Dawn. A red glow builds over the black horizon, as thin wisps of fog rise out of the water toward a rapidly changing sky. The crisp morning air brings a scent of autumn to your nose, wafting tones of fallen leaves and coming change. For those of us that spend our lives immersed in a love for the outdoors, this is a time of silent worship. Sacred in every meaning of the word.

Moments like this are of great importance to me, and become ever more important as time goes on. Though I’m not by any means unique in this regard, there also exists a large number of “sportsmen” that ply the same arenas looking for something else. In listening to a recent Joe Rogan Experience podcast with guest Morgan Fallon, Joe eloquently described a major shortfall of the popular culture surrounding outdoor sports. He put it as “a lack of reverence for the outdoors,” and I feel it cannot be described more accurately. In a world of social media advertisement, sponsorships, pro-staff endorsements, and giant tournaments, it’s often plain to see that respect and admiration for the pursuit and target species is lost in attempts at personal gain. This unfortunate divide between sport and sportsman is one my generation is particularly guilty of enforcing, and one I feel the responsibility to define and withdraw from.

Now don’t get me wrong, when I’m fishing I am most definitely on a mission. Planning, preparation, and hard work go into every trip, and a successful outcome is very important to me and many others I run with. But what then is done with this success? Rogan goes on in that podcast to discuss popular hunting television shows and makes some good points. Most hunting (and fishing) media these days is geared toward selling a product. Bow and broadhead brands, camo patterns, hot new soft plastics or a new line of fishing rods that “made this all possible” while the harvested game or fish is a secondary thought. Respect for the animal is diminished through an attempt to sell and boost reputation, when without the animal itself none of that exists.

As fall begins to tighten its grip on the last fading days of an Indian summer, many of us will push into high gear preparing for archery season, steelhead season, and some of the best remaining fishing of the year for warm water species. I think it’s time we all took a minute to stop and think about what we value most in these pursuits, and where our motives lie. To pay homage to the traditions that passed them down to us, and to remember that without honor, humility, and respect for these resources, we would soon have nothing to pursue.

The outdoors are a sanctuary for those of us who feel most at peace here. A church for those who feel closer to their origin of creation when fully baptized in it. We would be very wise to spend more time listening to what the land has to tell us, and less time trying to sell bibles.