Thank you for your opinions on the matter Bird Down, Feeshrman, and Canebreaker. I am glad to see comments from those who stand opposed, or at least on the fence. To hold your own opinions and not care to reflect on, hear, and at least understand opposing thoughts does not offer one much chance to learn and grow and in some cases change. Much to the detriment of our own political climate. I hope you can all do the same for me. My only aim was to allow anyone to express there ideas on the matter without anyone feeling shamed, angry, or attacked. It is so hard to listen openly when one side is starting off from a defensive standpoint resulting from what they feel may have been an offensive remark. You all shared some valuable insight. As did Cray under the other post titled "Dissapointed"

First off, please don't think I am telling you what is happening. I am just offering my own opinions on the matter.

I have to agree with two similar remarks made by Bird and Cane. Whether or not you actually bring additional anglers to the lake by your post, you can most certainly overwhelm a specific area with anglers who were already committed to your lake when you offer overly detailed info on the "where" portion of your report. Granted even I have trouble triangulating a position off a errant photo and I pride myself on my abilities at dead reckoning navigation. I can get the general area but not the specific structure so to say. However, the age or better yet, experience, of the angler and his knowledge of that lake greatly enhances his chance to draw these conclusions based off of what he sees in a picture. I have seen this hold true here and elsewhere. It happened often offshore several times if someone managed to catch a specific oil rig we were drifting on for tuna on or maybe on which we had hooked a marlin or two. I watched a client post a report while we were on a three day excursion of a marlin we hooked at the Mars rig and by the end of day two there were 35 boats trolling and we sailed off for greener pastures. I have been guilty of this too when overly excited, or maybe even a bit selfish, knowing I will be at work for the next four weeks and can't hit the lake. I have to remind myself that just because I give out detailed info on "my" spot that I found, it could very well be someone else's secret honey hole too and they wouldn't be happy if it was overrun. Just as if I find someone's brushpile/stakebed through my own efforts, I still have to respect the fact some one took the time and effort to place it there and I should respectfully keep his secret. When I place structure I usually do it at night by myself. As the saying goes "the best way to keep a secret between two people is to shoot the other guy". Any work I offer at a pre planned event I write of as charity as I know those locations will be fairly well known before the first crappie finds it. To correct this on my own part I have relegated myself to after-action pictures once my boat is off the lake. I also don't talk about where specifically I was on a lake but I try to describe in good detail what kind of spot it was so others may draw there own conclusions on how to find a similar location. Now offering advice on well known "community" spots is something I feel much less strongly about.

I have also kept watch on the numbers for each post and you are quite correct that fishing reports get a much larger percentage of views than a report asking for help or assistance. Maybe I came off too strongly in what I said as I do believe posts can affect a lake sometimes, but on average I believe they don't. I don't however think naivety is involved. Extrapolating ballpark numbers from some limited data, say a post garners 1000 views, we know that every time we open that post it gets counted whether we have read or before or not I.E. 10 people viewing a post 10 times is 100 views. Plus factor in the amount of people who have no intentions or means to fish the lakes and just came for the pics and stories, out of staters, those with no access to a boat, and those who are physically unable to join us on the water anymore. I, too, read many reports on lakes which I will probably never visit in other states just to glean information on baits and tactics. Based off tracking my own use and those with which I have discussed it, I may view a report 5-8 or more times on average, depending on the amount of responses it gets. Maybe 1000 views can be whittled down to 150 serious anglers of which maybe 50 can influence their decisions by it over the course of a posts active time of a week or two. Of those, it is unknown who was coming to start with and who changed their itinerary after reading. I have a hard believing on an average day at the lake that if you asked every boat there why they came that the majority, if forced to be honest, would say I heard about it on CDC yesterday. Though again, I do also believe that on some particular days this happens but not on the average, at least not enough to down another person for posting. Granted, I will admit, that none of this is truly known and maybe it comes off as splitting hairs. Also, this doesn't account for the phone tree that lights up sometimes as well. I have to keep in mind too, that I fish on week days primarily and as such my opinions as to added pressure may be somewhat biased.

I have discussed my own displeasure with the long time and recurring ghosts and that's a problem we can't solve ourselves short of Slab putting viewing restrictions on posts based on the users amount of involvement on the site, which I believe he has no intention on doing. Some people are just plain selfish. But, to me, the worst are the tournament anglers who do this. We all see the influx of inquisitive reports from "just coming in for a vacation" queries that seem to pop up in great numbers a week before a tournament on that specific lake. Guys with this much knowledge and talent could easily help others but sometimes are too focused on their own. (not speaking for all of them as many are wonderful fisherman, mentors, and sportsmen who will even hand out hot baits to other fisherman at the ramp. I will help anyone, I want to see everyone enjoy their day on the lake and catch a few fish, but with tournament guys, unless I am getting a cut of the winnings I tend to keep mum past passing on recent lake conditions unless we have a prior relationship. Even then, when fishing competitively, especially top tier trails, you should be able to pattern a lake well enough yourself.

PS - Wannabe, G, Slab, and Speck are Gewbers! Wannabe is UGLY! And I am now expecting cookies at spring camp from G! Thanks for keeping the mood light fellas.


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