Today someone asked me why I spend so much money on fishing gear if every fish that I catch I let go.  It took me a while to think about the complicated answer and then I said:

• I don’t fish for a living

I fish because…

• It is there where I talk to the people that aren’t among us anymore.
• It’s where I travel within my soul with only myself as as companion.
• I fish because it is then when I forget about the problems at work; it is there where I forget about everything and my soul finds peace being away from the noises of the city.
• It is on the water that I value what I have and where I realize that I don’t need much to be happy.
• Fishing is where I begin that game I started many years ago.  A game between an intelligent fish and me.  You have to fool the fish by turning yourself into a lure and challenging it to attack.
• It’s an active hunt where every step is so important that hours can pass by and you would feel as fresh -or fresher- as before starting your search.
• It’s the relaxing motion of the waves under your seat and the soft touch of the clean breeze on your face as another active ingredient of your inner search.
• As everything in life, you have to be alert and constantly changing strategies, changing lures, changing the way or the speed you pick up your line, and when you finally catch that fish, it becomes a magical moment and you rush it, but at the same time you want it to last much longer.
• I fish because fishing is a life lesson that teaches me that I have to try as many times as needed. That a failed attempt puts me one step closer to success.
• I fish because fishing is the oxygen I need to return to work to put into practice what I just learned…

I repeat, I don’t fish to eat, but if I capture a fish, I return my playmate and let him swim freely because I want to keep on playing this game and acquiring life lessons for as long as I remain on this Earth.

(Photo Credit: Justin Hausner)

Tight lines my friends!
Roberto Briones (Dr.B)
Twitter/Instagram (@DrBOutdoors)