Why I fish for Carp

Fishing is a form of escapism, I often hear. And this verdict may even be just for all but the real fishermen among us. Real fishing, then, is the exact opposite of escapism: Instead of turning away, one is drawn towards. Towards the world that is found out there by the water's edge and that holds a thousand treasures.

While on the waterside, we catch much more than fish alone. We experience the greatness of nature, sometimes have a new thought or two, and find time for reflection. The ability to reflect is the single most human trait, the one which puts us apart from all animals. And yet, I see many people rushing through live without hardly ever engaging in this exercise. And those people have one more characteristic in common: They are all no fishermen.

And so many who are unable to bear their own company! People who always need to engage in some form of distraction in order not to feel lonely, not to be bored. Is there so little that you carry within yourself, I ask, that you need to worry about feeling bored? What is continued boredem, if not a sign of mental poverty? I am not worried about the fact that few people understand my hobby. After all, most of those have grown up far from nature, so how can I expect them to understand carp fishing?

In the end, it is not about fish but about fishing. When a carp fisher frees himself from the constraints of time and engages in the meditative contemplation of the water, then he experiences the eternal fascination of angling. The capture is just a final consequence for the prepared.

When I started to fish for carp, I was a pioneer. Today carp fishing has become a popular and commercial pasttime, and it is not the same as in the early days. Circumstances always change, and there is no use in lamenting this. But the magic around secret lakes and uncaught giants will be there forever. And this provides the greatest comfort to any true fisherman's heart: That wherever life will take him, he can always return to casting a hook at those unknown depths.