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BrokeOff

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My way of thinking was to do what I wanted to do when I felt the need to. If you are young and have kids and home expenses they should always come first. There are some truth's to the saying that "thing's will never be better than now" and that is so correct when I look back and remember places that are today mere puddles and trickles compared to what they once were.

 

I say, do it before old age and sickness make it difficult  for you to do what you have waited your whole life to do !

 

Saving your dreams at thirty years of age to do at seventy years old somehow just does not work. Money cannot buy youth or good health, use your youth and good health to live your dreams when you are still able to.

 

Regards,

FT

Edited by Fishin Technician
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Nothing wrong with planning.  A few scattered ideas here..

 

-I used to make big plans for every weekend I went up to my hunting club's Adirondack Cabin...   Fix this, clear that, shooting lanes, more trail cameras, another food plot.   The more plans, the less fun.   It's a hobby.  Nothing wrong with wandering on it.

 

-Fishing vacations.   Not sure about time part.  But, basic weekends are great.  A kayak or canoe on an isolated creek up north, you'll be a happy man.

 

-Fishing overall.....  The less places you fish, the better you get.  You get to see the variables in lesser amount.  Nothing wrong with new places.  But, sometimes for fishing trips without a guide, going back to learn it better aint bad.  Check out Niagara Falls fishing.......

 

-Boats.......   Over 21 it aint fun.......   A small skiff, a small investment, more fun.   Shallower water.  Fish spots in the south bay feels like you're in an oasis in a desert of weeds n water......    A small boat 10-15hp or so.   Pull the 90lb motor off, darin the carb, spray some fogging oil in the plug holes.  Winterized.  Flip the boat over on the trailer.....  Done...  Flip it up again.   Weather is too nasty to fish on that boat.   Time for the popping plugs to play....

 

I got a little motto about work, play, and what not.......   I need a miracle everyday......   However, that one little fishing trip will keep your headd sane during -10deg F days shoveling snow.

 

Bass pro shops deep V 14 $3,000.   Trailer $800ish.   Deal on outboard $2000.   Fishfinder, basic lights, trolling motor on sale, battery  $500 or so.  Carolina skiffs are nice too.  A little heavier to flip.   Love the fact I can use oars as a backup,  hate the fact when I do need them.....   Also, NYS parks no gas outboards.   Electric motor, row, or drift sock......

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Yeah, I dream about the fancy skiffs they use on the flats but they just aren't practical.  I'm laughing out loud at my desk thinking about this conversation.  Wife says, "you spent how much on that poling skiff?  And how many people did you say it can fit?"  To get my feet wet I'm thinking of a 16' Sturdee.  I can do plenty in that for the next five years.

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I have a 14' tin boat with an electric motor I love fishing out of. Got it for free. Mostly for largemouth, but plan to bring it home next season for stripers, maybe put like a 15 HP on it. There's a guy about a mile from here, in his back yard he has this sweet looking center console, hasn't moved in a few years. Someday I'm hoping to see a for sale sign on it, but till then my tinny is just fine.There's a web site might be called tin boats dot com or something, but you wouldn't believe how these guys turn a simple jon boat into a real fishing machine. Pretty impressive stuff, all DIY...

Edited by stormy monday
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On 1/31/2019 at 10:26 AM, BrokeOff said:

Good info and I appreciate people sharing their experiences.

 

For now I think I'm not going to make any drastic changes to my plans.  This year I'll try to introduce this kids to the paddle board.  Do some super easy beach wading trips with them in the backpack carrier.  Book my 2020 trip as planned.  They are still young and I have time.

 

With all this being said, I hope I'm not coming off as some absentee father, ha.  Definitely get my fair share of dirty diapers, feedings, babies screaming at 3am, books, puzzles, Frozen, Moana, my oldest girl putting blush on me, etc.  I love it all.  I should also mention, last year I supported my wife in getting her yoga certification to balance out my fishing habit.  That was 200 hours of me vs two kids over many weekends.  My wife is usually working while I'm gone fishing on trips.  IMHO, I got the short end of the stick there.

 

The reason I ever got a week off to begin with is that originally I wanted to move west when we first met but I agreed to stayed local on the condition that I get all my vacation to myself.  After one kid we renegotiated to one week out of three.  It could be that as the kids get older we do more stuff locally and I skip down for just a few days like some of you have mentioned.

 

I'm happy which ever way things end up.  Catching my first bones in the Keys was fantastic, although I can't say it was more fantastic than catching the first brook trout or striper with my daughter hanging off my back.  Just different.

My advice is find every possible fishing opportunity 25 minutes or less of a drive from your house.  Hit those hard and frequently when your family is asleep.  I wrote the below to another dad in a message about how I was able to start catching big stripers consistently.  Its all about logistics.  I did a lot of big trips prior to having kids, but what I should have done is put more time into my local area when I had all that free time.  My deal with wife is I get one weekend a year where I get to disappear Friday morning and come back Sunday.  I did a trip to fish Madison River in Montana last year.  This year I am fishing the Cape and Cheeky Tournament as my one weekend away to save money.

 

I live in Massachusetts. I have a 2 Y/O daughter and a 4 Y/O son . I used to do the full day trips and night into day trips on the Cape when i first moved here 2013-2014. 2015 was the first year of being a dad and I managed only 9 fishing trips that whole year as opposed to my 60+ trips per year w/o kids. I reached out to a friend and his advice was if its longer than a 25 min drive from your house its never gonna happen regularly. I was already heading down the night fishing road due to initial forays into it in 2014 and three more in 2015. So I decided to pick the area closest to my house and exclusively fish it for one whole year at night in 2016.  By keeping it close to home I was once again able to get over 60 trips in during striper seasons and I have kept that 60 plus trips a year rate up in 2017 and 2018.  

 

Its all about logistics and keeping from falling apart. I found that bedtime with little kids is unpredictable so it was easier to plan to get up early in morning then go out after kids went to bed. So I fished 3:30am to 5:30am and then either took commuter rail or ferry to work in downtown Boston. All my fishing spots are within a 7 min drive of either the train or the ferry to Boston. I commute in work out clothes and keep work clothes at the office so every Monday I plan to drive into the office to swap out five sets of clothes and pick up last weeks work clothes to drop off at dry cleaner. Now that the kid are older and more predictable I will also hit the 10pm to 1am window for fishing or the 2:30-5:30am window. Sometimes I get lazy and do 4am-6:30am if I don’t have to be at office before 7:30am which is rare.  

 

What I found is by fishing at night I get more large fish and more fish in general than day time trips. It takes some adjustment and I recommend bringing spinning gear too as a scouting tool. The first two hours after sunset are not good in my experience. A lot of people try to get into night fishing that way and have poor luck. Fishing does not get good until it has been dark at least two hours in my experience. The first light on the horizon into the official sunrise time is excellent so I find the early morning is best because if you struggle in the dark you get that magic first hour of light to make up for it. 

 

If you don't have stipers that close to home I also recommend trying for largemouth in the dark.  I found as a teenager that night is the best time to target 5-10lb bass in the ponds I grew up fishing in Maryland 9 months out of the year, but in summer its pretty much the best way to catch them hands down.

Edited by The Graveyard Shift
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my wife knew the deal - I had to get a steelhead on fly, before we could have kids..

;-) 

Since we had kids I have had no fishing goals or plans, except to fish with them. On my own, mostly switched to local short trips, took up carp on the fly, and other warmwater pursuits. Think about it - they are around really only for 16 years or so. After that they are driving and you don't see them much, at 18 it's college and you barely see them at all. 
The 16 years takes a long time when you are in it, but then it's the blink of an eye.. 


Now one in college and another going, there's no money for any exotic trips, like to another state.. ha. Actually do make it to WY sometimes, but that's a shorter drive than to some CO destinations. 

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Fish at night and take your kids on vacation! My kids are growing fast as hell and it will be over soon! But with that being said I live in an area where i can fish alot when the time comes, at night, so its not too big of a deal for me. I also fish every vacation i go on. Going to smokey mountains for a wedding in may and disney/ keys next year. You think my wife came up with the keys part?? I also know each couple has different customs and ideals so figure out what works for you guys. Maybe im just jealous bc me going on a fishing trip by myself AINT HAPPENING!

 

BB

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GYS, I fished at night a lot two years ago then got more into the flats things.  This coming year I’m going to try and do both.  

 

We we moved into a new house in June.  One of the reasons I agreed to this house is that it’s an eight minute walk to a fishsble beach and has inlets 20 minutes north and south.

 

Additionally, there are a few places I’d like to check out with the kids for stripers and pan fish.  Hopefully my 4 yo will be able to reel one in this year.

 

Mike, you are right that some sort of balance is probably the right way to go.  Balance has never been my strong suit but it’s likeky important for having adequate family time and maintaining the fly fishing addiction.

 

Again, thatnks for everyone’s replies, I’m considering all of your experiences carefully.

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Seems to be two periods in our lives when there is more freedom. Teens up until  the day we marry and have proper jobs. Then when our kids leave home.

 

In theory that is. As then the grand kids come along which is wonderful and often later we need to look after our own Mom and Dad’s.

 

My dream is to take all my grandkids to the ocean and that they will all love it. Maybe one or more may love fishing and will come and wet suit with Grandad before I have to hang up my boots. That would be just wonderful.

 

It is all good.

 

Mike

 

 

Edited by Mike Oliver
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1 hour ago, BrokeOff said:

GYS, I fished at night a lot two years ago then got more into the flats things.  This coming year I’m going to try and do both.  

 

We we moved into a new house in June.  One of the reasons I agreed to this house is that it’s an eight minute walk to a fishsble beach and has inlets 20 minutes north and south.

 

Additionally, there are a few places I’d like to check out with the kids for stripers and pan fish.  Hopefully my 4 yo will be able to reel one in this year.

 

Mike, you are right that some sort of balance is probably the right way to go.  Balance has never been my strong suit but it’s likeky important for having adequate family time and maintaining the fly fishing addiction.

 

Again, thatnks for everyone’s replies, I’m considering all of your experiences carefully.

Great news is flats fishing is even better at night then it is during the day.  On a bright full moon night you can see what is going on and can get much closer.  Even on a pitch black night you can stalk by sound of fish feeding in very skinny water.  I find the night flats experience is just as satisfying as the daylight one.  I had a very exciting find of a small inshore flats area near me end of last season that I plan to explore in 2019.  I like taking a break from the inlet grind to hit the flats occasionally.  Stalking fish in the dark is more exciting than blind casting and fishing for the unseen by feel for sure.

 

Sounds like a great new location you moved to last year.  If you are looking for any advice on inlets in particular feel free to shoot me some private messages to discuss any details you would not want to make public.  Happy to help you figure those out I would say my fishing day split is almost 70% inlet fishing these days.  My prediction is if you put a lot of time into those inlets you will set new personal best stripers on the fly either in 2019 or 2020.  Beaches are fun too and can produce large fish, but inlets always have large fish around in New England.  You just have to figure out how to get them to bite.  

 

For my kids the strategy has been ponds to start.  I make them wear appropriate sized life jackets if we fish off any boat or pier.  Cannot risk an accident and I highly encourage you if water over 2 feet is something they could fall into to always have them wear a life jacket.  The other spots the water is less than foot deep off shore so I don't make them wear the life jacket in those areas.  Just a simple circle hook, bobber, and berkley gulp 2 inch minnows with chartreuse back and white belly catches tons of panfish also the gulp "crickets" do very well on bluegill.  I actually dedicated 5 trips in 2017 exclusively pan fishing at a bunch of different ponds to find one that had the best spot with quickest catch rate for sunfish.  Once I found that special spot that is where I take kids most of the time.  We go for no more than 30 minutes fishing time.  It takes less than 2 minutes to get bit after a cast.  we catch 5-10 fish and I set a timer that goes off at 30 minutes.  We always leave then to go get ice cream and I have a kindle in car for kids to watch.  I only go in good weather.  The key is to make fishing a lot of fun and always leave them wanting more.  My son will ask to go fishing now because he has had consistent good experiences.  If I think any negative outcome can occur I cancel the trip.  Once Jack is 8 or 9 y/o we will start fishing in more difficult situations and for longer periods of time for now I just want it to be as much fun as possible.

 

Also if you find any stocked trout areas near you its worth taking kids there too.  I bring a 5 gallon bucket and we release the kids fish into is so they can watch them in the bucket.  It entertains them between fish.  We let them go using a small bait net from the bucket every time we catch a new one.  Trout are nice because they have no spines so you can let you kids reach into the bucket grab them and release them safely.  Blue gill and bass have spines so I dont let kids try to handle them instead they use the net to get them out of the bucket.  We are going to try striper fishing this year as a salt pond outflow using bobbers and gulp on circle hooks for schoolies.  My son did okay at 3 y/o last year so I am sure your oldest will be fine at 4 y/o.

Jack Sunfish.jpg

Jack Brook Trout.jpg

Jack Bluegill.jpg

Jack Bucket Stocker.jpg

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On 1/30/2019 at 5:03 PM, mightyrime said:

Our dream in the next 5 years is to:

 

Buy an affordable home  ( we like southern california but cant afford a home here) in either the mountains or a beach that is 30 minutes or less from somewhere i can fish.  Generally this automatically makes it a beautiful place.

 

We need good schools and an airport nearby as both my wife and I can work from home but need to travel to work sites.

 

Hopefully a destination with some cultural diversity and not too remote as i dont want my kid to get bored and get in trouble.

 

Overall we are hoping instead of dreaming of traveling to places to pursue our hobbies, we live somewhere that it is in our back yard.

 

Our ultimate dream would be to have 2 homes...gotta dream :)

maybe 1 in montana and 1 in somewhere like costa rica or mexico if the crime gets better.

 

if anyone has a special place that fits our dream let us know

 

dream on all!

 

 

Let me know if you find the right place, that's pretty much exactly my dream too! Specifically, somewhere close to mountains w/ trout and an ocean (max two hour drive to one or the other).

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29 mins ago, PATroutGuy said:

Let me know if you find the right place, that's pretty much exactly my dream too! Specifically, somewhere close to mountains w/ trout and an ocean (max two hour drive to one or the other).

 

Does Chile work?  Or maybe NZ?

 

For retirement things I think of, I’d like to get the striper season I’m up here and fish Florida for other parts of the year.  I see myself being 80 poling other 80 year old fishing buddies into the mangroves.  Not around the mangroves or past them.  I’m talking about into, tangled up, falling off the skiff and having a laugh.

Edited by BrokeOff
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I rarely map out more than a year in advance.  My wife and I both work, and like Graveyard we have a 4yo and a 2yo.  There are several days a week when one of us needs to work late or has a evening event to attend, so it's not a big deal for the other one to put both the kids to bed on a weeknight.  Weekends are a different story: 48 hours minding those two solo is a lot to ask of each other.  Also, she doesn't fish, and doesn't really care to join me on fishing trips, so if I'm going, I'm going alone.

 

I have three approaches:

 

1) Tack on a day to a business trip.  There is fishable water everywhere in this country, and I have really enjoyed learning about and fishing spots within an hour of Chicago, Atlanta, and LA.

 

2) Take days off during the week and go alone.  If it's during the season up here, I'll simply fish local waters.  If it's winter, I can often find cheap direct flights to good fisheries - in fact, I did just this last week to fish Beaufort SC.  When adding up the flight, the hotel, the car and the charter, this is not a cheap option, but some itches need to be scratched.

 

3) For holidays and birthdays, my wife and I will gift each other days off, a weekend to go do whatever you want.  My only want is fishing.

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