More than just fishing.

[Columbia Craw]

We’re enduring very cold weather and impoundments that have not started to fill.  My long time fishing buddy we’re having coffee and I told him it’s not just the activity of fishing that I’m yearning for but everything that comes with being on the water.  I miss the geese and ducks and the song of red wing black birds.  I miss watching Bald Eagles and osprey.  The weasels and deer and the occasional beaver are just cool to watch.  Even the sound of water lapping on the hull is relaxing.  Fishing can offer more than catching. Come on sunshine!!!

[Jeff Zurawski]

Yep!

I'm a River guy and for me, in addition to experiencing the wildlife like you mentioned, it's about being in the flow -- the current's rhythm.  I'm not a religious man, maybe not even spiritual I don't know, but I get a feeling on the River that everything's gonna be alright and is just how it's supposed to be no matter what's going on in the world or in my personal life. 

[Smokinal]

I know the feel CC

Every trip is an adventure; it's the same but different; and we look forward to every one like a kid on Christmas eve

[Bird]

Very well said....... that's me 

[Catt]

I love fishing in the spring

Spinner baits with a fling

I love pitching in the brush

Rat-L-Traps in a rush

 

I love that big bump

When you flip by a stump

I love flying across the lake

The sound a 2 stroke makes

 

[Jar11591]

I miss the sound of the loon calls when I first launch my boat in the foggy morning almost as much as I miss sticking a hawg.

[MickD]

Spring fishing on Saginaw Bay can be very special because sightings of eagles are very common, usually seeing at least a couple on every trip.  In the last few years white pelicans have been regularly seen, and against a clear blue sky, they are spectacular.   When I told a couple friends about the Saginaw Bay pelicans they asked what I had been drinking, but then one of them and I had a really close view of a flight of about 5.  Along the shores are often seen American golden plovers, great egrets, great blue herons, and many terns resting on sand bars. There is always something special besides the fish.

[Mobasser]

Good post. I realized that the older I get, the more I enjoy these things. I come to catch fish, but I also enjoy nature and being out there.

[Catt]

I love the smell of a fireplace or bacon in the breeze.

[Jar11591]

One of my lakes I fish has a baseball field right next to the shoreline. I’m also a big baseball fan. I love fishing in the evening there when there is a game going on. They have the lights on, hearings the sounds of the announcer and the tink of the bat on ball while I’m in my boat close by is really cool. Baseball season and fishing season start and end about the same time up here, so they are very synonymous to me. 
 

 

[gim]

1 hour ago, Mobasser said:

I realized that the older I get, the more I enjoy these things. I come to catch fish, but I also enjoy nature and being out there.

This is me too.  When I was younger I was hell bent on coming home with fish to filet or game/birds/deer to eat after a day of hunting.  It really has nothing to do with that anymore.  And I'll also add that I find myself enjoying the outings when I go solo more often now too.

[Cbump]

I just want to beat the competition. 

[Functional]

for the past 3 years my wifes family has taken vacation on the same lake. I'm often on my boat fishing in the morning and evening and spend the blistering hot afternoon with them in the water somewhere. Its amazing the differences we experience on the same lake. All the wildlife and otters I've seen quietly fishing my way around the lake vs what they dont get to see doing what they do. Sometimes i feel like they think I'm telling fish tales. 

 

I just consider us lucky for how we get to experience a body of water vs many others and just how different those experiences can be. 

[Big Rick]

13 minutes ago, Cbump said:

I just want to beat the competition. 

Keep living. You'll get there. 

[TnRiver46]

1 hour ago, Jar11591 said:

One of my lakes I fish has a baseball field right next to the shoreline. I’m also a big baseball fan. I love fishing in the evening there when there is a game going on. They have the lights on, hearings the sounds of the announcer and the tink of the bat on ball while I’m in my boat close by is really cool. Baseball season and fishing season start and end about the same time up here, so they are very synonymous to me. 
 

 

@Jar11591got this on loop tuning his spinner baits in the basement 

[Swamp Girl]

59 minutes ago, Cbump said:

I just want to beat the competition. 

 

You are young, Grasshopper.

 

In most of my fishing reports, I report on more than just fish caught. I note the eagles and herons seen.

 

One of my favorite moments is launching my canoe in the dark. For me, a solo woman, there's a bit of danger arriving at a launch site in the dark. However, once I push my canoe away from the shore, even though it's dark, I immediately feel safe and beyond that, it's thrilling. I have caught so many bass on my first cast. Second and third casts too.

 

I know that most people would feel unsafe in a tippy canoe in the cool dark, but bad men aren't on water at four in the morning. It would scare them. They'd want lights and noise and company. I like being alone in the night, when the creatures don't fear me. Beaver and geese come up to me, their innate caution erased by the lack of light.

 

There's a long time between first light and sunrise and that stretch is my favorite time to fish.   

 

 

[scaleface]

Usually my first real outing of the year is tight-lining for whatever where a creek dumps into a swollen river . I get the poles set out , then start on a fire . It takes awhile to get the fire going because bites start happening quickly. I'll spend a day there , very therapeutic .

[Bankc]

Maybe it's because I'm not any good at fishing, but I've always enjoyed the process of fishing more than the actual catching of fish.  I'm not saying I don't like to catch fish, because that is the best part!  But if I had the option of going to a beautiful and quiet lake and spending the day casting, knowing I would never catch a thing, or going to a fish stocking tank, knowing I'd catch hundreds, if not thousands of fish in a day, I'd choose the first option 100% of the time.  

[Fishin Dad]

3 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

I miss the sound of the loon calls when I first launch my boat in the foggy morning almost as much as I miss sticking a hawg.

My favorite sound in the whole world!   My happy place.
 I don’t work in the summers and get to spend a lot of time alone on the smaller lakes around me(my buddies and most people are working, literally alone).  Almost every trip I take time off fishing to put my feet up, eat a sandwich, and enjoy the sights and sounds of the water.   I thank God every time I get that opportunity.  

[TOXIC]

Let’s not forget the camaraderie because a good fishing friend is different than any other friend.  If you spend hours and hours on a boat together you develop a bond that goes beyond friendship.  I used to use fishing to decompress from a job that was high stress and mentally exhausting.  Alone on the boat running across the lake at first light was like recharging my internal batteries.  I’ve fished for 20 years with the same guys on St Clair every year and I have realized that it’s as much about the group as it is about the fishing. 

[gim]

1 minute ago, TOXIC said:

Let’s not forget the camaraderie because a good fishing friend is different than any other friend.  If you spend hours and hours on a boat together you develop a bond that goes beyond friendship.

I hear that.  My current fishing friend lately has 4 legs.

 

 

[Mobasser]

When I was young, I fished much harder. Sometimes I think I tried too hard. If I got skunked, I'd be bummed out about it.                                            Now, I take my time, and fish at a more leisurely pace. I still want to catch fish, and, I will. But, I don't have to race around trying so hard. I enjoy everything about fishing. For me that means the sights and sounds of the lake.

[MIbassyaker]

There may no better time and place for wildlife viewing than on a small lake or river in the early morning.  I very frequently see herons, cranes, muskrats, kingfishers, loons, deer, beavers, eagles, ospreys, swans, numerous species of ducks, songbirds, turtles, and occasionally an otter, mink, or weasel.  And with a slow, quiet kayak, they sometimes get very close.

[jhoffman]

2 weeks ago it was in the 60s. Temp dropped back 20 and punted. Its been snowing, raining, 1000mph winds. I got 5" of new snow two days ago. Starting to swing towards warmer but will it hold?

Already watched the first thaw flowers come up and theyre likely gone. I knew that was gonna happen. Actually stopped buying anything that blooms before May.

Not just the fishing is right.... the frogs, gobblers, zero turn mower(yes I like my grass), landscaping, cooking on the blackstone, finding mushrooms. Im so over the winter its not even funny.

If my wife and kid werent so set on staying id be out. My career allows me to work anywhere in the world but they dont wanna leave the friends so here we remain.

[gim]

Just now, MIbassyaker said:

There may no better time and place for wildlife viewing than on a small lake or river in the early morning.  I very frequently see herons, cranes, muskrats, kingfishers, loons, deer, beavers, eagles, ospreys, swans, numerous species of ducks, songbirds, turtles, and occasionally an otter, mink, or weasel.  And with a slow, quiet kayak, they sometimes get very close.

I see a lot of other wildlife too, when I'm hunting.  I've seen rare critters that many people probably don't even realize exist.  Bobcat, fisher, mink, weasel, black bear to name a few.  Haven't seen a wolf yet though, hopefully some day.