A LITTLE MAN ’ S TAKE ON A BIG SPORTS WORLD
By Jim Biery
Fishing Buddies
“ Give a man a fish and he eats for a day . Teach a man to fish , and he eats for a lifetime .” This famous quote is based on the principle of longterm stability by teaching self-sufficiency . The person that taught me this very useful lesson in life is my father .
When I was young , maybe five or six , I heard my father leaving the house very early most Saturday mornings and always wondered where he could be going . I would sneak out of my room and look over the banister leading downstairs until he was out of sight . Later that day , he would come back and I would run to his truck to see where he had been . More times than not , he would pull fish from inside the truck and put them into a tub with water . I was intrigued with how the fish looked and the color of each one . This is when I got hooked ( pitiful pun intended ) on fishing .
Now , for everyone reading this , fishing is a sport . Try being in direct sunlight , water reflecting the heat , and having to cast 800 to 1,000 times in a single day of fishing . Tell me that isn ’ t as much of a pain in the hind-end as burpees !
Once I was old enough to follow my father out of the house in the wee early morning , I began to understand why he arose so early just to catch fish . Have you ever seen a sunrise that offers you every color and nuance a human eye can experience and appreciate ? This is what is special about fishing in general . The fact that you can share such a special environment with your best friend and father ? Priceless .
Over the years , we have experienced just about everything that could possibly happen when you go fishing . We have fished when it was so cold that the eyelets on the rod would freeze around the line making it difficult to cast . We have been chased by a bull trying to cross a field to get to the next pond to fish . When a curious dog was too close to the action , we had to take hooks out of some very sensitive paws .
Along with all the adventures and mishaps also came life lessons , only at the time I didn ’ t realize what my father was teaching me . When you ’ re young , you don ’ t always focus on what is exactly being said or shown to you . You can ’ t fully appreciate the importance of time spent together . There were a couple of times when hanging out with the guys for the night turned into an early morning phone call explaining that I didn ’ t feel good and couldn ’ t go fishing . I think we all know what the real illness was . ( I bet some of you may have felt that way before , too .)
Now that I am older and a bit wiser , I do see what he was hoping I would pick up on . When I would get angry because I missed a big fish , he would try and teach patience . Dealing with adversity comes in handy when your reaching into tree branches to try and get your favorite bait back . When the bites are hard to come by , you have to be determined and focused on your goal of catching a trophy bass .
To show how to overcome pain , my father once had a treble hook get stuck in his forearm . After trying in vain to remove it , he simply cut the line and kept fishing for a couple more hours . Once he got home , he went to emergency care and they cut it out of his arm . My mother just shook her head and wondered about the thought process that went through his head . This would not be a one-time thing she would have to deal with to be sure .
At some point , these lessons became clear to me . Not all at once , but as I went through my ups and downs in life , I began to lean on these principles my father laid out for me . Now when we get the chance to fish together there is only one thing that forces us to reschedule : Mother Nature .
We won ’ t dare speak of it out loud but we silently understand that being able to fish together will eventually come to an end . Neither one of us are spring chickens anymore . Because of this I really appreciate how special it is to be able to share this time with my father . It is even more special because the memories and experiences are only shared by us and close family and friends we choose to share stories with . You see , when you blast every event and detail of it all over social media , you lose the uniqueness of the moment and who you experienced it with . It seems everyone has to let the world know everything they do looking for acceptance and validation somehow .
I don ’ t need to have thousands of followers or people to “ swipe right ” in order to receive confirmation that I did or saw something special . I know that the history I have made with my father – my No . 1 fishing buddy – is very special and will last in our minds as long as we go forward in life and on our fishing trips . Love you , Pops .
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