Students find relaxation in casual fishing
Photo by Alex Haro.
Students get stressed out. It’s inevitable, with all the new faces, classes, deadlines, and, for some, money problems. There’s obviously the cost of tuition and textbooks. But what about food?
Luckily, a variety of options are available to students at Camosun to relax after a long day in class. But only one is good for your brain and gets your belly full of delicious, healthy, free food—fishing.
Head down to the breakwater on any given evening and you’ll find a whole lot of happy, content people. No one cares about the act of catching a big, fat lingcod; instead they are more intent on unwinding. And if a free meal happens to latch itself onto someone’s line, so much the better, right?
Although it’s rare to see young people and students down at Ogden Point and some of the other local fishing spots, there are a few. Dustin Wright, a former Selkirk College student, is one of them. Hailing from Nelson, BC, Wright is an avid fisher. Every time he’s in Victoria, Wright comes down and sinks a line at the breakwater.
“The fish are big, the people are cool, and fishing is more relaxing than a good blowjob,” says Wright.
Wright comes from a town famous for its lake fishing and he uses that to his advantage. Going to school full-time is not an easy task and Wright can attest to that. While at college he would regularly stop at Kootenay Lake for an hour or two in-between classes or after school to clear his head before going home.
“No matter how busy you are with school and personal stuff, everyone needs some alone time. It ends up helping you deal with things better in the long run,” says Wright, glancing over his shoulder as he casts his line over a kelp bed.
For those students interested in picking up fishing, it’s not hard to do. All you need is a rod, a saltwater (tidal) or freshwater (non-tidal) license, and some bait or tackle.
A tidal license is only around $22 a year, a non-tidal is about $40, and you can pick up a decent rod-and-reel combo for about $60 at Island Outfitters or Trotac Marine. These retail outlets also sell licenses, or head over to env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/licences to get a license online. Licenses are available in one-day, eight-day, or annual increments.
Not a bad investment for peace of mind and the chance to pull in dinner. Sure, you may get skunked, but there’s always tomorrow.
CCSS Nexus promo