It’s not just about the fish, but about the entire ecosystem that surrounds you, that has graciously welcomed you in.
Casey Chalk
By Casey Chalk
May 10, 2019
A lot of songs praise the fishing lifestyle. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s’ “Don’t Ask Me No Questions” includes the line: “I said don’t ask no stupid questions and I won’t send you away. If you want to talk fishin, well I guess that’ll be OK.”
In the 1951 classic, “Gone Fishin’,” Bing Crosby croons, “Every time I go out to your place, you gone fishin’.” Louis Armstrong replies: “I’m real gone man.” Brad Paisley in “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” laments with a smile, “Today she met me at the door, said I would have to choose; if I hit that fishin’ hole today, she’d be packin’ all her things and she’d be gone by noon. Well I’m gonna miss her.”
As a corollary to my friend Mark Earley’s recent article on the merits of hunting, I think fishing is likewise beloved because of its cultivation of virtue and character formation, as well as its ability to help us connect with ourselves, others, and nature. It’s also a lot easier and cheaper, too.
The Virtues of Fishing
The first thing one learns from fishing is that patience is required. There’s of course the patience of waiting for a bite. But there’s also the *#$@ of untangling that &*%$ line. Sometimes the hook gets stuck in the brush, in water undergrowth, or even in your clothes. Sometimes what one had expected to be a nice day on the water turns out to be rainy, or windy, or just cold.
Whatever the problem, one has to learn to take it in stride, calmly address the problem, or, oftentimes, just accept the inconvenience. The true fisherman is a longsuffering fisherman, well-acquainted with defeat, who sometimes comes home empty-handed.
Yet the fisherman is also a person, like the hunter, who is engaging with and enjoying nature, typically seeking to disconnect from the overbearing technology of the twenty-first century. The fisherman (or, I suppose, fisherwoman) learns and appreciates the great outdoors — indeed, he or she must take proper account of it in order to succeed.
To fish well means to know where the fish go, and at what hours. To fish well means to become well-acquainted with dawn, with the sunrise, its rays bouncing colors over the water. To fish means to become acquainted with the woods, with wildlife, and with oneself. It’s not just about the fish, but about the entire ecosystem that surrounds you, that has graciously welcomed you in.
MORE HERE, RIBIT:
http://thefederalist.com/2019/05/10/fishing-can-make-us-better-people/?utm_source=The+Federalist+List&;utm_campaign=7d8cfaad94-RSS_The_Federalist_Daily_Updates_w_Transom&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_cfcb868ceb-7d8cfaad94-84073723
| 
