Often times I am reminded of what Henry David Thoreau once said about fishing. He said "many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish that they are after."

More and more people are coming to the Keys these days to fish and ask only of their guide to be taken to a spot where they can "catch fish." Being the amiable group that we are, more and more guides here in Islamorada are trading in their poling platforms for a trolling motor and taking their clients out into the backcountry fishing for trout, jacks, ladyfish, redfish, and snook. This is usually a "can't miss" proposition as the backcountry fishing for these species is quite good virtually every month of the year. I too like to take families and children out in the backcountry to bend a rod all afternoon. It can be great fun catching a lot of fish.

So what did Thoreau mean when he said "it's not fish they are after." Maybe it was the experience? Maybe he was after a sense of accomplishment? Maybe he was after the memories of a day on the water with great friends? I believe Thoreau wanted more from his fishing experience than simply to catch fish. He understood that fishing could provide a person with far loftier rewards.

For example, a few days ago a young man came from Georgia and chartered me for a day of bonefishing. He had never caught a bonefish before. He knew they were hard to catch but wanted to challenge his skills. The morning proved difficult with wind and overcast skies. The challenge this day was going to be in finding and seeing the fish in addition to casting to them.

Despite the weather conditions, he succeeded in landing a 10 pound plus bonefish in the morning on 10lb spin tackle. He went on to cast a fly at no less than 6 or 8 tailing bonefish on a leeward shoreline in the afternoon before hooking one on a crab pattern, only to have it break the tippet on the initial run. Triumph to depression in 20 seconds.

He didn't load the boat with dozens of speckled trout that day, but he did experience the allure of fly fishing for bonefish and he gained a keen appreciation for the bonefish and the environment in which they live. He got to experience the 150 yards of screaming drag that every sports writer writes about. He also experienced the feeling of exhilaration when his first bonefish finally came over the gunwale after what seemed like an eternity on light tackle. That experience, supported by a photograph that now occupies a prominent spot on his office wall, will linger fondly in his memory forever.

I think Thoreau was right.

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