Might be an odd question but do any of you have hobbies that are similar to fishing but without, well, fish. Specifically something that doesn't harm any fish/animals.
This requires a lot of preparation
(like re-loading cases with right powder and bullets, calculating ballistic performance of your reloads, projecting weather on the day ahead and optimizing your setup for that weather, etc).
Also very slow an deliberate.
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Another one, is bird photography. Also requires preparation, thinking about technology and physical/nature stuff.
Also slow and requires patience.
You can extend bird photography, if you use film -- into subsequent print development, including printing on non-traditional media/canvases.
This works well for folks, like me, who do not have painting skills but would like to express their view of the worlds/ideas through pictures...
That makes into art, producing very unique non-repeatable artifacts (that's probably not possible to achieve with digital).
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In both of the above, at the end you have something to show for it (either paper targets, or pictures).
So that creates memories, enables story telling, etc.
Like all hobbies you can start affordably then take it to extremes in a variety of ways.
The range is solitude for me. Just me, my little area, outdoors among beautiful scenery and working on swing/shots/short game/etc vs that little darn white ball. It is 1-2 hours (or longer if wanted. I used to do 3-4 hours) of concentration and learning as well as being physically active.
I actually go to the range more than I play. I would like to play more but it requires more time, money, socializing. The range is on my terms as I can stay as long or short as I like and getting better is stimulating. To me, nothing beats the sound of perfect compression of the golf ball and headed towards your target on nice trajectory.
But on the other hand, Golf can be very frustrating. Also like fishing, it takes patience, money and good understanding of the equipment to be good at it.
I love walking towards my ball, with my clubs clinking together softly and the breeze rustling through the trees. I can shut out the world and just focus on the next shot. It's glorious.
On the other hand, golf is so easily ruined by misogynistic snobs in power carts having temper tantrums about bad shots. I suspect that is most people's experience of golf (that and boredom), which is a shame because it can be such a wonderful experience.
However, fishing was usually meant for catching a feed.
And don't stare at your phone while you're there. Better yet, leave your phone behind. Actually be there and be present. That's basically what you're doing when you're fishing, it's quite similar to basic meditation.