a fish to think about

Throughout our lives there are things one wants to own, to taste, to feel, to encounter ... to experience. For me, with my new found passion for fishing, I have come to a point where I think about specific fish I want to catch. There's different reasons for wanting to catch specific fish - there are some I want to catch because they are big and the physical challenge of brining it is the attraction (like the fish my friend caught below). There are fish I want to catch because they are selective in bait they take, so the challenge becomes the pursuit & sophistication of the presentation. Then there's the fish you want to catch because they are familiar to me (like the large mouth bass), and you know what to expect. I guess fishing and meeting fish can be a lot like meeting people or pursuing a career. However, today I am going to write about a fish I don't know much about, have never seen one (live), but one that I have started to think about a lot (I even had a dream about it). It is a fish called Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus).

Like some objects in design, I am pretty sure that I am mainly attracted to the aesthetic value of the artic grayling. From the pictures and illustrations I have seen, artic grayling possess a visual quality that is clearly more flamboyant than most fish. From the dynamic overall shape of the body to the signature dorsal fin, the fish is beautiful in form. The color of the fish seems fairly neutral, but have accents of color on their body which creates a very sophisticated combination. They are said to have once been a common and abundant fish, with feeding pattern that makes them easy to catch. This combination of simplicity in character (or feeding pattern) and a common presence are definite attributes that make the artic grayling attractive to me. I also read that they can no longer be found in north America, which is unfortunate - but to some extent, I guess that's the reason why I think about this fish.

I think about going up to Alaska where these fish lives with my fishing friends, and discussing the aesthetic value of the fish when we actually catch it and hold it in our hands. To discuss how they are different from when we saw them in photos, and see them with a background of mountains and water that is picture perfect. Perhaps all this thinking about the artic grayling will lead to disappointment when I actually catch one in Alaska, but then again, perhaps not. I will leave that up to that moment. For now, I have declared the artic grayling as my mascot fish. There is one other fish that competes with the artic grayling in status for me, and that it the "cherry trout" (Oncorhynchus masou), which is native to the Korean peninsula. According to the guide James Card (best fly fishing guide in Korea) "They return to their home rivers when the blossoms of the cherry trees open in spring, hence the name cherry trout." It is through his website (http://jamescard.net/) that I first learned about this cherry trout. The story of both fish are poetic and worth thinking about.