How long do you fish?

[Bobby Bass]

When you go fishing how long do you fish? Some people will not go out unless they can spend the day and others can't pass open water with out tossing a few. So how long when you go out do you fish. For myself the norm is about 4 hours. Sometime longer rarely more then 6 and when fall comes it might only be 2 hours or so. This is time on the water. Four hours is common cuz we play a lot of fishing football with my buddies.

[Slyster]

With the hassel of getting the boat ready and in and out and all that.. I only go on those days I can be out at least 6 hours... otherwise I wait for the next chance.

[Dan Thiem]

Bobby, we live right by the Zumbro River which is full of all the game and rough fish you could imagine. So there's times when me and one or more of the kids go for a half hour waiting for Mom to get home from work. And on weekends we spend the whole day there. Either from shore or floating.

So I guess it's whenever there's a break in the action, we go fishin!

Okay, I gotta ask, what's fishin football?

[delmuts]

i fish alot with out the boat. we have two ponds just a mile out of town, where i can catch bass and pan fish , plus i may go over to the lake.just for an last hour or so .i can just grab a couple of rods and go.

[upnorth]

Depends on how far I have to travel. If I can get there in 20 mins to 1/2 hour, couple hours would be fine. If I have to travel 1 to 1 1/2 hour I expect to fish at least 4 to 6 hours. More than that I make an entire day of it.

[eyepatrol]

Right now with a couple young kids, my fishing on the water is generally kept to 3 or 4 hours unless I head out very early, then 6hrs, but usually I try and be home by 1:00pm to help out around the house.

In a couple years when the kids are older, I'd suspect 5 or 6 hours will become more the norm.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I live right across the street from a boat access and less than 5 miles from 3 others.. If it looks like I can get in a good hour of fishing I will hit it. Some days I fish for 2 hours or so, some I fish for 12?

[upnorth]

Young kids in the boat can cut a trip short due to boredom factor. I remember many short trips when my son was young, especially early and late in the season when it was cold.

[The Grebe]

For me, there is no set time...I can go chuck some plugs at a metero muskie lake for a half hour, or an hour and be perfectly happy with it.

Other times 4 hours, 6, 8, 10, whatever is called for, it depends on the circumstances...I wouldn't want to put the big production into motion and then only spend an hour or two at the lake!

Driving distance is another factor...if you go a long ways, you want to make it count in as many ways as you can.

[ocf]

I go whenever i can mostly on the dock tho but i will go to piers to fish for just a half hour

[Early Riser]

Around the metro I usually fish in the mornings from about 5:00 to 7:30 am. Within two hours I usually have all the fish I want to eat and C/R. This time of day is very peaceful - even on the busy lakes around here.

When it comes to spearing in the winter or ice fishing - I prefer to stay out as long as possible. Preferably 5-7 hours at a time.

[live_2_fish]

I don't go unless I can stay out for at least 4 hours, but in the summer I usually stay out for about 8 hours. In the winter I stay out for about 15 hours.

[Mr. Pike1]

I suffer from OCF (Obsessive Compulsive Fishing Disorder) Part of the condition is like alcoholism in that I may under-report my true time on the water

There also is the issue of being married, having a beautiful little daughter, and that pesky job that keep me off the water. I have a lake within 6 blocks of my house to get fix in for a few hours if needed. On the weekends I devote one day as a family day and the other as a fish day. The fish day varies from 8-12 hours communte time included.

When up at the cabin the plan is simple. 5:00 am- 10:00 on the water for smallies and walleye. 10:00-5:00 family time. 5:00-9:30 on the water for smallies and walleyes. When there for the week this schedule is in place every day weather permiting.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

If Im going to go out in the boat I dont really bother unless Im going to be out for atleast four hours. If I just want a quick fix Ill go shore fishing. So far this year my trips have been averaging about 6-7 hours, longest being 11.

[SteveWilson]

when I'm out on the boat it's generally 8-9 hours on the short side and 12-13 on the high side.

[ocf]

i too suffer from ocf(hence my name) i can never stay to long out on the boat because of my fishing buddies do not likle to spend alot of time on the water at a time, most being about 2 hours

[Wade Joseph]

till I'm done...actually. If it wasn;t for work, I could fish more. I'd fish from dawn to dark if I could. Usually its the better part of the day tho.

[elevatorguy]

Well it depends on how much beer I have with....HE HE. Really it just depends for me. Any chance I can get out I go. Anytime spent on the water is a good day if it is 1 hour or 8. But for me it mostly seems to end up at about 4 hours.

[porterhouse]

If I'm fishing on a metro lake it's 5-8 hrs. If I'm on vacation it's around 14-18 hrs. My wife thinks I'm nuts!!

Brian

[Northlander]

Im like Mr.Pike 1. I suffer from the same disorder. Im on the water almost daily and when Im not Im wishing I was. I dont care if its 2 or 15 hours its all good.

[RobertELee]

Well I work 3rd shift and I usually get off around 5-6 am. So alot of mornings I will go out for a few hours before I go to bed. I have also been known to stay out on a lake for 16 hours straight sun up to sun down. So it all depends on how much time i have. I try to fish as much as possible. The more time on the water the more you learn.

[Ely Lake Expert]

When I walk down to the dock and fish ely lake, it can be anywhere from 20 minutes to 6 hours. When I travel to fish I usually go at least 5 hours.

[danlk]

Flathead fishings usally a 12 hour night. been known to fish walleyes 12. A 6 hour trip is short. DLK

[MidCoast]

Well, it really depends on how far i travel and on what species i am after. Usually for wallyes, I may be out there from morning til midnight. As for other fishes, for example, largemouth bass, I may only be out there for a few hours. A few hours are sufficient enough for me to catch a bag of limit.