I live in the south and it’s fairly warm year round. We get like 3 months of kinda cold weather and that’s it. Summers are BRUTAL though.
Anyway, I got off methadone treatment almost 2 years ago, and have been in a depression funk ever since. But, I found something to keep me going. I go “fishing”.
I get my tackle, my rods, and my bait, and pack it all in my backpack. I grab a machete, and my Kelly kettle (if it’s cold) along with food and water. I then hike through the woods to a fishing spot and sit there. I catch some fish and spend some time alone with my thoughts. My situation allows me to do this 2 to 3 times a week.
Honestly, I don’t even care if I catch anything. I just really like being alone. It’s been so nice now that it’s kind of cold. I boil some water in my Kelly kettle and make herbal tea while I’m fishing. It’s the best.
When i fish i just catch and release. Fishing is about fishing for me. Not the result. I feel bad for the fish though. They get a hook in their mouth, gets dragged up, i say "Hey there buddy" and then they go home. I wonder what they tell to their family.
I’ve been doing a lot of catch and release lately. I have a freezer full of bass, catfish, and panfish. I’m lucky that I live close to river with no restrictions on how much you can eat due to pollution. So, I save up and invite this couple over that I’m friends with and do a big fish fry every so often. Food has gotten so expensive that fishing really helped this past year.
Though I will say. The older I’ve gotten the harder it is to kill fish. I find myself throwing back a lot of fish that I would have kept on the past.
For instance I’m using Oregon as an example. Statewide you can have 6 meals of bass a month due to mercury. Columbia river lamprey 2 to 4 meals a month due to mercury and PCBs.
I live in Alabama and my specific part doesn’t have those problems.
That's the trick about fishing. You're not there to catch dinner, just chill and enjoy for a while with the potential upside of catching dinner so you feel you're doing "something".