It was four in the morning as I awoke for my first family fishing trip. My brother and I forced the skin-tight waiters and insulating jackets over our sleepy bodies. Driving to meet our guide, the vehicle weaved through dense forest that encompassed the riverbanks. Our guide assured us that the early start would guarantee a prime fishing hole for the day. My younger brother, Matthew, and I helped unload the drift boat from the guide’s trailer and slowly placed it in the river. Nervousness filled every inch of my body as I gazed upon the vast, murky river that lay ahead. This trip would require the responsibility and courage that I was unsure of possessing. Frigid water sprayed me in the face as I floated down the Pere Marquette. Our guide …show more content…
Casting my line in I pondered on what I would conquer as the day progressed. Catching an enormous rainbow trout would show my dad that I was truly a man. Not only did I want to do it for my dad but also for the sheer pride I would experience holding the slimy fish in my hands. It was nearing the end of the day and neither Matthew nor I had caught a single fish. A tug. I jolted up on the pole. The fish began to run downstream. We then began a fight that would last for what felt like eternity. I unleashed slack in the line so that it could run. When the trout stopped from exhaustion it was my turn to reel in furiously. It was not an easy ordeal as I could feel its monstrous mass create pressure in the line. Once closer to the boat our guide was able swipe the fish into his net. Holding the fourteen-pound prize, I felt older, this was the first moment I had been superior to another creature. As I grasped the fish it began violently jerking and releasing eggs. Guilt crept in, as I did not experience the surging pride I had expected. This fish made me realize that life was not everlasting and that someday I would be lifted off this Earth just as I had tricked the fish out of its life underwater. My passion for fishing has since ceased as that elegant rainbow trout hammered a moral lesson into my soul. Adulthood is not the glorious freedom it is portrayed as, but rather an immense