Fisherman’s Addiction

When it seems like everything in your life is total blur. Everything seems to be happening so fast that you feel like your racing down a highway at a hundred miles per hour. You catch a glimpse of things here and there but nothing seems to make sense or have any meaning.

Life’s throwing so many things at you at once you feel overwhelmed. It’s like you’re at a buffet that has all your favorite foods combined in one place. You walk down the aisles contemplating what to eat but with so many good choices you throw a little of everything on your platter and before you know it it’s piled high and too much to handle. You get the feeling that you’re just a helpless bystander of your own existence.

There’s only one place to go when everything seems to be crashing down on you at once. The place that helps you to get away from it all and clear your mind from all the world’s pressures. The place that makes you feel like a new person and gives you a renewed sense of meaning and worth.

The feeling you get inside every time you go to this place is indescribable. It’s like you’re in another world. The feeling that you’re at peace with your surroundings. The feeling that you’re one with nature. It’s this feeling that lets you know you’re alive.

When you’re at this place you wouldn't trade seats with anybody else in the world. You don’t have a care in the world. All your worries erased. All your problems gone. Nothing else matters. There’s only one place in this world you want to be. You know this place well. Ah, that great place all too familiar but yet so distance in your memory.

Fishing in its purest form is you against Mother Nature. You armed with a rod and reel, and Mother Nature with all her elements. Tides, wind, current, pressure, rain, cloud cover and everything else she has in her arsenal that she can dish at you over the course of a day. Your ability to combat these external forces is what makes you successful or leaves you in the dust of her wrath. Sure catching adds to the experience but just being in the presence of her elements is more than enough to satisfy your craving.

You have no obligations tomorrow so you decide it’s been long enough it’s time to reacquaint yourself with this wonderful place. You load up everything the night before going through your mental checklist making sure you haven’t forgotten anything. After all preparations have been made you’re off to bed.

You feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. You toss and turn all night opening your eyes every so often to see if it’s time to get up and head out for the day’s adventure. You’re so excited about the prospect of being able to get on the water that you’re up and can’t go back to sleep long before the alarm clock goes off. You get up and go through your morning routine and then hit the road as quickly as possible for the journey ahead.

As you make the drive to your favorite spot you think about all the memories this special place has brought you over the years. You know the spot that over the years hasn’t let you down very many times. The spot that you know you can count on to produce even in the toughest conditions.

You pull off the highway and start making your way down a tattered, dirt road that leads you to what feels like the Promised Land but it only dead ends to the water. You bring your truck to a stop and crack open the door to get that fresh salty breeze running down your nostrils for the first time in what seems like forever. You get out of your truck and quickly unload everything you’re going to need for battle ahead.

With everything unloaded and ready you jump in the water with your heart beating as if you just run a marathon. You’re on the water well before daylight when most souls are still at rest. All your other senses are significantly magnified due to the darkness and silence in the air. You hear every bug buzz by, every blade of grass move, and every splash in the distance. You feel every breeze and drop of water hit your body. With every breath you inhale the aroma of salt and marine life in the air.

You make you way to favorite area just as the sky begins to light. You begin to see the tale tell signs that fish are in the area. Nervous water, the occasional fleeing of baitfish, and birds hovering above. As the sun begins to peak over the horizon you sit back and enjoy one of the universe’s most magical performances. A new day has begun. You can’t but help to think about possibilities that lie ahead.

You are so overcome by your emotions you temporarily forget the reason you are here. You regain your concentration and make your first cast to a swirl off in the distance but it lands nowhere near your intended target. Second cast a little closer but comes up short. As your about to make your third cast, off in the distance you hear the sound of a constant beeping. Beep, beep, beep.

The sound seems to be getting louder & louder. BEEP, BEEP, BEEP. You open your eyes and turn your head to see the alarm clock shows 6:00am. It's time to get out of bed and get ready for work.

This feeling is all you can think about on a daily basis. It makes bad days better. It makes major problems feel like minor annoyances. It keeps the work week bearable and puts life into perspective. It’s engraved in your soul. It runs through your veins. You can’t get this feeling anywhere else.

You are an addict.