The top five reasons I go fishing

This blog now hosts over 250 posts and I thought it was about time I shared some of my favorite things about this great sport. So here it is:

1. Relaxation - Life is stressful these days and it is only getting worse. Fishing is my ultimate relaxation tool. It is sort of hard to stress out sitting on a lake, river, estuary or ocean with nature all around (apart from losing that fish of a lifetime of course!). It is also hard to think about what I need to do tomorrow, which makes this reason number 1!
2. Fun - Lets face it fishing can be frustrating, but that is half the reason we keep returning to it. So the saying goes if fishing was easier more people would take up golf! However, fishing is great fun too!
3. Family and friends - My old man is my best fishing partner and this has brought us closer together, even though not much is said out loud. There is something about sitting in a boat with someone for a long time. Fishing also helps you make great lifelong friends with the same passion!
4. Excitement - I was once watching a great fishing show one day and the host was hooked up to an obvious monster. He turned to his fishing partner and said "When this no longer gets me excited I will know that I am dead." That says it all really.
5. Nature - For people that cannot understand my fishing addiction this is the reason I use to explain to them why I go fishing. I could write a book about the amazing things I have seen in nature while fishing. A pod of dolphins dancing right around the boat, turtles surfacing next to the boat and scaring the hell out of me with that sound they make, manta rays flapping water into the boat, monster schools of pelagic fish on a feeding frenzy and birds feeding on the scraps and that is just to name a few. These memories are etched in my mind forever and when I am too old to get into the boat any more will be some of my fondest memories!
   

Have your own top reasons for going fishing? Please leave a comment.