senile1

I agree with this but it doesn't apply to my situation. I'm a network engineer just like these guys and we all have similar knowledge. We do the same work, as stated in the post that started the thread. I just happen to be a fisherman which they find to be odd. BTW, these are my immediate colleagues in the engineering group. There are other people at work who have no biases toward anglers.

That's a bummer, Burley. I found out early that I wasn't going to be able to go the the BR trip this year, but I did have to move a Gulf of Mexico fishing trip back to next October. Work sucks but not as bad as not working!

Nice ride, Chris! It's obvious you take as much pride in your truck as you do in catching big mama bass. I second Falcon's remarks. The badges are sweet!

Wow. We're getting some great replies here! Paul Roberts, that's an excellent post. I think that covers a lot of what I was thinking and then some. Your communication skills are definitely a notch or two above mine. Sam, my thoughts exactly! I like these guys but sometimes I think they may be just a bit smug.

It's nice to see someone in the Northeast getting out and catching some fish. I hope the weather is cooperating with you.

I don't normally mention GPS or sonar either but you have to understand. These are technical people. We configure and troubleshoot servers, routers, switches, firewalls, etc all day. I thought that the technological aspects of fishing might grab their attention. It still can't compete with World of Warcraft for them. This brings up another idea that I thought about. Daniel lives in a more rural area while I live in a metro area. I think that people in smaller towns and rural areas may tend to be more exposed to fishing than some people would be in metro areas so I wonder if this type of perception is more prevalent in larger cities.

That's funny! It doesn't sound like anyone was strongly objecting to me. :

You are a cruel person, GMAN!

I am sometimes perplexed at people's perceptions of anglers that I encounter on a daily basis. I work as a network engineer implementing, configuring and installing enterprise Cisco data and voice over IP networks. All of my colleagues tend to be younger than me. Because of this I tend to get a lot of jokes thrown my way because I am older, hence my screen name, senile1. I love to play along but when they start making jokes about my fishing I begin to wonder if they aren't revealing their actual perception of anglers. The general perception seems to be that fishing is easy, boring, and requires little knowledge. When I tell them about sonar, GPS, and using different rods and reels for different techniques, they indicate that they can't understand how the fish has a chance against such an onslaught of technology. I've compared fishing to golfing and the use of different clubs for different techniques. I've told them that generally 10 percent of the water holds 90 percent of the fish and that finding the fish is most of the battle but they just don't seem to understand. I can live with the toothless hillbilly jokes (BTW, I have all of my teeth) but when it comes down to it some of the other things they say truly reveal their attitudes toward fishing. These are intelligent people who consider themselves to be open-minded and tolerant. It seems that when it comes to anglers they are just as capable of bias and stereotyping as anyone. So do the rest of you ever encounter such ignorance of fishing? This doesn't ruin my day or anything, but what concerns me is the more the general population loses an understanding of outdoor activities such as fishing, the greater the possibility of losing some of our fishing privileges further down the road.

I had checked his profile recently and saw he is posting now and then. Actually, the Dude posts like a fiend so I can understand needing to take a break. He's had to register with the site about three times because of different reasons. If you add all his posts together from all three I think he would be over 10,000. Anyway, we're thinking about ya', Dominick!

I'm guessing you caught 54 in the afternoon? Great outing! Sounds like you guys had a blast.

That's a nice healthy-looking fish!

If you're fishing water with the potential that your waters have, I see why you would pass those fish up. In waters like those, I would probably pass them up at times as well, but sometimes the fun factor would take over. Catching a bunch of three lb'ers can be a lot of fun and, many times, they fight just as hard or harder than fish twice the size. Good luck looking for that big one today, Chris.

True. Just when you think you have 'em figured out, they'll prove you wrong.

That's a wild story! Thanks, LBH.

I don't notice much if any fading with Suffix Performance Braid. When I used Power Pro, it faded quite a bit and frayed somewhat after a period of time.

Paul, I would give my answers but I would have to disqualify myself. I have your source bookmarked and was just researching this a week ago in preparation for fishing the spawn, so I know all the answers. Too bad. I could have nailed this.

Welcome to the forum, Don!

Very nice! Sounds like you had a blast.

No problem, Kent. Thanks for the heads up.

Nice fish. Great story!

Nice hawgs, Randall, but then again, that's just a regular day for you! Sweet!

Great pictures! Congrats on the Northern Largie PB!

Thanks for the informative article.

X2.