Recently at work I came across the word "Legacy" in the context of the completion of historic assessments. The word legacy stuck in my mind, but why? According to Webster's Dictionary:
legacy- 1. something received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.

What are we receiving? things or perhaps customs or mindsets? As I mulled the word over in my mind the thought struck me as to how the concept of legacy could apply to fishing, or in my specific instance, surf-casting.

Should we be conscious of the fishing legacy we are leaving to our children and other future fisherman? I think yes. But how do we express that? I would think not by taking short fish, nor keeping fish out of season, nor keeping more than the limit amount in season. Nor is it leaving garbage at the beach or fishing more than one rod at a time to name but a few of what I'll call anti-fishing legacy actions. Conduct of this sort is not the example we should be providing and is frustrating to most fisherman when observed. Thankfully most fishermen do not conduct themselves in this manner.

What I'll offer is the concept of a fishing legacy through leading by example. I'm not talking about being policemen at the beach; leave that to our Environmental Conservation Officers after you learn their phone number. What I'm talking about is leading and showing the way towards marine stewardship. Pick up a piece of garbage on the way out, show respect towards our marine environment and fish species, join a fish conservation group after you do your research. Do what you can to keep the beach clean and preserve the future of the finfish we all love to catch. Will someone see your actions, pause, and perhaps emulate them? Although that shouldn't be the driver for such actions lets hope so.

Ultimately your fellow fisherman is responsible for their actions but we can effect change by caring and thinking about our conduct, the role we represent for our present and future fisherman and consciously being a mentor. Lead by example and take action. With more and more pressure on the fish and beach we must be aware of the image we project to the public and government. What image will you project? Will our actions change some other fisherman's mindset; let's hope so, so the fishing legacy we pass on is one we can all be proud of.

Kurtis W. Stokes