From The Outside Looking In

[Trox]

I got the idea of this topic from a statement that my wife said tonight... "I don't know how anyone can enjoy bass fishing like you do, it looks like so much work!". This statement stems from years of her watching me spend entire days rigging/re-rigging for a fishing trip or tournament, watching me leave home for days at a time to drive 7 hours one way or for the local lakes, leave home at 5am, fish all day and return a 5pm, ready for the next trip. In addition, knowing that there have been days on the water where I haven't actually fished, but instead just spent the day graphing and looking for fish for future trips, only to come home and watch 5 episode of Zona's Awesome Fishing Show or hours of YouTube content before inevitably ending up at BassResource.com at some point... I'm sure from an outsider we all look rather crazy, at least I know I do!!

Of course, none of this feels like work to me. Every minute spent doing something related to fishing is considered time well spent, and typically flys by. And chances are, most who are reading this likely feel the same way. I just never really stopped to think about what all of this must look like "from the outside looking in"... Like, when a stranger or someone tries to break the ice by asking you about fishing because they see a fish on your shirt, or because someone told them that you enjoy the sport, then having to stop yourself mid sentence because you caught their eyes glazing over while you were trying to explain how that big fish you saw was positioned the other day...

 

Pretty much all of my friends are bass fisherman who lean on the more serious side, some of them call daily to talk about fishing, to the point where my wife calls them "The other women",followed by an eye roll 100% of the time... Just another example of how loony all this must seem from those outside of the sport! Thoughts?

[GreenPig]

I do get crazy when I don't get to fish and anybody close to me knows it. 

[Skunkmaster-k]

Me too 

[Deleted account]

I think I'm somewhat of a unicorn when it comes to fishing. I don't really enjoy any aspect of it that isn't fishing. I'm like that with all my sporting goods equipment. I think it comes from decades in sporting goods retailing. I don't like playing with tackle, I don't like prepping tackle, I purposely don't have fishing buddies, and if I'm not catching, I'm not having a good time. 

[papajoe222]

Anyone that knows me, knows that my moods are fishing influenced. As long as I'm doing something fishing related, I'm easy to get along with. From November until March, my good nature personality goes downhill until it gets to the point they are currently dealing with. All my gear is prepped, the boat is ready and I sit here spinning the handle of one of my reels.  The wife and daughter are at the other end of the house behind a locked door.

[padon]

yeah my wife knows when i havent been fishing enough. she can tell by my mood. sometimes she will "you need to go fishing for a couple days".

[PhishLI]

1 hour ago, TroxBox said:

I just never really stopped to think about what all of this must look like "from the outside looking in"... Like, when a stranger or someone tries to break the ice by asking you about fishing because they see a fish on your shirt, or because someone told them that you enjoy the sport, then having to stop yourself mid sentence because you caught their eyes glazing over while you were trying to explain how that big fish you saw was positioned the other day...

I can smell when they're not truly interested, or politely judgmental, so I save time and go straight to my standard line: It's better than being drunk at a nudie bar. And that's that. 

27 minutes ago, padon said:

yeah my wife knows when i havent been fishing enough. she can tell by my mood. sometimes she will "you need to go fishing for a couple days".

Ours must be part of the same support group, thank god.?

[Catt]

7 hours ago, padon said:

yeah my wife knows when i havent been fishing enough. she can tell by my mood. sometimes she will "you need to go fishing for a couple days".

 

Years ago my wife compared it to Garth Brooks song Rodeo! 

 

His eyes are cold and restless
And his wounds have almost healed
And she'd give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
She knows his love's in Tulsa
And she knows he's gonna go
But it ain't no woman flesh and blood
It's that damned old rodeo, oh

[T-Billy]

My wife enables my fishing addiction and enjoys going with me when the weather is nice. She's dangerous with a crankbait in her hand, to the fish, to me, to herself... LOL!!! Seriously, put her around them, she can catch'em.  Best fishin buddy I've ever had.

[Deleted account]

8 hours ago, padon said:

yeah my wife knows when i havent been fishing enough. she can tell by my mood. sometimes she will "you need to go fishing for a couple days".

LOL. You must still be newlyweds. I get "GO FISHING ALREADY!"

[A-Jay]

My life at this point consists of taking care of my wife, training myself and my dogs.

Just about everything else I do is done 'while' I'm either thinking about going fishing, or preparing to do something that sets me up to go fishing.

Impending open water is a very exciting time, just as the approach of hard water is somewhat depressing.

Anyone who knows me knows all of this.

Any conversations involving another subject matter

gets little to no tracking when directed my way.

As an OG, I can kind of get away with it. 

It's all good.

Fish Hard.

A-Jay

 

[FishinBuck07]

My wife is a good influence and bad influence when it comes to my addiction to this sport.  The good is she supports me fishing as much as possible, she loves to go out on the boat when the weather is nice, and she sometimes fishes(hoping to get her more into this part of it this summer).  The bad part about it is she supports all of the sides of this sport, including my tackle addiction, which is not a good thing in the long run!?

[padon]

37 minutes ago, Deleted account said:

LOL. You must still be newlyweds. I get "GO FISHING ALREADY!"

yesterday when the wife got home from work i was on the computer. she said "what are you looking at." i said im googling the life cycle and spawning movements of gizzard shad. she looked at me, shook her head and said," its better than porn i guess" . fishing is my  first thought in the morning and the last before i go to sleep. plus a million times in between. its not normal. 

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, padon said:

yesterday when the wife got home from work i was on the computer. she said "what are you looking at." i said im googling the life cycle and spawning movements of gizzard shad. she looked at me, shook her head and said," its better than porn i guess" . fishing is my  first thought in the morning and the last before i go to sleep. plus a million times in between. its not normal. 

Sounds normal to me 

[GaryH]

1 hour ago, Catt said:

 

Years ago my wife compared it to Garth Brooks song Rodeo! 

 

His eyes are cold and restless
And his wounds have almost healed
And she'd give half of Texas
Just to change the way he feels
She knows his love's in Tulsa
And she knows he's gonna go
But it ain't no woman flesh and blood
It's that damned old rodeo, oh

Thanks… Now I can’t get that song out of my head. 

[Jigfishn10]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Any conversations involving another subject matter

get little to no tracking when directed my way.

Well, maybe working out will get a good dialog going with you.

 

I was pretty much out of fishing for a few years when my son was into baseball as well as my work schedule changed. Last year was the first year I got back into it. This past winter I tied up about 75 bucktail jigs to keep busy and occupied. Family loved it b/c I was out of their hair.  

 

It was all smiles in Jigfishn's household when I got back into it.  

[Darth-Baiter]

I don’t let the world revolve around me.  My wife wanted to go hiking with a group to learn about local edible wild plants. I put away the fishing thoughts and strapped on my boots. It turned out fun and I learned cool things.  Spent a good day with the wife holding hands. 
 

ironically, I learned what plant the indigenous people used to suffocate fish in pools. - for food. 
 

I have a lifetime to fish. I went the next day.  Which was a skunk.  Boo!  I needed that owygen depletion plant. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

I don’t let the world revolve around me.  My wife wanted to go hiking with a group to learn about local edible wild plants. I put away the fishing thoughts and strapped on my boots. It turned out fun and I learned cool things.  Spent a good day with the wife holding hands. 
 

ironically, I learned what plant the indigenous people used to suffocate fish in pools. - for food. 
 

I have a lifetime to fish. I went the next day.  Which was a skunk.  Boo!  I needed that owygen depletion plant. 

When I worked for the park service shocking trout, we knocked them out with clove oil so they would stop flopping long enough to get measured. It lasted about 5 minutes then they woke back up 

[Big Rick]

5 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

When I worked for the park service shocking trout, we knocked them out with clove oil so they would stop flopping long enough to get measured. It lasted about 5 minutes then they woke back up 

you do realize you just broke the internet with people googling clove oil to purchase......

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

you do realize you just broke the internet with people googling clove oil to purchase......

Haha! Woops……..

 

I wouldn’t recommend it, got it in my eyes a few times 

[Big Rick]

4 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Haha! Woops……..

 

I wouldn’t recommend it, got it in my eyes a few times 

How did you apply it to the fish?

[TnRiver46]

3 minutes ago, Big Rick said:

How did you apply it to the fish?

Put one cap full into a 5 gallon bucket full of water and fish 

[Skunkmaster-k]

When I googled it the first thing that popped up was “ how to humanely euthanize your pet fish with clove oil “ 

[DitchPanda]

Being completely wrapped up in fishing? Yep...I'm living that. Normal winters I suffer pretty bad seasonal depression... Bummed out, pissy snappy mood etc. My girlfriend says she instantly sees my mood change right after ice out. This year hasn't been as bad as I've been focusing on my diet and my new job...but now that we are creeping up on March I'm starting to get twitchy.