The " a bit of humor" post made me think. That could never be me in that chair. Unless I wanted to carry that chair about two miles over hills, dales and deadfalls there would just be NO WAY. To avoid fishing crowds and to frankly catch bigger and more fish, I usually like to hike into areas where the accessibility for the “average” angler could be called difficult. Many a time after huffin and puffin I did question my reasoning but after a great day of fishin, all the pain is forgotten. I have also, on occasion, run into critters of a larger persuasion like bears and moose(s) but thankfully no confrontations took place. I do carry spray or a firearm ( where permitted) just in case.
How far from the crowd do y’all veer to fish. The common perception is that most fishermen fish within 250 yards of their cars . Of course I understand the limitations due to physical handicaps but other than those obvious exceptions, do you escape the crowds or do you help create them?
:lol: Marco, hello I would say I normaly walk upstream from the car and will often end up with a couple of hours walk to get back to the car at the end of the days fishing. However there are rarely crowds on the rivers in N.Z. (tongariro and one or two other rivers excepted).
[Marco: “…The common perception is that most fishermen fish within 250 yards of their cars…”]
Marco, in my experience, 250 yards may be a generous estimate. You can drive to most of the small impoundments around eastern Nebraska, but one in particular with an especially nice population of bass and bluegills is located 3/8th of a mile and over a hill from the parking lot. Despite being one of the better little lakes in the Omaha-Lincoln area, I’ve never seen more than 5 fishermen there, and that includes Memorial Day morning. My theory is that 99% of fishermen stay within the range that they can comfortably carry a cooler of ice and beer. Of the remaining 1%, half are fly fishermen.
There’s lots of chatter in NE Ohio about overcrowding on our rivers here in Steelhead Alley. Much of this is just as you say, most folks fish close to the point where their vehicle is parked, and they squack the loudest. For the past five years I have made it a point to walk 20-30 minutes from my truck, and I have the stream to myself 95% of the time.
I see that I should have specified fly fishermen and on moving waters as opposed to lakes. In all cases, however, fishing from shore or bank ( walking).
OBG, I’ll have to add your input to my spreadsheet
Mike, oh to be in New Zealand!
Marco, Photojoe and myself like to get away from ceowds. We like to explore and bush wack to out of the way places. Weve been to a few that we shulda had our heads examined :lol: In order too avoid crowds ya gotta bush wack
I’d like to be able to walk 30 min and start fishing where no one else is there. But here in IA, most of the streams are fairly shorts. 2-3 miles of trout waters is a good guess. There are some few streams that are far from roads or parking lot, those ones are the exception. But generaly 3 to 4 anglers per creek and there is no free place to fish for an extra angler.
When I get the chance to go out of IA to fish, I try to chose places where I can hicke a bit and get some solitude. Last summer I was hicking about 10 miles, go and back through a canyon with a wonderful creek. I had only 1h to fish it, but I managed a dozen of brookies, the biggest was just 10’ but, what a beatiful place and wonderful fishing!
Martin
Marco,
That picture of me in the chair was taken on a lark. It was at the Idaho Fish-In of 2003. Everything was posed and staged. I wasn’t really fishing. However, if I would have hook one I would have treated it right. The location of the picture was right in front of the cabins at the Three Rivers Resort. I do however fall into one of your categories. I very seldom fish more than 250 yards from my car. At my age, my knees are giving out on me. Actually I think my fly fishing days are limited. I wish I could hike in to fish like I did 30 years ago, but that is out of the question. I take no offense at your post, and actually agree with most of your point of view. I just wanted to let you know that the picture was a gag. My response to your post is with smiley faces, I’m really not upset.
Blessings,
I’d rather hike than share the water with another fisherman. I’ll hike however long it takes to get far out of sight from other people. Sometimes I don’t have to hike at all and can fish near my car all alone. Sometimes I’ll hike for an hour or more to get away from the crowds. Luckily, where I live and fish, I can pretty much always find solitude if I hike a bit.
This is the main reason I’ve never liked felt soled wading boots. Felt may be great for wading, but I much prefer studded rubber for hiking and bushwhacking (which I do a lot of.)
I used to bushwack many miles and often slept out in a small one man pup tent. The starting point on the creek flowed right by my home but I traveled at least 5 miles before I ever wet a line. I fished for Brookies that usually were no more than 12 inches long. I still live near that small creek but no longer am able to hike up the slippery rocks and narrow canyons. Bad knees from many motocross jumps and crashes have slowly taken their toll. (If your not falling off your not going fast enough :shock: ) So Now like Lowtecjoe and JC I am forced by nature to reel it in a little. Plus now I fish mostly lakes, ( which is the best fishing near me anyway )
Like Joe I don’t resent the fact that others can still clamber over the rocks and stand in icy water for hours and I can’t. I wish it weren’t so but alas it is the price for growing old I suppose.
I read once somewhere that a quarter mile away from the car is where there will not be any people.
It works out to about a thousand paces for me.
So I try to get a thousand steps away from the car before I consider myself “there”.
(but of course I fish along the way.)
As well. I can roll cast well enough to hang out with others and shoot the breeze while wetting a line. Depends on the mood of the day. (back casting into somebodys’ little kid’s ear ain’t the way for a good time of making firends on the water)
I’m someone who has to see what’s around the next bend.
I put in a lot of miles on an adverage day.
My fishing partner likes to find a likely spot,in all probability the most likely spot, and put in his time, and fish it thoughly.
He has his line in the water alot more than I do.
I don’t complain that he nearly always catches more than I.
The exploration is as important to me as the fishing.
Lotech et al,
I’m glad you didn’t take offense that I assure you again was not at all intended. The chair scene simply implied “close” to the car and I try to do the “far” from the car thing. I too am no spring chicken being of 1943 AD vintage. However, thankfully, the regular grease jobs and oil changes plus the occasional ( maybe “TOO”) cleaning of the injectors with good whiskey has apparently delayed some of the pains associated with the maturization process. I probably hike in or walk 18 not because I can as much as so that I can continue to do so. Great exercise.
I used to greatly enjoy backpacking and hillwalking, on trail or off, and bushwhacking to find new fishing was a great joy. Alas, since 1993 I must pretty much keep to the level, as I get winded on the shortest of hills (afib+). However, I usually walk at least one mile from the car, slowly but steadily, to fish my favorite stretch of river. I am disappointed if I ever see a fisherman within one hundreds yards of me; often I don’t see another fisherman (except my fishing companion) all day. The walk is worth it.
I’m blessed with lots of good streams within a couple of hours. Some days you can be by yourself by walking a couple of steps out of the parking lot - other days may require a hike of a couple of miles or more. Not difficult to avoid crowds for the most part.
It depends…some of my best fishing holes are only 20 yards from the car. Some take quite awhile to walk or paddle to. I cant really say the fishing is better far from the car either…These days I think that if you can find good habitat you can usually find fish, though the ones close to the car may be harder to catch. Cheers.
I tend to start fishing just upstream from the last set of bootprints I see. Around here, that means fishing over the tops of the mossbeds and cattails, fishing the little creek in the woods instead of the big lake by the parking lot, basically finding neglected water. Often times it means smaller fish, but more of them and definitely more peace and quiet 8).
Even on the well known waters, Such as the Penns Creek…Believe it or not…If the average fisher walks just a few hundered yards away from the parking lot, bridge or whatever point of access taken to the waters edge.
Where there are “cattle paths” from the hordes…He will almost always find himself blissfully alone!
Especially this time of year on the C&R section, There are many great creeks in this area and many would do well to explore other oppertunities when traveling to Penns Creek and the surounding area…
I’m pretty certian many areas of the country are of the same, As far as fishing pressure and the Heavily pressured “Bridge holes” that are above all easily reached…There is one preticular very nearby stream that I’ve been secretly visiting and finding it to hold a great number of hold over fish from as far back as tweleve years, Judging from the fin clips I’ve witnessed…I keep a pretty acurate log of such things on this stream. And pressure has seemed to be stedily dropping off in recent years!!!
Not that it is one of the better known streams to begin with.
The ponds I fish are ALL within a short distance of my Jeep, but I DO completely “surround” them before I’m done, regardless of size.
When I fish running water, I’m also one of those folks who has to see what’s around the bend, & have often made it back MUCH later than I had figured. To me, the exploration is a huge part of the total fly fishing experience.
Mike
