Day 92 - Technology and Fly Fishing Marriage

As a heads up, I've been toying with the idea of moving to a different blogging service. While I like the use of blogger.com, I think the use of Word Press may offer me some better opportunities in the future. Currently I'm posting on both sites, but I think by the end of the year I will be using strictly Word Press. If you'd like, you can visit the new site at: www.365flyfish.wordpress.com

I've mentioned this before: I'm a techno junkie. I love my iPhone and Wii and laptop and TomTom GPS and Facebook and Twitter and... I know that it is kind of odd for a person who is so connected to the outdoors to also be in love with technology, but I am.

But what I'd really like would be a marriage of my passion of Fly Fishing with my love of technology. Take my iPhone for example (well don't really take it). My iPhone is with me almost from the moment I wake up in the morning to right before I go to bed. In fact, it is now sitting next to me charging up. There are dozens of cool ideas that I could do with an iPhone if this marriage would occur.

I'd love to have a mobile fly fishing diary with me. Something that I could reference when I was on the stream. I've done database building before in MS Access, and theoretically it wouldn't be hard to do. I would love a place to write down what the stream temp was, what rod I was using, the weather was like, what time the first fish was landed, what fly was used successfully and unsuccessfully, how it was fished... I don't have something like that now, and I probably really should. The problem with written notes is that you can't easily search for information, and the current problem with technology is that you can't take it to the stream easily. So, I'm left to go fishing without any real experience to fall back on other than my memory (which is starting to falter).

My (and my wife's) Wii is another example. The cordless remote equipped with an accelerometer would be a perfect thing to help me practice my cast during crappy days, or days when it just isn't feasible to hit the streams. I mean think about it for a second, with the new sensors these things are super sensitive. It can detect the faintest movements and could really aid in casting if the program was done correctly. What if Lefty Kreh could endorse a Wii Fly Fishing Game? It could use his casting style as a guide line for correct casts. It's just physics couldn't someone come up with this game? I'd buy it and I'm sure others would too. You could even add an option for realistic casting and "video game" casting.

I'm sure that these million dollar ideas will soon be snatched up from me and I'll be left penniless on any royalties. However, I would still use these items as they are super great ideas (at least to me they are). If someone has the backing, I'd be willing to consult on the specifics of my ideas. Anyway, until then I'll think about buying a notebook for my fly fishing adventures and setup some frisbees in my backyard to practice my casting.