I read something lately that really caught my attention and I thought it summed up the benefit of FH. It is from a book that I'd recommend called the
Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt.
Try to create a group of friends who do things together. Many of us see individual friends for meals, or a drink, at which we catch up with each others lives. But how much more fun it is to have a gang -- as on so many television shows -- who gets together weekly or monthly to share an activity (e.g., cooking, playing cards, making wisecracks about a TV show). We are fundamentally tribal creatures; we feel most complete in packs, gangs, and groups. If you don't have a gang, start with one or two friends and ask them to invite one or two of their friends to an activity you organize.
When out on the shore, in a boat, at the tackle shop, on the ice,
at the pub it is a lot more fun and enjoyable to recognize the faces of the people that share your same hobby.
In addition to this, I think C.P.R.R -
Catch. Photo. Release. Report is 100% more fun than just C.P.R fishing. My girlfriend doesn't care much about what I catch - I find the comments that people leave on reports quite encouraging!
Finally, I think FH encourages conservation. People's photos and reports get subjected to a peer-review system - people congratulate others on releasing trophy fish, and sometimes suggestions are posted on how to better handle and release fish.
Great post Joco!
