Every fish tale starts with a whopper. This one started with a photograph on Instagram.
I was researching a story on the actor Chris Pratt and was surprised that a photograph he posted to the social networking app with his son on a fishing trip had been liked more than 1 million times. Even by celebrity standards, that is a huge number.
Donald Trump Jr., another avid angler and Instagram user, whom I profiled last year, garnered tens of thousands of likes for his fishing pictures. And more and more, the people I follow were posting fish tales of their own.
How big is the fishing crowd on Instagram, I wondered.
It is indeed an active community; #fishing alone has nearly 20 million posts.
As I scrolled through hundreds of photographs, I noticed that many anglers posing with their catch exhibited a studied flair, much like fashionistas promoting designer clothes in the early days of Instagram. (A few years ago, models had their own selfie pose called the “fish gape.”) (...)
The genre had all the hallmarks of a mature social media phenomenon. A lot of people were promoting brands. So much so, one Twitter commenter asked if the fishing industry now had “influencers.” Noelle Coley of Colorado said she worked with a number of companies, receiving free fishing equipment or apparel in exchange for social media mentions. (Some outlets, like Orvis, a maker of fly fishing equipment, are seeking to increase the number of women in the sport. That’s no surprise, given that recreational fishing is on the rise in the United States and women are an untapped market.)
What was most striking, though, were the photographs themselves, which were colorful, immediate and engaging. I reached out to a number of the featured men and women from across the country and asked them to tell me their back stories.
While much of America is divided between red and blue states, these anglers recounted experiences that transcend geography and politics. They said they had friends on both coasts, as well as in the middle of the country.
Could fishing be the great uniter? That would be no small feat these days, when everything seems politicized.
They even wanted to take me fishing. But that’s another story. (A brother once chided me for catching a trout smaller than the purse I owned.)
Most of all, though, these fishing enthusiasts were eager to describe how social media helped them document their pastime so they could share it with others.
I was researching a story on the actor Chris Pratt and was surprised that a photograph he posted to the social networking app with his son on a fishing trip had been liked more than 1 million times. Even by celebrity standards, that is a huge number.
Donald Trump Jr., another avid angler and Instagram user, whom I profiled last year, garnered tens of thousands of likes for his fishing pictures. And more and more, the people I follow were posting fish tales of their own.How big is the fishing crowd on Instagram, I wondered.
It is indeed an active community; #fishing alone has nearly 20 million posts.
As I scrolled through hundreds of photographs, I noticed that many anglers posing with their catch exhibited a studied flair, much like fashionistas promoting designer clothes in the early days of Instagram. (A few years ago, models had their own selfie pose called the “fish gape.”) (...)
The genre had all the hallmarks of a mature social media phenomenon. A lot of people were promoting brands. So much so, one Twitter commenter asked if the fishing industry now had “influencers.” Noelle Coley of Colorado said she worked with a number of companies, receiving free fishing equipment or apparel in exchange for social media mentions. (Some outlets, like Orvis, a maker of fly fishing equipment, are seeking to increase the number of women in the sport. That’s no surprise, given that recreational fishing is on the rise in the United States and women are an untapped market.)
What was most striking, though, were the photographs themselves, which were colorful, immediate and engaging. I reached out to a number of the featured men and women from across the country and asked them to tell me their back stories.
While much of America is divided between red and blue states, these anglers recounted experiences that transcend geography and politics. They said they had friends on both coasts, as well as in the middle of the country.
Could fishing be the great uniter? That would be no small feat these days, when everything seems politicized.
They even wanted to take me fishing. But that’s another story. (A brother once chided me for catching a trout smaller than the purse I owned.)
Most of all, though, these fishing enthusiasts were eager to describe how social media helped them document their pastime so they could share it with others.
by Laura M. Holson, NY Times | Read more:
Image: Patrick Duke
