Andres Morales Professor Grunzel Enc 1101-01 September 16 2013 Chasing the Big One The charm of fishing

g is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.(Buchan) Fishing is a literacy that requires time, preparation, and most of all luck. Over time I have been taught many different techniques and methods to catching all different types of fish. My sponsor to this literacy has ranged from family, to charter fishermen, and even myself. The best part about fishing is that all you need is a hook, a line, and some water to relax and work on the craft. The simplicity of fishing is exemplified in the start of my literacy of fishing. It all stared with my grandfather and I sitting on the edge of a lake with a bit of line, a hook, and some worms. I was about 6 years old and my grandfather wanted to teach me the old family tradition of fishing. My grandfather had taught my dad and older brother how to fish, so it was only right that he taught me also. We were on a lake in South Florida and the day was beautiful. It was about 3 in the afternoon when I made my first cast that launched me into my love for fishing. When I threw the worm out into the lake, he instantly began to give me pointers on how to get the large mouth bass to bite my bait. He said, Make sure you dont bring it in to fast or to slow, jerk the line lightly to mimic the action of a small worm trying to swim ashore. With these tips I landed my first fish ever. It was a 2-pound large mouth bass, and it was the happiest moment in my life. This was a wonderful moment for my grandfather also because I was the last person he had the

privilege to be a literacy sponsor of fishing for. With this catch began my obsession and love for fishing, from then on I began to fish daily. My daily fishing was only possible because I grew up on a large lake that was packed with large mouth bass. As I grew older my literacy began to take over my afternoons. It consumed so much of my day that my mom had to make a rule for me. The rule was all of my homework had to be finished before I could go out to the lake. I hated my moms rule but it gave me a motivation to get my work done in a timely fashion. I would shoot to get my work done by 4:30, so I would have a solid 2 hours of sunlight to work on my skills. In the these two hours I learned so much about how fish liked their bait presented, what baits they bit on, and the different times of the year the bigger fish would bite. My father took notice of my love for the lake and took it upon himself to purchase a small johnboat for me. This is when I really became serious about my literacy. When my father bought the johnboat for me, he also bought a trailer. With that trailer he would bring my small boat and me to canals and lakes all throughout South Florida and leave me there until the sun went down. Most of my weekends consisted of this routine of waking up at the crack of dawn and heading out to fishing until around 6pm. These adventures broadened my literacy of fishing to new types of interesting fish. From peacock bass all the way to fresh water snook, I was catching and learning so much about all different species. As I fished more and more, I started to look into different methods of fishing. One of the methods was fly-fishing, which consists of casting the actual fishing line instead of the bait through a whip like motion. I enjoyed this type of fishing because it challenged me to learn and research the proper ways to fly-fish through

Internet research and books. Soon after my newfound love of fly-fishing, my friends began to invite me on their boats to go deep-sea fishing. When I turned 13, one of my close friends, named David, knew how much I loved to fish. He also knew that I had never gone fishing into the ocean. David asked me to go fishing with him and his father as a birthday gift. I was ecstatic for this fishing trip. I had always dreamed of being in the big blue ocean, with a trophy fish on the other end of my line. I was so excited the night before the big day that I didnt even get to sleep. It didnt matter though; there was no sign of fatigue in me. We were out on the boat by 7am, just as the sun rose. We were on the hunt for big fish, the prized dolphin. When I say dolphin I dont mean the flipper type of dolphin, I mean the mahi-mahi type of dolphin. As we began to fish, I instantly gained knew knowledge on how to catch these stunning fish. Davids dad started to explain to me the different methods to catch these marvels of the sea. He taught me the different knots used on the fishing lines and the variations of boat speeds to catch different salt-water fish. As Davids dad explained to me his techniques, loud clicking sounds rang out! The techniques of Davids father had worked, and we were hooked on a fish. He gave me the honor of reeling in the fish, since it was my birthday. This fight was the most exhilarating moment of my life up to that point. As the battle between the fish and I carried on, the dolphin breached the water and showed its beautiful green and blue colors. This spectacle stole my love of fresh water fishing and gave it to the salt-water ocean. With this experience, a fire started in me to fish for trophy as much as I possibly could. As much as this new love intrigued me, I had no way of going out to the ocean to learn more and teach myself as I did with fresh water fishing. The reason was because my

father didnt own a boat that could be used in the ocean. So the only solution to this problem was to beg my father to purchase a boat so that him and I could both increase our fishing literacy. It took a lot of research on boats and pleading with him until he finally decided to make the buy. My dad bought the boat in the summer of 2011 and from then on almost every weekend was spent out on the water. Even though it may seem that nobody loves to fish as much as me, my father loves it just as much. That was the beauty of our situation; my dad and me became each others literacy sponsors. We would both research new tactics in our free time during the week, and then it would all culminate on Saturday mornings when we hit the water. As the months flew by my dad and I began to get bored of fishing the same areas, which sparked an interest in my fathers head. The interest that my dad had was to buy a weekend house in the Florida Keys. When he told me about his idea, I was enthralled. The different types of fish and types of fishing that are possible in the keys are endless. The weekend after my mom and dad had closed on the home, the whole family was down on mile marker 74 in Islamorada. We began to explore different types of fishing like bottom fishing for snapper, and flats fishing for red fish or bonefish. My father and I had no clue what we were doing, but that was the fun in it. Weekend by weekend we would learn more about the Atlantic and Gulf through trial and error, TV shows, and other Keys based charter fishermen. My goal was always to catch a record-breaking fish that would put me in the newspaper. To accomplish this goal of my literacy I would always go and talk to my neighbors, who had years of fishing experience in the Keys. One my neighbors, named Oscar, would always tell me stories of the fish he caught. Oscar caught

these fish in a different way though; he would dive down into the ocean with a spear gun and shoot his fish. Oscars stories introduced me into the vast world under the water of spearfishing. My first time spear fishing I couldnt even hold my breath long enough to get down to the bottom of the ocean, which was about 25 feet below the surface. As time went on though Oscar taught me different methods to get more oxygen into my lungs and how to conserve that oxygen as I dove down into the blue sea. Over a period of about 3 months I saved up for a spear gun of my own so I could go out with my dad and try to fulfill my dream of catching a record breaking fish. Spearfishing became my favorite type of fishing, mainly because it took more talent then just luck to catch the big boys. No regular person could just dive down and catch the fish that I was shooting. Although I still have yet to achieve my goal of the catching the record-breaking fish, my determination and love for the literacy of fishing will always push me to go out on the water. My love for this activity was enriched by ten fold by all of my literacy sponsors. Without their guidance and tips I may have never had my eyes opened to all the different waters that I have had the pleasure to fish or been introduced to all the different fishing methods I am still trying to master. The literacy of fishing, to me, is something that can always be worked on. I can say this because no fisherman, no matter how many years of experience or how expensive your gear is, you can still go out on to the water and come back home empty handed. That is what keeps me interested, the uncertainty of whether or not the fish will end up on your boat. That is what keeps most interested in the mysterious literacy of fishing.

Works Cited Buchan, John. "Fishing Quotes, Sayings about Fishermen, Fish, Angling." Fishing Quotes, Sayings about Fishermen, Fish, Angling. N.p., 12 July 2012. Web. 17 Sept. 2013.