| “At
some point we cease being 'hunters of fish' and become fishermen.”
- unknown
|
There is little doubt that
our fishing motivation changes over time. I recall a
long time ago when I would think nothing of driving
all night through rain and black ice, then spend the
whole day standing in a river that was snow an hour
ago, in pouring down rain -- and oh yeah, that leaking
wader didn’t hinder anything. All that and maybe
catch a fish but just as likely not.
Now,
many years later, a few more things come into the equation
that cause one to maybe think twice - weather, fish
reports, camaraderie with your fishing partners, and
so on. Frankly it's a little more difficult to drag
the bones out of a comfy warm bed at “oh-dark-thirty”
than it used to be, but I still haven’t missed
a single opportunity yet!
One
thing remains constant however; no amount of time will
cure that good ole fishing addiction we all have. Nothing
can compare to that feeling you get when you lift your
rod tip up and feel that head-shake tug at the end of
your line. There's something about the old saying "A
day spent fishing ..." that is as true at 50 as
it was at 15. You know, I still have a tough time sleeping
the nite before a fishing trip because of the anticipation!
|
|
We are
incredibly lucky that the places where salmon and steelhead
live are some of the most beautiful settings in the world.
To see those puffy white clouds caught in the deep green branches
of an old growth stand is beyond compare. Mother Nature reveals
her beauty in the mist rising from the emerald water at morning's
first light. To come around a bend and see an elk, deer, or
bear quietly making its way along the water's edge, is to
understand that we are all connected and part of a much larger
existence.
 |
Fishing
provides us an opportunity to interact with this environment
rather than just observe it. In addition to the visual
beauty of the setting and the sleek, silver bright fish
we chase after, our other senses are filled with the
fresh sweet smells after a rain, with the feel of a
fish's energy that travels directly from its heart through
the line and rod right down to your soul, and the incredible
sounds that a river creates as it flows over and around
mossy boulders the size of homes.
Fishing
provides me with a release from the challenges of daily
life. It's a chance to do something fun, to focus and
concentrate solely at the task at hand, and put all
of life’s worries aside. Fishing is truly a form
of meditation.
For
me, now, I think the motivating factors are: the pure
joy of being outdoors in a beautiful setting, either
being alone (mostly) or with good friends to share an
experience and create memories, having a chance to pass
on some of the things that I have learned to others,
and lastly, improving my skills by experimenting with
some new technique or lure/bait and hopefully tricking
the next one of those sneaky devils into biting.
|
"Many
go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not
fish they are after."
- Henry David Thoreau
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