It's the most interesting question I get. Nobody has a definitive answer to this question.
When most people think about the word fishing they just think about a guy sitting on a chair, casting a bobber and just waiting for the fish. In reality, there is alot more that goes into fishing. There are thousands of decisions, we the fishermen have to take to be successful.
What the hell drives us to get up in the morning, hike and stand in a damn river to try and catch a trout?
So why do I actually fish?
I always have a hard time coming up with why I fish. I think it comes down to 3 main reasons, the anticipation, the challenge and the rewards. I think the reason why most of the people say that fishing is boring have never caught a fish or have never been fishing in their lives.
The anticipation of fishing.
It's all about the feeling you get the night before you go out fishing. Even if I've been on the water for 4 days a week, there is still the anticipation of what may actually happen the next day.
The challenge.
Alot of sports have their invisible factors that create a challenging environment. The challenge of not knowing and trying to figure out a non-human opponent, trying to figure out the underwater the angler cannot see. The challenge of helping others succeed. There are tons of challenges. Weather, water clarity, water temperature, lure selection, rod and reel choice, these are the type of things we must take into consideration when we're out on the water. Fishing is problem solving, we have to take all of this information, come up with a theory of what we think that the fish will be doing. Fishing is like a chess match, it's all about the brain power, ambition and time.
After all, the rewards.
The feel of the fight, the smile and thrill seeing others catch their records or first fish. The thrill of the reward is still the same for me as it was when I was a kid. But I still need more of it. Fishing really captures my imagination, you never know what is going to be behind that bend unless you actually go out and see for yourself. You're always exploring and finding new things and it's that constant state of anticipation that keeps me interested in fishing. All of the obstacles, decisions you have to make to catch just one fish, you're delving in a sense into the unknown and you never know what that next cast may hold.
''Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after''- Henry David Thoreau
my great friend fishing for salmon ↑