Once in a while I'll see someone selling all their fishing gear citing quitting fishing as the reason. I'm not talking about quitting because it's become too difficult due to age or physical issues. I'm talking about someone who was a serious angler just up and deciding they don't like fishing anymore. Have you ever known someone who did this?

Interesting - I'd have to say No.

BTW - if I'm lucky, this may be what the day after I stop fishing looks like.

#itsinmydna

A-Jay

7 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Interesting - I'd have to say No.

BTW - if I'm lucky, this may be what the day after I stop fishing looks like.

#itsinmydna

A-Jay

You're aware they make boat coffins?

Just now, slonezp said:

You're aware they make boat coffins?

Oh - That has my name written All Over It ! 

A-Jay

I don't know why anybody would ever quit fishing, it is literally the best thing to do. They might just quit cause they don't catch anything or they don't like being outside. I don't really know anyone that has quit fishing, but I once went to a yard sale with a guy in his mid 70's which was selling his stuff because he was now too old to fish. 

21 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Oh - That has my name written All Over It ! 

A-Jay

I guess with this you won't worry about no out board motor, trolling motor, or depth finders.

Just now, Log Catcher said:

I guess with this you won't worry about no out board motor, trolling motor, or depth finders.

I guess the depth finder would only need to be able to read to 6 feet under.

A-Jay

2 minutes ago, Log Catcher said:

I guess with this you won't worry about no out board motor, trolling motor, or depth finders.

   At least we certainly hope no depth finders!

 

   Whoops! Beat me to it!     jj

My Dad did it. We moved from Central Fla, the Bass capitol of USA. Well we moved to South Ga, home of no Bass lakes/resevoirs. 

 

Only a few rivers and ponds. Well my dad said no where to fish I guess, sold his boat, 25ish rods, and all his tackle. After a few years I showed him Bass fishing our local rivers. 

 

Altamaha, Ocmulgee, Ohoopee, Satilla, etc.. Well after that he's bought another boat, new rods, and building new tackle back up. 

I know a few . Bass were not as easy to catch as they thought they were going to be and they got bored with it . Our sport is not for everyone .

It was definitely a huge learning curve going from lakes to rivers.

 

When he sold his boat, it went with all his tackle from 40yrs of fishing. I was bummed but I didn't know where to fish either till some friends showed me where to go, then I showed him.

11 minutes ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

My Dad did it. We moved from Central Fla, the Bass capitol of USA. Well we moved to South Ga, home of no Bass lakes/resevoirs. 

 

Only a few rivers and ponds. Well my dad said no where to fish I guess, sold his boat, 25ish rods, and all his tackle. After a few years I showed him Bass fishing our local rivers. 

 

Altamaha, Ocmulgee, Ohoopee, Satilla, etc.. Well after that he's bought another boat, new rods, and building new tackle back up. 

Y'all should go fish lake Seminole in Southwest Ga.Full of pigs

I've known some people who get married and have a litter of kids and fishing takes a back seat to family.

5 minutes ago, slonezp said:

I've known some people who get married and have a litter of kids and fishing takes a back seat to family.

I've heard of this. These guys often pick it back up when the kids get a bit older and the baseball and hockey games and practices are over.

I quit for a while. When I was a teenager I loved bass fishing, but I also loved deer hunting. This worked well because I could hunt in the fall and fish the rest of the time, but my buddy, who’s dad owned the boat we would use, decided he could care less about fishing and wanted to focus on hunting. Then I lost the ability to fish all the private ponds I used to fish, so I kinda gave up on it and focused on hunting too. Now the deer hunting really sucks here, and my oldest son(5 at the time) started showing an interest in fishing, I got back into it in the last couple years. Now I can almost care less about hunting lol. 

Anyone that quit fishing was never really a fisherman.

@CrankFate I politely disagree my friend. Certain circumstances can dictate things in life. ?

I didn’t quit, but I had to take time off. I fished from childhood through college. Then grad school, work, and having children made me stop for a while. As soon as my kids could cast a rod, I put one in their hands. Now I fish once a week, and my kids often go with me. If I had to do it over, I wouldn’t have let fishing go.

started a business ... full devotion to its success ... right thing to do ... fishing never left me ... just a pause ..

 

good fishing ...

I had to stop for 2 full years.  Forty hours of classes a week along with 60 hours on two jobs. 100 hours a week for 104 weeks was tough but now I fish when I want as long as I want. 

I know of a couple. I don't understand it but I don't question somebodies decision. Usually they just become more interested in another hobby. 

Marriage and offspring made me fish more.

We playing monopoly ever night? Before that happened there was a lot of bars between home and work..

To answer your question, if you really want to do it, it’s a lot of work. The fishing never made anyone quit, it’s the work in between, that makes folks retire the rod. Wake up at 4, drag the boat 2 hrs, catch one fish, find a $50 hotel, charge the batteries,  call home, re-rig, study maps with the local news on weather forecast,  set your alarm for day 2, finish 32nd and the whole drive home..thinking about getting back out there. If your not ready for that, you’ll hang’em up. 

Yup, I've seen it.  My fishing buddy and tournament partner of 4 years...we went at it hard core.  Every weekend, sat and sun, March through Oct, for 4 years.  

 

His wife divorced him, and he changed focus to his career.  When he retired, he went after trout, with a little bit of bass fishing thrown in.  Although, to be fair, he had a major issue with tennis elbow that made it difficult for him to go bass fishing all day (too much casting).

 

Me, personally?  I went through a stint where I fished the same lake 3-4 days a week for a full year, just to learn the seasonal and conditional patterns of bass first hand.  After that year, I was burned out.  So I backed off for awhile.

 

It happens to all of us.  Too much of one thing will do that.

 

No, but I do have a buddy who has slowed way down in recent years. He hasn't even gone out this year. I don't really know what's up. 

 

I could see a tournament angler quitting because they only did it for money and didn't find pleasure in it anymore. In fact, I watched some educational videos last year that were from like 5~ years ago, and it turns out he was a tournament angler who quit. I believe it was something about what the sport has become or something. I can't remember his name, but I guess he doesn't fish at all anymore.

 

I personally can't see myself ever quitting as long as I remain able bodied. I literally love it and I'm literally addicted.

 

The only thing that would stop me prematurely is the fact that every body of water is becoming freakin' private if it isn't already, and river access is becoming increasingly difficult because of construction and private land.

5 hours ago, NittyGrittyBoy said:

It was definitely a huge learning curve going from lakes to rivers.

 

When he sold his boat, it went with all his tackle from 40yrs of fishing. I was bummed but I didn't know where to fish either till some friends showed me where to go, then I showed him.

Kickin' Their Bass TV is located in Georgia and that kid is always catching hogs in ponds and lakes there. 

I have a picture of myself holding a nice walleye when I was 5. I can remember my dad talking about big eyes on Lake Erie and watching him leave the house at 6am with a buddy or uncle.

 

Ironically,  there are only a handful of memories of fishing when I was a kid. You could say I quit and had zero interest from HS through the beginning of career until I bought my first boat at 28. I started taking my dad fishing and began to realize why he enjoyed it and the outdoors so much. I was shopping for a little bigger more comfortable boat for us and some family friends when he died from cancer in 2007 at 57.

 

Since then, hunting and fishing has taken a new meaning. I was fishing last May over Memorial day weekend when I got the news my mom lost her struggle with cancer at 68. The sport has more meaning to me than ever. Life is so short...grab a rod and hold on.