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Mini Rant - I'm in a mood...


solopaddler

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I received a pm last night from someone on the board who will go unnamed that's been bugging me. I didn't respond to him, but I feel the need to say something here. I might regret this, but I'm in a mood this morning.

 

The gist of the pm was "thanks for clogging up the board with another huge advertisment" then I was asked if I was paying for advertising. More was said, all of it in a nasty tone.

 

I'd like to respond to this publicly by clarifying a few points, just in case there's others that feel the same way.

 

I've been a member of this board for a pretty long time and I feel like I'm a part of it. I've made a good number of friends through this board and I've enjoyed following other members exploits online.

 

What I'm doing now travelling to all of the various camps and writing about them has been a natural progression for me and a true passion. Everyone controls their own fate and through a HUGE amount of hard work I'm now VERY close to being able to do what I love for a living. There's a lot more currently going on behind the scenes right now, and when the time is right I'll be making an announcement.

It would be nice if people were happy for you and not seemingly petty and jealous, but sadly that's not case with certain small minded people.

 

My posts on this board are done for ONE reason only: to share the experience with everyone here. When I first launched my own website I initially thought I'd simply post a link back to my own site for my reports, but then thought better of it.

 

Let me throw some numbers at you. When I post something here it might get anywhere from 25-40 replies and 400-700 views. When I publish the same story on my own website on average I get anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 unique views. The Kazan River write up in June received over 70,000. I don't NEED to post my stuff here at all.

 

I post here solely because I want to share my experiences with people who for the most part I've grown to like over the years. Fact is in order for me to post my reports here there's a LOT of extra work involved because the photo and video embed codes required are different from my own website, yet I still take the time.

 

The lack of responses to something you've poured your heart and soul into creating has never bothered me, that's the nature of the internet. But then I get a message like I did yesterday and I felt like I'd been gut shot.

 

For what it's worth I'll continue to post here for all of the reasons I've mentioned. If anyone thinks negatively about what I'm doing, that I'm too "commercial" think again.

 

Anyhow that's it, end of rant.

 

Carry on. :)

 

 

 

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Hey Mike;

 

For what little it's worth, your contributions of amazing posts are a Primary" reason why myself and a group of good friends have been opened up to many excellent fishing adventures.

 

I feel like I have been living parts of your life on a 2 years lag time. Having flown into Anjigaming (3 times) and Keezhik last year, your FREE advice, FREE tips and FREE sharing of hot spots, both by PM and on this board have contributed significantly to our success and enjoyment. Last year I replicated your fall trip to Lower Twin Lakes and yes, the grouse hunting was fantastic.

 

I, for one, search for and consistantly re-read, your posts and appreciate the work put into them.

 

I will not be alone in continuing to enjoy your adventure reports

 

Paul H

 

Ontariowine

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Was it Joey Tier?? That Quebec border hopping troot chaser!! :sarcasm:

 

I hate when people can't be proud of what other people accomplish. I like seeing people improve in life and doing what they love. Gives me inspiration actually. I'll give props to anyone who does well at something when they are above-board and fair and nice. You seem to be doing exactly that... plus you've helped out countless people here, so that alone makes you a welcome presence.

 

Keep up the great work mon-frère! Please start posting epic perch or bullhead reports though...

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Love the reports and the insights I gain from them; and moreover, I love the entertainment value of reading them and living vicariously through your experiences. Don't let jealousy rain on your hard work and passion. You've always been helpful to me and very gracious...too bad that isn't always what you get in return from some.

 

Keep 'em coming...

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Mike. Ignore them. I've learned so much from you over the years and your posts are not huge advertisements. Ever since your "solopaddler" days here I've always read your posts with envy! Meeting you and fishing some rivers and our trip up north have been highlights of my fishing trips!! Keep on posting!!

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I always enjoy your posts - but I do have to say there is a grain a truth to it. I tell it how I see it and please don't take it the wrong way. Every lodge is AMAZING with its name splattered all over the post and HUGE FISH. While that may be the case your trip reports have become more of an advertisement - nothing wrong with it as that is your line of work so don't let peoples opinions get to you. Am I allowed to post my opinion on here? PM-ing you asking if you pay for advertising is rude, some jealousy involved mixed with someone having a crappy day? Carry on with the posts, I love fish porn.

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Ya know its funny...........because ive never ever thought about your posts as anything other than recreational. AT ALL. Never even crossed my mind to wonder if they were put up for any type of personal gain. Theyve always come across as though youve just had the trip of your life, and you JUST HAD to share it with the guys, and It shines thru every time that you post. Keep on truckin

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I think this is a time where we can all sit back and take time to remember that there are always going to be that 1 idiot that ruins it for everyone. I think the sentiment on this board 99.9% of the time is that your posts are appreciated and a joy to read. Dont let some idiot bring you down, the clown doesnt know what he is talking about anyways.

 

Ill also mention that I have never felt like your posts are an ad, and if they were they would be pretty crappy ads that point out the fact that fishing may not have been the best at times, or that you struggled on another day etc.

 

Most "ads" dont point out any negativity.

Edited by AKRISONER
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Mike, I love your posts, the longer the better and find your information invaluable. If it wasn't for them, I would not have known about you and been able to ask you the many questions I had when planning our first fly-in with White River Air, 51 weeks to go, can't wait. Keep up the good work and next time, please make your post a 3 part one ;)

Edited by big guy
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X2 to all of the above!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it wasn't for your report on the Attawapiskat and Eddie's camp; my brother and I would still only be dreaming of a fly-in.

Your help with PM's and phone calls made our trip the best of our lives.

 

Thank You Mike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Dan.

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Thanks fellas! The irony is I'll bet this post gets more views and replies than the recent report that took 62 hours to create LOL!

 

 

 

I always enjoy your posts - but I do have to say there is a grain a truth to it. I tell it how I see it and please don't take it the wrong way. Every lodge is AMAZING with its name splattered all over the post and HUGE FISH. While that may be the case your trip reports have become more of an advertisement - nothing wrong with it as that is your line of work so don't let peoples opinions get to you. Am I allowed to post my opinion on here? PM-ing you asking if you pay for advertising is rude, some jealousy involved mixed with someone having a crappy day? Carry on with the posts, I love fish porn.

 

Of course there's a grain of truth to it. The last couple of years promoting camps has become a big part of what I do for a living! As far as everything always being amazing, there's no embelleshment - it's truth. I choose my destinations wisely and 60-80 photographs and 12-15 video clips don't lie. Plus, I work damned hard to succeed on all of these trips - I make it happen. If there ever was any negative aspects, trust me they'd be talked about.

 

Also, it's not like I simply post a pile of photos and say " hey check out this great camp, it was awesome!" I'd like to think that the writing and story itself offers some value and entertainment. Regardless of what you think my motives are there's a gross amount of work putting one of these things together often with a ridiculous deadline. The St. Joe write up took 62 hours to do in just a little over one weeks time. That's in addition to my regular 40 hour a week job.

 

Again, my stories are posted here because I want to share the experience with a large number of people whom I consider friends - no other reason.

Edited by Mike Borger
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While I think someone sending you private messages to complain about your posts is a loser move, I agree with the poster above that said most of your posts have a pretty strong commercial element. I don't begrudge you your success, but I have been against private web forums being used in any way to promote commercial gain without due consideration to the forum owners, and members being told by way of a site sponsor logo or the like, that the entity is commercial. Take channel 6-8 for example. You can clearly see who is paying to play. There are a lot of posts that I will either pass on, or have a cursory glance at here because I know they are basically an advert. Nonetheless, the site owners here seem happy with the arrangement, so it's none of my business, and generally I'd say nothing, but seeing as how you brought it up in a public forum, I'll give you another perspective. Best of luck with your ventures!

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While I think someone sending you private messages to complain about your posts is a loser move, I agree with the poster above that said most of your posts have a pretty strong commercial element. I don't begrudge you your success, but I have been against private web forums being used in any way to promote commercial gain without due consideration to the forum owners, and members being told by way of a site sponsor logo or the like, that the entity is commercial. Take channel 6-8 for example. You can clearly see who is paying to play. There are a lot of posts that I will either pass on, or have a cursory glance at here because I know they are basically an advert. Nonetheless, the site owners here seem happy with the arrangement, so it's none of my business, and generally I'd say nothing, but seeing as how you brought it up in a public forum, I'll give you another perspective. Best of luck with your ventures!

 

You're right, I brought it up - you can say/think whatever you want.

 

So you don't begrudge my success and you're against private forums being used for promotion or gain.

 

I'll say it again, there is zero tangible benefit that I gain by posting here. None. It's possible that the outfitter in question might gain a booking or two, but myself I get nothing.

 

Here's some more numbers for you. I keep track of all of my correspondence with OFC members. Since January 1 89 different people have reached out to me for help. The vast majority of these guys I've spent a large amount of time with, either through emails or phone calls and most often both. In a great many cases there's a lot more involved. I do this because I enjoy helping people - no other reason.

 

Now I'm going to say something publicly about my business which I might regret...but then again, maybe not. One of the things I do (there are several) is act as a trip planning consultant and booking agent. Currently I work directly with over 100 lodges/outfitters across the country. NONE - let me repeat that - NONE of the camps I write about online garners me a single dime of income. That's the deal I have in place for anyone who hosts me.

 

The irony (not surprisingly) is most of the people who contact me want to ask about trip X which I've just written about. They don't want to hear about some unknown outfitter. Because of that the outfitters I write about probably DO get bookings, but I don't know for sure since I have zero stake in anything.

 

When people call for advice it would be in my best interests to suggest any number of outfitters, anyone besides the ones I've written about (I might actually make a tiny bit of money!). In a huge number of cases I'm happy to direct people to an outfitter I've helped promote if that's what they want or if I think it's the right fit. Trust me that happens a lot.

 

I'll bet I've dedicated easily over 80 hours of my time helping those 89 people since January 1 and have not made a cent.

 

What it has done is foster a whole lot of good will and that's something I'm big on.

 

In any case nothing is ever as it seems on the surface. I really can't stand it when people make assumptions that are patently wrong.

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I'll be honest - I'm totally jealous. You are totally living the dream. Personally, if these are "ads" I see them as more promotion for the camps and not your service. Anyone could just contact the lodge instead of you. And besides, if there truly was an issue with trying to promote or advertise, the staff would put an end to it quickly.

 

I remember this spring asking you for some advice on fishing trip locations and you were nothing but accommodating, even if the donkeys I was going with weren't reciprocating to me and we ended up going to the same place we were at last year. I'll definitely be contacting you in the near future to book next spring's trip.

 

Keep the fish porn coming even if I never have time to read the entire post. I know a lot of effort goes into it and I'm pretty sure everyone here appreciates it.

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