Fishing has probably saved my life in the past year. I will post about it at another date.
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Fishing has probably saved my life in the past year. I will post about it at another date.
When we were first married, my Bride, Colleen, would ask me when I would be home. She would also go out with her friends & tell me when she would return. It took years, but I finally convinced her that you CANNOT relax while "watching the clock"! I honestly feel you can do NOTHING effectively (including work) if you are timing it. Try this...ignore the watch, cell phone (as already mentioned) & don't "stockpile plans"....make NO commitments on the day(s) you fish. You will find you are NOT hurrying to the water and, to the amazement of many, you may not even keep fishing as long as you thought you would as you will TOTALLY relax & enjoy your time. You'll finish refreshed & renewed. Believe me, I used to hurry to the water, & all it did was put me in "rush mode" which often lasted all day...then I wondered why I didn't have such a great time.
Just an ol' Irishman's half baked opinions!
Mike
Wild One - I think you touched on something when you mentioned being 12. That's the beauty...you get out on the water and you magically get transported back to the time when you were 9, 10, or 12. Back to a time when you weren't rushed, didn't feel the pressure of a mortgage, 2 car payments, student loans, layoffs, retirement planning, ... and the list goes on. Its a time when you can get out and wander in the woods, play in the water, get dirty and not care, be you and not have to worry about justifying your actions to your boss. Its these reasons that I feel calmER when I fish.
First a little back ground. What the word hobby means to me. It is a diversion from the everyday toils of the world. Fly fishing is a hobby for me not the way that I make my living.
Fly fishing is an intense experience for me. It is so intense that I focus entirely on the task at hand and I don't worry about who needs what from me at work, I don't think how am I going to get my wonderful wife to sleep with me tonight (I'm not talking about a restful experience here either), I'm not thinking about bills or obligations of any sort. I am totally caught up in the minute. I am in the here and now and not in the "what if" stage of thought process. This intensity let's me "relax" in that I am not thinking of the things that cause stress in my life.
Relaxing for me is sitting in a hot tub with a beer in my hand. Fly fishing is an intense experience and it is so much so that it comands my every thought that let's me experience "Hobby".
Can you tell that I have a degree in psychology and that I think about this stuff way too much?
Rick
Great post Wild.
I would say "feeling rushed" is a frame of mind defined by our personalities that sets off a domino effect of anxieties. Anxiety defined as: uneasiness usually over an expected misfortune.
That being said I have never felt rushed to fish or felt that there were going to be consequences not fishing long enough. But I have rushed to fish to spend more time in my happy place.
A year or two ago a member posted a brilliant idea that I have yet to incorporate into my life but one day soon I hope to; Fishing Night. It's kind of like bowling night or lodge night or Monday Night Football. On that evening after work till it gets dark I am fishing.
Till then I will rush to fish but never feel rushed to fish.
Respectfully,
Sean
Every time (every!) I go to the water no matter what water it is I do the same thing you do and run to it, anticipate it, and act like I'm late for something....
...for 30 years! Sheezus!!!
And it's the reason I wanna stay alive so I can find the next stretch of water in such anticipation (and try again at the last one that I didnt' do so well at)
You totally got it right.
Keep it up.
First of all, I just noticed WarrenP's sig, hilarious! Thanks WP, I needed that.
Now, to stress or not to stress?
My mood changes with the wind on this issue but the truth is fly-fishing and the focus I have while on the water is the only thing that ever allows me to fully ignore reality. I have days where I'm stressed about fishing because I'm just dying to catch a fish, but as was already mentioned, that's "fun stress". Getting to the water always seems stressful to me, if only because of the level of anticipation. 9 days out of 10 I stay stressed right up until the point of my first hookup. It's all downhill from there though :D When I play it smart and make no commitments on fishing days, life is sweet. I really do relax when there are no events on the horizon. As a old has been CFB player I am a clock watcher though ,largely NOW due to the fact that the Mrs. always gives me that question...When are you going to be home? GRRRRR!. My Mrs. is very understanding however in this regard and it has gotten even better over time. I thank the good Lord for her! When you play for a real program, 1:00 means 12:45. You military types can relate I'm sure. I have family and friends that were marines and we often have the same story about a coach or superior officer who watched the clock down to the second and you were in big doo doo if 12:46 rolled around and the meeting was at 1:00...lol...My FIRST meeting ever with my OL coach in college said "I guess we'll let this one slide" with a terrible look on his face :mad: when I arrived to an 8:00 meeting at 7:55. Boy, glad them days are behind me.
Great post Wild One! But now I'm stuck giving final exams all day!!!! And I've got awesome overcast semi-rainy weather here for fishing!!! :roll:
I may be rushing around to get things done to get out ot the water. But one there I slow down and relax and have a good time.
the more I rush the worse I do in catching fish.
It is not a race.
Rick
No, unfortunately I do not relax while fishing. Right now at this season of life with two little ones at home and my wife working on a doctorate degree, my fishing time is limited. I'm certainly not complaining, I wouldn't trade shoes with anyone. Actually I go fishing fairly often, but for short chunks (1-2 hrs) of time. As Ohiotuber said " you CANNOT relax while "watching the clock"! " Most times I flail the water from the time my feets hit the water till I leave. I know my fishing and relaxing would improve if I'd take time to observe the water, and soak in the surroundings, but right now I just don't have the time. Also when I do get any sizeable amount of time to fish (for me that's 3-5 hrs) I stress out about where to fish, what rod to bring, what flies to take and then, it never fails, but wherever I end up I wish I would of went somewhere else. I thought fishing was supposed to relax you, what am I doing wrong:confused:. Before anyone answers that I believe the next time I get more than a few hours to fish I'm gonna take my favorite rod, one small box of flies, go to my #1 secluded pond or stream and determine to RELAX. If I catch something in the process then thats a bonus.
Tom, the hurried one.
I use fishing to relax, meditate, zone out, achieve a Zen state - call it whatever you like, it just feels good. One trick I have learned from these forums is to wait until I get to the water to string up my stick. It gives me a chance to observe what is going on, and I have increased my catch by doing this. (I would usually tie on a SM fly and inevitably, when I got to the river, there were Carp just waiting to be caught & if I tied on a Carp fly, no Carp) But much more importantly, it gives me a chance to switch to the fishing mode and to not be in a hurry.