The way it use to be

[Big Cliff]

You know, maybe I’m just getting old (my goal in life is to live to be as old as Beans is) but we won’t limit it to that. Hey, he is still going strong!

 

When I first joined this board (a long time ago) back when it was just getting started things seemed different. A “secret” fishing spot was just a place that you could share with someone else that they hadn’t found yet. It was fun to share because it meant you might have company the next time out and meet a new friend. I have made so many wonderful friends by sharing what I can.

 

Heaven forbid you should post a location or a picture without the CN Tower in the background today. You’d get fried by someone!

 

A bait or technique must be kept secret, if anyone else found out about it they might catch an extra fish or two and that would offend someone that also managed to find out how/what to use. Doesn’t matter if they learned it from someone that was willing to share. Once they know it, it’s their’s and if you share it with anyone else, you have just shared their secret.

 

A post that offered a service or a product was accepted as someone having something special that they wanted to share. You didn’t want to buy it, no problem, you didn’t have to. Today a post that even hints that there might be a link to someone that could make a dollar and they are attacked. There seems to be a zero tolerance, better to err on the side of caution than take the chance.

 

We see emails and articles all the time about how Canadian life is changing and our values and beliefs are being stripped away in the name of “political correctness” . Heaven forbid we should say or do something that “might” offend someone else’s beliefs. Sadly it seems to me that this is the way this board is going lately.

 

Maybe I’m wrong, perhaps I’m just cranky but I sure miss the way it use to be on this board!

[Jer]

Cliff, I think it all comes down to numbers.

 

Two or three software generations ago, we might have had a few hundred members and less than a hundred that posted regularly, a little bit more comfy you might say.

 

Today the numbers must be at least tenfold.

 

But hey, that's progress.

[TJQ]

I'll agree that people seem to get snippy a bit faster lately, personally I think that its the time of year.. Winters on this board have always been a bit more edgy than summers. (try to moderate around the Xmas HELL season...) Its also got alot to do with numbers, theres a lot more people around here with alot more opinions and sensibilities all the time. Ya cant keep everyone happy thats for sure. Ya have to take it all with a grain of salt. One things for sure, for all the negativity, just ask for a bit of help and the positive side of this community jumps right at ya.. think of tyler and santos, two great recent examples....

[fish_fishburn]

The times are a changing Cliff,but sometimes not for the better. I fish bass tournaments and compete against some of my best buddies. We have a little rule that we use and it goes like this. Alot of times we pre-fish together and if one of us shows the other a spot it is still the spot of the one that showed it. So during the tourny if I go to a spot I showed a friend while pre-fishing and he is there he will immediately leave the area and go somewhere else. It works good for us. Unfortunately we don't all think like that. There is a few teams that show absolutely no respect for their fellow anglers but thats another story.

[kickingfrog]

I am offended by this post. You need to publicly apologize to me and make restitution.

 

 

 

Just kidding Big Cliff. I understand your frustration. Feels good to vent a little doesn't it?

[Sinker]

I hear ya Cliff. You have to keep in mind, when you mention a spot or technique that's working on here, there are thousands of people watching. I don't hesitate to tell someone to thier face whats working and where, but I'm hesitant to post anything anymore. I've seen what can happen with my own eyes. Sometimes the nice guy gets the short end of the straw.

 

S.

[dmagz]

I agree with you Big cliff 100% but I also take a bit of what Fish Fishburn and Sinker has to say into consideration.

 

I always respect other peoples spots much like Fish Fishburn and his crew does. I also am hesitant to let the mass know about certain spots. I find that boards much like this one start off humble and friendly but soon there become small groups of friends inside the whole group itself which can wage war at times.

 

One time I took a so called "friend" to a few of my rare fishing and hunting spots and soon he was going there with anyone that he could find a ride with seeing how he couldn't drive. A few of the spots were for brookies and the stream is only 5ft wide, he was proud as punch to show me the stringers they had harvested and that really ticked me off.

 

 

I guess all I am saying is that I like many others have become cautious as to who or how we share some information.

 

 

Too bad times are changing.

 

Dave

Edited February 6, 2010 by Dmagz

[Spiel]

There is plenty I'm willing to share on an open forum and even more that I'm not.

[irishfield]

A post that offered a service or a product was accepted as someone having something special that they wanted to share. You didn’t want to buy it, no problem, you didn’t have to. Today a post that even hints that there might be a link to someone that could make a dollar and they are attacked

 

Actually... as I recall...in days gone by... those using the success of the board, to sell their wares, where run off faster than crap through a goose. Correct me if I'm wrong.. but just ask poor ol' Fishmaster how many times he was tossed the spam billboard in years gone by. Now it seems nobody really cares and the board is fair game to any enterprise to gain clients from... from lodges with empty reservation lists to guys with sponsor funded/discounted items preselling their good fortune (to be sure they can afford said sponsors invoice come seasons end).

[JohnF]

Cliff, welcome to the information age. Whoda thunk when we were 10 years old that we'd have the power of the internet at our fingertips during our lifetimes? It's a wonderful tool but it sure has shrunk our world, and changed our standards of social interaction. Our brave new world seems to have different rules about privety of information.

 

Unfortunately today's parents will probably be just as guilty as us at indulging the kids, allowing the downhill spiral of our behavioral standards to continue. Perhaps it's not really downhill, just natural social evolution. I wonder what 2060 will be like.

 

JF

[dave524]

Cliff, welcome to the information age. Whoda thunk when we were 10 years old that we'd have the power of the internet at our fingertips during our lifetimes? It's a wonderful tool but it sure has shrunk our world, and changed our standards of social interaction. Our brave new world seems to have different rules about privety of information.

 

JF

 

Post a picture of a good fish here today and it gets viewed further away and by more people than if it was plastered on the front page of the local newspaper fifty years ago.

[Rizzo]

I hear what you're saying Cliff. I met a guy Wayne (aka Lurch) on a different board years ago and he was always so willing to be helpful and share information. Well unfortunately a lot of people didn't appreciate his helpfulness because he was giving away "their" spot. I had the privilege to fish with Wayne a few times before he died a few years back, and I tell you he was as friendly a guy in person as he was behind his keyboard. Unfortunately, there aren't too many like him around anymore - the world (due to internet, more pressure, and white buckets) is a different place now! Can't really fault people for keeping things quiet. If I actually knew any good spots I'd probably keep them close to my vest as well.

[fishdawg]

i agree with the masses

ive met some really solid folks off of here since 2003

many of whom i keep in close contact & fish with still on a regular basis, even though we dont publicly post here often anymore

I definetly wouldnt have found/met them without OFC

 

thanks again TJ & mods

[timmeh]

One time I took a so called "friend" to a few of my rare fishing and hunting spots and soon he was going there with anyone that he could find a ride with seeing how he couldn't drive. A few of the spots were for brookies and the stream is only 5ft wide, he was proud as punch to show me the stringers they had harvested and that really ticked me off.

 

I guess all I am saying is that I like many others have become cautious as to who or how we share some information.

Dave

 

I believe this is a real serious concern. When you post spots on here you're not just telling a friend, but anyone who lurks through the board. I've personally had one of my favourite trout spots exposed on another board a while back. And last spring there were a lot more people there than I've ever noticed. I hope the fishing will not suffer... but I'm not too optimistic about that.

 

The problem is the attitude of the new age angler. It seems nowadays "fisherman" do their scouting, research and spot searching on the internet and not on the water. And because of this I feel that many do not have the same respect for our fisheries as someone who actually does their own legwork.

 

There are a lot of positives about a great board like this, but a little caution is required when posting.

Edited February 6, 2010 by timmeh

[hammercarp]

I think that there are lots of facets to this issue. One is we here in Ontario ( in particular ) are becoming a society of control freaks. You can't control the internet so there is fear.

The other, is the issue of modern technology. The guys with the 100 mph boats use them to check out where on the lake the fish are actively hitting. They do this by checking out other guys that are catching.

Being mostly a bank angler I know there are guys that "car hunt" . They know your vehicle and know that you target the same fish they do. The next day they are in " your spot" and they make sure they get there 1/2 an hour before you do. It is just the way they play the game.

Reading the water or water craft has been replaced by fishing off of other anglers.

[TJQ]

Ahem.. its in our rules...

 

"Please do not post VERY SPECIFIC information on fishing spots, ie pinpoint locations and maps. It is our belief that sharing this type of knowledge to the general public is not at all good for the resource itself. When communicating info on spots, please keep it to email or a PM."

 

we even say please....

[bushart]

Maybe info should go back to the barter system...cause I'm sure there's lots like me that have come home empty handed many times over the years by trying new spots or experimenting new techniques....time and $$$ invested to learn new things.

 

Now hardly is fair that li'l Johnny wants the immediate gratification on the fishin websites so lurks for info without doin the time...

 

So I can guarantee that unless your runnin in my inner circle---good spots or techniques are'nt free---so if I'm pony'n up info I need somethin back--info wise

 

And contrary to popular belief ---I can't be bought off with beer---well...maybe---the good stuff though.

[TJQ]

And contrary to popular belief ---I can't be bought off with beer---well...maybe---the good stuff though.

 

Oh come on.. who can't be bought with beer.....

[bigfish1965]

I can tell you exactly where I catch my walleye...Port Dalhousie...does that do you any good?? Nope. Unless you know the specifics that took me a long time to figure out, you won't find them.

There are tiny subtleties that make a place a fishing spot or just a place with water.

I have shared some of that with people from the board and you all saw my girlfriends first trophy walleye from Dalhousie last fall. The difference is that one detail I only show to people in person.

Fishing is not just about knowing spots. Anyone with a map and a chart and a moderate understanding of fish behavior would then know every spot there is.

[bigfish1965]

Ohhh...and to the spam stuff, Cliff...

Back in the day when there wasn't much traffic and it didn't cost much (or anything) for the software and hosting, it wasn't much of an issue.

Now that we need high level software to keep out the spam programs, a dedicated server to handle the traffic and security measures to keep out hackers, the operating costs are very high.

We have, by far, the lowest ad rates for this niche with this traffic. So we have to protect those sponsors from people who spam on the board..otherwise why would they pay for an ad when they could just do the same thing?

Unless it went to a user-pay system (which it won't) sponsors have to be protected.

[bigugli]

I understand what you are saying, Cliff, and I agree with a lot of it. There is a genuine lack of goodwill, and , on occasion, civility.

 

On the other hand, the world we grew up in is gone. We valued and cherished the adventure of discovering good spots and working out successful tactics. The reward was more than just fish in the net. Sharing the adventure was part of the fun. The "now" world has a different set of values.

Convenience, instant results and gratification are the norm. Forget exploring, roadtripping or mapping out an adventure. Going fishing is like hitting McD's or the Timmies drive through. They also don't like to share

[irishfield]

Unless it went to a user-pay system (which it won't) sponsors have to be protected.

 

DANG.. I guess the little birdy lied to me...

[Terry]

here I thought I was getting more tolerant

 

I use to have the spam sign up before they finished typing it

[Tybo]

Cliff. You forgot to tell about.

The one who's name shall never be spoken.

[irishfield]

You mean what's his name Tybo??