Fishing Information

Bass Fishing - Recreation or Obsession?


First of all, we need to look at the word ... recreation. When I break it down, it comes out re-creation.

What this means to me is a re-creating of myself; a way to get away from it all and do some soul searching and some thinking and ... re-create my ideas, inspirations and motivations; a break in the pattern that allows me to reconsider things in my life and make adjustments.

But the term is large. Typically, recreation means activity. What do you do for recreation? Watch TV? Garden? Go out to restaurants or bars? What?

It implies relaxation. It implies a way to get away from the normal grind and have an element of divergence; have some fun and forget it all.

Not so for the bass fisherman.

I know I have mentioned to people that I went fishing and they said, "Oh, that sounds relaxing."

What is relaxing about bass fishing? Probably nothing.

There are times I go to be outdoors, and there are times I go to catch bass. Catching bass is not relaxing. In fact, bass fishing is hard work.

If you want to throw in a live bait and hang by the shade tree, so be it. Granted, that is fishing ... but not the style of bass fishing I'm talking about.

What I am talking about is active bass fishing where you are in hot pursuit of the prey. Walking the banks ... fishing from the boat ... whatever your style may be, it is hard work.

Why hard work? Every time I come home from a fishing trip I am worn out for a few days. That's because I work hard while at play. I am up and down the banks hiking around the lake looking for my target: largemouth bass. I cast and I cast and I cast; always keeping the bait in motion and trying to find the fish.

So, do I go to get away from it all? Or, do I go because I love the thrill of the hunt; the catch.

If you think that serious bass fishing is a 'vacation," it's not. Again, it's hard work.

Even if you're not hiking up and down the banks, even if you are in a boat, it's hard work. You are constantly casting, reeling and landing fish (hopefully). This will wear you out if you only fish occasionally.

So, to me, bass fishing must be an obsession. I mean, certainly, I don't do it to get occasionally, though it is that. And I don't do it to forget the world and all it's cares, though it does help with that. And I don't do it because I am looking for a way to relax, though I do find it to be relaxing as well as tiring.

What's in it for me?

I must do it. I am obsessed, maybe better described as addicted to the adrenaline charge I get when I catch a bass. I need the satisfaction of feeling powerful because I have fooled the fish in it's own domain and I am now the king. I have to have that.

By the way, I will have to write more later, because now I must recreate. Maybe I will see you there.

Michael Russell
MgrCentral.com
Established 2001
Home Business Training and Information Guides


MORE RESOURCES:


MSN News UK

Mother bear rescues cub from a fishing net in Alaska
BBC News
Amateur video has captured footage of a mother bear saving her cub from a fishing net in Anchorage, Alaska. The mother desperately struggled to save her cub ...
Neighbors help bear cub trapped in fishing netKTVB

all 20 news articles »


Northern California fishing report
San Jose Mercury News
Bass fishing is slow. Catfish will be planted weekly. (925) 284-9669. LOS VAQUEROS: Striped-bass bite is back on. Frozen shad or anchovies work best. ...
OUTDOORS: Weekly fishing report, July 29North County Times

all 4 news articles »


Taylor Lake offers anglers good opportunity for bass and blue gill
Bend Bulletin
BIG LAVA LAKE: No recent report but fishing for rainbow trout has been good throughout spring and early summer. The fish have been in great condition ...
Fishing reportDetroit Free Press
fishing reportLas Vegas Review-Journal
Fishing Line: 07/29/10Sacramento Bee
ConnectMidMichigan.com -MLive.com
all 15 news articles »


DE Spears likes Louisiana fishing
Fort Worth Star Telegram
But back to fishing, here are five thoughts from Spears: 1"I'm from Louisiana. I like to fish in pits. They are off the bayou of the Mississippi River. ...

and more »


Action remains fine as fishing effort down
Seattle Times
Heading into the heart of summer the wide variety of fishing opportunities continue to offer decent action. By Mark Yuasa Seattle native and lifelong angler ...

and more »


Final two Overnight Fishing Opportunities of the summer are Aug. 21 and 28
Kansas City Star
7/28/10 - The second of two overnight fishing opportunities planned this summer at Kill Creek Park Lake and the fourth of four at Shawnee Mission Park Lake ...

and more »


The Hindu

Iceland tells EU: "We keep control of fishing"
Fish Update
ICELAND has told the European Union that its fishing grounds are not open to negotiation and must remain under the control of the Reykjavik Government. ...
Iceland defies EU fishing rulesBBC News
Iceland wants to stay out of EU fishing policyBusinessWeek
Iceland seeks EU membership benefits, but fishing and Icesave remain thorny issuesInternational Business Times
Winnipeg Free Press -UPI.com -BusinessWeek
all 149 news articles »


Telegraph.co.uk

BP Oil Spill: Fisherman Say It's Time to Reopen Some Fishing Grounds
ABC News
Bobby Jindal and Gulf Residents Want to Begin Fishing Again By JEFFREY KOFMAN On day 99 of BP's oil spill crisis, almost a quarter of the Gulf of Mexico ...
NBC's Anne Thompson Reflects On 100 Days In The GulfHuffington Post (blog)
100 Days After Spill Gulf Still at RiskFOXNews (blog)
100 days of oil: Gulf life will never be the sameThe Associated Press
Natural Resources Defense Council (blog) -Voice of America -Albany Times Union
all 4,623 news articles »


Fishing derby rescheduled to this weekend
Suburban Life Publications
By Anonymous The annual Clarendon Hills Park District fishing derby, postponed last week due to heavy rains, will take place at 8 am Saturday, ...

and more »

Google News

home | site map
© 2006