Why do we fish

[Chubminnow]

Consider this boys and girls...On the door on one of the elevators at Bass Pro in Clarksville, IN, there is a scene of a fisherman with a caption that reads:

"Many men fish their entire lives without knowing that fish is not what they're in search of."

Pretty deep stuff huh? As for me...the reason I go is because the tug/nibbles/lightning strikes that happen beneath the water and send shock waves through my rod and into my hand are second to only one other thing in my opinion.

[RoadToad]

Great stuff, guys. And I don't have anything original to add, only another quote. I don't even remember the guy's name, but he was a Scottish guy talking about catch & release, and he had the greatest explanation: "When guys ask me "Why do you let the fish go?" I tell them, "For the same reason you don't eat me b@#$s when you beat me in a round of tennis! It's a sporting event, and the fish is part of it."

[artcarney_agr]

To me, fishing is like putting a puzzle together. With each new day, a new puzzle is presented. Some days it's an easy puzzle, and some days it's a really really tough one that you can't seem to get right! As a kid, I liked games and puzzles and to this day I still do - the only thing that's changed are the games and puzzles I play.

Also, there are moments on the water that you live for, whether it be a big one on the line or a beautiful sunset, where nothing else matters, and it's those moments that keep you coming back for more - that's the reason I fish.

[Bonefish]

Well said, Gentlemen.

[Chubminnow]

It's all pretty wild when you put this entire sport of fishing into perspective...Here we are as fisherman, carrying with around us more tools and electronic gadgetry in our arsenal than a telephone lineman carries, all in hopes of trying to fool a creature that has the brain the size of a bread crumb.

[dcbasser]

It's all pretty wild when you put this entire sport of fishing into perspective...Here we are as fisherman, carrying with around us more tools and electronic gadgetry in our arsenal than a telephone lineman carries, all in hopes of trying to fool a creature that has the brain the size of a bread crumb.

My wife claims that my brain must be a tad bit smaller. That's why we need all that equipment. Got to level the playing field. LOL

[artcarney_agr]

It's all pretty wild when you put this entire sport of fishing into perspective...Here we are as fisherman, carrying with around us more tools and electronic gadgetry in our arsenal than a telephone lineman carries, all in hopes of trying to fool a creature that has the brain the size of a bread crumb.

Here's an old joke, not 100% sure how it goes, but it's something like this:

There’s three guys lined up at the gates of heaven. St. Peter looks at the first guy and asks, “What have you done with the gift God gave you?”

The first guy replies, “I took my gift of intelligence, became a doctor, and developed cures for many diseases and have saved the lives of thousands”

St. Peter then looks at the second guy and asks him the same question, in which the second guy replies, “I too was given the gift of intelligence and became nurse, where I tended to the sick and weak and worked to restore the health of thousands.”

St. Peter then turns the third guy, looks at him closely, then smiles real big and asks, “So, have you caught any fish lately?”

[Cobra190]

To me it"s a consistancy in humbleness. How I can enjoy doing something and never seem to get any better at it and it doesn't matter. Upon leaving the lake, I'm already planning what I will try on the next trip........ and enjoying every minute.

[steve604]

I fish because now I know why my father fished. You'll understand when you see your three year old girl catch a four inch bream on a barbie rod.

Steve

[DJD]

I do it because i enjoy the outdoors. Been fishing since i could hold a fishing rod (thanks dad). When i'm with friends it feels right, when i'm fishing a tourny it feels right, when i'm with my daughter it feels right and during all those times i feel fortunate to enjoy what God has blessed me with.

[rickey29]

For me there is just nothing like being on the lake at the crack of dawn seeing the fog roll off of the water and the sun starting to rise. The company of my son at my side spending quality time togeather talking like best friends and not so much as father and son. I just think of all the quality time he has missed with his grandfather who passed away 2yrs ago do to cancer who really loved to fish as much as one of us do. So I try to spend as much time as I can taking him fishing. This is so he can some day pass on the love,passion, and quality time of fishing to his kids as I did with him.

[Devils Horse]

Not sure why, but I've got a passion for fishing, (disease according to the wife) and have had since I was a kid.

I'll fish for sport, money, and occasionally food...mostly bass, but whatever I can catch often enough...from a boat, the bank, a dock, or pier...in lakes, ponds,creeks,rivers, or the ocean.

Most fun I've had lately was a couple of weeks ago when I had my 5 year old daughter out on Barren. We were wearin' some bluegill out on her Barbie pole with wax worms when her bobber went down and the high quality drag on her rig went to singing. She rassled a 3 or 4 pound Blue Cat for quite a while and finally got him in with a little help from the ole man. Got her and the catfish's pic on my cell, both of em grinning like a possum.

Last week I had 3 days work in Charleston, SC, so I rented a beach condo for 3 days and took my wife, daughter, and in-laws. Complex had a private fishing pier and the first nite I stayed up till 4 in the am catching little bitty Black Tip sharks on bait scraps I found. Third day I went out on a bottom fishing party boat and caught some serious supper and more. BTW, they ain't nothing swimming in the ocean that ain't got teeth...just lettin' y'all know.

Spent the nite before last on Barren catching next to nothing. Heading to Barkley this weekend for a tournament.

Yep, I got it bad. Fishing scratches an itch nothing else touches.