Lessons on the Water

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love the ocean.  The sights, smells, tastes, sounds and feels bring me great peace and nostalgia.  My mind recollects moments of my childhood:  camping in tents on the beach with my family, devouring sandwiches with hints of sand, spending time on the water with paddle boats and shallow water crafts, enjoying fresh caught fish for many dinners, and learning how to cast.

Learning to fish has been a slow process for me.  While I enjoyed tagging along on different excursions in my adolescence, I seldom paid attention to the sport itself.  Like a wave that has laid dormant, angling recently resurfaced and devoured me whole.

One of the reasons I love it is that it parallels life.  The following are some of the greatest lessons I have learned  on the water.

Go Where the Fish Are

Whether you are fishing in the bay, off the jetties, in a river or from a pier, take note of where other people are.  That is where you are most likely to catch something.  Great fishermen and women will cast in a nearby area.  If you are on a boat and see another barge leave a nearby spot and circle back around, you know they’ve had success.

We cannot live life alone.  We need other people in order to thrive.  Individuals that are like-minded and will support us in reaching our goals.  These companions may vary according to the season of life you find yourself in, but it is integral to have them– at least one.

Examine the Conditions 

The moon, its gravitational pull on the Earth, tides, wind and weather all affect cold-blooded aquatic vertebrae.  To encourage bites, it’s best to have a balance of these elements.  While the conditions will not always be ideal, there are certain combinations and formulas that work best.  Examples are fishing after a new moon on a clear day, with 5-10 mile per hour winds.  When you hit that near perfect combination, it’s glorious.

Some of the greatest anglers I’ve ever known still have excursions where they catch nothing.  The perfect environment does not guarantee you will hook a big one.

Our existence is directly influenced by our circumstances, and so are the choices we make.  How you deal with the highs and lows is more of a character marker than your skill set.  Knowing your strengths and weaknesses, areas that need improvement, and taking an occasional, honest inventory of yourself will only make you better.  Being aware of the context  you are in and how you respond is key.

Know Your Fish

I’ve had a skin condition since the age of 14, Pityriasis Lichenoides Chronica.  The “chronica” implies that I’ll have it for life.  It does not hurt or itch.  It does not show up on the trunk of my body or face, but mostly manifests itself on my limbs.  When I was on a fishing trip as a teenager, someone looked at me and said, “If you were a fish, you’d be a Speckled Trout!”  As a self conscious teen, the comment hurt my feelings and made me want to continue covering up the problem areas with jeans and long-sleeves, even on sweltering South Texas days.

Looking back on the incident, I know the person meant it as a sincere compliment.  Specked Trout are beautiful fish.  They are also some of my favorite seafood.  As it turns out, sun exposure, sand and water are the best treatments for my skin problem.

 Learning about fish varieties is helpful when purchasing bait,  setting the hook, picking a casting spot, filleting and cooking them.

Ideally, I would like to spend time near the water every weekend, particularly on the bay, South Padre Island or Boca Chica Beach.  Each of these destinations is only about 30 minutes from my house.  As a mother of three children ages 5 and under, however, that is not realistic.

This current stage of life consumes me and my time.  If I am able to pursue other interests and hobbies outside of my immediate family, it is a rare treat.  With each passing year that I’m alive, time seems to go faster.  I often heard older people speak of this when I was younger; now, I’m living it.  Prioritizing what is most important requires intentionality.

Ultimately, I am raising three incredible human beings to thrive in this world; eventually, it will be without me.

Be a Good Samaritan

I’m a spiritual person.  My favorite lessons are those I learn that apply to deep convictions I have.  For those not familiar with the story of the Good Samaritan, click here.  In short, it speaks of loving the Lord and loving your neighbor as yourself.  It’s easy to read this narrative and think, “I would be the Good Samaritan in that situation.”  What if doing so would greatly inconvenience you?  Or worse, require you to sacrifice?

I’ve heard tales of people being stranded on a boat with no one to come to their rescue.  I almost experienced this myself.

On a fishing trip with family earlier this year, our motor stopped working in the middle of the bay.  We tried restarting it, and taking off the cover and using a rope to turn it back on.  Nothing worked.  Thus, we started drifting, and finally tied ourselves to the dock of a houseboat.  We waved many other boats down.  Texas law says if you see a stranded watercraft you are to ask if help is needed or call for assistance.

Many groups drove right on by, a couple slowed down and asked how they could assist, ending with, “Umm, sure, if you all are still here on the way back we’ll pull you to shore.”  We knew they didn’t mean it.  We immediately began praying and planned to borrow the battery of a similar sized barge to get our motor going again.  We just needed one to show up and stop.

After waiting a couple of hours, one finally did!  They let us use their battery to start up our motor so we could get going again.  We thanked them profusely, prayed with them and drove back to shore.

This was also the day I caught my first redfish, so the trip was not entirely in vain.

I shudder to think of how long and difficult the afternoon would have been had that boat not stopped.  It was full of men (about 6) that also had plans of catching their limit that day.

While I cannot hope to save the world, I can do the small and large tasks I am called to daily.  I can pray that I have “eyes to see and ears to hear” the needs of those around me, even if they’re not written in my planner.  And I hope that when I am the one in need, I can humbly ask for assistance and graciously accept.

I am a visionary and have plans of catching all sorts of fish over the course of my lifetime.  In many ways, I will always be a beginner in my lessons on the water.