Walk 3: Social Territory

 Fishermen at Lake of the Isles 

For this walk, I decided to focus on the social group of fishermen around the lake. I walked around the edge of the entire lake and mapped every spot that I saw someone fishing. The spots where they stood included:

• Grass
• Canoe
• Bushes
• Bridge
• Dock

These were the locations chosen by fishers to stand, specific and reoccuring. Although, some docks, bridges, and paths had no fishers, there was still evidence that they occupy the space. The second map represents the marks of fishers as a social group. What is left on the lake, intentionally or not, that shows their presence in this place. (Red dots) 

This evidence included of discarded supplies such as fishing lines, bait, and hooks that I found along the edges of the waterline, wrapped in the trees and bushes, and laying in the grass where a fisherman would stand. Sunscreen and other trash floated in the still water. Fishing poles left in the grass as their owners stepped away. These pieces were found all over and played their role as signifiers of the fishers in the area. 

The patterns I found from this walk prompted an observational understanding of fishers. This evening that I took the walk, they were all male and half of them were alone. None of them noticed me photographing them. They were all in complete silence with full attention to the water and they did not interact with each other. 

I would argue that from this specific walk, there is no community aspect of fishing. It is an isolated activity, grounded by personal achievements. The act of finding a location separated from other fishers is important in this context. They don't want to be close to each other as to affect their own chances of catching a fish. 

So although there is an excess of men fishing on the lake and an excess of trash and tools left behind from them, there is no sense of togetherness from them. They are all similar yet separated, participating in the same game yet apart. It is interesting to see these overlaps, the patterns, and not see them come together.