It's actually quite simple.
I love inshore fishing. I think that's evident.
The challenges presented by largemouth bass, speckled trout, flounder, and redfish are enough to keep me busy for the rest of my life.
After all, no two days of fishing are exactly alike. Nature dishes out what she will and I love that.
It's easy to find myself amped up over those challenges, especially when they push my limits and I begin to get antsy. I start looking for the missing puzzle piece:
Where are the fish? Why are they being difficult?
I can take it all pretty seriously, just as seriously as a suburbanite gunning for "Lawn of the Month".
It is with time I learned that there are two kinds of anglers in the marsh every weekend:
- Those who fish to escape their lives
- Those who fish to live their lives
None is better than the other, yet I find it important to differentiate so we may have an understanding.
Let me explain
The former goes into the marsh to relax, enjoy the not-so-common scenery and let the woes of the work week go away. Catching fish is nice but there is no point in stressing over it.
For the latter it is perfectly okay to stress over fish, because the reward of "figuring them out" and catching a few using a specific lure or technique is worth it.
It goes without saying that I fall squarely into the category of the latter. One cannot possibly crank out hundreds of articles, fishing reports, podcasts and more without living inshore fishing!
But this is all besides the point.
We are all part of "Inshore Nation" and we all fish the marsh together. So if you fish to escape, then know that we who fish to live see it as more than "just fishing".
For those who fish to live, understand those who fish to escape are just relaxing, so give 'em their space.
At the end of the day, we all love fishing
I'm not writing about this because there has been any conflict, but because I value each and every angler out there.
There's a difference, and it's important to celebrate that.
Hey there! Thanks for commenting, Wes.
I’m glad you enjoyed it.
We are blessed to have the opportunity to fish these waters. Some of my best memories are fishing with my late father down in golden meadow.
Thanks for the good read.