Category: Grades 4-6
What Fishing Means to Me
by Patryk Szuztka
5th Grade, P.S. 170, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Many people have hobbies or activities that they completely devote themselves to. There are many different types of hobbies out there and many people choose things that they love. The think I love to do is sports. I love playing sports all the time whether it is on a team or just for fun. For some other people, the think that they love is fishing.
Fishing has always been a big part of my life as well as my family’s. Every year since I was born, I looked forward to taking my annual trip to visit my family in Poland. My grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt and cousins live there and al of the men in my family happen to be fishermen. It feels like every time they talk, their conversations always end up being about fishing. My family live in the beautiful city of Krakaw. The largest river in Poland, Vistula, runs through this city. This is the river that my family has used to go fishing for the past 50 years,
Every year when I go to Poland during the summer, my uncle, Wojtek, takes me fishing on the lake or River. He has been fishing since he was a child and he absolutely loves it. He loves it so much he made a career out of it and opened his own fishing company. This way he can truly say that he enjoys his job. Although fishing is his career, he also does it almost every day in the good weather for hi own enjoyment.
Every time when we’re prepared to go fishing, he packs his van completely full of fishing equipment. He brings his nets, fishing rods, bait, sonar, tent, sleeping bags, radio, flashlights and everything else that he need in order to catch fish, most of which I don’t know what it does. He tells me that we are fishing for specific fish called carp. The fish carp , is very popular in all of Europe, particularly Poland. Carp fish are very brave and clever with the ways that they try not to get caught. They are also very heavy and can weigh up to 40kg. The largest carp that my uncle Wojtek has caught was 34kg and it was enormous!
When we arrived at the river we have to take our boat out and set up the sail. When we begin to move on the water it is one of the best feelings I have ever felt. It feels so free and exciting to be on a boat with my uncle doing something we both love. I put worms on my hook. I don’t have to wait long for the first bite and the first burst of excitement.
Spending a night o the water is magical for me. You can hear all different animals like owls, mice, and more, looking for food. In the tent we have a radio with a light that indicates the rod is moving meaning fish is ready to be caught. For some reason I feel like the fish know when we are sleeping and that’s when they try to eat the food from the hook. Sometimes we follow the rule of catch and release. All the fish after being measured, weighed and a picture taken are book back safe in the water. My uncle says it is part of his business. They catch a lot of fish in many different ways. They always try different food to see which one they like the best and then they sell the food in my uncle’s store.
Several times a year my family enters a fishing competition, they have lots of trophies and awards in the house and it fascinates me to listen to all the stories about one and each of them. Last summer when he took me fishing he told me how when he was a teenager he spent every spare moment he had on the water. He would get up every morning at dawn and sit in his boat for hours. While he waited for the fish, he would prepare the bait and kits got his next trip. He told me that sometimes he fishes from the pier instead of the boat and he is going to take me this summer. After spending the entire cay catching fish, we tie up our boat and start on our way home. Catching carp is very tiring because it takes a lot of energy to catch such big fish. However, it is all worth it. When we finally get home we think about how we’re going to cook our fish. Usually we grill it on the barbeque and it tastes really good. I always look forward to eating it.
Fishing is one of my family’s favorite things to do. Because my uncle and grandfather are fishermen, I have learned a lot about it and it has become an important part of m life as well. Hopefully when I am older I will be able to become a fisherman myself and maybe even move to Poland. Fishing means a lot to me and I’m excited to learn more about it as I grow up. I cans safely say that fishing for my uncle and my grandfather is not a sport or a hobby it’s just away of life. Fishing is important to me because it gives me a chance to spend a quality time with my family while visiting them in Poland. I don’t seen them very often and that’s why I need to use every moment to get closer and if fishing is a part of that moment and the subject of our conversations I am willing to learn more about it and maybe in the future become one of the members of the Family Fishing Team.
Next: Winner Grades 7-9 – Claudia Motley (Copiague Middle School, Copiague, New York)