The Point

A dear friend of mine that goes to UW River Falls likes to make fun of me.  And so, when she found out that I release most of the fish that I catch, she poked quite a bit of fun at me for loving to do something that seems so pointless.  Of course, she knows why I love fishing, and I didn't have to explain to her the point, but it still made me think.

I was still thinking about it Sunday morning.  I spent the first seven waking hours of my Sunday morning, until 3 in the afternoon, sitting in a church listening to the training for the mentorship program I'm participating in.  It's important and good stuff but I was sleepy so I got a little distracted.  I was sitting next to a large window that looked out across a medium sized pond next to the church.  It must have had small sunfish in it, because every so often I would see a dimple on the surface of the water as a fish came up to rise.  The simple beauty of the sunny fall morning and the pond in the cattails made it harder for me to focus on the speaker.

What is the point of my fishing.

I feel like I've written on this a lot before, but I still have people ask me that.  To be honest, I like talking about it.  I like discussing my passion for something that other people see only as a casual pasttime.  So here it is again.

I love fishing because of the challenge it gives me.  The fact of the matter is that I can fish during every single month for the rest of my life (and probably will try) and I will still not understand everything there is to know about fishing.  There will always be more to learn.  Fishing challenges me and makes me think.  It's an equation, really, an equation that I somehow enjoy despite my loathing of math.  It's about putting together all of the factors - fish species and characteristics, preferred habitat, body shape and size, predation strategies, season, water temperatures, light levels, water clarity, time of day, forage base, and so many others.  It's about having to use my mind to maximize my time and my resources.

I love fishing because of the beauty.  There is something about the sun rising over a lake on a summer morning through the mist at 5 o clock, with the call of a loon in the distance that raises the hair on my neck.  The sound of the waves lapping on the shore and the quiet splash of bass around you.  The delicate movement of a fly through the air.  Deer coming to the shore to drink and watching you.

I love fishing for what it means to me.  It's something that has made me so much closer to my dad, the person I respect most on this planet.  It's been our bonding time for as long as I remember, something that sets me apart from my other siblings.  Fishing is also a defining feature for me, something that I can take pride in because I'm good at it.  Something that other people know me for.  Finally, fishing has been a spiritual experience for me.  I've spent more time praying to God while fishing that I have while at church.

And finally, I love fishing for the payoff.  The heart pounding excitement of the flash as a fish takes my fly or the tightening of the line.  The splash and the whine of the drag and the feeling of pride as you carefully release the fish into the water that it came from.  Or, adversely, as you clean and prepare the fish for a delicious dinner that you caught yourself.  The feeling of outsmarting a wild creature.  Of accomplishing something by yourself, of taking complete responsibility for a prize gained.

I also love the fishing for the disappointment.  The days that you miss a fish, the days that the fish remind you that you will never be as clever as you think you are.  The days that remind you why it's not called catching.