Fishing vacations that also offer family time...

Here are some places I have vaycayed with family where there are fun non-fishing things for everyone but I can still fish a bit, which is usually accomplished by early morning missions or putting a movie on and ducking out for a couple-few hours:

Hood Canal, Brinnon area (rental right on the water) -- lots of hiking nearby to supplement water times
South Puget Sound, Allyn area (rental on the water)
Packwood, WA (rental on the Cowlitz) -- right by MRNP. Good small stream fishing nearby. Leech lake (Fly Fish only) nearby.
Lake Chelan (rental on the water)
Lake Kachess (USFS campground) -- fishing isn't super great right nearby but there are some small stream options, and the Yakima and Cle Elum Rivers are not too far if you wanted to venture out a bit

My kids are still little (3 & 5) so it's nice to have a yard or some kind of outdoor area to let them run around and yell and get their kid energies out. Staying on the water seems to help enable a little fishing when the opportunity presents itself. So I guess these are family vacations with a bit of fishing.
 
Josh said:
I made this post in Fish in the AM and [B]hang out on the beach with the family in the afternoon[/B]. No, probably wouldn't get me the most amazing fishing adventure, but would be a [B]pretty fun experience overall as far as "family life".[/B]

So, my questions to you all, [B]where would you go if you were looking to find somewhere you could fish part of the day and still have a good time with the family[/B]? So, probably nothing too remote/dangerous, no full day charters/floats, accessibility to [B]family-friendly stuff required[/B] (parks, pools, beaches, activities, etc), and likely [B]bonus points if it's somewhere warm.[/B]

[/QUOTE]
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I'd rent both a houseboat and a tow along 14-foot outboard aluminum boat on one of the large western lakes. Warm to hot, swimming, sunbathing, just hanging out, cove camping, day hikes, sights seeing and photography at water level, fly or conventional fishing for Stripers, Black Bass, Trout, Landlocks or Kokes, panfish, etc. depending on the locale chosen. It can be as social or remote as you choose. Cuts down on food costs.

Lake Powell would be my first choice ( incredible views and you might be able to get in a half day walk in on Lee's Ferry ), followed by a summer to early fall on Lake Shasta, Lake Mead would be near the bottom of my list, but the Striper fishing there can be off the charts. Lake Havasu and it's London Bridge makes an interesting land based drop in for a family photo and lunch or dinner. Late spring or early fall.
 
Living in Hawaii I hope you all come here and I can show you the ropes on fishing here. Camping in Hawaii has gotten much worse over the years, most public places are over run with homeless. VRBO and air bnb’s are a better deal but everything thing here is unable to scale to demand from hotel rooms to restaurants to car rentals. We have one our new cars on turo now trying to help out and make some money on the side. I have guided and fished with many on this board and have tried to help with local deals and free and inexpensive activities like snorkeling with manta rays for free. I am appalled by how tourists are treated and abused here. I know Mingo and others have tried to help visitors out and share Aloha with those who visit.
There are some great spots to vacation with your family and get in some great fishing. Towns like Saratoga, Jackson Hole, Missoula, Banff, etc have great fishing and beautiful scenery and activities like white water rafting, horseback riding etc. I love the West and have taken my family all over and they have many wonderful memories.
More exotic places are exciting and can be very affordable. I love New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Pensacola and Destin are beautiful and have great fishing. Bahamas can be done on the cheap if you go during low demand times and book your own guides. Baja is such a deal, La Paz is a cool town, my son is there now. The fishing is great and there are plenty of other activities for the family. Cerritos beach on the pacific side is a new favorite of mine. Cheap hotels, food, and great surf in a family oriented beach town. If you want something even more exotic look into Fiji, we had a beach front bungalow all meals lots of activities all for a very reasonable rate, much cheaper than Tahiti. Plus you can stay on a number of different islands all while you are there. My advice is to look around for deals and try to make friends with people who live or work there. As most of you know there are two worlds in vacation destinations the locals and everyone else. Fishing can help you make those kind of connections. We all want to see the world and see beautiful places and share it with our families. Some places are not for that. Christmas Island and floating a remote river in Alaska with bears come to mind. Good luck and if any of you come to Hawaii contact me and I will try to help you out, no matter what island you decide on, Mems.
 
mems said:
Living in Hawaii I hope you all come here and I can show you the ropes on fishing here. Camping in Hawaii has gotten much worse over the years, most public places are over run with homeless. VRBO and air bnb’s are a better deal but everything thing here is unable to scale to demand from hotel rooms to restaurants to car rentals. We have one our new cars on turo now trying to help out and make some money on the side. I have guided and fished with many on this board and have tried to help with local deals and free and inexpensive activities like snorkeling with manta rays for free. I am appalled by how tourists are treated and abused here. I know Mingo and others have tried to help visitors out and share Aloha with those who visit.
There are some great spots to vacation with your family and get in some great fishing. Towns like Saratoga, Jackson Hole, Missoula, Banff, etc have great fishing and beautiful scenery and activities like white water rafting, horseback riding etc. I love the West and have taken my family all over and they have many wonderful memories.
More exotic places are exciting and can be very affordable. I love New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, Pensacola and Destin are beautiful and have great fishing. Bahamas can be done on the cheap if you go during low demand times and book your own guides. Baja is such a deal, La Paz is a cool town, my son is there now. The fishing is great and there are plenty of other activities for the family. Cerritos beach on the pacific side is a new favorite of mine. Cheap hotels, food, and great surf in a family oriented beach town. If you want something even more exotic look into Fiji, we had a beach front bungalow all meals lots of activities all for a very reasonable rate, much cheaper than Tahiti. Plus you can stay on a number of different islands all while you are there. My advice is to look around for deals and try to make friends with people who live or work there. As most of you know there are two worlds in vacation destinations the locals and everyone else. Fishing can help you make those kind of connections. We all want to see the world and see beautiful places and share it with our families. Some places are not for that. Christmas Island and floating a remote river in Alaska with bears come to mind. Good luck and if any of you come to Hawaii contact me and I will try to help you out, no matter what island you decide on, Mems.
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Mems, which island are you on?
 
FontinalisFin said:
Sitting on the couch here next to my brown wife, who grew up in that area. We travel back there 3 or 4 times a year and explore all around that region from Dubois Idaho into Montana, and Wyoming. I asked her if she felt uncomfortable there and she said no, everyone is pretty genuinely nice around there. Of course growing up theres the inevitable examples of racism you find anywhere that even I witnessed in a suburb of Portland. I wouldnt write off that area its beautiful.
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I concur. Stunning place for sure. I have lived there. People are people wherever they are. We went as a family 10ish years ago when my best friend got married. It was a fine time.

I was just giving an honest answer. Honestly, I don't love trout fishing so much to even try to pitch the idea. I'd just go with friend(s).

I love Baja. Three yellowtail today.
 

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charles sullivan said:
I concur. Stunning place for sure. I have lived there. People are people wherever they are. We went as a family 10ish years ago when my best friend got married. It was a fine time.

I was just giving an honest answer. Honestly, I don't love trout fishing so much to even try to pitch the idea. I'd just go with friend(s).

I love Baja. Three yellowtail today.
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This is great! Baja is really high on my list. I'm just not super sure what wife and kiddo (he'd be 12+ by the time I did it, so easier I guess) would be doing. Great to hear that it's going great for the entire family.
 
clarkman said:
This is great! Baja is really high on my list. I'm just not super sure what wife and kiddo (he'd be 12+ by the time I did it, so easier I guess) would be doing. Great to hear that it's going great for the entire family.
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I took my kid at 11 and now 14. What you do and how you do it is a budget issue. 12 should work if they fish. Mine does not fish many other places. They do like to adventure though.
 
charles sullivan said:
I took my kid at 11 and now 14. What you do and how you do it is a budget issue. 12 should work if they fish. Mine does not fish many other places. They do like to adventure though.
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fish: no; adventure: god damn right!
 
You're speaking my language! Family vacations with fishing opportunities.
I'll list the ones we've done so far (some multiple times) from highest to lowest, weighted on the fishing factor of course :)

Nassau Bahamas (flew out to Abaco)
Cabo San Lucas
Mauii
Cancun
Oahu
Houston (red fishing in Galveston)
Destin Beach Florida
Lake Chelan

The Salty locations were next to the beach so I can fish it early mornings, I'd be coming home from vacay sleep deprived haha
 
We have been staying at a rental cabin in La Pine. I can usually get some upper deschutes (if there is water) or fall river fishing in the morning and be back after everyone else finishes breakfast. The cabin is right on the deschutes, but the fishing has been poor on that stretch the last few times we've gone.

Sanibel Island in Florida is a great place for families to visit. White sand beaches, plenty of access for fly-fishers. There are resorts you can stay at, but also a lot of condo rentals. Snook, tarpon, jacks, redfish, seatrout, spanish mackerel, and bass in any freshwater pond. If you are there in the summer, you can sight cast to snook on the beach, some go over 20 lbs.
 
+1 for Cabo San Lucas (or really anywhere on the Sea of Cortez side of Baja).

Along with my wife and 2 kids (10 and 7 years old at the time), and another family with 2 kids (8 and 5 years old at the time) we traveled with, I brought a couple rods and a box of flies. We stayed at one of the resorts...Villa del Palmar.

I would get up early every morning, head down to the beach straight in front of the resort we were staying at and fish until the beach goers started coming out. About 6AM to 8/9AM.

There are still waves, so you have to time them, wait till they kind of cancel each other out. Then, with most of your fly line stripped out, chase the wave down the beach, double hauling until the wave reaches its furthest point out, and let your cast fly. Next, start backpedalling, as a new wave will be starting to come in, and start stripping. You will have to backpedal fairly quick, as the wave will come fast. 75% of my casts, fish on! Jack Crevalle, Amber Jack's, even hooked up with a little Rooster that broke me off. Hooked up with some other larger fish I never saw that also broke me off.

After that, go meet the family at the pool, have a cocktail (or 10) until afternoon, and then head downtown for some walking around/shopping/more cocktails, and dinner.

Family never even knows your gone. My wife had even OK'd me to get a guide one day, but I caught a nasty cold on the way down and didn't feel up to it. Honestly, I don't know if I would get a guide if I did it again, I had a blast beach fishing. Once our about to be 2 year old turns 3, we are heading back down, and hope to make it an annual thing.
 
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James St. Clair said:
There are still waves, so you have to time them, wait till they kind of cancel each other out. Then, with most of your fly line stripped out, chase the wave down the beach, double hauling until the wave reaches its furthest point out, and let your cast fly. Next, start backpedalling, as a new wave will be starting to come in, and start stripping. You will have to backpedal fairly quick, as the wave will come fast. 75% of my casts, fish on! Jack Crevalle, Amber Jack's, even hooked up with a little Rooster that broke me off. Hooked up with some other larger fish I never saw that also broke me off.
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Just reading this wore me out. If I was there I might make watching you a spectator sport.:ROFLMAO:
 
Fly to albuquerque, rent an suv, bring light camping gear, head to Chaco Canyon, camp under dark skies and explore the ruins, Next day drive up to maybe Monument valley or Betatkin Cliff dwelling, Head north to Natural Bridges monument, camp there, drive East up Utah 95 and head towards Green River or Moab, maybe do a paddleboard on the Green tour, sneak the rod along, see Arches National Park. Mix it up a little with hotels/motels so family doesn't go nuts. Head East into Colorado and check out Eastern CO, Gunnison Canyon, Durango. Maybe do some fishing there. Turn back towards MEsa Verde and check out more cliff dwellings , maybe Ute Mountain for one final really stunning cliff ruin, head back to Albuquerque, tip one out for Saul Goodman.

Yeah it is a little light on the fishing, but, you know, there's other cool stuff for 11 and 13 year olds to do and if it comes down to Castles, cliff dwellings, true Dark Sky camping, amazingly different-to-WA geology, places to experiment with cool photography etc this would still be awesome.

Just got back from this place a couple of weeks back, Canyon De Chelly- holy smokes---- it is sooooo good

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And this place too, Wupatki ruin near Flagstaff
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We will be at St Pete's Beach (St Petersburg /Tampa Bay) this spring break. Any tips for that area? I plan on fishing the beach early mornings but any spots to check out nearby?
 
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