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

[Guest]

That is the beauty of this forum, if you don't want to let someone know where you went--you don't have to. I am pretty sure I know which creek Al was fishing, but I don't have to know. There are a few rivers/creeks like it all over the ozarks and they definitely wouldn't be the same if they were overrun with fisherman.

Flytyer, if you keep posting about how great crooked creek is fishing-there will be more people fishing it. I enjoy solitude while I am fishing, it adds to the overall enjoyment of the trip. Just my .02. I also guarantee that crooked creek isn't top 5 in the USA. It is a great river and I am sure it is top 5 in Arkansas-but not nationwide.

[flytyer57]

Flytyer, if you keep posting about how great crooked creek is fishing-there will be more people fishing it. I enjoy solitude while I am fishing, it adds to the overall enjoyment of the trip. Just my .02. I also guarantee that crooked creek isn't top 5 in the USA. It is a great river and I am sure it is top 5 in Arkansas-but not nationwide.

Fished it this morning. With all the talk about how good it is, I was the only one fishing the stretch right in Yellville. This stream is well known. I'm not afraid of letting someone know what they already know. Or should know.

[Bird Watcher]

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."

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.

But in that instance why post the report at all? If you post a report and are unwilling to name the location (or the lure or fly you were using) - then to me that report just comes off as pretentious and more or less senseless bragging. I've never posted a report like that for that very reason. Just MHO.

Greg

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I'm with them. I could care less if you aren't going to tell me where you caught them and not because I want to go fish there either.

It's just bragging if you aren't naming the stream. Just email them to your cronies. They are more than likely accustomed to your braggart tendecies anyway. Especially if it's just a bunch more of stream smallmouth <20". (yawn)

FWIW, this is my code. I don't put up pics if I don't want to name where they come from.

Maybe a seperate "stroke my ego" forum is in order for some who have low "fishing self esteem". That way other guys can comment on how pretty your fish are and tell you what a good job you did catching them. They can even playfully ask where you caught them, you can bat your eyelashes and tell them coyly, "in the mouth".

[Guest P. owensby]

WOW!!!!

[OzarksRiverman]

I just replied to a post from a guy asking about access points on the Sac/ L. Sac rivers. I gave him directions right to a bridge that has good fishing up and downstream. Now on this same river, I do have a "secret spot" or Honey Hole or whatever you want to call it, it's a long wade from any access. It's not accessible from this spot I divulged, but if the guy who is new to the area puts in the leg work and stumbles upon it, and is using the right tackle, then more power to him.

This is the first time on the forum I've been in the position to give some local knowledge to someone who was asking. I understand the Little Sac isn't as fragile as some of the creeks we all love to fish, but it is somewhat scarce due to its location between Springfield and Stockton Lake.

What do yall think of this approach?

[Wayne SW/MO]

You hit it right on the head here. If you're gonna post, describe what, where, when, how etc. If not, then don't post. We are here to help each other, not brag about our lucky days on the water.

According to who? Everything but the where is still valuable, and why can't someone "brag" about a good day? Take a look at some of the Views and compare them to the replys, notice the difference?

You do what you want, but I'll leave fishing the smaller more fragile waters to those who do the work of locating and learning them by means other then a large public forum. I also have no problem sharing information by PM because its not wholesale advertising.

Fished it this morning. With all the talk about how good it is, I was the only one fishing the stretch right in Yellville. This stream is well known. I'm not afraid of letting someone know what they already know. Or should know.

Given the history of Crooked Creek and the fact it got nationwide attention as the poster child of the evils of gravel mining, it hardly qualifies as a small fragile eco system. Fragile yes, they all are, but small no.

[Quillback]

Nothing wrong with posting reports and if the person doesn't mention where they caught them it's no big deal. If a person wants to brag, then brag away. And if you don't like a person's writing style or they offend you because you feel they are too full of themselves, then don't read their entries. Sheesh..

Pictures do help crediblity, some members I trust, but some, well, let's see a few pics. Here's one I caught this morning, but I'm not gonna tell you what on, where, or give any descriptions of the fight.

[Outside Bend]

I didn't realize the difference between bragging and dispensing useful information was simply inserting a stream name.

Silly me, I figured you could brag just as easily saying "I caught a 20 inch smallie fishing yesterday," as you could saying "I caught a 20 inch smallie fishing Deer Creek yesterday." If the concern is braggarts, should we omit numbers, poundage, and lengths of fish caught too? Shortening all future reports to "went out," would avoid these sorts of issues in the future. Although that may upset folks who didn't get to go. And out is a preposition.

Anyone who fishes regularly ought to know things change quickly- information from one person on one day may not be all that helpful the next. Similarly, you can have a dozen folks fishing the same stream with different techniques, and all be successful. There's not always a single answer. Sometimes you can be more successful if you pay no attention to the reports- on some well-known western trout streams I've had banner days fishing an elk hair caddis or beetle when every other angler, and every other fishing report, says to use a #6 Chernobyl Ant.

Point is, I personally don't put much stock into fishing reports. They're reports, not tutorials, and the only thing that matters is that the author is satisfied with them. If they want to divulge location information, or stream flow data, or what wildlife they saw, or what the stomach contents of the fish they caught were- go for it. But leaving any or all of that out is alright, too. Like Eric, I enjoy the story reports more than the nuts-and-bolts, "went out at 5:30 and fished gitzits among chunk rock in 18 feet of water for three hours, caught four smallies 14-17 inches before moving and vertical jigging in 80 feet of water and catching two spots, 15" each," type stuff. That doesn't mean I'm going to start a thread lamenting how people write down their experiences, and wishing more folks were better at writing prose, though.

I think the whole "just because you write about it online doesn't mean it'll get more pressure," argument defies logic. If you value big stream smallmouth, and someone posts a report where they were catching big stream smallmouth, you're going to be curious. If you weren't, this topic would not exist.

The folks who are so up-in-arms about the lack of sharing information perfectly illustrate why I don't do it: if you're more inclined to sit at a desk and whine about how the other kids won't play fair and divulge their secrets, as opposed to using the resources at your disposal (Gazeteer, Google Earth, county/plat/USGS Maps, MDC biologists), then yeah, I don't want to share my information with you. It's taken a fair amount of time and effort for me to cultivate that information, to learn that stream/fishery, and I simply don't give it away freely, much less to strangers. The knife cuts both ways- withholding information may seem selfish or vain to you, but expecting everyone to provide you hard earned knowledge to make your life easier smacks of arrogance and entitlement to me. Where else in life do you expect to be rewarded fully while putting in practically no effort?

Personally, I think an excellent angler doesn't need to be constantly spoon-fed information- the wheres and hows in particular. A good angler ought to know enough about the biology and habits of his quarry, as well as the place he is fishing, to be at least moderately successful regardless of what information he has beforehand.

[Greg]

Nothing wrong with posting reports and if the person doesn't mention where they caught them it's no big deal. If a person wants to brag, then brag away. And if you don't like a person's writing style or they offend you because you feel they are too full of themselves, then don't read their entries. Sheesh..

That's exactly right. I can't tell you how many times I've started reading a post and then it becomes obvious the location or fly or lure is a secret. That ruins it for me and most of the time I stop reading right there.

I don't think anyone was saying that others don't have a right to post those type of reports. But please don't tell me I don't have the right to not read them or to state my opinion.

Greg

[Trav]

Point, game, match.

You hit it right on the head here. If you're gonna post, describe what, where, when, how etc. If not, then don't post. We are here to help each other, not brag about our lucky days on the water.

I second this...

My reports don't have pics but I do give links to my Facebook if pics were taken. I am quite opionated but I do try to stick to the facts of the day when I write them. I even write them when I have bad days. I guess my reports are boring.

Haha, just messing with you Eric...

I don't really care if you tell me specifics when it comes to location or lures but it is nice to know how a certain body of water is doing for the moment.