A Fish’s Worth: Inside the Mind of a Fisherman

“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” – Henry David Thoreau

What is a fish worth? There are some things that just don’t and won’t make sense to certain people. And that’s fine! I’ll never understand how some people go to the beach and don’t fish. I’ll never get why some people can sit and watch movies all day… by choice. Some people hike miles along a stream and they don’t stop to drop a line. Some people find happiness and even thrill in hobbies like collecting things or reading… even worse… writing! Bottom line, people are different. They’re infinitely complex while ever-so simple. So, before I stray away from the topic, let’s talk about what a fish means to a fisherman.

As an angler, when you finally land any sort of big fish that you’ve been after (or one you weren’t necessarily targeting but one that surprises the heck out of you), you get a feeling. A feeling of utter happiness, hype, content, satisfaction, and most prominent… a drive to do it again and to do it better.

Let me begin by making two statements: “Words cannot wholly illustrate a fish’s worth to an angler”, and “A fish will mean two different things to two different anglers”.

The best way to portray the worth of a fish is to break it down into three categories: Accomplishment, mysteriousness, and another piece of the journey.

A Sense of Accomplishment

The most obvious and renowned (or even notorious) factor of a fish’s worth to a fisherman would be the sense of accomplishment the angler feels. “The fish I caught the other day was so big (insert hand measurement here)”. I mean, how many fishermen do you know who brag about the last time they were skunked? None. It’s natural, we all feel a sense of accomplishment when we catch a really nice fish or even if we just get on a real solid bite.

But, in my opinion, this is the smallest factor of a fish’s worth. Sure, the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction is awesome, but the next two factors are the big ones for me.

The Mysteriousness

I’ve been fortunate and unfortunate enough to have a few of these moments. Moments where you hook up on something big where you either lose the fish on a crazy run, or you land something huge or totally unexpected. I might be alone on this, but I’d argue the ones that get away, are the ones that make my passion, love and drive for fishing even stronger than the ones I land.

Picture this:

“You’re fishing the surf on a warm, summer day and the sun is just starting to dip over the water. The sky is fiery orange but you know the clouds above will soon turn a cotton candy-pink. Just as the sun is about to disappear, you feel you’re rod-tip twang. Then it gets yanked so hard it almost flies out of your hand!

You set the hook and it’s like ripping into a moving car. Drag is screaming off the reel and there’s no sign of slowing. You feel a wild jerk as a silhouette partially exits the water and splashes just before a wave rolls over it.

Finally, you’re able to work some line in as you feel it start to give. Just before you can get a good look at what it might be, it takes off again! The drag sounds and feels so good and you’re starting to settle into the fight after the initial adrenaline rush, ‘pop!’, you’re line is slack… ‘what the heck was that?'”

Sucks huh? But, how much more do you want that fish now that you’ve experienced what it was like to be so close? And once you start to calm down and cool down a little from all the rage, the mystery starts to set in. It’s that one of a kind feeling that only the ocean brings on. You have no idea what you hooked into, you know now the potential of what you might catch is much more than you ever knew. That’s how I see it. I’ve had maybe 7 or 8 experiences very similar to that example and plenty of experiences to a milder degree. As much as I hate it at the moment, it’s something I look back at with such mystery and awe.

Another Piece of the Journey

Similar to the sense of mystery in that you look back at each missed fish and each landed monster, each big fish is an added piece to the lifelong journey of a fisherman.

I’d bet every fisherman reading this can think of a few or at least one fish that’s had an impact on their fishing journey. A few that come to mind for me are the first big leopard shark I ever hooked (got away), the first guitarfish I saw my buddy land, a 28-inch corbina I got a while back, a yellowtail from the surf, a 23-inch corvina, and my first true slab perch.

When I think about fishing the surf or when I take a look at pictures and paintings of serene beach sunsets, my whole journey of fishing rolls through my mind. More so, the mystery of what might come sits there in my mind playing in slow-motion. That’s what a fish is worth to me. Fishing is much more than landing the biggest fish so you can brag to your friends about it. It’s about the feeling it gives you, maybe the feeling you have right now.

Surf Fishing Report 1/31

The wet weather has been making appearances in So Cal intermittently for the last week-and-a-half. Although it looks like we might be mostly clear for the week ahead, we’re bound to have some more.

I fished Sunday 1/31 from 6:30 am to 9:30 am. The surf was relatively down at 1-to-3 feet for the most part. The tidal set was almost exactly what I’d like to see on a normal winter morning with low tide: (1.5 feet at 4:25 am) and high tide: (6 feet at 10:30 am). Water temp was a chilling 55-57 degrees Fahrenheit and the current changed a few times from south to north to south again.

All conditions looked absolutely GREAT except for one problem. Kelp was everywhere. I’d call it a moderate-heavy day and with the decent tidal swing (rising to 6-feet) the kelp got out of hand toward the end of the session.

Luckily, the first 15-minutes resulted in two solid 12-to-13-inch perch on the LC. After that, I tried, mussel meat, frozen anchovy/sardine, and Fishbites; all to no avail. Not much action, but a really nice start to the day and a sign that LC might be taking a turn to the superior bait-choice for the coming months.

Surf Fishing Forecast 2/1

The week ahead will be a much drier week with a mild storm approaching on Wednesday. For the early part of the week (Monday and Tuesday), I like the early morning slot for a session. The tidal sets look really desirable and the surf should still be relatively down. If Wednesday proves to be any sort of “storm”, maybe it’ll help the days leading up to it.

As we round the middle of the week and look toward the end, evening sessions look a little better. One thing to maybe try: fishing from peak low tide through the early beginnings of the rising tide. It seems that low-tide transitioning to a rising tide has been best. It’s provided the most fish and it certainly helps with the weeds.

Thanks for giving this a read and I wish you the best this week.