Freedom to fish whenever and wherever

[Ratherbfishing]

It really is just a pipe dream of mine (obviously, since I'm not made of money) but have you ever wished you could simply hook up your boat, get in your truck (or SUV) and just travel and fish extensively whenever and wherever you wanted?  I've often studied at an atlas and thought how neat it would be to begin in the "winter" by fishing all the southern states and work my way north across the continent.  Have you ever known anyone who did anything LIKE this?

[EGbassing]

Yep. A while ago I started in the south and fished at least one lake in each state; caught my PB largemouth, a 10 lb smallmouth, several muskie, and then woke up.

[Scott F]

I've been wanting to do something like that for several years. I just wanted to do it fishing rivers for smallmouth. Now that I'm retired, I could do it, but I don't think it would be much fun to do it alone and I haven't found anyone who'd like to do it with me.

[Deleted account]

I've been fortunate to fish in many countries in 6 continents for all sorts of things with fins and gills. I'd have to check my math, but I want to say I've fished in maybe 15 or so states. 

[Dens228]

I can't fish wherever I want, but being semi-retired and having four months off in the summer I do have a lot of opportunity to fish..........currently in a kayak for the most part but eyeing a bass boat to expand my horizons. 

 

[Oregon Native]

After the kids had grown I fished a lot.....was fortunate threw the state federation and BASS Nationals to go to many states.  Fished all ten of the west's Federation states and five of the National destinations and now I've lived in Tennessee for ten years and have been blessed traveling around here.  It has been a great ride with many dips and mountains.  Met a lot of interesting people too.  Probably wound't have done it without BASS or the FLW.  Last but not least my great wife and family and the Good Lords blessings. 

[Gundog]

Its a dream of mine to do exactly what @Ratherbfishing is talking about. But its a dream. The reality is I have to have a job to fund anything I do. Also I'm not as young as I use to be so living out of a truck, motel rooms, campgrounds is not as much fun as it use to sound. 

[Catt]

Been blessed enough to have bass fished from Brownsville Texas to Central Florida & from the Gulf of Mexico to Ohio.

 

Still have a few ponds I'd like to try ?

[Mobasser]

The one thing for me, at some point in my life would be to make a serious smallmouth bass trip. I've only caught one smallmouth in my life, and have always fished for largemouth bass.Smallmouth are not in the lakes I fish locally. Hope to do this someday

[Harold Scoggins]

I want to fish Mexico, but knowing my luck, I'd have a run-in with the cartel trying to take my new PB.

[TnRiver46]

15 hours ago, Scott F said:

I've been wanting to do something like that for several years. I just wanted to do it fishing rivers for smallmouth. Now that I'm retired, I could do it, but I don't think it would be much fun to do it alone and I haven't found anyone who'd like to do it with me.

I’ll go! But seriously I have tossed This idea around in my head for years. Get a group of people and just canoe and camp down all the smallmouth rivers in the US. Video the entire trip and somehow make money off it . 

[LCG]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

The one thing for me, at some point in my life would be to make a serious smallmouth bass trip. I've only caught one smallmouth in my life, and have always fished for largemouth bass.Smallmouth are not in the lakes I fish locally. Hope to do this someday

Smallmouth are probably the most fun to play with. Great fighters. I am fortunate in that I am in Ontario Canada, our lakes are full or them, commonly in the 5-8lb range. So much fun. 

[CroakHunter]

I'd love to start at Kentucky Lake and fish all the Tennessee River lakes. 

[slonezp]

Used to do an annual trip in late March early April. I have fished a number of the "big name" bass lakes. Unfortunately, time constraints and mother nature can make or break that trip of a lifetime. Fishing and traveling are a lot of work. When I'm on vacation, I want to be on vacation. Maybe once I'm retired and time no longer means anything I would be up for it.

[Bluebasser86]

I'd love to be able to. I'm hoping once my boys are older, they'll be into fishing and want to go on fishing trips with me. 

[Oregon Native]

One of the neatest camp/bass fishing trips I had was waking up in the morning in the campground at lake Orville California and having a deer looking in my van window!!!! Sheesh.  Then in same campground was washing my face over the sink and saw movement just in front of me......jumped back and looked and here comes a little frog out of the overflow on the sink....little @#!$ startled me good.  Oh....same restroom had a bat too over the shower....this place had it all....plus good fishing.

[Alec McMillan]

Once I'm older I'd like to start at Okeechobee and make my ways north and finish with smallmouth in Mille Lacs. Then do the same thing for the other side of the country. 

[SWVABass]

My dream would be a multi day saltwater trip. To Australia fishing for marlin and whatever else is biting. I’ve been lucky to fish across the us on family trips and during work. So I want to do something exotic. My wife and I are trying to plan a 10 year anniversary to South America on the coast packed with snook, tarpon, red fish and whatever else may give the line a tug.

[A-Jay]

18 hours ago, slonezp said:

Used to do an annual trip in late March early April. I have fished a number of the "big name" bass lakes. Unfortunately, time constraints and mother nature can make or break that trip of a lifetime. Fishing and traveling are a lot of work. When I'm on vacation, I want to be on vacation. Maybe once I'm retired and time no longer means anything I would be up for it.

 Interesting perspective ~ 

I believe that once you do get there - that may change quite a bit. 

"The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time" 

A-Jay

[WRB]

Made my 1st coast to coast cross country fishing trip the summer of '61 before strarting college. 1st long range ocean charter trip from San Diego to Baja' Gaudalupe island in '65 after college before starting my aerospace engineering career. Back packing the High Sierra for Golden trout to off shore marlin and tuna, fishing the California coast to Cabo San Lucas for 35 years. My career allowed to to travel to nearly every state and bass fished most of them. '71 was my 1st bass fishing trip to lake Guerrero Mexico main land. '72 my 1st trip to Canada to meet my new inlaws and fish for walleye, northern pike, lake trout, bass and muskies. My father in law had a float plane so we fished a lot of remote wilderness lakes in Canada.

You can reach your dreams and attain your goals if you take it a trip at a time spread over a lifetime.

Owned several boats over the years, never owned a motor home or truck with camper, rather tent camp or stay in a resort.

Tom

 

[slonezp]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

 Interesting perspective ~ 

I believe that once you do get there - that may change quite a bit. 

"The secret to life is enjoying the passage of time" 

A-Jay

Time without constraints is what I was trying to convey. When I have a week of vacation and spend half of that time driving to go fish, it takes some of the enjoyment out of it, add the weather fluctuations in early spring and a fishing vacation becomes a crap shoot. When I contacted you last fall about my dad and I doing a smallmouth tour of Michigan, I was planning a 2 week stint fishing Erie, St Clair, Traverse Bay, and Menderchuck. I switched jobs and plans changed. 2 weeks is a lot of time to include a fudge factor for weather and other bumps in the road.

 

Currently, only being able to take a week at a time, I want to make the most of it. Keep driving to no more than a day and the ability to change plans on a moments notice due to mother nature. 

[12poundbass]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

When I contacted you last fall about my dad and I doing a smallmouth tour of Michigan, I was planning a 2 week stint fishing Erie, St Clair, Traverse Bay, and Menderchuck. 

@A-Jay told you where Lake Menderchuck is and you're still alive? Unbelievable! The only logical explanation for that is the directions he gave you put you in the middle of a landfill or the National Guard base up there! ?

[jbmaine]

I have the time, but not the health or $$$ to travel where ever, but if I did. I would fly fish for trout in all the amazing places I've heard about.

 Spring creeks out west, Alaska, Minipi region in Labrador, Patagonia, New Zealand.

[TnRiver46]

On 12/1/2018 at 8:21 AM, CroakHunter said:

I'd love to start at Kentucky Lake and fish all the Tennessee River lakes. 

A guy recently paddled it in a canoe traveling upriver starting at the confluence with the Ohio . He had a dog with him too! I think it’s like 650 miles, I’m guessing he went upstream because the wind typically blows upstream. But the current can be crazy too! 

[slonezp]

3 hours ago, 12poundbass said:

@A-Jay told you where Lake Menderchuck is and you're still alive? Unbelievable! The only logical explanation for that is the directions he gave you put you in the middle of a landfill or the National Guard base up there! ?

We were to meet under the darkness of night an hour from the ramp. My father and I were to don burlap sacks over our heads while A-Jay drove us to the ramp. We were to fish until dark and repeat the process in reverse. Unfortunately, this series of events never transpired and I went to Sturgeon Bay instead.