O'Brien Outdoors: Fishing Offers Family Fun And Less Stress

Along with social functions and having meals together, fishing is a wonderful way to build family bonds. For many anglers, fishing memories frequently include family members. Early experiences usually involve a relative. But it goes beyond the fishing experience itself. The things that happen when you’re on the water become lasting memories.

The potential that fishing offers for building stories is unmatched. We remember and we want to reconnect, to regain that feeling. These wonderful reflections remind us of simpler times, and the stories are told time and time again in great detail. They make us secure in our connections with each other, and the past. These adventures often become legendary, etching themselves in the family history.

From start to finish, from planning to preparation, families build and keep traditions through fishing. Interestingly, family fishing doesn’t necessarily require everyone to fish. Sociologists call this “social world theory,” where experiences can be shared vicariously and still are personally meaningful to all involved. The “being there” is sometimes enough- the sharing in the hope, the helping in the preparation, and perhaps most important, the reliving of the stories.

Fishing establishes connections with nature, as well as the camaraderie of the individuals involved. But the underlying motivation that keeps us fishing is the hope that the next cast will catch the big one.

Fishing offers intergenerational and non-gender-based opportunities to have fun. Everyone has a chance to be a part of it, and to be successful. Perhaps more important, barriers are dropped, a common experience is established and communication takes place in ways that can’t be duplicated in any other situation. You can only be so far away from each other in a boat, a setting guaranteed to foster communication.

Fishing happens away from everyday routines- away from the responsibilities of the home and the workplace.  It provides a separation from the mundane while creating enjoyment in natural surroundings. These outings often take us to places where family stories have been built before.

Most importantly, fishing removes us from stress. Stress develops when the demands of events in our lives exceed our capacity to deal with them. In America today, stress has reached epidemic proportions. According to a survey by the Families and Work Institute, 26-percent of U.S. workers are “often or very often burned out or stressed by their work.” Most do not know how to deal with it. Dr. Paul G. Quinnett, clinical psychologist, has traveled around the country offering advice on how to live a longer, happier and healthier life through fishing. In his book, Pavlov’s Trout, Quinnett devotes an entire chapter to the link between stress-reduction and fishing.

Being on the water offers plenty of adventure. Psychologists tell us we have a fundamental need to reconnect with the element that nurtures us, sustains us and comprises over 90-percent of our bodies. When this reconnection with water takes place with our families the experience is that much more meaningful.

Fishing is a shared experience for over 80-percent of Americans. It is part of our national tradition, something we understand as an important part of defining who we are. “Family” and “fishing” are words as joined together as “apple” and “pie.” Our fishing heritage is unique, and celebrating this together offers another dimension to our family experience.

Go fishing and introduce a child to one of life’s lessons- With patience and persistence come rewards. This is fishing.