Plenty of Fish

Hi Kim,

It was a long weekend here in Saskatchewan so I and a couple of my closest girlfriends took full advantage of that. The three of us have had an annual ice fishing trip - this was our 4th year. It was great! We caught a few that weren't worth keeping, caught a few that didn't want us and ended up getting off the hook and swimming away, and we also caught a few really good ones! 


I learned that fishing is a bit like dating. As I sat in that ice fishing shack for 16 hours over 2 days, not catching a damn thing, I realized: if I can have this much patience fishing and not have it bother me to catch one or not, what the hell is the difference with guys? I still had my good friends around and we had an amazing time. So maybe it's a weird analogy, but I'm going to stick with it!


I just finished reading your latest blog, Less Is More. I totally feel like sending responses like that as well. Here is the amazing first message I received from someone today:

Hiiii

Yep, that was it. Right then, I took the hook off and tossed that fish back down the hole without a second look :)


Really proud of myself right now,
Sara


Dear Sara,


Dating is definitely like fishing. It has inspired all those phrases like:
   Plenty of fish in the sea
   He's a great catch
   Throw the scrawny ones back
   Lure him in
   Time to fish or cut bait
   Cast a wider net
   He's a guppy. Honey, you want a shark!


I'm sure there are several I'm missing but you get the point. Both require patience, determination, and a little technique.


When we were kids growing up on the water, there would be a twenty-five cent prize for the first fish caught and another twenty-five cents for the biggest fish caught. Nowadays, to lure me onto the boat for an entire afternoon of wiggly worms and no place to pee, you'd have to promise me more than fifty freakin cents! Still, I always pissed off my brother and cousins by walking away with no less than two quarters. How?


The fishy call!


Yes, it's ridiculous but hear me out.


"Here, fishy, fishy, fishy. Here, fishy, fishy, fishy."


This is my adorable younger self calling to the fishies. Please bear in mind that I was under ten years old and the only girl on a boat full of manly men. Therefore, my cute factor alone allowed me to get away with such silliness as talking to the fishies. Leaning over the side of the boat, bobbing my line in the water, asking them to come up and bite my bait so I could collect my small fortune and be on my way.


Worked. Every. Time.


This past summer, my mother went out on the boat with my dad and uncle. She came home with a bag full of fish she had caught and as we sat around, basking in the glory of her catching the dinner we were eating, I asked her how she did it. 


"Simple," she replied. "Fishy call."


You can sit on a boat (or in an ice shack) for hours, baiting your line, hoping something will come along. You can have faith that the fish will find what you've got to offer and come to you. In my experience though, calling to them, putting yourself out there, is the best way to attract a fish.


And by fish, of course, I mean man.


In the meantime, enjoy your girlfriends. Be patient. Have fun. Make time to do the simple things in life. Disconnect. Enjoy being you and all those little traditions that make your world a special place to be. Toss back the little guys, the ones who serve you no purpose. Let go of the ones who didn't want to be caught. And stay alert --- you never know when you're going to land your next big keeper!


And always, always, do the fishy call :-)


I'm really proud of you too!


~Kim