When Fishing Unites A Community

Fishing has always been an escape for me.  My way of getting away from the world. 

That adrenaline rush I get when I hookup.  The pull on my line, rod bending and drag screaming makes me forget about all my problems.   

What I didn’t realize was, fishing can create and unite an entire community as well.  

When you bring together a group of people who share a common set of values and beliefs, they have the ability to form communities or cultures.

We’ve formed a family culture at FishAholics.  Where you can share your catches, ask questions, be open and not be scrutinized. 

We detail our fishing reports so others can learn and be better anglers themselves.  We have written posts and videos detailing about our fishing ventures. 

 

It’s so powerful when a community unites under a common bond.  When you help people and create a positive environment where people feel safe, something magical happens.  

I saw this unfold at the FishAholics meet and greet this past weekend.  

 

We broke social barriers.  We didn’t shun one particular group or ethnicity.  It was cultural diversity at it’s finest.  We had a rainbow of people greeting and sharing stories like they were childhood friends.  A simple, “hello” sparked entire conversations. 

It was like one big FAmily. 

It’s amazing how fishing can impact and unite an entire community.

 

People brought cultural dishes with flavors I’ve never even tasted before.  A diversity in cultural foods that puts most restaurant to shame.  We had slow roast and smoked trip-tip and ribs. 

Mexican food dishes like tacos with tripas, chorizo burritos, nachos and much more.  Our Asian dishes like tuna and striper laab, springrolls and fried rice just to name a few.  We had shrimp ceviche, roasted porkbelly and even duck heads. 

So much food I didn’t even get to try it all let alone have a list of it.  

It didn’t matter what political party you aligned with, we were all one party.  We essentially solved most of society’s problems in one single event.

This is something I see everyday on FishAholics.  We’ve engraved the idea of FAmily and fishing into our culture.  This has become second nature. 

I’ve heard stories of members meeting outside social media by using FishAholics as an ice breaker.  They open up and share each others stories and knowledge about the area only after finding out they’re both apart of the same community. 

 

Simply being associated with FA, two complete strangers can open up and spark a conversation.  How amazing is that.

We had well over $1500 worth of donated prizes to raffle off at the MAG.  They ranged from jackets to fishing rods to a GoPro. 

It was great seeing the faces of our prize winners.  Especially the younger ones.  I’m sure they’ll remember this moment for a very long time. 

There were so many donations, I can’t name them all but you could see the love and support we had from the FAm was incredible.

Events like these not only help strengthen the bond we have for each other, it also invites our younger generation to experience our passion in a new light.  In a FAmily type atmosphere where they know there are other people like them who share the same passion. 

It shows future generations that if they come together they can positively influence and create change and not factions within the fishing community.  

When we come together through a common bond: fishing, we can unite an entire community.  That’s a FAmily worth being apart of. 

To see the rest of the photos click here.