There’s something uniquely thrilling about a fishing road trip — the blend of adventure, anticipation, and the promise of whatever awaits just beyond the next bend. It’s not just about where you’re going; it’s as much about the journey as it is the destination. Whether it’s winding through mountain passes, cruising along coastal highways, or carving through misty back roads, every twist and turn holds the potential for unexpected stories and unforgettable moments. Each stop along the way offers a new body of water, a fresh challenge, and a story waiting to unfold.
Road trips don’t need to be extravagant, well-thought-out affairs. As soon as I got my driver’s license, I took to the road with a car load of friends in pursuit of whatever we could find whenever possible.
The Old Days
These first trips were before the advent of smartphones or GPS, and truth be told, we often forgot the map. We just pointed the car north in pursuit of whatever we could find, with just enough camping gear, food, and fishing equipment to get us through the weekend. Sometimes we stumbled onto a honey hole we never knew about and experienced fast action that we still talk about decades later. Other times the fishing was lackluster, and we simply enjoyed the thrill of the open road. No matter how it turned out, it was always fun.
Such a trip can also be about discovery. A college friend of mine once heard a rumor of a small pocket of arctic char located just this side of Canada in the remote reaches of northern Maine. We loaded up my truck and headed 14 hours north toward what we hoped would be our first arctic char. Unfortunately, the wind had other plans for us, and it blew a gale the entire time.
We did our best to fish the ponds, but it would prove difficult as our boats got pushed around and we ended up enjoying good fishing for native brookies on the tiny streams that fed those ponds. Even though we didn’t get to catch the fish we were after, we had the trip of a lifetime discovering a new area and camping under a Super Moon.
Setting Out On Your Own
Sometimes, road trips are about solitude. A few times a year, I’ll hit the road on my own. I’ll turn my phone off, or even better, go somewhere where it doesn’t work. I’ll pack a kayak or a float tube, go to the loneliest stretch of water I can find, and just take it all in. As a bonus, those quiet waters often offer excellent fishing.
Evenings are best spent by the fire, eating a meal cooked over the coals and watching the sun dip below the horizon while listening to the chorus of frogs and distant barred owls. The morning promises another hot bite, all to myself. And floating along quietly all by lonesome, I’m all but guaranteed to have plenty of visits from wildlife, adding to the adventure.
Hitting The Road Abroad
Hitting the road is also a great way to see a country. For our honeymoon, my wife and I wanted to visit Iceland. To do so, we would circumnavigate the island nation via its ring road, making stops at as many scenic locations as we could. Of course, that involved fishing.
We made a detour into the country’s highlands, and I was able to connect with the char that had so far eluded me. The fishing was so good that my wife and I were often both hooked up, and doubles of good fish were commonplace. We also went out on a headboat in Reykjavík, catching cod minutes from the harbor. The fishing is something we’ll always remember, but the rugged landscape that often resembles something the Mars Rover beamed back, plus all the puffins and whales were just as memorable.
The Classic Family Road Trip
One summer, I had the pleasure of working for the Fish and Wildlife Service in a remote field camp 12 nautical miles outside of Valdez. My wife eventually grew tired of hearing about how wonderful it was, and started planning an epic adventure. Jeanne, my son Charlie, and I touched down in Anchorage, picked up a camper van (which Charlie promptly named “Vanny VanAwesome”), and covered 1,500 miles of open road in two weeks.
We took Homer, then Seward, Talkeetna, Denali, Fairbanks, Chena Hot Springs, detoured in North Pole to visit Santa, Delta Junction, Glenn Allen, and finally Valdez before returning to Anchorage for our flight out. Of course, we did plenty of fishing along the way, targeting rainbow trout, grayling, halibut, lingcod and more. Charlie had such a good time that he made a photobook of the trip, and he goes through it frequently.
Everyday Road Trips and Surprises
Of course, grand journeys like that are the exception and not the rule. But most weekends in the summer, you can find us on the road, boat in tow or with a canoe on the roof. We’ll go somewhere new, or somewhere familiar, and enjoy getting there. We’ll drink up the scenery on the way, detour into whatever roadside attraction we can find (world’s largest ball of twine anyone?), be on the lookout for diners, and spend as much time on the water as possible. We’ll catch some fish, do some swimming, and maybe get in a hike or two. And don’t forget the stop for ice cream on the way home. I never do.
There’s something about the spontaneity that road trips can provide. Last summer, the aurora borealis dipped low into the states. I thought there just might be a chance to see it not far from home, so I drove into the darkness with a buddy. The Northern Lights gave us a show that night, dancing above us as we caught stripers in the breaking surf. It was an incredible sight, and it only cost me a few gallons of gas and some lost sleep. And I got to take it all in just because I was ready to see what was out there at a moment’s notice.
There’s a unique kind of thrill that comes with hitting the open road, windows down and music up, as the world unfolds one mile at a time. So this summer, drop a gear and disappear with some of your closest friends and family members. Pack a map, ignore it, and go wherever the road takes you. You might just find your next favorite fishing hole.
