Something to talk about while water freezes, Nwebies

[Old Ironmaker]

I have noticed as of late that a few newbies join and the first thing they ask is about fishing spots. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We all were new here at one time or another. I don't remember what my first post or even reply was about. I had not been on a fishing forum for at least 10 years. I didn't know any better as far as introducing myself to the members. I do now if I join somewhere. I at times could be  pretty harsh when someone would join and the first post was asking about fishing spots. It all depended on how and what they were asking about. I'm not the only one.

It would be interesting to me to see how many people bother to read the forum rules before they post, sometimes it's obvious they didn't. I accidently opened a thread from Nov. where a guy with 1 post asked about launching somewhere, he didn't get a single response because he posted it in "Fishing News." I believe you have to select "yes" to reading the rules before officially joining. The only way to do that would be to make a prerequisite that an intro was required. I'm not suggesting any changes Art. You guys have worked hard enough going to the new system for 1 year. I just thought it would be interesting to know how many bother to read the rules. I probably didn't.

When I first joined I remember being intimidated, me, intimidated. Sometimes I would post a reply and it was like I was in a different room if you know what I mean.

I wish these lakes will freeze soon or it was December 27th because that's when our plane tickets to West Palm Beach are good for. We should be fishing in Islamorada January 2nd. My lady has to return on the 8th so does my buddies wife's,  he and poor me have an open ended ticket back to Buffalo anytime before March 1st. In auto racing the end of the season from F-1 to Stock Cars (can't remember the sponsor this year, it changes every year) is called the silly season. From November until January 1 or until the water gets hard where it's open is what I call fishing's Silly Season because not much fishing going on to report except for a few die hard guys down here or those that live in the Arctic Watershed.  If not for them we have to read silly posts like this one.

Edited December 11, 2017 by Old Ironmaker

[Acountdeleted]

Well said. Pretty sure my first post (and the reason why I joined) was to ask about ice fishing. 

Not spots, but gear, ice safety etc. 

Speaking of, look at the temperatures across Ontario. I get the feeling I'll be on hard water next weekend. WOO HOO!!!!!

 

Going to edit and add a little bit. I don't mind as much when people ask for specific spots or tips. I feel like the worst case scenario is we ignore the person or say 'thats not the way it works.' and those who are genuinely interested in the forum apologize while people who are gold digging tend to leave. 

What bothers me the most is when newbies come on the forum and say 'How is the fishing on lake X' or 'looking for a spot on lake Y' because those are the things that come up on the top of a google search. I find for smaller lakes, this can be more of the kiss of death then telling one person a primo spot. 

If a newbie comes on the forum and says 'How is the fishing on Lake X' and someone responds 'Lake X has bass, walleye and muskie' that can sometimes be enough to sway a dozen anglers to try lake X. If the fishing is good, they keep coming back and keep taking their limit, who knows how much long term fishing pressure this may cause. 

Edited December 11, 2017 by jerpears1

[OhioFisherman]

Now that's a great spot!

[Old Ironmaker]

I can make a 14" Perch look like a Nile Perch at the right depth of field. I went to the site and they are big Bass, don't get me wrong they are big but not like the pic shows it to be.

They all look like Largemouth to me, what makes them a Spotted Bass? I know the spots but I don't see no stinkin' spots.

[OhioFisherman]

LOL, old, none here except maybe in the Ohio river? Just from watching some videos? their mouths aren't as big as a largemouth, even though they look a lot alike to me.

[Garfisher]

Mouth isn't as large, the toothpatch on the tongue is either different from a largemouth or it is present in Spotteds and not in Largemouths (Edit: Spotteds have a rectangular patch in the middle of the tongue, Largemouths have an almost entirely snooth tongue), and the dark lateral stripe on a Spotted looks like it is made of diamond shapes compared to the squares/solid line that Largies have. Apparently Spotted Bass are also more related to Smallmouth than to Largemouth based on DNA

Edited December 12, 2017 by Garfisher

[chris.brock]

On 12/10/2017 at 9:21 PM, Old Ironmaker said:

 

When I first joined I remember being intimidated, me, intimidated. Sometimes I would post a reply and it was like I was in a different room if you know what I mean.

 

That's an interesting statement. I don't know if I would use the word intimidated, but I know what you are saying. Sometimes while searching something on OFC I'll see names with thousands of posts who haven't been on in years and I'll wonder- what happened to that guy.

I think people get the impression they are not really welcome because OFC sometimes comes across as an old boys club's personal blog and they are intruding. It's a shame, lots of good people/ anglers input is lost.

[Old Ironmaker]

That's a better way of saying it Chris, Old Boys Club. Like going to a party and you don't know a soul, they meet you then go to their corner and talk amongst themselves. I was somewhat intimidated when it came to replying. I thought I knew a bit about fishing but come to find out based on the experiences of many here I didn't know as much as I thought when I came to fishing and I didn't want to come across as a duffus. My gang fished together for years and we didn't evolve much. No "fishing" shirts with logo's, we wore and still do Red Blacks and Cowboy hats. New tackle, methods, equipment etc. I have learned plenty here, like I say "You don't know what you don't know until you do." Hey I know what a parabolic curve on a rod is, I thought that only applied to engineering, who da thought? A real eye opener was to learn people actually pay several hundred bucks for a rod or reel. My most expensive combo is a Shimano Aero ultra lite rod and reel that was $100.00 and I won it in a draw from the Stelco Fishing Club. Courtesy of Bill's Bait, Upper James, Hamilton On. They deserve a plug.

The most positive thing is that I met many guys here I can call friends.

Edited December 12, 2017 by Old Ironmaker

[OhioFisherman]

9 hours ago, Garfisher said:

Mouth isn't as large, the toothpatch on the tongue is either different from a largemouth or it is present in Spotteds and not in Largemouths (Edit: Spotteds have a rectangular patch in the middle of the tongue, Largemouths have an almost entirely snooth tongue), and the dark lateral stripe on a Spotted looks like it is made of diamond shapes compared to the squares/solid line that Largies have. Apparently Spotted Bass are also more related to Smallmouth than to Largemouth based on DNA

I could believe that they are more closely related to smallies just from watching videos of people fishing for them. I watched another video of a couple of guys fishing the same lake as the other video for spots, dropshotting in 40 to 70 feet of water for them. Over the years fishing I caught a couple of bass in inland lakes here that have both and  had to do a double take to tell which one it was. The colors were strange for a smallie, the mouth size was strange for a largie.