All I Need To Know About Life I Learned From Fishing

Life can be one awesome ride if you fish often, live authentically, and stop to think about what (and who) really matters. When it comes right down it, I’ve learned pretty much all I need to know about life from fishing — yep, that’s right, from fishing.

Life Lessons Learned From Angling

1. Keep learning. The most successful anglers realize that fishing is a lifelong learning process. There is always a new technique, another species to target, new spots to try out or different lures to test. Don’t get close-minded or stuck in a rut. Fish with new people and try new things.
2. Make mistakes. Chances are pretty good that if you forget to apply “sideways pressure” or tie a knot wrong and end up losing a lunker, you won’t make that same mistake twice.
3. Be humble. Just when you think you’re starting to get pretty good at fishing or at life, you get bumped back to reality by a much more experienced angler or much more powerful fish. You can never know everything there is to know, so listen to advice, filter through it, and apply what makes sense.
4. Get messy. Stop all the fussing, let your hair down, have fun, get some bait on your hands and focus on what matters… fishing. You don’t need to be proper all the time. It’s exhausting.
5. Take it slow. You can be competitive, you can insist upon always being the first to get to your fishing hole, you can throw that line in the water and start reeling like a fiend. However, you’ll find that the fish don’t respond to haste. Slow down and think about what you are doing. Enjoy the actual experience and process of fishing. Be intentional.
6. Lose the expectations. Let go of high expectations the night before a big tournament or planned fishing trip. Sure, you want to do well, but certain things are out of your control and the best fishing days often end up being the impromptu ones.
7. Be authentic. Don’t worry about what other people think. Just be you. Fish, praise the Lord, wear camouflage, walk around smelling like bait, talk to people about the lures you love or relay the story of the one that got away. You’ll find out pretty fast who your real friends are, you’ll learn who you have the most in common with and who you truly enjoy spending time around… isn’t that what life is all about?
8. Pay it forward. Teach others how to fish or encourage them to get out on the water with you. We all go through tough times. Fishing can be a great escape from all of the chaos we deal with in our daily lives. Pay it forward. Take a kid or friend fishing and introduce them to the outdoors.
9. Choose experiences over things. Don’t get me wrong, I know we all love buying fishing tackle and certainly wouldn’t turn away a new boat. But, what’s more rewarding? The awesome memories you make when you spend a day on the water catching bass with your best buddy? Or having lots of stuff?
10. Don’t let the trash jade you. You’re gonna catch a nasty catfish every once and awhile. They are a pain in the butt to take of the hook and no one ever wants to deal with them. Just remember that everyone has to deal with some trash every now and then. Focus on the positive, laugh at the slimy catfish (in the form of people or situations). I guarantee that life will be much easier if you do.
11. The trophy is more rewarding when you’ve worked for it. If you caught and released a truckload of 8 lb bass every day, you’d never have a true appreciation for the amount of work and skill involved. After a few weeks of dreaming about it and trying like mad to hook a big hog, it’s so much sweeter when it finally happens.

What life lessons have you learned from fishing? C’mon, share your thoughts by commenting on the Shefishes2.com Facebook page or on this blog post. And, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram too!