I try to read the water to ascertain where a nice native trout is hiding out, waiting to ambush the bait I will offer him. I make sure to approach the water’s edge quietly so as not to spook my quarry. I navigate to the nearby stream, hike to a favorite spot where in previous years I have caught fish, and begin my pursuit of a rainbow with its distinctive pink-lateral stripe or a colorfully-dotted German brown. I am confident I will catch fish, for I remind myself that “I am of superior intelligence.” Therefore, should I not be able to impose my will upon the environment and proceed to catch my limit? It will be a meal provided by nature’s bounty, and I will have proven to be a proficient hunter-gatherer.
My goal for the morning – bring home my limit of German brown and rainbow trout to go along with a batch of fresh wild asparagus and morels I will secure immediately following my outing on the stream. It’s the first Saturday in May – the opening day of trout season in Wisconsin – and I am ready for action. I’ve gone through my equipment, oiled my reels, replaced my line, organized my tackle, and – since I’m a “wormer” – I gathered a slew of squirming nightcrawlers for bait. Pondering this conundrum for a moment and then dismissing it, I remind myself that I have waited anxiously for this day. But immediately a follow-up question comes to mind: “If that’s so, why are we still told to ‘think like a fish’ when we go fishing?”
As I pack my fishing gear in the back of my small SUV for a couple of hours on the stream, I recall an assumption that is often made – human beings are of superior intelligence.
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