What is it about Fishing?

What is it about Fishing?
Coming off of a long and cold winter will make each and every one of us think of the warmer days ahead on the water. Not that we don't have a great winter fishery, but the thought of long cold boat rides just doesn't say let's go fishing like a warm summer day.

This is the time of year that I begin to watch the fronts and water temperatures, awaiting the cobia migration. As the water warms we will see the kingfish start to move in shallower and the wahoo follow close behind as they move in off the shelf. Many of us spend the cool days working on a boat and getting it prepared for upcoming trips. This is the time for repairing reels, checking safety equipment and inventorying our supplies as if we are going into battle.

When it comes to our sport we put an exorbitant amount of effort into the smallest of details. We polish wax and clean. Review notes of prior season's trips, research and study bottom structure, and pay the closest attention to weather conditions. We purchase the latest and greatest reels, rods and gadgets that we are convinced we need to give us the slightest edge on our next outing.

We figure out how to go further, get there faster and beat the chickens to the sunrise so that we are the first person on the fishing spot. Once the fishing bug has hit us we will go to all lengths and spare no expense to accomplish our goal of catching a fish.

Considering what we put into our sport of fishing I have to wonder how many of us ever slow down long enough to ask ourselves why. Why do we do it? Why do we fish? What is it about fishing that captures us and leads us down this lifelong pursuit? The novelist John Buchan once said "The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope."

While that quote may make us think about the allure of fishing it doesn't answer why. Is it because; maybe fishing is a metaphor for life? We plan, we prepare, we do the best we know how, some days we win and some we don't, but even then we are just thankful to be there and enjoying another day. I asked this very question of a few charter boat captains and got a wide range of responses, and as with most fishermen very few were fit for print, but the one that stuck with me the most was that fishing set him at peace with nature. The part that reached him deepest was the connection with nature on a pure animalistic level.

I'm not completely sure I see the full scope of what he meant but I think that there may be some instinct left from our hunting and gathering ancestors that each and every one of us feels the need to fulfill. There is something to be said for catching one's food and enjoying the results but I really don't think that is the actual reason why we fish.

When it comes to our sport one of the most stated comments that we have all heard is that even a bad day of fishing beats a good day at work. That is obviously an easy statement to make and it relates to the entire experience. It speaks to the time away from the familiar grind of everyday life. The outing is an escape from daily worries and the pressures of the world in general.

I have seen serious studies, probably backed by your tax money, on the physical and mental health benefits of fishing. While I have no doubt that there is probably some validity to that thought, I seriously doubt that anyone has ever crawled out of bed at 4:30 solely for the purpose of how healthy it would be to go fishing today. For some, their reason may be simple, but that is a bit of a stretch.
I'm not sure that my original question can be answered or summed up in a few paragraphs. It is something that each of us would find a different answer for. None of which are right or wrong, but simply a reflection of what drives a sportsman.

There are lots of reasons that people fish. Some, me for example, do it for a living, but that isn't why I started or what truly drives my passion. Some fish for food and others purely for pleasure. Most, I believe, find enjoyment because it is something we do by choice. While there may be some disappointment, there isn't any pressure to be successful, except that which we place on ourselves.

To me fishing is about opportunity. It's an opportunity to be outside in the sun and wind. It's an opportunity to just clear one's mind and wonder or daydream. It's the opportunity to spend time with friends and loved ones without the annoyances of cell phones and outside influences. And it's the opportunity to succeed, if we are skilled enough or just down right lucky enough to catch that which is barely obtainable, or if not, then just simply enjoy that perpetual series of occasions for hope.

Maybe there isn't even any reason to put this much thought into why we do the things that we enjoy in life. The simple fact that they bring us pleasure is probably justification enough for most of us.

You know, I have heard it said that men fish for their entire lives without ever discovering that it really isn't the fish that they are after. How sad would it be if that were actually true?