FA MAG 2016: FAmily And Fishing

I realized something while meeting everyone at the 2016 FishAholics Meet and Greet.  We as fishermen can have an impact and reshape our communities, with a little FA Culture.  Here’s what I mean.

I was able to meet some of the FAmily in person at our 2016 FishAholics Meet and Greet.  The event was held at Brannon Island State Park just south of Rio Vista, CA.  I was shocked at how a group of people, many of whom have never met before, can come together like this.

It’s great seeing new and familiar faces.  FishAholics isn’t just a place where people post up their catches and talk about fishing, it’s a place where people give, share, debate and support one another.  It’s what a FAmily does.

People came from near and far to meet the FAm.  Whether it was around the corner or hundreds of miles away, they came.  FishAholics started with a small group of friends and family and grew into a community of individuals who share a common set of values and beliefs.  So who are these people?

I really got to know some of these individuals.  They were veterans, grandfathers, grandmothers, moms, dads, uncles, sons, daughters just everyday people like you and I.  And yet, we shared a common bond, this love for FAmily and passion for fishing.

When you’re surrounded by people who believe what you believe, a sense of trust and community emerges. I would never have imagined FishAholics to evolve like this. 

We had strangers greeting strangers.  Whites greeting black, Asians greeting Hispanics, there were no racial boundaries.  We had members who were generations apart connect and bond from a simple card game.  Discrimination was non-existent.  We saw everyone as equals. 

It’s the fundamental principles this country was built upon.  This idea that we can all live in harmony, live equally and not be judged. You can call this cheesy, too much thinking, deep or philosophical. But when you step back and look at what was unfolding at the event, it’s amazing how a group of fishermen can remove barriers that society has built for them.  It was FishAholics Culture unfolding right before my very eyes.

This thing that nations go to war over to achieve and yet, a group of fishermen were able to accomplish this in one afternoon.  It goes to show the power of FAmily and Fishing and the possibilities that can unfold.

Maybe the world just needs a little FA Culture.  Spread the love FAm.