In this months takeout, I wanna talk about another elephant in the room. I know a fair amount of people think about it, but are a bit afraid to speak about it in mixed company despite chiming in one on one, it’s almost like how political beliefs once were handled or not handled; like a taboo you just don’t discuss amongst mixed company. It seems like today people are a great deal more vocal on disparaging others online in the ways they choose to fish, handle fish or whatever else, yet we somehow don’t want to address the pressures and damages that we are incurring upon those places we all love to frequent by the amount of photographic or video evidence of our “travels” we post publicly. I used to think what I am about to talk about was a generational thing, but I have slowly begun to realize that it has no age boundaries, as I am seeing folks I talk with from all age groups either weening themselves off the social media posts or stopping altogether.
Information travels at speeds it never did before, almost instantly in many circumstances due largely in part to technology. How long this has been so is debatable, but for the average citizen who can afford a smartphone its got a rather short lifespan. There are a great deal of positives in that statement; connection to our friends and family and now the entire world is exponentially easier and more connected so to speak. Heck, one of my dearest fishing friends I met through social media. Environmental initiatives and other issues can go viral and move the needle quickly when the proper avenues to disseminate the information are used. Conversely what it has also done is made a society at least the one I interact in extremely impatient, rude and quite often self important/centered. I have written about this quite frequently so I will spare the repetitive messaging.
What I will expound upon though is how it has single handedly accounted for the largest paradigm shift in the outdoor industry that I personally think has done more harm than good to the many things we love about being outside. Exercising some restraint on what you share online is often difficult, we love acceptance as humans, and even more so admiration by our peers in what we do or accomplish; I am not oblivious to it, I’d be lying/ignorant if I said it didn’t apply to myself included. But sometimes we get so wrapped up in that constant feedback loop that we often lose sight of the potential negative effects our actions online might do to our favorite fishing or hunting spots, hiking trails, kayaking and canoeing places etc.
Many magazines and now e-magazines have adopted the “we only highlight fisheries” mentality as opposed to furthering an anglers growth through informative educational technique or hatch related content. The content in regards to highlighting a fishery today has gotten so specific right down to gps coordinates, highly detailed maps, charts, parking areas, and precisely where to fish that it is now the norm. Heck, we even have mapping apps like ON-X or Trout Routes to help with trip planning, something that is very useful but also equally flawed in some sense as you can literally share anything and everything on some of these apps; geo tagged fish photos, fishing holes etc. We have essentially eliminated a great deal of the guesswork for some that are tech savvy. There is an unspoken online underbelly amongst fisherman of conversations, mostly negative about “this guy from so and so, or this handle is relentless with spot burning”.
All of this has simultaneously assisted in building a society that relies on spoon-fed information heavily laden with details, in hopes of “taking out the guesswork” on just about everything. Scroll back a few decades and this type of feature article was far less detailed; a hand drawn map or a few reference points would steer you in the right direction but not fully give you the big picture on where to go. It was left vague intentionally to give the reader just enough information to potentially spark some interest, maybe go there and then adapt their time and experience in whatever direction the reader chose. Although not my cup of tea, this was done tastefully and with some level of restraint. That is now replaced with the encyclopedic format right down to the places to eat, exact seasons to fish, ideal flow patterns (mostly opinion), guides, shops, specific pools to target and then if it is remote enough private lodges, guides and/or top influencers who you can pay to “show you around”. Influencers are the biggest offenders of said overexposure, pressured water and insert various other things you find when you go there that may or may not detract from the experience you were hoping to have. Pictures turned into long format videos turned into shorts turned into reels and now all that is out there daily. Some of the most cringe-worthy content is the daily selfie video giving a river report, or some other diatribe about what you should be doing and where, or even worse yet, the my way is the way mentality. This isn’t a blanket accusation across the board, there are some who have found ways to tastefully and discreetly promote their businesses and fisheries with little to no impact, while others have a new form of diahrea of the mouth and love for the camera that quite frankly got old real fast.
Now I’m not saying that information is the problem, we love it, but the amount of information available and how it is shared quite possibly is. What I’m getting at is, you can’t complain about your fishery getting crowded when you are part of the problem with what your digital footprint shares daily about said fishery; it’s a bit hypocritical to say the least. Now, this is no decree that we can’t be friends or I look down at you and all the folks that still post fish pictures, etc. I just think it’s beyond time we all start looking ourselves in the mirror and begin exercising some self control on what we post online in regards to the places we like to frequent. It’s kind of like keeping fish but on a much smaller scale, I rarely do and if I do take one home to eat, it’s not a stringer full, its just enough for a meal.
I hear many captains more so than wade guides talk about how the text message has become the single biggest problem out on the saltwater fisheries in New England. You locate a hot bite, another boat comes in and then within minutes it feels like the entire boating community has now descended upon your location; typically because a single text message starting the chain reaction. It’s more of a problem now even if you are in denial that the numbers of some species of saltwater fish are down, as there are less pods out there for the goon squad to target. I don’t think that will change, until a few folks get burned by a “buddy” and they stop answering the texts for info. I have heard from many a paying customer about how a day with (insert captain) was slow as hell but a few messages to another captain saved their day. Maybe (insert captain) should work on learning their fishery a bit before they start taking your hard earned money? But that’s a topic for another day I am afraid. Heck, there are even a few captains out there that collect cell phones from paying parties before they leave the dock as they simply don’t trust people to give away some of their hot locations out on the water. Some might find that a bit over the top; I find it a sign of the times and probably a good move if you want to preserve what you built. It’s a harder path to follow on an inland waterway, but makes a hell of a lot of sense to me out there on the big water.
I bring this topic up because I and many others in the various fishing circles I dip in and out of not only talk about what happens when certain folks/guides/shops post stuff, as you can now easily quantify the effects of what social media posts do to fishing locations the following day. You can clearly see it if you spend a lot of time on a specific fishery. There is undoubtedly a direct correlation with the fishing pressure on the fishery. Conversely, it works in other ways as well and I see this more and more whenever I walk into certain fly shops and converse with the people coming in. A video gets posted about a very specific topic from an influential entity in the sport and that content is now being regurgitated by a patron who just walked in. Said patron has now told the shop that so and so said (insert topic) and that this is precisely what you should be doing when said patron on most occasions has never tried or done what they just told you you should be doing. And the internet feedback loop is now dictating potentially what the listeners next fishing move might be, and potentially others. You laugh, but it is happening quite often, more so than you think. There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by in the last few seasons where I have popped into one of my local fly shops and that type of conversation comes to light.
Remember what I say quite frequently, there is no always or never in this sport and the minute you start using or abiding by those terms you might find you fish less, experiment less, go to less places, try less water types eventually getting stuck in a rut where your experience is confined to such a small list of places and methods, gear and conditions that you find yourself making more and more excuses to others why you aren’t fishing. Essentially, you start believing everything that somebody else is telling you in their youtube channel or podcast interview and unconsciously letting them dictate your experience. Usually, a very specific situation they heard, read or watched becomes generalized and applied across a broader scope of situations and then relayed by the listener to others who might not have as much time on the water as they might be new to the sport. They are eagerly ready to digest any and all information they can as they have fallen in love with the sport. But what they haven’t learned is that not all information is good, and they just might have fallen victim to a game of telephone with somebody who just loves to hear themselves talk and loves the attention. The concrete black or white answer is what we all seek, yet it often tells you when you actually put these and many other things to practice is that there is often a ton of grey area you may or may not have expected. In otherwords, listen to what someone else is saying, but don’t take it as gospel. Are we tracking here? I sure hope so, be a sponge, but also be critical of what you are sponging up. Try it for yourself and see how it works for you.
I mean if I were to believe everything on social media then I would have stopped fishing for smallmouth weeks ago. I was sent a post from a friend that a local “expert” had constructed in early September that smallmouth season ended? Oh ya? No kidding? That’s right, I almost forgot, they must be migrating south for the winter right? I guess the ones we are still catching must be confused or something, like their compass is off and they should stop eating and start heading south for the winter? Yet another gross generalization on one specific topic that could be the case for the said expert as their skill set might be extremely limited and now that one thing they do every time they hit the water is either starting to, or has become far less effective in catching smallmouth bass. Bout as true a statement as those that believe trout don’t or will not eat streamers in the winter; yeah and Michael Jordan is my brother. Don’t believe me? Well just check out this AI generated photo of me and Michael hanging out together as kids. Catch my drift, figuratively speaking? Go find out for yourself and then make the call on whether or not you want to keep listening to what said “expert” is putting out there, it’s not all good information is all that I am getting at.
So in closing this month, I guess my message is there simply isn’t a substitute for simply doing something, and maybe think about what you are about to post before hitting send. Ask yourself, is what I am about to put out there gonna increase the pressure on my local water or have a negative impact in any way? Am I doing something questionable in the photo? Despite needing information to build a knowledge base, you might start believing that you might need to filter said information you digest and also that which you put out there. You might even think the guy behind the keys in this letter is an “ass” as someone recently labeled me in a public comment. They might very well be right, but regardless of whether they are right or wrong, I can take the criticism and honestly have been called far worse; I openly accept it. Heck, I even revel in it if I’m to be honest, as those folks who told me I couldn’t do something in my life, I have gone to great lengths to prove wrong. It’s just how I am wired I guess. But I also use their jabs as motivation to get better, as comments like that get printed and pinned to the wall in my shop where I can see them daily and be reminded of everything that I am or am not so that I can be a better version of myself. And besides, it makes me laugh knowing that even people who I might have helped out along the way have mistaken my kindness as weakness and that somehow I am unintentionally taking up real estate in their head. Go out there and enjoy the weather, outdoors and fishing, tis but a wonderful time of year. Till next time my friends.
-RS-