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Go Fishing

theweek.com

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Re: Go Fishing

#21

Post by hashkb »

> One thing that keeps many people from fishing is the simple fact that they have never done it. Indeed, I think it is probably the only reason, apart from vegetarianism. (If you do not eat meat or otherwise object to taking the lives of gill-bearing aquatic craniates, there is always catch-and-release.)

Fishing is one of the cruelest things I can imagine doing to an animal. The closest way I can put it to a human is... imagine thinking you're about to bite into an apple and then being yanked, naked, into outer space by a metal hook through your face.

It's significantly more cruel than instantly ending the life of a cow or chicken, even if you catch and release. Just go sit in a boat and do drugs or something.

Re: Go Fishing

#22

Post by hoorayimhelping »

I grew up fishing, skateboarding, surfing, wakeboarding, playing baseball, playing in bands and generally getting into trouble as a younger man. I still surf and skate and wakeboard from time to time and I'm generally amazed at how friendly, welcoming and uncompetitive anglers are. I very rarely encounter any "get off my wave" type attitudes, it's mostly people asking how it's going or telling me what bait is and isn't working. I've had more friendly conversations with strangers with a fishing pole in my hand than I have with a drink in my hand. What a relaxing way to get away from the computer and screens.

If you're interested, there are some great youtube resources for learning how to fish. I'm a bass fisherman so I'd recommend looking for videos and articles from bassresource, tacitcal bassin, and flukemaster. For anyone interested, bass fishing is a much more active form of fishing than most people imagine fishing to be. You're actively casting and retrieving rather than tossing a line into the water and waiting. Here's a video of a really great good ole Alabama boy doing some topwater bass fishing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvP0GBBiaLg

Edit: I live in New Jersey about 10 miles outside of New York City and fish for bass nearly every weekend. I've caught bass in Central Park before. There are fish in nearly every park pond across the country.

Re: Go Fishing

#23

Post by jboggan »

Spearfishing fits into this narrative of escape as well, but to a greater extreme. It's really changed my life since I started two years ago and being thirty feet under the waves stalking in a kelp forest on the weekends affords me an incredible reserve of patience in the workday world.

Re: Go Fishing

#24

Post by jessaustin »

It seems based on this thread that lots of HN people expect tastes (in activities or in foods) to be universal? They're not! Everyone in my family loves fishing; I can tolerate it if I'm spending time with them or if there is boating involved. Yet I'm perfectly happy sitting for hours in the cold woods waiting for a deer to wander into range. It doesn't mean that I'm right or wrong or my brother is right or wrong or whatever...

If you have a strong opinion about eating or not eating fish or meat harvested in one fashion or another, that also is a matter of taste. You and everyone around you will be happier from the moment you accept that.

Re: Go Fishing

#27

Post by starpilot »

jhowell wrote: post #9
starpilot wrote: post #5

It's kind of boring. Fine for a diversion to get away from a desk, I can't imagine it as a lifestyle though.

There are a lot of people who have moved to be closer to fish. I'm thinking about experiences I've had in the northwest, and Canada, but there are hundreds more places. Fishing is definitely a lifestyle.

I still can't imagine it as one though.

Re: Go Fishing

#29

Post by vram22 »

clay_the_ripper wrote: post #10

I think the author that captures fishing best is Hemingway. If you’ve never fished, or never quite got why fishing might be enjoyable, I’d highly recommend ‘Islands In The Stream” by Hemingway, or his collection of short stories “Hemingway on fishing”. He does an amazing job of making the reader “feel” what it feels like to fish. Fishing is all about how it makes you feel (IMO). It’s less about the technical aspects…

Another interesting book about fishing by Hemingway is "The Old Man and The Sea".

I read it as a teenager.

Googled it now because of your comment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Old_Man_and_the_Sea

Only now did I get to know this about it - from the Wikipedia article:

[ The Old Man and the Sea is a short novel written by the American author Ernest Hemingway in 1951 in Cuba, and published in 1952.[1] It was the last major work of fiction by Hemingway that was published during his lifetime. One of his most famous works, it tells the story of Santiago, an aging Cuban fisherman who struggles with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cuba.[2]

In 1953, The Old Man and the Sea was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and it was cited by the Nobel Committee as contributing to their awarding of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Hemingway in 1954.[2] ]

Re: Go Fishing

#30

Post by sleazebreeze »

abenedic wrote: post #4
brootstrap wrote: post #2

Love fishing, slayin bass, rentin a crappy boat and drinkin zodes is an IDEAL time for me. One of the best parts is that you can catch 'real' fish and have a good time with crappy walmart rods. I think 50 bucks is probably enough to get you started. It aint for everyone though. my love of fishing started as a young buck exploring my neighborhood with other dudes, finding little ponds etc and trying to catch anything!

I can agree with most of this, but what is a "zode"? I grew up in the mid-west and have never heard that term.

I'm overcome by curiosity to find out what "zode" means as well. Like others, I assumed it's slang for beer, but I can't find anything related on the internet about it..
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