Spot Burning - wonder how Rex feels about this?

LET ME PREFACE THIS BY I'M POSTING THIS BECAUSE A BUNCH OF US HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS ISSUE THIS WEEK OFFLINE AND I'D LIKE TO SEE OTHER TAKES ON IT

not sure how many of you guys still go to the other board, but obviously if you do it's become a lot more fun lately with the ridiculously long infamous spot burn post...so it begs a big question, and it's actually fishing related and it comes in many parts, and relates to how people are going to post on this board...let me first preface this by the fact, I am all about sharing information, always have been. In the past, up until this year, I would share my exact fishing spots with anyone who asked for help, thinking I was doing a good thing....the more I learned about the bay, the more I learned this probably wasn't the way to do it. I still share as much information as I can, but I share it in a responsible manner...

obviously the spot that was burned on the other board was not a huge secret...nor are most spots on the bay, but in my opinion you should actually have to put the work in checking it out and see if there are fish there, or find out from one of your buddies who found 'em...why post an exact spot on a board, especially in the dead of winter when fish are more scarce?

to paraphrase my personal hero and idol on an interweb message board, you aren't Columbus discovering America, someone else has been at your spot before you, they kept it quiet, or told their friends in hopes that the spot would not get overrun with lurkers or lazy ass people who don't want to look for their own fish, so why do you feel the need to brag about it on a message board

so it begs the questions, how do You personally decide who to trust? I fish with a lot of guys, 80% with one or two guys in particular, and the other 20% with about 20 or so other guys. I also have a lot of fishing conversations about spots and where the bite is, fishing patterns,etc with people, some of whom I've never met in person. A few of these people I talk to regularly and I trust more with information than almost anyone else. There are also people I see on the water who I'll give my most direct information and they do the same to me. They know I will tell noone, and I know they will tell noone.

Then there are people I fish with, who I would not take to a specific hot spot because, they wouldn't post it on one of the websites, but they would tell others, who would then tell others and burn the spot that way. Then there are the guys I fish with I'll take to general areas everyone knows because, not only will they burn a spot to others, probably post it on the world wide internets, but they won't reciprocate information. All these people in all the categories are friends of mine, they just fall into specific trust levels...I don't like them any less, but I guess I expect people to have the same level of secrecy with my spots as I would have with theirs.

I don't know, I just know there were a lot of people angered by that post on the other board, a few guys and I have been talking about this lately and since I don't give a **** what anyone thinks, I said I would post it and see the general feeling of others....this board being smaller, less lurkers, and a tighter knit group of guys who all for the most part know each other...so we can sit around the sharing circle, and be in the trust tree, and sing kum by ah and see how we all feel!!!

[Stinkbait]

Mark,
A general answer to your question....Yes.

..basic wtf smilie...now it is ok by your words....lol

You type like a worldwide flyfisherman extrodinaire....Did you say anything in them 9 paragraphs?

And..

Rex is too busy expiditing the celestial travel time to people that burn spots to the deity that they prefer to bow down to. (I gave him some discount on ammo)

Jim

_________________

moderate this!

[crabby and son]

There is too much spot burning going on here. Guess who burned this spot?.......Gary


paint.JPG

Originally Posted by Stinkbait

Mark,
A general answer to your question....Yes.

..basic wtf smilie...now it is ok by your words....lol

You type like a worldwide flyfisherman extrodinaire....Did you say anything in them 9 paragraphs?

And..

Rex is too busy expiditing the celestial travel time to people that burn spots to the deity that they prefer to bow down to. (I gave him some discount on ammo)

Jim

_________________

moderate this!

Guess I need to make a trip to BASS PRO

I think I said something though, can't remember...one too many zimas...

PS I'm typing like him cause I"m angling for his job...that or I'm doing my best combo of he and CAPT George

[Stinkbait]

Originally Posted by Baldzilla

Guess I need to make a trip to BASS PRO

I think I said something though, can't remember...one too many zimas...

PS I'm typing like him cause I"m angling for his job...that or I'm doing my best combo of he and CAPT George

Zimas.......my problem is Budweisers

Answer to your stuff...

I only share "spots" with those that share with me. Online, in-shop, personal, via-vhf, via-cell, etc. I will always direct people towards fish.

Just like life...take care of those that take care of you.

Long live family and friends....gotta love 'em all.

Jim

P.S. BPS.....may you find a dozen hungry bloodworms in your fruit-of-da-looms after cunsuming too many Zimas.

To all of Zilla's buddies......I sell Jumbo bloodworms.......I will donate a dozen for the "cause"

[Night Nurse]

I'll tell people exact spots and if I don't want that info to go public then I also tell them that as well. If they tell everyone then thats it for them FOREVER!

TED

Originally Posted by Stinkbait

Zimas.......my problem is Budweisers

Answer to your stuff...

I only share "spots" with those that share with me. Online, in-shop, personal, via-vhf, via-cell, etc. I will always direct people towards fish.

Just like life...take care of those that take care of you.

Long live family and friends....gotta love 'em all.

Jim

P.S. BPS.....may you find a dozen hungry bloodworms in your fruit-of-da-looms after cunsuming too many Zimas.

To all of Zilla's buddies......I sell Jumbo bloodworms.......I will donate a dozen for the "cause"

Jimbo, you know you are the only girl for me!!! BPS **Spit**
I'll buy you a Miller or Coors lite, but I can't do Bud anymore...

here I go jacking my own thread but just saw the movie Beer Wars...you aught to see it, as one of the "little guys" and by that I mean local tackle shops, you would not appreciate what Bud does to the little guy beer brewers!! But I'll buy you a coors or miler anytime

[5th Tuition]

First, let me say that I don't normally jig for fish, so this might have an impact on the rest of my post. If I go out on someone else's boat I try not to burn their spot. Hell, I try not to even post until AFTER they do. I let them post about where we were, how many fish we caught, who was with us, and that sort of thing. I then try to add something to the original post; a humorous story, a jab at a fellow angler; whatever.

As far as "burning" my spot; I often burn my own spot, mostly because to me (and my type of fishing, trolling, livelining, cut bait); there is no SPOT to burn. If I'm trolling the Love point area, that's a lot of water. I'll catch fish as far north as Kentmore or as far south as Poplar Island. One day the fish may be up top with bait breaking and the next day bait is deep and fish have followed. In fact, often, we have that senario throughout one single day. The fish may be in shallow water or deep. Singles may be hot today and umbrella's tomorrow.

With livelinning, I found Poplar Island to be hot last year. A few years ago it was Gum Thickets. But once again, I can find a spot today and go back to it tomorrow, and the fish have moved. In fact, if your're not catching fish MOVE. I may move a quarter mile, half mile, or 200 feet to find the "right" place to toss the bait. How can someone "burn" that spot?

I appreciate all the help I get from fellow anglers. I try to call on my cell phone to those I know are in the area when I'm on fish.

I know Mark (Baldzilla) will think I'm kissing ass, but I want to thank a couple of the better fishermen on the board who consistantly help me. Noone is more helpfull than Mark Lagano or Skip. They are out there more often than I, and are willing to share info whenever I call.

I must admit; this is HOW I use their information. Let's say I get a tip that they are trolling just east of Thomas Point Light in 35 ft of water. I don't run up alongside of them and drop my lines. I intentionally, run north or south of them. I figure we are working as a team after they give my info. I, as a team member, now need to try to find some additional fish for them. I know the fish are shallow, so I run to #1 down by West River. I start my search in 35 ft and hope to find fish of my own. If I do, I call and tell them of the fish and now, they know which way to work, as the tide changes. If they lose contact with their fish, they can head south. If I don't find fish at #1, I'm trolling north toward them and the fish. Eventually, we wind up in the same area (hopefully the most productive area) and we both hammer some nice fish.

This fall/winter we had about six boats working together in the same area for several weeks. We would exchange information freely and we would see each other two or three times during the day. Nobody followed in anyone's wake or cut off each others lines.

I know this is a long post, but I just wanted to let everyone know how I use the information I get from others. I wouldn't write so much, but it appears to be a sensitive and pertinant subject. Someone on Tidalfish may be suspended over this topic, so it's worth discussing.
5th (Marty)

[garlien]

OK my two cents...

First off like Mark I do about 90 % of my fishing with one or two persons..In my case with Spot77...The other 10 or so % is with the family a couple of friends...Of course I have to break that tradiation and somehow get out with Mark this year....

Second, both Spott77 and I release every fish we catch and don't use a single one for bait...

As for Burning Spots...Wow...There are a few of you on here and in some shops that I trust, because we have shared information...The key here is shared...Thats a two way street....Not sure I would ever blast out actual GPS's coordinates to anyone because as Marty says fish can be in one spot in the morning and in a completly different spot in an hour...

The way I look at it is this..If we are all caring for our Bay, being responsible fisherman, and sharing both the Hot Spots and our experiences than it should be a better experience for all....As I have said time and time again, just being on the water makes me happy, catching some perch makes a day fun...If I need to catch the biggest Striper of my life I am probably heading back to Montauck not here....Its the experience for me, not knowing so and so was out for 2 hours and caught seven 53 inch Stripers, a small shark, and two dolphins...

So for those of you that I have had an opportunity to share information with, thank you...I think that what we have shared benefits each of us in turn...Not sure I would ever support giving the best Spot of the Moment away to some guys on a day trip from Ohio looking to troll 40 lines across a really good fishing area...

Anyway just my 2cents....

[PhilK999]

I agree with Marty, I am not out there enough to have the time to check all of the spots I know to see where the fish are that day, so I share what I catch, a general location and how almost every trip I make so that I might be able to help some one else who is in my situation of having limited time to fish and hoping to get simialr information in return.

If I have a cell phone number for you and I know you are out on the water near by I will also make a call. I will answer people on the VHF if I know you and get a number to give you the location I am at if I am doing well, but warning you that the bite could turn off before you get to me which does and will happen.

I also will never post when I am on some one elses boat unless I follow up their post. I will also not post about a spot I fish from a tip I got from some one else.

But the post on the other board about the WWD's is tricky. They are no secret to anybody who fishes this time of the year or who even reads TF, if you fish this time of year, you probably fish all of them until you find fish when you fish the Patapsco anyway, so did this really burn a spot. And because I do not fish those places I still do not know exactly where location Y is but if you fish that area any time of year you would know exactly from the pix posted.

I do not fish this time of the year, and I am cleaning gear, tying bucktails, rigging rods for catch and release, so I think it was great to read JP's post and see his pix of his personal best fish, but I guess if I did fish this time of year I may feel a little differently.