Why You Need a Fish Camp Tradition

Getting together with the boys for fun, fellowship and fishing is therapeutic

I haven’t done a fish camp in more than a decade. When I lived in Arkansas, my buddies and I took a couple trips every year and camped, cooked over the fire and went fishing dark to dark. There is something special about getting away with the boys to do some outdoor living and enjoying these incredible resources with folks whose fellowship you enjoy.

I got invited to a friend of a friend’s fish camp up in Illinois earlier this year, and man did it set the tone for my fishing this year. Not just my fishing but also my mood this year. I had just left my 15-year position at Wired2fish and had some downtime, my first in decades. So we loaded up and went to Illinois to fish some strip pit lakes and hang out at his buddy’s family cabin.

We ran around in the woods on side-by-sides, hunted deer antler sheds, cooked up good food, cut up and laughed a whole lot. I tell you, this was a leveling experience for my compass this year. And it set me on the path of gratitude for relationships with other quality outdoorsmen.

Inspiration for improving

It’s the precipice for this newsletter. It got me wanting to connect with a small avid group of anglers who want to improve their fishing and get very detailed documented information around that. But also talk career, outdoor living, travel, life and more. So this is as much about being a better man around our passion pursuits as it is about fishing, outdoors, travel and more.

Early in life it’s all about the fish. Can I catch more? Can I catch the bigger ones?

As you get older it’s about challenges to see if you can figure them out better. Then you see if you can figure out other species. Other lakes. Other times of year. Then it gets really simple. How can I maximize my enjoyment on the water and just be grateful for how much fun fishing is.

"The purpose of fly fishing is not to catch fish but to go to places where fish are caught." - John Gierach

New perspectives and lifetime memories

I have given a ton of my life to the fishing community and the fishing industry. So I’ve been fortunate to meet a tremendous amount of great people who share similar interests with me. As I’ve gotten older, I have relished in the fishing experiences I’ve been able to share with others.

I fish alone a lot and while I do enjoy my time alone to reflect, I really enjoy sharing outdoors memories with other folks. There is something enriching about sharing laughs, stories, experiences, a fire, good food and fellowship in the outdoors on a starry night.

It also will open up your perspective on fishing. Some of the most memorable fishing experiences of my life have been on fun trips where we really didn’t care what bit or how much we caught. It’s an odd thing … when you are an avid angler always chasing more and bigger fish, when you step back and don’t worry with that, the fishing usually surprises you. You catch a giant. You catch a ton. It’s constant action. I’ve had that happen so much on trips where I just went to hang out with the boys.

And when the two of those things happen together, those are the memories that last you a lifetime.

Fish camp stories and experiences

On this year’s fish camp we fished a strip pit lake in Illinois that was loaded with quality panfish but the bass were pretty stunted. So we also enjoyed hammering on big bluegills, red ears and crappie.

On the second day, we spent more time bass fishing, catching a ton of little fish on a jig and a Senko. Then it happened. Mike hooked into a big one. I boated it for him a moment later and we were hooting and hollering across the lake. It was a behemoth over 8 pounds that Mike fooled with a jig. The biggest bass I’ve had in a boat this year. And a dang giant for Illinois.

Simplified fishing

One of the things I love about fish camp is it’s often simple times. We hauled an old beater johnboat that we borrowed, a small trolling motor we borrowed from Mike’s buddy and a Dakota lithium battery I brought. Then a backpack of tackle, a few rods and we were good to for a fun weekend. We hammered them for three days and loved every second of it.

We brought food to cook and snacks to munch on and plenty of cold drinks. It doesn’t get much better than that to me.

Trust me. Keep it simple, and focus on the company and the fellowship. Everything else is just gravy, man.