Hooked-in offers a new way to share your fishing stories

publication date: Mar 4, 2008

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author/source: Hooked-in.com

 
Hanover, New Hampshire, USA - Opening day is almost here. After a slow winter, millions of anglers across the country are anxiously awaiting the upcoming fishing season. But opening day came a little early this year for the folks at Hooked-in who today announced a new website that gives fishermen an exciting new way to share their fish stories: www.Hooked-in.com. 

"Everyone knows that fishermen love to tell fish stories -- it's in our blood," said Joe Pych the website's creator. "Surprisingly, nobody offered a website that makes it easy to share fish stories in a fun and organized way. So, I rolled up my sleeves and built Hooked-in from the ground up to give every fisherman their own personal brag board."
Hooked-in makes it simple for fishermen to showcase their catches along with photos, maps, stories, strategies, and more.
Tim Fancher of Lockport, New York agrees, "It's a fun way to revel in the glory of your good stories and for posting photos of the catch while adding details like lure type and other pertinent info. What's unique about it is the pinpoint accuracy in which you can post the location of your catch as the website links gps coordinates to maps."
Knowing that some fishermen like to keep their fishing spots a secret, Hooked-in includes security measures that restrict access to location information. You can share your locations with everyone, only your friends, or keep them completely private so nobody else will discover your honey holes.
Hooked-in also makes it easy to stay connected with your friends and to meet new fishing buddies.
"I really like this site," reports Bob Howard of Concord, New Hampshire. "It can tell me where my friends are fishing and what they are using - it tells me of a lot of other hot spots and new places to fish. Fishermen are a great group of guys and when they can report their catches so others can see, it makes the end of a good fishing day complete."
Fishermen use Hooked-in as their brag board - a place where they can post their significant catches for others to see and make comments. Every member gets their own personal fishing report. Members gain notoriety through a built-in points and votes system. Points are awarded for posting catches, posting comments, and making other meaningful contributions. Votes are awarded when other members vote for your catch reports.
"It'll make you famous!" exclaims Chris DeMartine of Lebanon, New Hampshire who has posted 36 of his personal best catches and is currently the points and votes leader on Hooked-in with 1,141 points and 275 votes.
Kids love Hooked-in because it turns fishing into a video game. Parents love Hooked-in because it offers their children a cure for Nature Deficit Disorder -- the behavioral condition that results from being disconnected from nature that was identified by Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods. Hooked-in bridges the gap between where kids are spending lots of time -- on the computer -- and where they are not spending enough time -- in nature.
Hooked-in has been described by early members both as a MySpace for fishing and as a YouTube for fishing. Like those other popular websites, Hooked-in uses advanced technology but hides it all behind a simple user interface. According to Mr. Pych, "There's a lot of fancy software working hard behind the scenes to take the hassle out of uploading photos, plotting maps, and other technical details."
Membership on Hooked-in is completely free and includes unlimited photo storage. It's a great way to document your fishing legacy. As you gear up for your 2008 fishing season, don't forget to get your free membership on Hooked-in at www.hooked-in.com. 
They'll be looking forward to your fish stories!