(Originally Published on Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer, July 26, 2008)
© By Othmar Vohringer
I do visit fishing forums from time to time to read what other fisherman/women talk about and what their opinions are on a variety of topics. Or I check in to share experiences and tell tall tales. Recently though, each time I visit these places it gets my dander up. It seems that there can’t be any half decent conversation anymore that does not end up with anglers going at each other. The " rage on for pages about whose fishing method has more merit and is more noble. Fylfishers against bail reel fishers and it still gets worse in discussions about keeping fish or releasing them.
If you think that only fly fishers turn their noses up at others think again. The boat paddles the other way too. Lure and bait fishers have no hesitation to belittle fly casters as elitists. Anglers subscribing to the catch-and-release method have no hesitation to call those that keep fish for the dinner table "unethical" and a determent to the fishing sport.
Since this is my column I am going to tell you honestly what I think about the endless and pointless squabbling and finger pointing. It’s utterly counterproductive to the future of fishing sport because it drives young and novice anglers away.
Many young and novice fishers seek information and advice on Internet forums. Ask yourself, what must newcomers to fishing think if they read all that trashing ad nausea, page after page? Do these opinionated people really think that they can educate and promote fishing by slandering others that do not happen to share their views or type of fishing method?
Does it really matter what motivates a person to fish? Is it important what tackle and tactics a angler prefers to use? Is a person stalking a salmon with a fly rod nobler than the fisher fighting a big bass out of a lily pad? Of course none of it matters or makes one dime of a difference. Unless you think that God personally has approved of your fishing method and opinion you formed of it.
Here is how I see it. We’re all fishers. We're all equals. Not one single way of pursuing our activity is superior, nobler or better than another one. We’re all anglers enjoying our rich fishery and pursuing happiness. Not one of us deserves any more or less consideration or special attention than any other legal fisherman. Now I suggest that we all head out to our favorite lake or river and do some fishing, and if we see another fellow angler say hello and wish him/her good luck rather then judge the person on the tackle he/she uses and what method he/she prefers, because it really doesn't matter.
Tight lines…and don’t forget to have fun!
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me
Sunday, December 21, 2008
The Mentor
(Originally Published on Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer, November 19, 2008)
© By Othmar Vohringer
Kristine from Gun Safety Innovations issued a challenge on the Outdoor Blogger Summit (OBS) to write about a person that was influential as a mentor or inspiration for us to hunt, fish or to write a blog. This challenge is part of an ongoing series called “Write About the Good Challenge” whose purpose is to write about the positive things that happen in our lives or motivates us to carry on with what we’re doing as outdoor enthusiasts and blog writers.
It is difficult for me to choose one single person that inspired me to hunt. There have been, and still are, so many to be thankful to for spending their time in mentoring or inspiring me. Without a doubt if it were not for the good folks at Cimmaron Archery in Richmond, Illinois I would have never become a bowhunter. Their dedication, good will and patience renewed my will to become a bowhunter at a time when I was about to give it up. There have been many people throughout my life, and no doubt will continue to enter my life, that inspire and mentor me. As my late mother used to say: “Life is an ongoing learning process from the day we’re born to the day we die.” And, “Inspiring people are everywhere; you only have to keep an open mind.”
But since I have to make a choice as to who was my greatest mentor I will have to say that it was both of my parents- and I say “both” because they were a strong and undivided team, even in raising their children. Things like “go ask Mama”, or “Wait until Papa comes home.” were foreign phrases in our house.
Since both of my parents were enthusiastic outdoors people who hunted, fished and loved to hike in the beautiful mountains of Switzerland I was naturally raised to do the same. The passion for the outdoor lifestyle was consciously nurtured and encouraged from early childhood on and no doubt influenced me when I decided to found Othmar Vohringer: Smart Hunting Strategies through which I became able to apply another lesson I learned from my parents: “Share your knowledge freely with the less knowledgeable and those willing to learn. Knowledge is only useful if it is made accessible to many.”
My writing, blogs, seminars and other hunting related activities such as hunting courses, hunting strategy consultation and becoming a hunter education instructor of British Columbia are a direct result of the mentorship and inspiration of my parents. The people I have encountered in my life that further inspired or mentored me can also be seen as a direct result of the values and beliefs my parents instilled in me.
Visit Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me.
© By Othmar Vohringer
Kristine from Gun Safety Innovations issued a challenge on the Outdoor Blogger Summit (OBS) to write about a person that was influential as a mentor or inspiration for us to hunt, fish or to write a blog. This challenge is part of an ongoing series called “Write About the Good Challenge” whose purpose is to write about the positive things that happen in our lives or motivates us to carry on with what we’re doing as outdoor enthusiasts and blog writers.
It is difficult for me to choose one single person that inspired me to hunt. There have been, and still are, so many to be thankful to for spending their time in mentoring or inspiring me. Without a doubt if it were not for the good folks at Cimmaron Archery in Richmond, Illinois I would have never become a bowhunter. Their dedication, good will and patience renewed my will to become a bowhunter at a time when I was about to give it up. There have been many people throughout my life, and no doubt will continue to enter my life, that inspire and mentor me. As my late mother used to say: “Life is an ongoing learning process from the day we’re born to the day we die.” And, “Inspiring people are everywhere; you only have to keep an open mind.”
But since I have to make a choice as to who was my greatest mentor I will have to say that it was both of my parents- and I say “both” because they were a strong and undivided team, even in raising their children. Things like “go ask Mama”, or “Wait until Papa comes home.” were foreign phrases in our house.
Since both of my parents were enthusiastic outdoors people who hunted, fished and loved to hike in the beautiful mountains of Switzerland I was naturally raised to do the same. The passion for the outdoor lifestyle was consciously nurtured and encouraged from early childhood on and no doubt influenced me when I decided to found Othmar Vohringer: Smart Hunting Strategies through which I became able to apply another lesson I learned from my parents: “Share your knowledge freely with the less knowledgeable and those willing to learn. Knowledge is only useful if it is made accessible to many.”
My writing, blogs, seminars and other hunting related activities such as hunting courses, hunting strategy consultation and becoming a hunter education instructor of British Columbia are a direct result of the mentorship and inspiration of my parents. The people I have encountered in my life that further inspired or mentored me can also be seen as a direct result of the values and beliefs my parents instilled in me.
Visit Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
If you wish to have me write outdoor columns for your publication please email me.
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