Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson says raising fish is his way to ‘decompress,’ shows off a prized bass

Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson knows how to decompress! All it takes is a little help from mother nature.

Johnson, who’s topped the list of Hollywood’s highest paid actors for two years in a row, took a break from the hustle and bustle of show business to spend time on his farm, where he raises a number of fish in his private pond.

The Hawaiian-born Johnson has always spoken about his connection to both land and water. In a video posted to Instagram this morning, the former wrestler-turned-actor showed off a prized catch as he explained in detail how escaping to his farm is his way to decompress.

“I just want to show you guys really quickly,” he tells his followers in the video as he shows of a monstrous-sized bass. “I just hauled out this good, I should say six, seven, possibly eight-pounder. Look at the beautiful belly on this fish, beautiful colors too as well. This is one nice healthy fish.”

He continues, “As you guys know I raise my largemouth bass, I raise my stripe bass, [and] my variety of sub fish. There’s a few other species in here, too [including trout, carp, and sunfish]. I work very closely with a university biologist. We come out here and created a beautiful ecosystem out here for these fish. And we feed them — I feed these babies!”

“Alright say goodbye to everybody,” he concludes before tossing the fish back into the pond.

“So good to get away to my farm this past weekend to decompress, take mental inventory and of course — spend time with my babies,” the actor wrote in the caption. “All my fish are fat, healthy, happy and AGGRESSIVE TO EAT — like their owner. I [fell] in love with fishing when I was a little boy, so quiet time like this away from the noise means everything to me. Grateful. And a little reminder to all you guys of the importance of ‘self care.’”

Johnson has been posting about the journey and evolution of his fish pond for some time. In April 2017, the actor posted a beautiful photo of himself fishing on the edge of the same pond.

“I’ve been raising my bass for years now on our farm,” he wrote at the time. “I feed them like kings with live bait and train them to be extra aggressive killers. I have specialists come in to inspect the water, vegetation and ecosystem to make sure they’re living like the top of the food chain predators they are. Big daddy comes home to recharge his batteries & spend time with them and not even one of these ungrateful fat hogs will strike my top water plug I’ve been working for an hour now. Cool.. just remember who’s in charge of the fish food truck you sum bitches.”

Turns out, Johnson is certainly on to something.

A 2011 study published on Research Gate showed that fishing can be used as a therapy to fight PTSD among war veterans and other people dealing with similar trauma. Plus, fishing might help aid in analytical and problem-solving skills, given that it requires constant trouble-shooting, such as assessing where the good spots lie, considering appropriate bait, and of course, inspecting for the right tools.

Who’s up for some bait and tackle?