Photos: Daniel Kim
We fish for a variety of different reasons. For some, it’s the places fishing takes them, for others it’s to get away from people. I fish because I love the people it introduces me to and the places it takes me. There are so many people I have met who have pushed me to be a better angler and to be on top of my game. Fishing also gives me the opportunity to be in nature and travel to exotic places that I otherwise would not go to. Fishing shows me how I can change the environment. On the water, I see the trash that people have carelessly let end up in our waters. I see the effects overfishing is having on the tarpon in the Forida Keys and how much the fish learn every season. I fish for all the fishless days, and I fish for the days with awful weather so that I appreciate the good weather days. In that way, fishing has made me appreciate every sunny day, every fish I catch, and every goal I reach. I try to only set really challenging goals for myself because that way, I may have to work my whole life to meet those goals. If I didn’t fish, I would never have met so many people who are now like family to me. I fish to break the stereotypes about fishermen. I am not what most people imagine when they imagine a fisherman, but I hope that in the future there will no longer be a type of person who fishes because we will have diversified our fishing community. And lastly, I fish because I truly love fishing. I love that feeling when you have just caught a fish and you are so happy, you forget about everything else. This is why I fish.
