Don't You Just Love(?) a Guy Who Thinks He's the Best There Ever Was?

And, no, I'm not talking about the retired Canadian-American pro wrestler Bret "the Hitman" Hart, whose introductions always included this phrase: "the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be."

No, the fella I'm talking about in the title of this blog post shall remain nameless.

The point I want to make up front here is simple. It's that if left to my own devices, I'd just as soon stick a needle in those who think they're "the best there ever was" and deflate them a little. Or as my old boss at the Norfolk Naval Base newspaper office used to say, "I'd like to buy 'em for what they're really worth and sell 'em for what they think they're worth." Either solution would be poetic justice for a "know it all"...in my opinion, at least.

I don't need to tell you that there's a bunch of people running around who fit that description to a T...most of whom have their head buried so far up their A-double-crooked-letter they'd blow their brains out if they f**ted.

Read a few days ago about a Tackle Warehouse worker (wearing a T-shirt advertising his employer) who had gone into a local outdoors store and was confronted immediately by one such individual.

"Once he noticed me," said the TW worker, "he was all over me like white on rice. Followed by a standard 'fisherman's greeting' (a hurried name introduction and firm handshake, followed by a drawn-out description of his boat and fancy new equipment), I quickly realized that this guy wasn't interested in just having a conversation. He didn't care about a single word coming from my mouth. All he really wanted was to let me know he was the best fisherman on Planet Earth. How could I be so lucky?"

Turned out this TW worker simply bit his tongue while politely mollifying the "blow hard" with frequent head nods, animated eyebrow raises, and enthusiastic smiles.

"As he continued to ramble on," said the TW worker, "I found myself frantically thinking of an escape route. I don't wear a watch, so I couldn't use the trusty, 'Well, I gotta run' excuse. I had left my cellphone in the truck, so I couldn't fake a phone call. And to make things even worse, I was by myself, without a comrade to bail me out of the trenches. I was stuck behind enemy lines."

Seems Mr. Gift to the Universe (or so he thought) fishes a local tournament trail that frequents the TW worker's home lake.

"He proceeded to tell me that it's the premier trail in the Southeast," said the worker, "and that I better have my 'you know what' together if I planned to fish any of the events. On top of that, when he learned of my career as a writer at Wired2Fish, he condescendingly shook his head saying, 'Naw man, ain't no money in that. You're wasting your time.'"

"Ok, so let me get this straight," said the worker to himself. "A complete stranger approaches me, and in a single conversation openly doubts my fishing talent, shoots down my hard-fought dream career, and talks to me like a child. Nicely done, sir...nicely done."

After the worker finally weaseled his way out of the store...to save his eardrums from further punishment, he was left with an indescribably sour taste in his mouth. He wasn't mad at the man because that would be a waste of energy. He instead just let it go and kept on trucking. The exchange did, however, make him realize something: "As anglers, we all must realize the disparity between self-belief and egotism.

"Nothing is ever gained from arrogance, regardless of the situation. Instead of spending our energy discrediting fellow anglers, it's important that we use our individual talents and abilities to grow this magnificent sport. Fishing is a brotherhood, and we need to be there to pull each other up, not push others down.

"We must always remember our biggest commonality. We are a special breed of people with a shared respect and reverence for fishing and the creatures we seek. The only person who can fully, 100 percent relate to a fisherman is another fisherman. We're not curing cancer, and most of us never will compete in the Bassmaster Classic. Let's take the time to contribute toward the growth and development of the sport that has had such an enormous impact on our lives.

"When it's all said and done, it really isn't about being 'better' than someone. It doesn't matter who catches the most fish or who catches the 5-pounder in the Saturday tournament. We can't take success to our graves. Instead, let's help one another and enjoy the fellowship with others who share the same passion. Catching fish is great...we all love doing it. As my mom always told me growing up, however, we must never get so caught up in the end result that we forget to enjoy the journey.

"We want everyone to keep this in mind throughout our travels and interactions with fellow anglers, fans, and most importantly, the younger generation. Give the kid at the boat ramp one of your lures, tell him what the fish are eating...try to do something to pay it forward. You never know who may be watching. For the good of our sport, we all need to remember to put our pride aside and wear a smile. Be pleasant. Be polite. Wave back at fellow anglers on the water. In short, treat everyone as your equal, 'cause that's the way God created all of us."