I live on Bull Shoals and keep my boat in the marina which my house overlooks.  I can be on the lake within 15 minutes, with a second option of launching my trout boat on the White River within about the same period of time.  Being retired (and unmarried) I fish whenever I want and see no reason to grind out the 8-12 hour days anymore.  Most often I launch just before daylight and am home by lunchtime.

6-10 hours.  I can do 8 easily.  as long as I brought enough water and snacks.  

 

10 hours, and the next day I am toast.  sore back usually.    I drive kinda far to my best spots, so I stay and fish all of it.  

8 to 12 hrs on the water on my kayak.. I have to drive minimum 1hr to the nearest decent lake to fish and usually only get to fish weekends so I try to make the most out of each trip... 2.5 hr drive 1 way is my maximum travel distance for a day trip... 

I fish from dawn to dusk.  I don't get a chance to go bass fishing very often, so when I do I try and keep my line in the water as long as possible.

 

Tomorrow I will leave my  house at 3:00 AM.  Arrive at the lake by 6:00 and be on the water by 6:30.  I will fish until 8:00PM eat something, set up my tent, and be sleeping by 10:00.  I get up before day light, take the tent down eat something and make my first cast by 6:00 AM.  The last day will be a repeat of the first two, but I will leave for home around 4:00  PM.  The return trip takes 4 hours, and by the time I am home I am exhausted.  I anchor at mid day to eat lunch, and that is the only time I ever fish a soft plastic slow.  I cast out take a few bites, move the bait and take another bite or two.  I am surprised  at how many bass I catch while trying to eat my lunch.  

 

I only get a chance for a three day trip two or three times a year.  Most of the time I can only get away for 1 or 1.5 days.   This is the prime season, and I'm even I'm thinking about making a few casts at night.

 

If I can't be on the water for 12 hours, I usually wont go.  The drive is to long to fish for anything less than all day.  Even though I am fishing for 12 hours, when the bite is slow, I always think I could catch them if I just had more time. 

5 hours ago, gim said:

3-6 hours depending on location, weather, and the bite. If I cannot go for at least 3 hours, I don’t bother. I only fish from my boat.

 

No one can keep up with @T-Billy here. Guy fishes for like 12 hours straight, goes home for a few hours, and then goes again. No sleep, no rest, no shower, same clothes. Tossing oversized muskie lures. I can’t figure it out and I’m 20 years younger than he is.

It's just a matter of "want to". Ya can't catch 'em if ya ain't out there. I always get at least a few hours sleep, and usually a shower. As for the change of clothes, well.... I mean... they're just gonna get covered in blood and muskie slime so.... 😂

Actual on the water fishing? 3-5 I would say. Now when I musky fished I’d be doing 10-12 hours. 

If it's a planned fishing day and not a spur of the moment thing, usually 6-10 hours on the water. 6 hours of beating my head against the wall is usually enough for me to call it on a bad bite. If it's a really good day I'll stretch it to 10-12. I think my record is like 14 or 15 hours, sunrise to sunset in the middle of the summer in a kayak. 

Before I retired...before I lived on a lake... I wouldn't go if I couldn't plan at least 3-4 hours on the water. 

  Now most days I am out twice - between 3 and 7 hours each.

It depends on if I’m fishing for fun or tournaments. I go out 3-5 days a week. Average fun trip 3+ hrs. Tournament related 4-12 hrs depending on if it’s after work or on the weekends. I absolutely love being on the water any chance I get. 90% of the time I go alone. 

16 hours ago, Joedodge said:

Generally 1.5-2 hrs before I go to work. 2-3 days a week. Maybe once a month I get out early on a Saturday morning. Or in the evening. Work and a lil kid and the wife keep me busy lol. I wish I could spend more time on a trip. I wouldn’t feel so pressured in a way. And have more time to try different things and such.  

This is almost exactly my situation. All my trips feel a little more hurried than I would like, and I usually have to resort to using 1 or 2 confidence baits and presentations without getting to try out other techniques. 

 

Gotta say though, the joy of marriage and fatherhood is more than worth it.

35 minutes ago, IcatchDinks said:

This is almost exactly my situation. All my trips feel a little more hurried than I would like, and I usually have to resort to using 1 or 2 confidence baits and presentations without getting to try out other techniques. 

 

Gotta say though, the joy of marriage and fatherhood is more than worth it.

I could not agree more on all of that. 

When I was younger I was a daylight to dark angler. Now that I’m older with bad knees and hips, arthritis in my lower spine about all I want is a four hour trip, six on an exceptionally good day.

I stay out as long as the wife will let me. Usually fish 2 tournaments a month that are about 8 hrs of time on the water but 12-13 hrs from the time I leave the house until I get home again. Then I try to sneak a 3 hour trip in on the weekends I don't have a tournament. For those, I just fish the river close to the house and try to get home by 9. If the wife's really been in a good mood lately, I'll push my luck and fish for 3-4 hours after work once a week. 

In the boat at least 4 hrs.  From the bank 1.5 hours usually right before dusk!

Typically 4-6 hours on the water. My common drive is around an hour each way so 6 to 8 hours is my “fishing” day”.

Most of my trips are 6-8 hours on the water. If I'm prefishing for a tournament, it'll be dawn to dusk. I do a lot of before work stops that are only 10 minutes that I don't even turn the truck off for though. 

If a weeknight trip happens it’s about 1-2 hours. On a weekend I shoot for 10+ hours in a trip

Average is probably 5 hrs on the water, can’t sit in the canoe much longer than that.

On 5/20/2025 at 11:28 AM, Team9nine said:

Bank trips; 1-2 hrs

Boat trips; 3-4 hrs

 

That's about right for me too. 

 

And as a dad of young kids, I understand that long trips away can be tough, but it does get easier. My youngest is 6 now and I'm able to get away for a solid 4 hour outing once a week in the boat, plus a few shorter trips before work beating the banks and such. Grateful! 

At this point in my life,70 years,  6-7 hours max except for a few trips we take each year when it closer to 8-9 hours but that's in the spring and fall when cooler temps come around.

I’m usually out there at least four hours, but 6 or 7 is common.

 

I was out there for 4 hours yesterday, and for the first time that I can remember, my back was sore last night.

 

Getting old is no fun.

Anywhere from about 5 to 7 hours.  It depends on the weather and how the bass are biting.

If my son is with me we normally fish 2-3 hours. If I'm with a buddy we sometimes fish all day. 

6 hrs in the kayak, usually after about 3-4 hrs I hopefully can find a spot to get out and stretch my legs.

On camping trips it's 4-5 straight days doing this if the weather co-operates, I do one of these every month from April to October, between the trips at least once a week or more with a 1 hr trip to my favorite waters.

72 years on Earth, I feel blessed to still be able to do this. 

It's usually 4-7 hrs on the water these days, depending on the bite and boat traffic.  I'm fishing 3-5 days a week. I'm 5 mins from the launch, so that makes a big difference.

 

When I was younger, 10-12 hrs on the water with a 2-3hr drive each way was the norm.  I did that every Saturday and Sunday, every month, every year for YEARS.  And if I was camping near the launch, it would be about a 14-15hr day.

 

My legs just can't do that anymore! LOL