by Sam van Almen

Created on: October 09, 2009   Last Updated: October 10, 2009

The appreciation of what is around us and our place in it is often overlooked. Many times our leisure activities take advantage of our environment rather than honoring it. The principle of catch and release fishing minimizes impact on our natural world. It allows us to be aware of the ebb and flow of nature and our place in it. It provides us with the thrill of the hunt without the taking of life, and can promote spiritual growth.

Compared to competitive or subsistence fishing, fishing without the reward of edible flesh or glory places the sport in another dimension. It allows us to take part in nature, destroy nothing, and is the essence of the old Boy Scout principle of Take only pictures and leave only footprints.

Catching fish for sustenance has been a part of the human experience since the dawn of time. People the world over have used whatever means possible to catch and preserve this bounty to fill their bellies and to help their family, tribe or group prosper.

The stick and string method is almost as old as fishing itself. Hand carved bone hooks have been found in the most ancient of archeological digs. Our technology has improved the equipment but not the method. Placement of the bait, anticipation of the strike, and the landing the prize remain the same. In that primitive world, where to fish was to live, it would be unheard of to waste the time and energy to catch a fish only to throw it back.

This is not the case for today's modern sports fisherman. Today to spend more time, resources, energy, and effort to capture watery quarry is the norm. Sport fishing is much more about relaxation, skill and camaraderie than putting meat on the table. It is no longer physically or economically feasible to expend so much for so little protein. We live in a time of easy access where a farm raised fish easily replaces a wild caught one. Fishing has become a sport of the mind that can bring us in touch with our ancient roots.

Fishing helps connect me with a part of myself easily forsaken in my busy work-a-day world. To stand knee deep in the chilly water and feel it's silent power slip past me, to set the hook and feel the life and death panic of the fish on the end of my line and reel it close to my muddied boots. To witness a captured seven inch jewel as it wriggles in my net, work the hook from its mouth, and watch it dart away is much more satisfying than sliding it down a stringer.

When I began my avocation as a trout fisherman I am sure such a fish would have

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