Fishing burn out?

[fish-fighting-illini]

 Does anyone think they will ever get burned out on fishing some day?

 I don't think I ever could but maybe not catching enough fish might do it.

[Tin]

Have a brutal tourney or two and I get burnt out, get to the point where I hate fishing and want to take up a new hobby. The 15 minutes later I want to go fishing again, its a vicious cycle.

[Jimzee]

As much as I cuss and rant about how I hate winter and cold weather, it gives me a nice little 3 month break to clean gear, get the boat in tip top shape and collect my thoughts.  I hate to even say this but I may get a little burned out if I didn't have that small break.  I guess I would have to move to Florida to find out.  But from March to November, it's balls to the wall.   8-)

[fishfordollars]

I burnout for the trip home after failing to put a game plan together. By the time I unhook I am ready to go at it again.

[mayassa]

I gave up for two years the river up here was contaminated with mercury, killed off the fish for three years  they just started to come back big and healthy this year. I did get burned out after getting skunked every time.  Knowing some company would dump that crap in the river and not getting in trouble just made it worse.

[Bass Smacker]

No!! It can't happen. Well a little but then I stick a pig and I'm all good agene.

but a little brake here and there is good some times i go weeks without going out then theres weeks that i go every day  

[roadwarrior]

Sometimes I don't fish on Tuesday...

:

[Supermat]

Honestly, I burn out every year. Somewhere between June and October I get to where I don't want to get on the water for about a month and if I do have to get on during those times I refuse to use anything but light line and little baits. Thankfully, it doesn't take me long to mellow out and I get back to smacking the fish in no time.

[Needemp]

To be honest, I use to get burned out during the summer. Then I decided to fish competitively. That has changed my whole outlook. There was no real drive to get increasingly better because there was nothing to compare the day to. Now, even when I am not fishing a tourney or prefishing, I am working on adding techniques, presentations, concentration and patterns to my repertoire. That has been very satisfying and made my fishing feel worth while. Heck, I don't plan on stopping during the winter, either ;D

[Bassin_Fin@tic]

I fish all small lakes and ponds.I burn out when the fish get burned out,when it seems as though they all just dissapeared.Then feel totally burned,until I find a new spot then I beat it to oblivion and feel better.

[KYbass1276]

I have been burned out for a while now.  I have been fishing once since labor day and I really didn't hardly fish at all then. And the last time I went before that was around june.   For one I had alot going on and didn't have time to go or I wanted to go and just didn't feel like messing with it.  I kinda hoped I would be ready to roll by now but I haven't.   I probally have only been around 20 times this season give or take a couple.  

[Catt]

During the 1980s I got burnt out on tournament fishing & quit fishing them for close to 10 years; today I still fish 12 to 18 hours a day & by next spring I plan to be back on the big pond full time.

[Waterwolves]

I burn out fishing the same species of fish. Some years I get into fishing Pike and that is all I will fish and other years it is Bass. Some years i will only take the boat out 10 times ina year but thats because I am fishing rivers all the time. It depends.

[skunked_again]

Sometimes I don't fish on Tuesday...

:

;D

thats quite funny....lol

after a off and on tournament year im taking this year off or finding a different club. it burns me up when you walk by someones boat and look in and someone who takes the meet too serious yells at you for looking at what he has tied on, only to have his kids go look in your boat later to see what youve got tied on.

[luckyinkentucky]

It always makes it better when you have someone to brag to.   ;D

If I ever feel like I'm getting burned out I take a kid fishing.  There's nothing like watching a kid catch a 4" Bluegill to put a smile on your face.  Watching them is half the fun.   ;D  

[Fish Chris]

about 3 years ago, I had been fishing REALLY HARD, specifically for trophy Largemouths, about 95% of my 140, ten hour days per year, for about 7 years straight. Now don't get me wrong, it was fun when I had a good shot, like say, even if I didn't catch a DD bass, I might have a swat or two at my Swimbait, or see some big followers. The thing is though, I used to just keep right on fishing specifically for big Largemouth's, even at times and places when my chances were so dang slim it was pointless. Oh sure, every once in a while, even during the brutal times, I'd pull a big one out of a hat...... But during a lot of those tough times, I was really just spinning my wheels. I'm talking 5 or 10, ten hour trips in a row, with zero to show for it.

That burned me out.

That's when I started doing photography pretty heavily. That was different, and a lot of fun. No regrets. But I really started to miss my fishing. Not so much "trophy bass fishing", but rather, just fishing in general.

Don't get me wrong, I was still fishing about 70 days a year, but that's about half of what's normal for me.

So, my answer was, last year I got back to fishing really hardcore, "however" the major change for me was, I decided to just keep it fun, by fishing hardcore for whatever species I had the best shot at, at any particular time. No more beating myself up. Back to my roots ! Sticking a hook in anything that will bite my hook and rip drag ! I'm still after the big ones though :-) {big being relative to the species of course}

I mean, trophy bass are great, but so are Catfish, Sturgeon, Stripers, Crappie, Halibut, Batrays, Leopard Sharks, Carp, etc, etc.

So, as long as I have a good shot at catching something.... 'anything' that wants to play with me, plus, never staying with any one species long enough to get tired of it, the answer for me would be, no. I won't get burnt out again.

Peace,

Fish

[grimlin]

Well we have the hard winter here...i'm too much of a puss to go out on ice.The fact i get sick easily as well during the winter months.I like catching bluegills and crappies when i'm not after the bass.Next year i got a feeling i'm gonna start fishing for carps as well.I'm now starting to look for a carp rod and stuff to go along.

I guess i keep myself busy with different species keeps the thrill of catching bass a blast.

This year limits on bluegills were caught within 30 minutes to an hour...it was amazing how many bluegills everybody was able to catch this year.

[jwo1124]

I have been thinking about this topic lately. I personally feel that the burn out that some of us anglers feel isn't caused by the time we spend fishing, but by the stress that surrounds the activity. It seems for me at least, that fishing has become so much more complicated and stressful as it was a few years ago for me. It seems like I am trying to make it into too much. I love looking at gear on the web and in catalogs and running up and down the aisles of Dick's at all the lures and tackle they have on the walls, but stressing myself out about needing half a dozen rod/reel set ups, every type, size, and color of lure on the market gets me burnt out.

I think there is a time when we have to pulll ourselves back into reality and ask what we want out of fishing? Why are we doing it? Mostly the answer is going to be to catch fish and have fun. I mean I'm no professional angler by any means, I don't fish tournaments for money, I just fish for the excitement. I like catching fish, as many as I can, but I don't NEED to catch as many as I can.

Look at the saying K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple Stupid. I have came to this conclusion for myself. I absolutely LOVE Fishing. I love catching fish, and I personally don't think there is a better feeling than all of a sudden having an elusive fish strike at the other end of your line and BOOM the fight is on.

But the more I stress myself out about gear and techniques and all the other technical stuff, it seems the less fun fishing becomes and the more of a chore or a job it beomes. I think a way to rid myself of this is to just stick to the basics. If you really love fishing, and like going recreationally a couple times a week, all you need is one or two basic set ups, maybe one for lighter line 8-10# area for lures around sparse cover or open water, and another setup for heavier cover and/or larger lures in the 12-17# range. Here you will be able to cover most lures from 1/8-1/2 oz. and around 1/4-1 oz for a standard M and MH power setup. Get a standerd top handle tackle box or a couple of the plastic plano containers and limit yourself to a couple dozen lures, and a half dozen bags of your favorite soft plastics.

To think you are going to keep every piece of equiptment available to catch a bass is absurd. Leave the bait monkey for the guys fishing tourneys who have money riding on the line. For us weekend warriors looking to have fun, break our PB biggest or PB most fish for a day, and maybe even break the state record if we're lucky....K.I.S.S.

I think that taking on a new train of thought towards fishing, it will make it more enjoyable and even more challenging by limiting yourself, and using what you have. This will  make you a more flexible angler, it will make you think more, not just recall: "What am I "Suppose to do" here again."  I mean all you really need is a spincast outfit and half a dozen lures and you'll probably have just as much luck as the average guy with a tackle box full of gear and a few different rod/reel combos. I'm not saying resort to that, but just realize that most of the burn out some people face is because of the stress that surrounds fishing.

And if one thing on earth shouldn't be stressful - it's fishing!

Now I know a lot of other anglers have a different view of fishing than I do and treat it more of a sport than a recreational activity, and for them, sure it should be a little bit more complicated because it is being done in a more serious light: for money. This whole rant that seemed to be a little bit more long winded than I hoped,   is mainly just directed to the average angler like me who hits the water a couple times a week to get away from the daily grind and endulge in a relaxing, exciting, challenging and rewarding activity.

[George Welcome]

50+ years and still love every minute of it.

Very simply, if the end all to your fishing trip is catching then you will burn out and not last very long at all. Fishing is so much more than just catching fish - I know it's cliche, but stop and smell the roses!

[Matt Fly]

Burn out or a slump, I treat them all the same.      I change species.    I go catch a ton of whites or crappie, or striper or hybrids.   Isn't catching what hooked us in the first place.    I know I was too young to appreciate the outdoors when I was 5.    Something about catching!!!!

Basically, what burned you out?   not catching?        Some call them slumps and some call it burn out.

[RobbyZ5001]

I read somewhere that you learn a hell of a lot more from the days you zero then the days you catch them all. When I have a rough streak I think of that statement and try to take what I learned didn't work and apply it next time. To me bass fishing is one giant long term learning experience.

[Jake.]

For me, that will be the day that hell freezes over.  

[Tokyo Tony]

I like the "burnout" = "slump" bit above.  It's true.  No one who's going out and slamming pigs (one might say he's being a slampig) all day gets burned out.

Personally, since I've been learning more and more about bass fishing (thanks to this site + experience), and been catching more and bigger fish than before, fishing has become much more satisfying and interesting.  There's a real sense of satisfaction when you go out and piece together the puzzle of where the fish should be, how active they should be, what types of lures they're most likely to hit, and finally getting them to hit.  Conversely, the bad days become more irritating because I think to myself, "Man, you spent all that time learning all this crap and you STILL can't catch a fish you loser!"   >

But seriously, I don't know anyone who goes out for a full day (or even a couple hours) of fishing, gets skunked, then thinks, "Well, what a wonderful day that was!"  Being out on the water itself is relaxing, but not if you're trying to catch fish and aren't catching any.  Then it becomes annoying.  

I agree with you to a certain extent jwo1124, we do need to keep it in the back of our minds that we fish to have fun, especially on those days when the bite is really tough and we're not really having that much fun.  However, understand that "fun" is inextricably tied to catching fish, moreso for some than others.  Even if you're lucky enough to be able to have fun when you're not catching fish, you'll have more fun if you do catch fish.  I said above that it's not possible to be slamming pigs all day and not have fun, but if you somehow reach that point, it's time for a break.

[Evan Pease]

For me, that will be the day that hell freezes over.

Same here lol

[FD.]

Burn out happens for me after 12, during a tournament, in Fla, in July, with the water temps in the upper 80s and the air temps in the 90s.  Did I mention no wind, millions of flying bugs and the fact that the fish will not be bitting anymore today.   Luckily I usually have one of my children with me which makes is all worthwhile.  I fish team tournaments with my kids against some of the best "teams" in Florida.  Having hours alone with your kids talking to them about life is much more important than winning a couple of bucks and if you have seen my posts on "my outings" you have seen that they are both excellent fishing partners.  It is all about perspective.