National Pro Staff Rant

[Salmonidstalker]

Steelhead season is upon us and without question, the NPS'ers are out in full force blatantly showing pictures with backgrounds. All for what? A hat and a T-shirt or maybe a $50 dollar rod. Its amazing what guys will sell themselves for.

 

If you want to write about your fishing adventures, go ahead, just stop showing backgrounds. Stop making it obvious for poachers to go to those ditches in the east end and rape the resource. Wonder why rivers are getting crowded, because on stuff like this.

 

Sorry....had to rant.

[MJL]

I’ve only perused that site a few times but there are a number of things I just don’t get.

 

I never really understood the concept of having to pay an annual fee to promote a tackle company’s products? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Surely if you wanted a free spool of power pro or a few boxes of Salmo lures, you could’ve just spent your registration fee $ at the local tackle shop instead. Or instead of putting $50 into NPS, why not donate to an organization like CRAA, Nottawasaga Steelheaders, MEA or the like or even joining a fishing club (like the Scarborough casting club or a bass fishing club) and make personal connections that way?

 

All the people I know who tried to pro-staff various products ended up spamming online message boards. At the end of it all, no one really cared for the products or the person. If you’re already a sponsored individual and you post reports on NPS about how great their products are, who are you actually promoting to?

 

What exactly are pro-staffers supposed to do when they are picked up by a company? On a resume, what would you actually put for a job description?

 

It's an interesting business concept.

 

Mike

[BillM]

PROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STAFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[solopaddler]

Someone recently asked me if they could include me as one of their pro staff on that unfortunate website.

[MJL]

Someone recently asked me if they could include me as one of their pro staff on that unfortunate website.

 

I think the NPS shirt and hat would look nice on you. Especially while you pose with a dirty, black, lamprey scarred, fungus encrusted chinny from out east

[BillM]

Is there any chance of getting on the Walmart Pro Staff? I really want one of those 6ft white shark rods. I'd clean up with that and a pack of marshmellows.

[Salmonidstalker]

Ive only perused that site a few times but there are a number of things I just dont get.

 

I never really understood the concept of having to pay an annual fee to promote a tackle companys products? Shouldnt it be the other way around? Surely if you wanted a free spool of power pro or a few boxes of Salmo lures, you couldve just spent your registration fee $ at the local tackle shop instead. Or instead of putting $50 into NPS, why not donate to an organization like CRAA, Nottawasaga Steelheaders, MEA or the like or even joining a fishing club (like the Scarborough casting club or a bass fishing club) and make personal connections that way?

 

All the people I know who tried to pro-staff various products ended up spamming online message boards. At the end of it all, no one really cared for the products or the person. If youre already a sponsored individual and you post reports on NPS about how great their products are, who are you actually promoting to?

 

What exactly are pro-staffers supposed to do when they are picked up by a company? On a resume, what would you actually put for a job description?

 

It's an interesting business concept.

 

Mike

I don't really have a problem with the "pro-staff" concept. The pro is for promotion not professional. Some guys get their panties in a bunch when they hear pro staff but there is nothing wrong with it. Fishing companies use pro-staffers to get the word out about their lures, rods, etc. as long as its done tastefully, i dont see it any different than other marketing initiatives. Mostly I see, "I hit 10 steelies today, couldn't have have done it without my streamside float rod" lol.

 

The site is a joke and most good guys on the site are getting paid by nps to be there and/or their sponsors make them.

 

If any OFC'ers are NPS'ers, please, enough with the full background hero shots. Steelheading is not hard, and you obviously prove that in your reports.

Edited October 2, 2013 by VXP

[manitoubass2]

Lol, sounds like a crappy deal. I just take super close up pics so my fat head covers the backround

[Loadman]

this has been a problem for years.... this isn't new... hell I ranted about the US before in regards to this... try going south and seeing how many people are there now and all the "I saw and heard it on the net".... and people wonder why especially speck hunters keep the secret spots tight lipped... I love the hero poses tho.. the fishes face right at the camera and ah yes the bridge or dam that so shows the spot.... sigh... guess we gotta live with it... people love the e-fame.

[esoxansteel]

Is there any chance of getting on the Walmart Pro Staff? I really want one of those 6ft white shark rods. I'd clean up with that and a pack of marshmellows.

 

 

No Bill Your too thin to represent Walmart, no visible piercings or tatoos, no Gunt, and you dont wear your pants half way down the crack of your also you have teeth, and no criminal record so the answer is NO LOL

[jimmer]

I don't think you can prevent Great Lake tributaries from being overcrowded. I know the pictures don't help, but look at the populations around those streams.

[misfish]

In 1980,at Erindale park was shoulder to shoulder at any pool. Whats changed?

 

 

I do understand your rant.

 

Guilty..

[MJL]

I don't really have a problem with the "pro-staff" concept. The pro is for promotion not professional. Some guys get their panties in a bunch when they hear pro staff but there is nothing wrong with it. Fishing companies use pro-staffers to get the word out about their lures, rods, etc. as long as its done tastefully, i dont see it any different than other marketing initiatives. Mostly I see, "I hit 10 steelies today, couldn't have have done it without my streamside float rod" lol.

 

The site is a joke and most good guys on the site are getting paid by nps to be there and/or their sponsors make them.

 

If any OFC'ers are NPS'ers, please, enough with the full background hero shots. Steelheading is not hard, and you obviously prove that in your reports.

 

I understand the concept of promoting products. I still don’t understand why the average Joe would pay $50/yr to promote someone else’s products with the possibility of receiving nothing or very little in return (as in the case of many amateur pros on that site).

[Musky or Specks]

As a former pro staffer for just about every tackle and electronic etc , I know what I got out of pro staff: X% below cost of the latest and greatest without having to pay for a period so I could sell stuff at the end of the season and end up breaking even on equipment. They got someone who sold the product on a daily basis who could speak with knowledge about their products from experience and not hearsay. This NPS just sounds like spam.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Musky or Specks

[DRIFTER_016]

Never heard of these guys until today.

Went to the site and never went further than the home page.

Just a way for them to make $$$$ off Joe fisherman.

 

I've also been on various companies pro staff over the years and as M&S says the reduction in cost of the gear is what kept me on board.

It's nice to have the latest high tech gear at below dealer cost pricing.

It's a companies way of having their gear really tested in the field as well as having the pro's endorse their product.

I know that when I use a product that is good quality I will tell people so.

Word of mouth is a powerful thing.

[porkpie]

The Tribs have been shoulder to shoulder around the GTA for the 25 plus years I've been fishing them. Not much has changed, nor will it. As far as history goes back, there have also been folks willing to prostitute themselves for a bit of notoriety, or free services or product. That too won't change, heck apparently some are willing to pay for the privledge. Everyone knows the hooker in the room, but they oft times don't know themselves! Such is life, I don't let it bother me, it's a free country and everyone is entitled to pursue their interest. They all pay for it somehow, I guess some just have to put $50 up front!

Edited October 2, 2013 by porkpie

[misfish]

 

 

The Tribs have been shoulder to shoulder around the GTA for the 25 plus years I've been fishing them. Not much has changed, nor will it.

 

Wouldnt dought we met way back when.LOL

[fishindevil]

NPS showing background shots of east tribs ?? You make it sound like there's secret spots or something !!!! Lol... Like misfish says it was no different 35yrs ago !!!!! Trust me they are by far not the first to find steelhead in the secret spots !!!! .... Lots of us 30yrs ago walked every inch of every trib creek ditch river and stream from Toronto to Kingston !!!!!! Long before the Internet or google !!!!! And with a population of 2 million people living 30mins away you should be lucky there isn't more !!!!! There is no secrets there

[solopaddler]

 

 

No Bill Your too thin to represent Walmart, no visible piercings or tatoos, no Gunt, and you dont wear your pants half way down the crack of your also you have teeth, and no criminal record so the answer is NO LOL

 

 

[landry]

I hate all reports with shameless product plugs. There are aome people on this site that do just that btw. The tv shows are the same. They over-promo their sponsors so much that it actually makes me more cynical.

Most pro-staffers get very few perks and not much discount. I wouldn't bother from what I have seen. Not that anyone would want me anyways:)

Landry

[Roy]

Getting sucked in s'what happens when you wannabe a wannabe. There are very few bona fide professionals in that gang but hey, that's just my opinion.

[misfish]

 

 

Like misfish says it was no different 35yrs ago !!!!! Trust me they are by far not the first to find steelhead in the secret spots !!!! .... Lots of us 30yrs ago walked every inch of every trib creek ditch river and stream from Toronto to Kingston !!!!!! Long before the Internet or google !!!!!

 

You forgot south from Bronte,onto Jordon,Port D,then off to the pool. Talking to guys down there back when,they all shared. Thats where I found out about pebblie beach. I can remember having to get to Port D by 3 am to get a spot 3 anglers from the falls.Fish on,walk back down the wall. Land your fish and oops,yer at the back of the line. The pool was no different back then.5AM,lot is full. Still lots of room to fish down there though.

 

BACK THEN, IT WAS WORD OF MOUTH LIKE MENTIONED.

 

Never went stateside.

 

Seems now,it,s the go to place. Ya,read it on the WWW.

 

 

Youtube is full of places to fish.

 

 

As years have gone by,word of mouth has not changed. Shared gem spots are just that,gems. No longer past on. Kept to self out of respect. Pay it back is what makes it even more fun.And if you dont think so,theres a good friend here,I wont take,out of respect to the one that showed me. Ya it sucks at times,but thats WORD.

 

If it,s a locally well fished area,what the hell. I know I have other spots that will not be posted,due to respect of those that shared,by word of mouth AND WITH TRUST..

Edited October 2, 2013 by Misfish

[MJL]

NPS showing background shots of east tribs ?? You make it sound like there's secret spots or something !!!! Lol... Like misfish says it was no different 35yrs ago !!!!! Trust me they are by far not the first to find steelhead in the secret spots !!!! .... Lots of us 30yrs ago walked every inch of every trib creek ditch river and stream from Toronto to Kingston !!!!!! Long before the Internet or google !!!!! And with a population of 2 million people living 30mins away you should be lucky there isn't more !!!!! There is no secrets there

 

It’s not 'where' that’s the issue, it’s 'when'.

 

You can walk every inch of every trib that flows into Lake Ontario. You can memorize every bush, rock and tree along the river. And after all of that, you still might not have an idea of when the major pushes of fish for a particular river are going to happen (not every river rises or falls the same after a rain, not every river freezes up at the same time, not every river has fish running at the same time despite being only 5 mins away from one another). I started fishing the eastern ditches back in the late 80’s and yes, in many cases, there was a lot of shoulder to shoulder fishing. But there were also a lot of times where you can show up to a popular river at 9am, be the only one there and never see another soul in sight for the day while hitting 30-60 fish (or till you ran out of bait or lost the last of your flies).

 

For some strange reason, people nowadays need to give up to the minute reports via cell phone and social media. I see it often on the river. One guy hits a fish, calls his friend who shows up 30min later with 3 other people who car-pooled with him.

 

The last 3yrs, my strategy is to choose a few rivers that might fish well and select the one that doesn't have a recent report...Seems to work and I probably catch a lot more fish because of it.LOL

[misfish]

 

It’s not 'where' that’s the issue, it’s 'when'.

 

You can walk every inch of every trib that flows into Lake Ontario. You can memorize every bush, rock and tree along the river. And after all of that, you still might not have an idea of when the major pushes of fish for a particular river are going to happen (not every river rises or falls the same after a rain, not every river freezes up at the same time, not every river has fish running at the same time despite being only 5 mins away from one another). I started fishing the eastern ditches back in the late 80’s and yes, in many cases, there was a lot of shoulder to shoulder fishing. But there were also a lot of times where you can show up to a popular river at 9am, be the only one there and never see another soul in sight for the day while hitting 30-60 fish (or till you ran out of bait or lost the last of your flies).

 

For some strange reason, people nowadays need to give up to the minute reports via cell phone and social media. I see it often on the river. One guy hits a fish, calls his friend who shows up 30min later with 3 other people who car-pooled with him.

 

The last 3yrs, my strategy is to choose a few rivers that might fish well and select the one that doesn't have a recent report...Seems to work and I probably catch a lot more fish because of it.LOL

 

 

Long gone are the days of fishing a day,coming home and asked how was the fishing eh Mike.

 

Blame

 

 

Technology

 

Edited October 2, 2013 by Misfish

[MJL]

 

 

Long gone are the days of fishing a day,coming home and asked how was the fishing eh Mike.

 

Blame

 

 

Technology

 

 

I guess I'm one of the few people that doesn't use a cell phone

 

I think if there’s anything Ironic about it all, while attempting to take underwater shots of salmon (unsuccessfully…The river was a little too stained), I overheard one of the pro-staffer wannabes complaining about the crowds while taking hero shots of his friend (for over 4 minutes with the fish out of the water, possibly killing it in the process) and posting the pics to a facebook group…If only there was an emoticon to describe the level of my bewilderment.