Some of the best trash talking or “chirps” I’ve heard have been in a hockey arena. Hockey players can be merciless, and it seldom comes from a place of love. If you don’t believe me, watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDVe_1YGnR4
On the other hand, trash talking by fisherman is much different. It comes from a good place. A very good place.
The photo you see on the banner above is an electronic billboard located in Brainerd, Minnesota. It suddenly appeared for a couple of weeks this past January.
One panel said, “This is Troy. He sucks at fishing.” The other panel said, “Talk smack to him at TroySucks2@gmail.com”. Apparently, Troy received quite a few emails.
That, my friends, is world class trash talk.
But, this is how we do it in the fishing world. We troll, we name call, we say some awful things. Honestly, the more awful, the more we like the guy.
Jane was introduced to fishing by me and didn’t understand how “mean” I could be to my fishing buddies. I would tell her I’m not being mean, I’m just letting them know I like them.
My friend, Boo, is one of the best trash talkers I know. He is notoriously famous for telling a guy who struggles to reel in a halibut how weak they are. There are a few choice phrases he’ll use, but I’m better off not mentioning them here.
Do you think he’s not enjoying the day on the water? Here’s Boo laughing at me because I caught the smallest halibut he’s ever seen! Just as I was about to bring it on board, he said “…easy, easy, I need to go get my gaff.” Bazinga!
If you were to ask, I would say my style of trash talking is passive/aggressive (or, maybe not😂). I’ll throw out a zinger, but follow it up with words of encouragement.
For example, I probably trash talk with Dan Meyer more than anyone. Dan get’s distracted when he’s in the boat because he’s too busy watching everyone else’s rod and not his own. I’ll often see the bite on his rod before he will and I’ll say, “Dan, do you want to catch that fish before it spawns?” After he gets the fish into the boat, I’ll let him know what a great job he did fighting it, or comment on the size.
If there is a takeaway from this blogpost it’s this: if I’m giving you a hard time, you know I like you…..
Friendship and Fishing