Sitting In My Kayak Thinking

By John Williams

I was sitting in my kayak deep in the marsh.  The wind was blowing.  Hard.  It was difficult to imagine that there would ever be another Redfish that would bite on the bait that I was throwing over and over again.  That’s when I noticed that I kept looking down the bank towards where I thought there just had to be a fish.  I kept fishing down the bank but moving maybe too quickly.  Throwing too quickly.  Reeling too quickly.  Sort of fishing – but in a feeble way – just looking forward to that next spot.  I slowed down, refocused myself, became more deliberate with where I was casting and put myself into the retrieve and BANG! – a redfish hit the lure with reckless abandon.

You ever notice that early mornings are the times that you think back and draw parallels for life with the things that you do in the outdoors?  Maybe that just me.  Or just me at 50.  Anyway – this morning I was thinking about that time in the marsh.  Then I was thinking about some sweet times with our son when he was small and looking forward to some of those things with our grandson (who is 1 year old now).  It occurred to me that there are times in my life that have passed forever.  I wondered whether there were times when I was “looking forward to that next great spot” and didn’t cherish where I was in life enough.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love my life and where I am – but if there is a parallel with kayak fishing and life, I think it would reflect back to the adage:  Don’t leave fish to find fish.  And don’t rush down the bank to the next spot.  The fish are right there where you are in your life.  Sometimes you just need to slow down enough to find them.