was to fish more. Looking back in it that’s a really stupid reason to leave school but it worked out really well because I’m making a way better living being a plumber than I would have with an exercise science degree, so you can say fishing actually helped my life a lot ahaha 

[J Francho]

If you're having relationship issues, chances are it's not the fishing that's the real problem.

[Sam]

I fish and my wife quilts.

 

I do my thing and she does her thing.

 

Going to plays or to friends homes and other events always trump my fishing and her quilting. This is understood.

 

All is good on the home front!

[reb67]

I'm lucky, my wife loves to fish has much as I do even when she doesn't want to go she is super cool with me going anytime I want.

[Goldstar225]

My wife frequently suggests that I go fish.  Is she supporting my hobby or trying to get rid of me for a few hours?

[Hook2Jaw]

She makes time for my yak fishing, I make time for her soccer.  It's not a give-take type of thing, it's definitely give, give and I love it.  I love her.

[Bird]

Wife and I have been RVing for over 30 years and we always stay at campgrounds on a lake. 

 

She loves hanging around camp reading while I'm on the water fishing. 

Occasionally I'll pull her on a small raft behind the boat, I'm still fishing while she relaxes. 

 

At home she is a very driven business woman and workaholic.......while I'm off fishing somewhere. Lol

 

Harmony. 

[reb67]

3 hours ago, Goldstar225 said:

My wife frequently suggests that I go fish.  Is she supporting my hobby or trying to get rid of me for a few hours?

Yes!

If you ask her this question in two parts both answers will be yes.

[geo g]

I don't criticize anyone that wants to fish alone, but over the years I have had a bunch of long term friendships with good buddies that I fish with.  I have a group of friends that I go out with on a weekly basis, for trips all around South Florida.  I cherish the conversations we have about fishing, and life in general.  Some of these guys I have fished with for over 40 years.  I have one RULE on the boat, that they keep the politics, and religion, out of the boat.  All other topics are fair game.   I seldom fish alone and would not have it any other way.  I have learned a lot of things from them, and I hope they have learned a little from me.  I have never charge anyone, anything, for these trips, other than their company.  I would not have it any other way.  They are a group of great guys, and make the experience far more enjoyable.  When I do fish alone it is never as good as having someone to share the trip.  So if you enjoy solo trips, knock yourself out, but it's definitely not for me! 

[NittyGrittyBoy]

I always catch bigger fish on solo trips ?

[J Francho]

8 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

I always catch bigger fish on solo trips ?

There's actually some truth to that.

[the reel ess]

In my first marriage, my fishing time was an issue. She didn't like me leaving her to spend that time with my dad or even by myself. In my free time, she wanted me to do whatever she wanted to do. That's not a good sign for the long haul. I came to understand she had trust issues, which were really her deep-seated feelings of being abandoned that I could not fix-she didn't have an ideal childhood. It was pretty complicated and needless to say it didn't last.

 

Fast forward. My current bride of 16 years went fishing with me a grand total of once when we were dating. She caught all the crappie while I baited her hook with minnows and then I only caught catfish after the action slowed. She has no problem with me going fishing and genuinely wants happiness for me. She can see beyond her own wants. That's important in a relationship. If you don't have it, one of you will always be giving while the other takes. That's a recipe for lifelong unhappiness and you really cannot expect people to change completely.

[813basstard]

Most of my friends think fishing is 4 dozen shrimp, 4 dozen tall boys and sunscreen...sometimes it is, most times I’m like Jimi Hendrix, solo.

As far as the wife, long as I take care of home, it’s all good. 
Longer you’ve been with each other you understand it’s healthy to have a ‘thing’

[TnRiver46]

15 hours ago, geo g said:

I don't criticize anyone that wants to fish alone, but over the years I have had a bunch of long term friendships with good buddies that I fish with.  I have a group of friends that I go out with on a weekly basis, for trips all around South Florida.  I cherish the conversations we have about fishing, and life in general.  Some of these guys I have fished with for over 40 years.  I have one RULE on the boat, that they keep the politics, and religion, out of the boat.  All other topics are fair game.   I seldom fish alone and would not have it any other way.  I have learned a lot of things from them, and I hope they have learned a little from me.  I have never charge anyone, anything, for these trips, other than their company.  I would not have it any other way.  They are a group of great guys, and make the experience far more enjoyable.  When I do fish alone it is never as good as having someone to share the trip.  So if you enjoy solo trips, knock yourself out, but it's definitely not for me!

Country singer Sammy Kershaw takes it one step further and stays away from "politics, religion, and her." My favorite line from that song: "one more topic I won't touch, that ones her it hurts too much"

[Guitarfish]

Real friends seem to be rarer as I get older.  Two fishing buds moved out of state, and my best bud / striper mentor died quickly after the big C diagnosis.  I loved that guy and still miss him years later.  

 

Relationships are why we go on.  I fish by myself mostly now. But will take the wife on freshwater sometimes.

[Rpratt]

Mine at times would go and do really well. Caught herself a nice bass the first time she ever flipped a jig. Heck I taught her how to skip wacky worms under trees with a spinning rod, and within just a few hours she was a pro at it.

 

And then.... SNAKE!!!! 

 

Yep, she started noticing snakes. She is terrified of them and now she is very reluctant to go. 

 

If she does now, she will fish for 5 minutes, give up and then sun tan.

 

 

 

[soflabasser]

I am fortunate that my better half joins me fishing and it is something I am very grateful for. She is my better half, my best friend, and she is the person I go fishing with the most. I also fish with family and close friends.

[MGF]

My wife is my primary fishing partner. She doesn't put as much work (study, casting practice, etc) as I do but she's almost always in the boat or wading the river with me. She also loves to camp. She doesn't hunt but she's always in camp when I'm hunting.

 

The only problem (I guess it's a good problem) is that when my son comes into town the logistics gets difficult because I just have a little boat. I work with a couple of young guys that have expressed interest in me taking them out fishing and it's hard to find time to do that too. She'll yield her seat for one of the kids or grandchildren but she gets first dibs over everybody else. LOL

 

[swhit140]

Well the last time my wife was out with me in the boat I hooked her hat with a treble hook. So I'm still working on her trusting me again.?