Do You REALLY Enjoy Fishing?

[Bankc]

For a long time, music was my hobby.   l loved the feeling of being "in the zone" where the instrument becomes a part of your body and you don't think, you just feel and it all happens.  It's like you're simultaneously completely focused and completely unfocused.  You have no awareness of your body or what's going on around you, and you just merge with the song.  

 

Then arthritis stepped in and I can't play much anymore.  It became frustrating instead of the zen-like escape it once was.  So I got back into fishing, which I really enjoyed as a little kid.  It brings back all of the same feelings.  My mind is free to wander, yet I'm intently focused on every detail.  I can see the bait underwater with my mind even if my eyes don't.  I'm laser focused on every detail of my surroundings, yet I'm not actively thinking about any of them.  I notice the tiniest of changes around me and react without noticing that I even noticed them.  My response is autonomic like a knee jerk.   

 

And that's what I need in my escape from the daily grind of life:  A new way of thinking and being.  A superposition of total consciousness and torpid ecstasy.  A chance to just exist in a moment, outside of my familiar reality, in transcendent bliss.  To experience, first hand, the sublime.  

[J Francho]

9 minutes ago, Bankc said:

For a long time, music was my hobby.   l loved the feeling of being "in the zone" where the instrument becomes a part of your body and you don't think, you just feel and it all happens.  It's like you're simultaneously completely focused and completely unfocused.  You have no awareness of your body or what's going on around you, and you just merge with the song.

 

I've described it similarly.  It's like you're outside of your own body.  What did you play? Do you play at all anymore?

 

My current instrument for the past 5 years, been playing for 40.

 

 

[Mr. Aquarium]

Fishing is life, life is fishing 

[Bluebasser86]

2 hours ago, lo n slo said:

i’m convinced that you’re a crazy person ?

I promise you're not the only one that thinks that. 

[Columbia Craw]

Come on.  What other outdoor sport has a ? ?

[galyonj]

Some days, it's the only peace I can have.

[moguy1973]

Even though my oldest (8yo) daughter likes to fish, I screwed up by having my kids later in life and I fear I will not be able to enjoy my later years fishing due to lack of time.  I would fish every day if I had the chance.

[TnRiver46]

4 minutes ago, moguy1973 said:

Even though my oldest (8yo) daughter likes to fish, I screwed up by having my kids later in life and I fear I will not be able to enjoy my later years fishing due to lack of time.  I would fish every day if I had the chance.

Nah man, you didn’t screw up! Life happens when it happens, you’ll get after those fish!!!

[JohnFromLisbon]

I love it.

 

I love planning before I go. I love spending hours looking at Google Maps and weather apps the days before. I love making a checklist of stuff I want to take for that particular situation, picking baits and making go-boxes, making double and triple sure everything is ready. I love the time I spend making a playlist for the early morning drive. I love it when the alarm goes off and after the fog clears I realize I'm going fishing. I love taking that early shower while the coffee pot fills up. I like hauling everything downstairs and loading it in the trunk like a game of Tetris.

 

I love the early morning drive listening to the playlist I made the night before. I love it when Willie Nelson's On The Road Again starts playing, even though I know exactly when it's coming. I love sipping coffee from the tumbler on those long straight roads where it's only me and the occasional truck.

 

I love it when I slow down, pull on the parking brake, and try to figure out what I'm going to throw first. I love the whirring of the reel on my first cast. I love watching and feeling a new bait and figuring out a new presentation. 

 

And then there's the bite

[MAN]

I spend 8-5 trying to catch fisherman, and all the rest of the time trying to catch fish. Its my life.

I have noticed that I have begun hanging up all my lures and moving to live and dead bait. Something about just relaxing and watching the bobber/rod tip has become more exciting than the endless lure chunking. 

[Randy Price]

I really enjoy the entire experience.  I have invested a lot of money in my gear and it gives me great pleasure using it.   

[Mobasser]

Yes. I love fishing, and enjoy it also.

[Koz]

5 hours ago, moguy1973 said:

Even though my oldest (8yo) daughter likes to fish, I screwed up by having my kids later in life and I fear I will not be able to enjoy my later years fishing due to lack of time.  I would fish every day if I had the chance.

 

It will work out. I was 41 when my son was born and we had a ton of fun fishing until he was 14. Between being a moody teenager, his newfound interest in girls, and his dedication to baseball he doesn’t want to fish anymore. 

 

But that’s OK because I’ve transitioned to fishing to relax and think and I know my son will eventually want to fish again.

[Cigarguy]

I enjoy fishing even if the only fish I catch is at Costco.  I'm a terrible fisherman but love being outdoors and the motions/rhythm of fishing.

[padon]

yeah i love it.have since i was 13 or so. i was a hardcore bowhunter for about 20 years and didnt fish as much then but came back with a vengance about 8 years ago.I love catching fish of course and i guess it always starts like that. but now im in love with the whole process. arranging tackle, researching fishing, how to get better . how to read maps , learning the behavior of bass.I must love it because sometimes july august and september can be brutal around here. bites are hard to come by but i still go every chance i get.I think now its more about solving the puzzle figuring out how to get a bite , where the hell are the fish.

[DitchPanda]

Well I drug an ice shack out onto A frozen lake Tuesday...the temp was in the 20s with a more than stiff 35 -45mph northwind making it feel like -15ish. And ice fishing is my least favorite form of fishing. So yes I REALLY like it.

[kingmotorboat]

1 hour ago, Cigarguy said:

I enjoy fishing even if the only fish I catch is at Costco.  I'm a terrible fisherman but love being outdoors and the motions/rhythm of fishing.

I actually fish a retention pond behind a Costco so this made me chuckle 

[BrianMDTX]

1 hour ago, padon said:

i was a hardcore bowhunter for about 20 years and didnt fish as much then but came back with a vengance about 8 years ago.

I feel ya. It was almost 30 years for me until last April. I’m trying to make up for lost time. Reeling in a 5 lb bass is a lot easier than dragging out a 150 lb buck! 

[moguy1973]

1 hour ago, Koz said:

 

It will work out. I was 41 when my son was born and we had a ton of fun fishing until he was 14. Between being a moody teenager, his newfound interest in girls, and his dedication to baseball he doesn’t want to fish anymore. 

 

But that’s OK because I’ve transitioned to fishing to relax and think and I know my son will eventually want to fish again.

I'm sure once they become more independent and my wife doesn't need the help on the weekends when they are older I'll be able to get out more.  Problem is my wife likes to fish too, and she'll want to go with me.

[GreenPig]

Yes I really enjoy fishing. If I'm not fishing I'm prepping for or planning my next trip. I'll get up at 5am be at the lake by 6:45 fish until 3pm. Go feed the cows and take the dog running down around the pond while I fish til dark.

[Biglittle8]

I'm so happy to see such passion for our vice! Hunting and fishing are such a great way to enjoy your free time, (even when you're supposed to be working ?) not to mention the money our license fees generate to ensure our children and grandkids can choose to enjoy it if they please. 

[Junk Fisherman]

I enjoy the entire day not only the catching.  Experiencing the outdoors, following the weather and the seasons, getting solitude and time to reflect on life, investigating the body of water I am on, boating especially on the Great Lakes, being a tackle junkie and using high end gear, and continually trying to improve my abilities with different techniques and fine-tuning my strengths are all parts of "fishing" that I enjoy.  We all know that catching a bunch of fish or big fish or both makes for a great day but I have really grown to enjoy all the supporting aspects of fishing as well.  So yeah, I would say I REALLY enjoy fishing.  

[NYWayfarer]

[tracker01]

You know fishing own’s you when,,,,,,, your skunked at the end of the day and still look forward to fishing tomorrow.

That’s me, and I’m in my 70’s. A lot of water has passed under that bridge.

[Bankc]

23 hours ago, J Francho said:

 

I've described it similarly.  It's like you're outside of your own body.  What did you play? Do you play at all anymore?

 

My current instrument for the past 5 years, been playing for 40.

 

 

Nice kit!  Guitar has been my main instrument, and it's what I played semi-professionally.  But I also play a bit of bass, drums, violin, mandolin, ukulele, harmonica, keyboards, saxophone, clarinet, and much more (thought not all of them very well).  I had a 70's maple Ludwig chrome wrapped kit for about ten years, but sold it last year, so I am now sans drums.  They took up too much room for how little I played them.  I do miss them though.  My neighbors don't, however.

 

Is that an AC-30 in the background?  I always wanted one of those!  Several years ago I built an amp that was loosely based on that, but with a 6AU6 preamp and 6V6 power tubes.  I also built it with a second channel that's loosely based on Marshall JMP 2203.  I still have that guy, but never got around to building a cab for it.  Electronics is another one of my hobbies.  It's less Zen, and more math though.  Fun, but not the same type of "loose yourself in the moment" feeling.