Anyone ever lose interest in fishing and have it come back?

[N Florida Mike]

Not me. I’ve fished for around 60 years now, and never get tired of it. I don’t go as much or as long as I used to, but time and age does that to you…

[PaulVE64]

Once the ice gets more than 2" thick 

[ironbjorn]

Sometimes I won't fish for a few months (outside of winter when it's impossible for me), but I always go back. I have a few hobbies just as important to me as fishing so not being obsessed with just one thing kind of keeps things fresh and interesting. Breaks are healthy. Obsessions, not so much.

[TnRiver46]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:54 AM, ironbjorn said:

Breaks are healthy. Obsessions, not so much.

Well then I am one sick………

[detroit1]

I have not lost my passion yet, and hoping i never do. I have been bass fishing for over 50 years, and each spring anticipation ramps up (not quite a fever pitch, but close. ) This year is a little different as i am semi - retiring starting in April. Fishing only on weekends, on crowded, relatively small lakes takes it's toll come july and august. 

[Junk Fisherman]

Hit up a local fishing show today and enjoyed it.  Looked at Old Town and Hobie kayaks which are cool as hell!  I've known for a while that I am going to get one eventually.  I should just pull the trigger on one and start fishing some small water and leave all the overfished, tournament waters alone on the weekends.  I also talked to some guys I hadn't seen in a while.  Fun day overall and definitely made me look forward to the start of the fishing season!

[Creek Pirate]

As a kid my grandfather took me to gravel pits which produced huge bass.By my teenage years me and my father was on guntersville lake all the time.When the Great Y2K Crisis started I was fishing tournaments.A blowed outboard and a marriage changed my plans.I still fished a few tournaments with a close friend but my desire was gone.I continued creek fishing as I had done since childhood. Creek smallmouth became my obsession.Trying to pattern their migration.

Right now I have camping gear by my front door.Just waiting to spend a few days with them.My driving factor now days is I simply want to know what's around the next creekbend.

Sometimes a change of scenery can reignite your passion.

[gimruis]

I’ve never gone fishing enough to the point where I’ve had the chance to “get sick” of it. For starters, there is an off-season here called winter in the north. Luckily I have other hobbies at certain times of the year like hunting season.

 

I could see myself getting burned out by it if I went a lot though. It would be nearly impossible at this time anyways because I have a full time job, a family, a dog, and a house to be responsible for. There’s just more to my life than fishing, whether by choice or by necessity.

[ol'crickety]

On 2/16/2024 at 10:25 AM, Pat Brown said:

Scott is a great bass fisherman and for tournament anglers, I understand the need to use the means available to them to win.  I think the tournament organizations have their hands tied because of the money that Garmin and Lowrance and Humminbird kick them.  It's all good people can do what they want but IMO, AI controlled robot Jerkbaits with cameras on them and reels that will set the hook for you are coming.  When do we draw the line for a professional sport?  I don't have the answers, but it doesn't seem to be about instinct or skill or accumulated knowledge about bass fishing now, it's how good at electronics are you.

 

I agree, Pat. Electronically, the fishing tackle industry is just getting started.

[Robinhood21]

When I was a little kid to about Senior in highschool I was obsessed with fishing.  My uncle would take me to small local bass tournaments and I loved it.  We had a pond in our backyard also and I lived out there.  Soon after my hunting obsession took over and there were plenty of years where I fished very little. 

 

Fast forward to about 3 years ago and I started taking my daughter out to catch bluegills and channel cat.  We had a couple great days fishing from the bank and all the sudden the fire started getting lit again.  Just a couple months later I bought a used bass boat and jumped in head first.  It's been a lot of fun accumulating new gear and learning new techniques.  It's a whole other challenge that I enjoy. 

 

My hunting obsession is still there so I usually quit fishing sometime in October and start focusing on hunting until about March when I'm done chasing coyotes.  My wife rolls her eyes now because my hobbies now go 365 days out of the gear haha

[TnRiver46]

@Robinhood21, tell your wife you can make money on yotes. Not a whole lot but it’s out there 

[A-Jay]

This one time in band camp,

all we fished were orange hellgramites with no hooks.  Let me tell you it was rough.  But as soon as the tuba player got us some jerkbaits from the dollar store, it was hammer time.

We didn't weigh or take any fish pictures, but you can bet we got plenty of shots of that 10 lb tuba !

A-Jay

[Tom Rust]

I battle bouts of depression every 5 years or so. I know I’m depressed when even thinking about fishing and all the attention to detail that it involves becomes a chore so overwhelming that I don’t even want to fool with my rods and baits, much less going to a pond or lake. I know I’ve come out of that dark hole when all those “technical” aspects become fascinating again. With all that being said, however, I do believe that tournament fishing on EVERY level, has made it way harder for us guys who just fish to get away from it all to enjoy ourselves. Solitude is great, but unfortunately in my case, catching a few bass of ANY size, in my mind, is tied to my “self-worth” as a fisherman who takes all of his study and past experiences into account as getting “better” at my chosen avocation. In my part of  Northern Kentucky, any lake over 500 acres just does not exist, at least without a 5 hour drive in any direction of the compass!  With the success people are having with FFS, it doesn’t matter that they immediately release their catch after weighing it for the contest they are in-it’s those fish are that much harder to fool a second time. In addition, look at the price af almost ANY NON-plastic bait-it’s darn near impossible to find a hard bait under 7 or 8 bucks, with many jerkbaits around $15-25!  I realize a tourney angler justifies these prices by rationalizing their next exorbitant purchase is the one that leads to ending up cashing a payout check so it justify their purchase.  Meanwhile guys like me who just wanna have fun have to pay those crazy prices too. So in summary, temporary lulls where all aspects of my hobbies become dull, followed by euphoric returns with greater passion than before, albeit with a Nostalgic wish for less fishing pressure, that,amplified by technology that makes the fish way more vulnerable to guys who can afford, and know how, to take advantage of said technology 

[Westcoast]

I lost interest after my divorce for a few years. I have always gone fishing as a way to keep the outside world out of my mind. I find the act just consumes my mind, that’s why I prefer more technical fishing. Like fly fishing on water that fish are educated and very specific in the tiny bugs they eat. It’s all about the perfect presentation with the right pattern, in the right place at the right time. Same in bass fishing , I never just like to fish randomly, I want to be able to figure out what bait and presentation that the fish will key in on. This clears my head immensely. But for that period of time the outside world would find its way into my train of thought and took away all the relaxation and enjoyment. As I began to get over and accept the divorce, my mind settled and I was able to get back into fishing again. 
 What really sucked is for a couple of those few years I took a job in an area that the fishing was spectacular and I missed out on such a great opportunity. I still regret that. 

[Bazoo]

I lost interest from about 24 until about 38. Not because I didn't want to, but because I lost my fishing spots, and other things got in the way.

 

Bass fishing is not my only love, and for a long time, guns/reloading/casting took top priority. Now they sort of share.

 

For me, fishing is a part of the love of the outdoors. I want to impart that love to my boy, so, fishing is very kid friendly, but guns aren't as much. He does love to watch me shoot clay pigeons, but he doesn't get to shoot yet since he's only 4. He can however cast and reel, so fishing is more his speed.

[DitchPanda]

I've lost interest in certain types of fishing over the years, but not in fishing all together. For instance I don't ice fish near as much as I used to, its just alot of work for not much payoff in my opinion. Also, and this may be blasphemous to say here but last year I lost alot of interest in bass fishing. The main reasons we're it was awful locally and I got back into cat fishing big time in 2022 so I did that alot instead. Instead of driving 5 minutes to a local pond and maybe catching 1 bass I could drive that same distance and catch half a dozen nice cats--easy choice when you just wanna pull on some fish. I never really tire of walleye or panfishing.

[fishingram24]

In my 20's and 30's I was hard core bass fishing, fishing probably 4 days a week and all the local tournaments but got to a point where if I had a bad tournament it bothered me all the next week. Decided I had to either quit fishing or learn to take it less seriously so I stepped back for maybe 6 months and adjusted my expectations and competitive nature, which was not easy. I loved to fish to much to quit so I changed my outlook and although I did not do as well in the tournaments after that I was okay with it. Gave up tournaments 7 years ago when I retired at 62 and go ever chance I get and enjoy ever minute of the day. I do mostly stop for 3-4 months now, from early June through mid Sept. due to the heat on the Ms coast where I live but that also helps keep the desire alive. 

[bigbassin']

Been on again off again with fishing for probably the last 2-3 years. Went fishing maybe 8 times total last year (mix of on the boat, wading, and shore fishing).

Took out the boat Saturday and was ready to go back to the ramp within minutes of getting to the lake. Basically just gave my Jon boat away Sunday. Only took it out 3 times last year so that was just the last straw.

 

Yet I’ve been thinking all week about wading a set of shoals I found on the map that’s about a mile hike from the road.

 

I used to love fishing. These days I like the thought of fishing but love the act of exploring. When I think of all the fishing memories I’ve enjoyed from the last few years, there’s an aspect of remoteness or difficulty accessing the location mixed with no one else being out there. And so at some point in the next month I will take a rod to those shoals mentioned above, but I may just take a couple of casts and then hike back to the truck.

[WRB]

It’s O dark 30, the wind is blowing on a cold front do you roll over and snuggle or get out of bed to go fishing? 

If I have committed to go fishing with a partner I get I get out of bed, if not rolling over sounds pretty good!

Now if it’s prey spawn with a low pressure front I out of bed before the alarm clock goes off! Poor fishing conditions you must be dedicated, good conditions it’s a no brained even at 80+ years.

Tom

[Jmilburn76]

I was very close to my grandpa, he was the one who took me fishing and after he passed I stopped fishing for around 12 years. The wife and I went a couple times after we met then I stopped again for around 10 years. 
 

Around 7 years ago I bought my first kayak and fell in love with kayak fishing and really started to learn and grow as a fisherman. Three years ago in May I was almost killed by a co-worker which caused a stroke and left me with a partially disabled left hand. I was just diagnosed with carpal tunnel in my right hand. I’m now 47 and not sure how much longer I can kayak fish or even fish so I plan on going as much as I can.
 

 For me kayak fishing and even being on my kayak has been therapeutic in my recovery. I wrote all of that to say that life is super short and can change in an instant. If you like fishing go when you can and don’t stress over it, heck keep a travel setup with you and stop at water while passing and toss around a lure a time or two! Tight Lines!