Matt Eastham takes a look at social media and the good and bad that goes with it.
If you're reading this, then the chances are you are one of the many modern 'computer literate' anglers out there who increasingly seek out their fishing fix via online media in addition to - or perhaps instead of - the more traditional published hardcopy. I would certainly count myself in that number; since first venturing online in 2003 (it sounds so recent, yet feels a lifetime ago!), I have been an active member of various forums and social networking sites, as well as maintaining an online journal of my fishing antics. So when Pete approached me for a few words on social media in our fly fishing community, I was happy to oblige with a discussion of its pros and cons.
There can be little doubting that the internet has had such a huge impact upon our angling lives in recent years that it's sometimes difficult to imagine how we got along before. The transfer of information just got so instant and yet we all take it for granted. Modern smartphones for example, allow us to take photographs whilst out on the water and instantly text them to friends, or post up on various networking sites for all the world to see, whilst actually out there, standing midstream with rod in hand. Who needs fishing reports when the internet has become one huge finger on the pulse of the fly fishing world? Times have changed for sure.
I still have to pinch myself. It's not all that long ago that I would set off for the river with absolutely no idea of its condition until arrival (occasionally to be sent home in disappointment when faced with a raging brown torrent). OK, there was a premium rate Environment Agency phoneline I could call which was hideously long-winded to navigate, expensive as a result, and usually misleading in its prognostications. Contrast that with the information we have at our disposal nowadays, and it is a world apart; by checking online gauge station readings against established baseline levels, accurate weather forecasts and antecedent observations, even the Met Office's excellent 'rainfall radar' which shows location and intensity of rain, along with where it is headed....and I always feel a smug satisfaction in the knowledge that nothing the weather can do will catch me unawares. Well, nearly nothing: once someone devises a way of communicating in real time the degree of colour in the water, then we will truly have cracked it!
Twitter is great for keeping in touch with friends
In addition to being such an incredible fact finding resource, the internet presents us with the wonder of the modern social networking website - the likes of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for an instant, bite-sized hit of banter and keeping up with friends; and then when a greater degree of involvement appeals, there are the forums: fly forums, tenkara forums, salmon forums......a forum for whatever floats your piscatorial boat, no matter how niche. All of these have connected anglers like never before and the dissemination of knowledge and experience is just incredible - both in speed and range - when compared to even a decade ago. This has got to be A Good Thing right? Well yes, I'm convinced it is. When I look back upon my time behind the keyboard, I've learned so much about this sport I love and made such fantastic friends, that it's hard to argue against the fact that social media sites have helped enrich my fly fishing experience considerably. I take it for granted now, but equally I look back sometimes and am struck by how weird it all is. I've made friends up and down the country - friends who have become close enough that we drive long distances to meet up and fish together every so often; I've fished waters I would never have dreamt of visiting, using methods I would barely have heard of; I've been able to pursue (in a modest way at least), a long held love of writing, and I've had the privilege of sharing the water with some truly great anglers. None of this - much less anyway - would have been possible in the days before social media, and although I've happily fly fished to a greater or lesser degree for twenty years now, I notice a distinct correlation between the point at which I started online and the beginnings of a proper hardcore obsession!
Another positive aspect of social media is its unrivalled ability to harness the power of the masses - witness the fundraising efforts of Jon Kerr and the guys at Let's Tackle Cancer who have recently drummed up an absolute frenzy of support by using Facebook as a platform to market charity wristbands. Such has been the response from the fly fishing community that the first batch of several hundred were snapped up in a matter of days, and with interest gathering apace, great things now beckon with buy-in from angling clubs and some of the country's highest profile exponents of the sport. That sort of thing just wouldn't have been possible a few years ago, purely because of the difficulties of 'spreading the word'.
photo courtesy of Brian Taylor
Before I start getting too misty eyed though, it is also necessary to say that angling and social media do not always make easy bedfellows and while the fly fishing brotherhood is for the most part one of the friendliest and most laid back group of people you could ever wish to encounter, it is also a truism that wherever opinions and aspirations of the masses are to be found, some sort of conflict will not be far behind.
The forums are a prime example of this: familiarity - albeit a distanced, anonymous kind of familiarity - so often breeds contempt and it's not unusual for individuals who have never even met in person, to end up at loggerheads over the most inconsequential things. It's a jungle out there and can get quite nasty at times as petty grievances and seething resentments boil over into an embarrassing public laundry washing session, or worse still, some long-term 'stealth campaign' of snidely undermining and nitpicking.
Herein lies one of the greatest ills of social media: the faceless nature of online interaction can bring out a whole host of undesirable qualities in individuals who in all other walks of life wouldn't dream of acting in such a manner. I've fallen foul of this myself and learned the hard way some lessons regarding the impact of pressing 'send' on something which was better left unsaid. Once it's out there, it's out there and OK, you could backtrack and delete.....but the only thing worse than saying something naughty, is compromising your integrity by trying to pretend it somehow didn't happen! Personally, I've always lived by the rule of thumb which states you should be prepared to stand by anything you post on the internet. As a result, I could point to dozens of instances when I've made a fool of myself, been blatantly incorrect, opinionated, prejudiced, pig-headed and insulted people both knowingly and in complete and utter ignorance. It's all still out there - a fact which make can make a man feel kind of uneasy!
The other well known fisherman's traits which surface regularly in social media circles, are the tendency to boast, exaggerate, or do both simultaneously. Twitter and Facebook are chronic for this and every single day we get bombarded with shots of anglers holding aloft their latest impressive captures for the camera, or posts declaring that so many fish have been 'hammered' out of a certain venue in barely any time at all. This is merely a reflection of the times we live in and our need to impress and receive the approval of our angling counterparts - after what more natural angler's trait is there than to show off to the world the huge fish we've just fooled using stealth and guile and a whole bunch of skill! And so we get the photos: everything from bone fide genuine lunkers, to smaller fish bizarrely claimed to be somewhat bigger than they are, of a quality ranging from grainy mobile phone shot, right through to professional standard 'grip and grin' pose. Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to see what's being caught by other anglers up and down the country, but it can get a bit overwhelming at times and I can't help but wonder if we end up losing some of angling's true essence as a result - the wonderful experience of it all which cannot be distilled into a few words, or 100 characters or whatever. Instead we end up with a dumbed-down procession of soundbites which leave the overall impression that we regard fly fishing as some kind of extreme sport (and value 'fish as commodity'), more than the magic of the places it takes us, and the indelible memories it creates.
Grip and (almost) Grin. A reminder of a great day or just another trophy shot?
More alarming is the growing tendency for fish welfare to be neglected in pursuit of the ideal social media photo. Last winter provided this in spades as an inexplicable trend developed for anglers to hold large grayling up for the camera, one-handed, high in the air (sometimes around head-height), and often with the grip being tight enough to visibly indent the fishes belly; and more than once I saw trophy shots of brown trout held clear of the water in full winter spawning colours. It was scandalous and I couldn't help but think that somewhere down the line we must have lost some perspective on what our sport is all about if showing off on the internet has become more important than respect for our quarry.
Such is the danger of the internet: if you see something often enough - if it starts to 'trend' - then it's easier to accept as the norm. With fly fishing universally struggling to attract newcomers and youngsters, I think we have a collective duty to portray the correct image, to paint an accurate picture of what our wonderful sport is all about; sadly I don't think the format of social media always lends itself to that.
Nevertheless I'm convinced of the overall benefits. We anglers have always been and always will be liars, cheats, braggarts and exaggerators, except that nowadays we peddle our tall stories online rather than boring some hapless victim in the pub saying "I swear to you it was this long!" Learn to sort the wheat from the chaff and the forums, Twitters and Facebooks out there do still offer a rewarding experience for those happy to conduct at least part of their socialising from behind a keyboard. I've laughed, cried, felt admiration, gratitude, frustration and contempt.....and been so angry I wanted to chuck the laptop against a wall - all as a result of 'virtual' interaction with others. It has enriched and impoverished my angling life at different times, but has seldom been boring. The things I've learned and the friends I've made, I wouldn't swap for the world. Ask most other anglers and I'll bet they will say the same - we just wouldn't have it any other way!
Read more from Matt at North Country Angler