Thoughts from the staff
by Brian King
A year ago in May (1999) I suddenly had this thought about a website that catered to river smallie anglers. Don't ask me where it came from because I still don't know. I ran the idea past my friend, Marc Hutchison, who was immediately interested! We passed it back and forth via email for a few days and decided to give it a shot. It occured to me that we would need help with the project and I began compiling a list of folks I knew who were passionate river anglers and I hoped would think the idea had validity. I sat down and composed an email letter outlining the ideas Marc and I had discussed and requested that these other folks join us. I have to admit I was very nervous about sending that note! I just knew each and every one of them was going to think the idea was crazy and would never work. Afterall, at that point it was just an idea. Well, much to my surprise, each of them agreed to join the project and become what we call the "staff" (for lack of a better term). The original staff line-up has changed slightly over the past year, but currently DW Harris, Barbara Fricke, Al Pugh, Steven Flint, Cap'n Chuck Duggins, Tracy Gosselin, Al Agnew, and Marc Hutchison comprise the backbone of RS.
Our original concept was and still is that RS will be a website for the everyday "non-pro" angler. We do not pretend to be professional anglers. We wanted to approach things from the view of ordinary folks who have a passion for river smallmouth fishing. The staff does not have all the answers, although we do our best to provide answers to all questions sent our way. If we don't know the answer we'll tell you we don't know. The great aspect of our message forum is that people can pick the collective brains of all of our regulars, not just the staff. I dare say if you can't get an answer to a question on the board, you probably won't get it anywhere. Speaking of the message forum, we have many, many more "silent visitors" than we do those who actually post. Your messages are being read by more people than you know.
Many friendships have developed over the past year. Everything from informal one-on-one fishing trips all the way up to the first RS rodeo held in Virginia have taken place. I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting many great people and fishing with them. The caliber of folks who call RS home is beyond compare! It is a wonderful feeling to see people interact with one another in such a postive way and build those friendships. The internet can seem like such a cold and impersonal place, yet it has the amazing ability to draw people together.
We have grown in a big way the past twelve months, but we still have a long way to go. Our various features like the articles and product reviews continue to expand. We've added new features like the fly fishing forum, catch and release tips, and bookstore that people wanted. We just recently added the fly photo section and we will continue to add new features and content when you ask for it and we are capable of meeting the request. We can't do everything, but we try to accomodate your wishes as best we can. No one on the staff is paid for being a part of RS. Each of us has a full time job and other responsibilities that demand our attention. Sometimes it seems like it takes time to add a new feature or new material to the site and that's because we can't devote 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to it despite our desire. Trust that we do listen to your suggestions and do our best to accomodate them if possible. We fully expect RS.com to continue growing as a resource for river smallmouth information.
Where will the next year take us? Who knows? We hope that the site will remain a center of activity and a place to discuss everything from fishing trips to unfortunate disasters like river spills (something we've had too many of over the past year). We also hope the site will continue to promote and spread the word about the need for conservation of our precious natural resources. With an increase in the popularity of fishing it is even more imperative that we teach new anglers the importance of caring for our rivers, streams, and the wildlife that inhabits them. Our world is steadily becoming a concrete jungle and we need to preserve what we can of the natural world for our children and grandchildren.
Our first year has been a tremendous success and we plan to be here as long as there are flowing waterways and smallmouth bass swimming in them! Afterall, it is the common bond that binds us all together!
On behalf of the staff, I want to say THANK YOU to each of you for supporting RS and making our first year online such a great one!
On August 20, 2000 RS will have been online for one year! The site has grown tremendously over the past year, thanks in large part to the many fine anglers who frequent this corner of cyber space! The response to a website devoted to river, stream, and creek smallmouth fishing has been greater than any of us on the staff envisioned. Let's take a quick review....
Brian
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