I live in the south and it’s fairly warm year round. We get like 3 months of kinda cold weather and that’s it. Summers are BRUTAL though.
Anyway, I got off methadone treatment almost 2 years ago, and have been in a depression funk ever since. But, I found something to keep me going. I go “fishing”.
I get my tackle, my rods, and my bait, and pack it all in my backpack. I grab a machete, and my Kelly kettle (if it’s cold) along with food and water. I then hike through the woods to a fishing spot and sit there. I catch some fish and spend some time alone with my thoughts. My situation allows me to do this 2 to 3 times a week.
Honestly, I don’t even care if I catch anything. I just really like being alone. It’s been so nice now that it’s kind of cold. I boil some water in my Kelly kettle and make herbal tea while I’m fishing. It’s the best.
When i fish i just catch and release. Fishing is about fishing for me. Not the result. I feel bad for the fish though. They get a hook in their mouth, gets dragged up, i say “Hey there buddy” and then they go home. I wonder what they tell to their family.
I’ve been doing a lot of catch and release lately. I have a freezer full of bass, catfish, and panfish. I’m lucky that I live close to river with no restrictions on how much you can eat due to pollution. So, I save up and invite this couple over that I’m friends with and do a big fish fry every so often. Food has gotten so expensive that fishing really helped this past year.
Though I will say. The older I’ve gotten the harder it is to kill fish. I find myself throwing back a lot of fish that I would have kept on the past.
no restrictions on how much you can eat due to pollution.
Does that mean: “the river is so polluted we can take an unlimited amount” or ”there’s no significant pollution, so we can eat an unlimited amount”?
I wrote a whole message for the former and then just realized it might be the latter. If it is, feel free to ignore.
If you’re eating enough fish that it’s helping with your food bill, you should really look at that pollution (some things are considered “gross,” but not that harmful, but some things are really dangerous). I get that times are tough and you need to eat, but just a heads up, because even still eating the fish, you can reduce damage.
Generally, pollution is more concentrated the higher up the trophic level you go- that’s why big predator fish like tuna and swordfish are worse for mercury. Some pollutants are “stickier” in fatty fish as well, so mackerel vs a similarly sized leaner fish might be worse. You can look at the pollutants (or at least the sources of pollution, be they farms or industry) to decide what fish you should focus on.
Of course, beans, lentils, and protein rich grains like bulgur or amaranth are pretty cheap and provide great nutrition without having to kill a fish, but that’s a totally different thing