Dec 10 2008
Missing Fishing
I have not gone fishing in two months and the winter is just starting here in Southern New England. Since my boyfriend and I got into fishing, we have been completely into it. In two years we bought two boats and enough tackle to fill them. It is an addiction that is good for you! We get outdoors, have lunch, and sometimes breakfast too, right in the boat. My boyfriend is even looking at grills for the boat.
We started with a canoe, that was nice at first, and we had no fear. Then we dumped the canoe at the end of the season. We were fully clothed and had just launched. We stupidly hadn’t put our lifejackets on yet. We almost drowned and became a statistic but we both thankfully made it to shore. After that we were both pretty paranoid every time it rocked. Over the winter we started looking at bigger, more stable boats.
Mike researched all the boats online, and we decided on the Bass Tracker Deep Vee Anniversary model. It is very stable and has alot of room. You can get up, move around, and you really can’t rock the boat at all. We got to check them out in person when the Bass Pro opened in our area. Mike wanted the 175 but the deep vee suited our needs better. It is more family friendly too. We upgraded the electric trawling motor, the engine, and the gps and financed it right into the price. They also gave us a Bass Pro gift card. Needless to say we bought more comfortable life jackets.
We really did well with all the aspects of boating. We had boated before but not in a long time, or with a brand new boat. Trailering and launching was a gradual learning experience. By the end of the season we were pretty good.
Fishing was a hole that we threw money into at first, but we are all set for awhile. It is fun, healthy competition that women can do equally as good as men. Fishing got us outside, going to new places, meeting new people, and gave us a hobby we can do into our old years together. We look forward to the weekends even more.
Now the winter has begun and we don’t ice fish because we hate the cold. Who knows, we might get desperate enough but I think not. Now we are stocking up on even more crap. I’m getting Eagle claws and a new spook in my stocking this year. I know because I shopped with my Santa. I also picked out a rediculously huge lure to hang on the wall in our former dining room, now hobby room. It’s a sickness. My kids think we are insane.
We are very respectful of the beautiful environment we enjoy. We use the electric motor mostly, follow all DEM rules, and mostly catch and release. We only take fish that are going to die or species that are overpopulated. Our local DEM asked people to take all perch that are caught and we have a disabled Native American friend who loves them. We even had a local man offer to buy pickeral from us, because they are so previlent in local ponds. We live in the boone docks, so this isn’t rare.
I appreciate that not everyone has access to lots of lakes near them. I also realize that some people would be squeamish about the whole bait thing. But find something, anything, that you can do to change your life. Find something that makes you smile when you think about it and go DO it. Walk in the forest, ride a bike near the shore, find your peaceful place and go there. As often as possible.
