I grew up on the beaches of Australia, and had my share of fishing time, casting the long shores endlessly, catching and releasing, never eating much fish but h

I grew up on the beaches of Australia, and had my share of fishing time, casting the long shores endlessly, catching and releasing, never eating much fish but having a good time wasting nothing but time with my grandfather, who bought me my first - and only - beach fishing rod. I learned to set my own rigs depending on conditions - the long trailer for the surf, the sinker spoon for the sand, and so on. Whenever I ran out of tackle, I'd don my snorkel and go out and do a collection, retrieving all the competing fishermens' stuff right off the reefs they'd left it. I learned that you don't need much to catch some stupid fish - just a few centimeters of an old white plastic straw and a small hook is enough to get yourself the surface dwellers. Since I moved away from it all, and haven't picked up a fishing rod in decades, it all still stays with me - but I put that old passion into programming now.