Why do I fish?

I’ve played lots of sports, putting many years work into some, rugby, basketball, aussie rules, raced karts, speedway, played paintball, raced mountain bikes downhills etc the list goes on. Eventually though for one reason or another (mostly that the mind was willing but the body was weak) I gave them up. Some I still enjoy from time to time but for whatever reason or circumstance they have all faded, except for fishing.  It amazes me that after all this time how much I still like it, think about it, look forward to it and my fishing bucket list is going to need at least five lifetimes. I feel like I should wake up one day and not want to do it any longer like all the other past times that have gone before.

Recently I have been pondering as to why this is so…

Now I could rattle off all the clichés about the travel and the experiences, the people and all that, but if I’m going to be honest with myself I have to look deeper than that. Why? Well you see it’s easy to look forward to trips to exotic locations but I’m also perfectly happy fishing in stinky old Perth, by myself maybe only getting a few small fish and sometimes nothing at all. No travel, no real amazing experience and no other people and yet I'd do it every day if I could. So what’s that about then?

Pondering this I realised that it is kind of like going for a ride on your bike or a surf, its bloody impossible to come back not feeling happy but the enjoyment comes not only from the act itself as when your surfing or cutting up some single track on the bike you don’t think about the bills, work, or any problems you may have and you don’t weigh your brain down with shit you can’t change anyway. It’s mental escapism and while everyone has their own flavour, we all like ice cream. Wow my first Mick Malthouseism! :D

Moving on, I also realised that interacting with Mother Nature gives you one of those unexplainable highs you just don’t get from other recreations. Try going for a swim in the ocean, or rolling down a hill on your bike, or catching a fish. All the money in the world can’t buy that, which, in a world where money is often king, I reckon, is pretty cool…

And besides sometimes Perth fishes okay J

I got this bream first cast one morning right under Perth's main freeway and within the shadow of the heart of the city, 45cm and 1.6 kilos, probably about 20-25 years old and hopefully still swimming around...