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Bobber Watching
Blog by: Lloyd Tackitt , TX 1/9/2018 (Return to blogs)
Years, no make that decades ago, I learned how to meditate. Officially even. I was provided with a mantra, taught to breathe in and out, to let the mind relax and clear of thought, and so on. It works too. Meditation has significant benefits. There are many forms of meditation and a good many of them do not require a mantra.
The mantra is basically a focal point for the mind, a way of more or less anchoring it in one place as a means of reducing it's tendency to wander off and play in the clover. As the mind starts to wander off the mantra calls it back. That's not exactly the way they taught it to us, but that is pretty much what a mantra is and does.
When I fish with a bobber - what we called a cork when I was growing up because back then they were actually made of cork - I find that the bobber holds a fascination that is superior to a mantra. My eyes rest on the bobber continuously, with only very brief moments of looking elsewhere. Very brief moments. The bobber draws the eye back, quickly, every time. There is not one other thing in this entire world that I have ever stared at so assiduously for so long. I have tried, on occasion, to stare at a spot on the wall and without fail I can't do it for more than about a minute. But a bobber I can stare at for hours on end.
Sitting still, watching the bobber, my mind centers on the bobber, my mind empties of thought. My breathing slows. I enter a trance like state. This is a form of meditation as sure as there is a sun.
The differences are that while meditating with a mantra my eyes are closed and I'm not in anticipation of a fish taking my bait. When meditating with a bobber there is that relaxed but constant state of hopefulness that the bobber will move. A constant optimistic waiting that does not exist in mantra meditation.
Another difference is that when meditating with a mantra the meditation is ended gradually, bringing the meditator back to full consciousness gently and slowly. When the bobber disappears under water the meditation is ended with a sudden heart slamming shot of adrenaline, catapulting the meditator into a fury of immediate physical activity.
The bobber watching meditation's ending sounds like a rather poor way to come out of meditation - however, as everyone reading this no doubt already knows - it is a far far superior way of ending that meditation.
Maybe next time I meditate by mantra I'll try using the word "bobber" as my new mantra, maybe I'll visualize a bobber gently floating in a calm, clear pool of water, see the dark form of a fish slowly glide out of the depths as it moves towards the bait, see the bobber jiggle a bit and then...
I'm looking forward to spring when I can resume my meditations by the water.
Blog content © Lloyd Tackitt
Comments
Kennywho
01.09.18 1:37 PM
Who knew! Such a gentle soul.
Fishneveryweek
01.09.18 2:08 PM
No need to wait until spring here in CO. You can do it through a hole in the ice. And, yes, the more you focus on it, the higher the probability that it will move and go down! Try it. It works!
Golfprogreg
01.09.18 7:09 PM
I try to convince myself that the bobber pole is for my 8-year old son, but we both know that it is for me. And don’t we all love the scene in Jaws where the shark is hooked using the tire/bobber rig from the pier?
bluecollarguy
01.09.18 9:18 PM
It’s not exactly the same but sometimes I enjoy tossing a small jig with a small 1.25” pear or oval float for panfish, etc.
Watching the float slowly move backwards as the jig pendulums back and anticipating an underwater blurb!
Of course sometimes nothing happens and it takes a moment to recognize something grabbed it and swam upwards!
About the Author
I live on the edge of the Brazos River. I walk out my front door and into the river and - boom - I am fishing just like that. For me the river is fascinating. The mile long stretch I fish is a microcosm of the river, I have it all in that one mile. Trying to figure out where the fish are, what they are doing, why they are doing it, what they are biting, if they are biting - this is what keeps me in the river casting flys. I fly fish almost exclusively. It isn’t that I am a fly fishing snob, it’s that fly fishing works – it’s effective - and it has added benefits. I carry all my tackle in a vest, no tackle box needs to be dragged along. The casting itself is fun, even when I don’t catch fish I’ve enjoyed the experience of casting. Fly rods enhance the experience of bringing fish in. I like the hands on the line feel instead of the feel of line spooling up on a reel and muted down through a gear and crank system. Fish fight better and feel better on a fly rod. Fly fishing just feels better to me than other methods.