Thinking of becoming a full-time fishing hobbyist as part of your empty-nest dream? You have our full support! But first, here are some practicalities that will make your hobby fishing life all the better.
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Practical Realities of Hobby Fishing
Now that you’re empty-nesting, there are many new lifestyles and life focuses worth getting excited about, many that are shared by a large swathe of the population. For instance, who hasn’t imagined driving off into the sunset to live in a foreign country and enjoy the beautiful, restorative climate once in a while?
Maybe you’ve worked a high-class and high-paced inner-city job and you find yourself desiring to give it all up to open a small pottery shop in a little town one day. We all have our intentions and goals in the long run; those that we dream of enacting when we can afford such luxury or when we have time to do so.
Becoming a hobbyist fisher is certainly one of these activities. It can be very romantic to imagine your mornings spent out on the lake or sea, relaxing on the boat with your partner, pulling in catches or following where the best fish may be. Plus, it will help keep you feeling young.
However, like any long-term fantasy, it’s very important to consider the practical realities and what they might mean in the long run. Then you can focus on actually structuring this life change in the best way, rather than jumping in impulsively–as tempting as that may be.
So, let’s consider what it might look like to live your fishing dream of hobby fishing, including:
- Learning to Sail & Row
- Living on A Home on the Water
- Know How Fillet and Store Fish
- Perfecting Your Fishing Skills
- Final Thoughts for the Fishing Hobbyist
The Fishing Hobbyist Learns To Sail & Row
Owning your own boat can be a tremendous freedom, akin to the freedom you feel when getting your driver’s license, only this time a little more romantic. That said, boats are, of course, supplicant to their proper handling.
It’s important to learn correct radio protocols to call in emergencies, for instance, which can mean owning certain models based on their area of coverage and clear audio and microphone operation even in wet conditions.
In addition, learning to sail could mean:
- Learning to rig your sails correctly
- What the technical terms of the boat mean
- How to maintain the boat
- How to ensure the safety of everyone on board, such as through maintaining life rings
It’s also important to consider the sailing conditions and learning to read the weather and the seas, including:
- What grey clouds might signify in a certain area
- How to read the strength of wind and what that means for having to anchor
- Most importantly, how to comply by the coast guards essential rules.
In this respect, we can treat the water with the respect it deserves, and keep our vessels safe.
Related: 7 Useful Fishing Safety Tips For An Epic & Unforgettable Trip
Living Close to the Water as Hobby Fisherman
Of course, if you’re dreaming big, what could be better for a fishing hobbyist than living in a waterfront home, practicing the latest fishing tips?
Whether it’s a cottage on the lake or property on the Cape Cod coastline, it’s important to know how to maintain your home when you live next to the water.
For example, implementing flood defenses and renovating the runoffs where appropriate could be an important use of your time. You want to ensure that even heavy rainfall doesn’t damage your property.
It’s also a good idea to implement worthwhile floating boat lifts, as they offer a means of retrieving and storing your boat from and above the water, respectively.
In this way, tailoring your home and exterior property allows for a suitable connection to the waterfront, and potentially avoids difficult outcomes.
With a waterfront home comes additional responsibilities, but the rewards are great: you’ll feel like you belong in this home, as you’ll know its various ins and outs and what’s expected from you as its owner.
Know How To Fillet & Store Fish
Of course, fishing allows you to eat seafood straight from the source. This is a beautiful thing to enjoy, especially if you’re a foodie, or if you value fresh food with extremely high nutritional content.
First, it’s important to understand the licenses you may need to pay for to fish in certain areas. In some cases, this might define just what kinds of fish it permits you to pull out of the waters, and those which you’re not.
Furthermore, it can also be worthwhile to consider just what potential you have to sell to restaurants as a hobbyist provider. (Who said hobbies can’t be profitable?) In some countries, it is more acceptable to sell your catch to restaurants; in others, it is not. So, do some research ahead of time so this doesn’t come as a surprise.
If you don’t know how already, you’ll want to get a suitable knife and learn the proper way to fillet fish, wasting little. It’s also important for you to determine the best ways to freeze or salt fish to preserve it. These skills will serve you well in that they:
- Lead to safe handling of your catch
- Ensure you aren’t wasteful
- Make sure your fish tastes wonderful!
These skills are especially valuable for seafood lovers to learn.
In fact, it may even inspire you to become an expert and start your own little fishing smallholding replete with consumer-standard breeding practices and storage solutions.
Increasingly, governments are turning to hobbyist fisheries to help with conservation or to encourage growing numbers of species in a certain area. To that effect, your presence on the seafront could have a very positive impact.
Remember, this next chapter in your life holds new opportunities!
Understand and Research the Fishing Lifestyle
Of course, depending on where you live or choose to travel, fishing can become quite the intensive art.
It’s important then, to do your research and to understand:
- Just where certain fish are likely to be
- If they are protected species
- If hobbyist users are permitted to fish those waters
- What local initiatives are doing to provide a worthwhile service.
For instance, you may learn plenty by taking the day to visit a caviar farm and to see the amazing, ripe sturgeon they raise to farm it. Many ethically sourced caviar farms like this are leading the way in terms of ethical and sustainable fish farming, and this could potentially inspire you in your own hobbyist action.
No matter what, learning the ropes from various sources and keeping a respect for the water will be healthy, whenever and wherever you travel as an empty-nester—or settle down and live abroad.
That, in effect, can help you move from becoming a simple amateur fisher to someone involved in the local scene, potentially even curating business connections to make use of supply and demand.
Final Thoughts on Becoming A Fishing Hobbyist
Whether you hope to travel far and wide to enjoy your taste for seafood, or you’re simply looking for a beautiful house on the waterfront, no doubt you’ll find plenty of time for fishing. When you integrate the science and art of hobbyist fishing, you’ll be rewarded with a better and more enjoyable lifestyle.
And, with the advice in this article, you will be prepared to embrace all your empty-nesting fishing dreams!
Related: 5 Bucket List Fishing Trips You’ll Love in Incredible World Destinations
This article is a collaborative post and may contain affiliate links. As always, all opinions expressed are my own. For more information, please see the following Disclosure.
Photo credits: Fishing – Lum3n, Fish on ice, Fish Market – (Pexels); Fishing boat – orythys (Pixabay)