Today is the one month anniversary of Fishing Prairie and Shield’s existence. I made a decision that I would commit a year to blogging to see how things would go. We are 1/12th of the way there with a good start so far. In this article, I will reflect on my experiences with running this blog so far. It was definitely a decision that has changed me a lot.
The Beginnings
At first, I was hoping that I would at least be able to somewhat experience being an outdoors writer. It was a weekend in the middle of a polar vortex. As hardcore as I am, I cancelled my ice fishing plans leaving me ample time to do something. I figured that I would start a blog. I felt like I had a lot of unique fishing experiences to talk about. I’m the type of angler that always likes to try new things constantly. I figured there wasn’t much to lose.
The longest part of starting the blog was actually coming up with a name. I spent nearly half a day coming up with a suitable name that would reflect fishing Central Canada. In the end, I thought that one of the unique features of Manitoba was how the prairie landscape transitioned into Canadian Shield in the southern part of the province. I drive from Winnipeg to my cabin in the Whiteshell Provincial Park often. Within that two hour drive, I see the divide of two of Canada’s most contrasting landscapes on a regular basis. As a result, I named the blog Fishing Prairie and Shield.
I then made my payment for the domain name. I learned how WordPress worked. It took hours to make a basic interface but eventually I got it to look decent. I began writing a few sample articles from memories in the past. After I felt it was satisfactory, I shared it over social media.
Surprises and Challenges
Immediately I received a lot of positive feedback. A lot of people really enjoyed my sample articles. Some of my connections ended up sharing my blog, which I am very grateful for. The encouragement has been a great source of motivation for me.
I really enjoyed writing the articles. I felt pretty nostalgic when thinking about the fishing experiences that brought me to where I am today. Though eventually I started feeling concerned about how I could sustain the blog with content to meet my commitment of one year.
That’s when I thought about interviewing people. Featuring the experiences of others could open up a wide range of possibilities. So I decided that with a recent online fishing tournament, I would interview the director so he could share his experiences. That was a great success. I had a lot of fun doing that and I definitely look forward to doing more interviews.
Writing has definitely become a very time intensive activity. Your creativity gets taxed quite a bit. Thankfully with Covid-19 shutting down most activities, there has been ample time to write.
The biggest change I’ve felt though was that I need to get out of my comfort zone and fish new water more often. To sustain a blog, new adventures should be experienced. I’ve always had that thirst to discover the unknown, now blogging has really become a new motivator.
Future Plans
It’s still a long way until the first anniversary of Fishing Prairie and Shield. I don’t expect this to be an easy commitment, but we shall see. Expect the usual stories of trips or educational guides for sure, however creativity may lead to new paths. As previously stated, I will go on new adventures to provide fuel for stories. Who knows what is in store this year?
One thing I would love to do is involve the community. Interviews will always bring in fresh perspectives. I am also considering letting guest contributors write articles. While I might have diverse experiences, there is no way I can experience every type of fishery in my province.
If you ever feel like trying your hand at being an outdoors writer, feel free to contact me and we’ll work things out. Never feel like your story is unimportant. Even if your experience is not unique, your personal perspective is worth sharing. That is what personally encouraged me to write about my fishing experiences.
Final Words
Honestly thanks for reading and giving me the motivation to continue. We’ll see where this journey takes us.
