The Zen of Surf Fishing

A soft thump in the sand… and in seconds a rod was missing.

Our 12 ft. surf rod (w/braided line) was ripped out of the holder, flew through the surf, and was moving fast out to sea. All we saw was the tip bobbing about 25 yards out and moving---uh oh. This was a first.

Not really sure how you define a great day of surf fishing.

Maybe it’s lots of action, maybe it’s just quiet and time to digest the surroundings and think, or just sharing time with someone important to you…each a win.

Summertime I’m north to connect with old friends and spend some time on the Delaware beaches. My son was visiting, we had an afternoon to ourselves and took advantage of the long stretches of empty sand, grabbed our surf rods, supplies…and took an afternoon to just reconnect.

The zen of it comes in the raw beauty of nature. That slice of earth where the sea meets the land. The only sounds are the waves rolling onto the miles and miles and deserted beaches.

No distractions. In fact, turn the cell phone off for a while to really appreciate the environment. It’s that pure quiet to just reflect on life or toss a line in and see what happens.

My son and I had a lot to catch up on. The isolation of the beach was perfect to just talk without distraction. For the Dads out there, you can understand how priceless that time was.

But there was also a peaceful meditation to being out there. The sound of the waves gently nudging against the sand…a lot can be accomplished by just taking the simple path. 

And a lot more can be accomplished by being a good “sounding board” in life. No judgment…just listen and maybe ask a few questions (not many) to help guide the conversation.

We had different lines and baits out, and picked up a few skate fish as the day evolved, but was all catch/release.

Genuinely---was not expecting our heaviest line and largest bait to get hit that way.

In the middle of one of those rare conversations my son jumps up and points out the “big gun” (our longest rod) was gone. No question it was a shark…but also a darn good rod and reel were heading the wrong direction.

Swam out to the rod, with some common sense opened the bale (no, didn’t try to fight the fish out there) and got back in. That action created the slack that lost the fish…however a whale of a tale…all true.

What’s invaluable are those life moments. It’s really about the experiences we share that define relationships. And for those critical relationships…find that abandoned beach and make a memory.