Fisherman athletes?

[directlink]

How many of you all would agree that fisherman are athletes?  I know some professionals will refer to themselves as athletes, but I don't always 100% agree with that.  What do you think?  My personal take on it is that an amateur fisherman, is simply that, just an amateur, and a professional isn't really an atlete but rather just a fisherman who has made a career out of fishing.

[CJ]

I don't call it athletacism(however you spell that).I call it possessed(however you spell that)!Yes its the fishing gods their all possessing us and theres nothing we can do about it! .........and the BM is in on it!

[BiggerWorm]

I would not consider a bass fisherman an athlete, not that it takes anything away from it at all.  Competative activities range anywhere from football to poker.  Bass fishing comes somewhere in between there I guess.  Someone may look up Athlete in the dictionary and reply that bass fishing falls under this definition,  but to the average person, I doubt it.

[bassnleo]

IMO, I do think pro anglers are athletes. Maybe not because their "sport" isn't like a team game or sport but because what they go through day after day on the water, waking early, sleeping little, the body taking the abuse it does while fishing hour after hour., day after day, traveling etc.... That has to take quite a toll on your body similar to what athletes in other sports experience.

[RoLo]

I don't consider bass fishing athletic, that is unless you're fishing in tidal waters

and you get stranded by low tide and have to drag your boat 50 yards across a mud flat.

That happened to me duck hunting. First I carried my motor, then I dragged my boat (I was alone)

Now then, large tarpon on a spinning rod, that might get a little athletic,

so might standup fishing for tuna...but not bass fishing.

Roger

[Guest ouachitabassangler]

If you fish IKE style it might be athletic. I'm definitely not an athlete, except that occasionally I get athlete's foot.   though I consider myself a fisherman. I just checked. I still am, got a gallon of fresh fillets in the kitchen.

Jim

[Obeygiant]

I feel that the professional angler should be considered an athelete.  I don't think that just because the sport is not in the mainstream so to speak, that the stars of the sport are not atheletes.  Look at nascar for instance; most people feel that the drivers are atheletes.  All these guys do is drive a car.  The similarity between the two is that there is an incredible amount of mental preparation involved being a top-notch competitor in either sport.  Just because the physical aspect of the sport is not incredibly taxing, it isn't a sport.  I have heard people call bowlers atheletes........explain that one.

[Will]

My vote is that if you are a competitive angler you are an athlete. Is Tiger Woods an athlete?

definition of athlete: An athlete is a person possessing above average physical skills (strength, agility, and endurance) and thus seen suitable for physical activities, in particular, contests

[RoLo]

In actuality, this thread isn't about bass fishing,

it's about the meaning of the term "athlete".

We've been through this before with the Olympic thingy.

It's purely semantics

Roger

[JDPgator]

In my opinion they two are not related. A fisherman can and many times is an athlete, but just because you fish doesn't necessarily make a person an athlete.

FWIW, I would say the same thing about golfers, just because you have a select set of skills that fit into a particular activity does not in my opinion automatically make a person an athlete. Just my two cents.

[dink]

Athletic or not, bass fishing is fun!  So honestly, does it really matter???

[topwtr81]

I'm not sure how many of you guy's that have fished a serious tourney cannot call competative bass fisherman athlete's. the physical aspect's are there

let's see a football player is definately an athlete right? how about a kicker?

he's a football player yet all he do's is kick the ball, we're fishermen and in

a tourney we make what a couple thousand cast's? we buck wake's and wind

and sun we stand on the front deck for 8 hour's at a time, nascar driver's sit in

a car and have to wrestle the wheel for 500 mile's, anyone ever make a 100 mile run in a tourney? how'd you feel afterward. why are there no overweight nascar driver's? and why are there less and less overweight bass pro's?

because science say's that physically fit athlete's perform better and absorb the

shock on the body better that say a car or boat can dish out.

Now before anyone say's i'm bashing overweight people I'm not I'm just proving a point.   I say bass pro's are definately athlete's and amateaur's are not far off it depend's on your level of commitment to the sport.

next week let's ask some of the elite guy's what it was like to fish 3 practice day's and 4 tourney day's at amistad jump in their truck drive 490 miles

to rayburn then fish 3 practice and 3 or 4 tourney day's.

my guess is that the leader board come 4th day may be littered with the angler's in the best shape ATHLETE'S

[cgs2004]

I think physical fitness can be hidden a lot easier in the sport of fishing.  There are many overweight anglers, and their weight and lack of fitness doesn't seem to hold them back.  I think fishing is much more in the mind than most other sports.  For my vote, anglers aren't "athletes".

[KenDammit28]

physical fitness is not a determination of an athlete, either.  In the American sense of the word..theres nothing I know a fisherman does that would deem them an athlete.  So, if I have a rough ride in my car..I'm an athlete?  The physical skills of a football player are what produces the results.  The mental skills of a fisherman are what produces the results.  You can drink two cases of beer a day and eat twinkies every meal and catch fish..if you know how.  I know how to play football..but I can for sure say that theres no way I can play in the NFL, no matter how much I learn.  I COULD, theoretically, go fish in the highest level of tournament fishing with the more I learned.  

What I really wanted to say is that...driving a race car is NOT easy.  To the layman, it looks like "driving a car in circles"..but until you've done it..its hard to understand the intensity and physical demands it puts on your body.  Its far, far more complex than given credit for, and far harder than people assume that it is.  I've driven a dirt late model, and even though thats nowhere near the top of the heap, its still extremely difficult, mind draining, and physically exhausting.  It requires absolute perfection from mind and body 100% of the time to be the best.  There are a lot of drivers in NASCAR that are "overweight", and I don't know if I'd even call THEM athletes, even though 95% of them are in great shape.

[Marty]

No way do I consider fishermen athletes. It may be rigorous, but so is the life of a construction worker. High level tournaments have been won by smokers, obese people, senior citizens like me, and others who are not normally thought of as athletes. Besides, I think success is had at fishing with one's brain, not athletic skills.

I don't know why so many anglers argue that they're athletes; it's as if they believe it legitimizes the activity more.

Tournament fishermen are competitors, no more, no less.

[slappy]

I dont consider fisherman athletes but ,if golfers are why not?

[MyKeyBe]

They are not athletes. They are sportsmen and sportswomen.

Well for the most part they are, unless they are catching caged fish. Then they are cheaters.

[RoLo]

I don't know why so many anglers argue that they're athletes; it's as if they believe it legitimizes the activity more.

It's a semantics game.

If we can't raise the image of an angler UP to athlete

then we'll adjust the meaning of athlete DOWN to angler

Roger

[dave]

Having been an athlete in my younger days (possibly like some of you) I am going to vote that even the pros are not athletes.  Does good physical conditioning enhance your abilities?  Yes,  as it does with most activities in life.  Professional golfers have to walk the course over four days and still preform.  Does that make golfers athletes?  I don't golf but,  will again say no.  I think that the sports of bass fishing and golf require SKILLS.  The better your SKILLS,  the farther you go.  

[roadwarrior]

That's clever RoLo!

I don't consider fishermen athletes, but I don't consider those girls twirling the little banners at the Olympics athletes either.

[flechero]

I hate to be the one here but what the heck...

I say if you can stand on the deck with one foot, operate a hand control trolling motor with the other foot, AND set the hook, without spilling your beer, you are an athelete! ;D

In all seriousness though, there are many times when running around the boat, trying to land a big fish that being atheletic (and graceful) is helpful but fishing does not make you an athelete.

[squid]

LOL...ok...here is how we can claim the term being an athlete.   Just like in track...lol.  We stretch to reach the fish either with the net or our hands, we curl it up into the boat.  We throw the bait as far if not further than our competition.  We sit-up in the boat.  We jump to the other end of the boat to help net their fish.  We sometimes hurdle the cooler just to get there.   We pitch the bait out to a certain spot.  We sometimes flip over obstecles.   So as you can see this is how a fisherman can claim being an athlete.

This is kinda fun when you put them all together...lol

[Minuteman]

From "The Free Dictionary" : Noun . athlete: athlete - a person trained to compete in sports

You could go on for hours debating that little sentence. Trained? Compete? Sports?

[RoLo]

LOL Squid

When I watch TV at night, I'm continually stretching great distances to reach the remote control,

I often find myself lifting heavy bowls of food with one hand. When I finally leave my recliner

I do the unthinkable, I rise from a seated position without touching the chair with either hand!!!!

You know what...I think I'm ready for some Olympiad 'Curling' 8-)

Roger

[GobbleDog]

I recently put my boat in by myself and for stupid reason, I undid the front clamp (I'm used to being in the boat while my fishing partner backs me in). In any case, sure enough, I dropped the boat in and it started to float away.

Realizing I was about to have to swim for it, I quickly hopped out of my truck and tight roped my way along my trailer as far as I coud to reach the boat as it was floating away. My g/f said I looked like Spider-man. Luckily I got it just in time by the very tips of my fingers.

That doesn't make me an athlete. It makes me a moron for undoing the clamp in the first place.  :