Fishing as a sport.... good or bad idea.

[oldboot]

After reading a current post on negative attitudes & such this occured to me.

Is describing fishing as a sport a good or a bad thing.

It seems there is a drive to describe all sorts of things as something.... sport is used to describe lots of things that it doesn't realy fit.

Then the describing of this activity as a sport and all that comes with it influences how people conduct that activity and how people feel about it.

I don't think of fishing as a sport any more than cooking or gardening or even poultry keeping.

But then I'm not realy interested in catching something I can't eat.

as soon as we call fishing a sport it makes it "unnecessary" in the minds of some people.

If we call it a sport... it must be a blood sport.... which is most un politiclay correct.

so whats the difference between catching a fish and eating it and growing poultry and eating the eggs and the birds...... or for that matter growing vegitables and eating them....... plants have feelings too you know.::)

As soon as we call fishing a sport it is different from the other activities I mention.

Fishing is more important than sport.
For some people it is a source of good wholesome food.

fishing is not like football and golf.

sorry, to me fishing will never be a sport.

cheers

[finga]

Not a sport for me....just a pleasant past-time. A relaxant you may say :)

[DR]

Basically, i see it as a sport & a pastime & a hobbie & as stress relief etc. etc.

to those that spend a lot of money on gear & compete to be the best at that particular type of fishing, it's a sport! bream & bass & barra tournaments.

then you have the family type of comps that people participate in to spend time with friends having a good time & maybe winning some sort of prize...not sport

then there is the big one offs, like straddie classic etc. where a lot fish for the kudos of getting the biggest species, some, (allegedly) even cheat for the to get this, just sad or greedy. usually when big prizes come into it some will do anything to win, not a sport..

then there is those of us that just fish for the hell of it, we are over the whole gotta get a big one, & enjoy nothing more than drifting around on the water relaxing, fish are a bonus. we don't care if you take a feed, we sometimes do, just stay within the law, we don't care if you release your fish as we do that as well. not a sport, a good time..



i am sure there are others who can ad to my observations...

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sport;D

[blaze]

not sport (used to be an ANSA member), now seen as a feed, relaxation, time to watch the world go by (the benifet of bait), enjoyment etc.
Some of the most well known writers are also voicing the opinion that fish and sport should not be used in the same sentence because of the blood sport attachment.
cheers
blaze

[nigelr]

Have to agree with your point of view, old boot.
Fishing is not a sport to me, more like an addiction. After a while, I need a 'fix'.
As a surfer and spearfisher, I regard these as being more like sports.
However, the three pursuits are more the focal points of my beach lifestyle.
When I was younger I was almost totally obsessed with surfing.
These days, in my fifties, fishing is more my obsession!
Sounds like a personality disorder!
Fortunately I have family and work commitments to keep me on an even keel.
Cheers!

[tunaticer]

Fishing is my way of life outside all other things that keep me busy. It is the "MY" time i crave as we all do I suspect. The fish i encounter along the way are secondary rewards. I never ever go fishing to definitely bring home dinner, If my luck runs good there will be a meal at the end of the day for me and my family, if not I have still enjoyed "MY" time.

Jack.

[Flattie Assassin]

I think fishing goes a lot deeper than a pass time. We are hunters. There is something primal that speaks to us from deep within. :-*:-*

[cuzzamundi]

WAY beyond a sport for me! sport is trivial in my mind. fishing...phoar!

cuzza

[aussiefool]

I for one liketo call it a sport........ how else can I tell my Dr truthly that I partake in a sport almost eveyday as well as going rock climbing ( Ido fish off the rocks);D;D;D

[imnotoriginal]

It's what you make it. It's only a sport if you choose to pursue it that way. I for one do see it that way when I fish, me versus the fish, but you can also fish just for the relaxation or just as an excuse to be out on the water.
Joel

[NAGG]

:thumbsup: For me , fishing is much more than a sport ( & I've never really considered it as a true sport) .... I guess there is an element of sport , when you downsize your gear & actively target / hunt a given species ie : Walking mountain streams & targeting trout on fly :)
Aside from that .... Fishing is the complete experience for me .... It helps me relax , I use fishing as the focus of any travel ... & as such puts me into some magnificent environments , it provides a good feed ( when desired) , gives great satisfaction when it all comes together . You can adapt to different techniques , methods ..... & target a species with that technique (so its never boring) ...... I can be as active as I want (Lure & fly) or just sit back ... chill out with a beer in hand & just let time slide by:sleeping:soaking a bait ! ........ Its just all good :P .... except the spending of way too much money in pursuit of said fishing:'( .... Nagg

[kingtin]

It's a craving, that's why placcies will never catch on with me. I just love to cut the heads off pillies and squid and other wriggly things.............hang on............I'll be back in a minute.................there's a van outside with some men in white coats.

kev

Top Tip:

Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.

[Little grey men]

It's a craving, that's why placcies will never catch on with me. I just love to cut the heads off pillies and squid and other wriggly things.............hang on............I'll be back in a minute.................there's a van outside with some men in white coats.

kev

Top Tip:

Don't worry about people stealing an idea. If it's original, you will have to ram it down their throats.

RUN KEV RUN !!!

[charleville]

I have seen too many really fat fishos (including me) to know that it is not a sport. ;D


I have never considered ballroom dancing a sport either but there is no doubt that when I watch "Dancing with the Stars", I see all of the fattie contestants lose weight over a series so I am willing to compromise on that one.


...but not fishin'.


Fishin' is just fishin'. ;D


... and a bloody good stress reliever it is too.:)

[Little grey men]

So much more than a sport for me. It's been a part of my life for the last thirty years. I started freshwater fishing when I was five years old with my Grandfather, my Father and my Brothers. Fishing with these blokes, sharing experiences and learning from them was and still is pure gold.

When we all get together we talk about fishing. For instance I got a call from my Father a few nights ago, he's been talking to an old farmer who has a large property right on the Condamine. This old boy has befriended my Father and told him that he is welcome to fish there anytime, bring ya boy's too he said. Well Dad sussed the place out the other day, and it was like speaking to a young boy on the phone...The conversation contained the following statements .The tracks are all overgrown,nobodies been there for years,good cod hole, the river looks wide and deep and we saw at least three big fish hit the surface in the late afternoon, nice easy banks so you can bring Caleb( his Grandson..4th Generation fishing nut). What do ya reckon surface poppers for the top and spinners for the snags, gotta get hold of some crayfish.

Fishing is something that we treasure. and for someone to call it unecessary or a blood sport...well I guess they just don't get it.

[onerabbit]

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx?refid=1861712454

Hi all,

before adding to this thread I thought I'd Google "sport" in the dictionary.

It seems there are different classes for the same definition, acts of strength, acts of finnesse etc.

I think I remember the thread you describe Oldboot.......................

I fish for many reasons, one is to satisfy the primal urge, to kill something & eat it.
I love the peace.
I like to be able to go & catch a feed for my family.
I love the gut wrenching pain of pulling a cod from the deep for nearly half an hour.
I enjoy trying to catch a fish I know nothing about (freshwater for me, I like the ocean)
I REALLY enjoy catching poddy mullet with a small child.

In no particular order.

Muzz

[bigdonk]

to me its a sport, i head out and if the fish arnt there i go home... iv had people come up to me and ask why i throw all of them back! :-/ The last time i ate fresh fish was Feb....
Weather its soft plastics for flathead, poppers and steelies for taylor, sleelies for mackeral and divers, pushers and skurts for all other palagics.... (cant wait for summer) ...

catching the largest fish of any species or something iv never caught befour ,taking a photo then watching it swim away is the best feeling;D

Happy hunting.... BD8-)

[sarg]

"It's not a sport if the other team doesn't want to play"

[kingie]

Fishing is a way of life - as a now heading towards 50 year old fisherman it keeps me focused, it's been a sport to me in my younger days as a competitor in ANSA and GFA comps but now I've lost the need to compete and don't feel the need to prove anything to anyone.

Enjoy your fishing life, if you were a bass fisherman or a spearfisher in the 1970's it's still there and it's still great so get into it.

It's up to you.

Kingie.

[Cameron Sims]

i reckon
fishing for food is not a sport
fishing for fun and catch and release is a sport

cameron

[Tropicaltrout]

Fishing is the ultimate pass time where you can leave all your problems at home and sit back and exscape reality, its not a contest its not the end of the world if you drop a fish:) , although you see some blokes loose it:earmuffs: , they are the part timers with all the get up mostly.

I go for a fish and get lost in it, not just the fishing but where i am on the water wether it be on a dam or up the river its a magic back yard we got;) . I nether say to the wife oh i am going out for a game of fish;D

If your in a competion then I spose yes it becomes a sport but even then the real true blue fisho in a comp is the one thats there to fish eat and have a beer at the end of a session. he's mainly thier for the more social side of it then the competitive side.

We go to a comp every year in Tassie and its mainly for a select few to get together and catch up and fish the comp itself is one day and the trip is for a week, we all have had a win along the way but being there and fishing is the real WINNER.

TT

[fish-n-dive]

It's magical ( Any real fisherman will know what I mean).............:D

[seatime]

I REALLY enjoy catching poddy mullet with a small child.

Muzz

Holy crap Muzz, is that legal in NSW :o thankfully we are still permitted to use bait & cast nets in Qld to catch poddy mullet :D ;D

You're spot on though, taking kids fishing is great fun. http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/images/icons/icon14.gif

Steve

[onerabbit]

Hi Steve,

as far as I know, it's poddys under 15cm or mullet over 30cm.

The one's in between are lucky.

Muzz

[onerabbit]

I REALLY enjoy catching poddy mullet with a small child.

Muzz



Although, care must be taken to weight the small child so that it doesn't sink below the level of the fish;) ;) ;)


Oooops
:-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X :-X

Muzz

[MitchCalcutt]

I can't see catching a fish as a sport, we don't entice a footballer into bitting a hook and then running with the ball. The sport comes into it when one fisho try's to out fish another.
That of corse is my oppinion
Mitch Calcutt

[MitchCalcutt]

Is fishing a sport?
After reading the reply’s to a thread in “general” last week my over opinionated mind began to buzz. I think it’s great that we don’t all share a common belief on the subject, for if we did life would be extremely boring.

I don’t think sport really comes into it, considering we have only been so called civilised man for 200 years. Calling it sport is only a way of avoiding the term “hunting and gathering”, the one thing that still remains in our genetic memory from thousands of years survival. If we didn’t hunt for food we died, macka’s wasn’t always around to look after us. You wouldn’t tell your family you were just stepping out to kill a few fish for dinner either.

So most of us have lost the urge to kill, but just the fact we feel the need to catch something in the first place suggests the in built need to hunt is still in us.

I personally love to watch some people who walk into a fish shop and cringe at the very thought of touching the fish. Oh it’s alright to eat it as long as someone else kills it for them, that same person if placed in a situation of kill to eat or die, they would happily take up a knife to survive. Getting them to admit is wasn’t such a big deal, would be impossible.

Sport? or a variation on survival? A variation on survival where the fish sometimes gets released is my adopted choice.

When we have fishing comp’s; that’s a sport. we are then pitting ourselves against each other and not the fish. That’s when we use our skill’s and knowledge to catch more fish than the other teem. And still it comes down to using natural hunting and gathering instincts to catch the fish.

I don’t know how long it will take to loose the built in instincts to catch our dinner, I hope never and I will most definitely be encouraging my 4 month boy William Ronald Calcutt to use whatever instincts he has to catch and sometimes eat his patch.

Let your natural instincts run wild


Mitch Calcutt

[kingtin]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=117037&highlight=sport

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=78804&highlight=sport

Its not a sport to me, it's a survival mechanism.

From a previous thread:

I was a feral loner when I was a littlie........the school kids saw me as "that orphan with no arse in his pants and snot on his sleeve." Fishing was my escape, but more importantly, it taught me that it was individuals who were cruel and not the whole world. I would meet older fishos who would share their hot flasks with me and teach me how to tie hooks and the like. They would congratulate me when I pulled in a fish and give me their left-over bait when they decided to pack in for the day.

Looking back, on those grey, cold, miserable days of the fifties, it was *everything* that made my life bearable.......the sense of achievement gave me self-esteem and the companionship gave me warmth in an otherwise cold, miserable world.

My sports have always been solitary ones as I'm not a "team player" and fishing has been the best way that I could reach out to my kids. I can't teach 'em to play footy and I cheat when we play gin rummy http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/grin.gif

Fishing helps me communicate with my kids about conservation, environment, pulling together, and when it comes to buying prezzies, I am never stuck for an option http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/../yabbfiles/Templates/Forum/default/grin.gif

I just love everything about it, and I'd be buggered without it.

kev

If there are no tears in the eyes, there will be no rainbow in the soul.




(http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=117037&highlight=sport)

[NAGG]

Calling Fishing a form of Hunting is probably right & I dont really consider it a true sport ! ....... But when someone asks about my sports ..... I instinctively say " Fishin" ::) ........ "HUNTING FISH" .. just doesn't quite sound right ;) Nagg

[MitchCalcutt]

Calling Fishing a form of Hunting is probably right & I dont really consider it a true sport ! ....... But when someone asks about my sports ..... I instinctively say " Fishin" ::) ........ "HUNTING FISH" .. just doesn't quite sound right ;) Nagg
So tru , hunting fish, prawning (crustating don't sound right does it?

[NAGG]

So tru , hunting fish, prawning (crustating don't sound right does it?

Crustating ...... Now that sounds funny:D :D

[NAGG]

So tru , hunting fish, prawning (crustating don't sound right does it?

Ahhh but we do go squidding ( Cephlapoding) ... ;D Nagg

[Basspro]

Well! what a topic guys!, I must say, I often think about this and the urge to fish. And also, there is a large element of non thinking...it just comes instinctively.

To fishing being a sport? well some do, but i say nay. When not fishing for a meal, I am practicing for my next meal....

It is hunting and and being able to provide in the event that this modern society collapses around us. It in our dna to be hunters.

That being said, its not all about the catching, its the sharing of techiniques, its the zen of rigging your gear, its finding beautiful parts of nature....and being alone and with others, its understanding the rhythms and cycles and nature.

Two quotes I live by are....

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

Henry David Thoreau

The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope.

John Buchan

That is why I fish...

Sjc.

[LostNearBribie]

Nothing short of addiction...