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I think Capesams & Flap touch upon a significant point when they mention the connection between commercial rod-and-reel and fishing proficiency.
We do not see the media focusing on stories of big nights of commercial rod and reel fishing. It’s not very fashionable given today’s climate of conservation and the economical value of recreational fishing to focus on how many fish one took.
Ask around and you will find that many of people whose names are now the stuff of legend at one time held a commercial license and sold fish, be it from a boat or shore.
Many loved to fish to be sure, and the money earned from fishing either supplemented their regular incomes or paid for their recreation. The rise of a middle class with time and money to spend on recreation was slow to arrive to many of the places where the best fishing was – selling fish afforded many people a chance to do something they loved without going into household money.
Still, some say a lot of sharpies lost interest once they could no longer sell the fish. It makes one wonder if they would have come to the sport at all if it were not for the financial opportunity and if the sport attracts as many driven, aggressive, hungry people as it did in the past.
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