BassResource.com Administrator Glenn Posted February 5, 2017 BassResource.com Administrator Posted February 5, 2017 It may sound like a silly question, but I am assuming it is more than just reeling in a fish. For me it's a lot more. It is much deeper than that. I am sure it is for all of us. For me it is about clearing my head, seeing nature, being on the water, trying to outsmart my quarry, the thrill of feeling that "tap, tap, tap", seeing if I can improve my effectiveness, seeing if I can fish a bait I have had no success and actually catching one with it. I love the fact my wife enjoys fishing as much as I do, and spending time together on the water as well as off the water at the campground is priceless for our marriage. It helps, too, that I'm never questioned about buying fishing tackle. I always like to strike up a hello or small conversation with other fishermen as our boats pass as we come up on each other . Where else can one strike up a conversation with a complete stranger and have so much in common with him? I like the whole package. Getting prepared, maintaining my equipment, etc. It is like the surgeon who prepares himself before a major surgery..everything in order and ready to go. I think of my boat as my "operating table" if you will, sounds crazy I know, I like to be prepared. : Maybe that is part of it as well. Also, there is a very special feeling about being "on the water"! The serenity of it all. I always see something I have never seek before. That is pretty fulfilling. I find my mood changes for the better after the trip. I am sure if one was to psycho analyze each of us, there are deeper reasons than just reeling in a fish. My thoughts anyway.... Why do you fish? 8 Quote
Super User MassYak85 Posted February 5, 2017 Super User Posted February 5, 2017 Being out on the water and in nature is a big part of it, but that alone doesn't satisfy "the itch". The things that do are that feeling of fooling the fish into biting a piece of plastic and of being connected directly to the fish. I think that's why I like the initial bite and hookset more than actually landing the fish sometimes. 2 Quote
Super User RoLo Posted February 5, 2017 Super User Posted February 5, 2017 My wife doesn't like golf. 4 Quote
iiTzChunky Posted February 5, 2017 Posted February 5, 2017 I hadn't really fished till last year since I was a small kid with my grandpa down in the boothill of mo. The smell brings back memories of good times of carefree life. Not to mention I like being outdoors. Then there's the fight the fish put up. I just love it. Never knowing how big the fish is at the end of the line. And giving me somthing else to do with my son. Quote
bigfruits Posted February 5, 2017 Posted February 5, 2017 Glenn - you pretty much mentioned most of the reasons i fish. everything about it fishing is great. from collecting tackle to playing with different lures on the water on ideal set ups. catching a 6lber on a ML rig. catching the first bass on a bait i made. teaching friends and family to fish. its an excuse to be out there floating around and appearing to be wasting time when really you are making the most of it. when you think about it, recreational catch and release fishing makes no sense. non fishing friend: "do you eat the bass you catch?" me: "no, i throw them back in the water after ripping a hole in their face." non fishing friend: "you throw them back?? why do you fish then?" me: "hhhmmm... good question!" Quote
Super User Darren. Posted February 5, 2017 Super User Posted February 5, 2017 Because I love the sport. 1 Quote
bigfruits Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 one other thing i love about fishing is fighting the fish. nothing like a fat smallmouth taking light line off the spool. i understand heavy line and locked drags when ripping fish out of the slop but seeing people water ski fish to the boat in open water does not look like fun. i guess its pros i see do this in videos and on TV and a fish in the boat is $$$. Quote
Super User Jar11591 Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I've always been fascinated with what is lurking below the surface of the water since I was a toddler. That led me to getting addicted to feeling that "tap tap" that precedes each hookset. No matter how many fish I catch, my heart still skips a beat and my knees shake a little every single time I hook into a fish. I've found that bass fishing satisfies this urge more than other types of fishing, so I've dedicated my fishing to chasing bass. I don't mind catching other species either, but for me, bass are where it's at. 7 Quote
Super User scaleface Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 One of my earliest memories is catching my first fish on a cane pole , bobber and worm . I saw the colors and Dad told me it was a sunfish, I took it literally and thought it was from the sun . LOL . Been hooked ever since . 4 Quote
Super User RoLo Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 16 minutes ago, Jar11591 said: I've always been fascinated with what is lurking below the surface of the water since I was a toddler. That led me to getting addicted to feeling that "tap tap" that precedes each hookset. No matter how many fish I catch, my heart still skips a beat and my knees shake a little every single time I hook into a fish. I've found that bass fishing satisfies this urge more than other types of fishing, so I've dedicated my fishing to chasing bass. I don't mind catching other species either, but for me, bass are where it's at. Your response touches on what I would've said, had I not taken the shortcut to comic relief. I was afraid to offer a comprehensive answer, for fear that I would never shut up Roger 1 Quote
Guest Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 I fish because it helps me with depression and anxiety. It helps me to forget the world and the worrys of life. When Im hunting a fish,however that may be plastics, jigs, cranking I literally am able to focus on what I believe to be mans survival instinct and it's fun even though I don't eat bass you still get that rush and feeling of self accomplishment, a dose of adrenaline and reward from catching that next fish. 4 Quote
wdp Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 Stress relief, relaxation, beautiful scenery, peace & calm. Most importantly, it's fun!!! Quote
Super User Senko lover Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 Those morning sunrises bro! 1 Quote
Super User Montanaro Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 Its pretty much the only thing Im good at that doesnt make me frustrated or throw a tantrum. 3 Quote
flyingmonkie Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 Complexity and anticipation. It's like trying to solve a puzzle with a million pieces, and you stay just as excited about putting your first piece down as you do your 100,000th. 1 Quote
Global Moderator Bluebasser86 Posted February 6, 2017 Global Moderator Posted February 6, 2017 I grew up doing it as a source of food. Now it's become my form of stress relief and my release from everyday life. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out what I need to do each and every day to outsmart the fish. I really enjoy spending time on the water with family and friends and getting to know new people through our similar interest in the sport as well. Quote
EvanT123 Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 I've fished since I can remember then put it down for many years; picked it back up on a whim. For me I can't think of a better hobby or pass time. I do enjoy the scenery, clearing my mind and the challenge but.....like I said to my coworker last week....I got that itch....I need to hook into a big smallmouth. Quote
Super User WRB Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I grew up near a lake, our cabin was about 50' away from the shoreline. Fishing was our families recreation, past time and some food source. I have never known a time when I haven't fished. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Oregon Native Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I like all the things above mentioned for the most part. Nature waking up in the morning and the beauty of it all. I like all the toys and getting ready for the day the night before. Another biggie for me is the fact I can be competitive if I want or I can go it alone and just chill. Nothing like a long day on the water and hitting the sack and sleeping like a stone. I also like the memories that come with certain lures or places....all good. Tight Lines all 1 Quote
"hamma" Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 Although I grew up away from lakes and ponds the ocean was always just a short bicycle ride away. The previous responses pretty much summed up my reasons. And I truley do embody alot of their content. The tackle, boats, being outdoors, finding secluded sasquatch settlements,..lol.,.. The steam coming off the water during a early morning launch, the islands and shoreline mystically rising above its warm "cloudy" mattress. The sound of a closeby loon warms you some as you step up on the front deck, you cast out a topwater, and just as you get ready to retrieve it, the mornings silence is broken by an explosion that you were seeking, but didnt expect at that moment,...and your heartrate increases tenfold. And that sped up heartrate feeling remains, until you unhook and release that fish back into its world, (sometimes even longer,) readying yourself for another cast. That encounter with mother nature is actually a stimuli reaction to the need of "mankind" to produce for his family, for eons man has been the breadwinner, bringing home the bacon, feeding his family with whatever he had successfully procured. Ugg the caveman did so, and we too have the need to follow through. Equality and the womens revolution is in its infancy compared to the centuries, of men feeding their families goes. Is this bass fishing addiction in line with this theory? Maybe,...but it sure is fun, enticing, and intricate. And I for one will bass fish as long as I can, without a doubt. Years ago I pictured myself on my front porch rocking a rocking chair with a corncob pipe as I aged,..nowadays? Replacing that porch with my boat pretty much sums it up Quote
Super User Deleted account Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I was hooked (pun intended) at an early age, and for a long time it was always about catching fish period, but as most addicts I find that I don't really enjoy it as much as I just have to do it these days. Quote
RMax Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 I fish because I love the pull of the fish against me and because I love the outdoors. I also want to pursue a fish based career, like icthyology, so everytime I catch a fish its a specimen to observe. 2 Quote
Super User everythingthatswims Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I guess there are a bunch of different reasons as to why I do it, but my favorite example is from the High School National Championship this summer... When we launched in the morning, something came over me that I had never experienced before. Something about knowing that I was there with the best in the country, competing at the highest level possible for me at that time, but mainly how hard I had worked to get there, and remembering all of the things that fell into place for me to get there. I am usually pretty good at keeping my emotions to myself, but on this particular morning, when we pulled out of the marina and headed down the lake on plane, there were definitely some tears streaming down my face, and they weren't from the 70mph run. That doesn't really ever happen to me, but everything about it felt right. I know it's outlandish and most people laugh at the idea of fishing for a living, but you can bet that I will do my best to scratch and claw my way there with everything I've got. They say "you've got to want it", and trust me, I do. 3 Quote
Super User MIbassyaker Posted February 6, 2017 Super User Posted February 6, 2017 I don't need a long answer: It's fun and I've been addicted since age 8. 1 Quote
IndianaFinesse Posted February 6, 2017 Posted February 6, 2017 I don't know... I've been asked that question before and have yet to come up with a good answer. I just do, but part of it is being outdoors. There is more to it than that, otherwise simply hiking in the woods could replace fishing, and it doesn't. I might not know why, but I sure do love fishing for whatever reason. 1 Quote
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