Addiction vs. Obsession

I had planned on going fishing this evening, however work and chores got in the way and did not allow me to take advantage of the waning daylight, the gloaming twilight that bass tend to use as dinner time. Instead, after all my chores were done, I started reading bass angling tips online. If you remember an earlier post, I mentioned my renewed interest in fishing, an activity I had eschewed for years but once loved more than life itself. I thought I would freshen up on the latest baits and techniques since it has been over a decade since I fished regularly. Back then there was no Internet. My, my, how the fishing world has adapted to the information super highway.

There is a plethora of information out there. Tonight I reminded myself how to fish a Texas rigged rubber worm, when to fish a top water lure and what colors stimulate strikes at what time of day. I re-learned how to fish certain lures and looked up solunar fishing charts (this week, Friday is best. Next week every day is off the charts). I spent over an hour on one site , that shared pro tournament bass angling tips. I researched the art and science of fishing a "Carolina Rigged" rubber worm and can't wait to try it.

All of these revelations are peppered with memories, like a subtext running while I read. I remember being a younger man, when this particular passion raged within me like a bad smack Jones. For several years when I was a teen; I couldn't wait to be fishing any time, any day, any where. I worked very hard to be a good bass hunter, I read the magazines, talked to fishing buddies, and I practiced all the time. I find myself wanting to do that all over again and I doubt that is healthy.

Just about a month ago I would not have considered "going fishing" a viable form of entertainment for a summer evening. Now I find myself thinking if I get enough work done I can go to the lake! Oh there are worse things, I used to think "If I get enough work done I can go to the bar and try to 'hook up'" but now I just want to wet a line.

The "Black Bass" is a genus that is indigenous to the temperate climates of the world. The freshwater species that is found in ponds, rivers, lakes and streams throughout north America. It does not like the southern hemisphere for some reason but it does like sub tropical locations like southern California and Florida. The Black Bass is divided into 8 sub species in north America. The fish I hunt is the Northern Strain Black Bass, which is divided further into Largemouth and Smallmouth. The bass I want to see on the end of my line has a limited growing season and must spend much of the year in a state of suspended animation due to cold water and even ice cover in winter.

"The largest Black Bass ever caught was over 20 lbs.
The world record bass was caught near Jacksonville, Georgia on June 2, 1932 by George Perry. It weighed 22 pounds 4 ounces and was caught from an oxbow lake off the Ocmulgee River called Montgomery Lake. That is one of the most sough-after records in the fishing world."

Yes, this behemoth was what we like to call a bucket mouth. I have trouble imaging a bass being that big. In Ohio the largest bass I can ever hope to catch is in the 6-8 lbs. range. A 22 lb. bass is the stuff of dreams and legend. The northern strain bass just does not have the growing season it's southern cousin has.

When I was 14 years old, I used to spend my allowance at a bait and tackle store in the small town I lived near. Mitchells Sporting Goods in Greenfield, Ohio. When I got a check for my birthday or I bailed hay for a week, I would run to the store with dollars burning a hole in my pocket. I loved that place, I wonder if it is still the same. They had a model of that aforementioned world record bass hanging on the wall. There was a plaque stating the weight, the angler and the date the fish was caught. After all these years the official record has not been broken and that model is still a representation of the largest Black Bass ever caught. Thinking back, as a young man, I knew I would never catch a bass that large unless I was fishing a more southerly latitude but what an inspiration.

I seem to have a new obsession, since addiction and obsession are so closely related, it is difficult to define one or the other. I think it is more like an obsession. I tend to burn brightly on one thing for a time, learning, mastering, then moving on to another interest, abandoning the one before. It seems odd to me to be so ardent about the sport of fishing again, after all this time. I think I am glad for the renewed interest, fishing is a wholesome activity and doesn't have to be expensive, of course I will make it expensive because that is what I do. I will want the best new lure, or a better fishing rod and reel, or a boat (unngh) but for now, just the act of doing this thing I loved, again, makes me feel young, it puts me in touch with the person I used to be and therefore binds the present with the past in a most satisfactory way.

Perhaps tomorrow will allow me to go fishing.