I have a good number of friends I don't see as much as I should anyway, but generally fishing has brought me closer to my kids as they get older and the girlfriend doesn't mind as it gets us out of the house. And sometimes she joins us.

I'm different from alot of guys. Id much prefer her to stay home. You have to live with each other you need to do things away from each other. Hell theirs only 3 people I fish with that aren't my son.  I'm one of those people that enjoy spending time alone more than with other people. Especialy on the water. I fish better by myself and can be alot more focused. 

There was a lot of tension between my wife and I in previous years about the amount and frequency of my fishing trips. That's has pretty much subsided due to the fact that now I take my little one (7 years old) with me.  Not that she always wants to fish but she's just happy to bring along some toys and just be with me while I fish.  When I hook up, I'll give her the rod and let her reel it in which really gets her excited.  She's likes petting the fish when it's landed as well.  It's a nice bonding experience between us which my wife really appreciates.  Works well on all fronts for the most part.    

I’ve been married over 40 years with no children. Back when we first got married, I was a golfer who played on weekends. Sometimes, I’d leave on Friday night, and not come back from golfing until Sunday. She had no problem with that. When I took up fishing, she had no problem with me buying a boat. She wasn’t the least bit interested in fishing but NEVER had a problem with me going without her. Understand that when I went fishing, it usually meant week long vacations all over North America. Once, she and I were getting ready for a fall vacation to Myrtle Beach (before I knew there was a hurricane season) A hurricane shut down the beach so we shifted gears and I took her to Northern Wisconsin. She fell in love with the woods and waters and even fishing. She and I spent many weeks in Canada, Minnesota and Wisconsin fishing and enjoying the outdoors, while I continued doing other trips with my fishing buddies. When my female co-workers would hear I was going on a fishing trip without my wife they said they’d never let their husbands go away without them. I guess I got pretty lucky finding a woman who understood and was happy to let me pursue my hobby even if I did it without her for weeks at a time.

Yesterday, in Oklahoma, it was 78 degrees with almost zero wind.  I got off work at 3:30 and decided to hook up the boat and fish til dark.  At 5:00, my 18 year old high school senior calls and says he wants me to meet him at school so he can get some hitting practice in (baseball).  I said, "son, it's a really nice day to do some fishing, how about you go with me".  He said he really needed to do some hitting.  So, instead of fishing, I threw batting practice until dark!  I did get a little perturbed about it I admit.  But, I got to thinking that he's my last kiddo and will be moving on soon.  I came to the conclusion that, as much as I enjoy the fishing, I don't want to miss out on time spent with him right now.  I don't know about you guys, but I've been saying "maybe next year" for about 20 years now.  I wouldn't change it for anything though.

I already mentioned that my wife is my primary fishing partner but at 61 years old I still fish with my dad 82 years old. I still talk on the phone with a friend that I fished tournaments with 30 years ago. Once in a while I get to fish with a cousin that I grew up fishing and hunting with.

 

Last year my daughter and her husband offered to get me anything I wanted for my 60th birthday. I said I wanted a trip with them and the grand kids. They rented a cabin on a lake for a week and I brought the boat. It wasn't strictly a fishing trip but we did some. We spent a day on a pontoon swimming and fishing...found some crappies. I took my older grandson out bass fishing one morning and we caught a couple. I took my daughter and the younger grandson out for crappies and we hit it pretty good. We kept enough for a nice fish fry.

 

I fish with my son a few times each year and I can usually get him into a few decent smallmouth on our local river.

 

And it goes on.

My best friend I met because of fishing.  Only been friends for 6 years. 

4 hours ago, Mr. Aquarium said:

My best friend I met because of fishing.  Only been friends for 6 years. 

All my friends are friends because we hunt and or fish together. Just over the past few years I made one of what I would consider my better friends because we both share the same drive when it comes to fishing. It's hard to find someone that will fish come hell or high water 

17 hours ago, Hower08 said:

All my friends are friends because we hunt and or fish together. Just over the past few years I made one of what I would consider my better friends because we both share the same drive when it comes to fishing. It's hard to find someone that will fish come hell or high water 

Yep exactly!!!!