Why People Fish, Ode to a Day on the Lake

This is why people fish.
To get up early.
To ride out on a big lake in a boat at sunrise.
To toss a line into the water with gleeful hope.
To fish for hours catching nothing, telling all the fishing stories of the past;
    remember the big waves that one afternoon?
    remember when the lake was frozen and we broke through the ice? Remember the sound the ice made when it cracked and flew onto itself?
    remember when Mary caught the fish, right after you and she got untangled?
    remember when it rained all day?
    remember the tarp overhang that kept us all warm and dry?
    remember the last year of the derby, when Kathy caught the 25 pound fish and won?
    remember, she not only won Big Fish, she won the coveted Asshole of the Year award that year too?   I think it was because she insisted on throwing her fish back, even though Game & Fish said the Park Service said it was to be killed....remember that?

It was an amazing catch.  It was an amazing release.  Live on my fish.  My heart is glad you are still swimming somewhere in Jackson Lake.  Thank you Benni for getting us to the spot, thank you Mo for netting that fish!  Thank you all for the Big Fish win, for the memories of 2015!!

This is why we fish.