Many of us may have found ourselves starting new hobbies. When in person school ended, I took up baking as a hobby as well as cycling. One summer day, my friend Eric called and said “Do you want to go fishing.” I was free and had been wanting to give it a try for a while so I said “yeah.” Upon arriving to the pier after a long walk, I saw he had his poles propped up on the rail. Once I had some practice casting my reel, I casted it. At this point, it’s just waiting. Nobody likes waiting. But this waiting was different.

My friends and I conversed for hours. At many points, we had to reel in our lines to replace the bait or take the seaweed off. The chance of catching anything varies by where you go. We were at Point Pinole. I haven’t had luck there or the 2 other places I’ve been.

Despite that, this article isn’t about good fishing spots in the bay area. This explores the idea of fishing being the best way to pass time. From all my experiences, fishing is a good way to pastime (especially at Point Pinole where you won’t catch anything). But the best? I think answering this is a lot more complex than I thought. I decided to ask my friend Monte for his opinion. He said:

“Fishing is not the best pastime but it’s top five.”

“Reading is a much better pastime because you can learn anything including fishing.

“You can read books about spiders and snakes, that’s how I learned to make antivenom.”

I do agree that fishing is top five. While reading is important, you can read while fishing! Maybe an elite fisherman like my friend Anthony would have a different opinion. Anthony said:

“Fishing is one of the best pastimes but that’s my personal opinion.”

“You could just cast your rod and wait, somethings coming, or it doesn’t”

“If it doesn’t, you just spent time in nature with friends, or by myself I can meditate.”

“You could even meet friends and learn more about fishing or other things.”

I don’t think there is one answer. Some people like it, some don’t. I think it’s definitely a good way to pass time, but not all people can agree it’s the best. If you haven’t tried it before, I highly recommend you do and form your own opinion.