Why Are Some Members Deathly Afraid To Say Where They Fish?

[joeD]

Whew! I just got back from a monthly party held at a secret location in St. Louis. The action was almost unspeakable and the pleasures many. Unfortunately, you weren't invited, as I was. Though this is a public forum, I feel I should share with you my experiences. Would you like to read about them?

Exactly. If you have a secret spot, then keep it a secret. I could care less what kind of day you had on an "unnamed stream."

Then again, if I found the mother lode, I'd be quiet too. Watch "Treasure of the Sierra Madre."

Somebody explain the Current River between the end of the park and Ashley Creek. EVERYONE knows about it and EVERYONE fishes it. Every week of every year. So, if increased knowledge (of a stream section) leads to increased pressure, and that pressure necessarily leads to diminished success, how do you explain the Current? Huzzah? Courtois? Meramec?

Exactly. Our discussions of our smallie streams have absolutely no negative impact on the streams. After all, if everybody on this forum is ethical like we say we are, and our fishing buddies are too, then what danger does the give and take of this forum pose to those streams?

That's the funny thing about fishing. We want to tell everyone who will listen when we're successful on the river, yet, when pressed for details about where and how, we become cagey poker players, reluctant to reveal too much.

White fluke.

[jdmidwest]

Because there are still some streams that do not get pounded to death by anglers. I know a few and tend to keep them to myself, and when I go there I have them to myself. Fishing in a crowd is not much fun.

[gotmuddy]

Because there are still some streams that do not get pounded to death by anglers. I know a few and tend to keep them to myself, and when I go there I have them to myself. Fishing in a crowd is not much fun.

Crooked creek is one of the best streams for smallmouth in the US but it doesn't get near the pressure other places do.

Now I dont intend to tell people which riffle I caught my biggest fish, but I dont care letting someone float. As far as secret lures, I have caught really nice smallmouth on the exact same crankbait on the white river, eleven point river, and crooked creek. It isn't rocket science.

BTW, if you ever get a wild hair to wade fish crooked creek stay away from the 101 bridge, the fishing is NOT worth the walk.

[eric1978]

Crooked creek is one of the best streams for smallmouth in the US but it doesn't get near the pressure other places do.

Keep talking about it and that could change.

Think I might head down there for a weekend since you say it's so good. I'll be keeping a limit every day, too.

[Flysmallie]

Keep talking about it and that could change.

I doubt it. People have been talking that way about Crooked Creek for many many years. It has been ranked as one of the top smallmouth streams in the country. And it still never seems to get much pressure.

I don't buy into this secret group of poaching ninjas that lurk on forums looking for their next honey hole. Why would you spend all that time and effort on a creek when you could go to any of the area lakes and make things a lot easier.

But if everyone wants to keep it all a secret, then I respect it and will honor it. No loss to me.

[Wayne SW/MO]

So I am right? You do not want anyone fishing where you fish.

That's not the point, the point is that some waters can't stand a lot of pressure. You can hardly compare the lower 11 Point to a small stream.

As far as waters being public, you're absolutely right and anyone can do the research if they 'll get off their butts and do it. I don't see where criticism is warranted because someone doesn't want to expose a small water to hundreds of people.

[Mitch f]

I work to hard to find the big fish and I'm not going to tell people on this or any forum where these spots are. I will take someone fishing and they may find out, but I am not going to put it on the web. In no time the boat ramp will be full of people and you will have to take a number to fish your favorite hole..................Eric is right, couldn't have said it better myself.

[eric1978]

I don't see where criticism is warranted because someone doesn't want to expose a small water to hundreds of people.

Thousands.

If my inability to keep my mouth shut leads to just one smallmouth being taken from a stream that I fish, then I'm just shooting myself in the foot. I'd rather catch that fish and release it than assist in someone else catching and eating it...wouldn't you?

I don't understand why which stream you fish is an essential part of a report. They're all basically the same...water, rocks, logjams, fish...it's just that some are more fragile than others, as Wayne pointed out, and can't handle any more meat anglers stocking their freezers from it when they otherwise would have gone elsewhere, had they not been tipped off lurking around on a forum. I know they're already there, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna ring the dinnerbell for more of them to hear.

[snagged in outlet 3]

I'll tell you why I clam up.

For about 20 years a couple buddies and I knew about a very good bass lake was public, but not well known. We would routinely catch fish up to 8lbs and had many 100 fish days that rarely saw any fish under 2lbs.

Then the internet came to town and the lake was listed on the web. The next trip to the lake I found an old timer with a cooler of large fish and one fish in perticular laying in the gravel road. It was clearly close to 8lbs.

He says to us "man I just found out about this place from my son and it's great. Caught em all on goldfish and I'm mounting that big one there and eating the rest tomight. Tomorrow I'm bringing the boys back for this!!"

Fast forward a year and the place has been fished out and to make matters worse, it's trashed. The following spring we went back as usual and there were 9 boats on a 45 acre lake. All we caught were dinks.

Haven't been back in 3 years. Of course now the lake has of all things, a slot limit. What a joke.

SIO3

There are no fish at Busch either!

[Wayne SW/MO]

Several years ago Phil was very specific about the Spring crappie fishing out of Long Creek Marina, within a short time the ramp was unusable, no place to park!

Catch and release of smallies is an intent, but in reality its not 100%. We all have a few fish that probably don't make it and if you multiply that number by a greater number of fishermen on a water of limited resource you have a problem.