The Benefits of Fishing

Have you ever heard the saying give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime? What if I told you by teaching a man to fish you were possibly saving his life! Fishing has been proven to increase a man’s health, I’ll explain why.

Fishing has been around for over 40,000 years according to Wikipedia. They also believe that fishing has been around since 1496 as a recreational hobby. Since that time the sport has evolved into a multi-billion dollar industry today. Fishing is growing in popularity faster than ever with saltwater fishing, fly fishing, and kayak fishing being the most popular. The sport is also the second most popular outdoor activity behind running according to a 2013 study conducted by Outdoor Recreation Participation Report.

Fishing can promote better health in men. Not only can fishing give you better physical health but mental health as well as being a better human being. Here are a few reasons that you should seriously consider taking up the sport of fishing.

Physical Benefits of Fishing

Fishing can at times be physically demanding. The amount of physical activity depends on the type of fishing you are doing. Fly fishing, kayak fishing, and fishing at high altitudes can exert a lot of energy to do successfully. The constant motion of casting, paddling, and hiking to your spot uses all of your large muscle groups. With all that exertion you can burn 200 plus calories an hour.

Science has proven that just 30 minutes of physical activity a day can lead to weight loss, lower blood pressure, and prevent adult-onset diabetes. These added health benefits should be all one needs to get up and start fishing. If that’s not enough for you here are a few more reasons to take up this great outdoor activity.

Vitamin D Intake

Fishing under the sun will inevitably increase your vitamin D intake. Ultraviolet rays from the sun coming into contact with your skin is how the absorption occurs. The more of your skin that is exposed to the sun the more vitamin D that is produced by your body. Be careful when being in direct sunlight. It is not necessary to be exposed to the suns rays for long periods of time. There is no benefit to getting burned to a crisp. This will have an adverse effect and could lead to skin cancer.

Studies have shown that vitamin D increases bone and teeth health. Vitamin D can also increase your immune system, brain, and nervous system. Lastly, vitamin D can increase lung function and cardiovascular health.

Are you convinced yet that fishing is right for you? Let me continue more….

Improved Concentration and Focus

If you have never been fishing before it takes a lot of mental focus and concentration. Sure, sometimes it’s as easy as casting a line out and the fish just bite. More times than not this is not the case. There are many decisions to make and tactics to implement.

For starters, you need to do your research before a fishing trip. Knowing the species of fish that reside in your body of water is instrumental in being successful. Find out what bait or lures work best for those species and how to fish them.   

You must train your brain to stay on task paying attention to the ever-changing environmental factors taking place around you. Staying one step ahead of the fish and knowing their next move. Over time you will build up mental stamina and fish at a much higher level of focus.

This mental focus and stamina will translate to other aspects of your life. Would you like to be more focused at work and be able to stay on task? Kids can benefit from this at an early age as well. Teaching their young brains this vital skill is imperative to success later in life.

Let Fishing Build Relationships

I am the father of three children. The oldest is currently 10 years old and my youngest is 4. Life can really get me busy in a hurry. There is my full-time job that keeps me away from my family most of the summer and fall. The valuable time I have with them is short and fleeting. I have missed birthdays, holidays, and family vacations to name just a few.

Well, it’s a good thing that my kids love to be outdoors and experience the fun of fishing. This is our favorite time spent together. Collectively we plan our trips out. We spend time together talking about how and where we’re going to fish. We head down to the tackle shop and pick out a few new baits just for the trip. I often let them pick whatever lure they want as its more important that they have ownership in something they picked out rather than me.

By the time we finally make it out to the lake we have already logged a couple of hours of quality time together. This time was just for us. Now, we finally hit the water and get to the fun stuff. The looks on their faces when they catch a fish is like none I have ever felt before.

Not only are we teaching our youth a valuable skill in catching fish, but we are bonding and creating lifelong memories that promote an active lifestyle, patience, and mental focus. The relationships that we build with our youth today mold who they will be down the road.

Mental Benefits of Fishing

Do you ever get the feeling of being burned out or overwhelmed? Have you ever experienced a life-changing event that has left you depressed? Another group of people that can benefit from fishing is people that have developed post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD.

It’s estimated that 5 percent of Americans will develop PTSD. This is done to a traumatic event that has left people with a wide variety of issues. The symptoms can include depression, anxiety, mood disorders, sleep deprivation, and emotional numbness.

As we talked about earlier in the article fishing requires a great amount of focus. Focus keeps the mind engaged as opposed to disengage. This keeps the mind from wandering back to life-altering events that lead to the PTSD in the first place.

There are very special groups out there that exist solely to rehabilitate through fishing. One such organization is Project Healing Waters. Project Healing Waters focuses on not just military members that have PTSD but all wounded active and veteran members of the military. If you or someone you know can benefit from a program like this click the link above for more information.

How Can You Begin Fishing Today?

If you have not decided to take up fishing after reading this article then I would encourage you to do more research to learn more. It could change your life! On the other hand, if this article has added a new perspective for you then I would encourage you to learn more about fishing and how you can start.

A great resource for this is a blog dedicated to teaching just that. There are blogs like A Man and His Rod and there you will find information about learning to fish, tips to be successful, and fishing gear to get you started. Revolving around two of the most popular species of freshwater fish, this blog is more than enough to get you on your way to a healthier you.

I would love to hear your experiences with fishing. If this article has inspired you to feel free to drop a comment in the section below. If you know anyone that should read this article feel free to share it on social media.