people still might just sign up with whatever info, have a blank profile, post 0 trips and just leech off other people's information. just something to think about.
good point, I'm on another forum where you have to have a certain number of points to unlock different features. It wasn't many, but still an incentive to give something back. Once you signed up, you could view and post, then after like 5 points you could use the private messaging and after 10 you could see different lakes/write ups stuff like that. Kind of a cool idea, but as you said, they might just get the 10 points and then leech...at least it would make them do a little work first or if they didn't want to, they wouldn't get anything from the site.
I just want to post my two cents..
As far as the map options. More options are always good. No one would have to use them if they didn't want to but others could as they chose to.
To all the people who think fishing must be a guarded secret. I agree with some aspects but as a whole I think hiding information from others hurts fishing more then anything. I have witness countless people try to take up fishing and with no guidance have caused harm to the fish, them selves, gotten frustrated and quit and so on. I understand that some things like bait recipes and hot spots might be kept somewhat under wraps but..like my tutorials in the carp section for instance...knowledge of senior anglers should be shared in order to help, not only foster a new generation of anglers, but to raise respect and awareness of the sport and ecosystems.
I am not saying give all your knowledge away. I do however believe that the information I have gathered over the 2+ decades of fishing I have done is best served if I help others find happiness in a sport I love. For instance..saying that
"Lake so and so has big bass"
is fine, but what is wrong with saying
"Lake so and so has big bass,. You can find great shore access along the north shores as well as a boat ramp on the eastern shore by so and so road. Try hitting the vast sunken timber in the southern portion for some great fish, but don't rule out the lily's which cover 80% of the Northern and Western shores. During the summer the bigger bass seem to have a fatal attraction to top water movement."
This second example gives some great knowledge and helps new comers get into some action but still requires a new fisherman to experiment and learn and discover. This is what fishing should be about and I believe how we can help others while still allowing them to discover nature themselves. I get really tired of groups or individuals that treat all aspects of fishing as some well guarded secret that only a handful or people deserve to find out. This does more harm in the long run as those truly experienced anglers pass out of the world and any knowledge they had is lost. I see many people who find and comment on how great various articles are that explain fishing techniques, then turn around and say trips and such should be kept secret. I highly doubt any one of us has learned everything all on our own, with no books, magazines, friends, internet etc...just something to keep in the back of your heads.
As far as the map options. More options are always good. No one would have to use them if they didn't want to but others could as they chose to.
To all the people who think fishing must be a guarded secret. I agree with some aspects but as a whole I think hiding information from others hurts fishing more then anything. I have witness countless people try to take up fishing and with no guidance have caused harm to the fish, them selves, gotten frustrated and quit and so on. I understand that some things like bait recipes and hot spots might be kept somewhat under wraps but..like my tutorials in the carp section for instance...knowledge of senior anglers should be shared in order to help, not only foster a new generation of anglers, but to raise respect and awareness of the sport and ecosystems.
I am not saying give all your knowledge away. I do however believe that the information I have gathered over the 2+ decades of fishing I have done is best served if I help others find happiness in a sport I love. For instance..saying that
"Lake so and so has big bass"
is fine, but what is wrong with saying
"Lake so and so has big bass,. You can find great shore access along the north shores as well as a boat ramp on the eastern shore by so and so road. Try hitting the vast sunken timber in the southern portion for some great fish, but don't rule out the lily's which cover 80% of the Northern and Western shores. During the summer the bigger bass seem to have a fatal attraction to top water movement."
This second example gives some great knowledge and helps new comers get into some action but still requires a new fisherman to experiment and learn and discover. This is what fishing should be about and I believe how we can help others while still allowing them to discover nature themselves. I get really tired of groups or individuals that treat all aspects of fishing as some well guarded secret that only a handful or people deserve to find out. This does more harm in the long run as those truly experienced anglers pass out of the world and any knowledge they had is lost. I see many people who find and comment on how great various articles are that explain fishing techniques, then turn around and say trips and such should be kept secret. I highly doubt any one of us has learned everything all on our own, with no books, magazines, friends, internet etc...just something to keep in the back of your heads.
I was reading ur comments, I do not agree with u at all ! I think people should fish to catch. learn how its done. not have all the answers online. go out. explore, find a good spot. not theirs timber, in 10ft of water. using a jig and pig @ spot pond ,on monday after the new moon in 82 degree water . we keep doin this were not gonna have anymore fish in our ponds. YOU JUST WATCH
I was reading ur comments, I do not agree with u at all ! I think people should fish to catch. learn how its done. not have all the answers online. go out. explore, find a good spot. not theirs timber, in 10ft of water. using a jig and pig @ spot pond ,on monday after the new moon in 82 degree water . we keep doin this were not gonna have anymore fish in our ponds. YOU JUST WATCH
The reason we won't have fish is because people keep them, pollute the waters or have such poor fish care when they fish they end up unintentionally killing them. I also think it is funny to have this discussion on a website dedicated to sharing fishing information. If people don't want to share, I question why they would even go online to fishing sites?
I was reading ur comments, I do not agree with u at all ! I think people should fish to catch. learn how its done. not have all the answers online. go out. explore, find a good spot. not theirs timber, in 10ft of water. using a jig and pig @ spot pond ,on monday after the new moon in 82 degree water . we keep doin this were not gonna have anymore fish in our ponds. YOU JUST WATCH
The reason we won't have fish is because people keep them, pollute the waters or have such poor fish care when they fish they end up unintentionally killing them. I also think it is funny to have this discussion on a website dedicated to sharing fishing information. If people don't want to share, I question why they would even go online to fishing sites?
i think the issue here is the level of detail people could post for spots. it seems like that one site might be too detailed but people wouldn't mind knowing public access spots, parking etc. maybe posting "there's an underwater laydown at this longitude and latitude" might be too much but also, just because a certain lure or application works for 1 person doesn't mean it will work all the time. i think most people on this site are all for learning new techniques, finding new spots, or checking out some that are well known regardless of how much detail people could post. i think something in between would be alright. for the type of information i mentioned above, i could and have easily googled it and found it. this site is good because you can easily and efficiently find everything for a spot. plus, no one's preventing that site from covering spots here and anyone on here could post a trip and give out every single detail possible.
Bedlem,
Let me just say your the absolute king angler. I totally agree with your entire premise and it does make sense. If your new to this site, then you need to go to his profile. You will learn more about carp fishing than wikipedia has to offer. Unless your rod is made of wood, line made of vine, lures made in your kitchen and your canoe is a hollowed out tree...you looked somewhere, read something or went to someone for guidance on how to become a solid angler, and thats what this site is about and should continue to be about.
Ill show you exactly the location where i caught my 5.4lb bass....does that mean your going to catch a 6lber? or even a fish? Of course not.
Let me just say your the absolute king angler. I totally agree with your entire premise and it does make sense. If your new to this site, then you need to go to his profile. You will learn more about carp fishing than wikipedia has to offer. Unless your rod is made of wood, line made of vine, lures made in your kitchen and your canoe is a hollowed out tree...you looked somewhere, read something or went to someone for guidance on how to become a solid angler, and thats what this site is about and should continue to be about.
Ill show you exactly the location where i caught my 5.4lb bass....does that mean your going to catch a 6lber? or even a fish? Of course not.
personally, i have no problem sharing information, spots, etc. isn't that what this site is for and why we all joined to begin with? to share information and learn from others. not sure i understand why some fishermen need to keep everything secret. it's one thing if we are competing against each other in a tourney, but when we're not, what's the harm in sharing information?
i wasn't born with the encyclopedia of fishing etched in my brain and i didn't just wake up one day and decide to try a plastic worm instead of a real one, lol. i learned this stuff from other people. what's the harm in giving that back to others?
and like napa said, you can tell me where all of the 5 pounders are, what they eat for breakfast, etc., but that doesn't mean i will catch them.
i also think most people on this site (and most who take fishing seriously and go out on a regular basis) practice catch and release. so who cares if you go to my secret spot (which i don't have), catch a few and release them. they will still be there the next time i show up. and if they aren't, chances are they just moved to another location in the pond.
that's my take on it...
i wasn't born with the encyclopedia of fishing etched in my brain and i didn't just wake up one day and decide to try a plastic worm instead of a real one, lol. i learned this stuff from other people. what's the harm in giving that back to others?
and like napa said, you can tell me where all of the 5 pounders are, what they eat for breakfast, etc., but that doesn't mean i will catch them.
i also think most people on this site (and most who take fishing seriously and go out on a regular basis) practice catch and release. so who cares if you go to my secret spot (which i don't have), catch a few and release them. they will still be there the next time i show up. and if they aren't, chances are they just moved to another location in the pond.
that's my take on it...
Bedlem,
Let me just say your the absolute king angler. I totally agree with your entire premise and it does make sense. If your new to this site, then you need to go to his profile. You will learn more about carp fishing than wikipedia has to offer. Unless your rod is made of wood, line made of vine, lures made in your kitchen and your canoe is a hollowed out tree...you looked somewhere, read something or went to someone for guidance on how to become a solid angler, and thats what this site is about and should continue to be about.
Ill show you exactly the location where i caught my 5.4lb bass....does that mean your going to catch a 6lber? or even a fish? Of course not.
exactly. a good example is at a tournament i fished in a few weeks ago. one boat went past this submerged tree and fished it heavily. i know for sure one guy was pitching a jig and trailer. our boat went past it going the other way. i was in the back. the boater in front tossed the senko a bunch of times and by the time i could pitch my jig in there, the spot was fished by 3 people all using different things. i was the last person at the exact same spot yet i pulled out Larry. sometimes subtle differences like presentation, color, lure size, action matter. fish might not even be there all the time...
Perfect example Sam. Its not like you saw 3 boats there, and nothing be pulled out so left. You knew that lure, color, presentation, ext... all factor into getting a fish to strike and landing it.
I think for the most part we all agree on the purpose of this site, which is why many of us come here on a daily basis to share our knowledge as well as gain knowledge from fellow anglers.
Excellent topic and debate though by everyone so far.
I think for the most part we all agree on the purpose of this site, which is why many of us come here on a daily basis to share our knowledge as well as gain knowledge from fellow anglers.
Excellent topic and debate though by everyone so far.
I Just think,sharing to much info, is not the best idea i have shared info with people in the past just to show up at my spot, to find the person i told sitting on it .so i had to move to other spots. its all good if people like to share info. i do not anymore i like the site to check picks ,see if people had a good nite fishing like i did because, i fish moon phases storms stuff like that. just like to compare notes. But sometimes i feel its all here in print the selling of our fisheries game wardens don't care ,the state does'nt care ,telling illegals where to fish what to use what time to do it. and believe me they don't catch and release.the pond i fish the other day 25 illegals all with buckets in hand.and a game warden told me he's just wasting his time with ticketing illegals.hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! CALL ME BITTER ,but its the truth
There are 2 themes in this thread that I find noteworthy:
1. Sharing our knowledge of fishing and the waters that we fish with fellow anglers who share the same "Values" as we do, i.e. catch and release.
2. Resource preservation and management (ex. releasing fish that are caught, avoiding unnecessary injury to fish, not leaving fishing line and trash in the water or on shore.)
This is an open forum where potential poachers (Baggers, Bucketeers, etc.) can gain information on where to target their next raid. Which I think is a concern for some of the members myself included. I know that the state stocks many of the rivers and lakes in Mass but we can't always count on that if the state budget keeps getting slashed.
If you consider how much money each one of us has spent on fishing gear, permits and boats...its fair amount of money. Poachers not only victimize the fish but they victimize the legitimate fisherman.
So we should think about what we share and to whom we share it.
1. Sharing our knowledge of fishing and the waters that we fish with fellow anglers who share the same "Values" as we do, i.e. catch and release.
2. Resource preservation and management (ex. releasing fish that are caught, avoiding unnecessary injury to fish, not leaving fishing line and trash in the water or on shore.)
This is an open forum where potential poachers (Baggers, Bucketeers, etc.) can gain information on where to target their next raid. Which I think is a concern for some of the members myself included. I know that the state stocks many of the rivers and lakes in Mass but we can't always count on that if the state budget keeps getting slashed.
If you consider how much money each one of us has spent on fishing gear, permits and boats...its fair amount of money. Poachers not only victimize the fish but they victimize the legitimate fisherman.
So we should think about what we share and to whom we share it.
I too am seeing the shorelines lined up with guys and buckets. they are keeping everything they catch. Night after night and its going to have a huge effect. They are at reservoirs small ponds etc. The numbers this year are the most i've seen. I have seen them also using nets and catching fish in large numbers. They ask me for the fish I catch as well. Its commercial fishing for food and its happening all over.
That being said I'm not going to stop sharing info with fellow sportsman who practice catch and release. I've been told that boat traffic has increased at a lake do to me posting a location in a trip. Maybe it has to some extent, out of respect to the spot I wont post that particuler spot anymore. However I very much doubt the guys on shore with buckets and string wound up on a can are firing up the web to find the good spots. They fish everywhere there is water period.
I get my license I reg my boat but these guys do as they please with no consequences. Nofx is right the rangers do nothing. They know its a losing battle it seems. This my friends is becoming a serious problem.
That being said I'm not going to stop sharing info with fellow sportsman who practice catch and release. I've been told that boat traffic has increased at a lake do to me posting a location in a trip. Maybe it has to some extent, out of respect to the spot I wont post that particuler spot anymore. However I very much doubt the guys on shore with buckets and string wound up on a can are firing up the web to find the good spots. They fish everywhere there is water period.
I get my license I reg my boat but these guys do as they please with no consequences. Nofx is right the rangers do nothing. They know its a losing battle it seems. This my friends is becoming a serious problem.