Yesterday at the Sportsman Show

You've heard "the proof is in the pudding". Yesterday, I got to see that pudding.

Something that's "real"

Last year I was asked to host a seminar at the Sportsman Show in the Super Dome, and was graciously invited to return this year.

It's very humbling to have this sort of opportunity.

If, five years ago, you were to tell me I'd be doing such a thing, I'd laugh quietly and wonder what the hell you're talking about.

The seminar (detailing how you can use sonar to catch speckled trout), I think, was decent and there was a strong turnout backing it.

But forget all that.

That isn't what mattered the most to me.

What mattered the most was seeing the genuine appreciation in people's eyes.

Yes, it is very easy to get behind a laptop, in some disconnected office space, boldly stating that "knowledge catches fish" or "I want you to catch fish" or whatever good-natured sentiment that requires a lot of work to mean anything in the long run.

It's harder to see it work. To have someone say, "This really did help me. Thank you."

It's like a Bigfoot fanatic spending years running around the woods, in the dark, with his nerdy friends, looking for a big hairy man-ape that doesn't exist, but does in his heart.

Then one day he sees Bigfoot run across the road and disappear into the woods.

He shits himself.

He's heard of it happening, imagined it happening and now, after years of perseverance, it's happened.

Except this isn't a cryptozoological beast.

It is something far more real.

And it tells me that what LAFB is about is the right thing, the entire thing is the right formula.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't believe in Bigfoot.

Curse of Technology

In a way, I really dislike social media.

It has royally screwed up how we interact with each other; so much is lost in translation.

It's easy to grow tired in a day to eventually dismiss a profile picture and some text.

But it's not so easy to do in-person. In fact, it's far more natural and energizing.

I spend the majority of my time - brace yourself for this shocking revelation - behind a laptop, and not behind a rod.

That is where the majority of my interaction with the public takes place, and everything is cruelly dumbed down into numbers pertaining to website traffic, reach, engagement, conversions, you get it.

To see the idea (in this case, helping Louisiana's inshore anglers enjoy themselves by catching more fish) take place, and work, and experience their gratitude...

...well, that is something on a whole other level.

It's the end-game. A home run. The winning touchdown. Coming home after a long deployment. The last fish filleted.

Tight lines, y'all.