Thanks, yours is funny too Rolo.

Oh yeah!!! I'm an athlete all right. 6'2", 265, and it's mostly in the middle!

The other day, as I was perched in my favorite pub, I mentioned that we are now considered to be athletes. My favorite b'tender laughed so hard she may have cracked a rib.

I WAS athletic in my long-past younger days and was in pretty good shape until a couple of years ago. I had to be in shape to be an Army Officer (ARMOR!) and later on too, in order to hang on to my last lady (she was 25.5 years younger.)

Well, since she suddenly passed away (9/23/03.) I've been compensating by way of poor dietary habits and sheer ennui...'cept for fishing, of course.

I've gained 40 pounds since she went away...dang!

Anyway, I DO agree that bass fishing, as many of us pursue it, is both physically and mentally demanding. Most non-anglers think fishing is a matter of sitting with rod in one hand, beer in the other, and waiting for something to bite. Well, it AIN'T like that when most of us here fish, now is it?

I fished from 0700 to 1500 y'day. We fought wind and fish (See: post in Fishing Trip forum..."Another Day on Canyon".) and I felt as though I'd played two quarters against the OU Sooners Defensive line. My casting hand, wrist, arm, and shoulder ache. My face is scorched. My knees and back are shot and my feet hurt. In short, it was WONDERFUL!  Rebbasser and I are going tomorrow, in fact. (I fished with another good pal y'day.)

Yes, we're athletes, especially the guys on the pro tour. Luckily, most of us are in the minor leagues and don't have to work so hard 'cept when we want to.

F.Rod

Fisherman ABSOLUTELY are athletes.

do you think any yahoo can cast a 1/2 oz jig 75 feet or so, hit a 3 inch target with no more splash than a bluegill nipping a fly?  That takes excellent hand eye coordination which is an athletic skill

How about setting the hook on a falling jig in the nano second it takes a bass to spit it out?   Thats instant reflexes - another athletic skill

Or the stamina it takes to cast for 8 hours - not an atletic skill?

The list could go on but I think I made my point.

Let me say this, whether we are athletes or not, I'm not sure!  But I do know this, it will be a LONG, LONG time before the general public ever accepts fisherman as athletes.

Let me say this, whether we are athletes or not, I'm not sure! But I do know this, it will be a LONG, LONG time before the general public ever accepts fisherman as athletes.

Those who doubt the athlete factor should have to spend 8 hours on the front of a boat throwing a DD22 with 3 ft waves and 40 mph winds during the dog days of summer. ...then they can form an opinion.

fivebasslimit,

I made this comment on another thread but it applies to 40 mph wind and 3' waves, too:

B double E, double R, U N

12 oz curls, now that's athletic!

fivebasslimit,

I made this comment on another thread but it applies to 40 mph wind and 3' waves, too:

B double E, double R, U N

12 oz curls, now that's athletic!

I gotcha RW! I call shotgun!!

fivebasslimit,

I made this comment on another thread but it applies to 40 mph wind and 3' waves, too:

B double E, double R, U N

12 oz curls, now that's athletic!

I gotcha RW! I call shotgun!!

I'll sit in the back.....dammmmmmit....lol

A bass fisherman is SURELY NOT an athlete!The bass comes closer to being the athlete if you ask me!

      I would like to consider my self an athlete! I agrree 100% with Avid's post. Also, having your thumb tore up from lipping bass makes us athletes that play a contact sport.  

definition of athlete: An athlete is a person possessing above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and thus seen suitable for physical activities, in particular, contests

I dont think bass fisherman are athletes. And according to this definition they arent. Fisherman dont possess above average physical skill. Anglers possess more of a mental skill. I do believe fishing is a sport though.

I've put in nearly 30 years of working in the outdoors, most of the time on my feet except for driving or boating (like a bass angler), doing jobs that require an occasional burst of energy and activity (like a bass angler), using my head solving problems (like a bass angler). But if you were to measure calories burned by a bass angler compared to that of competitive physical contact sports, bass angling falls way short of what "athlete" means to most people, closer to the activity of a plumber, housepainter or carpenter. Lots of professions like those have some things in common with althletes, even engaging in competitions like foresters do with our conclaves at universities, sometimes the winners of events being slobs that probably can't tie their own shoes.  :-[

Jim

Fishermen are not athletes. Bass Pro's are.....

Should we define it?

A person possessing the natural or acquired traits, such as strength, agility, and endurance, that are necessary for physical exercise or sports, especially those performed in competitive contexts.

I believe that those who fish in tornuments are athletes. The weekend angler is just a fisherman. That would be the same as a high school basket ball player is an athlete but a group playing half court in a school yard is not. Just my opinion.

Let me rephrase my answer. Bass Pro's aren't professional atheletes.

If fishing is a sport, wouldn't its participants be considered athletes? In reality I think we kind of fall into some kind of middle area. There are alot of competitive "events" that are kind of in the same boat with us. Skeet shooting, golf, rodeo, racing, equestrian stuff, eating contests, skateboarding and even ballroom dancing are just some of the gray area endevours that involve a degree of physical and mental prowess and disipline. It's an interesting question. What's a sport and who's an athlete. We may never solve this one.

saying that fisherman aren't atheletes but bass pros are, is the same as saying that bar league softball players aren't athletes, but profesional baseball players.

Ya think??????????????????????

A bass pro needs strength, coordination, mental toughness, stamina, and vision.  a bass fisherman needs needs a fishin pole and some bait.  No one is saying that you need to be an athlete to fish for bass.  But are you saying that you need to be an athlete to shoot hoops in the backyard?

Of course not.  Professional bass fishing is an athletic competition.  It may not be as rigourous as football or basketball, but it is more physically challenging than golf.

Are dancers athletes?

well the people at the club might be fat and spastic but professional dancers are among the most physically fit, and injury plagued competitors in the world.

Let's open our minds a little guys.  It's not just about traditional sports.

speaking of which, is a hockey player an athlete, but a figure skater not?

ok, i kind of have mixed fealings on this one but if you tell me that a race car driver is not an athlete, i will tell you to rethink that!!! it takes so mutch skill to drive that racecar in 90 degree heat for 4 hours that it is not funny, now if you dont think that it gets tuff on those 6-8 hour days,, and that it takes no skill to be out there and pull thru at the end of the day...... i truely look at my self as an "athletic" fisherman so to speak so yes i belive we are classified under atheletes

Definition of athlete:

* an individual who demonstrates skill in a sport, trains and competes as part of her/his regular routine or career goal.

www.sbed.gov.bc.ca/SportBranch/Glossary.htm

* "Athlete" means a physically active individual training for or participating in an amateur, educational or professional athletic organization or any other association that sponsors athletic programs or events in the State. [1995, c. 275, §1 (new).]

janus.state.me.us/legis/statutes/32/title32sec14352.html

* a person trained to compete in sports

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* An athlete is a person possessing above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and thus seen suitable for physical activities, in particular, contests. An ancient Greek word for "contest" was athlos, and those competing in the games were called athletes.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athlete

Definition of athletic:

* relating to or befitting athletics or athletes; "athletic facilities"

* acrobatic: vigorously active; "an acrobatic dance"; "an athletic child"; "athletic playing"; "gymnastic exercises"

* having a sturdy and well proportioned body; "an athletic build"

wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* Athletics, also known as track and field or track and field athletics, is a collection of sport events. The word is derived from the Greek word "athlos" meaning "contest". It is a collection of sport events, which can roughly be divided into running, throwing, and jumping.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athletic

I AM AN ATHLETE.....DAMMMMM IT :  YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT A WAY FROM ME NOW!!!!!

Who cares anyways?  If you want to be called and athlete than you are one IMO.  They now have TEAMS and UNIFORMS, just like other athletes out there  Football has T.O., Basketball had D.R., Baseball has B.B.  We have M. I. ...lol

If ya don't want to be concidered an athlete....your choice.  I like it, cause I work hard at trying to beat my competition with practice and determination.  Just like an athlete does.

Strength, speed, endurance, skill, discipline, training, practice, physical fitness...Well, if standing up to pee after drinking a dozen beers counts...Otherwise, none of the guys I fish with would claim to be atheletes.

Red Necks?

Maybe.

some athletes are fishermen, but all fishermen are not athletes. the word "athlete", these days, is a generic term referring to anyone that plays a sport.  to me, an athlete is someone that participates in a physically strenuous sport in which they have to practice and train, for year round in order to maintain supreme physical condition. or someone that possesses physical talents in different areas of sport, and maintains a high physical level on their own.

The most athletic moves I've made while bass fishing usually occur in the moments after realizing the boat is off the trailer and the plug is not in it.

The most athletic moves I've made while bass fishing usually occur in the moments after realizing the boat is off the trailer and the plug is not in it.

I like that ;D

For Mike Iaconelli, it's break-dancing on the forward deck!

Roger