do you prefer to fish alone?

[Matt Fly]

Never had a problem either way.     Communications is key when fishing with a new partner.     A quick rundown on what your plans are should cover it.   Out all day, cover lots of water, no coming back to the dock, no cell phones on.   And if I invite someone, I expect to pay for my expenses, after all, I invited the person.  Bring drinks, snacks, bring this much tackle as my boat has small storage.    Having a fishing buddy is part of the experience sometimes.

Fish on!

[Hawgin]

Man, am I glad that I'm not friends with you bunch of grumpy scoundrels.  

As someone who just picked up the sport a little over a year ago, I'm certainly glad that my buddies actually don't mind fishing with an inexperienced angler and are willing to share their tips and time with me.  Yes, I am willing to spend as much time on the water as they want, and I am willing to fish however/whatever/where ever it is that they are fishing, and I'm willing to take the time to practice my techniques, and to "study" up on bass fishing so I'm not a hindrance on them so maybe that makes my case different.  If it was not for them and their patience I would have probably already walked away from this sport because at times it can get pretty frustrating, but instead since they have taken the time to fish with me, I now fish in tournaments (with some decent success) and I've actually picked up on some techniques that I can share with them.  

I agree that taking a kid fishing and having patience with them is a great way to get them hooked on the sport, but sometimes that kid is 28 years old and can fall in love with the sport just as much as you are.

[BassJunkie]

As most others stated, I too fish alone 90% of the time.  I have yet to meet anyone (except on here) that is in to fishing as much as I am.  The last time I took someone out we went out mid-day fishing a few areas, I mainly wanted to show him how crazy some of these fish were getting on the topwater action right before dark but he wanted to leave 3 or 4 hours before dark so he would be home in time for dinner.  I guess thats the difference between me and others, when I am fishing there really isn't much that bothers me, or much I think about other than fishing.  The downside to fishing alone is I see some WEIRD and CRAZY stuff sometimes that you could never see without being outside alot, and sometimes things are so weird that I think people don't believe me lol.  If I had a witness... ;D

[gatrboy53]

i usually fish alone,well almost, me and the lord talk alot when im fishin alone,i would like to find a compatable tx. partner but so far ive never found one that we feed off each other.i would love for my wife to fish w/ me but she cares nothing about fishing.i have taken my daughter out and hope to do more of that.but when im bass fishin i prefer to fish alone.

[KenDammit28]

Man, am I glad that I'm not friends with you bunch of grumpy scoundrels.

As someone who just picked up the sport a little over a year ago, I'm certainly glad that my buddies actually don't mind fishing with an inexperienced angler and are willing to share their tips and time with me. Yes, I am willing to spend as much time on the water as they want, and I am willing to fish however/whatever/where ever it is that they are fishing, and I'm willing to take the time to practice my techniques, and to "study" up on bass fishing so I'm not a hindrance on them so maybe that makes my case different. If it was not for them and their patience I would have probably already walked away from this sport because at times it can get pretty frustrating, but instead since they have taken the time to fish with me, I now fish in tournaments (with some decent success) and I've actually picked up on some techniques that I can share with them.

I agree that taking a kid fishing and having patience with them is a great way to get them hooked on the sport, but sometimes that kid is 28 years old and can fall in love with the sport just as much as you are.

if you notice..most people refer to not wanting to take someone because they aren't dedicated to doing it or aren't willing to learn and give things time.  You are definitely a different case.  

Its a lot like seeing poker on TV.  Everyone see's these guys playing for huge money and always being involved in a hand...so these new people think that they can play and they sit down, play every hand, and lose all their money before they have time to light a cigarette.  They don't see the underside of a professional poker player with all the folding, the dedication, the many years it took to get that good..so on and so forth.

Likewise, people see bass fishing on TV and think that the way it works is you go out on a lake and wherever you are, theres big fish.  They see all these pro's catching fish after fish and don't realize the many hours it took to understand where the fish would be and what'd they'd bite on.  These new people think that if they don't catch a fish in 30 minutes that fishing sucks and its time to go home.  I've also noticed that a lot of people aren't willing to do the constant work it takes to catch a largemouth i.e. they aren't willing to work a bait painfully slow, or make cast after cast, or any of that.  THOSE are the ones who are a chore to fish with.  People like you are AWESOME to fish with.

[ajd15]

I almost always fish with one of two buddies.  We all have about the same skill and focus levels, and basically get along well.

[abelfisher]

This is a great question.  My answer is; It depends.  I would say 60-70% of the time I like to fish alone.  It depends on the mood I'm in.   There are times when I really have no desire to have anyone else around.  This is when I really want to intensely fish.  Other times, I will want to have another guy with me to have some comradery, and fun conversation.  The thing is, if we goin my boat, I tend to be very accomodating to my guest.  When this happens it does take away form my time fishing.  

I do like to take my college son with me.  We get a chance to catch up.  We also have a time to discuss world events and other things.  You know, the bonding thing.   It alos makes me feel real good when I can give him a piec of fishing advice and he nails one with it.  What a great feeling!!

[KU_Bassmaster.]

I fish about 50-50 alone/with someone.  Which do I prefer .... it dpends.  My main fishing buddy is soooooooooo close minded when it come to fishing.  I am not trying to be big headed, but I know a whole lot more than him and you figure he would pick up on a few of the things I do.  NOPE!!!!  He throws one bait, ALL the time, no matter what the conditions, no matter what the time of year ..... a 5" Yum Dinger either watermelon or black.  Tell you the truth .... I don't even know why he owns a tackle box.  It can get frustrating fishing with him when I am fish a crankbait or some other fater moving bait.  Since I am in the back of my own boat (I only have a transom mount trolling motor ... right now), his line is always in my casting area.  Even if I am just killing them with something other than a Dinger and he has caught squat ...... will he change it up ..... nope.  So if I am powerfsihing, he is extemely hard to go with.  If I am finesse fishing, no problem.

[j-bass]

it usually depends, if I am shore fishing, I really don't care who tags along because you can stll do your own thing.  When I am in the boat that is a differtent story.  When I first bought it, I thought about how cool it would be to take all of my freinds out.  After enough trips, I have found that usally, when I take out my friends, all I wind up doing is carting them around and trying to put them in the best spots, while not being able to really fish myself.  For this, I would rather be alone............much more peacefull.

[grove83]

Being new to the sport...I like to go out with someone else.  I don't have a boat, and my cousins boat is still waiting for the papers.  So most of the fishing we do is in the river where we can wade.  I like to go with someone mainly for the company.  Showing what we catch, my fish is bigger then your fish,..etc.  I would really like to find someone that has a boat and would like to teach me how to fish "properly".    However, most people, even though I try to "read up" on the fishing techniques and such, don't want to go out with someone "inexperienced".  So me and the guys walk the river and creeks...been pretty fun so far.  Even if we only catch "dinks".

[uiubassin]

I like to fish with someone, because I like to release all my fish and don't have a camera yet, I like someone there to witness the fish that I catch. Usually, I just go with a couple friends, and we get away from school and just relax, it feels so good to just relax with your friends and catch fish, but there is a problem with going with people around the college here. If you find a good spot to fish, then the next day it seems like the whole college is at your spot fishing. That really makes me mad sometimes.

[langs15]

Alone, usually because I just go where I want to go and I am stubborn when someone else tells me where to go. Plus if he thinks I am a bad driver, he won't shutup the whole time. I don't like sharing my fishing secrets either with just anyone.

[senile1]

I fish alone about 80% of the time.  I like the time away from noise and the hustle and bustle.  I have a couple of fishing partners, and the main one is my wife.  Our trouble is that she is almost strictly a crappie fisherman and I love to fish for bass.  This does lead to an occasional disagreement on the water. :-/

[Guest the_muddy_man]

NAH its more fun when the fish are there too  : Actually 90% of the time I fish with my frien Ron and we always have a blast

[PeterF]

I like fishing with my fishing buddy. The build up is the best. 3 days of talking crap about how the other doesn't know what he's doing. My last outing with my buddy I was up 8 to 0. I caught the next fish while he was looking for a worm and I let the fish slap him around a little (priceless)  ;D.

[J@k3 01s3n]

I usually go bassin alone too. Mostly its because no one really likes to fish for as long of a period of time as I do. My wife tends to get bored after a little while(she's getting better), and my father-in-law only throws hula poppers and rat-l-traps, and so after about an hour or two of nothing he gives up. Its not that I don't like to fish with others, but I don't like the burden of time constraints. That said, I do like to take my wife, son, and sister bluegill fishing. We all catch plenty and have a good time. I also will go bobber fishing for whatever the water offers with my family a couple times a summer. Its all a matter of balance for me. I have my serious bass fishing days, and then I have my leisure days with the family.

[vtbassin]

I do both. I have a couple of buddies that will stay in the boat as long as I do. I also have a friend who is an occasional fisherman and he has the best time when I get him onto some bass. I love the look on his face when he sets the hook into a big fish. Sometimes I just need to get out of the house and typically I will go alone at the last minute. 8-) I have also had a couple of people want to go out fishing and then show up at the house empty handed. I will usually dig out a couple of ugly sticks for them and go out for a while. They are not the all day 1/2 the night type

[ball_coach_1]

Depends on my mood....I like to fish with others that take it seriously, and make for fun conversation, or teach me new techniques on the water....many of my most fond memories are times with buddies on the waters and recalling stories later.  BUT, most of the time, my best fishing days are alone with a specific plan and only having a solitary relationship with nature.

[Don_B]

I prefer fishing alone when out on my jet. I will take my kids anytime that they want to go, which is every now and then. I will take a friend with me maybe about once or twice a year though.

I tried to fish with a guy on a sort of regular basis, but it was awful. He never offered to pay for anything, and his talking about himself over and over just made me want to just jump into the river/or out of the truck! I put an end to that after about three or four painful boat/truck trips.

I try to be prepared for just about any fishing situation, so I usually bring about 5-6 rods/reels and two small gear bags, which doesn't leave much space on the casting decks for someone else's gear.

[abelfisher]

I found this interesting.  I did a tally of who likes to fish alone / who likes to fish with someone else 50% OF THE TIME /  Fish with someone else most of the time.  Here's the tally:

Fish alone:  22

50/50:         8

Fish with others: 12

Seems most of us like to fish alone.  I wonder what that means?   Most of the reponses for fishing alone had to do with our desire to fish how/where/when and for how long without the constraints of having to deal with someone else's  patience..

A few who took others fihsing were taking kids.  

Others like the comradery of a fishing partner.

Interesting!

[reellittlephish]

Yes, mostly go alone.  Just too cranky I guess.  Seriously it is cause I'll go at a moments notice and I have a schedule where it is difficualt to plan time off in advance.  I'm always trying to get my son to go, but has no interest right now.

[lubina]

50/50 for me, I fish with my club and with other dedicated guys from my regional forum, in addition of my partner in buddy tourneys, in my area is more the rule that I know someone in most of the lakes that I usually go. I can't do it with the occasional fisherman and my family doesn't care about fishing at all. It is just the time for fishing is for me to valuable.

[gajpb]

I prefer to fish alone, but after several solo trips--nice long days on my own--I usually enjoy someone else in the boat. But there are only a few people I am fully comfortable fishing with because I KNOW they will give me their opinion on a spot or a lure instead of sayin, "You're driving, so whatever you think." I like having someone who is not afraid to say what they think. Also, I have a handheld transistor radio i got on ebay that pick up some local stations.

[doog]

i fish with my buddy because we both have the same style of fishing and we think of the same things to try so it works out

[Guest bigtex]

When I fish ponds I don't mind to have someone come along.  But when I'm at a lake I prefer to fish alone.  Then I guess it all depends on what your fishing for.

      LAKES

Bass- alone

Catfish- bring friend

Crappie and Brean- bring friend

      PONDS

Bass, catfish, crappie, and bream-  take a friend