Honest question to my fellow mutants: is the fishing community politically inclined?
Central European hunters, in my experience, are often conservative to reactionaries, and the whole community has a strong tendency for that. Expensive hobby, weapon fetish, law-of-the-land, medieval traditions and all that. Fits like an arse on a bucket, to use a german expression.
What about fishing, and it’s sub-cultures? And how does that differ around the world?
Yeah, the politics aren’t an overt thing, but it’s definitely there. There seems to be a strong tendency to be highly conservative in the angling world (the hunting and angling world as a whole, really). There’s also a huge push to keep politics out of fishing. People use it as their happy place and don’t like it when reality comes crashing in.
I concur with @GratuitousFish on this, and also wonder if they’ve noticed the same subcultures as I have…generally, if I meet someone fishing from a non-motorized vessel, a canoe or kayak, they tend to be more middle or left leaning (or what passes for that in the US). If they’re in a big motorized vessel, more right.
Same with hunting, though I meet less of them. Every bow hunter I’ve met is more central to left, while most (not all) who hunt with firearms are to the right, so, conservative to fascist.
As it happens, I often fish from a canoe 
Thinking about it more, there’s a shocking amount of anger among those groups. I’ve had to leave multiple angling Facebook groups because of it. In fact, it’s a big part of what drove me off Facebook completely. Not only that, but one of my local fly fishing forum had to shut down their politics thread because it would often just get nasty. Like, really nasty. I never went in there.
Huh, anger between groups, like how snowboarders and skiers bicker? Or just a general seething anger?
And being in nature is supposed to be so calming!
General anger, mixed with the usual blend of misogyny, racism, homophobia.
And right?? I’ve never understood how folks who spend so much of their time in nature could be so fucking angry all the time, especially considering how many of them say fishing is the only therapy they need 
My sample size is limited, but my experience has been the opposite. Of the ones I’ve met, on everything except outdoor conservation, hunters of all methods are pretty conservative.
My sample size is also pretty limited. The bow hunters I know enough to know their politics are mainly primitivism punks, so…
But the self-propelled versus motorized sports seems relatively consistent. Snowmobiles versus x-country skis, motorboats versus canoes or little sailboats, etc.
…which means it’s currently conservative with fascist pockets in it. Explained here. Relevant portion at 9:53, in case deeplink doesn’t work:
Yeah, that’s probably a very safe assessment. I see hints of it all the time and not just from folks who live in those areas where you’d kind of expect it. There’s also a shocking number of Canadians falling into the US-style deep right abyss (as I’m sure you know).
They have Trumpers, we have Freedom Convoyers. Sigh. As the US goes, so goes Canada 15 or 20 years later.
So when you asked
What you really meant was that you don’t care?
Just say that, then. 
Saves everyone the effort of answering a question you don’t really want answered.
Thanks (to everyone) for your input. You guys are confirming what I kind of hoped to be my prejudice.
Sidenote: I noticed that there is a eastern European/Russian community apart from the other anglers here in Germany. I wonder about them, but have no way of asking. I’m not part of any of those specific subcultures, i just noticed there are groups which do not mix and do other stuff (e.g., the “Russians” go for different fish, and usually do not waste anything they catch.)
It’s remarkable to me how political a whole lot of not-obviously political topics have become. I once frequented a fruit-growing discussion board, but was harassed off of it when I made the mistake of asking how folks were seeing climate change affect their crops. This was an entirely unacceptable topic in that forum, and those who brought it up had no place there. That was the last forum I took part in until I came here.
Yeah. Honestly, it kinda sucks. I’d love to have more fishing friends, but I have to really be critical of who I go out with. I’m in a fairly rural area as it is, so there’s a good chance people are going to be at least somewhat conservative, but the chances of being stuck in a boat all day with someone who hates gay people or has strong thoughts on indigenous folks are way higher than I’d like. I fish alone a lot as a result.
Were they professional farmers or hobbyists? There’s a lot of fruit growing around here. 10 years ago most would get fired up if someone brought up climate change, but I think that’s changed in the last few years. The once very predictable weather patterns are now all over the place and fruit growers can’t rely on it anymore. I think they’re getting scared (or at the very least worried) because they’re starting to look to the federal government to help. Too many folks are losing entire orchards to hail, among other things.
These were generally hobbyists or small orchards, no real big commercial concerns. A couple “pick your own” operations and such. And yeah, 10 years ago give or take sounds about right. I hate to admit it, but I am at the age where that seems like very recent history!
It was depressing, but also so refreshing recently - I was in Porto, Portugal on a winery tour and the guide talked about the impacts of climate change in the same matter of fact tone he spoke about that blight (maybe a bacteria?) that swept through a decade or two ago.
Grape growers are a lot more aware of weather and climate changes, I think, because almost every aspect of weather impacts how a grape will turn out (there’s a lot of vineyards here). They need to track the changes and adapt or they won’t be able to keep making good wine.
Yeah, I guess the point I was making was that in Europe, in general, it seems climate change and science in general hasn’t been as politicized as it has been here. Because I think here, even if they’re aware of it, winery tour guides wouldn’t mention climate change for fear of alienating some of the more conservative guests.
Ah, to have a well-educated populace with social safety nets!
I don’t think we have that luxury.
Think of the Reform Party / Harper Conservatives as Tea Party North, backed by the same Koch and Friends, tapping the same bases.
It’s expressed differently, moves in different phases, but it’s the same thing.
