Fishing

[coltow]

Has anyone ever done the fishing trips offered at WDW? DH will be having a birthday while on our next trip and I was thinking about booking this for him and the other guys in our group. I'm just wondering 2 things, if it's worth the money and which resort would be better for them to go from (we'll be at POFQ).

 

[Craig & Lisa]

You can leave from POR, but when we did it last Nov we went out of the Contemporary, it was really great you go from 7 seas lagoon to bay lake and they will take you anywhere you want to go. Then I know of a very large bass at the launch at DHS(formaly MGM) I've seen it a number of times and hasd to be at least 10 inches long. Enjoy, 30 days and counting till visit 17......... NOT SOON ENOUGH!!!:sohappy:

 

[sbkline]

In my opinion, "catch and release" isn't worth the money. If I go fishing, I intend to eat the fish I catch. I don't haul all that gear and waste all that time just to throw them back in.

 

[kennyj29]

My husband absolutley loves the fishing there. It's only two hours, but it's so nice fishing in Bay Lake. I go with him as well as my daughter and son. We have a great time everytime we go. We take the 7:00 fishing time and that way we still have plenty of day left to do other things. We love the fishing. What a great surprise that would be.

 

[rob45]

I fished out of Fort Wilderness with a guide last October. We started by the contempory, then dashed over to the poly and also fished in front of the Magic Kingdom. The trip was worth it, how many people can say that they fished in front of the MK. We caught several fish, all in the 10-12 inch range. You also get a 1 year subscription to BASS magazine as part of your fishing trip.

 

[Nansafan]

In my opinion, "catch and release" isn't worth the money. If I go fishing, I intend to eat the fish I catch. I don't haul all that gear and waste all that time just to throw them back in.

I thought the fishing excursions supply all the necessary equipment so you wouldn't need to bring anything.

 

[wdwmouse]

My husband also loves to fish. We have done the two hour excursions twice. Once from Yacht and Beach Club and once from Poly. It was awesome, and I don't even like to fish. You get all the equipment, bait, a guide (who will handle the fish if you don't want to) and beverages. Both of our boys loved it as well. From Y & B, we went into the World Showcase Lagoon,which was super. You have to get out of that area when WS opens, but we caught many huge fish in there. I'd recommend doing it, even for non-fishermen.

 

[ThinkTink721]

Has anyone ever done the fishing trips offered at WDW? DH will be having a birthday while on our next trip and I was thinking about booking this for him and the other guys in our group. I'm just wondering 2 things, if it's worth the money and which resort would be better for them to go from (we'll be at POFQ).

POR has The Fishin' Hole.
My DH & 2 DSs have been there twice.
It's great for kids!

 

[Craig & Lisa]

I thought the fishing excursions supply all the necessary equipment so you wouldn't need to bring anything.

Yes they do, but you can bring your own gear too, there are some who like to use there own and the guides have no problem with it. They have a very good knowledge of the areas that you will be in, so it would have to be a really bad day for no one on the boat to catch something.

 

[Eyorefan]

I think he would love it.

I got this one year when we brought my dad, (who is not big on WDW) and he loved it! We had a great time, our tour guide was really nice and fun to talk with. In the two hours we were there I think we caught over 20 fish between my Dad, myself and my DD. I think it was worth the money. We were staying at the Poly so we left from there, but we had to stop over at FW at the end to pay and everything. Can you leave from there and save the extra trip?

 

[Craig & Lisa]

Can you leave from there and save the extra trip?

As far as I know you can be let off wherever you like, or happen to be. When we went last Nov though we had to go back to CR, because we had a 7am start and that's where we left the car.

 

[coltow]

My husband also loves to fish. We have done the two hour excursions twice. Once from Yacht and Beach Club and once from Poly. It was awesome, and I don't even like to fish. You get all the equipment, bait, a guide (who will handle the fish if you don't want to) and beverages. Both of our boys loved it as well. From Y & B, we went into the World Showcase Lagoon,which was super. You have to get out of that area when WS opens, but we caught many huge fish in there. I'd recommend doing it, even for non-fishermen.

Which place did you prefer? I was going to try to send him out of POR seeing as we'll be at FQ, but now I'm thinking it may be a better experience to send him from someplace else. With the WDW transportation, I'm assuming it would be easier for the guys to get back and forth from the MK resorts than from EPCOT resorts, but I'd really like to know which you liked better. Thanks

 

[wdwmouse]

I would have to say we liked the Epcot fishing best. But, you should make it an early trip since you can't stay in the World Showcase Lagoon once it opens. That is where we caught the most fish and they were HUGE! I couldn't believe the size of the mouth of those bass when I reeled them in. To get there from POR, we took a bus to MGM, then the boat to Yacht Club. We didn't have a car.

 

[Merry Rose]

No, it's not worth the $

Fishing for $110 per hour - no it's not worth it. It's catch and release and the waters have really gotten polluted. We drove to the keys and had a deep sea excursion for $750 for 8 hours for 6 people. We kept the fish and had it mailed home. We will have Blackfin Tuna and Mahi Mahi for the winter.
If you want to go out on the water, just ride back and forth between Fort and MK. It's pretty much the same thing. And it's free.

 

[sbkline]

I thought the fishing excursions supply all the necessary equipment so you wouldn't need to bring anything.

That may be, but the fact still remains that I think it's a waste of time if all you are going to do is throw it back in. I don't invest the time to catch a fish just so I can throw it back in the water. If I catch 'em, I intend to see them on my dinner plate. Unless they are too small to keep.

However, when I'm at WDW, the last thing I want to mess with is figuring out what to do with a fish once I catch it, given that I'm not into this "catch and release" business. It's not like I can take it back to the room and fry it up.

So, whether it's catch and release or not, I guess the bottom line is that fishing is not worth the time nor the money at WDW. In my opinion, of course.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I am soooo not a fishing person. My DH, however, loves to fish and just recently bought his dream bass boat. That said...

...my husband and 2 sons have done the WDW fishing twice and absolutely loooooved it. I didn't go because it's not my thing so I opted to sleep in. I think a lot of what you get out of the experience depends on what your preferrences are. If you're like the other poster who finds fishing rewarding by having the fish dinner, then of course WDW's catch and release program wouldn't be your thing. The two times my guys went out it was more for the time they got to spend together doing a father/son thing. Of course it's Disney and the guide knew the good places to fish. They caught a lot of sizeable fish, took great pics, and had a lot of fun. According to the DH, the guide was also very helpful with the boys even offering to watch after their lines so Dad could turn his attention to catching a few himself. Both trips were wonderful. The kids both still rave about WDW fishing. For my family the fishing was worth every dime and then some. I guess that's why the guide got really nice tips both times.

Oh, the OP asked about location. The first trip was from Wilderness Lodge, I think. I know the 2nd was from the Contemporary. Both times the DH drove our car over to the resort. It was very early and I don't think the Disney transportation was running then. DH stated that launching from the Contemporary was easier for him because it was easy getting in and out. If you don't have your own car to drive to the different resorts I would mention it when making the reservation. Perhaps arrangements can be made to accomodate your party. Worst case scenario you would need to catch a cab at least on the way over if you do the early excursion.

 

[MinnieLee]

I surprised my husband for our anniversay with the fishing trip. We were picked up at Boardwalk and when he realized what was happening he told me we were not going to catch anything. Within 5 minutes out on the water we had both caught fish. We went down to MGM stopping along the way. Our guide then took us up to the EPCOT lagoon entrance and the Friendship captain waived us in to EPCOT where we took one ride around. What an experience. All in all, we caught approx. 30 fish in two hours. Yes, it was a little expensive but nothing something you do every trip. The catch and release was fine with us and we do go fishing off the waters on Long Island. We had a great time. We say give it a try :slurp:

 

[coltow]

I am soooo not a fishing person. My DH, however, loves to fish and just recently bought his dream bass boat. That said...

...my husband and 2 sons have done the WDW fishing twice and absolutely loooooved it. I didn't go because it's not my thing so I opted to sleep in. I think a lot of what you get out of the experience depends on what your preferrences are. If you're like the other poster who finds fishing rewarding by having the fish dinner, then of course WDW's catch and release program wouldn't be your thing. The two times my guys went out it was more for the time they got to spend together doing a father/son thing. Of course it's Disney and the guide knew the good places to fish. They caught a lot of sizeable fish, took great pics, and had a lot of fun. According to the DH, the guide was also very helpful with the boys even offering to watch after their lines so Dad could turn his attention to catching a few himself. Both trips were wonderful. The kids both still rave about WDW fishing. For my family the fishing was worth every dime and then some. I guess that's why the guide got really nice tips both times.

Oh, the OP asked about location. The first trip was from Wilderness Lodge, I think. I know the 2nd was from the Contemporary. Both times the DH drove our car over to the resort. It was very early and I don't think the Disney transportation was running then. DH stated that launching from the Contemporary was easier for him because it was easy getting in and out. If you don't have your own car to drive to the different resorts I would mention it when making the reservation. Perhaps arrangements can be made to accomodate your party. Worst case scenario you would need to catch a cab at least on the way over if you do the early excursion.

Thanks for the great information. The trips are offered at a few different times so in order to make sure they get there I might plan on a later time, in which case a MK monorail resort would be better.

 

[Eyorefan]

That may be, but the fact still remains that I think it's a waste of time if all you are going to do is throw it back in. I don't invest the time to catch a fish just so I can throw it back in the water. If I catch 'em, I intend to see them on my dinner plate. Unless they are too small to keep.

However, when I'm at WDW, the last thing I want to mess with is figuring out what to do with a fish once I catch it, given that I'm not into this "catch and release" business. It's not like I can take it back to the room and fry it up.

So, whether it's catch and release or not, I guess the bottom line is that fishing is not worth the time nor the money at WDW. In my opinion, of course.

Well, it's great fishing for a non fish person. I don't eat fish. I don't even like to touch fish and I still liked the fishing excursion. I didn't have to hold the fish or even bait the line. We leave near the gulf so I have been draged on a number of deep sea fishing exsurstions, and I have to say that hands down, this was the best fishing I have ever done anywhere.