The Perfect Mix: Fishing Is As Level As It Gets

The Waterline Column

Fishing is the gateway to the outdoors and it is as simple, or as complicated as you choose to make it

By: Justin Campbell | Equalized Outdoors Newsroom

Historians and archaeologists suggest that early humans have been fishing for at least 40,000 years.  Born from necessity, it has evolved into the most popular outdoor pursuits that we’ve ever seen.   It can be done virtually anywhere, and it doesn’t require a large sum of money.  It’s approachable and accessible to adults and their children, making it an ideal family activity.

Today, state-funded urban programs that stock ponds in parks near population centers further expand that accessibility.   Bad day at the office?  You can relieve that stress in just a few minutes if you plan, or, as in my case, stay ready.   It’s rare that you’ll catch me in the truck without at least one fishing rod. 

It doesn’t require a ton of equipment to get started, either.  Just a license that’s usually less than $30 for the year, a rod, a reel, some fishing line, some type of bait, and a location.  All of which can be had from one trip to your local sporting goods store, such as Wal-Mart or an Academy, for less than 50 dollars. 

Fishing is as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.  A boat, while nice to have, also isn’t a requirement.  Some of the best anglers that I know have never owned one.  Some boats have motors and electronics that cost more than most cars, yet an angler in a kayak without electronics can catch them just the same, and sometimes better.

It’s not just about the constant waiting that’s often depicted.  While that is certainly one way to fish, there are also very involved and active methods, such as fly and bass fishing.  Those methods require reading the water and structure, and understanding how bass like to use them, while repeatedly casting and retrieving your bait of choice.  There are so many strategies and lures that bass fishing requires its own article. 

Yet at its core, it remains one of the easiest and most sustainable ways to influence what goes into your body. 

Whether it’s freshly caught catfish that’s blackened, golden fried crappie, or grilled trout. There’s something in the water for everyone. 

The variety doesn’t end there either.  Shallow moving water in a creek or river is a very different experience from the wide-open expanses typically found in a large lake.  You can wade into the water and pursue fish that way.  Options are literally almost endless, and that’s before we get into methods that don’t involve a rod and reel.  

There are regulations, of course, but very few hard-and-fast rules.  You’ll encounter the old timers who have “always done it this way” and continue to find success.  Younger and more innovative anglers who are always trying something different, and everything in between.

This Author Fishing in Bagdad, Iraq

You see, success when it comes to fishing is what you make it as well.   For some, it’s the pursuit of the elusive 10lb bass.  For others, it’s finally catching that monster trout.  And for others, it’s simply enjoying a nice self-provided meal.   Sometimes it’s a win just to be outside enjoying the fresh air, even if that means the dreaded “catching time”.  Aka a creative way of saying that you got skunked.

I don’t care what your uncles, grandparents, or whoever says, either; it still absolutely happens to the best of us. And yet most of us still wouldn’t change it for the world.