Does it take more skill to fish from a boat or from the shore?
 

Well which one? I have to go with the boat. Becuase you have to be able to use radar, GPS, Fishfinder you have to know you to navigate for real 'dead reckoning'. you need to know about engines and marine safety, how to use a radio, nav rules and regs. Then once your on site then it tides, currents, bait etc just like a shore guy. Alright who's with me?

:smash: :rotf2: Man, talk about a loaded question!!!!!:love:

No Chit.....This is a flame war waiting to happen...at anyrate, After fishing the shore for more than 20 years I can say being new to a boat that there are certainly chellenges to both, Fishing from a boat at night is not at all easy and down right scarry at times....and casting a shoreline at night from a boat takes just as much skill if not more from a boat...No fish finder in the world can help you exept for depth readings, fishing like that and rocks are everywhere! Its different but its still challenging.......

Next poll:

Does it take more skill to troll a fishing forum or to actually go fishing?

I do both about as often so I guess I should be able to answer the question with some confidence. So why am I having such a hard time with it. I guess because there really are plenty of challenges to both surf casting and boat fishing. I don't think you can compare "skill levels" because every angler is different. For that matter, every fishing trip is different. Every boat, every beach, every day weather condition. ext. I definitely think you can get you self in trouble faster in a boat, so skill and safety go together pretty well.
As for PIA (pain in the a$$) factor I would say being a boat guy has it's down side. Crowded hot spots are more of a surf casters problem although I have been bumper to bumper with other boats during a blitz in the Harbor. When the weather stinks and the rollers are high enough to make a seal sick the beach guys are the smart ones. There are times when I have watched the surf guys sit on the beach unable to BUY a fish and I have been nailing them all day. For those reasons and more I will always be a boat guy that surfcasters as often as I can.
But I digress,
Your question was about "fishing skill" So my answer is this.
I have had good days fishing and I have had days when the skunk was in the box. I know guys that Fish better than me from a boat and I know guys that consistently out fish me on shore. But here's the kicker sharp anglers can catch more fish than average anglers not because of were or how they fish but because they can adapt as efficiently as the fish do to changing conditions. Just think like a fish and you'll do fine.

I think results from both are (obviously) based on how much effort you put in. In most cases the best surf guys would likely be the best boat guys if applying the same drive & skill on the other venue. And the reverse is absolutely true as well.

I think too that there is more skill required to be successful in the surf than in a boat because you don't have the same mobility, electronics, opportunity of time (daylight for example) and access.


No fishfinders in the surf other than the Mark 0 Mod 0 (Mod 1 if you have spectacles) Optical Detection Device and knowledge of how to read the environment. A skilled boat angler has both of the above plus fish finders / temp guages / charts.

Most boaters can access significantly greater locations to fish than they guy in the surf. Walk a mile to a surf spot and work a 1/4 - 1/2 mile of shoreline will encompass an entire session of fishing short of a 12hour commando run. In a boat you have the option of picking up and moving a few miles far quicker than you can on Korkers.

Most boaters can do as well (and some better) fishing daylight moving off the immediate coast of the surf angler to deeper water and humps - not available to the shore guy. Typically, the surfcaster's run is from sundown to sunup.

Very little tresspassing from a boat :wiggle: :huh:

I also think that the top fisherman in a boat that don't rely on electronics as much as they do the same 6th sense applied by the top guys from shore are highly skilled and would do well anywhere... Same is true that a very knowledgable shore angler than switches to boat will be able to apply different skill sets in both conditions based on experience - add well rounded skills in knowing how to bait fish / live bait fish / plug / jig / and flyfish - you have one exceptionally proficient angler...

When I grow up I want to be a proficient angler...

So in a nut shell I think it is more difficult to be a top angler from shore than a boat and that more skill is needed from shore than a boat. However, Applying high skill in both is worthy of respect and impresses the hellout of me...

Duke...please! I answered that both have their challenges....catching fish is what we are talking about am I correct? If you are going to lean on all your electronics to find your fish then there really is no skill there in my opinion! Surf guys, at least myself and the folks I know do not rely on electronics....they find them the good old fashioned challenging way.....by working an area, spending time there and learning to read the water and conditions! So in terms of the way you replied to your own thread I must change my answer and say it is more of a challenge from the shore! I know electronics are a part of boat fishing and that there are alot of challenges to fishing from a boat.....but you did not mention any of those physical challenges or the challenges of spending time on the water and maybe keeping a log and learning your spots.....your entire argument was based on the use of your electronics. That doesn't seem like a challenge to me at all.:huh:

Before any of you fire away...read my post again...I give respect to those boat fishermen who use their electronics along with their boating skills, knowledge of the water and seasonal changes along with tidal changes.....all difficult stuff to master.....electronics ain't that difficult!

There are great fisherman in boats and great fisherman from the beach. Pick your poison and learn all you can and reap the rewards.

Personally, I love my skiff and I love the feel of the surf pulling at my heels. For everything there is a season so the song or sonnet says rightly.

It's all fishing to me.

I agree with Flap here...its all fishing...While I agree with John Somewhat....none of those electronics help you at night casting a shoreline, especially the guys who do it old school in tin boats...About all there good for is depth and finding your way back. The main advantage is mobility and the ability to move fast from place to place..But again, its all the same its fishing not much more to it than that

Bill - I agree, but most people in a boat aren't fishing a rocky shoreline or rip at night. Fishing that way or anchoring in the violent reef born seas off Watch Hill at night are more the extreme than the average - same as guys skishing or simming to far off rocks from the coast - these are the extremes...

And yes, it is all fishing and IMO it all counts (though weighted a bit in favor of the surfcaster :hee: )

I fish from a boat 'cause I'm:( old and feeble. :walk: You don't have to walk too far on a 21-footer and I've noticed very few swivel seats or leaning posts along the shore.;) That said, however, I guess it's like Sly said :grins: "different strokes for different folks, and so on and so on and scuby dube dube........................................."

Just to put in a different angle of thought here. Everything you list prior to once your on site is about Boating not Fishing. The poll should then read "Does it take more skill to drive your car to a spot or take your boat to a spot"

I think both have there different Skill sets and Different skill levels when it comes to fishing.

If you took a guy that boat fished his entire life, brought him out to the beach and then said "Now Catch Something" he would struggle just as much as taking a lifelong surfguy and putting him in a boat and saying the same thing to him.

I'm sure boating has it's challenges and all... one of which I would imagine is keeping your boat well positioned over a good spot without achoring, like in a rip or something... that can't be easy.
you still have to find the fish in either platform, it's just boats have the advantage of covering more water and accessing a ton of productive water.

Both are different and both are fun. Which is harder? Who cares

Way more skill to catch a fish from shore than from a boat

I have decided this will take much hands on studying to make an informed educated opinion. I will get back with you in a few years to give my report on the question.

with fuel prices at $3 and poss $4 by gal by summer, im gonna have to say by boat is more challenging, cause I cant even afford to get my boat out of the lagoon.

I see you haven't fished with the Clammer much. That is most definitely more challenging than any other type of fishing.:angel:

As someone who grew up boat fishing but still fished from shore on a regular basis ...

... I agree with the above, both have advantages and disadvantages ... I hate crowds of all kinds, night on boats and even during the day, it's easier to move away from the crowd in a boat as the smart boat angler has a greater number of opportunities available to them ...

... so from a stand point of opportunities, boating opens more options - from a skill standpoint ... it's not a true comparison as the guys who know how to fish successfully from the surf and boats will be able to transfer their abilities to any fishing situation - as it's the skill to assess the situation and make the right moves and decisions ... whether you are on land or boat ...

... as for electronics ... they are for navigational purposes, they won't catch you fish, but they will help you in some cases from getting stranded or in trouble along rocky shorelines ... and boaters at night do fish them regularly, at least where I have always fish ... although when fishing right - catching fish, your lower unit and prop are bound to get banged a bit ... but it's all part of the game

Andy...fishfinders? GPS?

I love the way Saltheart cuts right through the BS!:kewl:

Larry -

I understand what you said [per my pm] ... yes, it takes a lot of skill to score fish from shore, but each have their challenges and fish finders and GPS won't gaurantee you fish ... the same boobs who can't catch from shore can't necessarily catch from a boat if they don't have someone else to horn in ... on or there are no fish jumping ... they still have to deploy the same tactics from a boat as they do from a shore to find fish when nothing is showing ... but you do get more options from a boat than shore ... that in my eyes is the advantage

Way more skill to catch a fish from shore than from a boat
110% correct

Bless you my son..no truer worrds spoken then these written above.

no one these days uses gps an cell phones on a beach:hihi:

seems to be boat guys verse shore guys 0-well!always has been, always will be.....but there are those that do both well...there stands a true fisherman[person] with skills that will beat either group .

Not that at all - but swimming 20 yards out to a rock to surfcast means you've past the Clammer 3 times over already.

"We're gonna hit that rock"

"Wt%#^@:af: - no we aint $%$53 no $#@&//:af: rock"

"Mike - we're aground again"

" Wt%#^@:af:>>:bsod:no we:bshake:///$%$/5/3:af: // no $#@&//:af:

Semantics but it does take more skill (usually) to catch from shore than a boat but that doesn't mean that only surfcasters are skilled - that same skilled angler 4 times out of 5 will do well almost anywhere they are placed...

swimming out to a rock to catch fish?...I say its time to buy a boat at that point, surf is surf...swimming to boulders20, 50 or 60 yards offshore well, thats suicide..I know, its a "new" thing but if you say you fish from the surf...in my mind that means the beach where the "surf" breaks at terra firma ....not on some rock 60 yards off it..I would say risking life, neck and limb is definatly not worth it and in no way makes someone a better fisherman,most likely its a way to avoid a boat payment and still reach fish, Myself and others never needed to do that to catch fish from the shore:bo:

well, i can tell you it's cheaper to troll a fishing forum than to actually go fishing. :spin:

Surf fishing is for guys who don't have a boat. I've done both and would much rather boat fish. I hope to someday have another boat and I will probably never surf fish again.
Skill? Those who have had the pleasure of boat fishing know what skill it takes to boat fish, especially in total darkness, thick fog, maneuvering through boulder fields and avoiding all the other obstacles out there ie.. lobster pots, channel markers, other boats, etc. That doesn't even include trying to find fish. On a boat, you don't have the security of terra firma under your feet.

:btu:

but is it challanging?! :usd: