After a bit of contemplation I thought I’d pitch my .02 cents into the hat. Here’s the way I see this situation as it lays, face value so to speak, from a unbiased outside observer. Plus, I know stuff so there’s that.
I’ve thought and said here many times over the years that there are 5 distinct stages in most every “fishermans” progression from his first zebco to the fancy twin engine offshore critter getter we all dream about. Here they are,
Stage One–Any fish. A guy is glad to catch any fish, even pond bluegill, just to feel the jerk.
Stage Two–Many Fish. A guy starts catching a few fish here and there and the next thing you know he’s all about filling the cooler and snapping a few pictures.
Stage Three–Big Fish. A guy starts catching a lot of cooler fodder and starts yearning for the big one. big charcoal belly gags, bull dolphin, an ARS the length of your arm, over 22 inch breeder troutsies, etc…
Stage Four–Hard Fish. A guy starts getting good at slinging big groupers, mahi, and fat Snappers over the gunnel and moves on to hard fish like Marlin, Bluefin, snook in SC, and I don’t know, parrot fish in south america I suppose.
That being said, I think Vegas Dave is somewhere on EF’s official fishermans progression spectrum at a solid stage two guy, but just on the cusp of stage 3. Again, that’s just me from the outside looking in. I’ve sent Vegas Dave some PM’s in the past with a few pointers, and I can tell by his reports he has taken some of it in. I appreciate all his reports, even though I think he is nutty as a outhouse loon for eating ringtails and grunts, but that’s just me, lol.
I don’t want Vegas Dave to pull back from reporting, (he posts a lot of reports) over what I think should be a teaching opportunity. Some of you stage 3 and 4 guys wagging your collective fingers is a big part of why everyone left here long ago and folks are reluctant to post reports even now. Things are looking up nowadays, I’d like to see that trend continue.
Vegas Dave, let me fill you in cause you are sorta new here. Optiker is a stage 4 guy for sure. He’s fished salt his whole life, he’s big on releasing the bigger breeder fish, sells a lot of tackle professionally, and knows what a stage 4 hard fish is, and puts his money where his mouth is as far as protecting the very resource many take for granted. That snook you dried out will likely be the last you ever see again, because they are really rare here. That my friend is why it’s a shock to most of us that you poked holes in her, or that your “guide” led you to believe that was OK. It’s legal, but, well, I’m looking down shaking my head man. But it’s not your fault. Who among us?
But don’t be discouraged Vegas Dave, cause you can bet your sweet patootie that every single guy that said anything negative about the flat fish you stuck have done the very same thing, many times over. Really. After you stick them a few times you’ll see more what they see.
So anyway, this should be a teaching moment for all of us, because guess what? I bet you forgot all about the 5th stage I mentioned above.
Any Fish
Many Fish
Big Fish
Hard Fish
Stage 5 is passing that knowledge along.
And just one more thing Vegas Dave, your guide is full of poo poo. The 10 fish limit would have been OK with me, and I’d probably never bothered to post such a long dribble, except for there are 11 fish in your picture and what really chapped my arse was number 11 was the snook.
Do yourself a favor and loose that guys number. Really
That’s all I got. You are a good guy Vegas Dave, keep a tight line.
EF
