Salt notes

By GARY ABERNATHY

Whether or not you grew up on a farm, visited local fishing spots with your parents or grandparents, or ever held a pole, baited a hook, or cast a net in your life, just the idea of fishing has permeated everyone’s life.

A newspaper reporter often goes fishing for a story. A police officer often thinks something smells fishy. A negotiator might decide it’s time to fish or cut bait. A politician might tell a whopper of a fish story. A philosopher will point out that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day, but if you teach him how to fish he will eat for a lifetime.

You get the idea.

Fish and fishing have become infused into our daily conversation and activities in ways most of us don’t even think about. I think fishing has become a metaphor for so many things in our life because whether someone has ever actually fished or not, the concept is so simple and universal that it is relatable to everyone, and applicable to so many aspects of our lives.

The essence of fishing is as follows.

Bait the hook.
Cast the line.
Wait patiently.

Wait patiently some more, but never take your eyes off the float or bobber.

Anyone who has fished has quickly learned that nibbles are not bites, and some days it seems like we get nibbles all day long without actually snagging the prize. Such is life, also, but with enough patience, we eventually are rewarded.

In this issue of Salt, we explore the special place fishing holds in the lives of so many southern Ohioans, along with the other features, recipes and advice to live by you have come to expect and enjoy with each edition. Thank you to our many contributors, and thank you for reading!