"Hell, If I'd have jumped on all the dames I was supposed to have jumped on, I'd have no time for fishing.."
-Clark Gable
FREE. THE. FIGHTER!
https://www.facebook.com/Ozarkssmallmouth/
https://www.facebook.com/Ozarkssmallmouth/
This year has seen tremendous growth in our little community. We went from 52 likes on May 20th to almost 4500 as of this writing! If you are into statistics ( and I am), that's an increase of 8553% in 6 months! Thanks to all of you for making this so much fun!!
This whole thing began with the idea that our Ozarks Smallmouth is a resource too precious to be caught once.
You see, I was a flyfishing guide in a previous life, inundated with Trout, Trout, Trout. Everywhere I turned there was another political action or benefit, or habitat improvement for the almighty Trout. I specialized on the Ozarks Tailwaters and Creeks for Trout. But I left Smallmouth for my own pleasure, affirmed to not guide clients for what I considered a fish above the status of the almighty Trout. And I thought I was part of a small, clandestine group of Gorilla Fighters; walking the lowly Ozarks warm-water streams and rivers in search of the hardest fighting, most bad-ass fish that swims. We were the fishermen that went off the beaten path, eschewing the persistent din of the almighty Trout crowd. But then...
July 2016, we hit 2500 followers by mid month, and we realized that there is a whole ARMY of Smallmouth Warriors in our little corner of the world.
August 28th 2016 we hit 3500 followers and the resistance was no longer a whisper, but a roar! We had sold out of Kayak Decals in 30 days, depleted a cache of 2000 stickers and were starting to make friends with some of the Movement. Good people like Del Click, Cody Holloway, Paul Preston, Curtis Smith, Tommy Falcinelli, Jon Wood, Justin Skiles, John Cook, Dalton Avery, Jamie Burks, Jeff Tatum, Jason Jones, Vashon Ferguson and on and on and on. Too many to mention, but without whom we would not be writing this.
Overly dramatic? Maybe. But the passion we see daily for this fish is amazing.
So. Where does this lead us? Here's a glimpse into what we are cookin':
You see, I was a flyfishing guide in a previous life, inundated with Trout, Trout, Trout. Everywhere I turned there was another political action or benefit, or habitat improvement for the almighty Trout. I specialized on the Ozarks Tailwaters and Creeks for Trout. But I left Smallmouth for my own pleasure, affirmed to not guide clients for what I considered a fish above the status of the almighty Trout. And I thought I was part of a small, clandestine group of Gorilla Fighters; walking the lowly Ozarks warm-water streams and rivers in search of the hardest fighting, most bad-ass fish that swims. We were the fishermen that went off the beaten path, eschewing the persistent din of the almighty Trout crowd. But then...
July 2016, we hit 2500 followers by mid month, and we realized that there is a whole ARMY of Smallmouth Warriors in our little corner of the world.
August 28th 2016 we hit 3500 followers and the resistance was no longer a whisper, but a roar! We had sold out of Kayak Decals in 30 days, depleted a cache of 2000 stickers and were starting to make friends with some of the Movement. Good people like Del Click, Cody Holloway, Paul Preston, Curtis Smith, Tommy Falcinelli, Jon Wood, Justin Skiles, John Cook, Dalton Avery, Jamie Burks, Jeff Tatum, Jason Jones, Vashon Ferguson and on and on and on. Too many to mention, but without whom we would not be writing this.
Overly dramatic? Maybe. But the passion we see daily for this fish is amazing.
So. Where does this lead us? Here's a glimpse into what we are cookin':
- OSA is proud to announce that we will be one of the sponsors for OMTC/Extreme Kayak Tournaments next season! Very proud to be able to help this group of fine anglers!
- We are working on a few events for next year; mostly small, regional get-togethers that will be centered around a particular body of water, maybe a river clean-up and cook-out ( think Bronze and Brews!)
- OSA ProjectX will begin in earnest. The first episode is in editing and we are waiting on some music to be scored for it. You will not be disappointed...
- This blog will become a resource for all of us. The plan is to invite local anglers to contribute reports, environmental news and fishing tips on a monthly basis.
Well, there it is. Never in our wildest dreams would we have thought OSA would take off like a cat from a cannon, but it has. And it is all thanks to you!!
As always:
FREE. THE. FIGHTER!
FREE. THE. FIGHTER!
OSA STRONG!
Love it! Would love to contribute an article sometime!
ReplyDeleteAt your disposal Pastor Dalton...
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