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Retirement and fishing, more or less

H

Howard Cooke

Senior Member
Hatter's "getting up" thread, which I was initially alarmed at until I realised it didn't contain the word "it", made me think about retirement from work and the effect this has on one's fishing. It's still a (relatively) long way off for me, but close enough to make me start to ponder how I might spend the extra free time on fishing exploits.

Currently, work and family and removing unwanted post and door salesman (I'm OK for doors is my typical response-feel the quality of this one I shout as I slam the front one shut) means fishing is slotted sometimes uncomfortably into life as best it can and I have no doubt this is a major factor in the stress that sometimes features prominently in the thinking and planning: if you are only able to snatch a few hours here and there then you want to get the most out of the time.

I would be genuinely interested to hear from those that have retired, about to or are perhaps in a sort of transitional phase having very recently retired and are in the process of acclimatising to such a major life change. Have you found that you have fished a great deal more, been more relaxed about it because there is always tomorrow? Or has it had a different, perhaps unexpected impact- because you could pretty much go whenever you wanted, you have actually gone less? Have you been more adventurous exploring new areas and perhaps increasing your focus on other species? Has the actual experience matched what you might have hoped for as you approached retirement? Did you move house in order to be closer to a much loved river or lake ?

My father retired a few years ago and he had many plans for fishing a great deal more and yet somehow he fishes a great deal less because in fact some of the motivation has diminished.

Howard
 
Hi
my thoughts about this are all about escapism. As we mature and hopefully progress up the ladder the need to escape grows less?
I remember not being able to sleep before going fishing and now go when I awake. I feel this happens as our troubles lessons in life.
Yes I will/want to retire by the severn but it is not like the dream I had to have my carp lake when I was in my twenties.
Now I just want to be there, I am not seeking the biggest or the most.
I just want the ease of to be able to fish when I want with the least amount of effort.
So yes a cabin by the water please.
Why? because i am a lazy **** :)
 
Hi men ,

I won't wish my life away , but when we retire in 7 years 27 days I know it will be grand kids , fishing , Luton town , and ............ There you go , run out of time again :D.


Hatter
 
i find the older i get the more i am prone to relive memories of good times fishing alone or with good friends and settle for the comfort of my home but there are times when i wanna get out fishing more than anything else in the world, what i find then is once i have then the comfy armchair beckons :)
 
I retired early some 11 years ago so speak with some authority. I've found that demands on your time will soon leave very little for you unless you're disciplined enough to say NO on occasions (daughters and granddaughters don't help in this respect :)) I've settled on 2 days midweek most weeks for fishing with the odd week away. Weekends are reserved for babysitting granddaughters but I do have to battle for my weekdays at times. I'm pretty relaxed about it when I go, rarely getting on the bank before lunchtime but often fishing well into the evening, which is what suits me.
 
I retired early and moved to Dorset 5 years ago to fish the Dorset stour and Hampshire avon. I can basically go fishing whenever I want but find I don't fish much more than when I was working.
When working I planned my fishing in advance and would always go regardless of weather conditions etc. I now plan to go fishing but if something comes up or I don't feel like it I don't go as I can go tomorrow or the day after.
All my holidays with my wife were based around fishing, next month we are going to Ross for a week and I won't be fishing, in October I am back there with a friend for a weeks fishing.
If you go too often to me it takes the enjoyment out of looking forward to going, which is part of the enjoyment I had in planning and looking forward to going whilst working.
 
Retirement is a few years off but work is so pressured that i can only fish Saturday nights, which isn't always the most popular choice :D So when it comes i will fish more but also focus on going when the conditions are right - so that will be September, October, November, December - Feb for chub and then March. Seriously, wherever i choose to fish i hope to get to know the river that much better and make up for some lost time spent working these past 33 years.
 
I have been retired since 2001 but for various reasons have not fished as much as I would have liked. Through BFW I have made several very good friends and been able to fish with them experiencing new waters and learning a lot of new techniques.

I am fishing later today!

Regards,

Hugo


 
its an interesting one this, I am planning on retiring at the end of this year and my current thinking is that I would fish two days a week, and probably decide which days so that we can plan around them. I think I'll still need some structure in my life after having it for so long but I guess I'll find out like everyone else if that works. My real conundrum is where to live, as I dont have and barbel fishing on my door step and I dont want to spend all my retirement on the M25 and M4 ! If I cant pursuade the wife to move I'm thinking about getting a static caravan or even a camper van to give me overnight stay options - has anyone else on here done the same ?
 
Howard. I pretty much retired at 50.

I used the prior 5 years and next 10 years guiding and built up a fantastic network of friends around the country.

Since stopping this last season I have enjoyed invites to various rivers and more targets than just barbel.

As well as running 3 cricket colts team over the years and a fair bit of umpiring , and visiting family, grandchildren etc. I get out fishing at least 3 times a week.
 
Fishing and retirement....

Hi Guys,
At 63years old and now redundant ( at my age this is early retirement ) I should be fishing more than ever but with my back in such a delicate condition I rarely chance it as the consequences of sitting for any length of time are severe discomfort for the following couple of weeks. The message here is to get out when you can and not to wait until you have retired as you cannot forecast whether you will be fit enough to enjoy it,
Tight Lines,
G.T.
 
Howard, I identify with your father on this one...and with Brian Kelly on the family demands front. I also think half of the battle is health. If you stay relatively healthy and pain free in your retirement, then that is fine. If you retire early and still relatively in your prime, that too is fine. However, if you have health issues, then as John Walker said, the lure of the comforts of home slowly gnaws away at the enthusiasm for fishing. If you have to add to that family members frequently in need of your help, then that just about finishes your fishing off. Sad, but true.

I think we all made plans and had fond dreams of what retirement would bring...but sadly the realities of life do not always allow those dreams to come to fruition. None the less, there is still joy to be had from life...it just doesn't always happen in the way you had envisioned.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Cliff Turner said:
its an interesting one this, I am planning on retiring at the end of this year and my current thinking is that I would fish two days a week, and probably decide which days so that we can plan around them. I think I'll still need some structure in my life after having it for so long but I guess I'll find out like everyone else if that works. My real conundrum is where to live, as I dont have and barbel fishing on my door step and I dont want to spend all my retirement on the M25 and M4 ! If I cant pursuade the wife to move I'm thinking about getting a static caravan or even a camper van to give me overnight stay options - has anyone else on here done the same ?
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I have a small touring caravan that sees plenty of fishing action, I prefer my home comforts so don't do bivvying up etc but just have the caravan somewhere near to where I'm fishing. Hence I go down to the Wye for a week at a time twice a year and have similar trips to other areas plus it also doubles for occasional trips away with my eldest granddaughter 8 (who likes fishing with granddad ;))
 
Cliff Turner said:
its an interesting one this, I am planning on retiring at the end of this year and my current thinking is that I would fish two days a week, and probably decide which days so that we can plan around them. I think I'll still need some structure in my life after having it for so long but I guess I'll find out like everyone else if that works. My real conundrum is where to live, as I dont have and barbel fishing on my door step and I dont want to spend all my retirement on the M25 and M4 ! If I cant pursuade the wife to move I'm thinking about getting a static caravan or even a camper van to give me overnight stay options - has anyone else on here done the same ?
Click to expand...

Thinking of doing the same Cliff,..['' Moving House for a Barbel'' topic two or three months ago ].
Just waiting for a few legal loose ends to be tied up,..seems to be dragging on though!
Very interesting reading some of the previous posts, as I was putting some of my recent fishing lethargy down to workload, and was hoping that early retirement would re-ignite my passion for angling, [ I think 'er indoors was hoping for a bit more passion as well!!] :eek::D
I'm still pretty keen to get out onto the bank and have today ordered my bait for a forthcoming weeks trip to the Avon, but compared to a few years ago I just seem to have more things making demands on my time.
My plan is to move to a favourite venue and get out at least two times a week when conditions are most favourable while I'm still fit enough.
Non of us know whats around the corner, so do it while you can I say!;)
 
I retired 7 years ago, at first I went fishing whenever the urge hit me,then when I had settled into a home routine, at least more or less,I discovered that I seemed to have less time for fishing than I did before I retired, as Phil said,when working, a trip was planned , put on the calendar and hopefully everything dropped into place, now it seems that I am at everybodies beck and call.
Now at 61 yrs old I am fast becoming an"Autumn" Barbel fisherman, I have seen the river levels very low this year, and I am not prepared to fish for Barbel in such conditions,for the fishes welfare.... I will get the rod out when there is a bit of water in the rivers again.

I love my Winter Pike Angling, luckily there are a few waters local to me so I dont have the long hauls to the river that I have for Barbel, or salt water species


It does not help being a member of an inland salt water boat/shore angling club as well, the club books its boat trips 12 months in advance so those of us still working full time can plan their year ahead, plus we have pre booked summer away trips that can last a week, I have about 8 booked salt water boat trips, plus I like my ( and my wifes ) Cornwall Bassing holiday every September, And I like the Summer Smoothound /Ray beach fishing. I also fish 2 or 3 regional boat /shore matches and am a member of our regional Boat Nationals team as well.

Luckily, when Winter hits hard and the rivers arent really fit to fish, due to extremely low water temps/ ice etc, I have my Winter beach Cod trips as well, usually all nighters on the Holderness Coast.

I also have to fit in visits to my son/daughter in law/ grandchild in Germany,and time for them visiting us, oh, and a few days fishing in Feldberg ( former East Germany, where my daughter in laws family have a guesthouse ) , fishing for Pike and Catfish ,on the many lakes in that area, they also have a lake summer house, so we can fish and relax in style.

All in all I think I may just about fish as much as when I was working,maybe more, but it really seems less, I dont know how I found the time to do all the things I do now when I was working ! :eek:



Dave
 
I hung my spurs up 3 years ago at 51. I hardly fish in the Uk these days, instead I fish for barbel in Spain for 9 or 10 weeks of the year........... It so much nicer when you have the whole river to yourself, and there are no bivvies or alarms or drunken fools leaving bottles and litter everywhere........ When I do fish here these days it tends to be for social reasons mainly, a day with mates.


Not that I became at all disillusioned with barbel fishing in the UK you understand.;)

On retirement as a whole, Its awesome wish I had done it 30 years ago.

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I took early retirement from teaching at 57 and the lure of the riverbank rather than 5 or so classes of 30 demanding and often challenging adolescents was very appealing. At first - a year or so - it was rather surreal. I was interested in getting on the bank but then again I could do all the hill-walking in the yorks dales - half an hour away- that I wanted to, I could stroll to my favourite pub and enjoy a glass of beer with friends when I wanted to - I could do ......... whatever I wanted. My wife is 12 years younger than me and is happy at work. So in spite of all my freedom I get real kicks from having time to make my own handmade bread every week and preparing the evening meal for me/ wifey and recently returned from uni son. So now it's do I walk in the dales/ make bread/watch the cricket/go fly fishing/pike fishing/barbel fishing/ read my latest book/ weed the veg plot/clean out the chicken coop etc ....... its a hard life! Result is I tend to fish a couple of times a week max - definitely when it's not hot but preferably dull and cool and never at weekends. After contact with at least 150 individuals every day for over 30 yrs I naturally prefer fishing on my own and midweek I am often the only angler on the north Yorkshire rivers that I usually fish.
 
As I fish less than I would wish yesterday's visit to the river was an absolute joy. I caught a mixed bag of gudgeon and perch with the bonus of the smallest pike I have ever seen and a beautiful dace of ten ounces. I also managed to lose a barbel which is not surprising as I was using light tackle and the fish was a good one.

Sometimes less is more.

Regards,

Hugo

 
Tony Rocca said:
I hung my spurs up 3 years ago at 51. I hardly fish in the Uk these days, instead I fish for barbel in Spain for 9 or 10 weeks of the year........... It so much nicer when you have the whole river to yourself, and there are no bivvies or alarms or drunken fools leaving bottles and litter everywhere........ When I do fish here these days it tends to be for social reasons mainly, a day with mates.


Not that I became at all disillusioned with barbel fishing in the UK you understand.;)

On retirement as a whole, Its awesome wish I had done it 30 years ago.

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Just where do you get the idea that we are littered with 'Drunken fools bivvies and alarms''? I really get annoyed off with ex pats that stick the knife into this beautiful country of ours in favour of some part of the world they now consider home.

I have done a fair bit of travelling I have yet to see too many places that can challenge the sheer diversity of UK and yes the beauty. As far as the cultural references you make well yes we are not perfect but where is? All I know is that we seem a lot safer than a lot of other countries.

I can tell you there are some great Barbel fishing to be had in this country, despite all the doom and gloom that gets bounded about, I very often have the River to myself, and if not I have the company of fellow anglers who are real pleasure to spend some time with.

Spain? Good luck with that, but I have never seen anything as beautiful as the Wye Valley in Autumn :)
 
Ex Pat? Where did I say I lived in Spain?....... I said I spent 9 or 10 weeks of the year fishing in Spain. You really must pay attention Neil.

Yup Wye Valley is lovely, go and fish Collingham on the Trent for an illustration of my point. Fishing here generally aint what it was though,..... in my opinion!

As for the country as a whole, and the way of life here, I know of better places.
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