My Purpose or Goal in Going Fishing

It seems we fish for an assortment of reasons:
to get away, to find peace, to enjoy nature,
which shouldn’t have anything to do with invidious comparisons
between my catch and others.
Maybe we fish for reasons not even associated with fishing:
drinking, playing cards, enjoying fellow fishermen,
for sociological reasons, you might say.
Some compete with others,
some compete with themselves,
besting yesterdays total, length and weight,
even the biggest on the lightest gear,
or just for the dinner table.
I would suggest for the most of us
the ethic of fishing is for the joy of fishing;
however, it could be
the more difficult it is to fool a fish,
the more intriguing it is to fish.
The decision to fish or not to fish did not often occur
and was preceded with years preparing for what in retrospect seemed not a decision,
but just following the only path that spelled happiness.
I could be by myself on a stream or lake caressing nature,
and often it was said, “I was fishing.”
One of the main reasons I fish is the pleasure of seeing a fish take my fly,
and then hooking, which at that point a large percent of my enjoyment has occurred.
In my view, the decline in the number of fish caught should not reduce the joy of fishing.
One does not have to catch fish to enjoy fishing;
so rather than lament about the numbers caught,
my only problem is the decreasing number of years being able to fish
I do not fish to catch fish.
My purpose or goal in “going fishing” is many little things;
but in total, the many little things…
“The” thing, that takes me to a stream, lake or ocean
is the color of the water and the sky, the beauty of the trees,
the wildlife encountered, the noises of nature,
and the solitude, even though I am with my favorite fishing partner, my wife


These are the words of Harry H. Landreth who was Boles Professor Emeritus of Economics at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, since retired. Harry, his wife Donna, have spent most of their life fly fishing streams and lakes all over the world. I thought you would enjoy his thoughts why he fishes.

He covered a lot of how I have viewed fishing through the years..... I have pics of me fishing in Key West for sharks with my dad. So I guess I have been fishing for 46+ years. We fished a lot and he would even let me stay home from school once in awhile so we could go out and catch them when the white bass or stripers were really schooling back in Santee Cooper in South Carolina.

I still love to catch some and if it's a friendly competition I'm ok with that.....Taking my older daughter had a special memory all it's own.

Before my Dad passed a few years back he wasn't able to get out anymore on his own because of shoulder and knee surgeries along with a heart condition. So I planned a trip with my buddy using his large pontoon on the Indian River in Titusville Florida where I spent many many years fishing the flats for trout and redfish. All my dad had to do was sit in the front of the pontoon on the comfortable fishing chair and catch fish and man we wore them out that day. He was grinning ear to ear and it made me proud to know I could bring him that kind of joy. It was his last fishing trip and in a way I figured it would be but I didn't let that get to me....I just soaked in the moments we shared.

I enjoy fishing for anything that bites and I absolutely love being outdoors.....it's good for the soul and if you have decades of fishing under your belt something simple like a view you take in, an event while fishing, this thread or even a smell will trigger a memory from long ago and make me smile.:)

I can't lie, I enjoy the experience greater when I catch fish but I do agree in that I simply enjoy "fishing" regardless of how many I may catch, which I guess is a good thing because while I know I am far from the best fisherman, I don't think too many enjoy it more I do.

I have always just enjoyed fishing from the very start when I first fished with a cane pole at my uncles farm pond. My dad was never a fisherman so when I was real young my opportunities were less frequent, but I still always loved it. I was probably about thirteen when I saved up my money and bought my own gear and started seeking more opportunities to fish, often the results were hours of "fishing" yet very little "catching", but I still loved the entire process and everything that went with it. As I got older and eventually a drivers license better locations with more success followed, but the simple fun of just "fishing" has never left.

Now many years older and with physical problems which make fishing more painful to do than I would have ever imagined it would when I was young, I still enjoy simply fishing as much as I ever have. I love being on the water, being outdoors and enjoying the beauty and wildlife that God has created. But for me casting to a spot and the anticipation of a fish maybe hitting it is just as thrilling now as it ever was. I generally use lighter pound line and enjoy the entire experience of fighting and landing the fish. I never have used so heavy a line so I could just horse a fish in as fast as I could. I only have a 25 hp motor on my little boat, I never have had the desire to rush from one area to another. I just enjoy the moments I have fishing and somehow fast paced and rushing through my time fishing is the antithesis of what I want out of the process. Of course please nobody take offense, I have zero problem for those that enjoy that style of fishing because that is the beauty of fishing; each person can go about it and enjoy it in any of a wide variety of methods none more valid or better than another.

Fishing is beautifully unique in that it is truly an individual sport, than can simultaneously be enjoyed with others as well. I have had some of the best moments that friends can share together while fishing, yet while enjoying those moments have had some great personal experiences as well. Now that I have young children that have started to take to fishing with me, I am blessed to again have opportunities through fishing of adding some great lifetime memories I am sharing with them and yet still enjoying the individual moments while fishing with them all weaving together to make the experience fun, exciting and a good memory. So I will continue to try and deal with the pain as best as I can in order to go "fishing", and slow down while I try and take it all in because oh how I love it so.