Thread: Ky lake weed beds

Originally Posted by mrdux

Is a person's tendency of keeping their info to themselves "making it harder for some people to fish"? I disagree with that mindset severely. Haul your butt out during the winter, in bad conditions, and put out crappie structure that anybody who finds is allowed to fish. Spend some days, with zero tackle in the boat, watching a side-scan screen, learning new places to try that may or may not ever be productive. Get out of your comfort zone and try a new technique that might make you a better fisherman.

No, that would be too hard. Just go on an internet forum and ask for the latest and greatest info so you can run to the nearest lake and fill your livewell, put pics on a forum and tell the world about it. Most of the guys here, who show great catches, are less than willing to spill their guts on a forum because they have worked tirelessly for years to make the places and techniques they use to catch those livewells full, public knowledge because they have been burned by it more times than they would like to admit.

There is more information shared weekly on this site than could be written down in a full set of encyclopedias. I have crappie fished most of my life but have become a much better fisherman since I became a member here. I didn't learn from asking for specific places to go or what to use on the public forums. I learned by reading not just on the KY Forum or Main Forum, but many of the other state forums or the specific forums like the electronics or trolling motor forum. I learned by sending PMs to folks and asking GENERAL questions that they may or may not be willing to answer. If they chose to not give me the info I asked for, I still respected them for their decision. I have also become friends with many here who I consider the best of the best when it comes to not only crappie, but most any species we are likely to see swim in our lakes. I have shared both my boat and their boats with them and to a man and to a minute, enjoyed every bit of it. I have shown my spots to them and learned many of their secret spots. If I was asked to not go to or take others to their spots, I did what was asked of me out of respect to that person and the work they put in to find/make that spot. I get calls from those who have fished with me if I mind them going to one of my spots. I wear that call as a badge of honor because somewhere I did something to earn the respect of that person making that call.

I think for you to come on here and criticize anybody for not giving out specifics is wrong. Walk a mile in their shoes and see how your feet feel at the end of it.

I am not a local I live 6 hrs away and I understand both sides! however after seeing the hard work these guys has done not just Mrdux but others as well I respect what they they have been doing and would never ask them for general area or location! I have fished with some of these guys and known where some of there waypoints are would never fish them unless I fish in a boat with them. It's one thing to ask about depth and what colors is working! but trying to get location is disrespectful to theses guys that put in all this time and effort only to get to one of there stake beds to find someone with a sidescan fishing it.

Originally Posted by mrdux

Is a person's tendency of keeping their info to themselves "making it harder for some people to fish"? I disagree with that mindset severely. Haul your butt out during the winter, in bad conditions, and put out crappie structure that anybody who finds is allowed to fish. Spend some days, with zero tackle in the boat, watching a side-scan screen, learning new places to try that may or may not ever be productive. Get out of your comfort zone and try a new technique that might make you a better fisherman.

No, that would be too hard. Just go on an internet forum and ask for the latest and greatest info so you can run to the nearest lake and fill your livewell, put pics on a forum and tell the world about it. Most of the guys here, who show great catches, are less than willing to spill their guts on a forum because they have worked tirelessly for years to make the places and techniques they use to catch those livewells full, public knowledge because they have been burned by it more times than they would like to admit.

There is more information shared weekly on this site than could be written down in a full set of encyclopedias. I have crappie fished most of my life but have become a much better fisherman since I became a member here. I didn't learn from asking for specific places to go or what to use on the public forums. I learned by reading not just on the KY Forum or Main Forum, but many of the other state forums or the specific forums like the electronics or trolling motor forum. I learned by sending PMs to folks and asking GENERAL questions that they may or may not be willing to answer. If they chose to not give me the info I asked for, I still respected them for their decision. I have also become friends with many here who I consider the best of the best when it comes to not only crappie, but most any species we are likely to see swim in our lakes. I have shared both my boat and their boats with them and to a man and to a minute, enjoyed every bit of it. I have shown my spots to them and learned many of their secret spots. If I was asked to not go to or take others to their spots, I did what was asked of me out of respect to that person and the work they put in to find/make that spot. I get calls from those who have fished with me if I mind them going to one of my spots. I wear that call as a badge of honor because somewhere I did something to earn the respect of that person making that call.

I think for you to come on here and criticize anybody for not giving out specifics is wrong. Walk a mile in their shoes and see how your feet feel at the end of it.

I've been having computer problems and this is the first time I saw this or I would have gotten back to you way before now. All I said was I thought he asked for general information which "YOU" were nice enough to provide. He took it from there and was willing to share with others. Lilcrappie understood and got it right when he observed I was talking about bass boats and jet skiers whizzing by. They can be a nuisance.

You're not the only one who puts in the time and money to develop good crappie holes. I don't give out mine and I don't run up on someone else and try to steal their spot when I see them catching fish. I understand that once I sink something in the lake anybody can fish it. I try not to show everyone where my brushpiles and stakebeds are and many times won't fish them when others are around because I'm hoping they won't find it. However, these days I see a lot of boats going from one stakebed to another I've put in and realize with today's electronics people are going to find most of them.

The next time you feel the urge to jump on someone, it might be a good idea to reread their post and make sure you know what they were actually saying. If not sure, then ask!

I thought what you said in the beginning was appropriate and meant it as a compliment to you and the reader when you pointed him in a general direction to find fish. He made the most of it and passed on some good information as well.

Most of the people on this site are usually pretty good about sharing without being too specific. I couldn't agree more and have no intention of giving my best stuff away to everyone. At the same time, I've done what most on here have done and helped a beginner get started by giving a few jigs, tips, and have even taken them to a spot or two where they can catch a fish.

I don't want to seem overly critical but most of what you had to say I completely agreed with in regards to putting in the work and not turning it over to someone else. The night I replied to the post, I made a quick response and thought it was pretty obvious the only criticism offered was at rude boaters and jet skiers who run near people trying to fish. I did not state nor mean to imply we should just hand over everything to people who just show up at the lake or online.