Voyageurs Fieldsport LLC

Fly-fishing Guide Service, Adirondacks, Frederick MD, and United Kingdom

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Casting a Rise, 1889.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Casting a Rise, 1889.

Fieldsports and The Faith: Catch More Fish!

The Meaning of the Miracle

It’s not taking the limit. It’s living a life that takes you to the backing!

While HB@DC may be too distracted by the mature buck he’s been tracking the last three days to approach God, the latter in His goodness still approaches him.  In fact, He takes the initiative and draws near to all of us as Emmanuel; being made man by the power of the Holy Spirit and the cooperation of the Virgin Mary.  Yet, I will defer to Saint John the Evangelist to make the point, only defining a few terms at the outset and then adding commentary as he speaks.1

Selected Terms

  1. Fly line: The line that a fly-angler casts.  It is usually 30 to 36 meters in length. 
  2. Backing: Line that extends the length of the fly line.  Fly line is bulky and thus consumes a lot of spool volume.  Backing line, though it is uncastable, extends the total length of line on the spool.  It is both strong and low volume.  One end of it is tied to the arbor of the spool, the other to the rear terminus of the fly line.
  3. Take you to the backing: When a fly-angler says that a fish took him to the backing, he means that it darted more than 30-36 meters while fighting after taking the fly.  Atlantic salmon is a classic example of a sportfish that regularly takes a fly-angler to the backing.  I’m appropriating the saying here, equating ‘takes you to the backing’ to ‘is rich and full beyond measure.’ 
  4. Creel: A wicker basket that a fly-angler straps diagonally over the left shoulder (if he’s right-handed) and rests on his right hip.  It is used to hold his catch while he continues fishing.

The Second Miraculous Catch as Recorded in the Gospel of St. John the Evangelist

Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathaniel of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together.  Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.”  They said to him, “We will go with you.”  They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.  John 21:2-3

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, A Fisherman's Day, 1889.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, A Fisherman’s Day, 1889.

Catch more fish – that’s what the seven Apostles appearing in the passage above think they’re going to do.  If you love to fish, then you can sympathize with them.  They’ve been out all night but have caught nothing.  Yes, it’s enough to be on the water, at least in theory.  In practice though, an empty creel feels like . . .  Well, you know how it feels.

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Fisherman in Quebec, 1895.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Fisherman in Quebec, 1895.

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.  Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?”  They answered him, “No.”  “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.”  So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish.  That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”  When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. John 21:4-7

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Sunrise, Fishing in the Adirondacks, 1892.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Sunrise, Fishing in the Adirondacks, 1892.

Maybe that’s the reason they take the advice of this man.  They actually know him, but he is too far away for them to ascertain his identity.  Yet, he’s no ordinary man.  For this is Jesus.  And he instructs them to throw their nets on the right side of the boat.  Now, these Apostles are good fishermen, but Jesus is even better.  Look what happens.  They make a catch so immense that it overwhelms their tackle.

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Trout Breaking, 1889.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Trout Breaking, 1889.

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.  Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.”  So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them.  And although there were so many, the net was not torn.  John 21:9-11

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Casting in the Falls, 1889.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Casting in the Falls, 1889.

Can we trust John or is he telling a fish story?  We need evidence.  One way that we know that John is relating an eyewitness account is that he includes superfluous details that do nothing to advance the plot:

  • Peter puts on his outer garment before swimming ashore.
  • The fire has burned down to coals upon which fish are laid.
  • Peter returns to the boat and brings the net ashore when Jesus suggests cooking more fish.

Though modern writers add superfluous information to make their fiction more realistic, the technique was absent in the 1st Century Mediterranean world.  So, John appears to be reporting what really happened, not fabricating a fish story.

Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Leaping Trout, 1889.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Leaping Trout, 1889.

What John and the other Apostles actually witness is a real-life allegory, authored by Jesus himself.  So, why does Jesus speak to these disciples before they recognize him?  Why does he guide them into making the catch of a lifetime?  What’s the point of having the fire with fish and bread ready?  Why does he ask them to add some of their fish to his fare and then invite them to breakfast?  It is to communicate four things:

  1. Jesus doesn’t wait for us to attain enlightenment or awareness.  Instead, he approaches us wherever we are and in terms that we can understand.
  2. Jesus is more than just a great teacher.  He is God; the incarnation of the Son, the second person of the Trinity.  As such, he is Lord of Creation. 
  3. Jesus knows our spiritual and physical needs.  Providing for them, he aims not to make our lives easy but to make them complete.
  4. Jesus invites us to communicate to others that they too can be reconciled to God − not because they got it right, but because He got it right for them.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Ouanniche Fishing, Lake St. John, Province of Quebec, 1897.
Winslow Homer, 1836 − 1910, American, Ouanniche Fishing, Lake St. John, Province of Quebec, 1897.

So, Jesus’ message isn’t really about catching more fish.  It’s about something that’s even better: having a relationship with the Author and Giver of life.  To draw an analogy, Jesus desires not to make you a lucky fisherman, but to turn you into a complete angler. And what an experience it is. For living in communion with God is to live a life that takes you to the backing.

Article 1 Introduction
Article 2 Ecclesial Postmodernism
Article 3 Men
Article 4 The Odds
Article 5 Argument from Beauty
Article 6 The Trinity in the Taconics
Article 7 Not By Spirit Alone
Article 8 A Tough Sell
Article 9 A Tight Fix
Fieldsports and The Faith Vignettes

  1. All Bible passages are quoted as rendered in the English Standard Version (ESV). ↩︎