Do you ever Get SICK of Hunting and Fishing

[gottafish]

Its like this, I have hunted and fished my whole life. I have killed moose, deer, bear, elk, waterfoul@upland birds and just about everything thats leagel to hunt. I now think that its just getting crazy. My friends all tell there buddys about the spots I have, (MY HONEY HOLE IF YOU WILL) and it seams everywhere I go its four to five rigs at the gate when just last year their was one or two. Its so frustrating to me to hike 5 mile into a wilderness area to find a ton of people tracks. Same with fishing everywhere I go to many people. This is starting to make me walk away from hunting and fishing. the fun is gone. Rich

[Swamp Puppy]

hmmm...sounds like a classic case of "outdoor burnout". the only cure is to tell me where all those "honey holes" are and then retire.

:grin:

[SLEDDER]

You may need to move north, as I am slowly doing. Northern Idaho. It will be Alaska from there. I can't take the crowds nor the nimconpoops that go with the crowds. I don't even feel safe as a bow hunter anymore especially in Oregon.

[rockn'reel]

Sledder don't tell me that! I am getting sick of hunting with anyone who can buy a gun and shoot at the first moving thing! I was hoping since it take a little practice and commitment that archery was going to be the way to go next year. I still think it will be better than centerfire, but I hope people don't start making the conversion too soon.

Alaska can get crowded too :depressed:

[Mello-Yello]

The best cure I've found for "Outdoor Burnout";

Stay away from it for a year (if you really think you can)

[Grits]

Take this as an opportunity to find new honey holes or fish for different species. There are hundreds of streams in Oregon where a guy can fish days without seeing another person. Sure there is a compromise, the fish you are catching are smaller and the drive may be a little longer but the enjoyment factor goes up.

Same with deer hunting. On a recent trip I moved twice before I found an area nobody was working and guess what there were still deer on that part of the mountain. Most people hunt high so I usually go low.

If I was ever really burnt out on hunting and fishing I would save everything I would have spent on the sport for a year and take a once in a life time hunting or fishing trip.

[tag-a-long]

Are you nuts??????? Sick of the crowds maybe, but never sick of hunting or fishing.

[nitrobass]

So then you'll lay awake restless and anxious all night long thinking about...........golf? I dont think so.

Crowds are part of the game anymore. Nobody likes it but in the end its still better to have more people hunting than not.

[feisty's wife]

The crowds will not be there after the Asteroid hits or the Biolo9gical warfare is over.

[id. painter]

I feel for you man.
I am very lucky. I have lived and hunted / fished all my life in Idaho. There are places wher the crowds are as bad as anywhere, but there are also hunts and places where I am alone.
Example. I spent the last two weekends hunting. The first week end I was deer hunting, I saw no other hunters on the mountain (I saw a couple riggs drive up and down the road) I didnt hear any shots, and I saw 5 bucks . I killed the second biggest buck in the herd. I had watched the herds feed around for three days without any one bothering them. This is all public land.
The next week end I took my boy and his best friend Sage hen hunting. we hunted both days (walked our butts off) and didnt see any one hunting except a "Falcon" hunter.
This weekend Im going to take my son and his friend to hunt roosters. I hunt a large private farm that anyone can hunt if you ask, and will see no other hunters.Its the season opener.
You have to work at finding the secret spots, you have to protect those places by keeping the word of mouth down. I have all of my friends take a blood oath that they can never tell or bring others in to these places. So far it has worked for me .


There is however almost no secret spots when it comes to Salmon , they are in the rivers only and anyone can figure that one out. Steelhead as well.
Some times I get tired of one thing like Goose hunting but If I take a break from it and go after something else , for me I also hunt artifacts and it gives the solitude I crave and Im still hunting.Then Im ready to go again next year. Relax Try something new,,, Have you caught a Tuna lately???? id. painter

[Salmon Stryker]

Last week I hiked into a road closed area deer hunting and did not see another human all day. I had a great day and saw 13 deer. I've had weekday's where I've taken the driftboat down some coast streams for steelhead and never saw another boat. I've hiked into streams and caught Salmon and steelhead without seeing another person. I duck hunt a backwater slough in my kayak and never ever see anyone else out there. I've fished for springers on the upper willamette and caught fish with no one else in sight. There are still places you can go to have the "experience." You just might have to research and work a little harder and finding them and getting to them.

[dimwit]

I've experienced the same feelings on and off over the last 30+ years of hunting. There are places where I used to be able to hunt for days without seeing another soul--now there are even out of state plates parked at the trailheads. Its also frustrating when I've put in decades of work in a particular area and have the game pretty well figured out, then some first time out idiot stumbles into the middle of the process and shoots an animal I had been working. My worst experience was in setting up a portable tree stand on an area I had been hunting for years and someone walked in between me and an elk I was calling in. I looked on as he arrowed his first elk when it was only fifty yards up the trail and coming in to me. I watched it run under and past my stand and go down about 75 yards away. What could I do? I climbed down from my stand showed him where it was and helped him gut it. My initial feelings of frustrated anger started to disappear. I actually enjoyed his exhuberance and wished I could get back that kind of excitement. I realized that I wouldn't have appreciated killing my umpteenth elk nearly as much as he did getting his first.

That's when I found my solution to burnout. I take family and close friends hunting and help them get animals. I end up getting plenty of meat (I believe in sharing 50/50 with anyone who assists me in recovering meat--They know my philosophy and have benefitted in the past, so they gladly reciprocate)and the hunting is exciting again. I do still have to have one "my hunt" per year where I go all out. But the real enjoyable hunts are seeing a kid or new hunter light up. Most of the time I've already finished my hunt, so I often don't even have a tag or carry a weapon. I love it when we've been pushing hard with no success, and I see their determination and hear them say how they won't give up. It helps me recapture some of that spirit.

[Get Bit]

Another thing worth looking at is finding private land to hunt. For us, its become a challenge to find birds,animals, etc. We never stop trying to network for possible connections. Find out the owner and ask permission to hunt or fish. Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they don't but once you begin to build a relationship most of the frustrations brought on by crowds fade away.

Get Bit

[gottafish]

I think the thing that gets to me the most is all these want-a-be Bow hunters. I have bow hunted for 30 + years and I know what I am doing. There are all these Rifle guy's hunting with a bow like they have a rifle in there hands. When you talk to them they all have the same story. Well i didn't draw a tag for rifle so I got a bow tag. this kind of crap needs to stop and I have brought it up with more than one guy at odfw. I say if you put in for a rifle tag and don't draw thats it you can't buy a bow tag. I also think there should be a draw for bow hunting to. I also wish they would close cow harvest and bring back the hounds to get ride of some cats. Oh If I could I'd change a lot. cheers Rich