Gone Fishin’: Oh, the Places You’ll Go When You Walk
Jodi Davis
| 3 min read
“Well I’m gonna miss her when I get home, but right now I’m on this lakeshore and I’m sittin’ in the sun. I’m sure it’ll hit me when I walk through that door tonight. Yeah I’m gonna miss her. Oh, lookie there, I’ve got a bite!”
Oh man, that’s one of those songs that make me want to dig out the ol’ fishing pole and head over to the lake immediately! Yep, I love to fish; I’ve been enjoying the sport since I was only five years old. From digging the worms to baiting my hook and successfully removing my big catch from the line, I enjoy it all! Surprised? Most people are.
I remember when the country song by Brad Paisley, “I’m Gonna Miss Her,” first came on the radio. My friends thought it was a terrible message Brad was sending, I thought it was awesome! Fishing is something that would make me leave the house for the day, too. Brad knows how it goes, one reason why we had to make sure to see him on stage a few years ago while in Tennessee. It was great to sing along with his song!
I can still remember the times when our family walked across the street with a few fishing poles, a container of worms and a big bucket. We’d all stand along the shore and it was inevitable that I would catch the first fish of the day. Who cares that it was only a 3-inch-long bluegill — I enjoyed the fact that I was the fisherman of the family (sorry, dad, you know it’s true). I’d take it off the hook and let it go hoping that my next catch would be a bit larger. Even if the rest of the day brought only small fish, it was a great time with the family and obviously the memories are still with me.
To this day it is very difficult to walk by anyone who is fishing when I am not. This happened a couple days ago when we decided to walk the bluff and the south pier in St. Joseph. Talk about jealous; it took everything in me to avoid reaching for one of those fishing poles. OK, normally I just fish for small panfish, but when you see the brown trout and the Coho salmon that are being brought in on the lines, well let’s just say it creates a little excitement.
It was somewhat sad to have to watch this guy walk away from his fishing spot earlier than he wanted to. As you can see he had a pretty nice day’s catch but he said that he never anticipated the extremely warm weather and he was roasting in his clothing. Personally, I would have just taken off the big coat and stayed there for a few more minutes.
But others did stay and were surely catching those fish! It was enjoyable walking along the pier and peeking down at the stringers with the big fish attached. It made me walk a little faster knowing how much I wanted to get home and find that fishing pole in the back of the garage.
Who knew that my daily walk was not only great exercise, but would stir up such positive memories from the past along with the desire to do a little fishing myself? I guess it just goes to show you that the lists of walking benefits is endless. I can’t wait to see what my next walking adventure will bring, make sure to stay tuned!
