|
I probably spend far too much time on a computer.
But there are advantages! Besides my involvement
with Fly Anglers On Line, I do get to go out on the
world wide web and see who is doing what. As you
might suspect most of the 'surfing' has to do with
fly fishing.
You may already know there are
a ton of fly fishing websites. Actually probably more
than a ton. The search engine Yahoo lists 14 categories
for fly fishing with 1239 entries. Alta Vista lists 200,
and WebCrawler lists 39,224.
The point is that no matter what
you are looking for in the fly fishing world, or what
region of the world you may be interested in, it's likely
to be on the world wide web! That's pretty neat! Sure
does make researching a trip to anywhere easy.
We have a couple of trips scheduled
for next year, and probably would take more if the cost
wasn't so high. Just because we have this website doesn't
mean we can afford to take very many airplane trips, we pay
for our tickets just like everyone else. Sometimes we do get
guiding or other things "comped" - that is without charge.
Occasionally we will do a trade off of some kind which
allows us to go somewhere, have a great fishing adventure, and
then write about it. But not all that usual for us.
Most of the exotic trips you read about
in the big-name fly fishing magazines are done that way.
The writer (or occasionally the magazine publisher) will
arrange a free stay somewhere in trade off for a good article
on the place. Pretty common. But for most of us, those
situations are not available. Heck, it is expensive just to get
somewhere. And if you have to hire a guide the bucks
disappear even faster. Without a guide, you might be just
sloshing around without a clue!
But someone out on the web has
come up with a really neat idea! Here is where the time I spent
'surfing' can pay off for you. Scott Maxwell, does the
Lee's Ferry Page,
(Colorado River at Lee's Ferry). As he says, "I just do the
Lee's Ferry Page as a hobby, and because when I was looking
at moving to this area it was hard for me to find basic information
on the Ferry."
I don't know if Scott woke up one night
in a cold sweat with this idea, but come up with it he did.
The idea is trade a trip!
Scott says, "The trade-a-trip idea was
one of those things that I just thought made sense and I couldn't
find anyone else that was doing it. I think that it's still in it's
infancy, and has the potential to be big."
He continues, " I was afraid that I would
get criticism from the guides, but amazingly, about 1/3 or more
of the participants are guides! I guess they figure if they take
someone fishing for free and they are successful, they will tell
others. The guides also get a chance to fish some new water.
I think people who want to pay for guides and can afford it are
still going to fish with the guides. I have not had any complaints
yet."
So here is a great opportunity. If you have
local water with fish - and you would be comfortable taking a
friend fishing with you check this one out!
TRADE A TRIP - TRIP PROPOSAL BOARD on
Scott's Lee's Ferry website.
It's a win-win situation, a way to fish more
- for less money! And maybe make some new fishing friends?
Thanks Scott!
~ Deanna Birkholm
|
