PROs and CONs of fishing with your wife/girlfriend

[GotALunker]

My wife is really starting to take an interest in ice fishing - which I am excited about. I bought her her very own pink tip up and a pink Dave Genz rod, mini tackle box, pink depth finder, and a few lures. She couldn't be more excited - which makes me happy to see.

But for you guys who fish with your wives or girlfriends, let's talk about the pros and cons.

Pro: My wife can cook some fresh food over the Coleman stove while on the lake that means fewer soggy sandwiches!

Pro: Her having her own gear just means that if I have to use it...I have more gear too!

Pro: Having another person helping "find the spot", haul gear, etc... that I don't have to call 10 times to find out where they are, or borrow them my gear because they conveniently left theirs at home...is quite nice!

"certain non-PG things" can happen in a warm ice shack! And don't come-a knockin'

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Con: Now every time I want to go fishing alone, she might also want to go. We all know the advantages to fishing alone, but we also know what happens when the wife is sad that she couldn't go with.

Con: The two man house is almost too small now. An upgrade may need to happen in the future.

I got more Pros than Cons on this list so far, but let's hit this thread up with some more.

I can't wait to see some of the responses!

[vman11]

Pro: She understands why you want to go all the time (because its bad a s s ) and now "justifies" the time you spend in the outdoors because it is a shared hobby

Pro: The already mentioned chance of nookie during an already awesome sport, kind of like a double score

Pro: Company when your other buddies are busy and when the dog doesn't have anything to say

Con: Company when your other buddies AREN'T busy

[Brad B]

Con: Now every time I want to go fishing alone, she might also want to go. We all know the advantages to fishing alone, but we also know what happens when the wife is sad that she couldn't go with.

Con: The two man house is almost too small now. An upgrade may need to happen in the future.

here is a way to fix the cons

buy 2 one man houses. one for each of you. you can try one area and she could try another.

A upgrade to a bigger house could be looked at as a pro especially if it is a hard sided wheel house.

[mabr]

PRO- Put her in a wheel house. She'll start doing the shopping for you.

I really dont see any CONS, Heck mine picked out my last 2 glass boats and have a wife that can catch fish!!!!!

[GotALunker]

Quote:

here is a way to fix the cons

buy 2 one man houses. one for each of you. you can try one area and she could try another.

...this "fix to the cons" would eliminate the possibility of the aforementioned double score.

[Brad B]

this would only be for the times you want to go alone but she insists on going.

[CrappieNight]

Pro: She doesn't give you any more grief about a $200.00 trip to the big C for "a couple lures and some jigs".

Pro: She decides after watching you hand drill through 2.5' of ice because the power auger died that a new power auger might be a good investment.

Con: Waiting out a slow bite doesn't happen anymore.

Con: She won't let you near the tent at 'Pout any more because she found out what the Bikini Ice Fishing Team is.

[Raider4ever]

Con: They ALL friggin' talk too much!!!

[croixflats]

Pro:you get to take your time opening the door for the CO with out raising suspicion of an illegal sort. ;)Hang something on the outside of the door, just saying

Cons: those are someone else's demons

An 8X8 insulated Canvas Craft fixes all.

[mainbutter]

Con: She won't let you near the tent at 'Pout any more because she found out what the Bikini Ice Fishing Team is.

Before I knew what the Bikini Ice Fishing Team was, my girl EMTed some ice fishing event and picked me up a poster w/autographs.

[Ed Carlson]

Con: They ALL friggin' talk too much!!!

Buy her an I-Pod and good ear buds.

Or...buy yourself one.

[Random guy]

Mine brings snacks and sandwiches...nuff said.

[Steve Foss]

Not a single con here. I'd LOVE to get her ice fishing more often, but she's not a fan of winter in the first place, and ice fishing bores her. Open water fishing now, that's a different matter. I married my open water fishing partner and am really happy I did.

[IcerRon2010]

Pros: The look on her face when she pulls in a good fish

Pros: It's an expierience, that is talked about on regular basis. You can't generate memory's like ice fishing can.

Con's: Since she is new to the sport, I have to bait, and unhook her fish for her. I am working on that part, believe me.

Con's: Complains every time she has to go to the bathroom. I think its funny, she however does not see the humor in it.

It's way different when she goes fishing, and I like it when she does, but there is something to be said for going alone or with the guys. Good topic..

[Northlander]

The older I get the more cons I come up with. My wife can go any time she wants and she knows it. Lucky for me she would rather stay home with a warm blanket, glass of wine and a book than be with me in the cold.

[traveler]

need I say more??

(OK, so it's not an ice fishing pic, but...

[art321]

Yep, that's why I leave mine at home. She always catches the biggest fish.

[Ol_Bullhead]

I'd love to get my wife out in the wheelhouse but she's terrified of ice so it's my me and the guys time now when i go , someday hope to take grandkids (when i get some) out in wheel house for some grandpa time

[Esox_Magnum]

Mine sets the shack up, cleans holes, catches her share of fish, cleans up after me after I clean fish and has all her own gear meaning I have spares of everything. Oh she also keeps the shack in order at the end of the day, cant think of a reason not to have her along.

[Surface Tension]

traveler,

That is a very nice picture.

[bopper4]

Mine will do the majority of the shopping before we go, keep the fish house neat and organized. She got hooked on her first trip with me when she pulled a 29.5 out of my whole. Just yesterday I left the house to take a leak and she drilled a 26 on my rod. Go figure! However she did justify a 1600 dollar taxidermist bill our first winter together.

[mixxedbagg]

Quote:

I'd love to get my wife out in the wheelhouse but she's terrified of ice

Same basic boat. My wife says "absolutely not" to ice fishing. I can live with that...if I want to move around a lot, I can do it. If I want to sit through a slow bite, I can do it. Basically, I'm typically fishing alone in a portable, and I like having full autonomy of where and what and I like having the option of bringing my little one man flip and dragging it all over a lake if I want. (Not much fun with this year's snow and slush thought.) The only real drawback is she gets tired of having me gone (though I always offer to bring her) so sometimes there's tension if I want to get out a couple of times in a given weekend or for a longer day. Lately though, my 9 year old has been wanting to go with...if he keeps joining me, I will probably have to look into a different 2 man--the one we're using is pretty crowded for both of us.

[traveler]

traveler,

That is a very nice picture.

Thanks Frank, she's a keeper:)

I guess I can think of a few more pros:)

1. Time together=shared experiences. Even years later we can sit around and reminiscence about places we've fished and things we've seen.

2. Shared gear, as mentioned by others. I buy her the same (or very close to the same) quality gear I use:) So I have lots of good backup gear:)

3. Family time...MUCH easier to bring the kids when there are 2 of us to ride "shotgun" on them!

4. Luckily, although she likes to come along, she's not as into fishing as me, so I get plenty of solo/buddy trips.

5. Trips: 4 times to Alaska...I'd have never swung that if she hadn't come along:) Although since then I've had a bunch of saltwater trips without her, as she doesn't care for the ocean fishing thing much.

6. This year, we bought a cabin. That wouldn't have happened without her interst in the outdoors.

Not all these are technically her "coming along" but it all points to the huge advantage of having her interested in fishing and things outdoors.

Cons? Not so much...

[fishersofmen]

I don't mind if the wife comes along a couple times a year. But for the most part its ME time.

[Raider4ever]

*Buy her an I-Pod and good ear buds. Or...buy yourself one.*

Great idea, ignore her in a 64 sq. ft area.