The Magic of Fishing
Victor Leake

The magic of fishing. Few people who ever feel the pull of a fish on the end of their line will ever forget the feeling. For most of us it starts when we are young, and the fish is usually a sunfish; Red ear, Blue gill or some other small in size but large in fight fish. After the first time we feel a fish trying to pull our bait away we are connected.

From beneath the dark waters an unseen adversary sends a signal up through the hook, along the line, down the rod and pass the reel onto and into your hand. The feeling rushes up your arm and then goes both to your brain and to your heart. The contest begins, the fish trying to free itself and you trying to bring it into your world. The exertion is minimum but the heart races as if you just climbed a mountain, then as often as not the fish is admired and released to fight another day.

For a few the magic is lost in the busy world of making a living, even those who make a living out of fishing sometimes forget the wonder, while it resembles work. For others angling is a fleeting distraction from the busyness of living, or an occasion to break from the normal boring day. It can be that chance to search for silence and solitude alone or with a friend. For a few it is a lifelong passion, a promise of what just might lay beneath the waves.

More often than not, when we lose that connection with nature it is our children who help put the magic back into our world. For me it was first my Daughter, some years ago while we were out fishing, I prefishing for an up coming tournament, she just out to spend a little time with me. On that day the fish were biting, I already had a limit but still not happy as I wanted larger bass; ever larger and more. While I struggled with my own demons she sat in the back of the boat, giggling and having fun catching a few sunfish. From time to time she would ask about a bird she saw or point out a deer along the bank. When I at last sat down to retie a new lure on, my muscles tense and sour, I suddenly noticed how much fun she was having. I relaxed and we laughed and fished together after that, and I learned to reconnect with nature and the magic.

Now my grandchildren are showing me how each day is full of wonder, everything is new to them and again new to me. I still compete in tournaments, hope I always will; but I know that winning is not everything, having fun, enjoying life and the life around me is what is truly important. Each day fishing adds another day to your life, or so the saying goes.

Spending the day on the water with a good friend or a child can help bring the magic back into your life, as Christmas comes close remember; HE too was an angler.

Fish often, catch all you want; keep just what you need, and release the
rest for the future.