Fishing

A wise man once said, “Give a man a fish he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.” Fishing has creating long tales and humorous anecdotes, but for most fishing is a time honored sport that encompasses skill, drive, persistence, and patience. Fishing has made a permanent imprint on my life. The first time I ever held a fishing pole and reel I was one and a half years old. It was a four-foot Mickey- mouse rod with a blue closed- face reel. Unbeknown to me, as I cast my line into the man-made stocked pond I joined the elite group of the Scianna fishermen, generations of men, like my father and his father, who dedicate a small portion of their life waiting patiently for a tug on the line. This was the beginning of a truly wonderful hobby. One of the first things I learned was how to cast. My Mickey Mouse rod had its limitations for technique of casting but I made the best of it with beginning equipment. There are a few different ways to cast: sidearm, overhand, and pitching. Some are more dangerous than others, especially when first learning. I remember several occasions when I accidentally hooked myself or others, which includes some trips to the hospital. One incident I remember quite vividly is teaching my brother how to cast at Sunset Lake in Sublette, IL. He began to cast, bringing the pole back and he jerked the pole forward but he was snagged on something. He looked back to find that he had caught my ear, the hook went all the way through my ear. The problem with fishing hooks is they are very sharp and have a barb on the end; the purpose of this is so the fish will not get off the hook. The barb makes hook wounds more severe. To remove the hook from my ear my dad cut the hook with pliers and pulled it through my ear. It was a very memorable experience. I believe I still have a tiny scar from the incident, like a war badge of honor. Besides casting, it is important to learn how to change the way you fish, depending on which type of fish you are fishing for. As a young child, I had no preference of fish type; I just wanted to catch a fish. As I continued to learn about fishing I also learned about types of fish. The first type of fish I learned to fish for after learning to cast was panfish. A panfish is generally pretty small. They are referred to as panfish because they easily fit into a frying pan. Some examples of this fish are crappie, bluegill, and sunfish. The best way to catch this sort of fish is with a bobber, a number ten hook, and a wax worm. It was summertime, I was at Mallard Lake. I was fishing for bluegill and sunfish but I found that I grew bored of catching small panfish. I decided to tie an extra hook on the bottom on my line; I hoped the hooks wouldn’t get tangled. Next thing I knew I felt a tug. Then I felt another tug. I reeled my line in and I had two fish! Sure enough catching two fish is more fun than one. The Mickey Mouse rod served me well, but as I acquired skill, I needed equipment that could keep up with me. The Mickey Mouse rod had a very limited weight capacity and my sights were for the big fish. My grandpa bought me a brand new Shimano Spirex along with a six foot light action Ugly Stick for my seventh birthday; I was thrilled. It took some getting used to but before I knew it I couldn’t believe I was able to fish with my old closed-face reel. Now it was time for something bigger and better. My preference in rods and reels became more sophisticated and so did my choice of fish. I yearned for a new challenge, something more exciting than panfish. Largemouth bass is possibly the most popular freshwater sport fish and was my new challenge. These fish are more difficult to catch and much more exciting. Generally artificial bait is used to catch bass but live bait is also quite popular. My grandpa woke me up one morning at 6 am, and I yawned as we drove to the lake. He backed his twelve foot v-bottom row boat into the water. I had a plan that was the day I was going to catch my first largemouth bass. We trolled around the lake for what seemed to be days, in actuality it was about an hour. Patience is a key virtue when fishing, if you caught a fish every time it would be called catching, not fishing. Finally, I had something; it was a fifteen inch largemouth bass. I was so excited that I took the fish, barely over the legal size, home to get mounted. It hangs on my wall to this day, along with a twenty- five inch six pound largemouth and a forty inch fifteen pound northern pike. With the big catch behind me I looked for a challenge. Bait-casting reels were the new big thing. These reels are complicated, frustrating and substantially more rewarding. One benefit of a bait-caster is a weight adjustment knob, which allows for use of much lighter and heavier lures. While first learning how to use this new reel I got so frustrated with the constant knots and bird nesting of the reel that I actually put it down and walked away. Shortly after that I began to get the hang of it. Looking back I am very happy I didn’t quit after all the frustration; bait-casting reels are my preference to date. My most recent attempt at learning another fishing style is fly fishing. Fly fishing is very different from any other form of fishing. The equipment consists of an eight- foot fly rod, a specially made reel, and weighted line. The idea behind fly fishing is to make the fish believe that your lure is a bug landing on the surface of the water. Fly fishing is quite difficult; in order to get your fly out to the water you need to cast in a much different way than you would for spinning reels or bait casting reels. The casting motion is a sort of figure eight in the air and the weighted line takes the fly out to the water. I remember my first time learning to fly fish, nobody told me to start my casting motion without a hook. As I began my figure eight motion above my head I was pretty happy, I thought I had the hang of it already. Little did I know when finishing the casting motion the lure flies right past your head. Or at least it’s supposed to fly past your head. My lure flew right into my back, the wound wasn’t too severe but I now know that practice is done best without a hook. I’m not quite proficient in fly fishing yet, but with some more practice I will be. Then I will search for a new fishing style or piece of equipment to stay excited about an age old sport. I have come a long way from that blue Mickey Mouse fishing pole. Along the way I have acquired a respect and understanding for the sport of fishing. Many years and scars later I consider myself fairly literate in freshwater fishing. Attaining this literacy has opened many doors for me and helped me meet people I will be fishing with for the rest of my life. Being literate in fishing has also brought new opportunities to me, for example the Saluki Bassers. They are a fishing team on campus that fishes together and participates in many competitions. Hopefully one day those competitions will bring me to even greater opportunities. It is very rare to find a passion for any activity at the young age of one and half years old. As a young innocent child I was attracted to the thrill of the catch. Bringing home a basket of fish and then the satisfaction of eating your catch is a remarkable feeling. I was lucky to feel that satisfaction early and then once I felt it I was hooked for life. Eighteen years later I still feel the excitement a still lake and a good rod has to offer. If there is one thing I could do for the rest of my life it is fish.