BLOG: Land of the free, home of the brave

IN many circles Australia is often referred to as the little brother of the United States.

I have recently returned from a holiday and culturally we are not too dissimilar to our northern hemisphere brethren in that we live similar lifestyles. I can definitely see why people can align us as a sibling. We are similar in the way we dress, the music we consume and the food we eat. Yet, while we can draw parallels a recent holiday to the land of the free and the home of the brave highlighted we are slightly off the pace when it comes to catering for anglers.

While I didn't get to wet a line while on holiday I got to scope out the scene. I had an afternoon of sheer bliss, a treat no fisherman should ever go to their grave without experiencing. I know some of you online surfers have heard of Bass Pro Shops. It is one of the marquee outdoor stores in the US. With my wife and three-month-old in tow, I arrived at Bass Pro's front door to be greeted by a store the size I would never have dreamed of had I not seen it in the flesh.

The first thing that hits you is themeing. In fact, it's one attribute that Americans do so well. Businesses, no matter the industry, have great themeing, and while there are many competitors selling the same product it's the "experience" inside the store that differentiates them. The store is an oversized log cabin like you would see in a typical American outdoors scene and this theme is carried right through the store.

Without waffling, I spent two hours inside the store and saw roughly 30 per cent of it - it's that large. Inside there was a trout stream with numerous 10lb rainbows idly swimming by and some even wedged under trees.
While slightly macabre, the store was littered with stuffed bears, racoons, deer and elk. On the roof were schools of plaster casted fish such as northern bluefin, striped marlin, mahi mahi and trevally. They really got you into the mood and by increasing your overall experience you really didn't want to leave.

Also inside the store was a restaurant and a cafe so the other half could relax while the old man spent up big. It really catered for everyone.
The store was separated into departments such as fishing, camping, boating, shooting and apparel. While camping and shooting don't really interest me, I got lost rummaging through all the different lures. I bought some crazy stuff that we don't have here so look out for an article soon on some new lures about to make a real splash.
I guess the US experience showed me how far behind the eight ball our retailers here are. While I understand we don't have the population of the US, I think there are lessons to be learned that could stem the flow of internet purchases. It's not always about the lowest price!

Also, I think the Yanks are far more adventurous when it comes to using lures. My gut instinct was telling me some of the lures hanging on the shelves wouldn't work but they wouldn't go into full production if they didn't. We have much to learn from our northern brothers.

Also, on my holiday I managed to chew the fat with some local fishermen. While visiting Santa Monica and Malibu piers I watched how the boys from the other side of the world do it. You know, I didn't see anything worth reporting. While the Yanks lead the way in lure designs and techniques, the average man on the ground still uses bait on simple rigs catching fish you and I wouldn't write home about. In fact the only fish I saw being caught were slimey mackerel and a bucket of smelt as live bait. It was disappointing to hear stories of overfished waters as one old salt recounted days past of halibut to 80lbs being caught off the same spot. Now a 30lb fish makes the papers.

One conversation stuck out in my mind though. An old fella I was talking with was complaining about the effects of commercial fishing on fish stocks. He also mentioned that an extremist green group was trying to stop all forms of fishing in his local waters. When I asked who the culprit was, it came as no surprise to hear the name PEW. He shook his head in disbelief when I told him he was not alone!