Fishing.  A perfect excuse to spend your day out on the water.  And because fish tend to be fickle with that whole North wind thing, no one seems to mind too much if you come home with an empty cooler (no beer left, no fish caught).  Regardless of the fish, and in the midst of all their philosophizing, experts agree:  there’s nothing quite like it.

John Buchan, a novelist, historian, and fisherman said, “The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.”  And hope is the feeling that events will turn out for the best.  A day spent hoping out on the water is most certainly a day well spent.

John Buchan. A man with that many medals must know what he's talking about.

Another writer/fisherman (and priest!), George Herbert, explained about fishing (and life), “You must lose a fly to catch a trout.” Now even if your preference is for dolphin, this idea can be applied to many scenarios, including people.  If certain people in your life end up with terrible nicknames, they probably fall into the “fly” category. No real loss in losing those people, right? Just sayin’. Need to romance a girl? Call her a trout.  No.  Bad idea.  Need to romance me?  Call me a trout.  I’ll get it.

George Herbert. He was a priest and spoke with God on a regular basis. He must know what he's talking about, too.

The trouble I run into is the only person who actually takes me fishing with a big ol’ smile on his face lives in a different country.  (Thank you Bradley!)  While Andros is gorgeous, it’s not super convenient for a day trip.  Because of this, I thought it might be helpful if I made you a list of logical reasons why it’s a great idea to take me fishing, too.  So, here we have it:

Ten Really Good Reasons to Take a Girl (this girl) Fishing:

10. Bikinis.  I believe this one is fairly self-explanatory.

Theoretically, this could be reason enough. Just sayin'.

9. Bragging Rights.  This sort of ties in with bikinis.  When it comes to a day out on the water, men like to tell stories.  Wouldn’t it be nice if your fish stories included a hot girl (or three) to go along with all those giant fish you caught?  I can take care of the hot girl part.  The fish, well, we’ll just have to hope for the best.

"He was *this* big. No, really. He was."

8. Stress Relief.  Salt water (sweat, tears, and the sea) is the cure for everything, right? Part of the healing power of the sea is that a day on the water provides a sense of freedom.  Freedom from what, you may ask?  Freedom from anything that ails you.  Work.  People.  Money.  Sickness.  Fill in the blank.  Whatever it is, amazingly it takes a back seat when you breathe in that fresh air and feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair.  This *may* sound cheesy; however, for those of you who have experienced it, you know it’s true.  And for a girl who grew up in the dirt, I certainly don’t take this feeling of being out on the water for granted.

This guy stressed? Nah. He's looking at happiness.

7. Perspective.  This goes along with #8.  When you’re on a small boat (or even a big boat, for that matter), and you look out at the endless ocean ahead of you, life seems, well, good.  Really good.  In a time when we are constantly battered with everything from new email alerts to breaking news, it’s nice to gain a little perspective.  Whatever it is, in the big scheme of life, “it” is most likely not a crisis.  This becomes very apparent out on the water.

Time on the water leads to appreciating the bigger picture.

6. Patience.  Patience is perseverance. And perseverance, according to some, is grace. It’s the ability to hold the steering wheel instead of flipping the bird and to hold steady when you know (and hope) better days are ahead. (It’s also wishing for a long time that a trip out on the water is just ahead.) Patience. A perfect time to learn this is when you’re fishing. You can spend your whole day waiting for a single fish to bite. And that’s okay. And sometimes, if you’re used to running all the time, the waiting part, that’s the good part.

Take a cue from Gerald Ford. When you're tired of being patient, take a nap.

5. Health Benefits.  If you think about everything you need to do to go fishing (hook up the trailer, fill up the cooler, help the aforementioned hot girl onto the boat, etc.), you burn a lot of calories.  Going fishing may seem like a hassle at first, lifting and lugging all that needs to be lifted and lugged, but once you’re on the water, it makes it all worth it.  Sure there are other ways to burn calories, but at least this is something you can tell your parents about if they ask.

Okay, so, you won't burn as many calories as this guy, but still.

4. Make Someone’s Day.  When’s the last time you’ve brought total and complete joy to someone’s day?  Can’t remember?  That’s a clue that it might be time.  Yesterday?  Great.  Keep up the trend, please.  A very easy-to-please girl is eagerly awaiting her day to be made.  Not only will her day be made, but she’ll appreciate you for being a sweetheart for taking her out on the water…even if you didn’t really want to all that much.   Plus, surely you know The Big Guy Upstairs is out there paying attention.  That just might make His day, too.

Joy. This is kinda what it looks like.

3. Dinner.  How cool is it to catch your dinner?!  I wouldn’t know.  I’ve never really done that before…unless you count chatting with the Seafood guy at Publix as he pretends to toss my scallops over the counter as if they were baseballs… The real deal sure sounds fun, though.  Help a girl out?

Okay, so it's not a fish...but still delicious.

2. The Thrill of the Chase.  If the hot girl is on the boat, you probably don’t need to chase her.  Have no fear.  Your masculine need to pursue something can be fulfilled by that whole fishing thing.  Life’s a trade off, and that’s a pretty darn good trade.

It looks like the chase was successful...

And the number one reason to take a girl (this girl) fishing…

1.  It’s a nice thing to do.  It’s as simple (and logical) as that.

Wise words from a wise man.

So while you may be able to think of 50+ things you’d rather do, taking a girl fishing certainly has its perks.  And just imagine how happy she’ll be that she won’t have to travel 300 miles to get out on the water.  Like Mark Twain said, “Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.”  Just you wait and see.

**Photos courtesy of outdoors720.com, sodahead.com, openclipart.com, justglasssite.com, backpackingmalaysia.com, freeclipartnow.com, thedancingcrab.com, pinterest.com, and dogsblogs.net.