The Maestro Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 After about 15 years of being pretty hardcore with fishing I'm kind of finding my interest waning. I'm not sure if it's just age starting to catch up with me but I just don't have that fire that would drive me to dedicate so much mental and physical energy to the hobby. Or if maybe I just need to step away from it for a bit. Anybody else go through something like this and have their passion return? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted February 13 Global Moderator Share Posted February 13 Thankfully I have never experienced such, I can’t get enough. I’d rather be on the water or standing next to it than anywhere on dry land.  Maybe trying different species could help ? 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gera Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I have, After fishing with my dad since I was a kid, I didn't touch a rod for about 8 years, I came back about 4 years ago.  Funny thing is that I was able to afford a nice house in a great neighborhood during that time... 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User gimruis Posted February 13 Super User Share Posted February 13 I pretty much gave up on muskie fishing when I didn't catch a single fish for 16.5 years. I seriously considered selling all my muskie tackle more than once. Luckily I did sporadically keep at it towards the end of that drought and the flood gates finally opened.  I quit playing golf when the pandemic started in 2020. Even before that I wasn't playing much. Its too expensive and extremely time consuming. But I might take it back up when I am retired and have more free time. I used to be really good at it too. I played a year of JV and 2 years of varsity in HS. But I was also playing in a match or at practice every day. When you do something a lot, you can get good at it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Bankc Posted February 13 Super User Share Posted February 13 Yeah. And not just with fishing, but lots of things. Music, painting, photography, woodworking, electronics, computer programming, just to name a few.   If you dive too deep into anything you'll eventually burn out. At least that's my experience. But, if you truly love something, then it never really leaves you either. And you'll find your way back. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder", as they say. And there's nothing wrong with taking a step back every now and again.  The important part is to not push yourself until your hobby becomes a chore. It's important to deny yourself some involvement to build anticipation. It's important not to lose track of what drew you to it in the first place. That's one of the great things about fishing for many of us; there's an off season. There's a natural time to walk away to help stave off burnout. But burnout can still happen.   So just walk away if you're not feeling it. Forcing yourself to go when you don't really want to go will only make things worse. Enjoy some time away and find a new hobby. One day, you'll look back on fishing fondly again, as we as a species tend to hold on to good memories better than bad ones. So just as it's natural to burn out, it's natural to be drawn back in, looking to recreate the passion you once felt.  8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Global Moderator TnRiver46 Posted February 13 Global Moderator Share Posted February 13 7 minutes ago, Gera said: I have, After fishing with my dad since I was a kid, I didn't touch a rod for about 8 years, I came back about 4 years ago.  Funny thing is that I was able to afford a nice house in a great neighborhood during that time... the bait money can undergo hibernation? Oh no…… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Brown Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Life is short and supposed to be something special and enjoyable and personal to you. So if you're not finding the spark on the water anymore, go seek it elsewhere! My personal $0.02 on this is that most rewarding things in life take a lot of time and energy and work and fishing is very much one of those things. It's very very rewarding but the amount you have to learn and the skills you have to accumulate to succeed are pretty big unless you get lucky. Why else would professional guides and lake map breakdowns and electronics that show you fish underwater and crazy new lures sell so well?  Because they're trying to make it easier for you to get around the work you know you have to do to be successful with any sort of predictability.  The same thing happens with guitar which I taught lessons for years etc.  People realize. Oh yeah this is going to take a lot of work. Maybe I don't have enough time or energy or passion for this and they move on.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that. In fact, I think it's better when you can recognize that quickly in your life. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newapti5 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 My fishing buddy, or ex-fishing buddy, is having the same problem. He hasn't touched his rods in half a year. He didn't know why, but just lost the interest suddenly. I suspect it has something to do with his daughter leaving for college last year. Since then he has purchased some top of the line rods and reels, and never even unwrapped them. Let's see how it goes this season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super User Swamp Girl Posted February 13 Super User Share Posted February 13 5 minutes ago, Pat Brown said: Why else would professional guides and lake map breakdowns and electronics that show you fish underwater and crazy new lures sell so well?  Because they're trying to make it easier for you to get around the work you know you have to do to be successful with any sort of predictability.  ^This^ is one of the best things I've read at BR. Thank you, Pat, for reminding us that the tools of fishing only take an angler so far.  As far as my passion for fishing, as @TnRiver46 said, switching species has really helped me stay focused, as has switching fishing locations. Fishing Lake Superior, wilderness lakes in northwestern Ontario, the Mississippi, farm ponds, and bogs in Maine is like five different sports, as is fishing for muskies, white bass, bluegills, smallmouth, and largemouth. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zcoker Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Sometimes it gets old, yes, if ya do it long enough, which I do ALL the time! But living in southeast Florida near the coast does give me plenty of opportunities to go after other species, which can be just as exhilarating as well as challenging than any bass will ever be. Surf fishing requires remapping the whole arsenal. It requires great physical stamina, especially if going after big gamefish like I do. We have multiple seasonal bait runs down here along our coast which bring in world class fishing right off the surf zone...right off the finger tips, literally. It's very easy to hook into a 180lb tarpon with the family nearby bathing in the sunshine or playing in the white sand. Ask me how I know lol. Then there's other species like snook, or redfish, or sharks....the list is very long. Then, when all that is said and done, can always go back to the freshwater side of things. Breaking things up and going after something else makes things very exciting. The adventure begins all over again, so to speak. That sorta back and forth keeps things fresh on my end of the rod. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Maestro Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 2 minutes ago, newapti5 said: My fishing buddy, or ex-fishing buddy, is having the same problem. He hasn't touched his rods in half a year. He didn't know why, but just lost the interest suddenly. I suspect it has something to do with his daughter leaving for college last year. Since then he has purchased some top of the line rods and reels, and never even unwrapped them. Let's see how it goes this season. Interesting that you mention your friend losing interest at about the same time his daughter leaves for school. Sounds a bit like he might be questioning if dedicating all the time and energy to fishing was worth the price in terms of the inevitable sacrifices that come in other aspects of your life. I'm going through something like that myself. My son is now a teenager and it feels like I was just so one track minded with fishing (he doesn't really like fishing that much) that I sort of missed out on father son time when he was a young boy that I can never get back. I turn 50 this year and honestly I'm not sure if questioning my choices with regards to fishing aren't really just part of a mid life crisis and a natural transition phase of life. Then there's the obscene amounts of money I've spent on gear over the years, much of which just gathers dust. 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volzfan59 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 @The Maestro, I'm kinda there right now. Haven't completely lost interest, but I'm not chomping at the bit to go either. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susky River Rat Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I stopped fishing when I turned 16 and didn’t start again till I was about 22. Been doing it then ever since.  The earliest I remember fishing was in early elementary school. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Maestro Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 3 minutes ago, volzfan59 said: @The Maestro, I'm kinda there right now. Haven't completely lost interest, but I'm not chomping at the bit to go either. I hear you. Normally this would be the time of year when fishing would really start to dominate my thoughts but this year I'm questioning if I even want to pull my boat out of storage. It's all happened quite suddenly too. I'm realizing the true price I've paid for my one track minded obsession over the last 15 years. It even cost me a good friend. The last friend I had from my childhood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC22 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I've been there. Gone through periods of time where it wasn't possible to fish. Fished a lot and then fell off. Hopefully it's not a sign of depression. . . sometimes losing interest in hobbies can be a sign. It was with me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greentrout Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Yep.  Only Bass fished for about six years before I took up golf again. Got back into bass fishing this year when the golf season was winding down. Will be back into golf again in a couple of weeks. But I will be Bass fishing for at least once a week weather permitting and I have a few ponds that allow me to fish, too.  Retired with the time and I'm in reasonably good health. Balance in life is a good thing.  Good Fishing  Bubba Watson -- The Masters Champion. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king fisher Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I lost interest in fishing once, it was the worst 5 minutes of my life. 1 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fin Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I took about a 30 year break to become a workaholic. Â Â 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Brown Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Show me the parents of grown kids who felt that they spent as much time with their kids doing quality activities as they wanted to. I'll wait. 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skunkmaster-k Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 I go fishing to get away from my kids. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Maestro Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 2 minutes ago, Pat Brown said: Show me the parents of grown kids who felt that they spent as much time with their kids doing quality activities as they wanted to. I'll wait. Good point. I just kind of feel that my obsession with fishing made me a little bit selfish if I'm being totally honest. Like I really put fishing ahead of a lot of other things in my life. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gera Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 13 minutes ago, fin said: I took about a 30 year break to become a workaholic.   Where's the thumbs down button..  1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zcoker Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 hour ago, The Maestro said: Interesting that you mention your friend losing interest at about the same time his daughter leaves for school. Sounds a bit like he might be questioning if dedicating all the time and energy to fishing was worth the price in terms of the inevitable sacrifices that come in other aspects of your life. I'm going through something like that myself. My son is now a teenager and it feels like I was just so one track minded with fishing (he doesn't really like fishing that much) that I sort of missed out on father son time when he was a young boy that I can never get back. I turn 50 this year and honestly I'm not sure if questioning my choices with regards to fishing aren't really just part of a mid life crisis and a natural transition phase of life. Then there's the obscene amounts of money I've spent on gear over the years, much of which just gathers dust.  Probably a mid-life bout. But really, man, I would never put into question what you did (or do) with your life. I mean, it's your life. When you are happy, you're kids will be happy. If not, then that's their problem. They'll get over it, or, at the very least, find their own way, which they eventually do regardless of what you did or what you do now. They will eventually come to realize that you were doing something that made you happy, or whole, or a better person. They mimic that, which helps them do better in their own life. It all works out in the end, really, it does. I have three boys of my own and together with them along with step children, I've raised about 7 kids. I've gone through about everything imaginable with kids. So I know a thing or two. Be who you are and do what you really want to do in life to make you happy because that's what's ultimately best for any child...imho. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newapti5 Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 hour ago, The Maestro said: Interesting that you mention your friend losing interest at about the same time his daughter leaves for school. Sounds a bit like he might be questioning if dedicating all the time and energy to fishing was worth the price in terms of the inevitable sacrifices that come in other aspects of your life. I'm going through something like that myself. My son is now a teenager and it feels like I was just so one track minded with fishing (he doesn't really like fishing that much) that I sort of missed out on father son time when he was a young boy that I can never get back. I turn 50 this year and honestly I'm not sure if questioning my choices with regards to fishing aren't really just part of a mid life crisis and a natural transition phase of life. Then there's the obscene amounts of money I've spent on gear over the years, much of which just gathers dust.   I don't know what he was thinking and he wouldn't say, but I know he cried when she left, and now he has visited her so many times since last year that she "forbids" him to come visiting again. So yeah, I think you are right - he might be blaming the fishing now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Maestro Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 7 minutes ago, newapti5 said: Â Â I don't know what he was thinking and he wouldn't say, but I know he cried when she left, and now he has visited her so many times since last year that she "forbids" him to come visiting again. So yeah, I think you are right - he might be blaming the fishing now. Might be the first time it really dawned on him that there actually are more important things in life than fishing. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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