What is my hobby? For lots of Taiwanese students, in fact, a hobby is sort of luxurious thought. In my memory, there was no such a thing as a hobby for me from elementary school to college; Oh, yeah, not even when I was in the master's program in the U.S. I've never collected stamps which was considered a "good" hobby when I was in the elementary school. I did play some sports, including baseball, volleyball, badminton, tennis, and basketball. But none of them developed into the category of "my favorite hobby." Obviously, I am not tall and strong enough. On the other hand, sports in Taiwan are seldom developed into profitable career unless they are associated with gangs or illegal gambling.
Well, somehow I still feel myself lucky because I find something that will be my lifelong interest: bass fishing. Fishing was not really my thing when I grew up in Taiwan. I've never thought that sitting there and waiting fish to bite the bait is so much fun. However, bass fishing in the U.S. consists of various rigs, skills, lures, and knowledge. Just talking about rigs and tips, we may easily find tons of information about them on Google Search. Some may regard bass fishing as a leisure activity while others may take it as a professional career. For me, I'd like to view bass fishing as competitions between human and nature. There is no winning or losing but endless mind game in this sport. Let me quote a saying from a fishing calendar (which was a gift from my favorite professor, Dr. Nelson): many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.
My rod, reel, and rig: Shimano Voltaeus 6.6' Medium casting rod, Shimano Curado 200E7, and 3/8 oz jig with Strike King Rage Tail craw (Okeechobee).
The rod on the right is Daiwa 6' Medium Light Spinning rod and Neko rig with Zoom Swamp crawler (June bug).
Seldom do I say: I am a big fan of … I mean I like Kevin VanDam. Talking about bass fishing in the world, he is definitely #1 in my mind. But to be honest, I like Hata Takuma better. Sometimes he is more like a comedian to me. He is funny even when he is fishing. Maybe it's his spirit that make me feel that fishing is an enjoyable sport: enjoying the process of fishing, learning from each fishing experience, and letting the results go by the God's will.
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