The challenge aspect of fishing....

I have an unusual question.  I've experienced salmon fishing in California and Vancouver Island and you have to work at it.  You apply your skills, your best hunches as to location and timing, and hope luck is on your side.   Sometimes you work at it for hours and then you get that strike and the fight is on.  You play the fish carefully, dip the net, and you've earned your selfie.  You're happy all that work paid off.  Maybe you wish you didn't have to work at it so hard, but it is what it is.  Being on the water is, itself, fun, and you're always glad not to get skunked.  On the other hand, I've worked surveying new bridge sites in Alaska, isolated, out in the boonies.  Being on the water everyday, you're there at the perfect time for the arriving salmon and you can (as we did one night) catch 30 salmon in 30 minutes....and not just one night but many nights.  I had always thought that type of experience would be like hitting the Fish Lotto but it was strangely unrewarding....it took no effort.  You could take a $30 Walmart rod and reel, put a Pixie spoon on, and catch more salmon blindfolded that many lower 48 fishermen catch in a whole year.  It made me realize (at least for me) that the enjoyment of fishing is indeed the aspect of using skill born of practice and "earning" your catch.  Yes, I love salmon, and having a freezer full is nice, but I need the challenge of it to make it rewarding.  If you gave me the choice between Fish Lotto and Lower 48 Challenge, I would take Lower 48 any day.  Have any of you guys ever experienced this contrast and feel the same? 

That's why they made up fly fishing.

Interesting question.  First I live in Alaska. My initial reaction was "nope, who gets tired of hitting the lottery?"

The answer "I do or did".  I have to admit, pulling up only king salmon and halibut year round is getting, repetitive...not necessarily boring. 

Lately I've upped the challenge by trying to teach a 10 year old kid how to fish out of a kayak. That lasted a year before he is outfishing me.  Tried Barbie rods for kings and halibut.  Well, mission accomplished.  This year my son and I are going to attempt to diversify our fishing by entering the AOTY derby here.

So...to answer your question, I still prefer knowing I can draw the winning fish lotto ticket pretty much when I want.  Because I can increase the challenge level to meet my desired reward level.  And for me personally, I fish to put food on the table for several families so having the volume is important.

Having said that, I miss steelhead fishing on the Olympic Peninsula.  I envy the Dungies caught in Oregon, the yellowtails in CA.  I dont miss fighting the crowds though.  So I'll stick to Alaska.

Fortunate for me, there are plenty of challenges remaining here.   So I guess in the end, the challenge is important.  But to me, its only equal to the rewards of putting high quality food on the table.

Not sure I made any sense...lol.



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Are you bored?  Are you overthinking it?

Sometimes I fish for meat.  Sometimes I fish to get out of the house or office for a day.  Sometimes I fish to catch up with someone I like.  Sometimes I fish to be alone.  Sometimes I fish to take a break during a drive.  Sometimes it's to spend time with my kids. Sometimes I want a challenge.  Other times I want 100 fish days.  And on, and on.

What you get out of fishing has a lot to do with what your expectations are, and managing those expectations. 

"Oh, yawn, pulling up 30 salmon in an afternoon fishing with a corn kernel on the tip of my Johnson, this is boring" is either a failure to manage expectations or a humble brag, not sure which.  What were you expecting out there?  Did you find it?  Is there something else you'd rather be doing?  If so, do it.  If not, try to manage your expectations.  Also, take pictures.  Of the salmon, not your Johnson.  Post them here.  Thanks.

Kardinal, I think your attitude about it is most like my own.  It's the whole experience, sharing it, finding new flavors of it.  My dad and I were Koke fishermen for years, on beautiful lakes in California, and they were some of my most enjoyable days.  The blue water, the sky, watching Ospreys, our joking....dad had a great sense of humor.  We almost always caught our limits (usually within about 2-4 hours) because we had it dialed in and Koke fishing is like that when you find the schools.  If we had caught our limits in 5 minutes, it would have cut short all that good stuff of the total experience.  Lower 48 fishing has the challenge built into it so that's what we naturally experience.  Alaska made me realize how important that is for me.   

If you are looking for new challenge, then create a challenge.  Get away from the conventional gear that you can easily attract, connect, reel in and net said fish with. 

Try an ultralight pole, 4lb test mono, a single small barbless hook, and a lip gripper.

Get out there and practice catching the same fish you targeted easily with the conventional salmon gear, and then come back and tell us how it went.

It kind of went that way with myself and some fishing buddies just for bottom fish out here in Oregon/Washington.  We have pretty much quit taking our meat cranes out with us for bottom fish, and regularly just use Barbie poles and such to land 35+" Lings, and 25-29" Cabbies.   This then moved over to sturgeon fishing in the mighty Columbia.  My personal best sturgeon on a Barbie pole is 45" with lots of others between 20-35". 


If you are looking for a new challenge, change your approach to much lighter, less conventional gear.

What INSAYN said ^

When you reach a certain level of success, the next step should be to make it more difficult, either for the fun of it or for the new challenges involved.

I don't fish for the challenge of it but instead I fish for the experiences.  Fish or no fish it's the same: I had a great time.  Catching fish, or course, makes it more betterer...

Insayn, that's an excellent idea!  I hadn't really thought about that but a 20lb. King on my Koke rod would be an interesting fight . We used to use "meat winches" on ocean partyboat fishing but gradually shrunk it down to something more sporty.  I guess, because I'm approaching 70, I'm getting more "philosophical" about things I've enjoyed over the years.  When I go to big Sport shows, and see the beautiful color display at an Alaskan fishing lodge booth, I think back to what I experienced with great pleasure.  OK, so maybe it wasn't an extreme fishing challenge, but it was a wondrous event of nature all the same.  Everyone who loves to fish should go to Alaska at least once.  Because of my job, I had the good fortune of frequently flying in amphibious aircraft and the scenery is gorgeous, especially on a sunny day.  I've seen bright red sockeye salmon, bank to bank, nose to tail, as far as you could see.  Choose a fly-in lodge and you'll get to land and take off from the water....great fun, especially for the kids.  The weather is iffy but I found mid-August to be a good bet for both weather and fish, though check with the lodge.  In other news:  my 94 year old dad doesn't fish anymore so we decided to go through our gear and pare it down.  Being gadget guys, we discovered that combined we had 36 fishing rods and enough tackle to start our own shop.  He gave all his stuff to me and I gave half the tackle to a kid just getting into trout fishing and he was going to share it with his buddies.  Keep it going. 

Guess I don't get out enough...I'll take a 30 salmon day, any day.  MY challenge is getting the coveted kitchen pass.  After that, it's all gravy, fish or not. I'd like the opportunity of targeting more diverse species like ya'll in the Lower 48 get, but I wouldn't trade Alaska for the world.

Therefore, I'll continue to praise God for the blessing of getting to live and play in  Alaska in the first place, enjoy the scenery, catch a few fish, learn a lot from excellent folks such as those in this group and hopefully pass some of my fishing passion onto others.

Thanks to all on NWKA for accepting a newb, answering my questions and furthering an incredible and growing sport.

Well damn FilthyFuzz, you were sounding like a 20's young angler that was bored with the ease of catching fish and “wondering if there was more to life.” LOL So my initial response I was writing was geared towards some old timer advice to a younger angler. Just read your latest post while I was  typing....hmm....you might have a couple of months on me at best. So I'll have to do some editing before this is posted. Congrats BTW on your dad still around at 94! Great genes.  Cherish every day of that!!

To begin, the vast majority of anglers you swap stories with will never have an evening like that 30 fish day. But they can vicariously experience it through your portrayal of that outing and the picture you paint. You have good writing skills....start putting that stuff down in a journal for future generations. Its a good way to pass a bit of time in the evening between fishing trips too.  Its your chance to leave a lasting legacy of who you were and what your life was like in the 21st Millennium.

Things don't last forever, things don't stay the same, even in Alaska. Decades from now that achievement may not be repeatable. (Not likely to happen as F&G here are doing a good job at preserving the future.) But the future is just unwritten memories for now until you experience it.

Fishing and other outdoor activities doesn't have to be a challenge to produce a reward. Its all in the eye of the beholder from moment to moment, whether you are in a laydown blind with a frozen backside on the duck flats on a beautiful birdless sunrise or in the middle of a caddis hatch that resembles a snow storm in July and you can't buy a fish. And to run your boat means wearing your sunglasses to prevent eyeball impacts....and don't open your mouth either.

In my younger days, 35 years ago to be exact, I challenged myself with a goal of setting IGFA world records. That summer I set 4 line class records for sockeye with one a tie for All Tackle and then setting a new All Tackle. (2, 4, 8# test all from the bank of the Kenai) Not satisfied I built a 13 ft 2# test noodle rod and established the 2# line class for chinook. Then filled the empty slot for the 80# test line class for kings before the season ended. The certificates on the wall rarely get looked at but I can visualize the fight of each of those fish with remarkable detail.

Now 35 years later (and pushing 70) a lodge owner good buddy gave me a membership in IGFA last fall and I find myself pouring over the world records for every species in Alaska, both line and tippet classes, to see if there is still a doable chink in the records armor that I have a shot at. It makes no difference if I fail. It's all about the chase with goals like that. To make it in the books you have to best the best in the sport for that species.

Like Rudy and most Alaskans I put 50 salmon a year in the freezer not counting other saltwater species. Its as much for self-preservation during the next Good Friday mega-quake as it is for being able to provide food for those in a crisis that weren't prepared. So being a meat hunter has its rewards.

Personally for 2017, just to spice up my life, I will be focusing on an entirely new challenge, doing my fishing all over again from a kayak. So every first catch of a species will be a new personal best for me. And a mark to look forward to beating on each future outing. [Note: as a gullible newbie I will be joining the AOTY competition to challenge the masters of the sport! ]  To challenge myself just to make it interesting I've decided to set the halibut bar this year at 100+....as a noob kayaker. I thought you would get a grin out of that. Am I serious?  I have finished the plans for welding up a davit hoist to fit in my truck tow receiver that can hang a 200+ pound halibut. Folly? I just placed my AMZ order last night for a 36 inch drag chute (and had thought about a 54 incher) to make sure I don't end up in Japan while battling that giant. And I just realized this Spring that the 180° Mirage Drive will provide another means of resisting being towed all over the North Pacific when pedaling in reverse. (Would be great for sturgeon anglers too.) Fishing big live baits or king salmon heads on big hooks may produce many fishless days...filled with sealife, wildlife, and perhaps other anglers around me. THAT will hold me over until the next launch. 

Do as INSAYN suggests and go ultra-light on many of the freshwater species and downsize your gear and line weight for the saltwater challenge.  It's guaranteed ultra-light angling will make you a better fisherman and open up a whole new book of knowledge about the species you are targeting.

LIFE BEGINS AT 70~!

Klondike Kid, that was fabulous!!  You are the man!!  That's the way to explore every facet of fishing and you're in a good place to do it.  The added challenge of a record setting catch is icing on the cake.  I'm moving up to Washington state in 2018 and looking forward to the Columbia River.  (I was going to do it this year but BIL has pancreatic cancer and we're helping out.)  BTW, my BIL loves to fish Tenkara for trout and he's actually feeling pretty good between chemo treatments.  We hope to get over to the Sierra foothill streams for some good outings.  The snowpack has been so good this year that it's going to be awhile but we will do other things in the meantime.  Enjoy every day.  My uncle used to say..."I don't go fishing to catch fish....I just go fishing."  I understand what he meant but I really do like to catch them LOL. 

Sounds just like when I went bottom fishing with the family. Every time you would drop the jigs down almost instantly you would pull up two fish. Not really much of a fight. I was pretty disappointed with the experience, just park the boat on a pod of fish and reel them in. I mean it spoke well of the boat captain, as he knew where to go in the area to find the fish for sure.

I don't like getting skunked either, and it's nice to catch at least something when I go out, it makes me feel.....however stupid this sounds....like I did everything right and chose the right lure, and spot to outsmart the fish on that day.....

With that being said, I am still just happy to have the chance to get out on the water and try...

FilthyFuzz,
   It's nice to find a thought-provoking question posted, one that doesn't have A right answer...
   We all have, to some extent, a different path, but that's in the past and the real question is where to go now? So what feels right in your gut, whether it's grabbing grunion on the beach or tagging a half-ton black marlin, chasing pike in a lake or using a bobber rig to catch the fish they feed on, it's all fishing, all good. Only you have can say which is better for you? What matters is whether, at the end of the day, you feel good about yourself.
   Greed is part of the human condition. I don't mean that negatively. If enough were ever enough, humanity would have long since ceased to advance. But, we do want more. Not so long ago I made a serious study of catching enough yellow perch to fill the frying pan. There was a time, though, when I threw Pixies at kings until my arm was tired from fighting fish. Right now I lust for saltwater fishing that doesn't require a dry suit! I'm working hard to put my kayak in warmer water this month.
   What will your new direction be?
           Good fishing!
                  Dave

This is great post and I love this site! When I reed these posts it makes me feel like I'm not the only one with a fishing obsession! I don't post much mainly because I'm not much of a joiner or writer, but I have been following this site for about 3 years (that is when my daughter and her family moved to Homer) This will be my 4th year of "fishing my brains out" all summer long! Yes, there is a fishing god, and he has reward this old guy, grandma get to enjoy her grand kids all summer long, my daughter and son-in-law get to have their parents around, and I can fish everyday and feel like I am providing a great service for my family (filling a number of freezers).
It's just nice to know that I am not alone when it comes to this fishing passion!!!

When i was a kid we got so good at razor clam digging that we started digging with bare hands. Still got our limits and had even more fun. We did get bloody fingertips though.

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