Convenience fishing

[RyanW]

A comment in another thread asking about how well a certain lake produces led one poster to say something like “it’s a very slow bite but it’s close to my home so it’s convenient”. Which made me think about my own home lake and how others go about fishing in their areas.

My home lake is a public, somewhat heavily pressured in the summer, small lake in central Michigan about a mile from my home. With family and work and life, it is really convenient to just swing by and wet the jig for a few hours. It’s more “miss” than it is “hit” but when it’s on, oh man it’s on. I find myself going there more often than not just because of the convenience where as if I would travel a little farther away, I would have a better bite.

So, how many of you guys struggle with “convenience fishing” and how do you think that effects the way we fish?

[hardwater diehard]

I like my local convenience lake it holds nice fish both numbers and size ...but a couple things to try...if you have a map ..turn the map upside down ..now look at the lake as if it was a new body of water..you would be surprised at the "finds" you will see ...also attack your local lake in sections ..based on your travel plans ..walking ..atv/snowmobile etc..fish that sections spot on the spot. Another thing I have found out is you tend not to explore your lakes other potential spots because you will run to where you caught fish before or last/end of season ...fish the time period the fish are in ..early/mid/late ice...if you should be in the shallows and are fishing the basin..not gonna work effectively .

[minnowdrowner]

Between work, wife, and kids I find that I am in that boat more often than not. Back in the times before I used to fish 5-6 times a week, after work, all weekend, long trips etc... Now it is more of a few hours available so I go kind of thing. This year I've been focusing on getting my girls out more (5yo and 3yo) so the trips tend to be only a few hours and within about 30 miles from home. But I am looking at it as an investment so when they get older I have an excuse to take longer outings because hopefully they will want to go as well 

[hnd]

yup.  i have a few convenient spots and a few spots i consider more productive but you deal with other fisherman and sometimes quite a drive. 

i live on an old farm property with a 5 acre pond that is maintained by my brothers father in law.  its super convenient.  you pull out with regularity 9+" gills, an accasional big crappie or bass.  but its full of tiny gills you have to contend with.  but i fish it because its convenient. 

[429421Cowboy]

I usually find myself fishing my "convenience spot" anymore, just due to the fact that I only get a few trips on the ice a year. The fishing is generally very good, but the fish are in the 10-18" range trout, which wouldn't be my first target. I'd rather be fishing for walleye or spearing, or going for big fish if I was after trout and salmon, but its hard to pass up a lake that I know will have good safe ice most of the season and is only 30min from home. Its easier to not feel bad about the fishing being slow or getting skunked when I know I could be home and unloaded and drinking beer in an hour if I wanted. There are also a few local ponds around town that offer decent fishing, and are 5min from my door, that I wouldn't travel across the state to fish but are awfully attractive when it means the difference of actually getting a trip in or not if I only have a partial day to fish.

[gola yona]

I find myself doing the same, dealing with high fishing pressure, a lack of parking/public access are issues in my state. My family is a low income household as some call it. So i cant really afford to "put in the effort" as some say. Because I literally can't afford to. I can drive to the lake park if there is room and walk miles to just catch a few dinks maybe a smallie if im lucky.

[fishermantim]

"Convenience" fishing for me is when the weather and time prevent me from traveling far to fish for the most time allotted.

Of course, convenience has different meaning for different people.
I don't mind driving from Dedham, MA to Westford, MA or even to Dunbarton, NH for the chance to fish for a few (5-8) hours.

It all depends on the specific conditions of that day.

That being said, when I do go to my convenient spots I know exactly what is available and what I hope to catch.

[Mr.Seaguar]

I either go with the intent to maximize my catch or I sit home. I go fishing because it's fun to catch fish. It's not fun to drag out in the cold, cut a few holes and stare down the hole. That's work. Sitting home is convenient. I like being at home, I just like catching a bunch of fish more.

[flagup!]

Mine is 1/4 mile down the road to my mothers house on the lake.   Not the best fishing, but I get to go fishing.  Nice fire on shore, bring more and better food.  Kids go more often,  they skate, play hockey, pull some fish in and they get to go in the house when they are cold.  I generally don't fish as hard here as I would if I traveled to a favorite lake with better quality fish.   

[Unclegillhunter]

Depends, if I am by myself or have limited hours I fish one of the metro lakes. I know them and can get onto fish pretty quick. Normally work 7 days a week so to go to a lake further than say 50 miles takes some planning. Having said that I am driving 160 miles round trip this coming Sunday cause my nephew who has been my fishing buddy for 20 plus years has been crying that we only fish local. We are going to a new lake that I fished a couple times this summer so not totally new.
Keep it safe! JDL

[bobberbill]

I'm fortunate to live on a nice sized lake. Lot's of fish,  minimal summer pressure, and no winter pressure. I just walk out my door, but have a lot of nearby lakes to pick from. A couple private lakes, too. Can't fish on bad ice.

[Mr.Seaguar]

Uncle Gill Hunter, you are 65 years old, why are you working 7 days a week? Cut back to 4 and do some fishing.

[ice dawg]

I have two local lakes within 12 miles of my house. One is known as the drum sea and the other is called the dead sea. In summer they are as green as split pea soup and very cloudy in winter due to runoff from fields and feedlots. I have to drive at least forty miles to have decent fishing.

[jimhaney08]

This is a really interesting topic.  During open water season, I find myself most often fishing a lake that's a little further than two others just because that's where most of the tournaments are.  It also has good fishing, so I can't complain there.

When (If) we get ice, I often settle for a convenience lake early and late in the season (even though the fishing isn't great) just because it's the first in the region to freeze up.

[Royalwapiti]

I am new to the city I live near, I bought my house to be near a lake 3 miles away. Not the best fishing but works conveniently.  It is real easy to throw the shanty on the front of the Ranger and drive it to the lake.  I just keep going past the boat ramp right onto the ice.  easy peasy.   Some days I don't go fishing because I don't want to load the Ranger or ATV onto the trailer, then unload at the ice, then load it again. 

In the summer I plan to get a kayak and keep visiting my "convenient lake" with the Ranger. 

[Unclegillhunter]

Uncle Gill Hunter, you are 65 years old, why are you working 7 days a week? Cut back to 4 and do some fishing.

Cause the young folks can’t be bothered to make it in to take care of things on the weekend. Just have to make it  till next ice season and then it will be 3 days a week. Owner said if I don’t retire he will let me come in on the heavy days and make it worth my while! Then the fish in the lakes around here need to be afraid, very afraid!
Keep it safe! JDL

[Mr.Seaguar]

I'm glad I'm not that conscientious.

[Browtine]

Early ice, late ice I take the easy route. I have a lake about a mile up the road and I don't have to invest much time if the ice is bad. Maryland doesn't have a long season as it is. I would rather fish than hunt for ice. Once the lakes get locked in, then I chase bigger fish a better lakes.

Other than this forum it is difficult to get good information on conditions. If conditions are sketchy, I'm headed to the sure thing. Wish I lived in a better hard water area but that another story,

[Sledracerxcr]

Last year I traveled 1 hour and 15 minutes each way 2 days a week to get the good bite! This year so far have been going for the convenience.

[Hoserman]

I live three miles from Lake Margrethe and that is my lake of convenience. Higgins is ten miles away and that's where we go for Perch and Smelt. I would fish Houghton more if it was closer. Right now the Tip up Town is going on and I'll stay away from that madhouse.

[don519]

Thats my issue i dont have much within a 2 hour drive thankfuly we have some great people on here that share the reports about the ice and snow on the lakes and i would like to thank everyone who does report on ice condions

[RyanW]

Great replies guys!

I guess we can be thankful that we even get the chance to go. One thing about our conscience lakes though is that we get to know them very very well. I know at mine, for what everyone catches, when I’m there I usually tend to be doing better than others around me. Especially in the warmer months. I’m a panfish guy though and a lot of anglers around me are more into bass. My area has a lot of memebers of the straw hat brigade and it makes panfishing extremely tough sometimes though.

Another thing about those lakes is that I think it makes us better anglers when we do get to go to a better spot. We spend a lot of time trying to make neutral/negative fish bite everything we have to offer that we start to learn what will actually make a fish commit (or not)  to the bite. Sometimes nothing works. Doesn’t matter what we do. However, we take all those points we learn there and apply to them to active/roaming fish in better lakes and finally our hard work pays off. I think if one spends too much time on the “give me” lakes it can start to take the angling out of the angler. One starts do things only one way and can forget that there are lots tricks in the tackle box. Someone could totally write off a body of water because their tried and true method isn’t producing. When this happens to me, I try to think back on the convenience lakes and what I had to do to get a bite. I think it can us more prepared and versatile anglers.

[32footsteps]

My “home” or convenience lake is ideal for me. Very, very little fishing pressure as it’s considered a tough lake. I grew up on it and there isn’t anyone alive who has logged more hours on it than I have. I can always get something out there but it does fit into the hit or miss category. When it’s on the handful of days per year it’s on it’s like a remote fly in lake if you understand the forage. If you don’t it is almost always a miss.

I don’t like crowds. Not in malls, not in stores, and certainly not on lakes or rivers. So with this thing getting no pressure it’s perfect. I’m not bothered and can run incredibly wide tip-up spreads. Locally I am watched closely. If people see me on it day after day after day the assumption is made that it’s “on” that year. Folks will show up and use traditional fatheads and standard golden shiners and go home vowing to never return after getting skunked. I’ll be using stuff that I’ve trapped through the ice have a very different set of results.

[albo]

I do some convenience fishing earlier in the season in case I get there and the ice is too thin. I just got back from a nice multi day trip and the drive home was 7 hours. I will go back that distance many times for the opportunities that lake offers.

[Osage]

I’m not wealthy enough to convenience fish,I’ve never even strictly pleasure fished.Chalk it up to being raised on a farm,I still operate in the mindset of make every action count.Dont get me wrong,I do enjoy fishing,but that’s a second thought,first and foremost is food,just like hunting.

[FishGut]

I have a circuit of seven or eight public lakes, mostly owned by the local Natural Resources District. Almost all could be viewed as farm ponds, running between 20 and 200 acres. I can complete a "run" from my driveway and back putting less than 70 miles on the truck.  Whether on the ice or in my yak, I can find a place to fish and be alone.

That said, my across the street neighbor went to the local dog run/jogging lake a mile away and has caught a dozen crappie over 12" this week, and one that's pushing 15.

Pick your poison

[eyeflyer]

I have been fishing for a few decades and competed in many walleye tournaments during those years, some involved driving up to 9 hours away. I have quite fishing tournaments the last 3 years, moved back to my home town after 40 years of living in the big city. I fish the lake I starting fishing when I was about 6 and it is only 10 minutes from my house. There are 4 more lakes within about a 1/2 hour or so. I guess almost all my fishing is convenience fishing and I like that just fine as I now enjoy fishing for hours without the driving for hours.