February 28, 2009

Fishing, what is it really about?

I've heard some interesting theories. Here are 2 ice fishing guys — and, no, they are not holding hands. It just looks that way.

DSC09990

63 comments:

George M. Spencer said...

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

Thoreau

ricpic said...

Do you fish for fish or freedom...or filosofy?
There is no lure like the lure of river lake or sea.

AllenS said...

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he'll be gone all day even in the winter.

Jason (the commenter) said...

They always go fishing, but they never bring back any fish.

former law student said...

Participating in the food chain.

Becoming struck by the truth of such aphorisms as "If it was guaranteed, they'd call it 'catching'."

Anonymous said...

The answer depends on the type of fishing. Ice fishing should be distinguished from normal warm weather fishing.

Men ice fish to get away from their wives and the overwhelming feminine atmosphere at home. For many, sitting out on a windswept block of ice on an inverted 5 gal. bucket in subfreezing temperatures is preferable to sharing a cozy cottage with the Missus.
Dud

TMink said...

Dudley, I have never ice fished, but your reasoning works for me! Have you heard about the guys who lie on the snow, put a tarp over their head, and peer into the hole to WATCH the fish take the bait?

Now I am a redneck and no nothing of this northern sport, but I imagine it might be a bit confusing to see hearty northern fishermen sprawled face down on a frozen lake.

I have to admit, it is quite a macho way to fish!

Trey - who fishes to smoke cigars and get something fresh for dinner

Tank said...

It's about the beer and the bologna and cheese sandwiches.

Trooper York said...

I used to fish all the time from the party boats out of Sheepshead Bay. What you would do is get there about five in the morning with a cooler full of beer and pay ten bucks and you would go out on the ocean to fish. Depending on the season you would get fluke or flounder or blue fish or whiting and ling and mackeral. Companies would organize outings on a Saturday and the whole department would go out and fish and drink beer and tell lies.

All of that is over now. Regulated out of existance.

Curtiss said...

When I once lived in a cold climate, I never really understood the allure of ice fishing.

Now that I live in sunny Florida, I understand it even less.

SteveR said...

Fishing can be something to do in a nice place and can be a skill you can learn.

I've done lots of types, from open ocean fishing off a reef in the Pacific to small streams in the Rockies. But like many similar activities, golf, hunting, etc. it can just be a reason to get away.

Curtiss said...

On the other hand, fly fishing for rainbow trout in a remote mountain stream surrounded by quiet, magnificent beauty, and alone, is closer to God than most ever experience.

But there's no hand holding.

former law student said...

Trooper -- have you noticed that Prof. Althouse has your blog listed four times on her main page? Truly, your blog matters most in the scheme of things.

George M. Spencer said...

Catfish noodling.

"Git ye a hand already in 'im."

Trooper York said...

It's not that. Did you ever watch a basketball game and the ref will make a bad call and everyone goes crazy. Then he makes a few calls for the other team to even it out. It's what you call a make-up call.

Trooper York said...

Actually my blog is four times better (he said modestly).

I just want to thank the Professor as she has been very generous to me.

john said...

Fishing is 2 kids, one adult, three poles, in a small boat in a lake.

It's a once in a lifetime experience. At least, you hope so.

Bob W. said...

I don't really know why I fish, but I know that I love it.

AllenS said...

My father had a ice fishing house that he kept on Mille Lacs lake, MN, that was 10' x 12'. Propane stove, bunk bed, combination windows, carpeting. After my mother divorced him, he lived in it year around. Tow it out on the ice when it was thick enough, and then back on shore when you had to have them off the lake. Nobody fished more than him.

john said...

DAD!!! Nathan has the pretty gummyworms and I want some too I want to go back and you buy me more! DAD!! Can we use the powerbait to paint ourselves like Indians? Oh, it's stuck again Dad.

john said...

I always thought that the porta potty industry was missing out by not marketing their units as ice-fishing houses in the winter. The 2-holer would be especially useful.

TitusJustShotaLoad said...

I just pinched a wonderful morning loaf.

Where do they pinch their loaves out there?

I left my windows open last night and when I awoke this morning it was 48 in my apartment.

Burrrrrr.

TitusJustShotaLoad said...

Trooper I really think that I was the one who initiated the good will of the Perfessor towards your blog.

Please give credit where it is due. If I didn't get involved you would likely still be a struggling blogger.

TitusJustShotaLoad said...

I do enjoy regular fishing on a boat in a lake on a summer day around 5:00.

I don't care for ice fishing though.

How was everyone's morning loaves?

john said...

Titus asked - Where do they pinch their loaves out there?

They dont call it that, they call it chumming. That's what the second hole is for.

Curtiss said...

Titus digs in.

TitusJustShotaLoad said...

Weekend loaves are especially joyful and peaceful.


No need to jump off the throne in a big hurry to begin the day. You can stew on the toilet. Wait for every last drip to slowly drip from your ass. Savior the wiping. It really is a joyous time. Don't you agree?

Liberals cant take away our weekend morning loaves...or our voices.

Trooper York said...

Thanks Titus you are the man.

bearbee said...

My dad loved Lake Michigan trolley fishing and ice fishing. For decades he and his dearest friend would go every weekend or at any opportunity.

When his friend died he lost his enthusiasm.

David said...

Not holding hands? Ok. But don't come a-knockin' when the ice house is rockin'.

Robert said...

Teach a man to build a fire, and you'll keep him warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and you'll keep him warm for the rest of his life. Or something like that.

I can understand why men would tell their wives they were going ice fishing, in order to get out of the house and have some "me" time. I don't understand why they'd actually go to the lake and sit on the ice.

Darcy said...

Aww, Dudley.

I like to fish and ice fishing is fun. I prefer to use tip ups. As long as you can stay warm (beer and schnapps works, lol), ice fishing is really enjoyable.

NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...

For me fishing is about Budweiser. It's the only time I drink it.

Ron said...

To hell with fishing Althouse, what's for lunch? or should we say...who?

And don't say fish! Agggh!

Charlie Martin said...

Catching fish?

Trooper York said...

Fishing is a lot of fun. But hitting the pubs in search of the elusive fish taco can also be a lot of fun. Just sayn'

garage mahal said...

Just west of the Union less than 30 feet from shore you can get trophy northerns between 40-50". You have to use jumbo suckers if you can find them - the ones so big they will trip your flags on their own so you either have to snip or bite off the tails. Then off to the White Horse for the best Bloody Mary's in town.

chickelit said...

We have a beautiful pier out here that people like to fish from. I don't fish in the ocean, but I do like the fish tacos they sell at the end of the pier.

Trooper York said...

Garage, I am shocked dude. I have always thought of you as a jumbo sucker.

BJM said...

Titus: Liberals cant take away our weekend morning loaves...

Perhaps not, but they are after our flush toilets and TP so who knows what regulations may come down from high on the Capitol mount?

Hmmm...loaf police? TP monitors? a meter on the loo? Just think of the jobs created to monitor Titus alone!

garage mahal said...

Guess I walked right into that one.

Swifty Quick said...

Fishing is a lot of fun. But hitting the pubs in search of the elusive fish taco can also be a lot of fun. Just sayn'

You can do both. Watch for the little fisherman in the boat.

TitusJustShotaLoad said...

I ate a fish taco once. It tasted like anchovies. I ate it but I didn't like it.

It didn't taste as bad as Indian breath smells though. Indian breath smells like ass. Stay away from Indian's breath. My mom said their breath is so bad because of diet...ok, I believe it.

I heard on the set of Slmdog they had to constantly fumugate because of the ass breath smell. E true hollywood story.

chickelit said...

Titus mentioned anchovies.

Speaking of anchovies, does anybody have a good recipe for bagna cauda?

Fred4Pres said...

The "fishing buddy" line from Brokeback Mountain has become a joke between my wife and me, especially when you see someone with an unattractive "manly" sort of girlfriend.

As someone who has spent a lot of time fishing, I prefer being way way out in the ocean, when all you see are storm petrels and maybe an occasional whale or turtle. The alternative is in a canyon fishing for trout by myself. An ocassional osprey flys over. During the day flocks of swifts from the clift walls fly over looking for what ever hatch is coming off the river. And as dusk comes they are replaced by bats from the same clift walls.

Thoreau's comment has merit, although all good fisherman learned that point on their own.

michael farris said...

"no, they are not holding hands"

Not with you taking pictures.

reader_iam said...

I'm not a fisherman (though I can & will bait a hook for my son), but I do truly enjoy listening to people who are intensely passionate about this sport talk about their experiences. Really beautiful, at times. I've experienced normally taciturn men wax lyrical and at length, and it's a lovely window into depths not often shared otherwise.

Go, fisherman!

Anonymous said...

It's a well known fact that God does not detract from your allotted lifespan any time that you spent fishing.

AllenS said...

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and that son of a bitch will come home drunk every time he goes fishing. I'm tellin' ya, wingnuts or moonbats, it doesn't matter. This thread proves it.
Thanks, Garage you proved my point.

Roberto said...

Two guys are ice fishing and haven't caught a thing for hours.

Then they spot a young kid 20 feet away pulling out one fish after another.

Finally they walk over and ask him what the secret is.

He says: "Yyyyygggnnnnkkkkpppptthhhwrmmmmmwrm."

They say: WHAT?

The kid spits a glob of something into his hands and says:

"You gotta keep the worms warm!!"

Penny said...

When I was a very young girl, I had the privilege, just once, of being suited up in rolled over waders and being walked to the middle of a mountain stream to go trout fishing with my dad and uncles. To this day, it is one of my finest memories. I MUCH preferred that to sitting around the kitchen table listening to all the women talk in less than glowing terms about the men in their lives.

So to Ann's question..."What is fishing really about?" It's sometimes about the big catch, but more often about the one that got away. That kitchen tea party was always about the one that should have gotten away. Simply men and women figuring it out in very different ways.

Deb said...

Today at work I saw this book and immediately thought of Titus.

Deb said...

I visited my uncle in Alaska once and he took me fishing. When the grayling didn't bite, he shot them with his 357. There wasn't much left of the fish but it made him feel better, and it was really funny.

Anonymous said...

"Speaking of anchovies, does anybody have a good recipe for bagna cauda?"

Melt butter, add garlic in heavy skillet, add heavy cream, reduce by half, stir in anchovies till dissolved. Eat with still lettuce or cabbage leaves, celery or crusty bread. Serve this while dinner is cooking. Serve dinner an hour and a half late. Make sure everyone is half crocked. No matter what you serve, tell them it's a recipe your grandmother brought over from the old country.

Penny said...

"Today at work I saw this book and immediately thought of Titus."

We apparently need to differentiate between having a good shit, stepping in some shit or being a shit.

Penny said...

Pondering goes best with a pole or teacup in hand.

Walt said...

Fishing with Burgess

garage mahal said...

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish, and that son of a bitch will come home drunk every time he goes fishing. I'm tellin' ya, wingnuts or moonbats, it doesn't matter. This thread proves it.
Thanks, Garage you proved my point.


If your ice shack passes you by on the highway after a day at the tavern after removing it on the very last day of the season, you know you're a redneck! True story that happened to two friends of mine. It landed in a culvert near some dudes yard and he ended giving them a case of beer for the busted up shack. I swear to God.

Corky Boyd said...

You have to understand, ice fishing is not about fish. It is about beer. They sit in those shanties, cut a hole in the ice, drop a line in the water often tied to a gizmo that raises a flag when a fish tugs at the hook and then they sit back and open a beer. They tell the same old stories about all the women they had and drink more beer.

Football season is over, baseball hasn't started. What else is there to do on a Saturday in February when you live in Wisconsin, Minnesota or Michigan?

bearbee said...

Man, there is some priceless stuff on this thread that had me laughing.

AllenS said...

Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day. Take Lem fishing, and you'll never hear the end of it.

traditionalguy said...

The love of bass fishing in the streams and lakes from Weatern Georgia over Alabama into Missippi seems to be a still enacted tribal memory of the descendants of Creek/Choctaw Indians .Braves go out to hunt and fish while the squaws stay by the home fires and await the return of the man with fish, deer and bear meat. In the Eastern part of georgia we prefer to play golf as our Scottish ancestors did.

LonewackoDotCom said...

Here's one of the reasons people fish.