Peak bassing?

[MIbassyaker]

9 hours ago, Functional said:

My peak will hit the day after I start retirement. Until then I'm at the mercy of available time and crowded weekends. 

 

Yep, that's what I'm shooting for.  Got a ways to go yet.  Just have to stay healthy enough to make it possible.

[Alex from GA]

When I first moved to GA in '99 I was at my peak.  Now, with health problems, it's all downhill.  I was still going kayak fishing weekly after 80 but this year knocked the crap out of me.

[Kirtley Howe]

I am definitely past my peak as far as fishing goes. But you know what? That doesn't change a thing for me. I still love going fishing. Even if I don't catch 'em like I used to, I still enjoy every minute of it. My only regret is that my stamina is decreasing every year. Getting old(er) is not for the weak.

[Swamp Girl]

8 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

When I first moved to GA in '99 I was at my peak.  Now, with health problems, it's all downhill.  I was still going kayak fishing weekly after 80 but this year knocked the crap out of me.

 

I'm stiffer, weaker, and have less energy each year, Alex. Balance also worries me. Mine is still pretty good, but I'm always on uneven ground, lugging gear and a canoe in the woods, often in the dark and always alone, stepping on slippery rocks and roots. On the water, I'm always in tippy canoes. I look at the photos of some of the BR guys standing on perfectly flat and stable bass boats and sigh. 

 

You understand Alex that you're extraordinary. You're still kayak fishing in your eighties. Most octogenarians couldn't situate their selves in a kayak seat, much less rise from it after hours of fishing. Most octogenarians don't fish alone. Heck, most octogenarians don't fish. I can't imagine canoe fishing in my eighties, but I'm hoping...and stretching...and walking.

 

On one of my last fishing trips this year, the one where I caught 56 bass and two jumbo yellow perch, I paddled a couple miles into the wind and landed my canoe on a slick, sloped bank. I put my hands on the gunnels and transferred by weight to the slanted mud and rock. I tried to stand and plopped on my bum. So then I really focused on standing and wobbled up. You get stiff sitting in a canoe all morning. However, here are three of the bass I caught and such fish don't stop tugging at you once you're unhooked and released them and the humiliation of landing on my bum into mud is a small price to pay to dance with such gals:

 

 

[Lottabass]

I think that the more your strength, endurance, and agility go down, the more your attitude has to make up for that loss.  When I retired in 2016 I fished every day, now it's a struggle to go 3 times a week.  I'm kinda ashamed to admit that I have to talk myself in to going some days although I love to fish and I'm always glad I did afterward.  I'm 74 and my goal is to be still chunkin and windin (and catchin) at 80.  When I get to 79 I'll move the goal to 85.... if I can hire somebody to tie my knots!

[Swamp Girl]

10 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

I think that the more your strength, endurance, and agility go down, the more your attitude has to make up for that loss. 

 

Wise.

[Functional]

15 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

I think that the more your strength, endurance, and agility go down, the more your attitude has to make up for that loss.  

I think people significantly under value the impact your own attitude can have on your health. It's a different type of strength but it still needs to be practiced and "worked out" just like a muscle. 

 

Despite all your own things you have going on, you can appreciate it and feel it but always remember someone is wishing for what you have even if it seems like your worst thing. 

 

EDIT: not directing this comment specifically at you, just using "you" and "your" in general terms. 

[padlin]

Peak in numbers of fish was the year or 3 just before Covid.
Peak in numbers of other fishermen is during and after Covid.

 

I’m on the downside physically, the canoe gets heavier and tippier, I worry about falling in more.

 

On the plus side, the above got me in the gym and out on the trails, we’ll see what the spring brings.

[Fried Lemons]

I like to think my best days are still ahead of me. My knowledge and physical fitness is the best it has been but there are things I lack which hold me back from really dialing things in like a watercraft I can take out on the larger lakes, electronics etc. Not saying these things are necessary to catch fish but the difference between what can be accomplished with vs without is undeniable. 

[Swamp Girl]

21 minutes ago, Fried Lemons said:

I like to think my best days are still ahead of me. My knowledge and physical fitness is the best it has been but there are things I lack which hold me back from really dialing things in like a watercraft I can take out on the larger lakes, electronics etc. Not saying these things are necessary to catch fish but the difference between what can be accomplished with vs without is undeniable. 

 

I so agree with your self-assessment. You're young and therefore at peak strength and agility, but you're also fishing from shore and a paddleboard. A paddleboard! And you're catching monsters from shore and on your paddleboard and I can imagine what you could do with a bass boat and electronics.

 

43 minutes ago, padlin said:

I’m on the downside physically, the canoe gets heavier and tippier, I worry about falling in more.

 

Oh, do I ever understand.

 

Go back  and read the threads from just five or ten years ago. They're filled with guys who LOVED Bass Resource and bassing and are no longer here. I'm certain that some of them reached a point where they could no longer fish and went radio silent. 

[Mobasser]

I believe my peak was ten years ago. I'm older now, and have aches and pains from years of construction work.          But, I'm still hanging in there. Bound and determined to keep fishing, and keep learning things.

[gim]

I believe both @A-Jay and @WRB stated something like this when it comes to time versus health:

 

When you're younger, you have the strength, energy, and health but lack the time.  When you're older, its the opposite.  The exact timing of when those cross each other's path varies from person to person though.

 

I still mostly have the energy, strength, and health but I lack the time at this point.

[Catt]

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak!

 

Like @TOXIC I used to fish 150-200+ days a year. A tournament day was from first light until dark thirty. During summer months that can be 14+ hours. 

 

With 3 ruptured disc those says are long gone. The desire is still there, the knowledge is the there, the body isn't.

[TnRiver46]

[Swamp Girl]

7 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

 

I've seen your photos of you on the water catching this and that with friends and family. You're doing just fine.

[A-Jay]

42 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I believe both @A-Jay and @WRB stated something like this when it comes to time versus health:

 

When you're younger, you have the strength, energy, and health but lack the time.  When you're older, its the opposite.  The exact timing of when those cross each other's path varies from person to person though.

 

I still mostly have the energy, strength, and health but I lack the time at this point.

Staying as healthy and fit as you can NOW as well as later, can pay off down the road.

We need the the whole package to be balanced so when we do "have the time" 

we can benefit and actually use what we've learned.  And then share it with younger folks, who for some reason,

often seem unable or unwilling to listen.

Hence the saying, youth is wasted on the young.

Get off my lawn.

A-Jay

 

[TnRiver46]

39 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I've seen your photos of you on the water catching this and that with friends and family. You're doing just fine.

Definitely doing fine but that’s the only life I’ve ever known, not sure when it’s peak 

[gim]

1 hour ago, Swamp Girl said:

You're doing just fine.

 

In terms of performance perhaps.  He looks like he's about 60 even though he's much younger than that though. 

[Zcoker]

Peak? Why, I’m in my prime. I feel better. I fish longer. I fish wiser than I ever used to, but that goes along with just about anything that I do. Gotta balance things. Plenty of spark left. There’s other hobbies in life that are just as rewarding and just as exciting, like racing cars!

 

Plenty of road left in this life! 

 

 

[Bankbeater]

I can't fish all day like I used to.  I can go 5 or 6 hours before I have to stop and recharge.  While I'm out on the water I try to make those 5 or 6 hours count. 

[crypt]

YES, I am in my peak........my body isn't all the time but I get over it........I'm very stubborn.That and Advil helps......

[papajoe222]

Nah, I peaked about 35 years ago. Week-end tournaments and mid-week excursions kept me at my peak during that period.

If I could remember half of what I knew and had the skill I once had, even with the advanced electronics of today, old me would kick my you know what. Never mind, I'd be taking a nap about four hours into the competition.

[Motoboss]

I believe I’m still right around my peak, strength, desire and ability……but what I have lost at 70 is my “give a da**”

 

I just don’t care anymore about long trips, long hours in the boat or battling non-ideal weather. If it’s not an easy trip to get on the water, to the lake or river, in great weather (for fishing) I’d rather do something else. Agree with @Zcoker theres plenty of life opportunities out there.

 

But I still like fishing,,,,,,a lot and go when I can.

[LrgmouthShad]

No, I’m still several years away from peaking. I have more to learn and at my age in my mid twenties, I will stay in my physical prime for much longer. 

[Swamp Girl]

22 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

I will stay in my physical prime for much longer. 

 

Absolutely. You might not have reached peak knowledge yet, but you'll never be stronger than you are right now. Enjoy!