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I also was wondering. I'm up in the north woods and lurk I lot so I rarely post. I was just curious. I have fished with Joseph and several other members of the ISA. I thought Joseph was one of the clubs biggest supporters over the years? Now this, what's up? I don't know what goes on down there nor do I really want to, but I wish we had a shop owner in this neck of the woods who supported smallmouth like him.

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One minute Joseph was an ISA sponsor, and the next he was sending me a message asking to be removed completely from the website. Before I could even get my bearings he was working hard to modify all his posts here.

Joseph isn't talking, so whatever it was that bothered him so profoundly is news to the ISA.

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Same here Mark. I love going (and will continue to go) into One More Cast with my ears open to soak up as much information as my feeble brain can hold. If anyone has never patronized Joseph's shop, you're REALLY missing out.

 

Joseph, thank you for all the things you've done for the Bass Buggers. Your dedication has made us all better casters, catchers, and tyers!

 

 

Cheers Mate!

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I wholeheartedly agree with both Mark K and Michael "Bulldog" T.

Joseph has been fantastic to me and the ISA. I consider him my fly-tying/fishing mentor as well as my friend. I don't have any idea what happened (my wife says that this is a chronic problem with me) but, I will continue to patronize and support Joseph.

 

Depressed in Wheeling,

Cory G <0))))><

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I wholeheartedly agree with both Mark K and Michael "Bulldog" T.

Joseph has been fantastic to me and the ISA. I consider him my fly-tying/fishing mentor as well as my friend. I don't have any idea what happened (my wife says that this is a chronic problem with me) but, I will continue to patronize and support Joseph.

 

Depressed in Wheeling,

Cory G <0))))><

 

I too am very sorry to hear Joseph will not be associated with the ISA. He is the one who pointed me to the ISA as I'm sure he has done for others. I learned alot from him, as Michael said, and I too consider him a friend. I'll always do my shopping at One More Cast. Thanks for everything Joseph.

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You can count me in as another loyal customer. I'm not sure what happened or why, but Joseph's loyal following is well deserved. I just hope it can be resolved. He is good for the ISA and the ISA is good for him.

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I waited to post on this until I got to talk to Joseph which I did earlier today. He assured me it was no one thing but a weighing of the balance of his experience and the effort. He would not give details but recognizes the many who have become friends and supporters of him & OMC. Not all of his contact with the membership was fruitful, in fact some of it was routinely difficult. The end result is our collective loss in that Joseph contributed freely of his time & expertise and now chooses not to. I can only echo what Michael, Mark, Cory,Kip & Craig have said. I too will continue to value the time & help that Joseph expends& will be a regular customer at Chicago's best fly shop. I will also have to work harder to keep the Bassbuggers activities going. I would hope that participation does not suffer as that is the last thing any of us wants.

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Guest rich mc

One More Cast will continue to get my business and my referrals .i have always learned a few pointers every time i make it into his shop. its only 74 miles from my house, and worth the trip. rich m

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Losing Joseph as an ISA member is a loss. He knows more about fly fishing, fly tying, and casting than most people around and he has always been willing to offer his time and knowledge to us. He has certainly helped me to improve my casting and my tying.

 

Joseph is also a great guy and I will still be spending time and money at OMC.

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Guest Mark P
Ditto to what everyone else has said. I've only been an ISA member for a couple years, but have developed a love for smallie fly fishing thanks to my friend Joseph and my other BassBuggers friends. What a loss for ISA.

 

 

Must have been bad. He is still very active on other FF boards.

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Must have been bad. He is still very active on other FF boards.

 

I've only been hanging around this forum for a few months, but really enjoyed Joseph's posts.

 

Shortly after joining the forum I visited OMC and was very surprised at Joseph's initial comments to me. I won't repeat them, but the implication was that there are still bad feelings over some things that happened in the past and he continues to receive antagonistic private communications from ISA forum members. It sounded like he was really taking it to heart. Maybe he just reached a point where he has had enough of it. Dunno...but I am sad he has chosen to solve what ever problems exist by leaving.

 

- Kevin

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That is one of the pitfalls of public message boards.

Opinions are sent publicly and privately in a flash- often with little thought or contemplation given before hitting send.

 

Having said that, if there are people out there that had a problem with Joseph being a sponsor, promoting his shop and working with the ISA, they are in a very small minority.

 

As it was all taking place, I was in the process of creating some very innovative online tools for our Bassbuggers to use in order to showcase their tying sessions and any other events they care to shine a light on. Joseph was very pleased to see that next step taken and told me as much.

 

That is the upside to technology in our sport.

If you'd like to upload photos instantly from your camera or cell phone or display the most recent video from a tying session or any other ISA event, we are providing those opportunities. The ISA will continue to offer these services online, regardless of where an event is located or who is promoting them. The only difference now is everything will be bigger, better and faster. It's all about keeping pace on the information superhighway you are cruising right this very minute.

If it is your shop hosting an event, then all of these wonderful promotional tools available in today's world will benefit you handsomely.

That is what they call the "big picture".

 

Anyone that sees that as inappropriate promotion by sponsors, members or otherwise will be left behind as we strive to offer the masses what they seek....social media- right here, right now.

The times they are a changin', and I'm constantly in tune with the very latest as it applies to internet and media technologies... so hold on to your seats, I've haven't even begun to display what will be at your disposal here.

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...

Having said that, if there are people out there that had a problem with Joseph being a sponsor, promoting his shop and working with the ISA, they are in a very small minority.

...

 

Cripes! How else is a small business owner to make a go of it today. You have to promote your business/services either directly or indirectly in related forums. Frankly, as a consumer, I consider it a welcome service. It is gravy that Joseph also shares stories, patterns and other related FF stuff.

 

- Kevin

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Kevin, I couldn't agree more. We as members were well served and anything other than thanks for that service I don't comprehend. A lesson learned I hope - That and a few individuals do not speak for the organization.

 

John, I have to politely disagaree.

I don't think any lessons were learned. The reallity of the matter is those individuals got what they wanted. They became enough of enough of a pain in the ass, that they drove away a very valuable member, for no good reason at all. The real losers in this matter are the guys that were active and happy with the way things were going.

While we all will remain customers and probably sit at the table again, a great partnership was destroyed. Together you guys put together some wonderful things. I rarely make outtings and that sort of thing, but between the casting clinics and tying events, my skills doubled. I was actually excited about attending. Rare for me.

It's sad that it had to come to end. i'm sure it will eventually come out who those individuals were, speaking for myself, I have ZERO respect for them.

There is no happy ending to this.

 

 

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I can understand the frustration, Mark.

Consider for a moment the frustration from an ISA leadership position though.

You were in this very position for a long time yourself.

 

We can't possibly police our members by dictating what they send to other members privately or otherwise.

If it was taking place in PM's on our site, the only tool I can think of is a "report PM" feature that would notify an admin of harassing messages....but that brings with it a whole new set of circumstances.

New policies to deal with problems (which would involve a certain degree of objectivity), an even broader means of volunteer time and effort to deal with the occurrences, etc.

 

Publicly, there will always be disagreements on message boards of this nature.

I personally shut a couple threads down that were going in a direction that wasn't healthy to the fellowship we promote among our members.

By "shut down", I don't mean we locked anything or dealt with them with a heavy hand.

I posted asking to reel in the dialogue, as it was getting a little too personal.

 

Beyond the efforts we make to ensure our members get from this club as much as they can (reasonably speaking), I'd like to know what more we can do to promote a friendly atmosphere.

 

We don't expect everything to be wine and roses.

That would be really naive, as any time you provide a means for 400+ people to share their ideas on anything it is inevitable there will be problems.

So if we can't learn from this situation, then we're doomed to repeat it.

 

I encourage anyone reading this to help me to understand what steps you would take after the fact. At this point, we have no choice but to do our best to move forward in a positive direction.

We are just as disappointed as anyone that we lost a friend and sponsor.

As ISA members with a stake in the direction of the organization, all of you can help your club by giving encouragement and showing support so it doesn't happen again.

"Strength in numbers" is a powerful statement and rings true in most any issue we face in life.

 

If you see or hear of a friend or ally getting heat on the message boards, then use your voice as a member of the group and head it off at the pass.

We are all adults here and fully understand what is deemed healthy discussion and what is not.

Break in and state "enough is enough". At that point, anyone wishing to continue will do so privately- and we can't possibly control what occurs at that point.

 

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There is no happy ending to this.

 

That doesn't have to be the case at all. Quite the opposite.

 

The all the officers at the ISA have valued the association between OMC and the ISA. The conditions that caused Joseph to withdraw are being redressed. The outpouring of support for him and his shop make it clear that Joseph is very welcome here.

 

Personally speaking, I hope Joseph does choose to return. I know all the ISA officers feel the same way.

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