The Trout Underground Asks: Where Should a Fly Fishermen Retire?
By Tom Chandler on Feb 8, 2007 in Opinion
Though I often ask for responses to my posts, let’s face it - I hardly ever actually read all your drunken replies.
You’re an odd, sometimes frightening offbeat bunch.
However, this time it’s different. I’m actually planning to read the responses.
The Golden Years
You see, I received an e-mail from a loyal Undergrounder who’s been scouring the Oregon/California/Nevada region for a place where he and his wife could live out their Golden Years before going the way of all flesh.
The parameters?
Wild enough for good trout fishing. Civilized enough for good spousal relations. And cheap enough for retirement incomes.
Extra Credit
Knowing that Underground Montana Correspondent Sully is going to weigh in with tales of -30 degree winters, violent bison stampedes and crazed militia gangs (his feeble attempt at halting population growth in the Trouty West), I thought I’d put the question to the readership.
Given the conditions outlined above, where would you retire?
Extra credit points will be awarded to those who - through judicious use of the language - actually dissuade readers from retiring in undiscovered, out-of-the-way spots where you frankly don’t want a lot of old people cluttering things up.
So have at it Undergrounders.
Where would you live out your cranky, cane-waving, “You kids get off my lawn” lives?
Technorati Tags: fly fishing, retirement, retirement planning, trout underground, sully
Snowbug | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
Do NOT join me in the Great State of Jefferson, under penalty of severe injury. And I was a Marine… I’d do it. I can kick yer ass in six differerent languages.
(Maybe I can just SAY ass in six different languages. I forget)
hawgdaddy | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
By the time I reach retirement age, all the good trout rivers will be dammed. The West will be so overpopulated that you couldn’t fly fish in solitude even by hiking 30 miles into the backcountry. Whirling disease, mud snails, etc. will have wiped out what trout are left. Sometimes things look bleak for the fly fisher. I say forget retirement. I’m moving out there now before it’s too late!
Snowbug, you wouldn’t have to deliver a butt-kicking. My wife will do it for you once I inform her we’re moving out West. Her roots run pretty deep here in Alabama. Take care,
hawgdaddy
Yellowstoner | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
If you can keep a secret try Whitefish Montana. Bring your AK, and don’t shave your legs.
Yellowstoner
Pete | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
I would learn Spanish and move to Papagayo, Costa Rica, on the Pacific side. I’d take up surfing again, and buy a kayak and chase after the ridiculous numbers of pacific bonito and small (5-10 pound) yellowfin tuna busting en masse right along the beach. I’d get an all-terrain motorcycle to handle the awful roads to go to the Atlantic Coast for tarpon fishing. I’d road trip to Belize and Guatemala whenever possible. I’d drink great coffee and keep howler monkeys as pets. Of course, this is all contingent on hitting the megamillions ticket. Just a dollar and a dream…
mr.blur | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
I’d love to retire in pagosa springs, colorado.
shhhh!
rriver | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
Yes, please keep your sagging butt out of Southern Oregon. You’ll just tangle the line to that stupid oxygen tank you carry around on the blackberry bushes that line the river anyway.
When Snowbug gets done with you, I’ll steal your SS money out of your wallet, take your dentures, and unscrew the wheels on your walker.
- rriver
guy | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
” There’s no place like home.”
My fishing partner and I have had this conversation numerous times in the past and always reach the same conclusion. We are blessed to live in the sierra foothills with many trout streams and lakes within a 1 to 2 hour drive, the upper/lower Sac in 3 1/2 hours, steelhead within 20 min and the ocean 2 hours away. We can reach most of the premier western water inside of a day.
Being a half hour from Sacramento and as close to San Francisco as I want to be also keeps the wife happy.
In a nutshell, I ain’t goin’ nowhere!
Sully | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
You forgot the omnipresent grizzly bears and the apex predator- vicious, offal eating realtors. Mosquitoes and rattlesnakes can be thick at times. No chain pickerel in our whole economically downcast, drought-ridden state.
Colorado is nice.
Pete | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
I forgot to add, don’t anyone else retire to Costa Rica. I’ve got a Crossman 760 Pumpmaster, and I’m not afraid to ratchet it up to 11.
Larry Swearingen | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
This subject is very real to me. I’m bailing out of the
work world in mid June.
We are putting the house on the market and Southern
California can kiss-my-ass thank you very much.
The wife and I are going to northeastern Indiana where
her mother and brother still live.
I will miss fishing trips to NorCal a huge amount but I can’t retire and live there, even if the wife would go.
Fort Wayne, IN is about half an hours drive from Southern Michigan and maybe two hours to the nearest
Steelhead river. Lot’s of warmwater fishing locally and
5 hours from the Au Sable river.
Counting down.
Larry Swearingen
rriver | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
All kidding aside, this is a difficult issue. In the last 10 years, property has exploded in Montana, Idaho and Northern California and Southern Oregon. I think there is too much population up North, so not on the list (Northern Oregon, Wash). The tricky thing is to find that right place between no where and somewhere, so you have good fishing, and can still find a decent restaurant, a good grocery store and some decent shopping. It’s a tough balance.
- rriver
Paul aka Loon | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
I hate to potentially give you company ;-) …but, I would say Dunsmuir or Truckee depending the spouses love or not of skiing or small towns.
clara chandler | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
My heart will heal after knowing what you think of your parents. You really took yourself out of the will this time. If we are able to make it north for another vacation we will not bother you. And we will not fish your fish either. But we will enjoy ourselves anyhow. You forget how smart we get.
Mama
C4CRaine | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
Somebody is in trouble now!….Tom! My vote would be for anywhere in Idaho, my trip out there was one of the best times of my life (take that as you like, cause I’m nowhere near retirement age) and ya, I did quite a lot of fishing for those that didn’t get the SITREPs provided by this fine online ‘institution.’ (ps - colorado has some nice water to throw your line at, and it’s not hard, or far, to find solitarity or populace when you want a change.
Tom Chandler | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
Quiet everyone! My parents are home…
Matt Dunn | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
Well, to take this query a bit more seriously, State College PA and Asheville NC. Both are growing retirement meccas with vibrant culture and almost city-like amenities (Asheville more than State College). And both are surrounded by some of the best fly fishing in the east.
I’d say Asheville is the more desirable place to retire in that it’s winters are mild and it’s a decent size town. State College is smallish and possibly more isolated than Asheville. But the fishing is a hair better. At least more venerated. And if you like college sports and the other attractions that a large university brings it’s the place to be.
Randy | Feb 8, 2007 | Reply
I fish with retired folks. They fish all the time. When they don’t fish, they’re tying flies or drinking a beer and talking about fishing. They are the greatest resource for trout fishing knowledge on the planet, unassuming, and always have a beer handy when necessary.
They aren’t fishing in a warm climate, and are only visiting for a short time if they do.
Their locations are kept a secret, but they’ll tell everyone that the Rocky Mountains are clearly the best. :)
Clay | Feb 9, 2007 | Reply
Just don’t come to west or north Michigan, who needs blue ribbon trout streams, Lake Michigan and its sandy beaches, Lake fishing for Salmon, Steelhead, Muskee, Browns. Or the rivers O’ plenty or the kind people and Hell, no one here has a job anymore anyway so you would fit right in! We just want your retirement money to enrich our local economy.
kbarton10 | Feb 9, 2007 | Reply
I think Redding, CA deserves a nod. Large enough population to have a Starbucks (which will please the wife) and close enough to all the best California rivers, to make a fisherman count his options.
I lived there for five years, and yes - it can be plenty hot. But this is retirement, so you are only outside if you want to be.
Forty minutes up the road is Lassen Park, which is about 30 degrees cooler than the valley, just head that direction for fishing in August…
Trinity River has steelhead, Klamath has salmon, all are close by. Lots of upland birds available for hunters (fly tyers).
As the wife will have the final say, I would err on the side of civilization, and act surprised when she mentions the fishing.
“…your right, Sweetness, I hadn’t noticed that the Sacramento river goes right through downtown..”
Heddon17 | Feb 10, 2007 | Reply
I agree with rriver that the decision on where to relocate to once one bails out of the work world is a tough call.
In addition to the factors mentioned already a couple more to consider are health care and out of area travel costs. The older one gets, the more important it is to live reasonably close to a good health care facility. This factor can be tough to achieve in rural parts of MT, WY and other remote areas of western states. So that’s one factor to consider.
The other factor is travel costs. How much are you planning to travel once you retire? How far do your kids, relatives, close friends, live from you? I’m not signaling out Montana per say but our family does have property in the far northwest corner of the state so I can definitely say that its a long drive to even a small commercial airport.
The same is true of most towns in Montana for that matter. While not having the associated hassles of a big city nearby, etc. is nice in its own way it DOES make for some real logistical problems if you have to travel/fly to a different part of the country. The costs associated with these planned and occasional unplanned trips can add up. So if you are planning on traveling a good deal once you retire, moving to a town/city close to a good sized airport might be a better option.
Building a home in certain parts of MT can be a real challenge due to weather conditions, terrain and the cost of shipping/transporting building materials/supplies. This can get expensive in a hurry.
Brian
Tom Chandler | Feb 10, 2007 | Reply
Nearby health care? I’m not planning on any extended hospital stays.
I’m going to be healthy - right up until the day the clock runs out, the ticker stops, and I pitch face forward into the river.
Living near an airport? That’s a useful thing. Makes trips to other fly fishing destinations less troublesome.
Smithhammer | Feb 10, 2007 | Reply
I wish I could recommend the small town in eastern Idaho that I live in, but regretably I would do you a disservice. You see, my lowly town has nary a single Starbucks, Applebees, Wal Mart, nor even Home Depot for that matter. How this town survives being so cut off off from the basic essentials of life is a modern day wonder and a continual life and death struggle for us residents. But our conundrum is not so intriguiing that you should find yourself compelled to drive here and gain a better understanding of what life was like before 1985. If only that were all I could offer to dissuade you poor (well, probably wealthy, actually), soon-to-be-retired masses from casting about for dream digs. Sadly, in addition, the lack of viable trout water within a 3-block radius of my home is discouraging to say the least. Of course, if you’re willing to expand your idea of nearby fishing to include wild cutthroat a whole 10 minute bike ride away, and enough fishy water to last several lifetimes within a 1 hr. drive, well, then yes, I suppose there is some fishing here. But still it’s nothing to write home about, particularly of you live here, because then you’d be writing to yourself, here, which is rather silly. So no, in all good faith, I can’t recommend my town. But if you’re passing through, I’d highly recommend the huckleberry milkshakes at the Emporium. But then keep moving. Trust me.
Larry Swearingen | Feb 10, 2007 | Reply
Well Tom, Ihink you have some reasonable health care
right there in Mt. Shasta. If that isn’t enough then
just roll down the hill to Redding.
Larry S
ps. Isn’t this one of the more-relied-to subjects that
you have posted yet ?