Warning: this is a rant and it will be a bit all over so bear with me!
Started taking fishing seriously two and a half years ago when I was 15, after being pretty outdoorsy my whole life. Quickly became addicted and worked/work extremely hard to get where I am today. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I have have literally spent 2-4 hours a day watching youtube videos, reading books, basically any information I can get my hands on, I love it. Fishing is truly my passion, and it is evident in the effort I put in on and off the water. I love being outside and learning.
Recently, I began telling people/opening up to others about how much fishing means to me. Within my school, and even my school district, I am known as "the kid that loves fishing". I have met a few really awesome anglers/people over the ;last few years, and I would like to thank them for all of there help.
There is however, one thing that has really started to bother me, and I now notice it in other aspects of life. That is that people assume I am too young to be smart or have any clue how to fish. Recently a lot of people have asked me if I like to fish and have suggested that I try a baitcaster or told me that using live bait isn't fair and to try a lure, stuff like that, hard to give exact examples. They assume that because I just turned 18, I have no idea how to use lures, or do anything impressive in fishing. People are always telling me what top do and it drives me insane. I hate not getting treated with respect because of something I can't control, such as my age. I treat absolutely everyone with the utmost respect, regardless of age, gender, skin color, sexual orientation, or any other factor.
I cannot stand watching someone treat another person with disrespect.
I will say that almost every angler I meet while I am fishing treats me with respect. They see that I am also out on the water, and that I am well equipped and fishing in the right areas, etc. It tends to be the people who find out I enjoy fishing, off the water, who tend to belittle me. I love when people do this and I start talking about things they have no idea about, whether thats the thermocline, drop shot, or why you want to fish on x side of the lake during x time of day during x time of year. Its awesome to watch them realize I am a bit more knowledgeable than they realize.
I am making it a personal goal of mine to treat everyone with respect, and to work on being able to see the perspective of others.
I also want to mention that I am a big fan of the Bassresource community and am proud to be a part of it. We all seem to share the "we are all in this together mentality" which is something I believe in. That is why I don't think anyone on here is the type of person to assume that one cannot be good at something because of their age.
Here is something i tell my students every day. Assume positive intent until proven otherwise. Seems like you think everyone is belittling you when they may just be trying to help. it sounds to me like you try and belittle them with your responses trying to talk over their heads. You mention wanting to make the world a better place so why not start by inviting those people out fishing with you and teaching them a thing or two and being open to learning a few things as well. You might be surprised what you can learn from unlikely sources.
If you spend you're life worrying about what others think of you you will never truly be yourself, you will never truly be happy, and you will never truly be free.
Yes, I think everyone means good, just bothers me because I notice it a lot.
It’s just something you just have to deal with. It’s all due to your age. I started working at the lumber yard in my hometown when I was 15. I was put on the counter doing sales instead of working out in the yard like most kids. My first summer was rough to say the least. But through hard work and the willingness to learn I earned the respect of the other salesmen and most importantly the builders. By age 16 I was selling $100k in materials and age 17 I was doing north of $250k in sales.
There are plenty of young anglers that are much more talented in bass fishing than most people with several decades of bass fishing experience. For example there are young people with +10 pound largemouth bass PB's with less than 5 years experience in bass fishing while there are many people that have never caught a single 10 pound bass in +4 decades of bass fishing, even with traveling out of state (or out of the country). Some people are just plain better at figuring out patterns in bass fishing at a early age and those are the type of fishermen that consistently catch big bass while others are barely getting by with small/regular sized bass. With that said never underestimate someone just because they are young and instead it would be best to keep a open mind since you might one day meet a young angler bank fishing that can teach you a trick or two about bass fishing that you where not able to figure out by yourself.
Get used to it. You will find a world full of people who will belittle you and tell you how you’re doing everything wrong. No matter how good you’re doing. And no matter how terribly they’re doing. But you’ll also find some people who help and make you better. And if you really like what you’re doing, you might even be one of those people to others.
Actually, the unrequested replies you are getting are from people who want to impress you.
They really do not know bass fishing at your level but want to pretend that they do and that is why they make suggestions.
Of course, some input could be very helpful; but for the most part, they mean well although you have forgotten more than they know.
So smile, thank them, make mental notes of what they offered, and move along.
Or, you could kick them between the legs.
Now go out there and do some fishing!
I started working in the fishing department at Cabela's when I was 18. Constantly had people walk past me to go find the older guys who clearly must be more knowledgeable than me, just to have them come find me because they weren't sure how to answer the question the customer had. When I got my job in LE at 21, I had lots of regular customers who came and specifically looked for me for advice and some who just wanted to BS. It's frustrating, but with age comes experience and it's easy to think that a younger person naturally isn't going to be as experienced as someone that is older. It's likely not meant as a shot at your ability, just an assumption that a lot of people are going to have about lots of things in life, not just fishing.
Ok @Quarry Man I'll break something down for you that took me till I was about 35 to learn. I never understood why people wanted to talk about the weather (umm yeap, have windows) or a game (wasn't in it, don't care).
A close cousin to what @Sam had to say is this: people may be looking for a way to relate to you. If you are the fishing kid, people are going to assume you like fishing. And may try to connect with you by whatever they happen to know about fishing.
Not all communication is about information or transferring ideas or relating an event, some of it is about building relationships, or maintaining them. You know that story your grandpa is telling for the 15th time? It's not about the story. It's about the connection.
Maybe try and move them from a technical thing like baits and reels - ask them if they have any good/favorite memories of fishing... now they can share a story, and you can live in their story for a few moments.
I read your your entire post. Are you too young to know what you are doing? No. You have taken something, bass fishing, that brings you some joy, is fun, provides a challenge and immersed yourself in the sport to bolster your knowledge base. Take pride in that. With that, don't allow bass fishing to define who and what you are. Don't permit others to use bass fishing as a gauge as to who and what you are. Continue to learn and enjoy the process.
I was and am impressed in your post as it shows your ability to formulate your thoughts and communicate them. I know many 17-19 years olds that can barely read at a third grade level and would rather vape than think about their future. Don't over think this deal. At your age you have plenty of time to develop your goals in life. You'll be fine.
@Quarry Man, this isn't just an age issue, this type of behavior from others tends to spill into adult life. A lot of peeps I meet always have to be better than you and go out of their way to instill that belief. It used to bother me as well. Keep your head down and keep, keeping on and pay no attention to those peeps who think they know it all. In the long run, they usually prove that they can't do as much as they think they can do.
Really sounds awful. To help you out I'll trade ages with you. I'll be 17 again and you can turn 50 next year.
Tell your parents that Fishing Rhino said they did a great job raising you.
Well hey I am 37 and if your PB is between 8-9 pounds, you already got me beat! And for what it's worth, I know from our past interactions on the forums that you are no novice.
I will say this and this holds true for people of any age as well. I always assume a person is a complete idiot until they have proven otherwise. Like I said I am 37, and I still deal with people who belittle me to make up for their own insecurities. With many of them, you learn to deal with it (and usually keep these people at arm's length - no need for that sort of negativity in your life trust me). With others, such as family, it's harder and I still haven't learned to deal with it. At the end of the day though, you are responsible for yourself. You can articulate yourself quite well and you seem like you have a good head on your shoulders so don't spend too much time worrying about what other people think - that will lead you down a dark path.
You are giving control to others by letting their words affect how you feel.
Whatever was said to you had such an impact, that not only did you allow it to bother you at that time, you thought about it later probably with the same if not a more intense feeling and then you typed out a post to vent about it.
I'd bet its fairly certain that whoever said these things to you never gave it another thought since that time.
Yet, here you are letting it affect you.
Reading your posts and you seem like a very decent young man with goals and are driven.
Just keep doing what your doing you're on the right path.