Quote:
Originally Posted by numbskull
Again, competition with mutal respect is fun and healthy. Competition that entails putting others down or diminishing others for one's own edification is ugly and pathetic. The "I caught a big fish and you didn't so you don't count, or you're a googan, or you're beneath me, or I'm better and you're just lucky" attitude which seems so common, accepted, and relished by many experienced fisherman. The culture of striped bass fishing seems to encourage and perpetuate it. Someone's fishing prowness may well be grounds for admiration or lack thereof, but it seems to me that fishing prowness is a comically small measure of your quality as a person when compared to how you treat others. Listening to commercial guys ridicule recreational fisherman, recreational ridicule commercial, bait vs plugs, fly vs plugs, boat vs shore, experienced guys ridicule the novices,........seems to indicate a lot of us try to use success in fishing to compensate for inadequacy as people.
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I think you summed it up perfectly. I fish to have fun and to spend time with family and friends. I admire guys who put in a lot of effort and do well, but I may not always want to spend that much time on the water working at it myself.
The only tournament I do every year is the town of Mansfield freshwater tournament at (a secret location). I take my neice and nephew and this year will take my son. That is what fishing tournaments are all about. Watching the smiles on the the kids faces as they reel in a little sunfish or largemouth is something that's better than anything I catch.
I may join the Striper Cup this year for the commraderie and the outside shot at winning something, but mostly because I'm going to be fishing anyways. I might as well weigh in a large fish if I'm going to keep it for the table anyways.