How far do you guys go to fish?

[Log Catcher]

I very rarely travel more than 60 miles. I have 4 lakes in that distance plus some places anywhere from 15 to 35 miles away to fish. my closest spot is Elkhorn creek and from the house I can be on the water in about 30 minutes. I'm jealous of Pro Log catcher living on Lake Norman. I got to fish there about 15 years ago. I may get to come back down there this year.

[RPreeb]

I have a 1.5 acre pond 4 blocks from the house with small LM bass, bluegill and catfish.  Another one about 2 acres is 25 minutes away, and 2 reservoirs less than 1 hour away.  None are particularly noted for bass (walleye seems to be more heavily fished in the reservoirs), but that's okay... that just means that the bass aren't pressured all that much.  

[Ratherbfishing]

Between 10 minutes and an hour and 45 minutes away.  (Wouldn't you know that the best fishing is some distance away!)  C'est la vie.

[Brad in Texas]

A couple of hundred feet to my boathouse/dock on Lake Athens here in Texas. But, I fish other places, too. To say east Texas has an abundance of opportunities would be a gross understatement.

 

From my driveway:

 

1) 22 miles to Purtis Creek State Park;

2) 16 miles to Lake Palestine;

3) 25 miles to Cedar Creek Reservoir;

4) 25 or so miles to Richland Chambers;

5) 45 miles to Fairfield Lake (power plant lake);

6) 60 miles to either Lake Fork or Tawakoni;

7) 35 miles to Tyler Lake;

8) 19 miles to the Neches River;

9) 30 miles to Mill Creek Reservoir in Canton.

 

I'm out of breath, fingers cramping, forgetting a few others . . . for all those I have listed, there are 2X as many within 60 miles. Not far to my south, Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend.

 

I know several states are thusly blessed: Florida, Arkansas, Louisiana come to mind as do a few others with this sort of lake density. 

 

Oh! I mix it up depending on how I want to fish. Usually for me, 30 minutes will get me where I want to be.

 

Brad

 

 

[Bankbeater]

I have a couple of small lakes in a city park that are about 2 miles from my house.  There are two reservoirs that are both about 2-1/2 to 3 hours away depending on traffic conditions.

[drew4779]

Shore:  The closest lakes to fish are about 25 minutes away, and I hate those lakes.  My main water is about 50 minutes away. 

 

Boating:  It's about 35 minutes to the ramp on the Ohio and not my favorite place to fish.  The closest reservoir is about 45 minutes away. 

[corn-on-the-rob]

I drive 105 miles about every other weekend to go fish Lake Erie in Sandusky (Erie Islands) during the season.

 

I have to drive a little over an hour to my dad's house to grab the boat, hook it up, then (the insane part) drive about 50 minutes to Sandusky all while traveling parallel to, and only few miles from other parts of lake Erie the entire time. 

 

The things we do for fishing.

[fishballer06]

I have a few local ponds within a 5-10 minute drive. However, when I'm lake/river fishing, I'm driving 20-160 miles depending on the lake.

[A-Jay]

8 hours ago, senile1 said:

 I obviously don't travel enough to whack a DD. . . . not yet anyway.  

What are you waiting for ~ seriously. 

Do It.

It feels Reeeally Goooood. 

A-Jay

[senile1]

49 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

What are you waiting for ~ seriously. 

Do It.

It feels Reeeally Goooood. 

A-Jay

Soon, my friend.  I sent you a PM.

[ohboyitsrobby]

Depends really. Anywhere from a couple hundred feet to the river in my back yard to 150 miles to the furthest tournament I fish. Normally no more that 45 minutes. I'm lucky enough to have water galore around me. 

[JustJames]

1/4 mile away and that d**n too far.

i wanna be just like @Cattwhere I can fish, eat and sleep at the same spot in my backyard. Man one of these days, one of these days, off i go to buy some Power ball.?

[Way north bass guy]

Living in central Ontario, I have literally hundreds of lakes within an hour from my house, and that only counts the ones big enough to launch the big boat. I couldn't even begin to count the small spots where I can launch the small boat or fish from shore, including one beauty that’s about a long crankbait cast from my front door. I don’t even think it’d be possible to try them all in one lifetime. 

And then there’s the bay. My place is about 5 min. from several ramps on Georgian Bay. From the ramp, I could run 50’ and start casting or literally run as far as my boat will take me. And if I run maybe 15 min. from town, even on the busiest summer weekend, I’ll never see another boat all day. The only downside is this d**n ice, kinda slows down the casting for a few months ?.

[WRB]

Before the quagga mussel problem I had 4 lakes to take my boat to and bass fish within 1 hour drive. 2 private lakes within 20 minutes I can fish. Lake Casitas where my boat is currently locked onto is 45 miles, about 1 hour depending on traffic.

years ago I traveled all over the country to bass fish, 

Tom

[Logan S]

Lot of towing for me... The Potomac is 30 minutes to an hour and half depending on the ramp I go to.  Upper Bay, Conowingo, and Anna are all about an hour and half away.  Deep Creek is 2.5 hours and Gaston, Kerr, and Smith Mountain are 3.5 to 4 hours.  There's other places around here that I fish occasionally, but they're all 1 to 3 hours away too.

 

There's a 500 acre electric-only lake that's only about 15 minutes away so I fish there quite a bit if I don't have a full day, especially summertime after work...Fish a couple tournaments there each year too.  There's a few other electric-only lakes that are 30 to 45 mins away too, but I don't fish them very often.    I've gone as far as FL to the south and Canada to the north, but obviously those aren't regular trips.    

 

I do have a medium sized creek behind my house with smallmouth in it, so I take advantage of that quite a bit too...

[MNGeorge]

About 40 miles is max for me except when I go fish with my grandson...80 miles but worth the time with him on the water. In the "Land of Ten Thousand Lakes" one needn't travel far to find good fishing for just about any freshwater species you'd care to pursue.

[N Florida Mike]

I walk about 25 feet from my back door !?

Got ponds all over within 5 - 30 minutes if I get bored at home ( which isnt that often) Got a ramp to the St Johns 5 -10 minutes away.

All the bigger lakes are 45- 1 1/2 hours away. I dont fish them much nowdays though.

[BuzzHudson19c]

One of my favorite spots is a mile from my house. I can leave home and have the kayak in the water in 10 minutes. Usually though I don't drive more than 45 minutes. There are a number of small lakes and a few large ones within 30 miles. Once a summer we camp in the Adirondacks and even then it's only an hour and a half drive.

[soflabasser]

The closest I fish from home is a canal that is less than 200 feet from my house. This canal has very good fishing for largemouth bass, peacock bass, snook, tarpon, and many other fish. I can easily get comfortable and just fish this canal, but I like to travel for fishing. With that said, I often make long drives to reach some awesome spots I have. I also travel out of state to catch fish on my fishing bucket list and will continue doing it( I caught muskies, smallies, palomino trout, etc last year on some of my travels and got other out of state fishing trips coming up this year).

[Ktho]

There’s a park lake I can fish from shore 15 minutes away but for boating it’s at least a 70-90 mile drive to launch the boat.

[FishDewd]

I have several public ponds nearby, but I haven't had much luck in them. There is fish in there, I just can't generally catch unless it's by complete accident, lol. Has nothing to do with me or my "skill level" when it comes to bass! Anyway, the farthest pond I frequent is maybe 30-40 miles? I make the drive in about 25-30 minutes depending on traffic and how many red lights I catch. Once in a blue moon I will go somewhere nicer, such as Canyon Lake outside of San Antonio. I'd love to do a trip to conroe or livingston, but without a boat to use it'd be a wasted trip.

[nosdog2]

I live halfway between the Upper Chesapeake and the Potomac River, both are about an hour or less; although getting to the Potomac can be a nightmare driving down past DC.

 

But I spend a lot of time fishing at my place up in NY as well; I take the boat up there as often as I can. That is about a 5-6 hour drive. 

[Bluebasser86]

I try to keep day trips close to a hour or less. Lots of lakes within that drive for me but none that I would really consider close. The closest lake with a boat ramp is about a 15 minute drive. A couple smaller ones closer that I can kayak or bank fish. 

[the reel ess]

I have about 6 private places within 20 miles that i can kayak fish. One of them, I can use the big boat, but not the gas motor. I can fish a few of them anytime I like and a couple require a little logistical planning (call ahead and get a key or let the owner know I'll be there so he doesn't shoot me ). And there are 2 public no-gas-motor lakes in that radius as well. So I rarely drive far to fish anymore. I used to like fishing places I hadn't been to before. But now I like catching fish.

 

There is a state managed public lake (big pond) about 10 miles away that has been closed for several years. They had a big fish kill there and drained and restocked it. They supposedly added cover and structure. It's been closed for 2 years. It opens in July and I really want to hit it because the fish will have never seen a lure. I'm not sure how big they could have gotten in a couple years though. It was all but forgotten before the kill.

 

All that said, every body of water that I ride by, I imagine is a trophy bass fishery that no one else knows about.

[Boomstick]

My shortest drive is around 30-40 minutes to find bass. There's a larger lake in NY with tons of shore access that I like fishing at which is around a 90 mile and two hour drive one way.