Have you quit fishing before?

[T-Billy]

9 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

So , no , I will fish until the Lord calls me home…or  until Im physically unable …

 

 

9 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

No, and I don’t plan on it. I’ve been fishing since I was a toddler, or younger. Always been my number one passion. Couldn’t imagine my life without it. Even during the winter when the lakes are frozen and I can’t fish, it’s always on my mind. 

What these guys said. I enjoy hunting too, but fishing... man I'm just obsessed with it. Have been since I was a kid, five decades ago. My grandpa took me for the first time when I was 4. I caught an 18" carp that day, and that was all she wrote, a lifelong fire was ignited.

[Mobasser]

The only time I've quit is during winter freeze. Otherwise I've never quit.  Fishing since the mid 60s. Bass fishing since the late 1970s.

[Swamp Girl]

I didn't fish for the last five years due to someone needing caregiving, which kept me from northwestern Ontario, but then I discovered that there are bass pretty much in my backyard. Lots of 'em! So, I'm back to fishing. 

2 hours ago, T-Billy said:

 

What these guys said. I enjoy hunting too, but fishing... man I'm just obsessed with it. Have been since I was a kid, five decades ago. My grandpa took me for the first time when I was 4. I caught an 18" carp that day, and that was all she wrote, a lifelong fire was ignited.

A four-year old attached to an 18-inch carp, given their power, must have been fun to see!

[galyonj]

I never made, like, a decision to quit fishing. I just put the rod down one day, and it was about 20 years later when I next picked it up.

 

Stuff happens.

[the reel ess]

I quit for a bit in my late 20s-early 30s. Then I got divorced. I wasted years not fishing because my ex didn't like for me to have fun by myself. I believe she felt it was a form of cheating, but she didn't want to tag along. When I met my current wife and we got serious I told her I was going to go fishing regularly and that was all there was to that so be prepared. My wife has gone once with me when we were dating and I baited her hook and she caught all the crappie until there were only catfish left. But she admitted later that she didn't want to go and it was alright that I do.

 

 

[Junk Fisherman]

I fished with my dad as a youth but lost interest in my teen years but I started back up heavily around the age of 20.  When I went through a divorce in my late 20s I lost interest in fishing for a couple months.  Coaching softball in the spring for 3 years left me hardly anytime to fish.  Those have been my only stretches were I didn't fish.  

[Luke Barnes]

I'm there right now. Sold 1 out of 3 of my best baitcasting setups and other two will hopefully sell soon. Life, work, kids, wife, projects, have all taken my time up and I don't see a whole lot of light at the end of the tunnel. I can't fish enough to satisfy my obsession or to stay practiced and feeling on the top of my game, so it's time to hang it up for a while. I know it is all or nothing but with depression and ptsd still floating around in my head, that's the way it is right now. Maybe in a few years I'll pick it back up but we will see. 

[Zcoker]

I never quit fishing, just quit fishing in freshwater for a long time. I only recently got back into freshwater fishing a few years ago here in south Florida. Right now I am doing both, fresh for a while and when I get tired of that I hit the beaches, the inlets, and the bridges....the salty side of life. And when I get tired of that, I go back to the fresh side. That's what's nice about south Florida treasure coast, having world class fisheries of both fresh and salt water right down the road! 

[Bankc]

I quit fishing from 1996 until 2019.  So 23 years.  In '96 I went to college and from then on, I neither had the time, nor the money.  I also was playing a lot of music during that time, so most of what little free time and money I did have was focused on that.  But I got married in 2019, and my band had just broken up, and I felt I was getting too old to keep going.  Plus the life of a musician is rough, and I didn't want to put my wife through that.  So I came back to fishing and then a year later the pandemic hit, and fishing was about the only thing I could do.  I've kept at it because I like the peacefulness and connection with nature, and as far as hobbies go, it's really cheap!  I don't own a bass boat, by the way, nor do I ever intend to buy one.    

[crypt]

had to stop for about 6 months when my Dad got cancer to help him and Mom with treatments. moved to Gainesville for that time but never quit. I don't think I could quit.

[nbbassin]

Never quit, went from fishing 4 days a week to about 2 times a month  to back to  twice a week. Depends on work, family life, and expenses.  I have my fishing/duck boat still , but prefer kayak now.

[ironbjorn]

I'm on a months long break right now. Summer was horrific so I just stopped for awhile so I wouldn't get burned out or start to hate the sport. Sometimes breaks are well needed. I've been doing other things. I'll hit it again in the spring. 

[TnRiver46]

I’ve never missed much more than 5-6 consecutive days. My body begins to shut down 

[KSanford33]

I quit from 1992-2020, so about 28 years. In '92 I realized that in order to have any hope of competing at a decent level in one sport, you pretty much need to cut off all other sports (at least in my case, as A-Jay says, ymmv). So in 2020, after realizing that my competitive years were well-behind me, I decided to get back into it. My bank account has been regretting that decision ever since! ?

[BustedSwimbait]

I usually take a hiatus come the winter months, not because of frozen lakes. Because I do not like the cold, no matter how much I bundle up. Once the hands are cold, I'm useless. 

[volzfan59]

The answer to the question is no, I've never truly quit fishing. Fishing has taken a back seat before, but I still managed to go. When I was in the Army I didn't fish much at all. When I was racing stock cars I didn't have the time to fish much. Thankfully my neighbor and I went a few times each year.

[Darth-Baiter]

I did.  when I first moved to CA, I simply missed my brother and his bass boat.

 

I think I quit for 20 years.  gave away my rods and stuff.   I would dabble, but nothing like before (or now).  then.  the most boring pandemic happened and I asked and looked for a solo fun event.  I bought my kayak and went nuts.

[bigbassin']

Quit, no. Long breaks and lower intensity definitely.
 

Fished anywhere from 3 to 7 days a week from the time I was 10 to 18. Then with college I’d say I went once a month the first year or two, then twice a week the next 3.

 

Once I started working full time, a lot of it depends on schedule. 6-7 day weeks or night shift simply leaves me too wiped out to fish, or if I’m out of town and a long drive to the water I won’t fish. A couple of jobs that were 7 days a week for 2-3 months alternating day and night, fishing was the last thing on my mind.

 

I remember fishing 20 hour days when I was younger, starting at 4:00 AM in the surf, moving to the flats around lunch time for sight fishing, then bass fishing until midnight.
 

These days I’m done after 3-4 hours on a normal Saturday trip. I do a lot more messing around for panfish these days than I used to, haven’t thought about doing a tournament in at least a year or so.

 

Doing a lot of hunting these days and while I wouldn’t say I enjoy it anymore or less, I’ve fished twice since September 1st but been in a tree stand about 10 times. I think I fished once from September to March (early duck season through the end of turkey). So I guess one way or the other I’ve made a subconscious decision on which interest me more at the moment.

 

As far as weather based breaks go, I’m in the opposite boat being in Florida than a lot of y’all. Winter time is probably the best fishing here, it can be tough to motivate myself to go in July after working outside all week.

 

With that being said, all my vacations are fishing based so when I do fish I’ll hit it hard for 7 days in a row from sunup to sundown.

 

 

 

Edit: the bulk of my fishing the last 15 years has been largemouth or saltwater. If work has me in a spot to go after a different species, I’ll quit going to the gym to get after them.

 

One benefit of traveling for work is I’ve gotten to catch peacock bass, smallmouth, spots, shoal bass, rainbow trout, and brown trout without having to take a vacation to do so.

[slonezp]

On 11/3/2022 at 1:36 PM, KSanford33 said:

I quit from 1992-2020, so about 28 years. In '92 I realized that in order to have any hope of competing at a decent level in one sport, you pretty much need to cut off all other sports (at least in my case, as A-Jay says, ymmv). So in 2020, after realizing that my competitive years were well-behind me, I decided to get back into it. My bank account has been regretting that decision ever since! ?

I am both confused and intrigued by your answer. 

[Nitro 882]

On 11/1/2022 at 7:30 PM, TOXIC said:

When I was 13, my grandfather took me on a dream fishing trip to Canada.  Huge Walleye, Pike and Muskie.  Lake Lac La Ronge in Saskatchewan.  I was the oldest of 4 grandkids and the first to make the trip with him and my grandmother who went every year. We had an Indian guide and even did a fly in to another more remote lake.  My grandfather unfortunately passed from leukemia when I was 14 and it was too painful to pick up a fishing rod after that.  30+ years ago when we moved to Virginia, a neighbor got me back into fishing.  I was wade fishing the Shenandoah river on a foggy morning and had a miracle experience on the water.  I met my grandfather again.  I haven’t put a rod down since.  

Hey Toxic. I don't know if anyone else reading your post truly understands but I had the exact same "miracle" experience meeting my father again sometime after his passing. So real it shook me to the core. What a wonderful gift. Keep fishin my friend. Grampa is watching.

[killobet]

I started my account here back in 2009, But then kids happen and shipped my focus on them. I did not quit, Just stopped for a while. Then I came back fishing but this time its a saltwater fishing. Its been fun for a while (10 yrs I guess) then all of a sudden bass fishing starys calling me again. Dust off my gear and start bass foshing again late 2018. Then covid happen so off for another 2 yrs. I fish 2 times a week now and happy that this site is still growing. I learned alot on thus site when I was just a newb. And still learning. I love bass fishing.

 

[Susky River Rat]

My dad took my fishing till I was 16. I lost interest after I need to buy a license. I did fish again till I was about 23-24. Jumped right back into it musky fishing. Now I don’t pick up the musky rods near as much. I just enjoy going out with my dad or a buddy more so now. 

[Kirtley Howe]

The only way I will ever quit fishing is if Heaven does not have fishing holes....oh, wait, that would be Hell, wouldn't it?

[TnRiver46]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CioFxoBj6Hf/?igshid=MWI4MTIyMDE=

[contium]

I quit for a decade. I got too deep into tournament fishing, and it ruined it for me.