Image Credit: Photo by William McAllister from Pexels
There have been endless debates on whether fishing is a sport or a hobby. Even if you are a committed fishing enthusiast, you may have this question at times. Unfortunately, mainstream media never presents fishing as physically stimulating but as a retirement hobby.
In most cases, older retired men are the faces of fishing fanatics. However, some millennials enjoy coming together to catch fish in a pond or lake. The shroud of tiredness and fatigue associated with fishing couldn’t be further from the truth.
Moreover, there is evidence that supports the hypothesis that fishing is a sport. Some characteristics determine whether any activity is a sport or not. The following are some of the features fishing shares with other sporting events.
Skills
You cannot wake up one day and go fishing at a lake without the fundamental guidance. First, the bait you will use needs skill to place on the hook. In addition, the kind of bait you will use depends on the type of fish.
To become a fishing expert, you will need regular practice and patience. After all, there are various fishing styles, using a drop shot rig or others; you need to learn to catch fish successfully. Also, if you catch bigger fish, you need to fight it and bring it into the boat- the strength and skill required here take regular practice to master.
Rules
Although they vary from state to state, there are a set of rules every angler should follow. For instance, there is a fishing limit on the number of certain fish species one can catch in a day. These rules also serve as a mechanism to sustain marine life. Overfishing along all coastlines is a violation of international marine guidelines.
In some states, if you want to take part in any fishing activity, you must have a license. Otherwise, all your actions can lead to a fine from the local government. Moreover, fishing itself has guidelines, like how to set up a rig for fishing.
Competition
Although you mostly witness NFL drafts and games on sports channels, there are at least 30,000 fishing competitions that anglers take part in annually across the United States of America. Naturally, these competitions do not permit new anglers to participate. Therefore, more unknown anglers gain experience at club-level competitions.
Getting into the top-level competition is no small feat. There are pre-competition seminars that pro-anglers attend to understand the nature of the venue (the lake and its environment). Therefore, the misconception that fishing is a solitary activity is not entirely valid.
Physical activity
The typical fishing photography you come across online doesn’t portray the intensity of fishing competitions. Instead, anglers use their arms, back, feet, and minds to fish. Besides the physical benefits of fishing, the concentration level restores focus and reduces the general anxiety you experience daily.
Anglers record lower cortisol levels after a fishing trip. This effect is why psychiatrists prescribe a fishing trip to patients with manic Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Final Thoughts
Now that the doubt is gone, fishing can become a getaway sport for your family and friends. Despite being incomparable to pro-football or basketball, please take a chance to explore the physical and mental exercise it has to offer.