A lot of good thought and ideals went into many good replies to a very tough and interesting question here. I think there are a couple different ways to look at this concept of "how good of fisherman are you?" - qualitative and quantitative. And there are no rights or wrongs with these opinions. ...

As for qualitative, I think the 2 biggest factors mentioned are the generalizations Waterdog put into his post about being a good steward of the sport, and the last sentence of Salmo's post in which he thinks the best fishermen are essentially those that get the most overall enjoymnent out of it. I agree with those guys ideals for a qualitative measure of fishermen. It took me a long time, and perhaps a little less testosterone level :), to finally get to where I don't fish as competitively or intensely hard like I used to. I still fish fairly efficiently, but not as intense. I prefer to relax and not compete so hard, and I have found I enjoy fishing more again because of it. If you race around and fish intensely to 'be the best' or 'come in first place' with the most fish at the boat ramp, I doubt you properly enjoy the days when others were more lucky than you on the river any given day. And that's a real shame - because you lost out on a lot of the sheer joy of just fishing! ....

As for the quantitative aspect of 'how good', I agree it's not just a numbers game, but how overall comprehensive your general fishing knowledge is and how successful you are in using that over the long run - NOT on any given lucky day - in a variety of conditions you encounter. I have a pretty good knowledge base about salmon and steelhead fishing, and do well in a lot of areas and conditions; but I often don't do as well as the guide or fanatic on there 'home turf' that fish most days of the week and can get dialed into the intracacies of what it's taking to catch the fish there that day or week. That doesn't make the guide the better overall fisherman though. I think I would say for this latter way of looking at it, the most consistently successful fishers over the long haul in multiple areas could be considered the best fishers. I don't know the answer though, if there really is one. However, I am glad that the first concept of the qualitative aspect has taken it's rightful greater significants within me now, because I enjoy it more that way.

RT