The water is still. A bird flies by overhead and the drone of an off board motor can be heard in the distance. Then your bobber sinks below the surface of the water. You twitch your rod and reel in the slightest bit. There’s a fish at the end of your line and all that is left is to reel it in.
Nine years ago junior Christian Quinlan would not have known what to do with that fish.
“I caught a catfish about a foot and a half long when I was eight. I thought it was a log and I was trying to hit the log with the hook and the next thing I knew a catfish bit the hook,” Quinlan said. “I pulled it up on the dock and I didn’t know what to do with it so I left it. I ran up to get my dad and he came back to the dock and unhooked it for me.”
Quinlan, who now fishes at least twice a week, has come a long way since then.
“My largest catch so far has been a three foot sand shark off the coast. I’m always looking for something bigger,” Quinlan said.
Fishing isn’t just about catching food for the family anymore. It’s a sport, a stress reliever and a way to bond with new people.
“My dad took me fishing for the first time and I really liked it. It’s fun and relaxing and helps clear my mind,” freshman Tommy Reed said.
Other students find fishing relaxing as well. Senior Barrett Blackmon finds it a good way to pass time with his dad.
“It keeps me at peace and it’s something to do. I just like spending time with my dad while we are fishing,” Blackmon said.
Most students at Northwood who fish began at a very young age.
“I first started fishing around three or four when my dad introduced me. [I continue fishing] for the challenge and the enjoyment of catching bigger and bigger fish,” junior Tyler Stone said.
As well as pier fishing off a dock and surf fishing off the shore of a beach, there is deep-sea fishing where fishermen take a boat into the ocean.
“Deep-sea fishing is a lot more fun than pier fishing. There’s a completely different landscape and the fish are a lot bigger,” Stone said.
Reed, who has also been deep-sea fishing, recalls an experience he had.
“One time I went deep-sea fishing and someone caught a mackerel that almost bit someone’s hand off,” Reed said.
The main downside that deep-sea fishing has an ability to make people seasick. This did not stop football coach Bill Hall however, who has been deep-sea fishing before.
“It’s a totally different world. I was sick as a dog but we fished all day. It was a great experience,” Hall said.
– By Ryan Millis