Fishing

My brother caught this fish off the pier.

We call this cheating, because all he did was drop the lure in between the boat and the pier, and everybody knows that's where the fish live. It's not very sporting. He didn't even cast. 

All right, I've done it before, too, and I probably would have done it then if people weren't watching, and if it weren't a matter of principle. 

I have conflicted feelings about fishing. On one hand, you're spearing an innocent creature through the mouth, one who was minding his own business until you flaunted some tasty worm in his face. So not only did you gouge his lip, rip him out of the water, and let him hang there gasping for breath, but you also used food as a weapon. That's serious. It's a nasty trick. 

Then there's the fact that we're fishing for fun, not because we're struggling to survive out in the woods without any chicken nuggets for dinner. That's not the case. There are plenty of chicken nuggets, and fun sized Hershey bars, too. No, we're just catching fish, torturing them and then throwing them back. I feel that might be something bad guys in Finding Nemo would do. 

On the other hand...do you know how awesome it is to catch a fish? You feel that tug on the line, "I WIN" coursing through your blood, giddy with excitement. What's even better is the second tug, which tells you it's an actual fish and not your lure snagged in weeds like it was the 20 times before. 

Then you get to pull the fish out of the water and glory in your victory over nature. I like to greet the fish, look him in the eye, and say, "Hey, man. Nice to meet you. You're in my world now. Don't worry -- I'm going to put you back. But first I'm going to poke you so I can see if you're slimy or not." 

So maybe I'm a little evil. But I also have a lot of great memories of fishing with my dad that really aren't even about fishing -- they're about sunsets on the lake, dipping my toes in the water, and sitting in perfect silence -- so that could be part of it, too.