Fishing as therapy

[Mobasser]

We all have stressful days. In my type of work, rarely does a day go 100% smooth from start to finish. Someone doesn't show, materials not delivered, correcting mistakes, dealing with subcontractors, and meeting deadlines. Some days I come home pretty burned out. Those are the evenings I go to the pond. The laid back , quiet type of fishing is an automatic stress reliever. Fall is my favorite time for this. The scenery is great.Of course I go there to catch fish. But it's a different fishing than bigger lakes. No loud boats, no party crowd etc. The best way to unwind that I know of.Anyone else do this?

 

[NHBull]

.........and at one point, I would have said "cheaper too", but maybe not so much these days ?

[Bankbeater]

Yep. Give me a small pond after a hard week at work, and I will keep walking around it even if I'm not catching anything.

[Krux5506]

Use to almost every day after work a couple years ago. That incredibly unique fishery (old rock quarry actually) has since been bought by a private entity who is now developing it for their own private use. I don't think there is another inland body of water anywhere near as diverse as that place. I miss it for sure, and it played a key role in developing my bass fishing since it was NOT an easy place to fish. Even more importantly than the fish was the serenity of that place for reasons like you said. 

[Oregon Native]

Even on the big water's there's places where one can just smell the roses you might say.  Love the peacefulness of first or last light.

[Harold Scoggins]

I call it "Mushin."

[Dens228]

I actually had a epiphany regarding this mid summer of this year.  I fished all the time up through my college years.  Then kids/family obligations put me on a long fishing hiatus.   Started bass fishing again casually summer of 2015, more time fishing 2016, and bought a kayak and really started hitting it 2017, having a blast!

 

This year I started online bass tournament and mid June I was out and caught about 15 bass but wasn't able to cull any of the 5 I currently had submitted so was irritated. As I was driving home I came to the realization that last summer I would have been doing backflips over catching 15 bass and if tournaments were going to remove the fun for me I was going to stop doing them. 

 

I'm still doing tournaments, I still fish for bigger bass, but I'm now thrilled for every bass I catch and don't sweat whether or not I'm going to win gas money from the tournament. 

[Glaucus]

I suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Fishing is by far the best therapy for me. Everything "goes away" when I'm on the water. 

[jbmaine]

The most peaceful type of fishing I've ever encountered was when I used to head to northern N.H. & ME flyfishing for trout. It was just so calming standing in a stream or river casting a fly. Doing that, the rest of the world didn't exist for me. 

[Scott F]

While I was still working, fishing was my way to relax and forget about the stress of my job. That was a big reason I never considered tournament fishing. Relieving stress by doing something else stressful just didn’t make sense. 

[geo g]

I feel the exact same way as Mobasser, and Scott F.  I spent 43 years teaching and coaching football in a highly competitive high school environment.   Fishing was always been a sense of relief, and relaxation, from the weekly grind.  With all the competition, I never wanted to get into competitive fishing because it would destroy the one reason I loved fishing in the first place.  I could always forget the stress of that week, and just focus on the fish, and the environment.  It was a sense of piece for at least a few hours.  Fishing has always been mind relief and relaxation, and much cheaper then a therapist!  Lol?  It's worked well all throughout my career.

[NHBull]

1 hour ago, jbmaine said:

The most peaceful type of fishing I've ever encountered was when I used to head to northern N.H. & ME flyfishing for trout. It was just so calming standing in a stream or river casting a fly. Doing that, the rest of the world didn't exist for me. 

Same hear, but hearing and feeling the water always  made me pee my waders ?

[Mobasser]

Lots of times I start with a popper. It's been really hot in my area,so I usually don't get a lot of action until the last hour before dark. That's the best time. Dead quiet. The only sounds are the popper hitting the water, and the "spit" sound of my retrieve.Im always a little bummed when it's time to go home. I never get tired of fishing this way

[jbmaine]

29 minutes ago, NHBull said:

Same hear, but hearing and feeling the water always  made me pee my waders ?

Too much coffee in the morning, the mad dash for shore, throwing off your vest, peeling down your waders. O!! the memories!!

[FishDewd]

I don't feel right unless I fish about once a week at least... even if it's just in my own pond! I get a lot of peace out of it and time to assess things I can't otherwise when I'm fishing. Catch anything or not, I still love it. It's very zen and serene for me. I never skunk per se because to me catching is only half the fun. It's the whole time to be me thing that makes it worth while for me.

[Bluebasser86]

Bad day at work for guys in my line of work means you don't go home. I forget about everything I've dealt with, seen or heard at work when I'm on the water. 

[Spankey]

My hours from the type of work I do can get crazy also. Can't predict breakdown regardless of how well you maintain things. I try not to stress over it. 

 

Getting out is therapy. Time to get in touch with my own head. I'm not the most religious guy but it lets me have some connection time with the man upstairs. Regardless of the type of day I come off the water feeling pretty good. And id like to think I feel pretty good being out, before I get the line wet. 

[Brad in Texas]

And, these situations, work and stress related things, are where it really pays off to at least put together one, what, minimalist tackle ensemble, where you can either carry it with you in your car or quickly collect it in a matter of a few minutes . . . and have several destinations nearby to go out after work, even if for just 30 minutes or an hour.

 

I still have several destinations where I grab my minimalist gear and head either down to the lake or a nearby river. Even 30 minutes does the trick.

 

Brad

 

 

[StrikePrince]

Fishing is probably the best (wholesome or otherwise) way I have found to effectively hush an anxious mind.

[lo n slo]

On 8/14/2018 at 6:21 AM, Mobasser said:

We all have stressful days. In my type of work, rarely does a day go 100% smooth from start to finish. Someone doesn't show, materials not delivered, correcting mistakes, dealing with subcontractors, and meeting deadlines. Some days I come home pretty burned out. Those are the evenings I go to the pond. The laid back , quiet type of fishing is an automatic stress reliever. Fall is my favorite time for this. The scenery is great.Of course I go there to catch fish. But it's a different fishing than bigger lakes. No loud boats, no party crowd etc. The best way to unwind that I know of.Anyone else do this?

 

yes, i keep a jon boat at a small lake near the house. i have been fishing that lake for over 30 years now and it is my happy place.

[BassThumb]

Best therapy around 

[Gravy Master]

"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after."

 

~Henry David Thoreau

[schplurg]

Fishing has been a great stress reliever for me, then again there have been a few times I'd wished I'd stayed home! One time recently I cast out a brand new lure, first cast, snagged it and went straight back home. Normally I'd be okay with that but I was definitely looking for stress relief that day and it didn't work

 

I've been fishing less than 6 months but I do a lot of it. Sometimes I will hit the Delta levee for an hour or two to get away from it all. I've had a lot of stress lately and man am I glad I have fishing.

 

Part of it is just being in a beautiful setting - not the Delta so much, but I love fishing places with great scenery. I want to hit Yosemite soon, we will see what remains after the fires. Just being near or on the water is a great feeling for me.

[PNW LipRipper]

On 8/14/2018 at 11:15 AM, Glaucus said:

I suffer from PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Fishing is by far the best therapy for me. Everything "goes away" when I'm on the water. 

I hear you . Same for myself when fishing all is just fine. It only gets better

[islandbass]

Great topic, Mobasser!

I sure could have used a therapy fishing stint today. The last couple of days have been stressful as I took care of some home repair projects without help. 

 

I managed to take this fishing as therapy to another level a few days ago, after working some really long hours. 

 

What did I do? I bought some night crawlers, meal worms, water gremlins, and a couple of floats, and went back to the basics... just float fishing — fishing in a simplified manner. 

 

As bass anglers, we sometimes get caught up and overwhelmed with this lure, or that technique, the latest technology, color, so on and so forth. 

 

My stress level was so high that I didn’t want to mess with any of that. 

 

I put my bass gear away (okay, it was in the trunk, just in case), grabbed my ultralight rig and went to town. Staring at the bobber, looking around, appreciating the scnenery, nature, contemplating, etc. 

 

Watching the bobber go down was therapeutic, even when I missed.  If you didn’t know, float fishing with worms is like a box of chocolates... Because you’ll never know what you’re going to get. 

 

By the end of my 30 minute stint, I caught a LMB, perch, blue gill and a pumpkin seed.

 

I am glad I made that decision.