“Can we go now?” I sat on the edge of the dock, my stubby legs dangling off the edge, but not quite touching the water.

“Nathan, be patient, fish don’t bite as soon as you show up. You have to wait!” my uncle gently admonished me.
“Fine, but I bet I won’t catch anything.”  I, being the impatient six year old that I was, started straining my feet to try and touch the water, but to no avail.

“Pay attention Nathan! Something could happen at any time!” I tried everything to stay interested, but all I could feel was the hot sun beating down on me. I just wanted to curl into a ball and sleep in the blisteringly hot sun.
“Why am I even here?” I thought. “Fish don’t bite in the sunIight. They bite when it's dark or raining. I have no chance at catching anything!”

I started to drift off and bam! The fish hit in the moment I least expected it. I tried to react in time, but I was far too late. The fish hung on for a moment, but as soon as my hopes were raised, they were crushed in a blink of an eye. The fish was gone, and it was my fault. I was devastated.

“I told you so Nathan,” Michael said, “It's like they know when you’re not looking and hit at the exact moment you stop paying attention.”

“I know, I know!”, “I’ll pay attention now.” Needless to say, I wasn’t having trouble focusing now. All I could think about was catching that fish. Minutes were quickly turning into hours and I still hadn’t caught anything. I refused to leave until I caught a fish, and finally, this persistence paid off. I felt a tug on my line. “I’ve got one! I’ve got one!” I screamed, giddy with excitement. I was almost frantic with excitement, but my uncle was the epitome of calmness.
“Careful Nathan, don’t horse it. You wouldn’t want to break the line.”
“I know, I know! I’ll get it this time! I can feel it!” It was all I could do to not immediately reel in as fast as possible. I managed to hold back and finally, the fish flopped onto the dock. I had accomplished what I had set out to do. I was amazingly proud of it, maybe to an extreme, and showed it to everyone I could. It was here, in the middle of Pennsylvania where my love of fishing started to develop.

From the beginning, there has been fishing in my family. My aunt and uncle own the lake house in eastern Pennsylvania that I described earlier, and my uncle is an avid fisherman. Whenever I stay there, we make it a point to go fishing as much as possible. One set of my grandparents live in Idaho, and every year, would rent a salmon fishing house in British Columbia. They are becoming less mobile but we still try and fish at least once every vacation. Most importantly, I live in seacoast New Hampshire, near to the ocean and to many large lakes. I started slowly, maybe fishing once or twice a year, maybe when visiting my grandparents, or more likely when at my aunt and uncle’s, but eventually I was begging my parents to bring me up to the best fishing spots around like Lake Winnipesaukee, or just to the local pond. I wanted to fish as much as I could.

I became so enthralled with fishing that my family started working it in to trips that are not normally associated with fishing. My family went to Disney World in 2012 but on the way, we stopped to visit my great-aunt and uncle in Punta Gorda. Ocean Access? Why not? I decided I would try saltwater fishing for the first time, and this produced a rather interesting experience for me.

I started fishing off a pier with a great number of other people in a place that seemed good, there was enough cover for the fish, open ocean access, and you could even see some fish under the pier. I could practically see myself catching fish after fish. I just had to get the cast right to drift the bait right along the edge of the pier and into the waiting mouth of a fish. I was stuck in the burning sun for hours, everyone else there had caught a fish but me, and I was getting impatient, and finally, I made that perfect cast. I felt a tug on my rod, and started reeling in. I had finally caught one. Much to my chagrin, all I had caught was a small pufferfish. I knew there were much bigger and better fishing nearby but I took what I could get, and ended the fishing “expedition” with a high note, and a sunburn. Though disappointing, it is still funny for me to look back on as I was so excited and then I ended up catching an eight inch, poisonous, fish.

Fishing for me had been a learning experience, and also a fun one. I can look back at all of my experiences and good times, and along with this, all the funny story, some of which include leeches, and very sharp teeth. Fishing, at the same time,  gives me some of my best family moments with my Western grandparents or with my Uncle Michael. Sometimes it even helps you learn new things about yourself, and learn valuable lessons and skills like patience and concentration.