Does anyone think that I'm off-base here?
To be fair I think the trips are a great place to learn techniques. See what people do and what works. If I tell you that I was fishing watermelon senkos, wacky rigged over sunken timber , nailing fish at 5-7 foot deep..does it really matter that I didn't post an exact location?
I don't think so, I think the important thing is that I learned a bit about baits and styles that were working and got to see a few nice catches.
For instance I don't post many trips any more, mainly cause no one cares too much about carp fishing lol. The trips I do post are always written up and detailed, even though I may not give an exact location I talk about baits I have used and rigs I used and even try to do videos and plenty of photos etc..I think that the details and the stories are far more important then the location. I think that if someone tried to detail what they did and tell me a bit about their experience it is worth a few stars..f they just put 1 sentence and said I caught fish..then 1 star cause you bored me and I really can't learn anything from that.
I do believe in sharing and some spots are freely given..but sometimes you find a really nice spot that is just good to have in your back pocket.
I mean take carp fishing for instance. I will gladly show you anything to help get you started or learn. I'll explain baits and rigs, show you some prime spots and techniques to catch and land fish and take care of them..however I don't think it is fair to believe that you should get all the info it has taken me over 25 years to gain. I'd gladly take guys to some of my places to fish..but I am not taking just anyone to my best holes after talking to them once so that I can get taken advantage of or disrespected...or even worse put bow hunters on our fish etc like the 47 just taken this year
I think that fishing is not just going out and landing fish, but it is also learning and exploring and enjoying the journey to get to where you are.
So while I agree some sharing is vital to the growth of the sport , I don't think it is reasonable to expect every detail ever learned to be handed out to everyone.
@blackstonecarp I respectfully disagree with you. What works in one location, may not work in another. Water temperature, aquatic vegetation and the composition of the floor all matter when deciding lures and presentation.
Last edited by bcodkind on Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:11 am; edited 1 time in total
I disagree. I think it's ok for a guy to have 1 or 2 special places that are just his. Last year I posted some trips from my favorite pond. Now I'm not saying it was all me but from last year to this year I've seen a huge increase in boats on that pond. Most days I wouldn't see another person and now I see at least 1 no matter what time of day I go there. I don't feel like anybody is rubbing their fish in my face and I certainly hope people don't feel like I'm rubbing fish in theirs. God knows I don't think I'm that good of a fisherman to rub it in someones face.
i'm with shawn. i've put an enormous amount of time fishing known and unknown places. it's all about going out, giving it a shot and finding those places that don't have a million people pounding the water. there are few places i know will produce big fish using tactics not many people would even think are possible. i figured this out from driving, searching maps, time on the water, and fishing different techniques. everyone should be doing the same thing. unfortunately, if you give up these types of spots, you'll have a thousand people there next time.
i don't focus on the honey hole really. i'll tell you how i caught the fish. i don't really care. i can break down how i tried x, y, and z and that z worked out b/c of something subtle. it's not the location that matters but learning how other people catch their fish and figure out the puzzle as to what's working on a given day or time. i won't hide this information from people.
also, let's be honest...there's really no honey hole. people always know your spot. how do i know? i've been to a few "honey holes" except other people were on the water...
there are very few bodies of water that aren't on a map. you just need to go and try and try again.
I can't say I love the term honey hole either but let me explain the reason I kept the location private. This place wasn't MY fishing spot. A friend was kind enough to help a noob out and told me about this place. Look at all my other trips. I have never kept a spot secret. Usually I post the exact spot i caught the fish on the body of water. I wasn't trying to blow up the spot for my buddy. I also wasn't trying to piss off the user base at MAFF. I thought I shared enough details in my trip about HOW we caught the fish to help others out but I guess it wasn't perceived that way.
Now Berkleegrad spent time writing his diatribe and ends it with, "If you want me to provide an honest review of your trip, you need to post the location, otherwise you're getting 1 star from me. " Then he turns around and gives me a 5 stars for my trip without a location. So which one is it? Sounds like sour grapes to me.
Last edited by dorfonfishing on Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:42 am; edited 1 time in total
If I put up a report that I was fishing a 1/4 oz black jig in wood and that all the fish came from the tips of the trees/bushes. That it was in April on a sunny and mild day with a SW wind you should put that in your memory bank and the next time you are on a pond with lots of wood at that time and there is a SW wind, give the tips of the trees a try.
If I tell you I caught my fish at bleberry pond on the west shore under pontoon boats with a white senko....... Its like giving you all the answers to the test. What have you learned?
Nothing is more satisfying then learning something through reading it or seeing it, then applying it yourself and having it work.
I can still remember the 1st time this worked for me. I was in my 1st year in a bass club. I had fished a couple of events and finished way down the list both times. It was now June and I had read ( here is where you put this info in your memory bank) in INFISHERMAN ( btw one of the best informational mgs/ shows out there) that when the bluegill are spawning BIG bass will often position themselves on the 1st drop just outside of the gills spawning areas looking for an easy meal. Well come tourney time I found a couple of pods of bluegill beds with a good drop off a few feet away. There were no sennkos then but there were slug gos. I threw a melon pepper slug go toward the beds and worked it out to the drop off. I caught my 1st limit, won my 1st tournament and had a 15lb bag. Everyone else came in with single digit bags and were complaining about the post spawn blues the bass were in. They were shocked to see the bag I had and they all wanted to know how I caught them. It was very satisfying knowing I learned something, applied it and it worked. I mean how proud of yourself can you be if I tell you.. fish here. go over there, throw this, in this color, work it like this and catch fish. What have you done?
Honey hole trips with reports of big fish should motivate you to become better not piss you off and discourage you. What helped me become a better tournament angler was getting my butt kicked.
Last edited by stratos1966 on Fri Jul 20, 2012 7:41 am; edited 1 time in total
Im with Sam , Shawn, and BSC. If I write up a report and tell you what I did and why i did it, under the conditions I faced, you should be able to absorb a lot of info from that post and apply it to your own favorite bodiesof water. I learned everything I know from reading, watching informative shows ( not Charlie Moore) and through MANY long hours on the water. If I go someplace that is well known, I have no issue giving up location. If I am at a lesser known place imnot saying anything because I want to keep it that way. There is a reason it's a "honey hole".... because it doesnt get pounded into a froth by 40 boats on a weekend.
If I put up a report that I was fishing a 1/4 oz black jig in wood and that all the fish came from the tips of the trees/bushes. That it was in April on a sunny and mild day with a SW wind you should put that in your memory bank and the next time you are on a pond with lots of wood at that time and there is a SW wind, give the tips of the trees a try.
If I tell you I caught my fish at bleberry pond on the west shore under pontoon boats with a white senko....... Its like giving you all the answers to the test. What have you learned?
Nothing is more satisfying then learning something through reading it or seeing it, then applying it yourself and having it work.
I can still remember the 1st time this worked for me. I was in my 1st year in a bass club. I had fished a couple of events and finished way down the list both times. It was now June and I had read ( here is where you put this info in your memory bank) in INFISHERMAN ( btw one of the best informational mgs/ shows out there) that when the bluegill are spawning BIG bass will often position themselves on the 1st drop just outside of the gills spawning areas looking for an easy meal. Well come tourney time I found a couple of pods of bluegill beds with a good drop off a few feet away. There were no sennkos then but there were slug gos. I threw a melon pepper slug go toward the beds and worked it out to the drop off. I caught my 1st limit, won my 1st tournament and had a 15lb bag. Everyone else came in with single digit bags and were complaining about the post spawn blues the bass were in. They were shocked to see the bag I had and they all wanted to know how I caught them. It was very satisfying knowing I learned something, applied it and it worked. I mean how proud of yourself can you be if I tell you.. fish here. go over there, throw this, in this color, work it like this and catch fish. What have you done?
Honey hole trips with reports of big fish should motivate you to become better not piss you off and discourage you. What helped me become a better tournament angler was getting my butt kicked.
YODA!
Let me start by saying that I respect the right to keep your honey hole (hate that term) location private. But I find it somewhat offensive when someone wants to publicly crow about their great trip and then proceed to hide basic location details. It's tantamount to rubbing it in our faces. I'm not saying we should disclose precise locations but at least name the body of water. That's what this site is about, to share information about locations, techniques, etc. It makes the community stronger and gives us all more options. When you name the location it becomes a challenge to other anglers - "hey, I did this well, can you do better?" My feeling is, if you're not going to share location, then don't post the trip. If you want me to provide an honest review of your trip, you need to post the location, otherwise you're getting 1 star from me.
Does anyone think that I'm off-base here?
Yup, I think your off base. I've been posting here since 2007, and I've contributed plenty, and still do. Is it coincidence that half the places I used to fish weekly are full of other peeps? Maybe, maybe not. Dave (the owner of this site) asked me to be a admin over 4 years ago because of how much I've contributed. Sorry if I have 2 honey holes that I've been asked not to give out. Sorry if I fish 15 to 20 tournaments a years, and will not give out the spots, or patterns of the guys I fish with out of respect for them. The other things is, I just don't post stuff for everyone else, I post for myself too, because I like keep track of where, what, when, how I caught what I caught. Its just another a little piece research that has helped me become a better angler over the last 6 years. So if your way of showing us is to 1 star a trip, then have at it. Why cant you just be happy for a fellow angler who had a great day on the water, or may have caught the fish of a lifetime. I think you could use that time more wisely by researching maps, and depth maps, or techniques, etc like most everyone else does here already. If you really need to know where someones honey hole is, why wouldn't you just ask in private, instead of a public forum. I'm willing to bet most people here (Blackstone is one of them for sure) if you took the time to get to know them a little, and asked nicely, they would show a secret spot in person, but not on a message board for the the whole world to see, never mind the bucket brigades.
-John aka Meat
Let me start by saying that I respect the right to keep your honey hole (hate that term) location private. But I find it somewhat offensive when someone wants to publicly crow about their great trip and then proceed to hide basic location details. It's tantamount to rubbing it in our faces. I'm not saying we should disclose precise locations but at least name the body of water. That's what this site is about, to share information about locations, techniques, etc. It makes the community stronger and gives us all more options. When you name the location it becomes a challenge to other anglers - "hey, I did this well, can you do better?" My feeling is, if you're not going to share location, then don't post the trip. If you want me to provide an honest review of your trip, you need to post the location, otherwise you're getting 1 star from me.
Does anyone think that I'm off-base here?
I understand your thoughts however not "EVERYONE" who reads these posts is as respectful as the next guy. A lot of these places are out of the way , drag your boat in drag your boat out, pure unadulterated locations, I've seen one time honey holes turn into GIANT SH*T HOLE in matter of months due to less than ethical anglers, besides honey holes are about out of they way locations that you research and put in time to find through a lot of trial and error, that's why MY HONEY HOLES are MINE! no disrespect meant towards your post just stating my opinion ...FISH ON!
@blackstonecarp I respectfully disagree with you. What works in one location, may not work in another. Water temperature, aquatic vegetation and the composition of the floor all matter when deciding lures and presentation.
I am not saying it will. What I am saying is that by reading various methods that have worked in various situations you build an arsenal to use in the situations you face. Which is why I think that method is far more important then spot. Because to be honest I could put you directly on my spot, with my rigs my bait etc..and without the same direct knowledge of the area I have you may not catch. I know my swims well..where snags are, where the shelves are I'm casting too etc etc. But I don't think that should be expected in a trip.
I think it is fair to expect some weather conditions and the type of lure I was using, or the type of weed an bottom, color of the water and the like..but i should not be expected to draw you a topo map ...ya see what I am saying?
Im with Sam , Shawn, and BSC. If I write up a report and tell you what I did and why i did it, under the conditions I faced, you should be able to absorb a lot of info from that post and apply it to your own favorite bodiesof water. I learned everything I know from reading, watching informative shows ( not Charlie Moore) and through MANY long hours on the water. If I go someplace that is well known, I have no issue giving up location. If I am at a lesser known place imnot saying anything because I want to keep it that way. There is a reason it's a "honey hole".... because it doesnt get pounded into a froth by 40 boats on a weekend.
If I put up a report that I was fishing a 1/4 oz black jig in wood and that all the fish came from the tips of the trees/bushes. That it was in April on a sunny and mild day with a SW wind you should put that in your memory bank and the next time you are on a pond with lots of wood at that time and there is a SW wind, give the tips of the trees a try.
If I tell you I caught my fish at bleberry pond on the west shore under pontoon boats with a white senko....... Its like giving you all the answers to the test. What have you learned?
Nothing is more satisfying then learning something through reading it or seeing it, then applying it yourself and having it work.
I can still remember the 1st time this worked for me. I was in my 1st year in a bass club. I had fished a couple of events and finished way down the list both times. It was now June and I had read ( here is where you put this info in your memory bank) in INFISHERMAN ( btw one of the best informational mgs/ shows out there) that when the bluegill are spawning BIG bass will often position themselves on the 1st drop just outside of the gills spawning areas looking for an easy meal. Well come tourney time I found a couple of pods of bluegill beds with a good drop off a few feet away. There were no sennkos then but there were slug gos. I threw a melon pepper slug go toward the beds and worked it out to the drop off. I caught my 1st limit, won my 1st tournament and had a 15lb bag. Everyone else came in with single digit bags and were complaining about the post spawn blues the bass were in. They were shocked to see the bag I had and they all wanted to know how I caught them. It was very satisfying knowing I learned something, applied it and it worked. I mean how proud of yourself can you be if I tell you.. fish here. go over there, throw this, in this color, work it like this and catch fish. What have you done?
Honey hole trips with reports of big fish should motivate you to become better not piss you off and discourage you. What helped me become a better tournament angler was getting my butt kicked.
YODA!
I'M YODA DAMMIT!
Last edited by sinista on Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:13 am; edited 1 time in total
