Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
I’ve heard the definition of "fishing" described as; "A long string with a jerk on one end waiting for a jerk on the other end". As a fisherman myself I should probably take exception to that description but, well, I guess we've all been called worse.
When I was a kid I worked at a local marina that had a busy fuel dock. One of our regular customers was a fellow who used to come in with his boat and had lots and lots (and lots!) of money. He was also a fishing fanatic who, because of his financial situation, was able to pursue his passion around the globe. I was always amazed at his stories of giant bluefin tuna in the Bahamas and off Nova Scotia, grander black Marlin off the Great Barrier Reef, white sharks off South Africa, and all the different fish he caught here in Ocean City.
I also remember this fellow as being very patient and quite nice to "this" kid who hung on his every word and probably pestered him more than I should have in my quest to hear more of his stories and perhaps gain a little insight on how I too could catch fish like that. In retrospect, I guess I should have pestered him more about how to make the kind of money he'd acquired rather than worry about his knowledge of fishing, but - that's beside the point.
So with all due respect to someone's warped definition of fishing, I would never consider this fellow as a "jerk" at the end of any line, but I will go so far as to say that he was a "fool" - a "fishing fool" that is because from what I witnessed of his behavior he absolutely could not get enough of it. From my observations there was never a time he wasn't going to, coming from, preparing for, or talking about his latest fishing trip! He was so obsessed with fishing that at the end of a long day offshore he'd fish for spot off the dock while fueling his boat. Not that he needed the spot for bait, he turned them all loose - he just couldn't stop fishing! Sound like anyone you know? A friend? A family member? You?
My point? Well, here was a guy who, at the time, was a top-dog fisherman by all accounts. He had the time, resources, and ability to fish for anything, anywhere, and anytime he wanted, and although big fish in exotic places were his passion, he still took great joy in something as simple as catching little spot from a dock. And the thing was, he didn't belittle that or any type of fishing, he just liked “fishing” that much.
Maybe the fact that you're reading this paper means that you're infected with a dose of fishing fever yourself. Maybe not as much as some, maybe more than others, but perhaps you know very well what it's like to have your life pushed around by the constant quest to fish for whatever-whenever. Twelve months of the year you’re constantly being consumed by thoughts of what's being caught where and what you need to do to get in on that action. Your vacation plans always include some kind of fishing, anytime you’re at a gathering of friends or family you will seek out any of them who might also be an angler and probably spend the entire time with them talking about fishing. You probably have a “What’s their problem?” attitude towards people you know who choose not to fish. And any day during the fishing season when the weather is nice and the bite is "on", you’ll either be fishing or very upset with yourself for not being out there fishing. Fishing, fishing, fishing, it rules our lives!
Since my full time occupation is taking people fishing, and we mostly target pretty big fish, while we're out on the boat I often ask my clients what type of fishing (if any) they do back wherever it is they're from. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, as I’ve heard it so many times, but I still am a bit stunned when someone will say something like, “Oh yea, we fish all the time back home, but it’s nothing like this, we just go for bass, bluegill, and little things like that. It’s not real fishing like what you do, we just fool around down at the river or lake.
When I hear comments like that I immediately think of the rich guy fishing for spot at the fuel dock. I don’t think he’d consider catching bass or bluegill in a pond “not real fishing”. For those with a real passion for it - fishing is fishing. Sure we might have preferences to fish certain ways and for specific species, but we can still get a charge out of fishing for whatever we have available to us at the time whether that's bluefish or blue marlin.
In a few weeks I'll be heading out to a family gathering in Ohio. It's anything but a fishing destination and certainly not a fishing trip, but there’s a lake there and I'm already a bit psyched about doing a little casting into some freshwater for a change! Catfish, carp, sunnies, whatever, a fish is a fish and I'm sure that if I'm hooked up to something with scales and I close my eyes I won't be able to tell much difference between the jerk coming from a fish in a farm pond from a jerk from something here in my hometown waters! Big jerk, little jerk - a jerk is a jerk right?
Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that no matter how passionate we might be about whatever kind of fishing we like to do best, no one should consider what they do to be any “better” or “worse” than any other fishing option. Whether you’re a little kid catching spot from a dock, or big kid catching them from the stern of your million dollar sportfisherman, a fish on the line is a fish on the line, and someone who is really crazy about fishing should be able to sap a little pleasure out of whatever it is that’s “jerking” at the other end! §
