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I'm sure you talk about fishing with people at work, I sure do. Do you
lead them to believe you have to have
a $20,000 boat to enjoy the sport? Do you find yourself ever turning up
your nose at that Zebco 33 rig the guy
next door uses to go cat fishing? Ever offered a pack of the latest
worms you are using to those kids fishing
from the dock? There are a lot of ways to get people interested in
fishing, and a lot of ways to get them turned
off by it.
Fishermen have a well
deserved image problem. We are the ones who throw trash and line in the
lake. We
are the ones that curse at the top of our voices when we miss a fish. We
are the ones that relieve ourselves
50 yards away from the dock with little regard of who's watching.
Fishermen are looked at as the definition of
"Bubba", and all the negative things that go along with it, a
crude, rude, bigot with little respect for anything,
including himself. Unfair? Sure, but with just enough truth in it to
hurt.
Tournament anglers
have a special problem with perception. We have forgotten the simple joy
of an
afternoon on the bank, when the fish don't bother you a bit. We are
viewed as elitists who tie up the ramps,
leave dead fish "wasted" after a tournament in the water, and
look down their noses at anyone wanting some
fresh table fare. We are jealous of "our" water, and quickly
turn on anyone encroaching on it, especially if you
don't happen to be in a tournament. Can you think of anything you've
ever done to deserve that kind of view?
Hard words for hard
times. Sometimes we get so caught up in the chase, we forget why we love
to fish to
start with. Fishing, especially for Bass, is as pleasant and rewarding
activity as I have ever found. I would love
to pass on this joy to everyone, most of all the kids. But until we take
the time to see ourselves as other
people see us, and take steps to correct the view, we will never be a
credible source of any opinions. We
have an image problem. We, as individuals, may not have created it, but
we do have to live with it. We can
either watch our sport dwindle, watch the public money dry up for our
lakes and ramps, and be the final
generation of fishermen, or we can do something about it.
What to do? Simple!
Get others involved with fishing. Use your knowledge of fishing to make
it as simple
and cheap to start as possible. Be courteous to those around you, on the
water and off. Keep the water as
clean as if you owned it, in a way you do. And share your love of your
sport, along with your favorite fishing
hole, with anyone who cares enough to share it with you. Fishing can be
contagious, if you let anyone get
close enough to catch it. The more people we can infect with the love of
fishing, the more clout we will have
to keep the waters clean, to give us good ramps, to manage the resource
to keep the fish populations up, all
of the good things we hope for in the future. The current trend is the
other way, but each of us can have a part
in changing it. Just try a little to change a lot.
To paraphrase Pogo,
"We has met the enemy, and they is us."
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