We are Wired2fish. We is us and you — all of us that love to fish. We love everything about being on the water — the cool breeze in the morning and the way our spinnerbait blades spin in the wind on our ride out to the first spot. We love the low rumble of the outboard that crescendos into full throttle as we race with anticipation to the awaiting quarry.
Being Wired2fish doesn’t mean belonging to a website. It’s about being a part of a fraternity of men and women who have experienced the beauty of the outdoors and the thrill of competing against an animal you can’t control. Matching wits with a predator with miniature decoys that you work with cadences of soldier-like precision.
Wired2Fish is being driven all week to get to a source of happiness on the weekend. The water seems to release the stress that builds. Our own personal relief valve. The calming nature of focusing all your energies on chasing something you can’t see until after you’ve already fooled it.
If you love fishing, you love tackle. The rods and the reels. The line and the lures. The tackle and subsequent organization and preparation help us cure the cabin fever that sets in when we can’t be on the water for extended periods of time. They are our matchbox cars, Star Wars action figures and comic books for us as grown-ups.
If you’re truly Wired2fish, you love to see a big fish. Whether you catch it or not. Seeing another’s big bass moves you to want the fishing more. Following others’ fortunes motivates us towards our own goals for our own quests. Understanding the thrill and joy that comes with catching a big fish or catching a bunch of fish gives you a true appreciation for the exploits of other successful anglers.
Weekends, weekdays, night time, morning, blazing heat, freezing cold, torrential downpours, high wind, no wind, big waves, glass surfaces and everything in between have little effect on whether we’ll keep after it when the bug has bitten us. The more you see others catching fish, the less you can hold back.
Focusing on the patterns, the rigs, the techniques, the boat position, the seasonal conditions, the fish’s behavior, the movements of the forage and everything in between fill our brain with sensory overload, and sometimes we block it all out and just start chucking and winding. We have to maintain mental focus and not get drawn into “going through the motions.” So we resist the negative thoughts and keep plowing through, focusing on the next stump, the next dock and the next waypoint.
Tie, retie, check your line and retie again. We maintain the links with fluorocarbon, braid, monofilament and copolymers. The line is critical to our success, as are our mechanics and our sense of feel. Was that a rock, a branch, a blade of grass or a bite. We compute through blind analysis the slightest changes transmitted over 30 yards of sub-millimeter thick line.
In a split second our world is changed. The bite. The rod loads and the line snaps taught as we whip the fish into frenzy and the battle ensues. Splashing, kicking, jumping, stripping, ripping, tugging and tussling to the boat. Closer to the net, the open hand, the gaff, the swinging flip into the boat. 2 points!
High fives, screams, jubilation, shaky hands, goose bumps, elation and relief set in as the big fish hits the deck. Personal best, lake record, state record, world record all run amuck in a mind unravelled of stress and everyday life. For that moment, you’re the only person that exists, in the only place that exists at the only time in existence.
Fish on, rock on, party on Wayne! You’ve done it, and a monkey fell off your back in the process. You’re in a fraternity of peers who all appreciate what you’re feeling and where you for the moment are the highlight of the club.
You’ve bested a goal in a place you live in your mind all the time and on the water some of the time. And when it’s all said and done and you’ve had a moment to reflect on your feat, one little thought enters your mind. “Man I love this sport.”
Now you’re Wired2Fish. When fishing is more than catching a big fish a bunch of fish or just a few fish. It’s about the time, the camaraderie, the accomplishments and the anticipation. It’s not just the destination, it’s the journey. It’s not just catching fish, it’s finding them. It’s not just your catch, it’s your son’s or your daughter’s or the kid down the block that just likes hanging out and looking through your tackle. It’s not always about being the next KVD; it’s also about mentoring the next KVD.
It’s bigger than you and me and all the fish in the sea. It drives, it motivates, it nauseates and inebriates. It fuels and empties us in the same moment. Not many things can do that. Fishing does. And for that reason I am … you are … we are Wired2Fish.
