Fishing sounds like a boring as shit hobby only old people like because they can't do anything else. The truth is, it can be downright tedious at times and yet in a fraction of a second all hell breaks loose. It's just you and whatever's on the other end of your line. You reel a little bit. Nothing. You reel some more because you can't see anything. Nothing. You reel even more because you know its close. Then when your anticipation is at its absolute highest, you see it in all its glory. A guppy-sized sea monster. The Loch Ness of the puddle jumpers. Your heart sinks and yet you're still just glad you caught something because the alternative would be a day without any action. In this moment of bliss and heartbreak you realize, "Hey, this ain't all that bad."

I've been fishing all my life. It's a hobby that's not always, but often passed on from a parent to a child. Growing up, it felt like a chore. Especially when I was younger because the truth is, it takes more patience than some children possess. Yet as I grew up, I grew into loving it. I actually miss doing it. It's been pressing on my mind for a while because it's something that allows you to slow down and just take a day or an afternoon for yourself. It's a relief and an escape, but also a re-connection with the natural world. To learn and observe other living things, but also respect and enjoy their environments.

My father was a fisheries biologist and has been fishing all summer without me. Even my brother can go fishing because both of them have the equipment for excursions. It makes me want to irrationally buy a rod and a license, run down to the water and cast my line. Alas, I cannot, so I'm here writing about it nostalgically. I have tons of fond memories while fishing with my father and in many ways, the love of the sport and pastime has always been heavily reliant upon the company.

I would still love to go and see what the ocean will throw at me because when you cast in the ocean you never really know what's going to find you. That said, on a slow summer or winter day, the bet that I can catch something before my father always gave renewed life to an afternoon. I remember betting that whoever caught the first and last fish of the day would be the one to buy the other a root beer or ginger beer. For me, fishing has always been the thing I did with my father. It's an activity that was improved by his knowledge and consideration but made most memorable by his presence.

My fathers trout from one of his recent fishing trips.

Summer without fishing doesn't really feel like summer and fishing without my father doesn't feel like fishing. I think that what I miss most are the days when you go out without a care in the world. To just spend some time by a body of water with family. I miss doing that kind of thing and through fishing is just one outlet or reason to reconnect with loved ones, it's something I associate with the activity. I know a lot of young people that grow up in primarily urban areas who've never had the same experiences I've been lucky enough to have. Those are the things you value most when you're not able to participate in them. They're the things that can be passed on generation to generation. I don't just mean the physical act of learning to tie line and pick bait, I mean the emotional feeling you associate with an activity. That is something that can also be passed on and experienced by parents to share with future children. It's a phenomenon that can be created and recreated for others by those who've experienced them firsthand.