It is, at first glance, improbable, that I should be addressing this topic, or rather, blogging on any topic. I say this for several reasons. First, I grew up in a rural mountain area of Virginia - far removed from any salty coast. Second, I am not the most communicative person you are likely to meet.
Susan's (Susan is my wife - pictured here with me) brother once described me as the most dour and taciturn person he knew - though, personally, I doubt it. I have also heard more than once that it is hard to read my expressionless face. And generally I don't contribute much to a conversation unless I feel that there is a glaring omission in the content of the topic under discussion. As this is not a psychological exploration, I guess we'll leave this side bar here, or let people who know me continue to deconstruct my personality traits.
Obviously I am not the first to feel the pull of the sea and fishing. I find fishing, and the saltwater fishing that I primarily participate in, to be a consuming passion. The discovery came over time, as I have generally been a person of diverse and changing interests. I think that fishing has taken hold as it is a vehicle for exploration that touches so many very different interests to a depth limited only by your own curiosity.
Men have always been moved and mystified by great waters. Norman Maclean, Author of "A River Runs Through It wrote that "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters".
And regardless of belief, it is no accident that the first words of the Bible are -
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters."
Anyone who has spent time on big waters has felt the "Spirit of God ... moving over the surface of the waters".
Siddhartha, as related by Hermann Hesse, finds enlightenment in hearing the voice of the waters.
People are moved by the primordial powers of the waters. The nameless, unknowable mystery and majesty of the boundless deep affect me every time I am upon those waters - and the connection to the endless, and sometimes overwhelming, marvels of nature is renewed each trip as well.
To that, add the intellectual challenge of unlocking the secrets of finding and catching the days target, the joy of always learning new skills, the test of attention to detail and of always doing small things well, and the endless realms of science and knowledge to explore in informing your fishing endeavors, and we start to touch on the nature of my obsession with the world of saltwater fishing.
As this blog develops, I hope to touch on the typical how to, why to, where to - but also on the broader contexts as well. I hope my journey is helpful to others, and that I can share in their journeys as well.
In the beginning, posts will probably be infrequent, but will increase in frequency over time. And as this is a conversation, I will try to make sure that what I post is of value.
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