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Posts: 396
Location: Northern Illinois | Took me a little time to figure this out, but a few years ago I realized that I like to be outdoors even more than just catching a fish. I have fun even when I get skunked. I love the rising or diminishing sunlight, animals, scenery, weather, and outdoor environment. There's other aspects I like about fishing - like trying to figure it all out and getting better, fishing with friends and family, lure collecting etc. So, there's a lot about fishing I like besides just being outdoors.
However, I don't enjoy just fishing anywhere so much. For instance, when there's a big power plant in the background blowing funky smelling chemicals into the air. Or, when there's someone walking down the city pier that looks like they want to rob somebody. Or, when you're fishing with your kids and you see a man (yes man) get up from his power boat to be wearing just a piece-of-dental-floss thong (yes it has happened in City I won't name). Or, someone casting a bulldawg within feet of your boat on a super pressured lake.
So, I'd like to ask how many of you care about where you fish and enjoy particular settings more than others? Is it both the fishing and the outdoor setting that you like or can you just tune out/don't care about anything else except getting the particular fish you're after? |
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Posts: 1209
| I care about where I fish based on; structure, distance from home, and predicted traffic based off experience. I travel 2 hours away often. But why drive 4 hours when my needs are met at 2... |
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Posts: 95
Location: Shakopee Minnesota | i enjoy fishing but i really want to get my first so then it isn't disappointing. i learn a lot but sometimes i want to be able to say the money i have spent and the hours i have put in (not very many yet!) have paid off. |
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Posts: 815
Location: Waukee, IA | I care about where I fish a lot, but it doesn't stop me from fishing if conditions aren't ideal.
Perfect day: Canadian shield Lake, tons of structure, medium to clear water, good numbers of fish with big ones mixed in, pine trees, light breeze and a skirt up past her knees.
Realistic day: I've fished Okoboji on Memorial Day Weekend, I'm an addict. |
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Posts: 8856
| Funny how your perspective changes as time goes on...
It used to be a mission. Anywhere, anytime, whatever lake, urban, crowded, who cares?
It's still a mission up on Eagle. I'm there for the quality and size structure that comes with a Canadian Shield lake. I still get excited over the 45"+ fish that we catch regularly, and I still enjoy the scenery and environment. But I'm there for the opportunity at a jumbo. Once you've seen a few blondies, you can never really go back.
Then there's the Northwoods... You get what you get. Most lakes do not hold that caliber of fish. We're fishing small lakes in the 500 acre and under range. I'm there to enjoy a place that's relatively unspoiled, uninhabited, where you typically see two or three other boats all day, one of which might be fishing for muskies. I'm still there to catch fish, of course. But the enjoyment of being there fishing in a place like that, sharing the lake with otters, beavers, eagles, and whatever wildlife is running around on shore is what it's all about.
Urban crowded fisheries are better than not fishing, so they have a time and place. But I'll take a day where I don't see or hear another person over just about anything else. |
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Posts: 1901
Location: MN | I care. I live south of the cities, and do my very best to not ever have to fish the metro if I can avoid it. Which means I drive 4-5 hours one way every weekend to fish northern MN, plus 8 hours 3-4 times a summer to go to LOTW. |
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Posts: 983
| I really just enjoy getting out and fishing no matter where its at..Ofcourse I have some places that are more enjoyable than others but as long as I get out and can fish I am happy. Obviously there is nothing like heading north up into Canada and getting out on Lakes that just dont get the pressure and you have the realistic shot of catching a real giant but thats hard to do on any consistant basis when you work full time and its 8 hours to get up there..Just gotta love being able to get ou any time you can spend time with family and friends fish are memories that I will never forget and dont get to do enough so I just enjoy anytime I can go out and just fish anywhere |
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Posts: 1299
Location: Hayward, Wisconsin | It is a double edged sword. If you want giants, you can't always have the solitude, especially if you want to tip the odds in your favor. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and put up with unpleasant surroundings for better than low odds of making contact with that special fish.
Having said that, I realize that both could happen together (and has), but the odds for me over the past 61 years has led me to the "promised land" of multiple giants and unfriendly atmosphere. I truly miss the wilderness lakes of my past that "occasionally" showed me a giant, my they are still in my heart! Still I visit some of them when I get the chance.
I have a friend that never sees beyond the shoreline, so obviously "where" makes no difference to him where he is...sad!
Edited by Larry Ramsell 12/30/2016 2:28 PM
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Location: Sawyer County, WI | Larry Ramsell - 12/30/2016 2:15 PM
I have a friend that never sees beyond the shoreline, so obviously "where" makes no difference to him where he is...sad!
Sadder yet are those who have never ventured beyond their home state or country.
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | dfkiii - 12/30/2016 2:35 PM
Larry Ramsell - 12/30/2016 2:15 PM
I have a friend that never sees beyond the shoreline, so obviously "where" makes no difference to him where he is...sad!
Sadder yet are those who have never ventured beyond their home state or country.
That may hold true the majority of the time, but I have met some pretty decent people that have not traveled much at all. |
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Posts: 243
Location: South Central Wisconsin | kamrynhalverson - 12/30/2016 1:19 PM
i want to be able to say the money i have spent and the hours i have put in (not very many yet!) have paid off. You'll never be able to say the money you have spent has paid off in this sport... Somehow you'll need to learn how to justify it to the better half though..... lol |
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Posts: 3163
| Late fall is a whole separate category,,,Oct,Nov leaves are gone or dead alot less sunlight scenery means less. Mile Lacs is the most boring lake to fish but you have a shot at a 55 inch or plus fish, So big fish priority one that time period. |
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Posts: 391
| I prefer the solitude. But if it means fishing or not, I'll deal with the jet skis. It's still a better view than my living room couch. Also, it is satisfying to pull up to a normally packed access on a crappy cold day in August and have the lake to yourself. Totally worth putting on the rain gear.
One of my favorite trips was a spring steelhead adventure to the Brule. Ended up getting around 6 inches of heavy wet snow that kept everyone else at home. The snow made everything super quiet, zero wind. Didn't put any chrome in the bag but one of my most memorable times on the water ever. |
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Posts: 20269
Location: oswego, il | The question is a matter of perspective. If i want to musky fish often, being from illinois, fishing for big fish within a reasonable distance isn't an option. Fishing the right lakes at the right time is. Sure there are farther trips to be made infrequently for which this question was intended but i prefer to musky fish more than that. A third option of catching fish is the one i am after. |
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Posts: 556
| I care about where I fish also--and it has nothing to do with the QUALITY of the fishing---can't stand crowds--or anywhere that doesn't look UP NORTH. Hate to fish in the SOUTH--hate to fish where there isn't something NATURAL in the background. My favorite lakes are usually smaller with less shoreline development and as little boat traffic as possible. I would rather JIG a few smaller walleyes out of a weedbed or Rock Pile in NORTHERN WIS, MN or MI than go to LAKE ERIE and catch a mess of Larger fish.... Just me--but I like that out in the wilderness away feeling and could care less about the size of the fish. LARGE MUSKIE in GREEN BAY -- & ST. CLAIRE---I have fished both a few times---Give me a small Quiet lake UP NORTH ANYWHERE and I enjoy that more.
Edited by esox911 12/31/2016 4:34 PM
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Posts: 255
| Have a cabin on WI lake and love picking it apart. There are loons, eagles, otters to watch. There are sunsets, sunrises to view. I can pluck through weeds and stumps, hit bays, channels, islands. I fish few hours, and only go about one full weekend a year, but I have been finding more fish in more spots, and know someday I'll see a beauty. Nice to cast two hours, eat breakfast with the family, and then bring a kid out midday, then try some evening casting before a campfire. It's a good life. |
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Posts: 44
| Esox911 - I fish the south and the view may not be what one would expect. Took these pictures yesterday and maybe saw 4 boats all day with none close enough to see their registration numbers. I did spend time with a pair of bald eagles, two tundra swans and three Coopers hawks. No fish but still a memorable day.
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | kamrynhalverson - 12/30/2016 2:19 PM
i enjoy fishing but i really want to get my first so then it isn't disappointing. i learn a lot but sometimes i want to be able to say the money i have spent and the hours i have put in (not very many yet!) have paid off.
The money you are going to invest in this sport will never pay off . Just enjoy yourself out there. |
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Posts: 360
Location: Tinley Park. Fish Cen IL. Bass & Vilas Cty.Muskie | I love the weekdays on a small Lake in Vilas county or the weekdays in Southern IL. on the 10hp Lakes or small City Lakes. I like to be the only one at the ramp(rare nowadays -safe for truck ?) and just a good day of Bass fishing or numbers of Muskies. I am not just fishing small Lakes, I do my research or get tips from friends. |
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Posts: 584
| esoxaddict - 12/30/2016 1:49 PM
Funny how your perspective changes as time goes on...
Urban crowded fisheries are better than not fishing, so they have a time and place. But I'll take a day where I don't see or hear another person over just about anything else.
This is pretty much where I'm at as well. I'd still like to catch the big one, but that's not my main motivating factor. I've found that the enjoyment that I derive from muskie fishing increases exponentially with the quality of my surroundings, as opposed to my chances at a big fish. "Quality of surroundings" to me refers primarily to natural beauty, remoteness/solitude, and who my fishing partner is. Trips to LOTW and the Canadian Shield fit those descriptors perfectly, (and offer chances at a big one, too).
But I live in Madison and used to fish the Madison Chain a lot. I still do get out a fair amount, since it is so convenient, though nothing close to the hours I put in before kids, career, etc. We also have a family cabin on a lightly developed small action lake in N. WI, where other than the holiday weekends, I rarely see another boat. Even though my odds of catching a fish > 45" are far higher on the Mad Chain, as I've gotten older I've found that I much prefer my time on the water at the cabin. |
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Location: Contrarian Island | kind of in the same camp as Matt to some degree... when I go up to Vilas more x than not we would go out of our way to fish lakes that simply didn't have the pressure of the big name lakes because it's nice to be the only boat on the lake in the late fall... not playing bumper boats like we do in Madison is why I love places like LOTW and all the little lake X's up north I have fished...the MN lakes I fish have pressure but not nearly what we see in Madison .... there are also ways to avoid most of the pressure..just fish 'off' times... |
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Posts: 1405
Location: Detroit River | I'll take a nice lake up north without the shoreline lined with houses & no drunken pleasure boaters over fishing LSC any day of the week. Fishing LSC every weekend is getting old. I'm sick of the increased musky fishing pressure & getting buzzed by the pleasure boats. |
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Posts: 993
| Zib - 1/3/2017 2:48 PM
I'll take a nice lake up north without the shoreline lined with houses & no drunken pleasure boaters over fishing LSC any day of the week. Fishing LSC every weekend is getting old. I'm sick of the increased musky fishing pressure & getting buzzed by the pleasure boats.
Gotta love youtube channels and gopros
Edited by Ronix 1/3/2017 2:21 PM
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Posts: 1425
Location: St. Lawrence River | I prefer to get after big ones I guess. Many of the places we fish on the st Lawrence river are not what you would call scenic, there are a lot of outlaws with no regard for rules, and I have seen people all but pull up to another's boat to jump aboard and take a swing for cutting them off or whatever reason but everyone keeps at it trying for that 55+
Edited by JakeStCroixSkis 1/3/2017 3:14 PM
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| Those of you who have enjoyed the lakes in N. WI., with less development are going to start seeing changes very soon. The state has mandated that all counties change their shore line zoning and get their new ordinances approved by the end of this month. The state standards, which all counties must now adapt are much less stringent than counties like Oneida and Vilas and the townships in those counties have had in place. Many lakes in Oneida and Vilas had minimum water front requirements of 200', now it will be 100'. Set back from the lake will be less and the "view window", i.e. the amount of area the home owner can clear between the lake and the water will also be expanded. In addition, boat houses are again being permitted, with some restrictions. The upshot is more development, closer to water and larger sections of shore line without trees. The counties and towns in this area are not happy but the state has told them they have no choice. Stella township in Oneida county just had to approve a subdivision plat for a small, undeveloped lake. In the past the township's 200' minimum water front for new dwellings would have made this less desirable for the developer. Now, they are platting 100 lots on the lake.
I know from firsthand experience that building a place under the old ordinances could be a challenge but the result was a less cluttered water front and also less chance of pollution because of set backs and less clearing of the riparian zone. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | Politics is for the basement.... |
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| 14ledo81 - 1/3/2017 5:34 PM
Politics is for the basement....
The changes in the law will have a direct impact on the quality of the experience on the lakes in N. WI, which is on topic for this thread. |
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Posts: 4269
Location: Ashland WI | North of 8 - 1/3/2017 5:41 PM
14ledo81 - 1/3/2017 5:34 PM
Politics is for the basement....
The changes in the law will have a direct impact on the quality of the experience on the lakes in N. WI, which is on topic for this thread.
I agree in principle. Still think it could derail the thread and would be better left to the basement. |
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Posts: 612
| I like to catch fish. The lakes nearby have a fair amount of pressure. I try to offset this by mainly fishing on the weekdays. This cuts the traffic down by 2 or 3 to 1 easy.
Also early morning helps. In summer I'm off the water by 10:30 AM. Need a bit of peace however small with my fishing. On occasion I have my favorite spots to myself this is heaven. Sometimes an eagle or turtle comes by. I like to catch a big or even nice sized fish and take the few that come my way.
Edited by NPike 1/3/2017 8:13 PM
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Posts: 112
Location: Illinois | I unfortunately live in northern Illinois. Spend around 40-80 hours a year fishing these waters for Muskie and it's usually on weekends(work schedule). I have less an less desire to do so. My true enjoyment comes from my trips to northern destinations. Don't care if it's for "big" fish or numbers. The aesthetics and less traffic are much more enjoyable/peaceful. I can't wait to move. |
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