good luck OAF, everyone else can suck it.. Eh?

[Chief Grey Bear]

Ya know the internet has been a boon and a curse. 

Im glad for it for places like this. 

Its also the devil. I think it's starting to take a toll, even though the science doesn't support me, on the flowing fisheries. 

I would like to see the MDC be more proactive on stream fishing but I don't see it coming just yet.

[Mitch f]

25 minutes ago, Al Agnew said:

Yep, the other social media are notorious for guys posting hero shots and blabbing about where they caught them.  Nope, there are no secrets.  But there are specific places where the fish are more concentrated and vulnerable.  Most of them are known to many, some to a LOT of people.  It still doesn't mean that we need to be making them known to even more people.  Just because plenty of people fish a particular spot and so far the fishing hasn't suffered, doesn't mean that twice as many people fishing it wouldn't make it start suffering.  The fish populations are finite even if self-sustaining, and we all know that more fishing pressure usually equates to poorer fishing.

Wrench, to an extent you're right.  If you understand Ozark streams, you can tell which stretches have better habitat.  But there is always that fishing pressure thing.  Some stretches that have very good (and obvious) habitat are poorer fishing because it's so obvious to everybody that they are such good habitat.  I know a bunch of pieces of water that DON'T look obviously good but flat out produce fish, in part because of subtle features, and in part because they AREN'T obvious.

 

The one thing to remember is when doing a Google search, the Ozark Anglers forum shows up, but Facebook posts and other social media outlets do not. 

[tjm]

Well, if you want exclusive use of a honey hole, buy it and post it; keep low lifes like me from accidentally stumbling on to it. Near as I can tell Cricket was sharing his (public)(state owned) honey hole. Maybe like me he gets lonesome out there, some times it's nice to see another fisher.

We have enough problem finding stream access in Mo. that every single place you can get to is known by all who are interested. Which by the don't seem be very many any more. I don't know any one who fishes often, at all, no one. Look around this forum and count how many of you there are, look at how spread out you are and calculate how much damage all of you put together could do.

I can't see the protection of resource at all,  this comes across as fear that "some one else will get there before I do". Greed plays a part in it but dog in the manger stands out more. Reckon we should fence the State  Parks all in and keep them closed to all fishing but OAF members?

How many other anglers do you see on an average winters day? I saw one yesterday and another one today, and that was in a city park fishing a white ribbon trout stream that was brim full of 12"-16"ers. I am afraid to say where now though, might be some body's special city park and he/she would get all up.

 

[fishinwrench]

19 minutes ago, Mitch f said:

The one thing to remember is when doing a Google search, the Ozark Anglers forum shows up, but Facebook posts and other social media outlets do not. 

Good point there!

I googled "fishinwrench' once and scared the living crap out of myself.  Hundreds of pages, clear back to old Riversmallies.com and the ancient Conservation cafe.    

[Al Agnew]

52 minutes ago, tjm said:

Well, if you want exclusive use of a honey hole, buy it and post it; keep low lifes like me from accidentally stumbling on to it. Near as I can tell Cricket was sharing his (public)(state owned) honey hole. Maybe like me he gets lonesome out there, some times it's nice to see another fisher.

We have enough problem finding stream access in Mo. that every single place you can get to is known by all who are interested. Which by the don't seem be very many any more. I don't know any one who fishes often, at all, no one. Look around this forum and count how many of you there are, look at how spread out you are and calculate how much damage all of you put together could do.

I can't see the protection of resource at all,  this comes across as fear that "some one else will get there before I do". Greed plays a part in it but dog in the manger stands out more. Reckon we should fence the State  Parks all in and keep them closed to all fishing but OAF members?

How many other anglers do you see on an average winters day? I saw one yesterday and another one today, and that was in a city park fishing a white ribbon trout stream that was brim full of 12"-16"ers. I am afraid to say where now though, might be some body's special city park and he/she would get all up.

 

None of us are saying we want exclusive use of a honey hole.  We are saying that we would just as soon NOT have that honey hole publicized for everybody else to see.  I have no problem with somebody else finding my spots on their own, but I'm not going to tell them about those spots unless it's somebody I know I can trust to treat them with respect and not bring in a whole bunch of other people to them.  And there are a LOT of people who, for whatever reason, don't know every public access on every river...not to mention that I don't mind telling them about public accesses; I'm just not going to tell them on a public forum to go to the third pool below the access because it's a great wintertime spot to catch a big smallmouth.

And if you don't think a lot of added fishing pressure can and will make the fishing tougher (for everybody), you haven't seen what I've seen on these streams.

The numbers of winter smallmouth anglers are growing rapidly, and it's due in large part to the publicizing of winter fishing on places like this.  I'm as guilty of that as anybody here.  But there's still a fundamental difference between telling people how to fish for winter smallies, and telling them to go to the third pool below the access and pound it because it's a good winter pool.

[joeD]

No one answered my question. Plus..

We get to fish for smallmouth bass anytime and anywhere we want. We get to talk about it too, with others out here in binary land. 

Quit complaining and go fishing and post big fish pictures and little fish pictures and if you must fly fish, submit your videos to the Academy.

Good Grief. "Of all the Charlie Browns, you're the Charlie BROWNIEST!"

 

[Chief Grey Bear]

56 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Good point there!

I googled "fishinwrench' once and scared the living crap out of myself.  Hundreds of pages, clear back to old Riversmallies.com and the ancient Conservation cafe.    

Not really. 

Type in certain key words in FB search and you'll find posts from now til Tuesday. 

To think otherwise is extremely foolish. 

[fishinwrench]

2 minutes ago, Chief Grey Bear said:

Not really. 

Type in certain key words in FB search and you'll find posts from now til Tuesday. 

To think otherwise is extremely foolish. 

I just typed in "Osage fork" and all that came up was a couple that Cricket had posted, and a bunch of stuff from various dog breeders.  (????)

[Chief Grey Bear]

Type Osage Fork Bass

click on Public Post. Go to the pooper. Yer gonna be a while.

[Phil Lilley]