Do You Prefer to Fish With a Partner or Fish Solo???
I posted this about 8 or 9 years ago on Facebook. Might have posted it on the old forums here too. i don’t recall.
At 51 (almost 52) I probably should fish with a partner. Most days are fine, but a minor inconvenience for two guys can be a major trial for one guy by himself. One day earlier this year when a strap broke I found myself swimming after my boat. I was by myself, so it was that or watch it float away.
It depends on the partner. Some are so anxious to catch a fish flailing willy nilly with every bait they own it makes it hard to fish. Others seem to think because I invited them I am their guide. Even if they know anything they won’t share it. They are just there to harvest what they can from me. One guy I invited then invited his buddy, and they spent the day in the back of the boat having whispered conversation with each other like a clutch of school girls. Anytime I said anything they just froze with annoyed or angry expressions on their face and stood there motionless until it was clear I wasn’t going to dare to interrupt them anymore and then they would go on with their whispered conversation like nothing had happened. One guy I invited a couple times kept bragging about how somebody else who took them fishing was a great captain and put them on lots of fish.. Captain? Its a bass boat and I invited them to go fishing. They didn’t hire me. Same guy talked incessantly, and when he wasn’t talking if I tried to say something he would talk over me. I actually had to tell him to stop talking before I could ask him where the truck keys were.Other partners I have had are a joy to fish with. We talk, we share information. We discuss how to do things, and argue about what way is better or if something is or should be tournament legal or not. Those guys are a joy to fish with and even on my worst most antisocial day they are welcome in my boat.
More and more I find myself enjoying fishing solo, because the later group of people is much smaller than the former.
Since then my health is actually better at 60 than it was at 50. I still feel its not a good idea to adventure fish solo the way I used to just for safety. That being said the biggest fish I caught last year, and the biggest fish I caught this year were both out fishing by myself.