Birthdays, anniversaries, and reunions are occasions when we are reminded
of all that has transpired in our lives. They are time of reflection as we
take stock of where we have been and where we plan to go from here.
Today we are celebrating an anniversary here at FAOL. It was 12 years ago
that the Ladyfisher sat down at her keyboard and produced the first issue
of FAOL. It was a leap into the dark since she knew little about computers,
the Internet, web pages or computer code. What she did have was a desire to
make information about the sport of fly-fishing available free to the general
public. She saw the Internet as a way to accomplish that dream.
Over the intervening years FAOL has become a major presence among the various
Internet web sites that deal with the sport of fly-fishing. Over the years
others have come and gone, but FAOL has continued, mostly as the results of
the pithy woman that has persevered through good time and bad to keep the
site up and running.
FAOL is a people’s site. It is a place where the ordinary angler and
expert alike can feel at home. The bulletin board is alive with lively commentary,
fish-in’s are arranged between strangers that soon become friends when
they wet a line together, and the knowledge of a collective readership of
anglers is available to anyone with access to a computer.
I feel somewhat responsible for FAOL since the Ladyfisher wrote for a magazine
that I co-owned and edited, The Angler’s Journal. She has told
me that she got the idea for FAOL from that publication. While the Journal was
a magazine that was slanted towards anglers that fish for trout on spring
creek-type waters the general premise was the promotion of fly-fishing at
every level. We encouraged unknown writers to submit material, and we published
some really fine articles by people that most of you have never heard of until
their name appeared in their by-line. FAOL has the same distinction.
A couple weeks ago the Ladyfisher commented on the future of FAOL. While no
one knows what the future holds we hope to continue to put up a new issue
every Monday morning. We plan on continuing to offer a forum where fly anglers
from every walk of life, from beginners to seasoned experts, can find a voice,
express an opinion, and enjoy the camaraderie of fellow anglers.
My local credit union in Montana has a slogan; “It’s all about
you,” and in a nutshell that summarizes what FAOL is all about. We are
all about you, our readers. We try to offer articles that are informative,
timely, and ultimately accurate. We seek out sponsors that offer quality fly-fishing
equipment and services that we believe offer our readers the best value for
their money.
At this juncture in our history we have many people to thank for our success.
There are the sponsors that pay the bills, the contributors that provide the
articles week after week, and our tech guy, Ron Tidd, who puts it all together
each week. But mostly we owe a great big thank you to the readers who click
on our web site each week, comment on the bulletin board, and purchase items
from our sponsors. Without you FAOL would have no reason to exist.
That’s what FAOL has been about for the last 12 years. With your continued
support we hope to continue to be here for you for many more years to come.
~ The Chronicler
Originally published September 7, 2009 on Fly Anglers Online by By Neil M. Travis.