Fishing Pictures: Too Much of a Good Thing

IT’S TOO LATE TO BE FIRST to gripe about this – it won’t even be my first time – and this time probably won’t be the last time I or anyone else of like mind says, “I’ve seen more than enough photos of dead fish to last a lifetime. 

I love to fish. I love to eat fish. I even love to share pictures of fish before I release them.

I like social media (but not to the point of obsession with it). And I like seeing fish pictures now and then, but I do prefer that some time passes—like days or even a week —between “now” and “then.”

I am not a fan of fishermen who insist on sharing images of dead fish every time they stack a few.

“Here’s our limit from today. Looks like our limit from this past week, I know, but we were somewhere else throwing something else that day. Follow me for tomorrow’s picture of dead fish on the front deck.”

These men and women are thrilled to share their success—and to be fair, I remember being a young angler and wanting all my friends to know when I had good days—but they don’t realize the consequences of doing so incessantly.

It’s exactly that, the nonstop sharing, that bugs me. Parades of dead fish pictures are an off-putting byproduct of modern technology.

When guys my age shared pictures, we had to remember the camera, remember film, actually catch some fish, shoot the pictures, get the film developed, pick out the best prints, then carry those photographs in our pockets or wallets until we’d bumped into everyone on our “share” list.

Now, anywhere at any time, we can deal fish pictures to the entire world even though 99.99 percent of the world’s fishermen don’t care about or want to see them.

Recreational fishermen, especially newcomers to the flock, get a temporary pass. It’s all new to them. They haven’t yet caught enough limits or large fish to realize they’re going to catch many, many more of both in their lifetimes. They feel compelled to share, the same way I’ll probably feel when I finally catch my first clown knife fish (which I intend to make happen within the next year alongside DOA’s Mark Nichols).

“First” anything on a personal fish list warrants a picture. “Biggest” is also a valid photo opportunity. The picture I don’t care much to see is the one in which the fishermen reveal the “most” they ever caught of a particular species.

I grew up in an era where there weren’t limits on most species of fish. We could catch all we wanted, hundreds on the right day. But there was never quite so much enthusiasm around the cleaning table as there had been behind those bent rods. And that led, in far too many cases, to tragic waste.

Another reason I’d prefer fewer, but more interesting fish(ing) pictures on social media is that seeing so many of them knocks the lustre and interest off all of them. Where we find ourselves now, a fish picture…is just another fish picture.

Professional guides tend, because it’s good for business – to post more pictures than even the most egotistical recreational anglers. A pro’s livelihood, his or her paycheck, depends on letting the public know they’re good at what they do. I get that. It’s marketing.

But too many pictures of limits could mislead potential customers into thinking that a specific guide never has slow days, which we all know to be untrue and tarnishes the profession, not just an individual.

If I had to choose between a guide who boasts of stacking fish every day or one who doesn’t promise anything except a hundred percent effort from start to finish, I’d go with the guy who’s committed to the work and not blowing smoke up my skirt about the outcome.

Fishing guides are among the hardest-working people on the planet. They have no need to lie to anyone.

I’ve studied websites, Facebook, and Instagram and found a key difference between the postings of men and women I know to be excellent at their jobs — and what’s posted by those who either are just getting started or haven’t yet gotten good.

The best submissions are pictures that tell stories of the experience, usually someone with a bent rod or holding a single, noteworthy fish while still in the boat or wading a shallow shoreline. If the good ones do present the occasional stringer shot, it’s likely because they wanted to schmooze the clients, to make them “famous” for the day. That’s good for business.

Keep sending me fish pictures and keep posting fish pictures. That’s good for the resources, because it keeps us all interested in being on the water. Only maybe put a little more thought into those photos than just how you’re going to line up the bodies on the board.

Most fishermen, myself included, genuinely enjoying seeing how you did. I just prefer also to get a glimpse of how you did it.

 

Email Doug Pike at ContactUs@fishgame.com

 

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