Fish for the Masses

of course...my first post is going to be a rant.  and i'm sure i'll be making enemies in the process.

if there ever was a sport that seemed to offer everyone access and acceptance, it would be fishing.  whether it be chasing down blue water fish or going after rough fish in your own 'backyard', everyone has potential access to some sort of fishing. 

and what's not to love about fishing?  it is like other sports, at times, physically and mentally grueling, and highly competitive.  however, unlike many other sports, you are competing against yourself and mother nature.  each 'game' is, by definition, constantly changing and never the same.  different days, different weather, different tides, different flows, different hatches, and a different you.

then why in the hell would anybody try to make any aspect of fishing exclusive?  why would any one angler look down on another?  we are not competing against each other.

one of my favorite blogs that i follow is Surfcaster's Journal.  i have not met Zeno, but judging by his posts, he is in my opinion, honest, humble, and down to earth.  he works hard, and is truly an ambassador of the sport.  a while back he posted a couple of video interviews with a certain tackle store owner out in Montauk.  you all know who I am talking about.

this interview just reinforced my first and only impression of this tackle store owner.  a couple of years ago in October, i was heading out Saturday morning with some friends for our first attempt at Montauk surfcasting.  given this store owner's stellar reputation, i knew i had to stop by and ask for guidance.  at the novice question of 'what are they eating, and where's the best place i could go,' he scoffed me, at the same time selling me some frozen clams.  it was a pretty cold reception.  silly me, i thought that buying a few super strike darters would warm him up, but i was wrong.  i felt like such an outcast that i vowed i would never step foot in that store again.

then i see this interview where this store owner is basically putting down the 'weekend' surfcaster.  what the @#$^?  why the snobbery?  not all of us can fish during the week.  especially since surfcasting for stripers is primarily a night time exercise.  he shouldn't mistake lack of fishing time with lack of passion since everyone's priorities are different.  just because i don't have a van staal reel, one piece custom made rod, or fish Sunday night thru Thursday night, doesn't mean i should be a surfcasting outcast.

nuff said.