Pulling the Plug

We live in truly weird times. The information age no doubt. I look back on my life and think I could never have imagined the likes of the Internet. If someone told me some day I'd be able to surf the world wide web from a device small enough to fit in my hand while deep in the bush of my favourite trib I'd have brushed it off as impossible. I often find myself marvelling at the graphics and liquidity of the games I can play on my cel phone while waiting at a doctors appointment. I find myself wondering how we ever managed to navigate the hi ways and bi ways of our great continent without Global Positioning. These are weird times indeed. So weird that I can honestly say the information age has had an effect on what I hold most near and dear to my heart...Steelheading. The Internet has granted me the ability to network with people of similar interests. It has granted me the ability to reach out and do the research necessary to further my horizons, shorten my learning curves, and improve my opportunity for successes. The Internet has fueled my creative spirit and appreciation of writing and photography. Honestly without the Internet I would most likely have not experienced the last 7-8 years of adventure and for this I am forever grateful. Without the Internet I would have not met a number of decent people that share the ridiculous passion I have for this sport. But with all good things come the spoils. In life there are givers and takers and the Internet is another avenue for both sects to operate. There will always be those who choose to share and there will always be those who chose to take. This basic human nature. I believe it is ingrained in humanity and it will never change. I guess where I am going is that lately there has been alot of angst and dissension in regards to these blogs and the lurking going on. By the hits counters I can see we do generate a fair amount of traffic. I'm sure the overall group of travellers are small as these blogs do appeal to a niche audience. However, the overall fear is that the information relayed in these avenues will somehow have a negative impact on the rivers we so love and cherish. There is no denying that us "Steelheaders" are very passionate/irrational individuals. We are extremists and by the very nature of the word take everything to the limits. Who else chops shelf ice free to fish a run? Who else drives by "Road closed by order of OPP" signs to go fishing. So as with our extreme actions come extreme feelings and emotion. We will do whatever it takes to guard and protect what we hold near and dear to our hearts. Sometimes we over react and once again take things to the extreme. We may tend to blow things out of proportion to protect what is important to us. I guess what I'm saying here is that we don't need to shut down these blogs that so many get enjoyment from. We don't need to pull the pin on it all and hibernate. We need to become more creative on how we share our experiences. We need to focus on the creative content and continue to improve and enjoy our experiences. Also there are a great deal of visitors to these sites that can share their own experiences as well or better in their own blogs. It would be nice if the people that take from our blogs were to give back in their own. It would be nice to have a circuit of sites to visit with different perspectives and avenues of expression represented for Great Lakes Steelheading. I do not plan on pulling the plug on my blog. I get much enjoyment out of putting together the days experience and sharing it with those that care to enjoy it. I get equally as much enjoyment looking back into the journal of adventures we have experienced over the past number of years. I would like to think the positive well out weigh the negatives with these efforts. And as someone recently told me the effort put into our adventures is far too much for the masses to handle. Our little pieces of Heaven will be safe mainly due to mankind's inherent laziness. God bless lazy humans!