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Fishing can be tonic for the soul
Angling has a place in our lives, even if we don't get a bite
By
John Phillips
Scripps Howard News Service
On a recent weekend, I relearned not only why I liked to fish, but why I needed to go fishing.
I'd made plans to leave for a major saltwater trip to Alabama's Dauphin Island and had all my cameras, tape recorders, clothes and other gear packed and ready to go the day before the trip.
However, 30 minutes before I had to leave for the trip, we had a major family disaster that required me to calm down my wife and make several emotional phone calls.
I dealt with the problem right up until the time I grabbed my clothes and went out the door. Then all the way to the Gulf Coast I mentally tried to decide the best thing to do about our situation.
When I got up the next morning to go fishing, I thought to myself, "Well, at least today I won't have to deal with this problem." But when I opened my trunk to take out my camera gear and all the other necessities I needed to get article information and photos, I found the trunk totally empty.
I couldn't believe my eyes, and thought, "Surely I didn't leave all my equipment at home."
I shut the trunk again and then reopened it to look for my stuff but simply discovered an empty trunk. I hastily bought three disposable cameras at the corner store to use for shooting photographs.
However, by the time we'd traveled a half-mile from the shore, I'd forgotten all the problems at home and my disgust with myself for leaving my equipment at home.
The gently rolling Gulf of Mexico waters acted as a balm to my spirit. As I watched my rod tip waiting for a bite, the men on board joked, kidded, told stories and talked about their work and mine.
Then, because the fish didn't bite well, we spent our time running across the slick gulf with the wind in our hair (what little hair I had left). The salty air cleared out my sinuses, and the warm rays of the sun massaged my tense muscles and aching spirit.
As I thought about the therapeutic aspects of fishing, I remembered that I actually had used the catching of fish as my excuse for going fishing. But the friendships I made, the stories we shared, the food we ate, the sun, the spray, the wind and the waves all combined for a fun day.
Although we caught very few fish, I experienced one of the greatest fishing trips of my life. After a solid night of worry-free sleep and the remembrance of a great day, all the tension, anguish and stress I'd felt previously had disappeared by the time I headed home.
Perhaps we read too many articles and books and watch too many TV shows that tell us how to catch fish. I've realized that fishing has a place in my life even if I don't catch a fish or get a bite.
Here's the beauty of going outdoors: You may find a quiet stream, a wide blue ocean or a solitary rock just the medicine you need to take.
Fishing has a purpose for us all, and I've rediscovered its purpose for me.
John Phillips writes for the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama.
Angling has a place in our lives, even if we don't get a bite
By
John Phillips
Scripps Howard News Service
On a recent weekend, I relearned not only why I liked to fish, but why I needed to go fishing.
I'd made plans to leave for a major saltwater trip to Alabama's Dauphin Island and had all my cameras, tape recorders, clothes and other gear packed and ready to go the day before the trip.
However, 30 minutes before I had to leave for the trip, we had a major family disaster that required me to calm down my wife and make several emotional phone calls.
I dealt with the problem right up until the time I grabbed my clothes and went out the door. Then all the way to the Gulf Coast I mentally tried to decide the best thing to do about our situation.
When I got up the next morning to go fishing, I thought to myself, "Well, at least today I won't have to deal with this problem." But when I opened my trunk to take out my camera gear and all the other necessities I needed to get article information and photos, I found the trunk totally empty.
I couldn't believe my eyes, and thought, "Surely I didn't leave all my equipment at home."
I shut the trunk again and then reopened it to look for my stuff but simply discovered an empty trunk. I hastily bought three disposable cameras at the corner store to use for shooting photographs.
However, by the time we'd traveled a half-mile from the shore, I'd forgotten all the problems at home and my disgust with myself for leaving my equipment at home.
The gently rolling Gulf of Mexico waters acted as a balm to my spirit. As I watched my rod tip waiting for a bite, the men on board joked, kidded, told stories and talked about their work and mine.
Then, because the fish didn't bite well, we spent our time running across the slick gulf with the wind in our hair (what little hair I had left). The salty air cleared out my sinuses, and the warm rays of the sun massaged my tense muscles and aching spirit.
As I thought about the therapeutic aspects of fishing, I remembered that I actually had used the catching of fish as my excuse for going fishing. But the friendships I made, the stories we shared, the food we ate, the sun, the spray, the wind and the waves all combined for a fun day.
Although we caught very few fish, I experienced one of the greatest fishing trips of my life. After a solid night of worry-free sleep and the remembrance of a great day, all the tension, anguish and stress I'd felt previously had disappeared by the time I headed home.
Perhaps we read too many articles and books and watch too many TV shows that tell us how to catch fish. I've realized that fishing has a place in my life even if I don't catch a fish or get a bite.
Here's the beauty of going outdoors: You may find a quiet stream, a wide blue ocean or a solitary rock just the medicine you need to take.
Fishing has a purpose for us all, and I've rediscovered its purpose for me.
John Phillips writes for the Birmingham Post-Herald in Alabama.
