Malcom Creek Resort-THUMBS DOWN!

Often on here, we will post were the best places are to stay or the best place to buy rods, reels, lures etc.. But with this post, I want to tell you somewhere to avoid. Malcom Creek Resort in Malcom Bay off of Big Bear. I buy crickets and worms from them during bluegill/redear season and clean my fish there. But today, Bad Brad and I pulled in there to clean our fish when the owner come over and told us that the fish cleaning station was for customers only and wanted us to leave. I told him that normally I buy my crickets and worms there but he had been closed down due to high water. I fish with some of the people who have campers here too but he still wanted us to leave and not come back. I told him no problem, we won't be back. Now, I know your saying, "There's got to be more to this than he's telling. Something else happened to bring this about" but nothing else had happened in the past or happened today. This guy is one of those folks who moved in from "up north" and bought the resort and will bleed you for every nickel he can. When will these folks realize that a little hospitality goes a long way down here. I will just take my business elsewere and I encourage you to do the same.

Being from "up North" or about anywhere else. I can see the guys point. He has a facility for his guest's, I really can blame him.
"Up North" most of the lakes don't have cleaning stations so we take the fish home. It's really no big deal and certainly not worth bashing the guy on the internet.
How would you like it if all your neighbors worked on their cars in your driveway. Being a southerner, I guess that's okay.

Crappiemax, I see where you would reason the fish cleaning site was for guests only, however; the Owner himself said it was for customer's only and was down right rude about it. To top it off, we were the last ones cleaning fish there this afternoon. We were not making anyone wait on us. As is the case so many times, it's not what you say....it's how you say it. The guy could have went about it differently. I would think he would welcome the fishermen knowing, if his store had been opened, we most likely would have done some trading with him. As it stands now, I don't feel welcome to return there and don't plan too.

All my neighbors do work on their cars in my driveway because I've got the tools and the courtesy to let them and they repay by helping me out on different things..like mowing my yard if I've been out of town for work. It's called hospitality!
I've been a customer in the past to Malcom and would have been today if he was open. Now he's lost all future business with me and I'm not just out there for a few days a year. I've always tried to help his guest by giving fishing tips or leads where to go but no more.

Guys ... if the references to location ("up north" - "southerners") was left out of these posts, there wouldn't be an issue with it .... and the actions of the resort owner would be the only issue to be discussed. Let's not get a "us vs them" situation going here, as far as birthplaces are concerned. No person has any control over where they were born !!

Sixfin's post could have ended with "I told him no problem, we won't be back" ... and that would have been enough. There's no way to tell if other persons hadn't tipped the scales in the owner's demeanor. Let's not get into labeling or stereotyping a person, based on his birthplace.

... cp

Your right CP. Sorry about the "up north" crack. My problem is not with the resort owners "place of birth".

Yall ain't the first ones to have a run in with those folks. Major attitude developing over there. You can feel it when you walk in the door. Shame too. Used to not be that way.

sixfin, you get your jack fixed so we can do that bearing job on my boat trailer over there next week? I gotta get that done! :D

Yeah, I got it fixed but it's holding up a transmission right now. I oughta have that done by next week. Thumbs Up

Wow. I totally agree with you sixfin. Alot of times its not what is said but the way and demeanor in how you say it. If i was a business owner, that is not how i would talk to people. If he didn't know you, i would think he would try to earn your business instead of turn you away. In turn he would have more customers through positive feedback. You tell two friends, they tell two friends, then they tell two friends, etc. Now those friends will get some negative feedback. Word of mouth goes a long way and reputation is important. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that is bad business. Wasn't like you were trying to soliciting anything. I would feel the same as you.

Ah, it was probably just your sarcastic charm Sixfin. Jk man, I know you well enough to know you were polite and gentleman about it. That's ok, you don't have to spend your skids there. That's a good way to give your business a bad name. You get more flies with honey than you do vinegar.

Sorry you had to put up w/ him again Brad, if it wasn't for a few fish here and there. Gesh, he's just off the walls. Was he better this time?

Was he better this time? of course not Wes! lol......if you go fishing with Sixfin you better bring your "A" game and have thick skin. He's like the KVD of panfishing, lol!

Great... I leave tomorrow for a week trip and will be staying there. He seemed fine last year but we were paying to stay. An example I always use is how JR ran JR's Marina on Weiss Lake. He let everyone use his dock for fishin for catfish and let them use his cleaning station. Of course doing this they bought his bait along with sodas and other junk from him. I have had a few run in from resort owners for simple mistakes and it is ashame because I never go back afterwards and let everyone know what happened.

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Originally Posted by badbrad

Was he better this time? of course not Wes! lol......if you go fishing with Sixfin you better bring your "A" game and have thick skin. He's like the KVD of panfishing, lol!

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He's just full of it Brad, someone will push him over one of these days, lol

They are probably tired of the moochers over there. I'm not saying you are one but his paid campers are probably getting mad and complaining. With the water up those guys are taking a hit this year and don't want to lose the renters.

We have a problem at Pirates Cove with nonmembers not paying to launch and cleaning their fish there. When asked to pay a couple of bucks (cheap) to launch they act like they are being shaken down. We had security to put a note on their vehicles saying "please pay" and they would write a note on it saying F-you and put it in the pay box. The Cove is going to start a "don't pay and get towed" policy if they don't have the permit on their trailer. Some people are just down right cheap so we are wondering what they will think about a $100 tow fee like they do at Ken Lake?

Who's getting towed at Kenlake? It's a public ramp.

and why would a camper care if somebody is cleaning fish at the dock?

I have no problem paying a ramp fee or whatever. I pay a ramp fee at the Sportsman Anchor Resort on Jonathan every year just to be able to use their ramp and fish cleaning station. I also buy ice, sandwiches, candy bars, cokes and whatever else I forgot. As I said before, I usually buy crickets and worms from the guy when I fish Big Bear but this year, he has been closed. Oh well, no more.
As for you Harley, next year your fishin with Buffalo13. He don't allow no singin in his boat!

I can't imagine why anyone would have a problem paying a small ramp fee at a privet place. It does cost money to keep it up and you get the benefit from it.
Still no excuse for just plain rudeness though.

Just my 2 cent but if I were a resort owner & had a fish cleaning station I would want a few good local anglers cleaning fish at my station.

There is hardly a time that I have been cleaning fish at any fish cleaning station that someone doesn't come up and strike up a conversation about fish'n. We exchange information and sometimes it help those folks salvage an otherwise less than enjoyable trip. When those folks have success they tend to associate that success with the resort. This creates return business plus referrals from those individuals and the locals that are cleaning the fish.

Many times the local bait shop/resort employees will ask me how, what, when, & where I caught the fish. I always shoot straight with them. That gives them something to tell their customers when they ask that question... What are the fish do'n. Anybody ever ask that question? You bet you have. It's kinda like have'n your own local pro-staff around if you're the owner.

The problem is some of these owners act like they want you to pay for the darn air you're breath'n! It's called GREED!

As long as the locals are showing my paying customers some common courtesy, not holding them up from cleaning their fish, & keeping the area clean I would welcome them. The benefits out weigh the cost.

Nobody looks at the bright side anymore. :cool:

Next year? Uh thought i was welcomed back before ndxt year, i see how u are. And buffalo won't care if I sing he might sing w me.

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Originally Posted by HarleyMan08

Next year? Uh thought i was welcomed back before ndxt year, i see how u are. And buffalo won't care if I sing he might sing w me.

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"OMG"Rofl

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Originally Posted by Quackrstackr

Who's getting towed at Kenlake? It's a public ramp.

and why would a camper care if somebody is cleaning fish at the dock?

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You get towed if you park illegally. If you use our marina without paying it is illegal.

Our campers are members of the cove. When you come in and there are 5 people using the cleaning station or launching/pulling out in front of you you set and wait or tell them to leave. They overfill our trash cans with their trash that we pay to have removed. We have a private ramp and cleaning station so we don't have to use a public ramps and cleaning stations. We pay for the convenience and donate many hours to clean up the mess they leave. But when asked kindly to pay they get mad.

I used to live less than a mile from Pirate's Cove and my parents have owned property there for several years. I used to pay to launch there when I could find somebody to take my $$ but was always treated like a leper by the arrogant so-and-sos who thought since they owned a lot that was covered with grass waist high, they had the right to stick their chests out like they were something special. No thanks to your ramp and your cleaning station. I'll gladly pay at one of the places around KY Lake that appreciates my business and lets me know it.

from reading this I can see not all Southerners are hospitable, nor all Northerner's are unfriendly, rude or whatever.

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Originally Posted by Majesticman

You get towed if you park illegally. If you use our marina without paying it is illegal.

Our campers are members of the cove. When you come in and there are 5 people using the cleaning station or launching/pulling out in front of you you set and wait or tell them to leave. They overfill our trash cans with their trash that we pay to have removed. We have a private ramp and cleaning station so we don't have to use a public ramps and cleaning stations. We pay for the convenience and donate many hours to clean up the mess they leave. But when asked kindly to pay they get mad.

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I didn't say anything about Pirate's Cove.

Who is being towed at Kenlake? It is a state park and a public ramp. My tax dollars pay to keep the place open.

The campers that I am referring to are the ones at Malcolm Creek. They are not property owners and probably wouldn't know one way or the other whether someone that was cleaning fish on the dock was actually staying there or had paid a fee to do it.

Well, I wish I had the quality of public ramps to use "free of charge" in the central Kentucky area like you guys have around Ky lake and Barkley. Here we have to pay just about everyplace we want to launch. At Herrington Lake it ranges from $6 to $10 each time we launch and many of the ramps aren't that great. Some folks get upset about having to pay to launch. But I figure if I want to play, then I have to pay. It's that simple. No matter what kind of business that it is, they always have overhead that they have to meet and exceed or they simply cannot survive. I make an annual trip to Ky Lake each year and always end up spending a couple of thousand for a week's trip. It seems like as each year passes, there are more and more places closing up in and around the lake area. Maybe the locals aren't supporting the bait shops and marinas and such....I don't know that for sure, but it sure seems that way. I would be willing to bet that if the marinas don't keep the out of town or out of state guests happy and depended only on the local folks, then many of the marinas would be out of business shortly. So, I can see how a marina owner could get upset when seeing people using facilities without paying. Without the customer, the business cannot survive. With that being said. Without businesses, then we have nowhere nice to go and enjoy time fishing. It seems we can spend thousands and thousands on boats and trucks, but we tend to get out of shape when ask to support the local business men and women.

The locals have places right near their homes where they can buy gas, bait and tackle for half of what the marinas charge. Most of the locals also spend a lot more time on the water than a few days to a week like a visitor would (hence more buying of items for the trips). I have no problem whatsoever supporting local businesses (and I do buy purchasing on my way to the water) but it doesn't really make sound financial sense to pay double at a place that may not even be a convenience and price mainly for that convenience and to take advantage of visitors.

There are many marinas up and down the lake that don't mind people cleaning fish at their dock or even launching a boat on their ramp. They know that honey attracts more flies than vinegar and those people are more apt to buy drinks, snacks, bait, whatever there if they are spending a bit of time on the premesis. Most people don't even have a problem paying for a yearly ramp pass to a private ramp just to avoid the traffic at the public ramps.

Just the point of view of a single local...

AMEN Quacker! The event that happened at Malcom is the very reason locals aren't wanting to support the marinas. Like I said before, I used to buy bait from him but no more!

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Originally Posted by Quackrstackr

The locals have places right near their homes where they can buy gas, bait and tackle for half of what the marinas charge. Most of the locals also spend a lot more time on the water than a few days to a week like a visitor would (hence more buying of items for the trips). I have no problem whatsoever supporting local businesses (and I do buy purchasing on my way to the water) but it doesn't really make sound financial sense to pay double at a place that may not even be a convenience and price mainly for that convenience and to take advantage of visitors.

There are many marinas up and down the lake that don't mind people cleaning fish at their dock or even launching a boat on their ramp. They know that honey attracts more flies than vinegar and those people are more apt to buy drinks, snacks, bait, whatever there if they are spending a bit of time on the premesis. Most people don't even have a problem paying for a yearly ramp pass to a private ramp just to avoid the traffic at the public ramps.

Just the point of view of a single local...

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aren't these statements contradicting each other.
just sayin

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Originally Posted by crappiemax

aren't these statements contradicting each other.
just sayin

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Not at all.

If I had a private ramp that I was allowed to launch or clean fish at often, the odds of me spending money in their marina for the sheer convenience goes up exponentially. Not a chance of that if they want to be bullish about it and act like I'm doing them an inconvenience, though.

The marinas that the poster was talking about being local businesses are many times out of the way for the majority of us locals, especially since they started taking exception to anyone but their campers/tenants using their facilities to launch years ago. We have found other places to launch. We sure aren't going to drive out of the way to hit their marinas for bait and supplies and then pay double for the items on top of it when it's not appreciated.

When I was a kid up until probably 12 to 15 years ago, you could launch pretty well anywhere that had a ramp. They were more than happy to have the traffic and reap the benefit of the additional revenue over their immediate campers/tenants. We spent a lot of money at their marinas or little convenience marts just because of the convenience. Not every time that we went to the lake, but many times. It's not that way anymore.

this kind of reminds me of a late winter thread...when everyone has cabin feverDoh

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Originally Posted by Quackrstackr

Not at all.
... up until probably 12 to 15 years ago, you could launch pretty well anywhere that had a ramp. It's not that way anymore.

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I'll grant you that. I often wonder about today's youth. It seems their options are limited all they have left is to get in trouble.....no one lets anyone in anymore.

I am from ''up north'' East centeral Illinois. And I completley understand what sixfin is saying. Most of the people around here are pretty good ole boys. But if you go north towards the city. Different kind of folks up there. They are a lot more me first,if you can under stand what I mean.
But they don't see it because its the norm thats how they were raised. You go south and you still hear yes "mam and no sir". something that is lost around here. I have been going to Kentucky Lake for about the last 4-5 years. And every one I have met have been great people.
If it was not for the local boys I have met,that either take me fishin tell me what to do and were to go or just plain give me what I need I would not catch many fish at all. I consider ALL THEASE guys good friends. If one called me today and needed my help I would be there tomorrow. I under stand that the resort owners have had it pretty rough the last 2 seasons. I own a small business and I would not want there problems with the tough weather. But when you rely on the general public to pay your bills You have to get up in the morning and put the happy face on even when you don't feel good.
That guy must not known who he was talkin to if he is any kinda people person at all he should have remember the face I am sure sixfin has been in his store more than once.
The local harley davidson dealership around here is closing and is mostly because the owner was not always very nice to people coming thru the door. I drive anouther 40 miles to the next HD dealer just because they treat me better. And I have told every one that I know how I was treated at the local HD.
I agree 100% with Whiskers every time we are cleaning fish some one is asking questions.
If i owned a resort, campground or bait shop i would make these guys a deal on bait or somthing just to keep them coming to my place.
I would hang pictures of there catch in my store. So that my guest would think those fish were caught around my place.

^ Winner

Quackstacker we will have to discuss this more on whiskers deck.

Yes we will.

No mattter how we feel about this guy, we got to respect his wishes. The property belongs to this guy who spent alot of money for it. So we need to respect his wishes. I always like to clean at a cleaning station, but they do not belong to me. I have one at my camp so I use it unless the owner says I can use his

Just got back from staying at the resort and had a great trip. They were friendly with our group and we already talked to them about booking it for next year.