How Old Is Too Old To Fish?

[Feathers and Fins]

My Grandfather Past away at 78 and had a fishing trip planed with me that weekend and a 3 week Tuna trip planned for the summer. I think so long as you are capable and honest with your limitations you will be fine.

[cnr]

I dunno, I still go at it pretty hard at 53. I will admit I don't start as early as I used to though, 10-12 hours of hard fishing and wading are enough usually. I figure if I keel over on the stream I died a happy man!

[Wayne SW/MO]

say put on a good PFD,

That is one consession I make to age, I don't go the water without one and I never take it off.

[duckydoty]

^{I had a guest last year up in Alaska........94 years old. He fished hard all day, He even did a little wade fishing. Grant you, most of the fishing was done from a boat, but he could still fling a spinning rod a long ways out and he had a great time fighting 10 pound silver salmon all day long.}

[fly2fish]

My knee began giving problems in my mid to late 40's until it affected my fishing and made it hard to get up and down the stairs at Taney, so in 2007 at age 49 I had a complete knee replacement was out 10 weeks and was back up to full speed within 6 months. So if something starts to wear out just get it replaced. My mother fished Taney until she had a stroke at 81. I joke to my wife I don't want to be buried or cremated but freeze dried and ground into trout food.

F2F

[Mitch f]

Gosh I hope I'm never too old, I wouldn't have any reason to live if I couldn't fish. At 51 I have slowed a bit but I still think I could carry a 40 lbs pack 8 or 10 miles into the back country, that is as long as my knees don't give out, and my back doesn't act up, and my heart doesn't fail me, and.....

Oh well I guess maybe I can't, but by god I'm going to enjoy the heck out of doing what I can.

51 is a great age!

[LarrySTL]

If we make it to 65 , those of us in MO do not need fishing licenses

[Al Agnew]

I'll be 60 this year, and I can't imagine not fishing. However, I have to admit that I've been very fortunate. Nothing seems to be wearing out...I still play basketball twice a week, if I take the time to warm up properly I can still throw a baseball with decent speed, and I can cast with spinning rod, casting rod, or fly rod all day long without anything bothering me. Once I figured out to drink more fluids and get out of the canoe and stretch, I can still take the canoe down the river 14 hours, daylight to dark, without being in any kind of misery (tired, though!). Or I can wade 4 or 5 miles through the brush and slick rocks.

More to the point, my dad is in his mid-80s, and can still fish for bass. His biggest problem comes from more than 50 years of smoking. He quit about 20 years ago, but too late--he now has serious COPD and heart problems. And he's finally getting to where it's a real struggle to get in and out of the boat, or move from the trolling motor to running the big motor, and loading the boat has gotten to be almost impossible. Up until this spring he often went fishing by himself, but he went once this spring and had to have a guy at the boat ramp help him out of the boat.

I was neighbors in Montana with a guy in his mid-90s who still fly fished. I took him and his almost as old wife on a raft trip on the Yellowstone a couple years ago, and he fished hard for several hours.

So basically, as long as you're physically able to go, you go.

[Mitch f]

I think joint health plays a major role. Not that I have any, I'm only 51, but the one oral supplement they actually have concrete data on that really helps is glucosamin and chondroitin. All the tests conclude that it rebuilds the padding in your joints. Most other supplements are a waste of money and too much hype. I think fish oil is one of the good ones also.

[Cindyjo]

You will never be too old to fish. But you will become more selective when you choose to fish. Keep challenging yourself and try to beat your last record. And wear your PFD.