“ACTUALLY, the fish is not that large. The angler is just holding it close to the camera. Just thought you should know.”

.

That was a real comment I saw. It was on social  media (surprise, surprise).

Imagine if internet commentators  ran the world? The economy, global politics, and the proper viewing order for the Star Wars films would cease to be problematic. The perfect mingling of genius, tact, and grace are always on display under Instagram pictures and YouTube videos. I know that all of my worldviews have been influenced by un-punctuated sentences and/or cleverly placed emojis.

Fly fishing is not immune to this phenomenon.

Take the extended-arm fish photo. Is there anything inherently wrong with it? No. Of course not. In fact, it is a great way to show off the fish and not the angler.  No offense, but when I look at your fish pictures I am looking at the fish. Such pictures  can be tastefully artsy or overly dramatic; purposefully funny or cringingly comical.

Will you see me in a lot of these pictures? No. It isn’t my thing. Unless it is a trophy fallfish. Then I let it fly.

Whats for certain is that I notice how big your hand is in proportion to your body. If the length across your knuckles is wider than your head? I know that there are some perspective-bending shenanigans. No harm, no foul.

Why do some people get so up-in-arms (lol) about stuff like this? What’s the end game of pointing out the subtleties of someone’s social media photo? Could it be that people just like being right?

Sure, there are some things that are worth knowing. Palominos are not golden trout. Browns, caught anywhere in the USA, are not native. Flies tied with rubber are not real flies (just kidding, just kidding… calm down…).

But why tell someone with typed condescension? Or, why go out of your way to say where the fishing is probably better? Or where the trout are probably bigger? Or where there are trout, and not just carp or panfish? Or explain why a dry fly would be better? Or why their rod brand of choice isn’t as good as your rod brand of choice based upon an incredibly well thought-out set of objective and empirical opinions?

I don’t what could possess someone to “actually” any of those things. Although I’m hardly an industry maven, I don’t think that companies are scouring the comment sections looking for angling white knights. And, while certainly even less of an expert in this arena, I can’t imagine it impresses the ladies.  Oh… yes… that was a purposefully gendered statement. “Constructive criticism” in these mediums seems to be a uniquely male maneuver.

Someone with more sociological clout than myself may have much more insight. So I’m not going to even try to diagnose the issue (co-morbid selfishness, pride, ego, fish-measuring, etc. etc.). I’ll just encourage you to play nice with others. Especially when sarcasm and delivery can’t be perceived through the medium in question, it is best to just scroll on by. No one has ever won an argument on the internet. It’s science.

.

.

.

ACTUALLY, it’s philosophy…