Originally Posted by rickair7777

This pretty much sum sit up on the west coast. As the actual fishing opportunities have declined, the people I know have all shifted to mexico, game management/tracking contracts, or both.

I would think the best approach would be to try to get on with a company that tracks/surveys wildlife. This is similar flying and you might meet an off-season fish-spotter or two for networking. Wildlife tracking is more likely to be done by a company which employs pilots as opposed to owner-operators...they operate on a fixed-price contract.

Spotters are less likely to hire anyone else to fly their plane...they usually only get paid if they find fish (on a percentage-of-catch basis), and one big catch can make or break your whole year! Those guys are not going to be kicking back in the hanger while a low-time (or low-experience) pilot is out there missing the catch! They will fly16-20 hours if needed.

If you get into fishing keep your head on a swivel and buy a portable TCAS if the plane doesn't have one.

If I had a choice (and I do), I'd rather be a regional FO. Well I guess if my choice was mesa or fishing, I'd have to go fishing.