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Column: Fishing about every moment in the outdoor experience

Great Outdoors by James Murray
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For me, the first cast of the day on any fishing trip is always absolutely ripe with anticipation.

Each cast that follows has its own unique possibilities and potential, but that first cast, well, it just seems to hold so much promise – for the moment and for the rest of the day.

Fishing is full of anticipation, from the beginning of the season to the end. Each cast of each new season, each run and each ripple, each seam along the edge of fast flowing waters, each and every insect rise, and each bump along the drop-off or on the bottom offers new opportunity.

Each cast is made with both a certain amount of anticipation, expectation and trepidation. The best part is that each cast made without a strike is but a prelude to the moment when you do feel a sudden, heart-stopping bump on the end of the line.

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Fishing is so much more than the simple catching of fish. It’s getting away from everything and sitting out on the lake somewhere in a boat, breathing in the fresh air and sensing all the sights and sounds that surround you. It’s listening to nature as it whispers in your ear and getting to witness the metamorphoses of an insect as it emerges from its watery depth to experience flight for the first time. It’s hearing the sound of an osprey as it shrieks high above, or seeing a flock of geese winging their way south. It’s watching the sun setting on the far end of a lake and listening to the call of a loon as it cries out across the water. It’s the sound of water lapping against the haul of your boat and the sense of peace and tranquility that wraps itself around you like a blanket. It’s the sun on your face and the mist that rises from the water like time lost in a shroud of its own making. It’s not having to care what time it is or having to be anywhere in particular at any given moment. Fishing is definitely much more than catching fish – it’s each and every moment between fish.

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