{"id":3002,"date":"2012-04-15T08:10:58","date_gmt":"2012-04-15T15:10:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/?p=3002"},"modified":"2012-04-15T08:10:58","modified_gmt":"2012-04-15T15:10:58","slug":"what-i-learned-of-life-from-dads-fishing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/2012\/04\/15\/what-i-learned-of-life-from-dads-fishing\/","title":{"rendered":"What I Learned of Life from Dad’s Fishing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>Click for larger view of Mom and Dad<\/a><\/em>, before marriage, with plaque still hanging in their house, “An old fisherman lives here . . . with the catch of his life!”<\/h6>\n

My dad is 95 and not as active as he was, like about 95 percent less. In his earlier days he was always active and interested in a great many things; and fishing topped the list. He fished in lakes, steams, in the ocean\u2014from the shore, the pier, or deep water. And he caught. He’d catch when nobody else was. But even when he didn’t, he enjoyed the time, just being out there.<\/p>\n

It’s not something I inherited. But on reflection, I’ve learned a lot about life from Dad\u2019s fishing . . . and what it takes to be successful in so many things.<\/p>\n

First, he loved it.<\/em> If you love what you do, you’re likely to do it well.<\/p>\n

He worked at it.<\/em>\u00a0From the outside, things look easy, but then we find out different.<\/p>\n

He thought about it.<\/em> Before he went out he prepared, and kept adjusting the whole time.<\/p>\n

He was happy to wait.<\/em> A lot of fishing, and life, is about waiting.<\/p>\n

He believed the fish were there.<\/em> When we stop believing we stop . . . everything.<\/p>\n

He knew attributes, habits and preferences of different kinds of fish. He applied knowledge.<\/em><\/p>\n

He used different bait, lures and approaches for different fish. He applied wisdom.<\/em><\/p>\n

For small fish, he used small bait; for big fish, he used large. He applied common sense.<\/em><\/p>\n

For some fish, he’d cast and reel; for others, it was a sinker at the bottom. He knew “the where.”<\/em><\/p>\n

He knew the fish bite according to their schedule, not according to his. He knew “the when.”<\/em><\/p>\n

He had facility with all different kinds of fishing. He honed his skill, he knew “the how.”<\/em><\/p>\n

You can’t catch a marlin with a trout line; or grunion with a pole. He had the right tools for the job.<\/em><\/p>\n

He’d often have two lines in the water, one passive, one active. He made the most of his time.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When boating from one location to another, or going in for the day, he’d troll. He was fishing beginning to end.<\/em><\/p>\n

He knew when to keep quiet; <\/em>if you scare the fish away it’s all over.<\/p>\n

SOME ADDITIONAL POINTS<\/strong><\/p>\n

About chumming . . . be extravagant. \u0010Spread your bread on the waters.<\/p>\n

Have a net ready . . . the fish is not caught until it’s in the boat.<\/p>\n

On a good day, be happy; but let others do the bragging.<\/p>\n

About the one that got away, don’t lament too much . . . such things happen.<\/p>\n

Know there are no guarantees . . . even with all knowledge and wisdom and skill, the right equipment and all patience, the fish may just not be biting.<\/p>\n

Finally, enjoy the process . . . without this, you will not continue; and if you do not continue, you will not catch fish.<\/p>\n

Is this life, or what?<\/p>\n

Tell me if you can relate,\u00a0and where you think it applies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

_____________________<\/p>\n

Feel free to share with a friend.<\/p>\n

Next: The More I Know the More I Know I Don’t Know<\/em>.
\nComing Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dad was a great fisherman, and though I never got hooked like he was, I learned by watching him a great deal about how to succeed in life. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3002"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3070,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3002\/revisions\/3070"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hyattmoore.com\/blank-slate\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}