The big one
Waking up to a sudden and continuous alarm is one way to start off your day, but when your an avid fisherman like me, this is just about how every summer day is kicked off.
Thinking back, I can remember exactly what made me love it. Fishing leaves you on the hook, it leaves you wanting more. My lifelong friend has been Josh, when I was younger I made a trip to his cottage (little did I know that I would spend at least a week there every summer since), and we fished our hearts out. I couldn’t get enough. Never catching a fish bigger than the size of my 7 year old hand didn’t matter to me, I was having fun.
Now 14, going on 40, I made my way out to my patented spot, on this early summer morning. My main goal; to catch dinner. Now, don’t get me wrong, my family has no problem providing, food on the table has never been a worry and I hope it never will have to be. But the self satisfaction I got from bringing in a nice catch and everyone eating it up is the best feeling.
Marcel
Bob
Judy
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3 names that will never grow old to me.
Marcel is my 78 year old fishing buddy. But Marcel loves to egg me on. Now not to forget about my Nana, because she is amazing, but Marcel and Bob (my grandpa), like to have friendly fire battles. If I come in after a day of fishing with nothing, Marcel will have something to say about it. But my Papa sure as hell won’t miss out on his chance to strike when Marcel comes in with an empty live-well. Now Judy, she’s the regulator. She cheers me on when I out do Marcel, and yet gives me a piece of the pie when Marcel is the only guy who brought in fish. All this said, they are the people who me out there during the dog hours of the morning.
With all this said, when I think about the reasons I’ve grown so close to the sport is due to the experiences that it has brought me.
- Patience: fishing has taught me to wait out all of the bad, for good will come eventually. And to treat every outing like its your last.
- Respect: fish are alive, if they aren’t going to end up in your belly, they should end up back in the lake.
- Reward: when you pull up a fish, your elated for a split second, until you realise that the fish in your hand has a mama!
As I progress, the fish get bigger and the love becomes stronger. All that i’m trying to get across is: when you can spend the hours of 6 am until 2 pm on a current filled lake, you know it is something you love.
