Fishing Lifestyle

Fishing has not always been a fun activity for me that helps me relax. Truth is I used to dread the times that I would have to go fishing. My father would take me out on the boat and he would do this type of fishing that was boring to me, trolling. Trolling is essentially throwing a lure on a rod and letting it drag behind the boat for a fish to pick it up. I do not see the technique from that or the skill of fishing in that. But, I do have some good memories of fishing on the boat with my dad.

As I have grown older I have become more independent like everyone does. Eventually I grew out of hating fishing and found my own passion for fishing. But it was not just trolling, it was bass fishing. It has amazing technique, cool rod and reel setups, and different lure combinations. It feels rewarding catching a bass because I think to myself I caught that fish because I threw this lure. That’s where the skill of fishing comes into place. So I have spent some money getting my own baitcaster setups and having good fishing gear so I can go out and try to catch more big fish. 

Over the past few years I have been going to this one spot during the open of the season. and it always works out for me. I pull into the driveway of my spot, which pertains to a neighborhood. I park into the loop-shaped driveway and I get out of the way of the dirt road. I will open the trunk of my old Toyota Rav 4 which holds my three fishing rods I bring, yes I bring three fishing rods. I grab my orange fishing bag that I picked up at Walmart and hold then get the door for my girlfriend. We walk our way down through the half green and brown grass that continues to fill with chlorophyll. We pass the white house on our left and we stand on the cement pad bisecting the water and grass. I drop my gear on the half-dead grass and give one of the rods to my girlfriend. I was using twelve-pound fluorocarbon on all my baitcaster spools which we were both using. We both are using a Jerkbait style lure that has a narrow-long body that has color like a baitfish. We cast our lures into the water and I taught her the technique of using a jerkbait, they call it a jerkbait because you jerk the rod to give the lure a suspending motion. After a little bit of casting I can feel a recoil off of my technique which almost pulls me into the water. The feeling of a fish shaking its head and fighting against my rod like no other. I bring it closer to the cement pad and flip it onto the grass. As I begin to unhook the three-pound largemouth bass I hear the sound of windling line. I look to my right and see my girlfriend hooked up.

It is not all about fishing though. I started fishing when my closest friend introduced me to bass fishing and I would go with him and his dad. It wasn’t even the fishing that was special about these times, it was about spending time with people. Being gifted enough to go out to a pond or lake and go fishing with my buddy and his dad trying to see who can catch the most fish is meaningful because it was just a good time.

I have good memories of fishing but it has also helped me build relationships with people. I have spent many times with my girlfriend going fishing when we weren’t as close and it was overall just a fun thing to do together. I would do things like teach her how to tie her own lure (even though I just do it anyway) and how to cast a baitcaster. These memories have helped us build our relationship and it is just a fun thing to do together. 

Featured Image: “Fishing” by halseike is licensed under CC BY 2.0.