Scott Peek Photography

Two weeks.
For two entire weeks, I was bed ridden with a mystery illness that would put me out of what I loved doing during the summer. Hanging out with my friends, playing golf, and traveling with the lacrosse team all went out the window.
With nothing else to do with my time, I turned to watching YouTube and different movies essentially all day long. All of the videos I watched consisted of the usuals. Bob Does Sports. Grant Horvat. Bryson Dechambeau.
But one day, something caught my eye.
As I was scrolling through the endless amounts of videos YouTube has to offer, I stumbled across a video that piqued my interest: a bass fishing video from a well-known Dallas-based fisherman, Tylersreelfishing.
At first, it was merely my curiosity that got the better of me. I had gone fishing maybe once or twice in my entire life and, despite this, I found myself deeply immersed in every single video I watched.
The countless rod and reel combinations, the different types of lures combined with different colors and different applications for each one drew me in one video at a time. I was so fascinated that something that had always seemed so simple and boring to me was in reality so much more.
With each and every video I watched, I couldn’t help but think back to my uncle. Being the only real fisherman in his family, I reached out to him and asked for advice on how to start. I could immediately hear the excitement in his voice when I mentioned that I was becoming more and more interested in his favorite pastime. Now, I carve time out of my breaks from school to go fish with him for the weekend along with talking with him almost every day. Whether it be about a new video one of us watched or showing off a new rod, fishing has not only become my hobby, but something that has enabled me to become closer with my uncle.
When I finally went out to the water for the first time, I was sold. The peace of standing out by the water with nobody around except chirping birds in the early morning was truly encapsulating. All of it blended together and made me forget about everything else. The thrill that came with casting out the line and waiting for something big to bite was truly indescribable.
Now, fishing has become a huge part of my life. Every chance that I get, I pack up my bags and rods early in the morning and head out to the pond, chasing that one big bass.