“There is a fine line between fishing and just standing on the shore like an idiot.”
~Steven Wright~
This past Saturday, Natasha, Red and I were idiot fishing.
Sort of.
Sometimes we were just standing on the shore, other times the chair held us down.
Sometimes we engaged in fishing, other times we (I) didn’t understand the concept of catch and release. (Not to worry, the slippery little devil eventually found his way back to water and safety.)
About two hours north of home, we stood, sat, waded and ate our way through a beautiful afternoon of blue skies, clouds and a temperature around 76 F (24 C). It was an opportunity for Red to decompress after a week of 12-hour work days and an opportunity for Natasha and me to relax and do as little as possible (other than bend arms to cast out a line, bring food and beverage to the mouth, and handle slimy Canadian worms). Saturdays are usually reserved for running to the farmer’s market, shopping, visiting mom, and various other sundry activities. It felt good to simply hang out with the girlfriends and not be concerned about much of anything.
Standing on the shore with a fishing pole doesn’t necessarily equate to idiocy, unless one is trying to hook a squirrel or a small tree.
I’m glad it wasn’t me. Out of the three of us, I’m the least coordinated with fishing (or maybe the least coordinated), even though I’ve been throwing out a line since a child. I have had my share of not-so-great and laughable fishing adventures and did not want to be the one hooked to a tree or a person. Not again. In this case, no harm was done to the tree or the bobber and everyone had a good laugh.
I chose instead to be a semi-total idiot and wade into the water with my jeans pulled up to the knees. The water was crystal clear and seemed fairly shallow. We talked about wading out so that our cast would go further into this small lake and perhaps attract a bigger fish. Nearer to the shore, we were catching a lot of little shavers that weren’t worth a fish fry or a poke in the eye. So, after filling my face with lunch, I dared to enter the water.
As you can see, the water was deeper than knee high and Red thought nothing of snapping a photo of a friend with her mouth full of hamburger and potato chips. Idiocy. I was smart enough to bring a pair of capris along since the jeans became wet all the way up to the end of my legs, but not smart enough to bring a swimming suit. I was smart enough to chew with my mouth closed, but not smart enough to look away at the sight of a cell phone’s camera.
“If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there’d be a shortage of fishing poles.”
~Doug Larson~
Obviously, Doug is not an idiot. No, he is wise and has his priorities in order. Natasha, Red and I were fishing on Saturday and that is all that mattered. We may have been standing around on the shore doing nothing, at times, or not focused on critical aspects of our lives, but that was not a concern. It did not matter that the big fish were out of our reach or that I got my britches wet or that Natasha caught a small tree.
Sometimes, it’s important to be foolhardy, to have a devil-may-care attitude about the day, as long as no one gets hurt. And no one got hurt this day, unless you count a few dead mosquitoes and a spider that rode home with us in the cooler.
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Mary J Melange 
What’s that bumper sticker say: “A bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work…” I think that’s it. I can think of many worse ways to spend an afternoon.
Do the fish prefer Canadian Worms?
This is probably one of my favorite ways to spend a summer afternoon. I didn’t mention in the post that Red started up a small campfire, even though we didn’t need one, because we were supposed to go camping all weekend. It was a ceremonial thing, but I love the smell of campfire…in the morning or any time.
The small fish LOVED the Canadian worms. They stealthily sucked them off the hook many times…
Campfires are special 🙂
I was thinking of exactly the quote Dan used. My old boss used to have a bumper sticker that said, “Fish tremble at the sound of my name.”
Ha! I’m going to use that line the next time I go fishing with the girls. :-p
fantastic quote!
I liked it too!
I’ve never understood fishing. After reading your post, I still don’t.
… but I do understand Decompression Time and it doesn’t get much better than spending it in the beauty of nature with good friends ❤
That was definitely decompression, Joanne. I could take an entire week of that!
Summer is perfect for that kind of decompression 🙂
Looks like a wonderful and quiet spot!
It was pretty quiet except for a couple loud vehicles that drove by. Can’t complain about that.
I haven’t been fishing in forever. I think this might well be something we do when our nest is empty. I’ve always been good at hooking a tree, so I’ve long been a fan of wading out to cast. Sure was a pretty day to be out! 🙂
That’s a good idea…to put this on your “to-do” list when the kids are out of the house or at least driving. I’m so ready to do this again or go camping. It’s so relaxing!
It is 🙂
Fishing has never been anywhere in my timeline but I like the idea of forced relaxation by a body of water. I’d come and sneakily not put anything on my hook so I didn’t catch anything. Because that would involve work.
You know, if you came with us, there would be no expectation of putting a worm on a hook or throwing a line into the water. We like to do that, but it really isn’t the point. I think we spent just as much time goofing off, eating and sitting around as we did fishing. No agenda!
Sounds good to me.
What a fabulous day! any opportunity to be on the water is a fabulous day, in my opinion. I’d have been content to sit in that chair, with my feet in the water, a book (and a beer) in my hand, and watch all the fun.
That picture of you in the water is great. Contentment
Your plan sounds just as fabulous as the attempts at fishing. The point is to relax, plain and simple.