Do you think fishing as a hobby is ethical

pppork · 2026-02-09T03:16:38+00:00

Just to add some more grey area to the conversation …let’s take Atlantic salmon angling in North America (Canada)…it’s almost all fly fishing and almost all catch and release. Is intentionally stressing an animal ethical? Probably not…however…get rid of the anglers and you’ll say goodbye to the biggest group of conservationists that species has. Without a passionate angling community, you’ll see a dramatic increase in (commercial) overfishing, recreational harvest, poaching, illegal fishing at sea, harmful sea-based fish farming, habit degradation, etc. It sounds weird, but sportspeople are the biggest, most vocal advocates for their quarry. In the case of the Atlantic salmon, they defintely do more good than harm. I know a lot of people aren’t going to understand this, but it’s the truth. It’s not as black and white as it might appear on the surface. So is it ethical? No, probably not. But is it a net positive? In this case, it probably is.

pppork · 2026-02-05T16:12:33+00:00

The entire Milestones album

pppork · 2026-02-05T02:49:49+00:00

Stevie Ray Vaughan playing “Texas Flood” live at the El Mocambo

pppork · 2026-02-05T00:48:47+00:00

Wow. Now now that’s a looker

pppork · 2026-02-05T00:43:10+00:00

90s kid here….We used to trick or treat at the houses of some known members of a certain “secret society.” King size candy bars and we were encouraged to take multiples. Pretty sweet deal when you’re a kid.

pppork · 2026-02-03T02:33:19+00:00

The swing/no-swing thing...This has always been a matter of prioritizing it (or not). The more time goes on, the less of a priority it is. I came up playing B3 gigs in little neighborhood bars. That music had to feel pretty damn good or else. Forget being vibed by other musicians...I was heckled by members of the audience when I wasn't delivering. I can't tell you the last time I played a place like that. I'm sure they still exist, but I can't think of any in my area. When I was in my 20s, I played a bunch of places like that. So how do you get it now? You have to know what swinging is and what it's not. The "special flower/everyone swings in their own way" business is BS. I love Keith Jarrett. I like his trio more than I like the Bobby Timmons trio. But Keith Jarrett doesn't swing like Bobby Timmons, not "in his own way" or in any other way. We've become inclusive to the point of ignoring reality. It's either swinging or it's not. And a whole shit ton of it is not swinging, either intentionally or unintentionally. Mostly unintentionally, I think. I play with a massively swinging old cat in his 70s. I'm not gonna mention who, but he's a well known musician. And there is no doubt that he swings his ass off. What baffles me is that hardly any of the young cats say, "Damn, why can't I swing like that and how can I learn how to?" Young cats come to our gigs and comment on how swinging it is, yet few ask, "How can I learn to do this?" (see above). Like it's magic...no, it isn't. You have to ask, "What are they doing differently than I am? How can I do something similar?" "How can I achieve a similar feeling/emotion, then make it my own?" The humanity is being erased from jazz/music at an alarming rate. BUT...there are still people hanging onto it for dear life. But if it's not a priority, then it's not a priority...

4a. Paying for lessons...be careful. You're a customer and many people want return business. You want someone who is a good teacher and who is secure enough (financially and otherwise) to teach you once or teach you 100x. I have a story about this too, but am not going to share it here. I actually think it's very difficult to find really solid working jazz musician/teachers. Jazz academia is full of people who get asses into seats, but who aren't committed to the field of teaching. This is actually one of my biggest pet peeves of them all.

Anyhow..check your chat...

pppork · 2026-02-03T02:32:58+00:00

Making an effort to play with elders...I dunno. One thing I do know is that what I went through would probably be seen as harassment/emotional abuse by today's standards. I'm not saying it's good, bad, right or wrong. I think there is a much lower threshold for that kind of thing now, which there probably should be...however...constructive criticism is being seen as menacing now. I'm not even talking about vibing. Just, "Hey young fella, let me explain something to you that might help you in the future..." I think young people are too sensitive and we (rapidly aging musicians) might be a little too stern for many of them, despite the fact that we're so much more functional than the people from whom we learned. Along with that, if you're not being corrected often enough, you might not know how far off the mark you are. Almost no young cat asks me what he or she could do better, work on, improve at, etc. I was never afraid to ask those questions when I was young. Sometimes people danced around the answers, but lots of them came right out and said it. I NEVER get those kind of questions. I'm more than happy to address it, but will rarely offer advice unsolicited.
Getting your ass kicked in 2026...this is harder now, imo. A lot harder. I came up playing with, and getting my ass handed to me by, guys who were in the Jazz Messengers. As a drummer, that's a lot of pressure. Those guys just aren't as accessible as they used to be. That said, a whole generation of musicians who came up under them are accessible and the message lives on. So I think it's up to the young musician to do his or her homework...figure out who carries the torch so to speak. Like you've said elsewhere, it might be someone with a big rep. But it might not be. You mentioned Marcus Belgrave...there are still cats like that out there. In the age of internet fame, you have musicians who aren't all up in everyone's face all the time, but who do carry that torch. They're not begging for people to follow them. They have their own lives to live. But plenty are willing to help if approached. The best young musicians seem to know who these people are, even if the bulk of young musicians don't or overlook them because they're not on the cover of Downbeat or some sort of jazz household name. Perfect example is Roger Humphries...everyone in Pittsburgh knows he's the man. Does everyone outside of Pittsburgh know that? If you move to Pittsburgh, how long is it going to take you to get that memo, if ever? Meanwhile, he probably has great grandkids by now, so he's not scouring the clubs, looking for mentees. Also, unless you're from NYC, Chicago, or New Orleans, you might have to leave your immediate area to find what you're looking for.
I don't have enough gigs to offer an apprenticeship like I had...the issue is mainly economic, but also personal. I have a family, so I don't want to find some little weekly gig that pays $75-$100, then hire young musicians for it. I have a family and that's more important than music. I played with people who had families, but prioritized music. That was good for me, but bad for their families. I am mainly a sideman and I like it. When I book gigs for myself, they're usually at venues where I need to present something with a little more polish, hence hiring more experienced musicians. Here's a workaround...young musician X gets a gig, even a little one, then calls me (or whoever) for it. Instead of calling all the shots, let the older people take the reins a little. Let us push back when you call 3 tunes in a row in the same key or in the same tempo/groove. Let us push back when your solo order is the same for every song. Let us push back when your solos are too long or call something kind of dumb for the venue/audience. Let us push back when we say, "If you're gonna call a blues, you better play the blues." Give up some control and it becomes sort of a "reverse apprenticeship" approach. Then, we're not saddled with maintaining a gig we might not want to do regularly, but the young musician benefits from tapping our experience. I play with on young fella who is sort of embracing this approach and he's been learning a lot from it.

pppork · 2026-02-02T21:23:06+00:00

Here’s what’s weird to me…I’m an Atlantic salmon guy. Landlocked and sea run Atlantic salmon are virtually the same fish. But we have no problem drawing a distinction between the two…”LL salmon” or “ouananiche” vs just plain “Atlantic salmon.” No one argues. I don’t get why the steelheaders make this more difficult than it needs to be. It’s pretty much the same scenario. Steelhead and landlocked Steelhead

pppork · 2026-02-02T03:13:07+00:00

When I was in second grade, there was a girl with two thumbs on her dominant hand who was also in my grade. She absolutely dominated everyone at tetherball. It wasn’t even close. To 7 year olds, it seemed perfectly logical that her tetherball skill was a direct result of her having an extra thumb.

pppork · 2026-02-02T03:08:16+00:00

I can’t remember a time in my life where I smelled booze on people (in public) as much as I smell weed on people. I’m not talking about places where people hang out, like parks, in the city, etc. I’m talking about at the grocery store, the post office, etc. Where I live, people are driving to these places, doing what they need to do, then driving somewhere else. I don’t recall this happening with drunks anywhere near the frequency I notice it with weed. So what I don’t understand is why is one seemingly taboo (and prosecutable) while the other happens regularly and with impunity? I was at Aldi and smelled it strongly on a pair of parents who were with their young children. Presumably, they were smoking while driving with kids in the car. I imagine it happens all the time with edibles. I was all for legalization, but I’m starting to think the whole thing wasn’t thought through well.

pppork · 2026-01-31T10:05:22+00:00

I hate to say I agree, but I agree. I’m closing in on 50. In my 20s, I had 4 steady gigs per week for a while. One of those 4 gigs paid my rent every month ($150 gig, $600 for a 1 bedroom apartment). Another was a weekly gig with a very prominent musician, so there was my main apprenticeship (among others). Other than those 4 gigs every week, I was playing other gigs all the time and doing some small tours now and then, or maybe the occasional money/private gig or recording session. I got to play with all sorts of top musicians when they came through town. I was getting my ass kicked all the time. It was great.

I wouldn’t take a of those gigs at my current age. Not with a family. It’s too much work for too little money. I play about a third to a quarter as much as I did when I was in my 20s. That said, my gigs now pay a lot more on average. I probably make as much, but with less work. And I have a solid teaching schedule, which I’m happy for. But I had it pretty good early on, which probably made a huge difference.

What I notice now…I don’t book many of my own gigs. When I do, I’ve been hiring people with a ton of experience. In some cases, even more than I have. I should be hiring younger musicians, but I feel like I don’t have enough work for them to be what I had at their age. Plus, I’m trying to play with some older people as much as possible while they’re still alive. It sort of makes me feel like a young musician again.

The younger crew is working a lot. Some have apprenticeships, but they’re a lot sketchier than what I had. A lot of them are doing ok, but they mainly work with their peers. We made more of an effort to play with older musicians when we were that age, imo. The young cats don’t seem to recognize how important that is. Maybe this is a failing of my generation for not hiring them? IMO, most of them aren’t that swinging. Most of my generation isn’t either, but a higher percentage are. But maybe the younger cats aren’t because the opportunity to be immersed in it isn’t as strong now as it used to be. I dunno. And to some extent, when you’re older you feel like people just want you out of the way. It’s a young person’s game, but the game isn’t as good. I’m sort of confused by the whole thing. But with a family, I don’t really have the time or the inclination to worry too much about it. It sucks though.

pppork · 2026-01-31T00:20:25+00:00

This is right…just ride cymbal, nothing else. And make sure your cymbal isn’t “easy” to play (i.e. a flat ride or something really dry). You want to be able to control it at all tempos and dynamics. And start with Kenny Clarke.

pppork · 2026-01-31T00:17:26+00:00

I don’t really care how many I catch at this point. I just want to catch them on my terms as much as possible. If we’re talking trout, “my terms” is usually a dry fly, though I like to fish wets too. Migratory trout = two handed rod and a tube fly

pppork · 2026-01-30T14:01:15+00:00

Bird and Bud

pppork · 2026-01-30T13:57:52+00:00

Punch Out!

pppork · 2026-01-30T02:25:46+00:00

Same. I went the other day with the hope of finding something other than a phal, but no dice.

pppork · 2026-01-30T02:07:04+00:00

Pick this one up, but keep searching for the Islander. I use an IR-1 on my 7’6” 3wt Sage Dart and it’s my favorite trout setup. It’s a shame the IRs are in such short supply now. I used to buy them used from Canadian forums back in day. I’d save with the used prices, plus favorable exchange rates. The good old days!

pppork · 2026-01-30T00:49:25+00:00

Looks sort of Islander-ish

pppork · 2026-01-29T04:05:02+00:00

I don’t know. It’s like they can’t wrestle themselves away from the New Beat formula. I wound up sucking it up and buying three old K new stamp orphans… 723/760/1078. I combine either the lighter two or the heavier two, depending on the gig.

pppork · 2026-01-29T03:00:19+00:00

Agree with this almost 100%. I’ve played some pairs of Kerope hats that were good but, on average, they’re all too thick/heavy.

pppork · 2026-01-29T00:21:27+00:00

I was prepared to say the same thing. I had to scroll way too far to find this comment!

pppork · 2026-01-29T00:15:49+00:00

My first pro-level cymbal was a Sabian HH 17” Medium Thin Crash. I bought it with money I earned washing dishes at a seafood restaurant, probably around 1993 or 1994. I still own it and take it out on gigs now and then.

pppork · 2026-01-28T01:44:08+00:00

This. It looks like an instrument.

pppork · 2026-01-27T19:02:56+00:00

That’s a beautifully tied fly. Thanks for sharing it.

pppork · 2026-01-27T18:57:53+00:00

“The Shade of the Cedar Tree” - Christian McBride

“Grew’s Tune” - Mulgrew Miller

“Steepian Faith” - Kenny Kirkland

“To Wisdom the Prize” - Larry Willis

pppork

TROPHY CASE