There’s something about getting extremely far away, away from people, and often away from my own thoughts that is attractive to my inner core. Getting in my boat and carving a path up the river where only Antelope roam, and rattle snakes slither along hoodoo walls that line the riverbanks. Not many people have been here, and you can tell, but its just the way I like it most days.
Sitting in my boat, anchored in the middle of the river; the wind crashing against my face and only the sounds of the water gently lapping against the side of my vessel. I get lost here, mostly lost in thought as I stare up at my rod, looking for a living dinosaur to slurp my worms up into is mouth. Like the fish below the waters surface, the wind even feels stronger here, like it too has not been touched by time !!
Even though I come here with my good friend Tony, his voice is sometimes drowned out by deep thoughts of only one Lake Sturgeon engulfing my jumbo worm offering, sending me up off my seat and setting the hook hard into the vacuum shaped mouth of these prehistoric creatures. These fish have lived an exceptionally long time, and even getting one is a blessing and a chore some days. I often ponder, while deep in thought, maybe it’s not just the fish I am here for after all. Maybe it’s the solitude, maybe it’s just the peace and quiet I am searching for.
The older I get, the more I realize that life is all about quality over quantity, and the simple things in life is what means the most to me. Simply sitting out there watching for the bite or watching the cumulus clouds come and go hour after hour. Simple easy conversations with Tony as we laugh and joke about fishing trips past, we have taken here. Simple music playing low in the background as we gaze out at our rod tips, day after day. It’s that simple flavor that keeps me coming back here, year after year.
There is an old saying, “nobody buys a drill because they want a drill, they buy one because they want a hole.” It is not always what you want in life, but what you ultimately need that drives our desires. It has been said this way “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after”. If that is the case, what are we after. Is it the relaxation, is it a spiritual rest, is it bonding with a close friend like Tony? For the commercial angler or guide, it is a living he is after. It is money to have a home and to feed his family! For the sport fisherman it is often the getting away or the seclusion of a place like the badlands of Southern Alberta. Many people often think, including me, that they are going fishing but in reality they are seeking something the fulfills their life and their dreams.
I love to get lost, so lost that I find myself over and over again. The badlands is the place that I get lost to find myself! Where do you get lost to find yourself? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what, or where it is for you!
