What’s the best…?

They are everywhere these days. They dominate internet forums with page after page of opinion, advise, and blather.


They are the dreaded “What is the best…?” thread.


Questions without proper framing or background such as “What is the best 5 wt. Rod?”, or “What is the best casting video?” are so subjective as to often leave the door open to such a wide and varied set of answers that the questioner ends up more confused than before they asked the question. Add to that the fact that anybody can post an answer regardless of skill level, scope of knowledge in the area of questioning, or any precedent at all, and no wonder so much bad advise gets disseminated.


Here is an enlightening fact; there is no “best” rod, reel, line, book, video, wader, hip pack, suppository, etc.

It is all subjective.


What is best in one situation or circumstance is not the best in another. Then add in our skill levels, preferences, maturity, physical fitness, and style, and it really becomes a morass. Add in the river conditions, the weather, summer vs. winter, wind, etc.


What is best for me in a given situation may not be the best for my Neanderthal friend Og, who lives in my basement. For example, I am having a sandwich with summer sausage and mustard for lunch, lets ask Og what he is having for lunch. “Hey Og, what are you eating?”


“Og eat old shoe, mmm… old shoe best.”


Blech. See? Best is subjective.


Another problem with the concept of ‘best’ is that it often translates to ‘easiest.’

What is the ‘best’ method of fishing for trout in a river? How about bait? That would be best because it would place more fish to hand. However, what if a hatch was occurring? Then fly-fishing with a dry fly might be best. Does skill enter into this at all? Is what is ‘best’ for the neophyte angler different from what may be best for a master of the sport?


Does best mean the most fish to hand? Most difficult? Easiest for Og? Most colorful? Shortest? Longest? Perhaps 'Most efficient in the hands of beginning to moderate casters and fishermen' might be better. To most people though, it means "What will make me a better fisherman and catch more fish than my buddy without having to put in any work or practice of my own." ‘Efficient’ in many cases may mean the easiest way.


Let’s ask Og what he thinks.


“Og fish best. Og smash fish with rock. Fish good!”


O.K., so Og might not be the right person to ask, but it helped illustrate the point. Og, being a creature of little intellect and a subsistence feeder, jumps in the river and grabs a fish, then hits it with a rock and swallows it whole. That is what is ‘best’ for him.


When it comes down to it, the best for you may not be the best for your neighbor. What works for me may not work for you. As the proverb puts it, “One man’s meat may be another man’s poison.”


We tend to look for simple answers to complex questions.

Beware of the simple answers in life.