[Sticky] Is the enthusiast community dying?

@saoulons 

The Key Foundation of continued and perpetual growth and sustainability...is the recruitment of the NEXT GENERATION.

Power Structures and Civilizations throughout history, written, and even prehistoric, have always abided by and understood this Universal Law, whether instinctively and inately or by way of purposeful human consciousness.

@dragon1

Wow man that is DEEEEP… You’re right, of course, but take note that all power structures and civilizations throughout history, outside those which still exist and therefore modern, have gone way of the Dodo Bird.

To me it is not about what it was, or is, but what it means. I have never acquired a coveted item to pass on. This is not greed or selfishness, but self-awareness. I do it to make myself happy, and therefore a better person.

And another thing, little off base here, I don’t believe I’ve ever touched on this before, but when we modify something, it changes everything. It becomes our history, not the item itself. This is why old cars fetch absolute top dollar when defined as ‘unmolested’. Once modified, even a tiny bit, value drops through the floor. I’ve often been fascinated how this phenomenon doesn’t exist in our world here. Hmm…

Bahh… just typing thoughts, I guess. And one more thing, we have only just begun. To OP, nothing is dying here. We are the ground floor, the evolution.

@one-love 

Yessir my brother...there is no Beginning without an Ending...and there is no cycle without the "continuity of recycling"...

In Zen-Country Boy speak...ain't nuttin' (truly) new under the sun (or moon).

What if the "enthusiast" notion (as I lived it) was just a phase in time for those of us who lived through it? The 10 years between 2008 and 2018 saw a boom in fishing rod / reel technology advancements and associated releases and now it feels like the technology has become commonplace and readily available, like SV spools, BFS gear and MB top end rods.

I have no empirical basis to support this but I wouldn't be surprised if the Zillion 8.1 reel is a better performing reel than the IP 7.9. Or that the Steez CT is better than the IS. Great fishing technology is readily available and no longer requires having local contacts in Japan and modding a reel to the point of it becoming unrecognizable...

I mean, is anybody still yearning after fixed inductor ZPI spools other than for nostalgic sake? If I am new to the high-end tackle game, it's pretty easy to get a Destroyer P5 and a Steez Limited. It seems to be what "enthusiast" has become nowadays and I see plenty of engagement on TT to provide input / reviews on P5 rods. Mail calls have become less impressive in this context as this stuff is easy to procure. Not sure that I would have the desire to go after X7 rods and Monoblocks if I was just starting out.

And for those of us who lived through all the X7 and Monoblock releases, I can't help but feel nostalgic and think back on the good ol' days. There is something unique about the MB rods and reels like the X7 and Zonda, but maybe you had to live through those releases to fully enjoy their appeal and aura. For new entrants, they may just be interesting historical relics 😉

Just wanted to check in/bump this thread and mention that I’ve been taking a break/sorting out a few “life” issues that have arisen in the past few weeks. I’ll be back shortly and look forward to adding my take to this subject that has had nothing but incredibly strong/quality responses. That said, I’m happy to see everyone chugging along on here. Hope everyone’s year has gotten off to a great start.
👊🏼💥

@rise 

💪🇺🇲♥️🇺🇲🙏🇺🇲

You know how to get hold of me if you need someone to speak with.

Posted by: @dragon1

↑

The Key Foundation of continued and perpetual growth and sustainability...is the recruitment of the NEXT GENERATION.

I am a byproduct of this. I went from bright green Lews to dark black Daiwa in a matter of weeks thanks to some very influential friends of mine.

My two cents...

Enthusiast in terms of the fishing community is such a wide range if we want to define it. I consider people like us gear enthusiasts. A gear enthusiast has two standards...1) Wants the best and most high end and 2) Wants the most obscure and rare. Add the two together and you get a gear enthusiast. Perhaps a third could be that we are also very information hungry. Or maybe that's just me.

To the question of if it is dying...a little bit of yes and no? I believe that some of the brands that used to be enthusiast (Megabass, Shimano, Daiwa) have begun to cater to general audiences. Yes, they still have high end items but the allure of the truly obscure is basically gone from any of their newer items. They build to appease EVERYONE, which is fine. I think the future for groups of enthusiasts like ourselves lies with the small shops that produce things in limited quantity meant for their own applications that produce new and unique things.

It is not dead but it is close and the true enthusiasts have shrunk noticeably. I guess an agreeable definition of a tackle enthusiast needs to be established first. You can define an enthusiasts simply by someone that buys expensive fishing gear from rods, reels, boats, lures etc. Does a guy that purchases ans uses a $25 MB an enthusiast when he fishes it on a $200 combo? Compared to the guy fishing a rogue jerkbait ans a Walmart combo perhaps. 

When I think of the enthusiast craze that started back in the early 2000s after the launch of the TDZ then its predecessor the Steez, the enthusiast community was beginning to take shape and estabilish some roots for JDM gear. Then along came the personal order IZE factory TDZ reels, Megabass versions of reels from IP, IS, monoblock, Zonda etc. Around this time reel tuning and mods became a new craze and many were getting in. 

Also around this time MB was producing the most stunning rods to match their beautiful reels. Evergreen and other JDM manufactures entered the chat with their offerings and one could put together true limited made combos. So many rods were made in Japan in smaller runs with unique dragon artwork and detailing plus all of the incredible paint work on the reels and tuning parts to make them unique. Any items that were bought and sold were going for slightly less then new.

Fast forward in time. What has changed? A lot. For one Mb has stopped making reels and tuning parts for reels. There are very few if any limited run reels being made that aren’t all black under the SLP branding. MB rods have been mass produced and watered down. What used to set them apart and define them is gone. They cater to the masses now and aren’t near the quality or detailing of prior years. 

Also when someone gets out or sells out as an enthusiast there isn’t necessarily someone or his caliber waiting in the wings to grab the torch and fill the void. The gear may get spread out among current enthusiasts. I don’t see many true enthusiasts emerging like there once was. Also some folks have passed away from the early enthusiasts days or had other things in life come up to where the gear was not important anymore.

Where I see the biggest jumps is in a niche market of the enthusiasts community and that is in the BFS realm and swimbait scene. These were very small audiences many years ago. Now almost every manufacturer is coming out with a BFS rod or reel, swimbait rod or reel, and baits in their lineup for these applications. 

In summary there are still enthusiasts out there but it is more of a specie going extinct from its classical definition in the early days. The economy and what is going on in the world has also depleted disposable income to where folks aren’t spending as much or as offer as they once did. I don’t buy into the flavor of the week Mb lure and the newest P5 Destroyer rod. Those aren’t true enthusiasts to me rather what the new generation of wanna be enthusiasts has transformed into

Posted by: @dragon1

↑

@rise 

💪🇺🇲♥️🇺🇲🙏🇺🇲

You know how to get hold of me if you need someone to speak with.

Appreciate you, my brotha….

#life

@kickerfish1 

Yeppers, agreed on essentially all points.  

@pkn8 

Sounds like you've been blessed with good and worthy influences in your life. 😎

The input here has been amazing. This thread has gotten me fired up and I’ve been working on a response, that’s actually bordering on being its own article…🤣

I’ll be adding to this shortly. 

Hi Everyone,

First and foremost, please allow me to thank RISE and the good folks at JDMFishing.com for having the most comprehensive site pertaining to all things related to JDM fishing tackle! I constantly refer to this site as I vainly attempt to add yet more fishing tackle to my collection, and it's been a life saver for when Google Translate gets it "very wrong"! 😭 

Speaking for myself, I'm coming out of a long period of recovering from a recurring medical condition and that condition limits how much time I can actually spend using modern conveniences such as a PC/MAC, a smartphone, or a tablet but as my prognosis continues to improve, I will be making more of an effort to add my minor portion of zeal to the enthusiast community.

As for the question of is the enthusiast community dying? Not at all, rather, I believe we are still experiencing a period of profound adjustments relating to the pandemic and its far-reaching impacts since we are now a far more interrelated and integrated global community than ever before. Further, I believe that will find our equilibrium point and prosper from there as we did after the economic disjunctions of 2008 as a small but similar example.

I know my goal this season is to continue growing my BFS tackle collection so I can enjoy my fishing even more than I have in the past and since I now have the freedom of being retired and there are very few time distractions for me these days, I intend to make the most of it I can!

Please have a great day!

Sincerely,

NV   

I think it's more evolution than death, not even on live support!  Over the past 8 months, I bought 6 RAID Japan rods and a JDM Steez along with a variety of lures and terminal tackle.  Even the stuff I'm selling is half-hearted.

Relocating from the Northeast to South Carolina necessitated a major change in tackle.  It's accelerated learning curve and tackle turnover.  COVID, politics, economic issues have bottle-necked all of it.

The only thing I'm short on is time to hit the water!

Posted by: @blitzdr

↑

I think it's more evolution than death, not even on live support!  Over the past 8 months, I bought 6 RAID Japan rods and a JDM Steez along with a variety of lures and terminal tackle.  Even the stuff I'm selling is half-hearted.

Relocating from the Northeast to South Carolina necessitated a major change in tackle.  It's accelerated learning curve and tackle turnover.  COVID, politics, economic issues have bottle-necked all of it.

The only thing I'm short on is time to hit the water!

Addendum:  

I think we tackle junkies are getting more discriminating and educated, the JDM designation isn't enough for most.  And some companies have gone from cutting edge to dull, predicatable and mainstream.