FishingBanter - View Single Post

**Conan The Librarian** · April 25th, 2008, 07:06 PM posted to rec.outdoors.fishing.fly

wrote:

On Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:35:48 -0500, Conan The Librarian
wrote:

Only if you want to stretch the meaning of the word "subsistence" so
much as to make it meaningless. We are sport fishermen who keep some of
what we catch.

What's to stretch?

"a source or means of obtaining the necessities of life"

I'd offer that it isn't stretching anything to say that food is a
necessity of life, and catching fish is certainly a means to obtain
food. I suspect you have couched your own definition in terms of
necessity, but such qualifiers aren't part of it.

Other definitions include:

Means of supporting life; a living or livelihood.
The source from which food and other items necessary to exist are
obtained.
A means of subsisting, especially means barely sufficient to
maintain life.

None of those fit with the type of fishing we here on ROFF are
doing, no matter whether we keep some of what we catch or not.

Further, I'd offer
that many people I know, myself included, are "subsistence fishers" (and
hunters) because that fishing and hunting is the most practical source
of much of that for which we fish and hunt.

Using your logic, an argument could be made that I am a "subsistence
golfer" if I make money from betting on games with my friends and buy
food with that money.

Depending on the exact circumstances, using the definition of the word,
too...

And those of us who sell a few of our woodworking projects are
"subsistence woodworkers", those who grow a few vegetables in the garden
are "subsistence gardeners", those who go to Vegas and win a few bucks
gambling are "subsistence gamblers" etc., etc., etc.

Thus failing to note that all of those instances are cases of
*recreational* activities that may have the by-product of putting some
food on the table.

If you want to define "subsistence [insert term here]" that loosely,
go ahead.

Maybe the best way to distinguish these activities for me is to ask
yourself if you would continue to do it even if it didn't put food on
the table.

BTW, we have gone far afield from Tim's normal phrasing which is
"traditional subsistence fishing". He uses that to try to link himself
to some great tradition (my "caveman" reference in a previous post)
while slamming those who would return fish to the water.

Chuck Vance