I thought it would be easy to make fishing friends.

[Hobious]

I've made a few.  okay..one.  good dude.  we share intel.  my other good friend moved to Minnesota.

I kayak fish.  my MN bud is like me.  we explore, waste gasoline going to distant lakes to learn.  once he moved, I was solo on my adventures.  the rest of my gang likes more of a "sure thing".  I miss MN-friend.  I plan on driving there with my kayak to fish with him this year.  it will be my biggest road trip to date.

My kayak circles are too competitive.  besides my lone remaining buddy, nobody is willing to help each other.  it's like they want the fish to themselves.  I share baits and locations.  I won't tell anyone where my honey-hole is, but if you are cool I will show you. 

when I was doing race track days with a vintage Porsche.  we got tight.  car breaks down, 5 guys are sliding under to join the fix.  laughing and living.  I thought kayak fishing would be the same.  nope. hahahha..

I have one aquaintence we call "solo ___". (prob not PC)  we would be getting skunked and he paddles by and says, "I got seven".  hahahah..he is just catching them, and keeping the bait, depth, tech to himself.  I find myself limiting my exposure with him.  just not fun.  he only calls me if he is having a tough session.  or needs his kayak worked on.  cool, but not cool.  I try to stay flexible and open minded. 

there are two houses for sale or rent on my block.  I keep joking with my wife.  "please, let a family with fishing kayaks move in..please!"   

I'm just talking to myself.  not mad about anything, no regrets.  I do wish I kept that old Porsche.  :D

[caddyjoe77]

You are not wrong.  I generally only hang out or go out on outings/trips with people who have the same mindset.  If we are on these trips we share where we think the fish are, and decide collectively who goes where.  For example "you check the last 1/3rd, ill check the main lake side and we will work our way toward each other". 

If one of us gets on them, we call each other.  We then work off that to see if we can duplicate it or if it is just that one area.   If you are not fishing a tournament, it just adds to everyones enjoyment. 

[TechAdmin]

Hey, this is kind of what the regional forum boards are for... You can post in there and meet up with forum members that have a good mindset about fishing rather than random people who may just want to be competitive and all of that.
For instance this is the Minnesota one, but we got all other states too

This reminds me of the generational gap, it's related. What I'm saying is that there aren't as many "new entries" youngsters fishing, and confrontational behavior is only going to make that worse... If I wanted to take on fishing, I would surely look for older people with more experience to ask questions and try to learn from, it's up to 50+ folks to pass it on - props to you for having a good mindset about it  

[Mike Cork]

In the fishing world there are two types, secretive and those that want to share. We founded UB on those that want to share. But you can't get the super competitive guys to share, they are so afraid you're going to catch "their" fish....


Stick to your guns/believes and your circles will build   

[skidemn]

I probably over share. I just love to sit and talk fishing, so I tell everybody what I'm using, where the fish are found, so on and so forth. You can see a good example of that in the write up I did of my trip to the Parker strip last year. Fishing is too much fun not to share the stories, the experience, and the expertise if you have it. In fact, I love teaching just as much as I love learning, and I've always felt that what goes around comes around, so I try to be on the right side of karma. If anybody is visiting Southern California, and wants to have a taco and talk about fishing, hit me up!


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[big g]

I have always shared my spots, baits, techniques, and trips with friends.  When I first started fishing I worked with a bunch of guys that all fished, and all had boats.  We would meet up almost every weekend and fish the same areas.  It wasn't for competition but friendly camaraderie. It was a blast with lots of laughs, lots of sharing, and lots of fish.  I miss those days!  I still enjoy taking guys out and watching them catch.  It's always relaxed, and the goal is to have fun.
 
Today it has changed.  I don't have a big group of Guys fishing anymore, and sharing  spots like we used too.  Some have passed away, some got too old to go, and a bunch just stopped fishing for a number of reasons.  Guys left seem more secretive about where their going, and when there going.  The crazy thing about it is, for every bass you catch there are hundreds you have passed over without even a sniff.  If your tournament fishing that's one thing, but just pleasure fishing is another.  I was lucky enough to have a good twenty years of buddy fishing with that group.  I learned a lot about South Florida fishing during that time.  I still try to take guys when I go in the boat.  It's just more fun to share the experience then do it alone.  The older you get it's also safer to do it with friends, that's a big thing now, that I didn't even think about years ago.  If you're lucky enough to get there someday everyone will realize what I'm talking about!      Good luck and tight lines!

[bassmedic46]

I have trouble finding people to go with me. I know people fish. I don't want to just invite myself to go with them.

[Bigbass201]

Good fishing buddies are like gold.  You hold on to them when you can, and they don't lose value over time.  You only appreciate them more.