Today I caught my first Tilapia; probably my first fish in about 10 years. I was an avid fisherman. I used to wake up at 3:00am and drive for a couple of hours just to make sunrise at my favorite spot on the river. I would spend hours there, usually with my brother, sitting silently waiting for a hungry steelhead to take the bait. Many times we went home with more mosquito bites than actual hits. Sometimes, we were lucky. But more often than not, we weren't. This is the joy of fishing. Or at least it was.

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With the responsibilities to work and family, there is little time left at the end, or beginning, of the day for the simple pleasures in life. Not that I'm complaining. Rather, accompanied by my two friends, Rod and Reel, I have found a way to enjoy fishing without upsetting familial balance and order - river fishing for Tilapia in Taichung.

There is a river teeming with Tilapia merely minutes from my school. With my rod in hand, I work my way to the rocky bank. Once there, I bait my hook with a special type of vegetation that grows nearby, and toss it into the current. Within minutes, a Tilapia take the bait and runs. I fight the fish for a little, enjoying the feeling; after all, it's man versus nature. Once ashore, I remove the hook, snap a photo and let it free. I spent a little less than two hours on the river and caught about 6 or 7 Tilapia.

The great part about the whole thing is that now, I am at home. I have time to do the housework and prepare dinner before picking my daughter up from school. For me, this is fishing at its best. I guess that you could say that I am now hooked on fishing again.

I live in a city called Taichung, and a river runs through it.