Waiting for "The knock"

Waiting for "The knock"

The approaching squall drives salt-laden rain into your straining eyes, as you stare at the rod-tops, watching the natural bend and unbend as the waves caress the lines. Optimistic – but ultimately doomed – you will the tips to give a staccato tap, signalling the intervention of a fish. The knock. The bite. The strike.

And then the tussle with a wild animal, subduing it to exhaustion. The hunter-gatherer drive making you endure the numbing wind and cold, to bring home food for the pot.

Or maybe it’s just fishing?