Don't Confuse Fishing With Phishing

I told my boyfriend I was going out fishing last weekend and he freaked out. He works in an IT department for a financial institution, and is constantly on the lookout for fraud among his services, machines, and clients. It took a short argument for me to figure out that he thought I said phishing instead of fishing. Once I realized it, I suddenly understood why he was so mad at me, but then I was kind of mad at him for thinking girls don't go fishing.

Somehow I doubt I'll ever get my boyfriend to come fishing with me. He's not the outdoors type. I personally have fun even on days I don't catch anything. It's great just being out on a boat in the water under the sun and sky. That's the kind of fishing I like. Angling from a boat.

My dad was a serious fisher. He didn't just do angling, but also spearing, netting, and trapping. My grandparents were kind of survivalist enthusiasts, so they taught him a lot, some of which he passed on to me.

My boyfriend actually tried to argue with me that I shouldn't be doing things like this, as the world is overfished and I'm helping destroy the environment. I laughed so hard it almost scared him. Of course I know some areas have that happen, but I go fish on land that is sustainably managed, and keep natural, preserving open spaces. He blew me off and suggested it was an ancient and now useless skill, given how much food is mass produced.

That's when I blew up in his face. I let him know in no uncertain terms that there's around forty million fishers around the world by trade, and in some developing countries, fishing and aquaculture provide direct and also indirect employment for half a billion people.

That shut him up, so I didn't let up. I told him that fishing has happened for more than forty thousand years, and our species wouldn't have evolved to computers and microwave food without fishing along the way, as it predates even basic agriculture.

I'm honestly not sure what we were really fighting about, but maybe it'll dawn on me while I'm out on the water with my rod and reel. The really quiet afternoons are almost meditative, and a great time for reflection and contemplation. I love it.