A loose-knit group of hard core local fishermen have spawned a social media revolution centered around the Addicted label.
Started by area fisherman Marlin Lefever in 2009, and originally named the NW Fishing Addicts, this group of local anglers, guides, and others have used social media to generate an impressive following and build an online multi-market business.
Using Facebook and YouTube, Addicted has become an online sensation. They now have more than 73,000 followers on Facebook, and 60,000 members in their closed group forum. Thousands more are followers on YouTube.
The Addicted label and logo now adorns hats, clothing, fishing gear, and hundreds of videos and even a movie. More importantly to the guides and other members of the group, though, is the educational side of it.
“In 2009 when I originally started it, it was just a forum,” said Lefever, the president and founder. “The goal was to expand and create content that educates anglers. Once I started to transition Fishing Addicts to social media, that’s when things started to blow up.”
What’s in a name?
The name “Addicted” is not just some knock-off of a popular expression. The name speaks to founder Lefever’s past, and the struggles he grew up with. His was not an easy childhood.
“My parents were heroin addicts,” Lefever said, adding that drug addiction claimed most of his family. “I was in and out of foster care from a baby until I was 12 years old. For years I went back and forth from my parents to foster care until the state finally came in and said we are taking you away for good.
“My childhood was a different kind of scenario than most kids had growing up.”
Dealing with such a difficult childhood, and watching his family dissolve around him, Lefever knew he had to find a way to stay clean if he wanted a drug-free, happy life. He found what he needed in fishing.
“That’s where fishing came in,” he said. “I chose a totally different addiction. I loved bass fishing, and it was all I cared about when I was young. That was my addiction, and that is why I named it Addicted.”
He never expected his passion to turn into the business and educational endeavor it has become, but he is thankful for what the group has achieved. Addicted is more of a passion than an attempt to try and get rich.
“We have to make a little money,” Lefever said, “because we invest a lot of time, and people need to be paid. But, we are not trying to turn this into some giant corporate business.”
The Addicted stated mission is: Entertain, Educate, and Inspire.
The group now holds Facebook Live sessions every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. They have 230 fishing videos, featuring everything from how to anchor a boat, to how to fish small streams for salmon. They also produced a movie on fishing in Alaska and are in the making another one.
The Alaska film will soon be available online as a six-part series.
In the planning stages is a three-week fishing trip on the Pacific Coast from Washington to Mexico.
Addicted has just launched a new website — https://addicted.fishing/ — and is now planning to host a weekly blog-style show on YouTube called The Addicted Life, which will run at 6 p.m. Sundays.
They also host seminars on Northwest fishing.
“You’d be amazed how many people show up at our seminars,” Lefever said. “It’s a testament to what social media can do.”
Experience speaks
The core group includes five professional guides and knowledgeable anglers such as Lefever. It’s apparent from just a short glimpse of their videos or seminars that these guys are experienced and knowledgeable on all aspects of fishing. There is another dozen or so fishermen involved with the Addicted brand, too.
And, they are young. In fact, you could say these gentlemen are the face of the next generation of fishermen. Those who think fishing is just an old man’s game and on the way out should attend one of the Addicted seminars or check out just how many followers they have.
Their main demographic is men and women aged 18 to 40.
For the older generation of sportsmen and women, this excitement from younger anglers should make them feel good about the future of sport fishing. They are a generation of savvy anglers that have grown up drawing their information from online sources as well as from their time on the water.
The members of Addicted are from all parts of Washington and Oregon. However, they have a growing following in Idaho and Michigan, too.
The future is bright for the Addicted brand and its collection of passionate fishermen. Yet, Lefever and the others always try to stay grounded in their core mission.
“We are all looking for that new tool, because we all want to catch more fish,” Lefever adds.
And, they are ready and well positioned to spread the news about that new tool once they find it.
Addicted fishing guides:
Cameron Black: Gone Catchin’ Guide Service (360) 921-5079
Nick Popov: Peel the Reel Guide Service (503) 484 4860
Jordon Nigge: 168 Fishing Adventures (503) 975-5308
TJ Hester: Hester’s Sportfishing (509) 388-7906
Eric Swanson: Eric Swanson Outdoors (503) 396-7204
