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Posts: 7038
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | Saw a comment on another thread that started me thinking: what do people consider to be alot of hours between fish? And, what is THEIR average hours they generally need to put in between fish.
So, answer the poll: what is YOUR AVERAGE hours it takes to put a fish in the boat? |
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| Considering I've only boated 4 so far this year myself with a lot of hours fishing. I would say 60+ hours easily. I know.... embarrassing... not everyone's a pro. |
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Posts: 458
| If I calculated this I would quit. |
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Location: Des Moines IA | edalz - 10/19/2010 3:58 PM
If I calculated this I would quit.
Agreed! Want to really get discouraged? Calculate how much each fish cost you?!!!! |
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Location: Contrarian Island | it's an interesting stat to look at imo..puts things into perspective how good or bad fishing was or wasn't...or how bad we sucked! 
typically running at about 7 hrs per fish in net personally, 4 hrs per fish in the net for the boat over the course of the season...every time I hit the water for a full day I expect 3 or more in the net...no matter what lake I'm on...if I go a full day without a fish I get a little mental
though last weekend was one every 1.2 hrs....and of course some trips you get your butt kicked....
Edited by BNelson 10/19/2010 5:10 PM
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Posts: 1023
| I just boated 2 39" fish in 25 hours of mostly trolling on St Clair - it was hard to stay positive but when you get the "pass" to go fishing all weekend you don't waste it - you forge ahead!
My friend got 6 up to 45" so I was busy netting and unhooking his fish:)
Landry |
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Posts: 8781
| I figured it out to be just over 10 hours on average, to put a fish in the net. On any given day, I expect a legitimate shot at a fish at least one time during the day, and I expect to see at least one other fish.
Strictly speaking? If I fish three days and don't have a legitimate opportunity at a fish? That's a long time.
ALLLL depends on where you fish though. |
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Posts: 222
Location: c.wis | 13-16 hrs per fish....... but during the summer months I has many multiple fish days. but my avg. has been 12-16 per fish.... but thats fish in the net, a looker if fine but its not caught. makes the day go by better when you know your on fish tho. this is on the low side but 125-150.00 per fish
Edited by eric001 10/19/2010 5:24 PM
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Posts: 388
| Since 2006 I have kept detailed records. I average 15.2 hrs per fish caught across all lakes all months. I average 11.7 on the lake that I fish most often where I have the most history and experience. Some months are as good as 5 hrs per fish, others as bad as 50! I believe that this is the best measure as it is independent of time on the water overall, although during years where I put more time on I have better numbers based on ability to capitalize on productive patterns. Have made some interesting observations relative to lakes fished, temperatures, and moon phase using this measure. Haven't seen much relative to new or full moon, but average much better in waxing moon relative to waning moon.
Edited by Yake Bait 10/19/2010 5:44 PM
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Posts: 155
| I used to think 1 per 3 trips was good ,prolly about 25-30hrs... |
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| I still haven't got one yet this year with quite a bit of time on the water. Stupid fish..... |
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Posts: 171
Location: indiana | indiana fishing 1 per 24 hrs. lotw in one week 1 per 5 hours. i need to move north. |
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Posts: 1220
| I have posted before that if you take the average tournament catch of 15 legals per 100 anglers in a nine hour competitve day, that's 15 divided by a total of 900 angler hours which is equal to 60 hours for each fish. If you look at tougher tournament conditions like those at the recent PMTT Championship on Tonka, the nine hour first day's catch of four fish for exactlly 100 anglers meant that it really took 225 angler hours per fish from a group that you would suspect is not fishing for the very first time. Naturally, you don't get to fish the most highly productive first and last hour of daylight in these events, you don't get to pick the lake you go to, or watch for the perfect solunar conditions. Still, it does sort of give you a bit more of an "honest" picture of just how hard this sport can be. And as I have also posted before, I once caught 3 legals in four casts in ten minutes time as well. I did that once in my life and I am 61 years old. All I am saying here is that the guys who tell you that they average a couple of fish per day are likely to be under the influence of an illegal substance. Marty Forman |
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Posts: 1169
Location: New Hope MN | Just go to the tournament results and see how they do. The hours/fish are pretty bad.
MN DNR stated 1 fish/50hrs for average fisherman. Can't remember where i saw it exactly. |
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Posts: 617
Location: Clintonville, WI | 8-10 hours per fish for me that last couple years.
That is an all-in time on the water, yearly calculation (tournaments, recreation, with/without my kids in boat, matchfishing, etc). I use 34" as the minimum benchmark to count.
As one with limited time on the water, I started tracking this way in about 2000. It seemed to be the best way for me to measure my skill set, learning curve, water choices, etc. As alluded to already, tournaments are brutal. So in this context, I'm glad I only fish 1 or 2 per year. Obviously then, recreational fishing has been much better and interestingly, matchfishing has been good for the #s.
2003 was my best year at 5-8 hours. 2007 was the worst at 13-16 hours.
Edited by BigMo 10/20/2010 9:25 AM
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| Slamr - 10/19/2010 2:24 PM
Saw a comment on another thread that started me thinking: what do people consider to be alot of hours between fish? And, what is THEIR average hours they generally need to put in between fish.
So, answer the poll: what is YOUR AVERAGE hours it takes to put a fish in the boat?
I won't say. I hold with the guys who are shaken for the number of hours and cost per fish. You have to love the outdoors. And the pursuit of the difficult. It's twice as hard in the states that don't have a lot of natural muskie lakes. You guys in Wisconsin and Minnesota: count your blessings.
The last two times I was out, I questioned what I was doing. I was on what are basically man-made largemouth bass lakes. I wondered how many good bass I would have brought to the boat in the last five years, if I would have applied myself there. Causes you to pause... |
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Posts: 53
Location: Elk River,MN | My boat has fished 148 hours with 6 fish. That's 24.6 hr/fish and I also count any action I encounter. (Follow, Blowup, Lost fish, etc) And I have some type of action every 4.6 hours. If I could ever learn to get the fish to bite boatside my numbers would be pretty decent, but I'm the worse.
Edited by beavergrad 10/20/2010 1:28 PM
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Posts: 8781
| Tourmanents paint a pretty clear picture of just how many muskies are caught and how often. But that's not the WHOLE picture.
500 of the best guys on an absolute crap weekend can easily wind up with average of 50-60 angler hours per fich caught. One year we had 63 - 2 man teams catch 7 fish in an 8 hour tournament... 63x2x8 hours? That's 1008 angling hours. Divided by 7 fish? Yah, there you go. 144 angling hours per fish. That's 18 days. I'd be willing to bet that not a single ONE of them ever went 18 days without catching a single legal fish.
Averages don't mean a whole lot until you are averaging several hundred days worth of angling in your calculations. If you fish three times and have one four fish day you're going to look like a hero with a 6 hour average, but the truth is you only caught fish 1/3 of the time you were out... |
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Posts: 1080
| In the great words/lyrics of Jimmy Buffett: "Math Suks"
Edited by MACK 10/20/2010 4:28 PM
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| Junkman - 10/20/2010 7:10 AM
I have posted before that if you take the average tournament catch of 15 legals per 100 anglers in a nine hour competitve day, that's 15 divided by a total of 900 angler hours which is equal to 60 hours for each fish. If you look at tougher tournament conditions like those at the recent PMTT Championship on Tonka, the nine hour first day's catch of four fish for exactlly 100 anglers meant that it really took 225 angler hours per fish from a group that you would suspect is not fishing for the very first time. Naturally, you don't get to fish the most highly productive first and last hour of daylight in these events, you don't get to pick the lake you go to, or watch for the perfect solunar conditions. Still, it does sort of give you a bit more of an "honest" picture of just how hard this sport can be. And as I have also posted before, I once caught 3 legals in four casts in ten minutes time as well. I did that once in my life and I am 61 years old. All I am saying here is that the guys who tell you that they average a couple of fish per day are likely to be under the influence of an illegal substance. Marty Forman
So if there wasn't a tournament that day and I go catch 2 of those 15 fish that were willing to bite that day (in eight hours) what is my catch per hr? If I didn't average a fish in the net every 10 hrs I would sell all my stuff. |
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Posts: 32886
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | Good Muskie angling in Iowa I guess. |
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Posts: 1220
| Let's say I go up North for the weekend, just me and the dog (that's my Golden Retreiver if any of you were having ugly thoughts) and I can fish Friday afternoon until just after dark, all day Saturday, and then Sunday morning again for 4 to 6 hours before heading back home. I have caught a fish per day many times, gotten a big skunk a few times, but mostly think that if that weekend produces one decent fish in the net....well, it's a perfectly OK weekend. Honestly, in those conditions, picking and choosing lakes, I think it's about 10-14 hours per legal musky in the net. That's pretty darn honest and I'd put it up against other average to slighty better than average sticks totally OK results. Marty |
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Posts: 1184
Location: Iowa Great Lakes | sworrall - 10/20/2010 6:17 PM
Good Muskie angling in Iowa I guess.
Where at?? |
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Posts: 2015
| Fishing in Iowa is tough compared to most lakes...This year I have 24 IA fish in 256 hrs of fishing with a 41.65" average - I have 25 mn/canada fish in 195 hrs
In Iowa I tend to only fish when the fish "should" go - In MN or Canada you fish every available hr so the numbers are even more skewed.....someday I will move 
Edited by IAJustin 10/20/2010 7:22 PM
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Posts: 380
Location: Michigan | Average for the boat this season:
Total hours per fish 3.37
Hours per fish Casting 3.95
Hours per fish Trolling 2.68
Edited by Chasin50 10/20/2010 8:15 PM
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Posts: 1453
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | I've learned over the years to try not to pay too close attention to hours per fish, # fish per year, etc, etc...just enjoy the chase and the time on the water. |
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| I don't know exactly what my hours per catch is, as I don't keep track, but I have noticed it is less on average when I fish in northern wi, compared to se, wis-mostly Pewaukee.
pmv |
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Posts: 177
Location: Cohasset, MN | I'm estimating at least 24 hours but I had to include a couple dinks to do even that good. |
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Posts: 2361
| I doubt there is a meaningful answer to this question, particularly once it stretches across more than one water.
You may get some idea by talking to a lot of fisherman about one water, as to what that water can produced for a good, average or poor fisherman, but once you get off a basin, you are quickly into an apples and oranges logarithm. I have posted a couple of other questions on the board that might be a little more enlightening, or confusing. |
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Posts: 1220
| One last thought on this. When I was in high school, I often had a hard time getting a date. Seemed like I grew 6 or 7 inches in my senior year...but before that, I was on the clearly shorter and fatter scale of kid. But, I always did get the date. The way I got it was to keep calling girls until one would accept---even if it took 7 or 8 tries. There was always a decent looking girl who wanted to go to the dance more than she didn't want to go with the fat kid....you just had to find her. This musky fishing is not much different. You often find that your best presentation meets with nothing but rejection. The solution is the same. You simply need to keep a quality bait moving through quality water and not accept the rejection for anything more than a temporary state of being. Perhaps the only difference between this and my dating experience is that with musky fishing, I am definitely looking for the "bigger" girls! Marty |
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Posts: 785
| 7.8 hour average with a 45.5 inch average for MN this season. Had some very slow and difficult days on the water this year but all in all I'll happily take that... Iowa on the other hand gave me a 34.5" average and I don't even Want to know the hours between fish |
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| LOL Marty. I suppose even if you called me seven or eight times I would go to the dance with you
Maybe you guys should also add getting ready and travel time to your hours per fish? Or how about the time you spend on this board researching...I'm guessing some of you are in the thousands of hours per fish then! |
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Posts: 223
Location: minneapolis | Hours per fish ? I don't know, and I don't care.
What really counts -
is the hours per outing and the memories I share with my partners -
in the pursuit of a fish |
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| I'm with da Junkman (Marty) on this - best metric is the local tournament scene results and fishing is tough.
I keep an eye on Maryland largemouth reservoir fishing tournaments. Last tournament on a solid bass lake, 30 teams of 2 x 8 hours = 480 angler hours. Biggest largemouth, 3.82 lbs.
http://www.metroreservoiranglers.com/docs/2010T6FP.pdf |
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Location: 31 | I have no idea on hours per fish... probably don't want to think about that too much either!
In the spring I generally concentrate on quality action from the postspawn females and in the late fall I prefer to fish big water for the queen of the lake.
Some destinations (actually it's more of a time of the year thing) I expect to have action from several fish everyday, while other places (super low density) I let the clutch out knowing that I'm optimistically fishing for one bite every three or four days... and will most likely get completely skunked.
Far and away the least amount of hours per fish for me was when I use to fish from shore below dams after the Wisconsin open.
Edited by Jerry Newman 10/23/2010 10:35 PM
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Hours Per Fish?