How Much Time?

[LDUBS]

Not really a fishing report, but don't know where else to put it. How far, time-wise, are you willing to travel for a one day fishing trip? The two lakes I've been going to are 1.5 and 1.75 hours away. Both are fairly easy drives. I usually leave so I get to the places by about 6:30 am.

Anyway, if I expanded my travel window I would open up a lot more lakes. I was just wondering how far you guys are willing to travel for a day of fishing.

 

[Scott F]

I used to travel 3 hours one way to fish with a friend of mine. I don't do it anymore. It was a musky lake that is loaded with muskies but they are mostly small and even after catching fish there, I don't like muskies or the lake enough to spend the time and gas to travel there. I do another lake that is 2 hours each way away.

 

[TheLastCall]

I live in a city commonly called city of lakes. The is a dozen boat launches within 30 min, almost all on different lakes.

I’ve never had to travel for fishing. Now hunting I travel at least 2 hours.


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[overboard]

At one time I was willing to drive about 4 1/2 hrs. just to fish a small stream with beaver ponds on it. I didn't do it often, but enjoyed catching the huge native brook trout that were abundant, some were 10 or 11"s long! :lol:
If you enjoy doing something you just do it!

 

[KMixson]

With all that is available to me I would travel about an hour at the most to fish somewhere. I have saltwater, freshwater, brackish water, lakes, rivers, streams, canals, ponds, reservoirs and others within an hour of my location.

 

[richg99]

When in Texas, the furthest launches for me, salt or freshwater, are about 85 miles one way. The salt launches require me to drive through or around the 4th largest city in America, Houston TX. That can be a real PIA if I go during the week and get caught in Rush Hour.

The freshwater lake is also 85 miles, but an easy 1.45 minute drive without too much city traffic.

I am trying to learn a closer lake, only one hour away.

In TN., most every good lake/river is 1 1/2 hours away at the most. I like that a lot. I also have access to 11 lakes in the subdivision, so those are hard to fish but easy to get to.

 

[Jim]

I would do 3 hours each way for a one day trip if it was all day and we had it planned with food, stops, agenda, etc.....and especially the right folks with you.

 

[handyandy]

If I'm going for the day and heading back at the end of day 1-1.5hrs is about my limit 2hrs on occasion if someone I haven't seen in while or a buddy is really wanting to go. College we often made the 2hr drive first thing in the morning to make it to trout rivers in southern mo. But usually we did that when my buddy, myself, another friend, and a friends dad all wanted to go. We would meet up and leave first thing, usually had a cooler packed with lunch, and always stopped at a favorite restaurant at a little town on the way back. I miss getting to that with those guys, half of the fun wasn't just the fishing, but being together for day. If it's getting near the 3hr range I usually just make a weekend trip of it and camp or stay somewhere. I have on many occasions made some long drives at the wee hours of the morning for duck hunting. But duck hunting is different it's a severe problematic addiction plaguing only certain morons with a loose screw in their head.

 

[richg99]

"But duck hunting is different it's a severe problematic addiction plaguing only certain morons with a loose screw in their head."

Now....I know why my son in law does it...

 

[handyandy]

Duck hunters can't be described you either try it like it and get addicted or you just don't really care about it and find it's not worth the effort and cold. I have gone through crazy lengths to get birds to include chainsawing holes in ice, breaking ice that my boat could barely break through 2-3" thick is about the limit to break with the boat to get to open water. 5-8 mile runs on rivers when the high for the day barely broke 20 F with starting morning temps in the single digits. You either love it or don't care. Most days suck I'll be honest, but it's those days when everything is right you manage to be able to hunt when a good push of birds comes through and you a couple of buddies manage to have an amazing day of ducks flying and dying that's indescribable that make you keep on going back for not much reward most days.

 

[bcbouy]

we regularly do 6 hour round trips when we go after big rainbow trout.the wife has been hesitant lately to do the long runs so i go alone occasionally,until my grandsons gets a little older anyway.600 kilometers is not unusual,but crossing the coast mountain range is a little spendy gas wise,but we only get one shot at life.

 

[richg99]

Use that... One Shot ....every time you can.

 

[onthewater102]

In previous years most of the time I'd be on the river behind my house, with a half dozen or more quality lakes within 1/2hr going in pretty much any direction if I felt like a change in scenery. This year I'm working a lot farther from home and the little evening jaunts I used to take are just out of the question.

I went on one trip this year that was 2.5hrs away (wasted effort) that has me jaded against traveling far for the same fish that are in all the waters around home. Supposed to be trying the lower end of Champlain in a few weeks, but if that goes poorly I'll probably stick to being a home-body next year and avoid destination trips.

 

[handyandy]

we regularly do 6 hour round trips when we go after big rainbow trout.the wife has been hesitant lately to do the long runs so i go alone occasionally,until my grandsons gets a little older anyway.600 kilometers is not unusual,but crossing the coast mountain range is a little spendy gas wise,but we only get one shot at life.

That long I'd be making a weekend of it camping and fishing that's too long for me to want to make in a morning then head back. I've gone that far and farther for trips, but they were planned trips for a weekend or longer. Day fishing trips I don't care to go real far for usually no more than an hour. When it's just a day trip going further usually doesn't get me any better fishing for anything different, to get to waters with something different I don't have a chance at close to home the drives are long enough I just assume leave friday after work camp, fish all day saturday, head back sunday morning or maybe saturday night. But that's just me.

 

[bcbouy]

i can fish for almost any species right in my immediate area,but the wife and i still like to hit the fly only trophy lakes.that means travel.at least twice a month we take a 3/4 day weekend and camp/fish,especially when i'm doing the 16 hour shifts.i like the change of scenery and the drier air in the interior of the province.

 

[handyandy]

i can fish for almost any species right in my immediate area,but the wife and i still like to hit the fly only trophy lakes.that means travel.at least twice a month we take a 3/4 day weekend and camp/fish,especially when i'm doing the 16 hour shifts.i like the change of scenery and the drier air in the interior of the province.

I hear ya there I just wouldn't make that kind of drive the morning of to come back the same night, we make little trips pretty frequently and fish places for the same crap I fish near home. But generally if we go farther we make a weekend of it. Just over two weeks ago the Army had me at Fort Lee VA for a couple weeks I drug my boat along so I could fish there. Didn't fish for anything different mostly smallmouth and largemouth bass but I figured what the heck may as well bring the boat and fish while I'm there. The wife actually flew out to VA on the last day I was there, so I could pick her up and we could road trip back together. We took our time coming back so to speek and camped in West Virginia and fished there on the New River it was a great time. We camped at bluestone lake state park so I ran up the new river from the lake a ways and we fished for smallies checked out pipestem state park while we were there it was great place. Saw some other local sites, and got a nice dinner in Hinton WV one evening at a nice restaurant I would have never expected there. That area was about 5-6hrs from us, and we will most likely do a long weekend like that again there sometime.

So for long weekends or longer trips I'll go a real long ways I've driven to Grand Isle Louisiana twice for fishing/camping trips there. Around 11hrs one way, but those were trips that lasted four days. Day trips my limit is about two hours, but even then going that far I tend to try and make it a camping trip and stay a night or two to get more fishing or site seeing in.