I’m not going to “wax poetic” on the topic. But I fish for several reasons. Simply put…I ENJOY it. But it goes deeper than that for myself and I’m sure for almost everyone else.
I enjoy figuring out “THE PUZZLE”. Where they are, what depth, what speed, what color etc etc. It is truly a multifaceted sport. I am not in it for the pictures, in fact, most fish are released immediately. To me, getting set up to take the perfect picture ruins the experience. Not to mention that to me, it seems as if the pictures I take do not compare to what the human eye takes in. It seems too contrived and catapults the fish into a “status” rather than where it belongs…as a worthy adversary that demands respect.
I remember an old saying…”no man fishes the same river twice” and likewise, “no man catches the same fish twice”. Or at least that’s how I see it. Time waits for no man and more and more I find myself slowing things down. Focusing on the fishing and tuning out the mundane things in life that are nagging and ever-present. It’s a nice break from reality really.
I find that the location is equally as important to me. I mainly fish in places that aren’t saturated with people and takes a lot of effort to get to. No cell phone reception is a HUGE bonus. My trips to Canada entail lots of paddling and portaging to get to where I want to camp and fish. The less people the better. I used to carry an axe to chop firewood but found that the noise that the axe made disturbed the silence I was in, some unknown violation of Wilderness Sanctity. I switched to a saw just to be less obtrusive in my environment. It’s about the entire experience, not just the fish.
Perhaps that’s why I am drawn to JDM gear? Maybe they “get it”. They know that quality supersedes quantity everytime. It’s the experience and the reverence for the quarry that combine to make lasting memories…or maybe I just think too much…”Fish Reverence”…is that a thing?
Velox Seeker 