I must admit that I am a much better hunter than a fisherman. Don’t get me wrong I love fishing, but I just don’t catch that many of them yet. I grew up fishing for fun as a kid, but never really took it seriously until the summer of 2019. The winter before, I hunted as much as humanly possible. Deer, squirrels, black bear, waterfowl, turkeys, you name it. It was the first hunting season I committed to being out in the field this much. After the small game season ended in March of that year I found myself in the habit of being outside chasing animals without any animals to chase.
Now, being from Michigan we have no shortage of freshwater to fish. So I set out to get a decent spinning setup and go out and catch some. How hard could it be? As embarrassing as it is for a serious outdoorsman to admit he doesn’t know how to fish at 33 years old–this was the position I found myself in.
The first thing that surprised me was how technical the sport could be. Sure you could just throw a line in the water with a worm and see what you catch. However, I’m a gear guy. Not just a gear guy for the sake of being one, but I believe that having the right gear, knowing why/how it works and understanding how to repair it is important for me to get into a sport. I was blown away by the technical skill and knowledge required to fish well.
Also surprising was the fact that it can seem so hard to get the fish to get on your hook. When hunting I find an animal, move in, and kill it. This oversimplifies hunting, but in fishing, the act of finding fish does not in of itself guarantee success.
All that to say that with fishing season coming up soon I am eagerly looking forward to testing my skills against some wily bass, delicious walleye, and skittish trout. I’m going to be learning how to fish well, and I want to share that process with you all. We’ll talk about tips, techniques, successes, and frustrations. It will be a journey and there’s nothing I’d rather be doing in the summer than wading in or sitting by a river and trying to land some fresh protein.
