What’s Good For The Soul

I’m not sure who invented fishing. If you go back far enough I am sure that there is a subsistence relationship whereby one fished to eat. Little did that first knuckle dragging angler realize that his need to eat would somewhere, someday, at a later point create the exact medicine that is so needed in a very busy world.

“To go fishing is the chance to wash one’s soul with pure air, with the rush of the brook, or with the shimmer of sun on blue water. It brings meekness and inspiration from the decency of nature, charity toward tackle-makers, patience toward fish, a mockery of profits and egos, a quieting of hate, a rejoicing that you do not have to decide a darned thing until next week. And it is discipline in the equality of men – for all men are equal before fish.” ~ Herbert Hoover

At points in my life I have associated success in fishing with catching lots of fish; please don’t get me wrong as I have said this before, many times…no one loves catching fish more than I. To match wits with a fly-rod, a piece of fly line and a fly that you have tied yourself, out of your own mind, your own creation…it is nirvana. When the fish tugs on the fly and the hook is set, there is a moment of supreme ownership that I don’t feel at any other point in my life. However each year brings moments, hours and even days whereby the catch, while it would be welcomed, isn’t the highlight of the day.
This past Saturday, the last Saturday in January I might add, my buddy Frank Terkhorn and I wandered south a few miles, threw on our warm gear, waders, grabbed a rod, slung a float tube over our shoulders and slowly, very slowly, kicked our way backwards up a small southern Indiana creek. The creek has a back-up, a portion of about half a mile where the water slows and creates some deep holes, perfect winter habitat for smallmouth bass, rock bass and spotted bass.

The plan was to slowly move backward, up the creek, while jigging and dragging a fly deep into the pools, over downed logs, beside rocks and ledges in pursuit of a hungry fish. Part of being a good fishermen is to find a way to elicit a strike from a fish, when it really doesn’t want to eat. On this day…the fish won. Well, let’s just say that neither Frank nor I caught a fish…not even one bite!

You might think I left bummed, far from it…we both left with a renewed sense of the outdoors, for on this day we shared time together. I often tell my students that a good friend is rare indeed. It is OK to have lots of acquaintances in your life but a good friend is something to be cherished. In my opinion an outdoor friend, be it hunting, hiking, fishing or whatever…is special. You both understand, you have a commonality with the other; for Frank and me, we both know what the tug of a fish is all about. On this day we both saw and commented on the grandeur of the day. The sun radiating down upon our faces. The warmth went straight to my soul. It was truly what I needed…fish or no fish.
To quote Ten Bears from the movie Dances with Wolves, “At my age a good fire is as much as can be asked for”. I have thought of this line so many times since 1990 and the inception of the film…but for sure on Saturday I had to smile, Ten Bears was right. The sun was warm and at one point I just sat in my float tube, water gurgling all around me, a belted-kingfisher screeching past me…I closed my eyes and for a few moments just rested, really rested. I felt the stress of my life, my week, just like water dripping off my back…the stress just washed away. I can only imagine how President Hoover must have felt as he was dealing with our country in one of its best…then worst times. His quote above is one that has always stuck with me, I am sure there were times when he closed his eyes and drifted back to a day as a child when he fished one of the small creeks nearby his home in Iowa. As we near the time when we start to choose our next president…maybe one of the priorities needs to be choosing a candidate who fishes for you know they will need some time for the soul, time to sit back and let the sun and outdoors just melt over them.

If you don’t have a ‘bond’ with the outdoors, please do yourself a favor and find a hobby which will take you outside, into the natural world. I might suggest giving fly fishing a try as the marriage between science and art will change the way you look at water, birds and yes, even those fish that as President Hoover suggests, “All men are equal before”! An appreciation and a relationship with Mother Nature will soothe your heart on a tough day…and for sure you will learn to Enjoy the Great Outdoors.