Fishaholicism

"Isn't art the most important thing in your life?" 

The answer was supposed to be an obvious yes, especially as a retort to the world-renowned, Whitney-Biennial-selected artist that I was interning for.  She was probably asking rhetorically, probably wasn't even looking for an answer; but being the smart-ass I had become over the course of that semester, I pondered... "No, actually fishing is more important to me than art... for that matter, more important than almost anything..."

Maybe if I had agreed with aforementioned artist, and maybe if I had decided not to start experimenting with marijuana at the advanced age of 19 (which seemed to give me the license to say whatever stupid thing I felt like saying, regardless of outcome), I would have been invited to stay in studio, continue working with this artist, been introduced to influential art moguls, gotten my first solo show before I could legally drink, and blah, blah, blah, blah.

In actuality, one week before the internship would have been completed, I was asked not to return to the Long Island City studio.  "You're just not bringing positive energy here, and it's just not helping anyone."  (Though I didn't know it at the time, that statement was quite accurate).

That art/fishing question might not have been the decider of how things turned out for me, but I figure it's probably one of the first times I boldly stated that fishing meant something more to me than it does to 99% (if not more) of the rest of the world.  Not just that, but this declaration was made in an arena where I had no business saying it, especially if I wanted to get ahead in the art world.

Yeah, by the way, my name is John, and I'm a fish-aholic (sic).  It feels good to finally say that aloud.  For real though, I can't stop thinking about fishing!  Most of my younger life was spent thinking about fishing, rather than actually fishing... and there are two reasons for that.  First, I grew up in The Bronx (Co-op City represent, What!!?).  As a result, I didn't do much fishing, but the fishing I did do- boy, talk about blowing your load early!!!  My dad's best friend, Uncle Marvin, lived on the New Jersey Shore, and a few times a year in the summer and fall, we would go to his house to go blue fishing and shark fishing (when I was growing up in the early-mid 1980's, I don't remember there ever being striped bass... maybe someone can clue me into this great mystery).  I'm talking mako, hammerhead, bluefish bigger than I was.  The blues were caught four and five at a time on orange umbrella rigs trolling... the ecstasy!! 

The second reason for my relatively fish-less childhood was that my father wasn't much of a fisherman, so when Uncle Marvin moved to a little backwater town in Florida named Marco Island*, the fishing for me and pops dried up. *(Marco Island turned out to be a pretty good financial choice for Uncie Marv, especially when he started to buy property before it became the super swanky Marco Island of today).

Maybe if I didn't have a taste of Posiden's ambrosia early on as I did, and hadn't been cut off mid coitus, I'd not be obsessively into fishing. But, shark fishing at 4, and then only sitting reading about fishing after that until I was 13 fucked me up something nice. Eh... anyway I hope to share with you guys pictures, stories, and important info about fishing (freshwater and saltwater) in urban areas. I mean, did you know that the lake in Prospect Park is the most well stocked bass lake in New York? Or, what about the fact that being the bass master that I am, out of all the amazing bass fishing lakes and ponds I have fished, the largest large mouth bass I ever caught was in the Harlem Meer in Central Park!!!?? Yes, I'm talking about Malcolm X Blvd. and 110th St. my friends!! More about that in the next post, including pictures...