Fishwrecked.com turns 5
Hi Crew,
Well, what can I say except Happy Birthday Fishwrecked. Today marks the day where we entered into the online fishing arena, well, it was actually a few days ago, but today was the day we added the statistics program to count the visitors. It currently stands at : 12,569,564 which I reckon is a pretty exceptional effort considering we are a stand alone site with no paper magazine or advertising to prop us up.
A little story about how the site began. Back in 2005 I was writing a lot of online reports for the hotbite website and getting a lot of reads and heaps of positive comments about our metro outings. We went to Exmouth early July and afterwards I decided to go the next step and start writing articles. I'd struck a deal with the then manager of hotbite and published my article only to be told a few days later that they were going to give me some t-shirts instead of the agreed upon standard article price. Feeling a little betrayed I spoke to my mate Sam who had just finished his Uni degree in computer science and we put 2 and 2 together that we could make our own site and forums. After developing all the backend of the site, the only thing that was left to do was to come up with a name. After a few beers with the boys we came up with 'The deep spot', 'InDeep', etc but none of them really seemed any good for what we wanted to do. Eventually Gribbo came up with the name fishwrecked and after a few more beers it stuck and all that was left to do was design the logo, it just happens that I'd caught a 9ft sand tiger on the recent Exmouth trip and the face became the logo.
The site then began to grow legs as more and more people heard there was a new site out with some pretty cool video and plenty of local reports of what was going on over the state As times went on groups of people realised that this was the place to get the news and see some of the best of what the West and sometimes Australia had to offer. The site really hit its straps when the CEO of Penn dropped in from the states and we developed our French connection of JeJe and Fredo, not to mention many others in the states and NZ.
Along the way there were plenty of good times, NoR vs SoR comps, bream comps, party nights/get togethers, Exmouth comps, photo comps, prize giveaways and plenty of fishing trips where people found mates they never would have met other wise.
There were also not so good times along the way, with threats of legal action for things I had nothing to do with, just running a website has its fair amount of complications. The biggest I can remember is the floating sambo debacle and anyone with a leisure cat having a target on their back with plenty of defamation threats. The list of these types of things could go on, but let's focus on the positive rather than the negative.
I will put some more memories down later this afternoon as I have to go back to work in a minute. I have met some awesome people through this site, more than I ever thought that I would have and have had some unreal fishing experiences as a result. There's heaps of people I'd like to thank in getting the site to where it is, more than I could fit on this page, but just a few are the moderating team; Andy Mac, TimC, Colin Hay, my mates and the long term supporters, just look at the sign up dates in the comments, I know who you are and really appreciate your support! If you have a good FW story of meeting people or fishing trips etc, then please post them up. ;)
Cheers,
Adam
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
.thumbnail.jpg "Cod on Plastic")
till
Posts: 9358
Date Joined: 21/02/08
Happy Birthday =)
Happy Birthday =)
Ben Derecki
Posts: 1926
Date Joined: 10/10/07
Awesome. I remember
Awesome.
I remember checking in here in the early days and there always seemed to be a load of Hedland reports so I figured it was just a northern WA forum. I came in from time to time but mainly just looked at the reports and the good pics that I reckon the site has always been known for. These were the days that the FWA forums were cranking along so I didn't have enough interest to be involved in two forums so never joined.
Eventually signed up three years ago and have gradually become more and more involved, now there's nothing better. The mad reports from Brad and Jay, Adam, the kiwi who always seems to be fishing the Three Kings (sorry bro, can't remember your name), Kasey and all the other top shelf fishing experiences most of us can only manage once a year if we're luck give us all something to look forward to when we're on holidays. Then there's the mix of regular local reports that cover everything from Busso to Gero which give you a good kick up the backside to get out and wet a line (as if most of us need it though).
It's funny how all forums seem to go through the cycle of boom and bust. FWA was cranking for a while and now it's a ghost-town. Wangler also used to hum but now that seems to be pretty quiet too. Here's hoping FW is here for good. Great forum, great bunch of anglers, generally balanced and respectful opinions as long as the classic topics don't come up (sambo catch and release, fishing in Cockburn Sound during spawning season etc), friendly mods... pretty much got it all.
Well done on the milestone lads.
Colin Hay
Posts: 10407
Date Joined: 23/10/07
A significant milestone Adam
And a real credit to you and your dedication to fishing and the site.
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
scottland
Posts: 3031
Date Joined: 10/05/10
congratulations adam
ive learnt so much from everyone here i was just about ready to give up but then i saw this site and remembered wat i loved about fishing
also i took all your guys advice and thats what lead me to catching my first fish on lure
again thanks form a happy young angler
i support two teams eagles and whoever is playing the dockers
Pete D
Posts: 1681
Date Joined: 07/06/07
Congrats Adam and
Congrats Adam and team...keep up the great work
Cheers Pete
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Hear, hear
Same from me, congrats Adam and the team, well done and may there be many more birthdays to come in the future.
JakeB
Posts: 262
Date Joined: 12/12/09
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked and cheers to a great site!
buschy
Posts: 626
Date Joined: 27/11/09
Well done and congratulations
Here's to another five quality years - in the twelve months or so since I first started visiting this site I have been able to gleam so much valuable information and see this place as a real commodity in the fishing community.
I love the name. "Fishwrecked" perfectly describes how I feel about the sport and I'm sure many others will understand that sentiment!
Thank you to Adam and the many quality posters on this site that make me hit the refresh button, oh, every 30 seconds or so.
Andy Mac
Posts: 4779
Date Joined: 03/02/06
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked
Its certainly come a long way in that short 5 years. You would have to be very proud of the way you have handled this site and its development / growth. We have had more than our fair share of hurdles to overcome but the site keeps getting bigger and better every year.
Loads of great memories and heaps of new friends generated from something as simple as a fishing forum. I'm glad to have been a part of it for most of that 5 years and take my hat off to Adam and the mature way he has handled some very difficult situations over that time.
We could write a book about some of the things that have gone on in that 5 years.
Cheers
Andy Mac (Fishwrecked Reeltime Editor & Forum Moderator)
Youngest member of the Fishwrecked Old Farts Club
UncutTriggerInWA
Posts: 2692
Date Joined: 05/09/08
Happy Birthday FW
Thanks for creating and maintaining such a great place. I call it a place because it is. This site is made up of real people and I have met and fished with a number of them and I will continue to do for for many years I hope.
Congratulations Adam! Thanks Andy and Colin etc. You do a fantastic job.
Vince.
Work smart and fish often.
Member and die-hard supporter of the mighty West Coast Eagles.
PJAY
Posts: 1005
Date Joined: 12/05/09
adam all the guys before me
adam all the guys before me have said it....well done....happy b'day....and keep on keeping on...
The Kimberley....perfect one day and more perfect the next!!!
PilbaraBrad
Posts: 3628
Date Joined: 16/05/07
Nice one bro, glad you
Nice one bro, glad you started this thing. With all the stuff that we have been through in the last 5 years imagine what the next 5 will look like. God help us all................. :)
uncle
Posts: 9353
Date Joined: 10/02/07
great stuff
gives us old folk the chance to keep up with all things fishing
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
piston broke
Posts: 776
Date Joined: 05/11/08
Thanks alot Adam
for a fantastic website,where we can learn so much from eachother. cheers Pete
MJ
Posts: 362
Date Joined: 23/06/09
Happy 5th Birthday FW
Thanks Adam and all the contributors - love the site!
DazSamFishing
Posts: 1518
Date Joined: 19/08/09
Happy Birdthday FW. I've met
Happy Birdthday FW. I've met some good blokes from this site & look forward to meeting more in the future. Good fishing.
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
Congrats guys
Thanks for a great site, as others have said, been great resource and I have met a couple of crew also. Great times!
Heres to the next 5
STEVE231
Posts: 1443
Date Joined: 05/01/10
Happy B'day
Congratulations on the ongoing success of the site, and judging by the popularity I'm sure there will be many more!
Well done.
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15610
Date Joined: 29/11/05
yep
Have met some top blokes through the years and looking forward to meeting more.
Most memorable fishing moments would have to be finding mount Dhu with Tapout and us landing a 20 and 17kg dhu plus a couple of mid size fish.
Andy Mac making me throw back a nice baldie as the rule on his boat was first fish had to go back. (he takes everyone else to the sand whiting patch first thou!)
Fishing with Salmo and the three mile pinks, oh and the Mandurah crabs (now that was some severe sunburn) ;)
Heading out with Gully be it Perth or Exmouth, I still remember showing him who the squid master was on that howling easterly. Oh and the Klench and his arsey show off day, sheeesh! Plus many many awesome Exxy glass days of billfish, bottomies and sharkies.
Pilbarabrad and the K-town creeks, the crazy kiddies tunes he loves to sing when your in the lull of a creek and its 40+++ with no wind, 100% humidity and 4 gazillion flies. Atleast the beer was cold and the fish were there (metrey this year mate, not long now)
Lots of early Exmouth trips with Steve (bouttime and KC) and Matttld25 with tinny marlin and lots of trips behind peak to slay the reds.
Bibs and heaps of trips behind the rons to crack the big trout. Lucky Tim and his millions of marlin.
Sooooo many more as well. This years Exxy comp was awesome even though the weather was shit, so many good people in one place with such little time to catch up with them all. I'm definitely taking some time off next year!!
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
hemi
Posts: 349
Date Joined: 17/01/10
happy birthday FW
happy birthday FW
TAPOUT
Posts: 885
Date Joined: 27/01/06
Happy Bday Fishwrecked
Agree Adam Mount Dhu was one of my most memorable fishing trips I have ever had and also a Snapper mission we did was up there aswell. The site has come a long way in a short time and is only getting bigger and better. I think when I joined there were only about 20 people. Good luck with everything in the future mate.
Andy Mac
Posts: 4779
Date Joined: 03/02/06
Tapout
This would have to be a favourite trip of mine...
http://fishwrecked.com/forum/dropzone-video
The infamous double flex.
Cheers
Andy Mac (Fishwrecked Reeltime Editor & Forum Moderator)
Youngest member of the Fishwrecked Old Farts Club
wicked game
Posts: 249
Date Joined: 13/11/08
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FISHWRECKED.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY FISHWRECKED. You have been the reason why my internet bill is thru the roof every month, and i wouldnt have it any other way.
TAPOUT
Posts: 885
Date Joined: 27/01/06
Drop Zone
HaHa Hey Andy that was definately one of the most enjoyable and memorable trips of mine. Im glad I could put a smile on your face mate. It was also the day we released the amazing double flex on the world. It never really took off on the market. But I still put it down to it being way before its time. The world just wasnt ready for such an amazing product.
alfred
Posts: 3097
Date Joined: 12/01/07
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked -
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked - Great job Adam and all the folks in the background, who put in many hours to bring us the best fishing site in Australia.
Have met many fantastic folk here and I am looking forward to meeting many more!
Cheers!
PilbaraBrad
Posts: 3628
Date Joined: 16/05/07
hahaha quality, funny thing
hahaha
quality, funny thing is you knew all the words by the end of the second trip bro
bod
Posts: 2318
Date Joined: 03/05/06
Happy Fishwrecked Birthday
Well done Adam and the team. You're doing a brilliant job.
JR JetSki
Posts: 247
Date Joined: 23/04/10
Congratulations FW
What I like about the site is the great people and everyone willing to help, give advise and support each other. Good job in holding this all together. Its not always easy to please so many people but you got it right, Great job Adam.
JR JetSki
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17868
Date Joined: 11/03/08
congrats on the 5 years. it
congrats on the 5 years. it takes all the members to keep it going but it wouldnt be here if not for Adam, well done. ......... probably the best experience on here would have to be when a few were talking about a fishwrecked comp in exxy so we started it all off and running. when it finally came time for the event it was great to catch up with so many of the members all sharing the same desire, to catch the big fish. ....... i have met quite a few members over the time and hope to catch up with more in the future
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Colin Hay
Posts: 10407
Date Joined: 23/10/07
And fed a few of us too Russ and Sandy
It is meeting people like you guys and all the other great people that have been kind enough to take me out fishing with them that has made my FW time such a mermorable one.
Moderator. Proud member of the Fishwrecked "Old Farts". Make sure your subscribed to Fishwrecked Reeltime http://fishwrecked-reeltime.com/
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17868
Date Joined: 11/03/08
it was a pleasure to have
it was a pleasure to have you out on our boat. hope to get you out there again soon (just got to get the boat back first). hopefully there might be room for your partner in crime too .
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
ish_lovesfishing
Posts: 217
Date Joined: 24/02/10
Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday Fishwrecked....good work Adam and team. This is one of the most usefull fishing websites I have been on, and what makes it even more specialy is the amount of great members who willingly give advice and tips.
Everytime my dad asks me something about fishing, and im not sure about it, i *fishwrecked it* instead of *google it*. This website is like a fishing encyclopedia!!
I look forward to making new friends and meeting new people.
Well done guys :)
Ish
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
Big congrats Adam and crew,
Big congrats Adam and crew, website years are like dog years these days and 5 years of genuine success says a lot about everyone involved and the site community. I've seen plenty of fishing sites come and go over the years but Fishwrecked is there for the long haul I reckon. When I moved to WA in mid 2007 I knew 1 person, and even though I can't for the life of me remember how I first found Fishwrecked I've now got a long list of buddies I never would have had if it wasn't for this site. Even though Hayley complains about "Homewrecked" she has signed up and secretly has a squizz every now and then, and that's saying something about your success.
Can't wait for next year and really hitting things up with you again pal.
Tim
madfisher
Posts: 206
Date Joined: 10/10/07
Well done Adam thanks for
Well done Adam thanks for all your effort and producing such a great site. It's an enjoyable part of my morning routine to sit down and browse the site with my morning coffee. Again mate well done and look forward to another 5 years of Fishwrecked
Goatch
Posts: 1011
Date Joined: 03/07/07
Congrats to all
for making this the best site in Aus , Ads your a legend , cheers mate.
Just one more cast , honest !!!
chrisp
Posts: 1217
Date Joined: 24/05/08
Congrats Fw
Thank ads and To all involved.Fishwrecked has enabled me to meet a lot of great blokes who share the same addiction(affliction) as myself.Looking forward to the next comp and putting some faces to all the other names out there.
hunterdive
Posts: 363
Date Joined: 24/02/09
Congrats to Adam and the
Congrats to Adam and the rest of the Fishwrecked Community. I wouldn't know what to do with my time if this site didn't exist. We never get out fishing as much as we would like to, and so this site and the talk and banter that goes on keeps me going. I would love to meet some more of you and even get up to the Exxy contest, sounds like a lot of fun.
Keep up the good work all, lets like it fresh, welcome all new comers, keep the advice flowing. I have learnt lots.
Jared
Dicey
Posts: 912
Date Joined: 23/07/10
Congrats Fishwrecked on
Congrats Fishwrecked on Turning 5, hope to learn and add more knowledge over the years, thanks
Alex
Davy_G
Posts: 525
Date Joined: 17/03/09
Congrats, very helpful site
Congrats, very helpful site everyone on here is so willing to give advice.
well done adam
Goodz
Posts: 2332
Date Joined: 20/07/09
If you measured
If you measured Fishwrecked.com's success by the amount of wives/girlfriends that have felt jealous of the attention their husbands/boyfriends are giving to "That fishing forum" then I think it's clear... Great job Adam and support crew! Thanks for giving us all an awesome place to learn and meet great people!
shabba
Posts: 484
Date Joined: 26/02/08
yea, congrats adam, awsome
yea, congrats adam, awsome site m8........
mitch
Posts: 1285
Date Joined: 14/08/05
great site, thats taught me
great site, thats taught me a heap ...well done ads and crew and all that comment positivly in the forums and pics
sambo
Posts: 82
Date Joined: 19/07/05
Nice work fishwrecked crew!
Nice work fishwrecked crew! May the next 5 years be just as action packed.
gone with the wind.
dagree
Posts: 660
Date Joined: 08/12/07
Congrats Fishwrecked
and well done to Adam and all the others that have contributed.
Cheers,
David (AKA Grumps)
Location: Heathridge. Toys: 120 Series Prado ... 5.3 Stacer Seamaster/Merc 90HP.
bibs
Posts: 252
Date Joined: 20/07/06
congrats
congrats fishwrecked,top job ads keep up the good work.we might have to try and upgrade that trout next year eh
Adam Gallash
Posts: 15610
Date Joined: 29/11/05
sounds good mate
Sounds good mate, hopefully I'll have a bit more time to join you next year mate. Don't forget to hit me up for those fad co-ords too.
As for the FW comp, I will hold the poll next month as the tabling is broken and I need Sambo the tech man to fix it and he's currently in England. :(
Site Admin - Just ask if you need assistance
funkybunch
Posts: 97
Date Joined: 25/07/05
Nice one ads... keep up the
Nice one ads... keep up the good work
Ganged
Posts: 410
Date Joined: 16/02/09
A big thanks and
keep it coming guys, love this site.
Still learning
Riaz