The Long Living Tradition of Fishing

Fishing– the sport of catching fish—freshwater or saltwater—typically with rod, line, and hook. Fishing is as old as the human ability to use tools to capture prey.

I have been fishing since I was 3 years old, an age at which you don’t nearly appreciate it as much as you should but yet you still love it. You love the tug on your line, the wind on your face, and especially enjoying your catch at the end of the day, even though your mind really isn’t fully capable of grasping the beauty of it. My father introduced me to fishing, because it was something that he loved growing up and continues to love today. My dad grew up in the western state of Utah, and the area in Utah where he lived was full of fish. He could go up into the mountains and fish in the raging streams, or he could keep going up the canyon to crystal clear glass like lakes, and even if he didn’t feel like going into the mountains he could fish in the lake in the middle of the large valley in which he lived. My dad, like many others, did not go fishing just to enjoy the experience of catching a fish, but to also enjoy the beautiful scenery, and the time with family and friends. These experiences were so fond to him that he wanted to share them with his son, even though he was a 3 year old who really didn’t have the greatest ability to follow directions. That experience in the mountains, on a chilly September morning is very fond to me. I can still recall my excitement as I pulled in that fish, which I assume was a trout, and screaming as is wiggled at my feet, and screaming even more as I touched its slimy body. If we fast forward roughly 13 years you’ll find me as I am today, and although I’ve gotten taller, and put 10 years of schooling under my belt, I still love fishing. The anticipation of getting a bite is on the highest level, and the feeling when you do get a bite is equally exhilarating. Just knowing that on the other end of your length of string there is an animal who lives its entire life in a completely different world than ours, and that you have the pleasure of pulling it into your world. This amazing thing aside, fishing also puts you in places that few get to experience, and even if they do, you still get to experience a whole different dimension to the lake, river, or stream. The beauty of these natural places, and the time you are able to spend with family and friends are experiences that will live with you for the rest of your life, regardless if you catch fish or not.

The picture above was taken at our cabin on the Mississippi River, one of my favorite fishing spots. Most of the fishing takes place at night, when the catfish are active. Catfish are one of the toughest freshwater fish in the Unites States, and also one of the most fun and easiest to catch. The preferred bait for catfish is night crawlers, one of the most traditional baits available today. The worm is placed on the hook, and then line, hook and sinker are tossed into the river. Then the waiting begins. You wait for a fish to take your bait, hoping that it will be a big one. When the bite comes, it is not a simple matter of just reeling the fish in, you need to set the hook. To do this you jerk beck the pole so that the hook becomes permanently lodged in the fish’s mouth. After the hook is set you can proceed to reel in the fish, careful to not let the line get too tight, or else it could break. You then proceed to reel the fish within netting distance, and then you caught your fish! You can then do one of two things, release the fish, or keep it. Releasing it is much less work than fileting it, but it does not provide the delicious meal that you obtain by using a little bit of elbow grease. I have very fond memories of nights spent reeling in fish after fish, and even fonder memories of enjoying that time with my dad and sisters. No matter how you look at it, fishing provides opportunities that are very rarely accessed anywhere else. As well as opportunities that can carry through generations.

Where the Red Fern Grows

Where the Red Fern Grows is a novel that has touched the hearts of many people, including myself. It is the timeless story of a boy who like so many other boys has a desire for adventure, and that desire drives him to do many things. The boy, Billy lives on a farm in the Ozark mountains and his family doesn’t have the money he needs in order to buy something he wants more than anything: coonhounds. Billy eventually gets his hounds by saving for them his self, and that makes him love them even more. I can still remember sitting in my bed reading this book, seeing everything from the eyes of Billy, the close calls, the triumphs, the sadness and heartache: all of it mine. I breathed the air of those chilly nights, felt branches whip my face as I chased after those dogs, and the bounty they followed. This experience of feeling like I was living a life so full of adventure left me always wanting more, wishing that I actually could be there. These urges for having such a desire to experience the raw hazards and trills of nature, led to a desire to have these experiences myself. I read books on hunting and fishing, went on any possible outdoor excursion available to me, but I never got all of what I desired. There was still a lack of something, an essential ingredient left out of the mixture, and the only way I could obtain it was to stumble upon it.

This went on for a period of roughly 5 years on and off, with the urges ebbing and flowing depending on how occupied my time was, the people that I spent time with, and the time I would spend outdoors. Then one day in November in 2012 a spark was lit. My family was going up to a small town in Iowa to visit a great uncle, and I was not over thrilled by the idea, however I still was required to go. We arrived and just as we arrived, my uncle arrived. He had just gotten home from checking his traps that morning, and we were allowed to see the catch, that was held in the bed of his truck. Waiting for us were 2 raccoons, 3 muskrats, and a air of excitement and adventure. My uncle then told us more about trapping, and my ears were wide open. The more he talked, the more I thought I had finally found the thing I was missing, the absent ingredient in this adventurous recipe. My new found secret ingredient was not quite ready to be added to my recipe, but when it is the result will be absolutely delicious.