Back to grassroots fishing...

I'll update this when I have more time but I wanted to record that I've caught the first three fish of the year on a worm and bobber! The rivers are running too fast because of the recent rains but the sunfish are plentiful in local ponds, and a beautiful perch followed my worm all the way up to the shore line, allowing me a full profile of it's brilliant colors.

Fishing has always had a special place in my heart. I don't know why. I remember writing a story about fishing and trying to justify the love that I feel toward it, and I got as far as acknowledging the difference between things real and things imagined (what can be seen above the surface, and what may or may not swim below it) before brushing the story aside as I have so many others.

I think what I enjoy most about fishing is the feel of a fish on my line. I love nature and I love animals, and for the few seconds that I'm engaged in competition with said fish, a proverbial tug of war...

Give me feet to walk upon the shore

     and gills to let me breathe underwater

I feel connected to it. 

I especially enjoy lowering the fish to the water when I'm done taking it off my hook and letting it swim out of my hand. I try to thank every fish I can before releasing it back into the water. Sometimes I forget, most times I remember, because to thank what I catch is proper and good in nature. Neitczhe once wrote that the measure of a society can be judged by how well it's animals are treated. Sometimes I thank my worms too, but there is some speculation as to whether or not worms and fish are sentient (aware of it's own existence) beings at all.  

There is an overwhelming amount of scientific evidence to support claims that cold blooded creatures, fish included, do not feel pain, and that the few fish who do feel pain are not targeted for sport. I spend much of my time catching black bass (small-mouthed bass) in the ravine in Lowell. 

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