I'm not a big fisherman--and this statement is not about my physique. I hang out with people who do it all year round, highly enjoy it, and are quite good at it. I've been fishing in boats, on docks, and from river banks; I've fished for Salmon in the middle of Lake Ontario, and for Bass and Pike and Perch on various other Ontario lakes; I've been ice fishing in a -20 degree celsius windstorm in a small insulated fishing hut and froze my hands off pulling perch off my line. I've fished in the early morning and later in the evening. I've had many bite my line and skip away, and reeled in more. In fact, there was a time when I actually wondered if there was something wrong with me for being unable to catch a thing--went countless times with many on the hook, but nothing reeled in the boat. In spite of this emerging hobby of fishing, I'm not entirely hooked. I don't know what it is, but often I'm fine setting my rod down and enjoying my surroundings. So I got thinking: Why do people like to fish? And here's what comes to mind:
1. Catching stuff: Fishing is about catching--plain and simple. And it's about catching something pretty cool: this slippery, colourful creature flipping and flapping for dear life. There's something primordial about it: humans have been catching fish for millennia. In our modern world, most of what we catch are sales on consumer items. We love to consume--it's what we do. Fishing just amps the whole thing up.
2. Challenge: Someone put it this way: that fishing is about trying to use artificial gear to figure out how to catch a live creature in the most efficient way possible. Fishing involves a lot of trial and error. You're not catching anything? Try a different lure, or swing the boat out to a different part of the lake, or use a different approach. It's all about trying and failing and trying again. There's also a social challenge: who's going to catch the biggest fish? I've been in on some of these challenges, and they're fun.
3. Gear: We love gear. Anytime we can take a pastime and get some gear around it, it's golden. And there is no shortage of fishing gear out there--just a simple stroll through the fishing aisle at Canadian Tire will give you the gist. If you have an attention deficit issue, I would avoid the lure section entirely. I was there once with my son and spent an hour just pacing up and down wondering where to start and what to even consider. I've also been to other stores with my fishing buddies, and seen the competition ensue over finding the best lures for the types of fish we were going to fish for. Did you know there are so many different kinds of fishing line it'll make your head spin? We love it!
4. Social animals: I'm not talking about the shoals of fish--I'm talking about us. We are social animals. We like to be in community. We like to belong. Fishing with people you care about and enjoy being with is a great bonding experience. And if you're guys, it's a great way to hang out without having to talk too much. There's a shared experience around the water, the sun rippling off the lake, the fish flying off the line, the boat roaring across the lake that can be wonderful.
5. Feeling alive: When you're out there on a big open lake, feeling the water splashing across your face, getting a tug on your line as the sun pours its warmth over you, there's a sense of being alive, of being at one with creation. It's a beautiful thing. In the modern world, like the city for example, we are estranged from our environment--even our office buildings stare back at us. We can be among so many people on the street and still feel isolated and alone. On the water, rod in hand, friends around, and the whip of the water, you are one with the universe.
6. Improving yourself: Learning how to catch fish, getting better and feeling the tug on the line and reeling it in, can boost your self-confidence. Fishing is a metaphor or symbol for other aspects of life. Being able to cast a line in the water and draw a fish up into the boat or your net is a skill that by virtue of being able to improve upon can increase your self-esteem.
7. Mentorship: Again, this is about knowledge being passed on for generations--it's another primordial thing we humans do. When you are an experienced angler, you are able to pass that knowledge along to others, which is a boost to you and to those you're mentoring. This shared knowledge around water and air and sun and fish is highly primordial and thus something that touches us as humans in a deeper way than we might initially think or expect.
8. A Symbol for life: Fishing is a symbol for many things in life: marriage, business, relationships, opportunities. It's all about being present in the moment, setting the right conditions for a particular outcome, and doing the most with the opportunities that come your way. This is the reason why I went through a hard time when I wasn't able to catch fish over a period of time. It's like the batter with the poor hitting streak who might be fouling out in other areas of his or her life. But there's something else about this symbol of fishing: regardless of what you're dealt, you can always adjust your approach, and continue on. If you're having problems luring fish onto your line, you can always read up on what attracts them. If you're having problems with your relationship, you can adjust your behaviour, seek guidance, and try again. If you're on a big streak with attracting business clients, your approach and technique is probably quite solid--and now you're in the position to mentor others.
Now that I've written this down, I might be reconsidering my feelings about fishing. I might just take these findings with me the next time my fishing buddies head down to the boat. If you're an experienced angler, you've thought about this stuff for a long time. If you're a beginner, perhaps this is giving you a different perspective on why you might enjoy it so much. If you don't fish, and don't think you'd ever want to, I encourage you to go with people you know are doing it. Give it a try. It might be a highlight of your life.
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