is it just me or does it seem that the outdoor sportsman(fishing & hunting) is going the way of the dinosaur? besides you guys and a FEW friends i don't know of many people that fish or hunt. i get funny looks from some people when i tell them that i love to fish. i see less and less kids fishing these days, i say help them if you can, info, a few plugs, maybe some new line. i think that an appreciation of the outdoors and related sports helps make a well rounded person.(no jokes about my waistline)

It is out of favor with the masses, no question. Probably due in large part to the environmental whack-o's who have painted an ugly picture of the activities. What pisses me off, this is done by people who have never fished or hunted! I bet if they actually went fishing, they would enjoy it.

IMO the best thing you can do is take a kid fishing or hunting....this is how we can do our part to maintain this. It gets them out of the house, away from the tube, closer to their parents and exposed to the outdoors in ways many kids never see. Oh yeah...you have fun doing it too. win-win.

I don't know if there are any less sportsmen around. Cabelas just went public and that's all they service. There seem to be a lot of people getting into surfcasting/flyfishing, just look at the gear that's available that wasn't a few years ago.

As for the environmentalist wackos. They are probably more likely to be out enjoying the National Parks and camping with their kids than most fishermen or hunters!

-spence

I agree w/Spence. Look at the local (New ENgland) outdoors shows. They are packed with people.

Both you guys also make good points. Have there ever been "lots" of sportsman?

Fishing/Hunting are fast growing. Maybe not as much where we live, but nation wide it is one of america's favorite pastimes.

I have a fantasy that on a new moon in september I can drive to all 3 breachways in RI and have them all to my self as I follow the tide, catching large at everyone...

you must be kidding that there arent alot of fisherman. :smash:

by "sportsman" i did'nt mean any yahoo with high tech gear, i mean' t people schooled in tradition and ethics.

I'm not sure if it's my age (23) or if there are less sportsmen around, but whenever I mention that I fish often, people can't believe it. They are amazed that I go out on a boat every weekend and fish, and that I go out all night to wade out and fish the beach. My friends can't believe that I'd rather go out fishing than stalking girls at a bar, and the girls I go out with can't believe I take pride in waking up at 4:30 to go after fish. Oh yeah, and they also can't believe I'd rather go and hang out at an MSBA meeting than go out and have some drinks.

But what is it that most people do? Go to bars. Sit around and drink. Watch TV. We're out there experiencing nature and chasing the fish of our dreams. We love what we do enough to go all out. Most people can't say that.

BigMike, don't let 'em put you down. Keep on doing what you love. And by the way, don't think for a minute that you won't find a girl who is as into nature as you are. They're not all hanging out in bars.

you go BigMike....ur one of the good guys
nice to meet ya at the meetin...see ya at the next one

Originally posted by BigMike
But what is it that most people do? Go to bars. Sit around and drink. Watch TV. We're out there experiencing nature and chasing the fish of our dreams. We love what we do enough to go all out. Most people can't say that. [/B]
At your age...yes.

It all depends how you grew up. I didn't get into surfcasting until 32 because, well that's when it happened.

Before that I spent most free time in the pub drinking Guiness and picking up women, or I should say attempting :D

-spence

Originally posted by spence
I spent most free time in the pub drinking Guiness and picking up women, or I should say attempting :D

-spence

Is this why you deal with the skunk so well?:hihi:

Originally posted by Eben
Is this why you deal with the skunk so well?:hihi:

:D :D :D

Actually we rarely see dead skunk on the road back in Iowa. In RI they are all over...

Let's just say I'm patient in many ways...:rolleyes:
-spence

Originally posted by Slingah
nice to meet ya at the meetin...see ya at the next one

Nice to meet you as well! I'll definitely be at the next meeting... Frank Daignault seems pretty knowledgeable judging by his books... topping Crazy Alberto is a tough task though!

E, that was rough...

Thats why I'm unconsolable when I get the skunk.... I had never experienced defeat before :D :D :D check ya PM's...

#@

Used to be alot of open land, now it's all housing developments.
I used to hunt where Gillette stadium is (behind Lawtons farm) and other places in Plainville/Foxboro.

Have to go to "wildlife management" areas now with too many other hunters.
I liked hunting grouse and ringnecks..locally
Still go to Norton (the farm) sometimes. So much loss of open space over the last 30 years.

Zac,
FWIW, nationwide the number of hunters is declining but the numbers of fishermen is increasing.

I totally agree afterhours, I feel like I am the only person my age putting in the time as a surf fisherman. I know plenty of kids who are into the boat thing but not any that are into fishing the beach. So, save the sport and give me all your plugs. :laugha: :rotf2:

this whole politically correct and revamped ethics thing ...is all a bunch of nonsense....just look at what they are doing to CHRISTMAS....:bc:

these people who say oh! the fish feel pain are the same bozo's you see on 495 or any other highway that just bought a new bush or tree for their yard and are driving down the highway at 60+ mph with it in the back ....basically thrashing it to death with hot wind and couldn't care less or are not intelligent enough to have thought about putting it inside their overly spacious suv. They wouldn't want to get a bit of soil on their lovely seats as if it is so germ laden it should be classified as toxic waste................................. :doh:
when in reality they and every other american during the course of a lifetime eat and digest a whole bushel of soil. Dirt is whats under your toe nails or in the cracks of your kitchen floor tile.
soil on the other hand is a micro city of thousands of live creatures
that support the life of plants that are alive just as much as animals
or fish. A plant or tree has just as much right to consideration as any animal or fish yet people wack them, chop them or abuse them like they are not alive. you see kids out there ripping branches of trees because they haven't a clue about whats truly alive and whats dead. it makes me sick to see it. being a sportsman has always meant taking game or fish in the most proficient manner as to avoid unecessary suffering and also obeying the hunting and fishing regulations.That philosophy is what kids are taught ...when they
are taught to hunt or fish.....and to respect all forms of life. Until they come up with synthetic food (solent green) :crying: life has to be taken in order to eat it and live as we all are Part of the food chain.

ok i feel better now....
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c66/ravenob1/Raven-in-Tree.jpg

try finding someone who can fish 6-7 nights a weeks Mid May to Mid to December. Let me know if you find 'em.

Yikes! Raven, I don't know if you caught the end of the movie, but just before he dies Charlton Heston says, "Soylent...green...is...peopleeeeee."
Hey, I guess a true sportsman can take many forms, but when I was a kid I never used to miss Curt Gowdy on The American Sportsmen. The guy was always unassuming, yet knowledgeable, never loud or in anyone's face. He took the time to tell about whatever quarry he hunted after it was killed, explaining about its beauty or value, something that let you know it wasn't just the thrill of killing something. You didn't see any high tech advantages being used, just Curt and Bing or John Havlacek or some other celebrity out in earnest swapping some stories ro knowedge, maybe a song, and hunting or fishing. Ah, I'm getting to be an old fart, what do I know.

try finding someone who can fish 6-7 nights a weeks Mid May to Mid to December. Let me know if you find 'em.
Vic, you're a fish hammering machine! Even I can't do 6-7 nights for that long. Maybe a month straight, then it's back to 2-3or 4.
Oh yeah, Sportsmen. I came up in the surfcasting life in the early 60's. We never bought bait, always dug,trapped or snagged our own. If you pulled out a plug, the others would wonder why you weren't fishing. We bait fished and hammered fish. We started in March with cod at Head of the Meadow. Sometimes we had to cast from the parking lot or dune because the waves wouldn't allow you to set up on the beach, and we still caught fish. Sometimes I can't believe the bitter cold weather and wind that we fished in . There were damn few who fished like that then and I believe there are fewer now. Fewer because there are fewer cod to be had from the beach. But I believe that there are more who fish at night between May and November for bass. We saw very few at night back when. Anyway from what I see in the field, there may be fewer hard core sportsmen , but what I see for sale in stores and catalogues, there must be more. Who's buying all that stuff?

Vic, you're a fish hammering machine! Even I can't do 6-7 nights for that long. Maybe a month straight, then it's back to 2-3or 4.
Oh yeah, Sportsmen. I came up in the surfcasting life in the early 60's. We never bought bait, always dug,trapped or snagged our own. If you pulled out a plug, the others would wonder why you weren't fishing. We bait fished and hammered fish. We started in March with cod at Head of the Meadow. Sometimes we had to cast from the parking lot or dune because the waves wouldn't allow you to set up on the beach, and we still caught fish. Sometimes I can't believe the bitter cold weather and wind that we fished in . There were damn few who fished like that then and I believe there are fewer now. Fewer because there are fewer cod to be had from the beach. But I believe that there are more who fish at night between May and November for bass. We saw very few at night back when. Anyway from what I see in the field, there may be fewer hard core sportsmen , but what I see for sale in stores and catalogues, there must be more. Who's buying all that stuff?

Whos buying all that stuff? People who can't fish and belief the more money they spend the more fish they will catch.

:lurk: Ah its winter.

Yikes! Raven, I don't know if you caught the end of the movie, but just before he dies Charlton Heston says, "Soylent...green...is...peopleeeeee."
Hey, I guess a true sportsman can take many forms, but when I was a kid I never used to miss Curt Gowdy on The American Sportsmen. The guy was always unassuming, yet knowledgeable, never loud or in anyone's face. He took the time to tell about whatever quarry he hunted after it was killed, explaining about its beauty or value, something that let you know it wasn't just the thrill of killing something. You didn't see any high tech advantages being used, just Curt and Bing or John Havlacek or some other celebrity out in earnest swapping some stories ro knowedge, maybe a song, and hunting or fishing. Ah, I'm getting to be an old fart, what do I know.

you know more than you think....yeah the american sportsman was my most absolute favorite show...and i'd kick my brothers asses if they wanted to watch anything else....especially that sound of the bull elk bugling would give me such a rush....so much so that i still miss it...and was wondering if you could buy/rent that old show on DVD.... anyways that and field and stream made me the sportsman that i am today. i was duck hunting and re-loading my own shotgun shells ,out shooting ring necks and up in maine bear hunting at age 15. the soylent green thing was a joke pointed towards peta people....like what do you want? cadaver crackers so we don't have to eat poor defenseless animals....I saw this dipsh1t calling deer right to him on tv the other day...until he pissed off this one buck who wanted to run him thru with its antlers until he finally was using his tree stand as a barrier to keep from being gored to death....
his dungaree's were all ripped up bigtime....it was rather amusing.
he says afterwards....well i guess i won't do that again :laugha:

I think it's sad when you see a kid who was never taken fishing by his Dad. My Dad taught me, I taught mine, hope they teach theirs some day.
Almost without exception, when I take one of my son's friends fishing they love it. What they may have thought was kinda stupid, wasting all this time and money to catch fish and not even eating them - well they see the light.
Next thing ya know more of them want to come than I have room or gear for.
Yep, a kid should have a shot at it.

When my son was still little, ( and not the vegetarian that he is now:huh: Don't know where I went "wrong" but I respect it.)he and I caught one of those Bluefish Blitzes in Wellfleet Harbor that you read about. The water was white with feeding blues and we hammered them. A group of kids my sons age gathered behind us. Well I had a rare "Every Man a Hero "thought go through my mind and started hooking up and handing off my rod to 8and 10 years olds. When they brought their fish in, I gutted and gilled them and sent them to their rentals nearby. Some of the Moms came out beaming at the fish their "Little Men" had caught. These were 8-10 pounders. Some, I can still hear their screams.:eek: As I coached them in, I tried to get as much of the ethical side of fishing in as possible." Are you gonna eat it? Are you sure? If not it has to go back, cos you don't take stuff from the grocery store that you aren't going to eat, do you?"That was my best day as a fisherman.

nice story fred:kewl:

Excellent memories BBJ....

Backbeach Jake,
If you fished the harbor then you must have known the boat "TARA" that the Shaklits ??? family owned. The town used to sponser great fireworks displays back then.

Great Memory Fred :kewl: :D

Swimmer, I think it's Shakliks :)

It used to be a father son thing. Fishing together, maybe hunting, and then taking kids to a sporting event. Much of this has changed because of many reasons, which I am not going to write about.. We all knows the many reasons why this has come about. I think we at least here are somewhat of a breed apart. I don't know of any group that endeavours to enjoy fishing the way the S-B.comers do. I know my brother Squid Kids Dad a an intensity about his fishing interest much the same as I do. Here it is the off-season, but still anywhare I go in my house I'll see something fishing. The most current Lou Tabory book next to the easy chair. A handful of flies just about everywhere. Down celler, well, nothing needs to be said about the celler. Hell I am even thinking about starting to sell my baseball card collection piecemeal on EBAY to finance my Kayak purchase. People everywhere I go, coffeeshop, work, downtown, hardware store, stop and talk fishing to me because they know that it is what I am, who I am. Not that I am one dimensional surely I'm not, but fishing is what relaxes me. It makes up such a large part of my existence, like it makes up everyone existence here, that thinking about fishing makes everyday easier. Fishing had me at hello!

Backbeach Jake,
If you fished the harbor then you must have known the boat "TARA" that the Shaklits ??? family owned. The town used to sponser great fireworks displays back then.

I remember seeing that boat in the Harbor, didn't know who owned it. A couple of years ago, the Town fireworks display blew up all at once. Don't remember if anyone was hurt. If you sit on the Bayside beach in Truro, you can watch ALL the Cape fireworks on the 4th of July at the same time!

Fishing had me at hello!
:humpty:

Have any of you fine gentlemen ever thought of becoming a Merit Badge counselor for the Boy Scouts. They are always looking for guys that are knowledgable in certain fields to teach kids and help them earn their merit badges. It could help bring in the next generation of sportsmen.

There are lots of Sportsmen and Outdoor related badges that kids can work on.

Archery
Back-Packing
Camping
Canoeing
Environmental Science
Fishing
Fish and Wildlife Management
Fly Fishing
Hiking
Motor Boating
Orienteering
Pioneering
Rifle Shooting
Shotgun Shooting
Small-boat Sailing
Whitewater
Wilderness Survival

And they would love to have guys that have a passion for these help kids earn these badges....passion has a habit of rubbing off.

If anyone is interested here is a link to info on the Merit Badge Program

Merit Badge Information (http://usscouts.org/usscouts/meritbadges.asp)

i am 17 and have been fishing since i was 3 and hunting since i was 11(my dad lied about my age to get me into markover upland game preserve in CT :usd: ). i get called a loser in school because i love the outdoors so much all i talk about is hunting,fishing,fly fishing and shooting skeet and target shooting. i went into the NRA rifle program and got first class marks man and sharp shooter the highest rank. i can hit the 200yd gong which is about the size of a saucer easy with a unscoped rifle. only about 3 of my frends hunt and fish like i do.my generation is a load of drunks and drug attics and i am sick of it,it seems like every kid my age is a pot head execpt me. the jokes on them because who ever heard of getting a hangover for fishing?

hey canal rat- i need your addy.

Canal Rat, you have your head on straight and are waaay ahead of the

curve.:btu: The druggies are stuck,stalled, and most will never get

going again. :doh:You are headed for good places in this life and should

be congratulated for your wisdom.:hihi:

CR..Keep it up..Your on the right track..It sounds your Dad has lead you down the right path...:btu:

thanks guys:D my mom also likes to fish she even comes with me at night some times

i also heard a report form the DMF that over a quarter of MA are saltwater fisherman