I just want to fish somewhere other than Rhody. Maybe in the Keys for multiple days or take a long range charter out of San Diego or maybe get to fish Panama. The last thing could come true. My cousin might possibly have a place down there with her significant other soon. He's from Panama.

Flap, thanks for the perspective.

Flap. As someone else said, you were posting at about the same time I did and I never read your post until now. Your post really meant something special to me. I too went from healthy as a horse to my deathbed in just a few days last year. I was not saved by a miracle, but modern medicine. But I definitely have a different outlook on life. And after reading your post, I realized how superficial my post was. I guess I got caught up in the thoughts of the large fish an not what is really important to me.

As others have posted, I currently live a very happy life. I have a wonderful girlfriend who is going to be my wife. I make a decent living. and I live close enough to the coast to fish regularly. I am a real newbie without a lot of luck so far, but I improve my technique on each trip. And I learn more and more about when to fish and what lures to select reading here.

Thank you Flap - you made me take another look, and reassess my priorities. You think my experience, that wiped out my fishing opportunities for much of last year, would have taught me. But gentle reminders are always welcome.

Again - thanks Flap. I hope I get to meet and fish with you someday.

-IWK

One of those million + dollar homes on the water, with my own private dock with a fully rigged 26' Regulator for fishing, and a Scout 280 Abaco for fishing/family tied to it :). Is that asking for too much???

Iwannakeeper... your post wasn't superficial. The thread was about fishing goals... no need to beat yourself up.

That being said, Flap, that is a great story. Thanks for sharing that.

My year and a half old twins fought some long odds just to be born at just over 2lbs each. Then they fought for 3 months in the NICU at Brigham and Womens. Its amazing to look at them now. They are just normal healthy toddlers. We are blessed. I may complain about being tired, or not having the time on the water or to myself that I need, but its just venting.

I've noticed that my outlook has changed some over the past two seasons since that whole experience. I'm just enjoying the whole process more and taking it less seriously.

I think its actually helped me quite a bit. I'm more relaxed now and spend more time trying different things, not so worried that its going to "cost me fish". So I'm learning more.

My ultimate goals are pretty simple. I don't really have any aspirations of a 50 from the surf. Or on a plug. Or whatever. They may be goals, but they are just minor goals. I have alot of minor goals. Keep learning and get more consistent. Fishing florida more... trying new areas like the gulf coast and the keys. Costa Rica... I've wanted to fish salmon in Alaska since I was a kid. I used to be a big trout fisherman. I don't know, I could go on forever. But those are not my ultimate goals.

My ultimate goals are just to keep my family involved and teach my kids the love and respect of the outdoors. And to be able to spend time fishing with people that share that love... whether it is family or friends. And to be able to do that a long time.

It sounds cheesy, but when I really thought about it, especially after stories like Flaps and Salthearts, that's what I want out of it.

Short term goal:

Be able to fish this weekend without crap from my wife and then have her let me sleep in the next day.

I probably have a better shot at multiple 50lbers from the surf.

OK, here goes...

I caught my biggest fish to date this very morning. A 41" 26lb bass.

But I am not satisfied.


My goal is to fish less

To NOT be so consumed by fishing that it invades every thought in every minute of every day.

To NOT spend a healthy chunk of my work day reading threads (like this one) on this and the other sites I go to.

To NOT continue to allow fishing to dictate my every move, from the route I take home (has to be by water) to the time I eat (or not)

To NOT let this allegedly fun sport continue to eat away at my marriage and my stability.

If there was a 12-step program, I would need at least 24.

What is funny is that to those who do not suffer from this disease I get comments like:
"your are addicted to WHAT?, I can think of a lot of worse things than addiction to fishing"
and
" You are so lucky to have a great passion for fishing"

Am I?
Passion or Poison?

I wonder

Spin

Ultimate wish would be: that there are still enough fish to enjoy catching in twenty years.
Not so much for me, but for my kids. ;)

Somehow this thread turned into a "there is so much more important in life than fishing" thread....not what I was looking for!:rolleyes: Looking for that one guilty desire that is fishing related that I think we all have! I know what is truely important in life.......however I am looking for fish discussion.....not "what is the meaning of life" type stuff. (No offense meant to those who have shared);)

i feel crappy because i am a mama's boy. i need to live on my own and get my own ride. it is going to take a while. my guilyt desire is to take the iszu trooper and ride and fish hard. and also call in sick days and catch big fish. damn, things dont go well as i expected this year. :( :smash: i want a damn fish. and i want to outfish all of you old fart. :laughs: :devil:

Okay BigFish, sorry to mess up your thread. Let me try this. Being that I am human and subject to human desires I think it might go something like " I walked the path down to the bottom of Longnook Beach at sunset and as I was coming down the beach in the last light of day I saw someone else casting away in the distance to the north. I walked closer and was surprised to find it was a woman. She appeared to be in her early to mid thirties, long blond hair in a ponytail around a face of an angel. Piercing blue eyes, tall and a perfect body, evident through her neoprene waders. As I passed she says hello and I respond in kind. I ask how the fishing is and she says she has seen fish breaking right in front of her. We are the only two on the beach and she says that it would be no problem if I wanted to fish with her as she doesn't often get company as most people think it strange that a woman like her likes to surfcast. She tells me she is not married and loves to fish..........." You guys take it from there!!!!!!!:eek: :happy: :happy: :happy: :happy:

I had a feeling things were getting off the track with all the "cumbaya" stuff. I did it too, but I was just answering with my honest opinion.

Specific fishing goals...

40lber... boat or surf, could care less (I've hit 30, so 40 is next logical step)

a big tarpon... got a couple princes, ready to get a silver king

a trip of a lifetime in the next 3 to 5 years... could be costa rica, could be alaska... a week of fishing am/pm with people who want to fish am to pm. The type of trip where you fish and fish and fish, then have a nice meal and a couple beers and relive it that night... then do it again.

The trip would probably be the top goal.

PS... tropical would be nice, sitting by the beach or a pool... but I could seriously do a campfire type thing to. The griz up in Alaska might be an issue, but you only have to be faster than the slowest man.

flap thats my fantasy too just prefer a red head so when the lights are out I can still see .

WOW, Flap. That's not a goal, but a dream I have every night!!:D

by Bigfish;
"more than that I am curious about what is each individuals selfish little desire! What would be the single most guilty pleasure you could realistically imagine!"

okay, a 75 pounder from shore on a polaris popper.
:D

my wish......
 

.....i'd say what it is.....but as you can see by my obvious lack of posts to this fine fishing board......

that i have taken flight.... and have basically lost all faith.

After my kids have grown up to be well adjusted and self sufficient (in about 20 years) and my wife and I are set financially and both healthy enough, I'd like to be able to fish whenever I want rather than when I can.

It wouldn't hurt if I was fishing from the private beach/reef/inlet/cove that wraps directly around the yard that is in front of my humble 4K sq ft beach house with a dock on the cove so I could use my 23' CC when I need a break from surfcasting.

Until then, I'll continue to sneak out once a week to drive a couple hours to harrass schoolies.

I was lucky enough to do the Alaska thing and got my 50# salmon. It would be nice to get a bass that size.

"cumbaya my Lord, cumbaya
send a fifty my Lord, send a fifty
make it sixty my Lord, make it sixty
Oh Lord cumbaya"

:)

I'd love to get on a really big bite and I don't care if they are 50's, I've had a couple of them. What I miss are those few times that everyone who puts in the hours eventually gets, those big bites with one after the other, until your arms are about to fall off. I want a big bite this year of 20-30-40 lbers, one after the other, I love that stuff and it's been too many years since I've lucked into one.

I'm also hoping to save enough money to go after a big Tarpon bite come May, that's something I really want to do. I love large, no matter what species, give me large.

My ultimate goal for now (short term)
Is for the HUGE landing net I ordered yesterday to show up ASAP, so when the next 40 plus lb fish that is 10 ft from my boat and I'm fumbling with the dam gaff trying to get the fish then the fish gives a head shake and gets off and swims away (had some smaller ones in the past 2 days do the same) ends up in the fish box. :smash:
$100.00 per lb. would be nice also!!!
Long term,
Another , but bigger tuna on a cod jig.

Ronnie

Really,,,what a strange story.....:smash: :smash:
I guess news travels fast.,.I got a call from Jim (you know who).
Said he heard about a certain someone losing a BIG fish at the boat....:smash: :smash:

Any 50 pound bass goes staright to the taxidermist.....

I guess it does Van!:wall: that Guy Jim could have atleast spread the story the way he heard it:af:
Look on the bright side though,
Good thing you're the editor of a certain news letter of a certain fishing club! or we could end up reading the story in next months news letter the way some guys (who have no life! ) like to talk:af:

Ronnie

Well, I thought of another selfish goal that would definitely be a huge blitz of frieght-trains......Football tune, bones, false-albies. Having them bust the surface in a ball of bait, like an all out blues blitz bonaza.

-IWK

thanks for this thread bigfish. I found this as interesting as you did I hope.

even if I did hit in with the sappy, bud-light commerical - I LOVE YOU MAN, response at one point. :roff3:

Goals
63# striper from beach or boat(I know she's waiting for me!)
1000+ pound Bluefin on a hand line

Wish
That I could find a way to get back on the ocean every day of my life without having to worry about money or sacrificing my family life.