Ten things I know about Fishing part 2



pocket fisherman

1. Do not confuse "going fishing" with "catching fish". If catching fish is the goal, then lots of fish equals good fishing. If the fun is in the "going" then there are tons of options. I love fishing as in "going fishing". I really do not care about catching anything. Some people are what my dad called "ambulance chasers". They are a restless lot and they cast a few times and if nothing is caught or no bites, they pick up everything and move to a new spot. To me, that is not fishing, that is being a pain in the butt. Why would anyone want to get all aggravated every ten minutes or so by moving to a new spot. I guess if you want to catch some fish, that may be required but that is not fishing. That is "chasing" fish. I do not chase dogs so I am sure as hell not going to chase a fish unless he has my car keys or something. I chased a baby bull one time and soon it tired of being chased and started chasing me. There is a lesson in there somewhere. Catching fish is exciting. The strong pull on the line, the excitement of catching the "big one". Fish, even the ugly ones are beautiful and amazing. I usually end up throwing every one of them back. I am losing the heart to kill and clean them. I do not consider myself any kind of expert fisherman if I catch a bunch of fish. I just figure the fish are having a bad day and I am just there to make it worse.  I have gone fishing and I have caught fish.  I have gone fishing and not caught fish.  I once caught a fish and was not fishing.  Usually I do not go fishing and do not catch fish but I know the difference.