Evolution of Fishermen

Garry2rs · 01-13-10, 12:20 AM

A non-fishing friend recently asked me, "What motivates you to waste time and money on fishing, when you don't even keep the fish you catch?"

I mumbled something about communing with nature, the challenge, relaxation and recreation, but knew that I was talking to the fishing equivalent of a Troglodyte...

This got me thinking about the Evolution of Fishermen (or Fisher-persons) and the dangers that lurk on the Dark Side.

I suppose most people start with a rod and some worms, perhaps at a family outing or vacation. Sometimes you catch fish and sometimes you just go wading...In the worst case you are "taken fishing" and made to sit still and be quiet...Boring.

As a youth, my friends and I rode bicycles to this Creek or that Pond...But, this ended when as teens we forget all about fishing, and everything else when we discovered Girls!

Having survived the hormone explosion, some went back to fishing and some didn't. Today most of those friends still own a fishing rod, but many only own that one, old first rod that they bought or where given.

These folks might still buy a license, to wet a line while on their summer holiday, but seldom if ever, actually go fishing.

Others, came back to fishing as a hobby. By now we were working and raising families and a fishing trip meant taking time away from the family, so there wasn't much evolutionary progress.

Still, over time most folks become proficient with the basic tools and how to find fish on there home waters. Some begin picking up more advanced concepts and techniques. At the same point most of us learned a little about fish habits and habitat. But for many that's where evolution stopped.

A few fishermen take the next step. Curiosity, or competitiveness might be the trigger, but something in their nature drives them to refine things a little further. This next step, is to search for outside knowledge. The philosopher George Santayana once remarked "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

In my time, evolving fishermen could be found hanging around the .799 aisle in the Public Library, and swapping dog eared copies of In-Fisherman magazine with other victims.

Today, this generation might be found sitting stupefied, in front of computer monitors or swapping Internet addresses to fishing web-sites. Regardless of the source, I think our continued evolution requires influential, outside stimulus.

A strange fact is that as most fishermen evolve, the original goal of catching fish, becomes less important. The focus shifts more to how they caught them. In fact the fish are often thrown back to justify continued fishing!

The evolving angler is constantly learning new techniques and nuances on old ones. Other than in competition, days on the water are often spent fishing for fishing's sake. The actual fish simply providing an indicator as to whether or not the new technique has been mastered.

And now a word about the Dark Side...

Knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge is wonderful, but be warned! There is a dark side to the " Fishing Sub-Culture."

The truth is there is a slippery slope attached to fishing knowledge. Various forms of insanity often seize the unwary.

Some fishermen become dogmatic and can be heard ranting about the "purity" of their favourite technique verses all others.

Others become so monomaniacal that they disrespect anyone who isn't also fishing for their personal Holy Grail.

In advanced stages these maladies include a snobbery toward others who use their technique or seek their desired species, but are deemed to be unworthy, for some obscure reason.

At the height of their madness many will speak only in tongues, using argot and and idiom that only the initiated can understand.

Fishing Evolutionary Disease is ramped within the Fishing Sub-Culture and has other manifestations, especially amongst aquatically challenged individuals who don't get out fishing often enough.

Many of these folks become hopeless tackle junkies. In less severe cases perhaps fondling the hardware releases some of the anxiety caused by water depredation. In extreme cases the hardware might completely replace fishing!

These poor souls have slid around a corner into a place where they aren't so much fishermen as they are collectors of fishing memorabilia!

On the street, all of these gear oriented degenerates would be known as a "Lure W hore."

I hope this brief sketch will help you gauge your own state of evolution and serve as a warning of the potential dangers. Forewarned is after all Forearmed!.

Hahaha.
Garry2R's
Fishing is my favorite form of loafing.

cassidyta · 01-13-10, 12:24 AM

Very well written and sadly true in so many ways.

nofearengineer · 01-13-10, 12:42 AM

Hilarious and totally true.

It's a shame happiness no longer means catching 5" bluegill at the local pond with your trusty Zebco 33 K-Mart special that you saved up 5 weeks allowance to buy.

TN_Bassin · 01-13-10, 12:55 AM

I have definitly fallen to the "Dark Side", as it were.

BlueDaksi · 01-13-10, 09:53 AM

Monomaniacal. That's a good word. I'm going to use it more often. Good read and food for thought. Do you have a word for fisher persons who leap from method to method without mastering any of them instead of becoming monomaniacal?

MallenManson · 01-13-10, 10:55 AM

Haha! Great post!

Garry2rs · 01-13-10, 11:23 AM

The fisherman you describe is not a Specialist, therefore the term Generalist suggests itself.

If one were being positive, they might say such a person is a Polymath, a person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.

If they were being negative, then one might say; He's a Jack of all trades, master of none! However that is not the whole phrase, which actually reads "Jack of all trades, master of none. Though ofttimes better than master of one."

The point being, that someone with a broad general knowledge, a Renaissance Man, might bring facets of multiple disciplines together to achieve what the specialist can't.

nofearengineer · 01-13-10, 11:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garry2rs

The fisherman you describe is not a Specialist, therefore the term Generalist suggests itself.

If one were being positive, they might say such a person is a Polymath, a person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.

If they were being negative, then one might say; He's a Jack of all trades, master of none! However that is not the whole phrase, which actually reads "Jack of all trades, master of none. Though ofttimes better than master of one."

The point being, that someone with a broad general knowledge, a Renaissance Man, might bring facets of multiple disciplines together to achieve what the specialist can't.

This sounds like a Paul and Norman McLean argument.

paul · 01-13-10, 12:47 PM

that was a very entertaining read. good stuff.

woody · 01-13-10, 02:02 PM

There's no doubt about it, if you let it, it will consume you.

-Mark

muddy · 01-13-10, 02:06 PM

Very Cool, and true. I have been trying to revrrese the effcets of this myself, trying to make it simple once again!
Thanks

islandbass · 01-13-10, 03:47 PM

Darn. How many of you were nodding your heads after reading each point?!

Garry,

Well said! I am sure that many of us can relate to some or all of your great points.

bassinbob · 01-13-10, 04:33 PM

I simply enjoy the persuit. Sometimes to reap the reward of my endeavor. Sometimes to expel the strangulation of everyday toils. Sometimes sequenting ancient impulses.

BassinNC · 01-13-10, 06:28 PM

Yeah that was a good post. it makes you think.

Rebbasser · 01-17-10, 01:53 AM

You posted this and we are reading it on a BASS FISHING FORUM. What does that tell you

?

The Dark Side? Crossed over a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago

.

Jigger · 01-17-10, 11:19 AM

Gary, well stated. I enjoyed it.

I've heard this, or something like it, said about the evolution of a fisherman and I mostly agree:

First you want to catch a lot of fish, then you want to catch big fish, then, ultimately you're after the most challenging fish.

autigersupG3 · 01-22-10, 08:16 AM

"tackle Junkie"....I guess it's time for me to start keeping some fish so as to cure this "junkie" disease...

MallenManson · 01-23-10, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autigersupG3

"tackle Junkie"....I guess it's time for me to start keeping some fish so as to cure this "junkie" disease...

Non fishing people always seem shocked to hear that I keep zero bass. I always tell em the bass will be bigger next time I catch it

bamabassman · 01-23-10, 05:50 PM

Sorry...... I can't relate to this. I have read it over and over, but cannot make the connection as to my situation. Nope.... just don't see it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

Bob Smith · 01-24-10, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bamabassman

Sorry...... I can't relate to this. I have read it over and over, but cannot make the connection as to my situation. Nope.... just don't see it.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

LIAR! ha ha! If you are on here, you can relate! Well done, Gary!

LuvThyMeta| · 01-24-10, 10:34 PM

Haha Monomaniacal, first time i hear that word. Well said !!

01-25-10, 11:20 AM

Has anyone found a breath box that works with the Evolution helmet? I have the Sinister goggles and with the nose piece on the fog pretty bad when I breathing normal. I am going to need to figure out something.Thanks

01-13-10, 12:20 AM	#1
Garry2rs BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: AZ. USA. and Ont. Canada Posts: 145	Evolution of Fishermen A non-fishing friend recently asked me, "What motivates you to waste time and money on fishing, when you don't even keep the fish you catch?" I mumbled something about communing with nature, the challenge, relaxation and recreation, but knew that I was talking to the fishing equivalent of a Troglodyte... This got me thinking about the Evolution of Fishermen (or Fisher-persons) and the dangers that lurk on the Dark Side. I suppose most people start with a rod and some worms, perhaps at a family outing or vacation. Sometimes you catch fish and sometimes you just go wading...In the worst case you are "taken fishing" and made to sit still and be quiet...Boring. As a youth, my friends and I rode bicycles to this Creek or that Pond...But, this ended when as teens we forget all about fishing, and everything else when we discovered Girls! Having survived the hormone explosion, some went back to fishing and some didn't. Today most of those friends still own a fishing rod, but many only own that one, old first rod that they bought or where given. These folks might still buy a license, to wet a line while on their summer holiday, but seldom if ever, actually go fishing. Others, came back to fishing as a hobby. By now we were working and raising families and a fishing trip meant taking time away from the family, so there wasn't much evolutionary progress. Still, over time most folks become proficient with the basic tools and how to find fish on there home waters. Some begin picking up more advanced concepts and techniques. At the same point most of us learned a little about fish habits and habitat. But for many that's where evolution stopped. A few fishermen take the next step. Curiosity, or competitiveness might be the trigger, but something in their nature drives them to refine things a little further. This next step, is to search for outside knowledge. The philosopher George Santayana once remarked "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." In my time, evolving fishermen could be found hanging around the .799 aisle in the Public Library, and swapping dog eared copies of In-Fisherman magazine with other victims. Today, this generation might be found sitting stupefied, in front of computer monitors or swapping Internet addresses to fishing web-sites. Regardless of the source, I think our continued evolution requires influential, outside stimulus. A strange fact is that as most fishermen evolve, the original goal of catching fish, becomes less important. The focus shifts more to how they caught them. In fact the fish are often thrown back to justify continued fishing! The evolving angler is constantly learning new techniques and nuances on old ones. Other than in competition, days on the water are often spent fishing for fishing's sake. The actual fish simply providing an indicator as to whether or not the new technique has been mastered. And now a word about the Dark Side... Knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge is wonderful, but be warned! There is a dark side to the " Fishing Sub-Culture." The truth is there is a slippery slope attached to fishing knowledge. Various forms of insanity often seize the unwary. Some fishermen become dogmatic and can be heard ranting about the "purity" of their favourite technique verses all others. Others become so monomaniacal that they disrespect anyone who isn't also fishing for their personal Holy Grail. In advanced stages these maladies include a snobbery toward others who use their technique or seek their desired species, but are deemed to be unworthy, for some obscure reason. At the height of their madness many will speak only in tongues, using argot and and idiom that only the initiated can understand. Fishing Evolutionary Disease is ramped within the Fishing Sub-Culture and has other manifestations, especially amongst aquatically challenged individuals who don't get out fishing often enough. Many of these folks become hopeless tackle junkies. In less severe cases perhaps fondling the hardware releases some of the anxiety caused by water depredation. In extreme cases the hardware might completely replace fishing! These poor souls have slid around a corner into a place where they aren't so much fishermen as they are collectors of fishing memorabilia! On the street, all of these gear oriented degenerates would be known as a "Lure W hore." I hope this brief sketch will help you gauge your own state of evolution and serve as a warning of the potential dangers. Forewarned is after all Forearmed!. Hahaha. Garry2R's Fishing is my favorite form of loafing.

01-13-10, 12:24 AM	#2
cassidyta BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 2,928	Very well written and sadly true in so many ways. __________________ If you have ever wondered if you should retie, the answer is yes.

01-13-10, 12:42 AM	#3
nofearengineer BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Southwest IN Posts: 5,630	Hilarious and totally true. It's a shame happiness no longer means catching 5" bluegill at the local pond with your trusty Zebco 33 K-Mart special that you saved up 5 weeks allowance to buy. __________________ Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.

01-13-10, 12:55 AM	#4
TN_Bassin BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Bon Aqua,TN Posts: 1,013	I have definitly fallen to the "Dark Side", as it were. __________________ Other anglers are tough, but the fish are the real competition.

01-13-10, 09:53 AM	#5
BlueDaksi BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 148	Monomaniacal. That's a good word. I'm going to use it more often. Good read and food for thought. Do you have a word for fisher persons who leap from method to method without mastering any of them instead of becoming monomaniacal? __________________ -Paul Shipman, Ph.D., Team FishGator.com, Team Malibu Kayaks Pro-Staff

01-13-10, 10:55 AM	#6
MallenManson BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Beulah, Michigan Posts: 6,431	Haha! Great post! __________________ Bass fear me. Women pepperspray me.....

01-13-10, 11:23 AM	#7
Garry2rs BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: AZ. USA. and Ont. Canada Posts: 145	The fisherman you describe is not a *Specialist,* therefore the term *Generalist* suggests itself. If one were being positive, they might say such a person is a Polymath, a person with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge. If they were being negative, then one might say; He's a Jack of all trades, master of none! However that is not the whole phrase, which actually reads "Jack of all trades, master of none. Though ofttimes better than master of one." The point being, that someone with a broad general knowledge, a Renaissance Man, might bring facets of multiple disciplines together to achieve what the specialist can't.

01-13-10, 12:47 PM	#9
paul BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: TN Posts: 16	that was a very entertaining read. good stuff. __________________ second best fisherman in my family.

01-13-10, 02:02 PM	#10
woody BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Jonesville, Indiana Posts: 3,597	There's no doubt about it, if you let it, it will consume you. -Mark

01-13-10, 02:06 PM	#11
muddy BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 350	Very Cool, and true. I have been trying to revrrese the effcets of this myself, trying to make it simple once again! Thanks

01-13-10, 03:47 PM	#12
islandbass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: WA State Posts: 1,783	Darn. How many of you were nodding your heads after reading each point?! Garry, Well said! I am sure that many of us can relate to some or all of your great points. __________________ ARX "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." Doug Larson (Shimano 2005 Reel Catalog)

01-13-10, 04:33 PM	#13
bassinbob BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Pitts. Pa. Posts: 3,801	I simply enjoy the persuit. Sometimes to reap the reward of my endeavor. Sometimes to expel the strangulation of everyday toils. Sometimes sequenting ancient impulses. __________________ you can have my fishin rod when ya take it from my cold dead hands

01-13-10, 06:28 PM	#14
BassinNC BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: albemarle, NC Posts: 788	Yeah that was a good post. it makes you think. __________________ 138 bass in 2K10. Biggest 4LBS 14oz.

01-17-10, 01:53 AM	#15
Rebbasser BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 10,141	You posted this and we are reading it on a BASS FISHING FORUM. What does that tell you? The Dark Side? Crossed over a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time ago. __________________ It's happened to the best of them: John 21:3

01-17-10, 11:19 AM	#16
Jigger BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 490	Gary, well stated. I enjoyed it. I've heard this, or something like it, said about the evolution of a fisherman and I mostly agree: First you want to catch a lot of fish, then you want to catch big fish, then, ultimately you're after the most challenging fish.

01-22-10, 08:16 AM	#17
autigersupG3 BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 20	"tackle Junkie"....I guess it's time for me to start keeping some fish so as to cure this "junkie" disease...

01-23-10, 05:50 PM	#19
bamabassman BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: cedar bluff, alabama Posts: 15,292	Sorry...... I can't relate to this. I have read it over and over, but cannot make the connection as to my situation. Nope.... just don't see it. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! __________________ so many lures, so little time.

01-24-10, 10:34 PM	#21
LuvThyMeta\| BassFishin.Com Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Chatsworth, CA Posts: 44	Haha Monomaniacal, first time i hear that word. Well said !!

01-25-10, 11:20 AM	#22
annousbal Guest Posts: n/a	Evolution of Fishermen Has anyone found a breath box that works with the Evolution helmet? I have the Sinister goggles and with the nose piece on the fog pretty bad when I breathing normal. I am going to need to figure out something.Thanks

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