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

[Wayne SW/MO]

you could hardly call it a "secret" place. I hooked 7 and landed and released four nice rainbows,

You can hardly compare an area stocked with trout to a small creek inhabited by native smallmouth. They don't replenish the smallies.

The James isn't what I would call a small water and despite the many accesses and human population nearby, it holds up well. It is well known, going back to the days of Jim Owens and pre Table Rock. The Finley is as much creek as river, but hard to shuttle and doesn't seem to get the attention one would expect, again because of the location. The attention it does get seems to limit the fish size however, or so It seems.

[gotmuddy]

I'd rather be the guy who's the only one in the creek fishing.

then that shows the skill level you represent.

I don't expect someone to tell me what hole they were in complete with gps coordinates, I just want to find new places to fish. If that is wrong....then I will just be wrong.

I guess I can just plop a map of MO down and start guessing at what creeks are secretive and try them out.

[Chief Grey Bear]

then that shows the skill level you represent.

Well, I guess that would represent my skill level too. And if you feel that is the case, then my skill level is vastly superior to yours because I know where the spot is and you don't. In fact I know where every one of them are in SW MO. And I know them by spending my own time and gas money searching. And I have shared a lot of them with other people. Even people on this fourm. But I never posted a one of them.

[eric1978]

then that shows the skill level you represent.

I don't expect someone to tell me what hole they were in complete with gps coordinates, I just want to find new places to fish. If that is wrong....then I will just be wrong.

I guess I can just plop a map of MO down and start guessing at what creeks are secretive and try them out.

That's exactly what I do as often as I can, and when I find a great little productive stream, it's rewarding as hell because I wasn't led there by the hand...I found it on my own, and it makes a successful day that much sweeter. That's not to say I don't do research...I do. And I've learned a great deal from certain members of this and other forums, but I've acquired the most useful information through private conversations with people I've built some kind of relationship with over time.

And since you're so hung up on "skill level," do you not appreciate the great amount of discovery and knowledge that is gained from exploring new water? A vast amount of angling aptitude and skill is earned through grinding out hours and days in unfamiliar territory, whether you are catching fish or not. Or are you just hung up on the kill, and don't pay attention to the hunt?

There are many, many anglers far more skilled than I am, including a great number on this forum, and every single one of them would prefer to fish unpressured streams over those that are pounded every year. So your argument makes little sense and has no bearing on anything except your own rationale of this issue. Skilled anglers are going to have better success than unskilled anglers on any body of water, but it's more fun for every fisherman to catch more fish, regardless of skill level.

If you want to keep volunteering gratuitous information about where you fish, fine...I looked forward to picking up tidbits of info from anyone who drops them, including you. But don't get your panties in a twist because I choose not to broadcast the names of small streams that I fish.

[troutfiend1985]

gotmuddy:

I don't think I understand your logic. Listen, smallmouth aren't stocked, and while I fish for them only a couple of times a year you won't find a single post about my trips on this forum. This has nothing to do my fishing skill, and I have the photos and everything else to go with it. I fish for solitude, unless I go to a trout park where you'll find me hawg hunting. However gotmuddy, you have to realize that I, nor anyone else on this forum are obligated to share with you any information regarding fishing. I will post my information on trout parks and taney, but you have to realize that these areas differ materially from smallmouth in Missouri which are native. If I never saw a posting on blue ribbon trout stream, I would be happy. And I think a lot of smallmouth anglers share this feeling, however I can't state their opinions for them.

I agree a lot with Eric on this point. However, while Blue ribbon streams have their protections, they don't differ too much from that of some Smallmouth streams. I still think enforcement is the answer to that problem but I know that this is not the view of everyone.

Bottom line is this, you want to share information on fishing then great. If you want other people to share their info and spots, don't get your panties in a twist if they don't.

Tight lines

[jdmidwest]

The quality of fishing on most of the streams I have fished in the past 40 years has degraded to the point once great streams are now mediocre of poor. Gravel has shallowed most of the waters, trees have disappeared along the banks, and the water levels have fell. Most of the ecological changes have depressed the fishing and the floating. They don't support the numbers of fish or the sizes that we had years ago. Then there are the new predators that affect the populations, otters, herons, etc that cut into the fish numbers also.

Post a review on the www and millions of people have access to it. And the ones that have the most time on their hands can see it and say "Hey, I could have kept that nice mess of fish he caught". Then the next time thru, fishing sucks. Its not like the old days sitting around the coffee shop eating breakfast talking with your buddies about the weekend and someone overhears the conversation.

I am selfish, I don't have alot of free time to spend on the streams, so I want the time I spend to be productive and enjoyable. I have to deal with the public all week, the last thing I want to do is deal with them on the streams. It is my private time, to be with myself, friends, or family. I used to post reports, now I do it only on really public streams that are large enough to support the extra numbers.

[Al Agnew]

There is a finite number of miles of trout streams in the Ozarks, and it isn't all that many miles. Every one of those miles has been publicized, and most have had books written about them, let alone all the info in magazines and websites. Even with all that, once in a while one of the smaller "wild" trout streams goes through a period of bad environmental conditions resulting in poor fishing, and then most people forget about it, and a few years later the fishing has recovered and even become terrific. I know of one such stream that my best trout fishing buddy "discovered" last winter, and caught a pile of 18 to 24 inch wild rainbows from it while hardly ever seeing another angler. It wasn't all that far from where he lives, and he'd fished it many times in the past, but during the drought years it had gotten so low that the fish had really suffered, and he'd stopped fishing it for almost a decade.

By the time spring arrived, the word was finally getting out among the local trout anglers, and he was seeing a lot more fishermen and the fishing was getting tougher. He expected it. When you only have a few miles of trout creeks and a lot of trout anglers, the sleepers don't stay ignored for very long. But he had a great time while it lasted, and he kept it quiet except for a few trusted friends (and he probably only told me about it because he knew I lived far enough away that I wouldn't pound it).

When you compare the trout streams to smallmouth streams, you have exponentially more miles of smallmouth streams with a lot less density of anglers. But at the same time, in my opinion the smallmouth streams are as fragile as the best of the wild trout streams, those that aren't stocked. They really can't take any more pressure than the small trout gems without the fishing suffering.

Like I said before...it's all about keeping the fishing pressure distributed among all the streams, instead of concentrating it on a given stretch. In the normal scheme of things, you have a finite number of anglers on a finite number of stream miles, and those anglers are scattered throughout, with more of them on the more well known streams. But if you report that you really whacked them on the Big Piney from Mason Bridge to Slabtown, and enough people read that report, for a while the Mason Bridge to Slabtown section is going to get a lot more fishing pressure. Sure, it means that some other stretches get less pressure. But if the Mason Bridge to Slabtown stretch is one of your favorites, you're not going to be very happy about the situation. That's why I don't often publicize the accesses I use even on the best known streams. I don't expect anybody to NOT know those accesses are there, but I have hopes that the next time I go to an access it won't have a bunch more anglers than it did the last time.

As for the smaller, lesser known creeks, it's the same deal. They can't stand much more pressure than they get without the fishing suffering. All of them get SOME pressure. But none of them need a sudden influx of more anglers than they are getting.

Here's another take on things...I don't know about others, but the streams I regularly fish are 1.5 hours' drive or less from where I live. I kinda consider those streams "mine". If I go farther, I feel like I'm fishing "somebody else's" stream. I just realized that I did a report a few months back on a James River trip, and reported which stretch I floated. Actually, I reported the exact stretch mostly because the fishing that day was pretty mediocre, but in retrospect I reported partly because I didn't have much of a personal stake in it. And now that I think about it, that may not have been showing much respect for those who consider it "theirs". I'll have to remember that from now on.

I'm not sure I buy into the mindset that we have to be SO helpful to budding anglers that we broadcast exactly where they can find good fishing. I think that's more of a one on one thing. If somebody asks me privately where to find good fishing in the general area, I'll be happy to give them some good suggestions. But I just don't think it's a good idea to tell EVERYBODY that the fishing on the Mason Bridge to Slabtown section of the Big Piney is extremely hot right now (and no...I haven't fished that stretch in about three years, so I don't know if it's hot or not).

Heck, I don't even mind listing ALL the possibilities in a given area, and letting somebody choose which ones they want to try. I'm just not going to single out one possibility. Nor do I mind telling people about accesses. I'll broadcast that there are good accesses at Mason Bridge and at Slabtown. But I'm not going to tell the world that the fishing around Slabtown is terrific right now.

[jdmidwest]

Here's another take on things...I don't know about others, but the streams I regularly fish are 1.5 hours' drive or less from where I live. I kinda consider those streams "mine". If I go farther, I feel like I'm fishing "somebody else's" stream. I just realized that I did a report a few months back on a James River trip, and reported which stretch I floated. Actually, I reported the exact stretch mostly because the fishing that day was pretty mediocre, but in retrospect I reported partly because I didn't have much of a personal stake in it. And now that I think about it, that may not have been showing much respect for those who consider it "theirs". I'll have to remember that from now on.

That is a good point. There was a time I used to brag about my "Home Waters" and post most of my trips on them, now I tend to be more discreet. But, I have several streams that I fish only when invited by friends that fish them as their "Home Waters". I don't post about those, I feel like I am a guest on their streams and I have to travel to fish them. I have not been on the streams with our one of them present in the boat with me. And they have done the same with me also.

Eleven Point was one of those streams, for a long time I did not take some of my buddies I fish with to it or even suggest it, it was a stream that I fished with a close friend that showed me the stream or by myself only. But that was for different reasons, personal only. We still try to squeeze in at least one trip a year on it together. The last few have been spent with the sons and grandsons of the ones that used to fish it with me.

[techo]

I agree with Trav on this one. Mike posted a few spots this spring trying to help a guy. He even posted a map. Those spots were unavailable for quite a few weeks after. Everyone in that area was at least trying them. I try to post depths, general types of areas and baits. If someone is struggling or visiting from another state, then i PM them some info or specific spots in hopes that they have a better trip or give them a point of reference to start with.

Most guys post enough info to eliminate a lot of water. Some of the fun for me is finding it from there.

[joeD]

Remember. It is human nature to destroy what we love. Just ask my wife.