Dating experts are calling it a bold new direction in online romance after Rick Tolliver, 44, of Lake Odessa, Michigan, updated his dating profile to feature nine photos of himself holding fish, which he says demonstrates “range.”
“You’ve got bass, you’ve got bluegill, you’ve got a different bass,” Tolliver explained, scrolling proudly. “Photo six is the same fish as photo two, but at a different angle, which shows I can look at things from multiple perspectives. Women say they want emotional depth. Well, a lake is extremely deep.”
According to the National Bureau of Outdoor Romance, 68.9% of men on dating apps include at least one fish photo, and 12.4% include no photo in which their face is visible beyond a fish. Bureau spokesperson Wade Pruitt called the fish “a universal symbol of stability, because it’s dead, and dead things don’t leave.”
Tolliver’s bio reads, in full, “Looking for a partner in crime. No drama. Must like fishing.” He said he chose those words carefully after studying the profiles of 400 other men in his area, all of which said the exact same thing.
Since updating the profile, Tolliver has received zero matches, which he attributes to women feeling “intimidated by an apex provider.” He is now considering adding a tenth photo, of a larger fish, to “really seal the deal.”
Local resident Carla Mendez, who swiped past the profile Thursday, said she had nothing against fishing. “I’d just like to see one picture where the fish isn’t the more interesting person,” she said, before matching with a man who had posted a photo of himself reading.
