Discover Fly Fishing at WILSON’S

I had a long conversation this week with a friend who has been in the fishing industry for a very long time. He does not own a fly shop but does own a company in the fishing industry and many of his comments are worth sharing but one in particular got me thinking…

This person has a very high profile in fishing circles. He appears regularly on television and in magazines and those that know him will confirm that his jovial ‘on air’ persona mirrors his ‘off air’ personality – he is a humble, hard-working guy who has a smile for everyone he meets and encourages kids to follow their dreams. Frankly, he’s the kind of guy that makes not only fishing but life more enjoyable.

So what did he say ?

My friend explained that he got into the fishing business quite some time ago and over the years has watched the fortunes of our industry ebb and flow with the economy. He then offered the observation that manufacturers, retailers and guides all tend to cooperate more with one another when times are good and circle the wagons when the economy tanks. In tough times, when cooperating with one another makes the most sense, we ironically tend to “focus on increasing our piece of the pie instead of increasing the size of the pie.” His point was that for the fishing industry to rebound from our current situation we need to work together to get more people into the sport, cooperate as an industry and stop portraying any one sector as better than any other. Like it or not, bait fishers are the backbone of the fishing industry in Ontario and drift fishermen are also a valuable part of our sport.

The politics and ego that have permeated the fishing industry in Ontario in all the years I have been involved in the sport have accomplished only one thing – prevented our sport from growing. And we are all the lesser for it.

I think this guy is as dumb as a fox…

Tags:   bait · Bass · Beaver · Bighead · Boyne · Brown Trout · Canada · Credit · Creek · Drift · Drift Boat · Fishing · Fly · Ganaraska · Grand · Guide · Mad · Maitland · materials · Muskie · Niagara · nottawasaga · Ontario · Outfitter · reels · Retail · River · rods · Saugeen · shop · steelhead · Store · Tying · waders · Walk & Wade · whitman's · Wilmot · Wilson'sNo Comments