I have to agree with this notion. Fishing seems to be a community building shared relaxation space, one of my favorite activities to fill my increasingly limited free time. It's very offline and accessible to all, regardless of socioeconomic status.
I ran into the same thing when I built my house, where I couldn't find anyone local to take care of installing my split mini units without a wait of six weeks or more. I ultimately ended up purchasing a 25lb refrigerant tank, guage set, and vacuum pump to commission the units. I wasn't trying to DIY or save money per se, but this seemed to be the path of least resistance. Five years later all five heat pumps are going strong, this market dynamic doesn't seem to have changed much (here in Virginia USA) as I helped my neighbor bring her two heat pump units online in October 2022 after she couldn't get any of the local installers to schedule her either. I'm still puzzled why heat pumps are not dominant in the US market and why natural gas furnaces of any efficiency are still being installed, given that you can't power them from rooftop PV which is everywhere these days.