There’s more to fishing than catching a meal. For a seasoned angler that’s an obvious truth and if it’s not, they may spend their whole lives not realizing that, well… fishing isn’t just about catching fish.
Sure it’s the aim, every sport has an aim. But just as a marathon runner will tell you “it’s not about the finish line”, the same goes for fishing.
It’s the whole event of fishing that draws people in; spending time with friends and family, away from the world of distractions and being out in the fresh air with a cold beer. What’s not to love?
Fishing is great for mental health, it’s a truly healthy hobby to have in ones life, here’s a few reasons why fishing is not just about the fish:
Spending Time Outdoors
Modern life often leaves us stuck indoors, wasting excessive amounts of time with social media or what ever bad habit we have fallen into, sometimes it’s as though we are losing our connection with nature.
Going out fishing pulls us away from our places of habit! We immerse ourselves in the outdoors; the cool wind, fresh air and earth beneath our feet… it invigorates an innate joy inside of us, a natural flow with the world that can be obstructed by the modern lives we live. It puts things into perspective and allows us to reflect on what’s important in our lives and what we take for granted.
Research shows that people who spend more time in nature, have better functioning nervous systems, reduced bowel disorders and well balanced heart conditions.
Increased Vitamin D Exposure
Another benefit of spending time outdoors is the extra exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D is an essential vitamin, helping the body absorb calcium and plays a role in the immune system as well as muscle function.
When you spend too much time indoors, the lack of sun exposure to the body can result in Vitamin D deficiencies, causing a myriad of symptoms such as; depression, nausea, bone loss, impaired wound healing, hair loss and more.
While supplementation of vitamin D is a common method of combating vitamin D deficiencies as a result of lack of exposure to the sun, scientists are beginning to lose enthusiasm for the supplementation of vitamin D. A recent study on the use of high dose vitamin D supplementation to prevent cardiovascular disease, found that monthly high doses of Vitamin D was not able to prevent CVD.
Travel to New Places
Traveling allows you to experience new places and cultures. Being in a new place can be a surreal experience, your mind is experiencing new sensations; new sights, sounds, smells and ideas… In a new environment, experiences are deeply enriched and leave stronger imprints in your memory.
Going on fishing trips often leads you to new places, you may never have thought of visiting before.
Sometimes the best fishing spots are quite a ways away. Fishing trips and camping trips aren’t mutually exclusive and you’ll often find camping trips becoming fishing trips and fishing trips becoming camping trips!
Strengthens Relationships
We all know the classic story of father and son, bonding over a fishing trip together.
Whether your off fishing with family or friends, one thing is for sure, you will have a lot of time to catch up, reminisce about the good ol’ days and get up to speed on what’s been happening in each others lives.
When your fishing, it’s not all action, there’s a lot of sitting around, waiting… a lot of silence. There’s no better setting for having deep and meaningful conversations with the ones you love and care about than on a fishing trip together.
Improves Focus
Fishing is a kind of meditation, you are out there on the quiet waters, you’ve left the distractions at home, many miles away, focusing on what’s at hand.
When our lives are filled with so many distractions, our minds can become fragmented, jumping from this thing to that thing. Taking all of those distractions away and patiently focusing on the task at hand has a carry over effect into our lives, our minds become firmer and less scattered.
When you start learning how to fish, you find that so much of the sport is patience. Rigging the line requires a steady hand and a focused mind. And after your line has been casted out, it can feel like a decade has passed by until you see the line get a tug, focusing your mind on something so subtle is a skill that many have lost or have yet to cultivate.
Hobbies are Good For the Mind
Hobbies enrich our lives in wonderful ways. Hobbies act as a kind of rudder, helping to keep you balanced as you go through life.
We all have responsibilities in life, these can easily become our main focus. The problem is that life can be stressful and it can really weigh down on us. Having a hobby brings a lot of joy and enrichment into our lives, it gives us something to look forward to and a skill set to continually develop.
BIO
Daniel Calvin is a keen angler and bass fishing enthusiast, he enjoys spending time outdoors and writing fishing articles for Dynamade
