Social networks good place for sportsmen to connect

In 1989, as a sophomore at Leeds High School near Birmingham,Ala., I was great friends with a guy my age named Robert Callaway.

But in 1990, he transferred away to another school and we totallylost touch for 17 years.

I doubt we would have ever spoken again if it hadn't been for thenew-age phenomenon known as social networking.

I bumped into Robert on Myspace in 2007, and we arranged afishing trip when I learned he was visiting Memphis for a week withhis wife and kids.

Since then, he and I have caught enough fish to feed a smallcountry - and we've rekindled a friendship that might have otherwisebeen dead in the water.

Our story is far from unique.

Social networking sites like Myspace and Facebook have helpedreunite thousands of fishing and hunting buddies from across theglobe, and I'd love to have a nickel for every critter that's beencaught or killed as a result of those reunions.

That's one area where modern technology has been good for theoutdoors.

I've written columns lamenting the ill effects that cell phonesand GPS units have had on fishing and hunting, and I still get alittle queasy every time my BlackBerry vibrates in my pocket duringa hunt.

We've lost the ability to get totally lost in the woods and onthe water.

But in the process, we've bridged some gigantic gaps in geographyand lifestyle.

Even though I've found Robert again - and I once again considerhim one of my closest friends - we still live 250 miles away and seeeach other, at best, about four or five times a year.

Facebook helps us whittle that distance down to almost nothing.

When he catches a big smallmouth bass below Wheeler Dam, I canusually see it in one of his photo albums just minutes after thecatch - even if I'm hundreds of miles away in an Arkansas duckblind.

When he pulls a big flathead catfish out of a hole during thenoodling season, I usually know about it right away - and I don'teven have to get wet.

I don't have to wait until after his trip to know if the fishwere biting because I know he'll be updating his status throughoutthe day.

I hear all of the bragging and all of the complaints without eventhe expense of a phone call.

Besides helping me rekindle that one close friendship, socialnetworking sites have helped me develop new relationships withhunters and fishermen from across the globe.

I have a personal Facebook site with more than 1,600 friends, andmany of them sent me their initial friend requests simply becausethey saw me holding a fish or posing with a big turkey in my profilepicture.

Obviously, those folks aren't "friends" in the true sense of theword.

But they all like hunting and fishing. So how bad can they reallybe?

Like a lot of other old-school outdoorsmen, I fought tooth andnail against the rise of the Internet.

But these days, when I turn on the computer and see a nicemessage from an old friend or an amazing photo from a new one, I'mreally glad I lost that fight.

To reach reporter Bryan Brasher, call 529-2343; e-mail:brasher@commercialappeal.com. Bryan's blog can be found atMidsouthOutdoorsBlog.com or follow him at twitter.com/Bryan_Brasher