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What is fishing?

If it’s not a sport, where do match angling and all the other competitions fit in? It’s all three really depending on the individual angler’s approach but I also agree with Cliff that it is a passion.


Dave
 
It's the best drug one can indulge in.
Hard at it all weekend - muscles aching, sleeping like a baby after 2 x 5.00am alarm calls , head is clear, Blood pressure and blood sugar has dropped and feel ready to take on another week of whatever life throws at me.
Should be prescribed on the NHS.
Oh......and never got a bite either
 
If I fish a match its a sport as I'm competiing for a prize.

Otherwise its an obsession. I'm genuinely thinking about fishing while I'm working, studying catch reports, checking weather, spend my breaks at local venues watching and talking.. My missus mentions things to me and I miss them cause I'm thinking about fishing. .. Throw following football, cricket, boxing into the mix and I don't know how she puts up with me
 
I was always under the impression a sport is defined as something competitive? Make of that what you will!
 
Its a fairly bizarre pastime where we temporarily impale cold blooded creatures with sharp bits of metal for personal pleasure . . . but its also an excuse for me personally to -

1 - Escape the real world (meditation)
2 - Engage with nature
3 - Battle the elements
4 - Connect with my primal hunter
5 - Satisfy my OCD urges
6 - Spend money on nice things I don't actually need
7 - Fiddle around in the garage
 
Chris Belcher said:
Its a fairly bizarre pastime where we temporarily impale cold blooded creatures with sharp bits of metal for personal pleasure . . . but its also an excuse for me personally to -

1 - Escape the real world (meditation)
2 - Engage with nature
3 - Battle the elements
4 - Connect with my primal hunter
5 - Satisfy my OCD urges
6 - Spend money on nice things I don't actually need
7 - Fiddle around in the garage
Click to expand...
Yes with you on all those Chris,excellent . On a sort of related topic . I have often wondered why so few women go fishing ? I cannot remember the last time I saw a female fishing , I can only recall one female member here on BFW . I did a quick google on this matter , and note that some women were put off by lack of toilet facilities , or not feeling safe on their own .One women speculated that fishing was primarily attractive to men as it tapped in to their primal instinct to be the hunter gatherer which Neil and others mentioned , perhaps this ,subconsciously is why we males go fishing ?
 
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So many facets to angling so it's impossible to label it with one word.

When I'm deep sea tuna fishing I'm constantly scouring the horizon looking for the tell-tale splashes of feeding fish, that's hunting to me.

When I'm stalking freshwater fish in shallow and clear water that's also hunting (though the fish are of course returned.)

When I'm sat by a lake fishing for anything with a cane rod and old centrepin that's my pastime.

In the few matches that I fished in my youth I felt very competitive and considered it a sport as it was a measurable event, the best on the day got the prizes.

When I'm targeting a specific fish as I often do these days that's more of a challenge to myself, sometimes I succeed, more often than not I don't but I still find it thoroughly enjoyable. That I would label a pursuit.

I stopped playing the numbers game with barbel fishing some time ago and am tending more towards one or two quality fish per session and don't get uptight if I blank. So guess I'm tending more to the pastime label these days in that facet of angling.
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Yes with you on all those Chris,excellent . On a sort of related topic . I have often wondered why so few women go fishing ? I cannot remember the last time I saw a female fishing , I can only recall one female member here on BFW . I did a quick google on this matter , and note that some women were put off by lack of toilet facilities , or not feeling safe on their own .One women speculated that fishing was primarily attractive to men as it tapped in to their primal instinct to be the hunter gatherer which Neil and others mentioned , perhaps this ,subconsciously is why we males go fishing ?
Click to expand...
Without a doubt it is a primeval itch we have to scratch - we are hardwired. Or at least some of us are. Is this spark lit when we are very young?
Why do some of us need a fix , whilst in others it must lay dormant?
I'm a bit embarrassed to admit when the kids were little, fishing kept me sane and was the last bit of ' me' that I clung onto as a young dad and rookie husband, and it did cause a lot of stress with me and my good lady. Took my girls with me from when they were toddlers and they loved the whole adventure bit and did catch loads of fish but neither of them are slightly interested in going now, even for old times sake. But all the ladies in my life know that it is something that I HAVE to do and they all know when I haven't been able to get. Now they actively encourage me!!
 
Mike Hodgkiss said:
Yes with you on all those Chris,excellent . On a sort of related topic . I have often wondered why so few women go fishing ? I cannot remember the last time I saw a female fishing , I can only recall one female member here on BFW . I did a quick google on this matter , and note that some women were put off by lack of toilet facilities , or not feeling safe on their own .One women speculated that fishing was primarily attractive to men as it tapped in to their primal instinct to be the hunter gatherer which Neil and others mentioned , perhaps this ,subconsciously is why we males go fishing ?
Click to expand...
Have seen a few female carp anglers on the bank over the summer on a local day ticket; one was actually vaguely attractive so I started chatting her up (tbf swims were limited and I was originally asking where her lines where so as not to disturb in the only available peg adjacent). In truth I was actually just interested in the fact that she was fishing at all . . . . . . . . .however within about 2mins her 'boyfriend' appeared from the peg next door, for no real reason other than presumably protecting his 'property' lol . . . had we been in full hunter primeval mode I would have probably clubbed him with a stormpole and dragged her off into the bushes / nearest cave (joking!)
 
Sport, hobby or pastime ?

Sport for those that compete in matches
Hobby/Pastime same thing I suppose the only distinction I can see is a Hobby is something that you do often and repeatedly, for some to the exclusion of any other interest a pastime is something you do once / twice a year possibly on holiday.

I don't care what others label fishing I am just glad we have it. To me it's more than a just a hobby. When I am on the Trent, it's dawn and the sun is just about to rise on the horizon, it will only be a glimmer though, as there is nice cloud cover promising a perfect September day for pursuing Barbel. All the kit is setup just right and you have that feeling from the first cast that today is going to be a good day. That is my Nirvana, my time when the concerns of everyday life just slip away and I come up for air. Western meditation is the closest phrase I can come up with that fits.
 
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