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Forum nameFreshwater Fishing in California
Topic subjectRE: Very Well Said Brian!
Topic URLhttp://www.calfishing.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=3&topic_id=2313&mesg_id=2323
2323, RE: Very Well Said Brian!
Posted by swimbait, Sun Dec-16-01 11:34 AM
Thanks Brian, I didn't have the energy to write that one.

To put it in perspective ... for three years I posted fishing reports several times a week for Santa Margarita Lake. After three years of posting reports, the legacy is that there are now three guys who post reports from Margarita. Phil, Ken A, and Joel (fisherman123). How many thousands of people read those reports and said nothing? Thousands! How many guys who fish teams on the Central Coast read those reports to check out the conditions on the lake before the tournament, but never posted a single word, dozens! Did it make me mad sometimes, yeah it did, but to be honest, I really don't waste my time any more concerning myself with the people who only lurk and never post. That's their loss in my opinion! I share my info with confidene because I'm not worried about somene else poaching my spot or using my lure. I look down on the type of fisherman who are spot hoarders and secret lure guys.

Case in point:
If I post and say that I caught some nice smallies at this new quarry lakes park, am I worried that other guys are going to come and ruin it? No, and you want to know why ... because think about it like this. I said in my report that I caught fish in 10 to 30 feet on a 3" tube watermelon tube with a 1/8oz weight. I also mentioned that you had to drag the tube really slow to get bit. I figure that anyone who is a good enough fisherman to go and duplicate my sucess, is going to be a catch and release only guy. And since it was such a small pond, I didn't say exactly where I caught my fish, because I caught them all over. I think I'm a good enough fisherman that if I go back out tomorrow, I could do just as well as I did yesterday, even if some other guys came along and used my same techniques and caught and released a few fish. I couldn't explain in words anyway the thought process for me that goes into finding fish and catching them anyway. Every day is a new day and the fish react accordingly. Sharing my reports on the internet is a mental aid for me when I go back and search the archives and even more importantly, it's a reference point for guys who are maybe just learning how to bass fish, or picking up on a new technique, like using tube baits for example.

So Kelly, I'm sorry you decided you were sick of it, and that decision is up to you. I like my site for what it is and I appreciate a great deal all the people who contribute with posts and reports. People who lurk and don't say anything are part of the game. It's the internet after all, and anyone can click the links and read the posts. That's just part of the game.

I for one, can't wait to go fishing :-) Quarry ponds could be calling my name this week before work. Smallies 10 minutes from the house and work only 8 minutes past there. I can handle it!