Thankful for the Fishing Community

I am genuinely thankful for other anglers like you

This is just a quick note to let you know that I appreciate you all. If you’ve ever read one of my articles, watched one of my videos, supported me or the companies I worked with and for, or even gave some constructive feedback, I want you to know that I genuinely appreciate you. I am so thankful for a community of like-minded anglers that love fishing, that love learning new things, that like to collaborate on fishing ideas and philosophies and that push each other to find more enjoyment in the outdoors.

I look at a lot of anglers posts, not as many pro anglers, but just regular anglers that I have found to be pretty efficient and consistent in their fish catching. I appreciate those angler who will share a little of their knowledge. And bounce ideas back and forth on different things.

All I ever wanted to be considered in the fishing industry was a good guy, decent enough at fishing that was willing to help others. Whether it’s just simply keeping them up to date on new stuff, or sharing some of my own experiences that helped improve my fishing over the years. I find a lot of fulfillment in just being able to share with other good anglers. And I find a lot of value in the feedback loop and other anglers who are willing to share.

If you ever shared a great tidbit, a great experience, a great alternative to a problem we all face, my hats off to you for taking the time to share. In a world that is wrought with people looking for something to hate on and be mad at, even in our fishing space, I have a renewed hope every time I see another angler sharing something good with the community.

I never wanted the attention. I never wanted the praise. Most of my career has be spent writing thousands of articles and shooting tens of thousands of photos that have been viewed by millions of anglers, yet most people couldn’t pick me out of a police lineup. I actually like that. Although I will say, it always makes my day when someone recognizes me somewhere and stops and says hi or thanks for the videos or articles. I hope those folks know how much that means to me when they do that.

I think all I ever really wanted to do was just share how much enjoyment fishing gave me with others hoping they would find a path that created a lot of enjoyment for them. Fishing has enriched my life so much, and I wanted others to share in that as well.

I think at the end of the day I try to present fishing in a way that people can relate to and that shares a similar experience with other anglers. I think all of us have similar experiences with others but in varying ways. Like I may have had an experience that was very similar for another person and that person had a different experience that was similar to another person and so on.

I believe those common bonds connect all of us in an angling community. We don’t all share all the same experiences and philosophies. But we do have common threads here and there and because of that we can relate to each other and, because we all have varying experiences, learn from each other.

So I am thankful for you. Thankful for the core group of people that always seem to support what I do around fishing. Thankful for the people that will give the briefest of their time to something I wrote or shot. Thankful for the interactions and shared experiences. Thankful for you that care enough to share your thoughts on things I talk about and things you are also passionate about. It makes me feel more connected when I know there are other people also figuring out parts of the same fishing puzzle that I am.

So thank you for your support this year. People thought I was crazy transitioning from what I built at Wired2fish to going out on my own, working more directly with a handful of brands I love while pursuing some of my own writing projects and video projects I’ve wanted to do for a while. It’s taken me a bit longer than I wanted to spin it all up but it’s full steam ahead from here on out.

I just wanted you to know how much your support meant to me in this transition later in life with so many unknowns. I really appreciate you all and I hope you and your families have a blessed holiday season! I’ve got a bunch more really good stuff coming. So I hope to continue to do right by you with good information and entertaining writing.

God bless you and yours!

Jason