Tired of it

[MacJig]

So, I will just get to the point. Has there ever been a time when you grew tired and/or bored with fishing? I usually go out 2 to 3 times a week when fishing permits in the northeast. I've often wondered if I went out 5 to 6 times a week would I grow tired and weary of it. Is there a time when fishing becomes so commonplace  that it loses its appeal and excitement? Is there a point where you can fish too much and fishing loses it's novelty and attraction? I'm just curious how other anglers feel about that. Have you ever reached that point where you hung up your fishing rods and shut the door?

[T-Billy]

I never mentally tire of it. After 4or5 days straight my hands, wrists, elbows and back are screaming for a break though.

[Mike L]

2 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

I never mentally tire of it. After 4or5 days straight my hands, wrists, elbows and back are screaming for a break though.

Ditto

 

 

Mike

[Junk Fisherman]

I have wondered about this in terms of when I retire.  Will I have so much time that I only go when the conditions are perfect and will I start making excuses not to go?  Right now, I go one day every weekend for 8-10 hours pretty much regardless of conditions.  Then, by Tuesday I am ready to go again and am looking forward to the weekend to get back on the water.  When I take a fishing vacation I will fish heavy every day for 3, 4, 5 days in a row.  I have intentionally cut back on some days when the fishing is not great just as a way to conserve energy.  

 

I think 2-3 times a week is perfect and that is my routine when I have an extended amount of time off and I am not on vacation.  Granted, I spend no less than 8 hours on the water so I am putting in full days.  In terms of losing appeal and excitement, I get more tired of actually getting up, hooking up the boat, driving 45 minutes or so to get to the lake.  If I lived close or even had my boat moored at the lake, I could see fishing more often.     

 

And to answer your question of have I ever grown bored of fishing, the answer is yes but I get over it in a couple days.  

[EWREX]

try to fish differently. try a different technique, fish a different area, go out of your comfort zone and your results will be much more rewarding.

[gim]

I've never experienced this.  But I've never been able to go 4 or 5 times/week either because I work full time, I own a house, have a dog, and a family.  All those other things eat up my time.  If I was retired, I would go more than I do now but I am not sure I would go that much.  I've also never really been a full day of fishing kinda guy.  I generally go for 4 hours or so at a time.  I'm lucky to live in the land of 10,000 lakes with multiple options relatively close to my house though.  If I had to drive an hour one way or more, I'd probably fish longer.

 

Both my parents are fully retired now and they fish more than they did before they were retired, but not every day.  I would say they go 3 or 4 times/week now.  The primary difference is that they can go when they want to, on a Tuesday instead of a Saturday.

[JustJames]

Not to the extreme but yes I’m getting tired of fishing sometimes. I cannot stand fishing 5-8 hours day anymore if I fish by myself. The problem is I fish almost every day but only 1-2 hours on only one 400 acres lake.

[MacJig]

1 hour ago, Junk Fisherman said:

I have wondered about this in terms of when I retire.  Will I have so much time that I only go when the conditions are perfect and will I start making excuses not to go?  Right now, I go one day every weekend for 8-10 hours pretty much regardless of conditions.  Then, by Tuesday I am ready to go again and am looking forward to the weekend to get back on the water.  When I take a fishing vacation I will fish heavy every day for 3, 4, 5 days in a row.  I have intentionally cut back on some days when the fishing is not great just as a way to conserve energy.  

 

I think 2-3 times a week is perfect and that is my routine when I have an extended amount of time off and I am not on vacation.  Granted, I spend no less than 8 hours on the water so I am putting in full days.  In terms of losing appeal and excitement, I get more tired of actually getting up, hooking up the boat, driving 45 minutes or so to get to the lake.  If I lived close or even had my boat moored at the lake, I could see fishing more often.     

 

And to answer your question of have I ever grown bored of fishing, the answer is yes but I get over it in a couple days.  

That's why I like bank fishing. No fuss and no muss! I just put my gear in the car and go.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I would love to find out. I don’t think I could ever get that tired of fishing . 

[volzfan59]

I used to go as much as possible, sometimes three or fours days in a row, daylight to dark no matter the conditions. Now that I'm retired, I have to be honest and say that I don't go if the temps are in the 30's for lows and in the humid 90's. I'll go out in the mornings and fish until it get too hot, but that's it for me. Rain doesn't bother me at all, thunderstorms however....... ain't gonna happen.

[MacJig]

13 minutes ago, volzfan59 said:

I used to go as much as possible, sometimes three or fours days in a row, daylight to dark no matter the conditions. Now that I'm retired, I have to be honest and say that I don't go if the temps are in the 30's for lows and in the humid 90's. I'll go out in the mornings and fish until it get too hot, but that's it for me. Rain doesn't bother me at all, thunderstorms however....... ain't gonna happen.

I hear you. I'm also retired. I don't know what I would do without fishing. 

[Dwight Hottle]

I'm 73 and will be 74 in March so that's where my perspective is coming from. I have never consciously been tired or bored of fishing. But my interest has waned as I get older. I find I don't have to fish as frequently as before to satisfy my fishing urges so I rely on hopefully quality outing when I do go. The fact that I no longer have my own boat makes it more difficult to when I want to without advanced planning. Physically I have been blessed with relatively good health except for a cancer scare a few years back. I still get tired & somewhat stiff but can fish all day casting in the heat with guys much younger than I. I always chuckle when I hear younger guys complain about this ache or that after a days fishing. I have learned not to complain.  

[Craig P]

Not for me. Fishing is like an addictive drug to me. If I don’t get out fishing at least once a week (hopefully twice or more) I feel like I am in withdrawal and NEED to get out. There are weeks I do get out 3-4 times and I think, ok, take a break.  Usually those are the weeks where I travel to saltwater and local. 

[WRB]

16 minutes ago, Dwight Hottle said:

I'm 73 and will be 74 in March so that's where my perspective is coming from. I have never consciously been tired or bored of fishing. But my interest has waned as I get older. I find I don't have to fish as frequently as before to satisfy my fishing urges so I rely on hopefully quality outing when I do go. The fact that I no longer have my own boat makes it more difficult to when I want to without advanced planning. Physically I have been blessed with relatively good health except for a cancer scare a few years back. I still get tired & somewhat stiff but can fish all day casting in the heat with guys much younger than I. I always chuckle when I hear younger guys complain about this ache or that after a days fishing. I have learned not to complain.  

^^^^this^^^

Add 5 years and the tragedy of losing my only son and desire to do nearly anything but haven’t lost my love of fishing. My agility has dwindled but fishing skills are still OK.

I never fished more then a few times a week during my later working years usually 1 day. Younger years I lived on a lake and fished anytime I wanted to sun up to sun down.

Age slowed me and don’t look forward to 0’dark 30, cold windy days to go fishing but will if invited.

Tom

[Jmilburn76]

I grew up fishing with my grandpa and when he passed away it bothered me so bad I stopped fishing for close to 15 years.I started fishing again around 10 years ago but due to OT at work and family commitments I didn't have too much free time to go.

 

 Ironically at the end of May I was almost killed at that job that kept me from fishing as much as I wanted to. The injury caused me to have a stroke and as of now my left hand still doesn't work much except to grip things. I do all of my fishing from a kayak and I was able to fish a few times after the injury, I just had to change and adapt as I went but it somewhat worked.

 

 To answer the OPs question, not now. Im grateful to be alive and cherish every second that I will get to fish and will never take it for granted.  

[The Bassman]

I know I'm fishing too much when I get way behind on chores around the house. I get feeling guilty...but I eventually get over it.

[gim]

15 minutes ago, Jmilburn76 said:

I grew up fishing with my grandpa

Same.  He died of cancer in 2012.

 

My old man just turned 70 last July so he's no spring chicken anymore.  I have really enjoyed fishing with him more the past several years because I've come to realize that his days are numbered.  He's in fine shape with good health for a guy that's 70, but he's not going to be able to do this until he's 90.  I think he likes going with me in my boat because he really doesn't have to do any of the work other than sit in the back and fish at his own pace.  That being said, there are days when I enjoy just fishing with the dog too instead of another human.

[MacJig]

20 minutes ago, WRB said:

^^^^this^^^

Add 5 years and the tragedy of losing my only son and desire to do nearly anything but haven’t lost my love of fishing. My agility has dwindled but fishing skills are still OK.

I never fished more then a few times a week during my later working years usually 1 day. Younger years I lived on a lake and fished anytime I wanted to sun up to sun down.

Age slowed me and don’t look forward to 0’dark 30, cold windy days to go fishing but will if invited.

Tom

No doubt about it ! Life is tough with many unhappy heartbreaks. Under the weight of it all, fishing is like a calm hand that says "come with me and find some quiet time away from it all". Fishing is not only a great sport. It's a good friend that is always there when you need him. Well, maybe not in the winter. ?

[Zcoker]

It's nice to have two passions. Always need a break, no matter what it is. In my case, when I grow tiresome or even bored of freshwater fishing, I just jump on over to the ocean side. I tag sharks for NOAA land-based here in S. Florida. Been doing it for years, hundreds of sharks, from 6ft blacktips to 14ft great hammerheads. That endeavor can get very exciting, to say the least, enough so to keep the juices flowing for a very long, long time lol  Bass fishing, on the other hand, is so new and such a refreshing relief for me. Both these worlds, combined, spill over into one and keep my life very full. There's absolutely no room for boredom....unless there's a good flick showing on Netflix lol 

[Cdn Angler]

I always fish alone in a kayak and during the pandemic I found that after a week spent working from home by myself I wasn't as keen to drive 1-2 hours to spend more time on a lake by myself.  

[TnRiver46]

[A-Jay]

Nope ~

I retired almost 15 years ago 47.

I fish when I want (weather & Ops permitting) but do prefer quality trips over going every day just to go.   When the bites right, I'm there.

If not, I'm content to wait until conditions improve.

However, my open water season is WAAAAAAAAY to short to ever get tired of it.

Besides, the scenery alone is often worth the price of admission . . . .

Fish Hard

A-Jay

[nascar2428]

I actually went from fishing 3-4 times a week to once a week last year. Not because of a lack of interest, more of not wanting to deal with the influx of new anglers created from covid. I experienced quite a few negative outings during that time period and did not want to go thru that again. However this is a new year and with a new desire to get back to what I really love to do. So I have one new rod and another rod and reel on order for the new year, I'm definately looking forward to prowling the banks once again.

[CrashVector]

Sometimes yeah.  I'm off mon-fri, so I can fish 3-4 days a week if I want to.

 

So far this week, I've gone every day since Mon, so naturally, I'm not as "enthusiastic" about it towards the end of the week.

 

There's always "pressure"for me to get good catch footage for my yt channel, but after a while, I stop caring about that too and just go for fun.

[MacJig]

8 minutes ago, Zcoker said:

It's nice to have two passions. Always need a break, no matter what it is. In my case, when I grow tiresome or even bored of freshwater fishing, I just jump on over to the ocean side. I tag sharks for NOAA land-based here in S. Florida. Been doing it for years, hundreds of sharks, from 6ft blacktips to 14ft great hammerheads. That endeavor can get very exciting, to say the least, enough so to keep the juices flowing for a very long, long time lol  Bass fishing, on the other hand, is so new and such a refreshing relief for me. Both these worlds, combined, spill over into one and keep my life very full. There's absolutely no room for boredom....unless there's a good flick showing on Netflix lol 

The key, especially in retirement, is to always have something to look forward to. Living In perpetual boredom is so  damaging to one's mental well-being. If I'm going fishing in a few days it just excites me and gives me something to look forward to. Everybody needs something to look forward to in life other than the same old mundane tick of the clock.