Recently in the past couple months I have noticed a lot of new members that sign on just find information or post about a spot and they are not regular users. What people dont realize is that there are so many others that are not members that troll the site. You might think your only sharing info with a few people but thats not the case. Your ruining good fishing spots. Why not post Lake X or Pond X and if people want the info you can send them a PRIVATE MESSAGE??
Last edited by jamesd on Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
Last edited by jamesd on Tue Aug 25, 2015 3:27 pm; edited 1 time in total
I don't buy into that. There are a lot of other fishing sites on the net passing out info. I have never rushed over to a pond to fish it based on someones report of having a good day. Ponds are hot one day and cold the next. Just because someone did really well one day doesn't mean you can go there the next day and kill them! Sometimes you just hit it at the right time and the right conditions.
Most of the people that post pictures of really good fish are pretty damn tight lipped about where they are catching them. I find most of my information about the places I fish on the Internet. I'm lucky if a few of the places are actually listed here as locations to give me a little heads up as to what I will be paddling into. If I find me a place where I am dragging 5+ lb'ers out of, I will probably be a little secretive about my find.
Fishing pressure, how many people on the lake at one time depends a lot on the time of day. I have been to places the last month where I was the only person out there up until about 9 AM. Hell, by that time I have already fished for 4 hours.
I don't think because someone pulls at 6, 7 pound bass out of a lake means that I can go there and get one too. Knowing fish that size are in there may make me go there are try my luck, but doesn't make it an automatic.
I'm a commuter, drive 45 miles one way to work every day. Any body of water within 50 miles of my house is fair game to me. If I show up in someone's "honey hole" it's because it looked good on Google Earth and there was favorable info on the Internet that made me interested in it.
Fishing pressure, how many people on the lake at one time depends a lot on the time of day. I have been to places the last month where I was the only person out there up until about 9 AM. Hell, by that time I have already fished for 4 hours.
I don't think because someone pulls at 6, 7 pound bass out of a lake means that I can go there and get one too. Knowing fish that size are in there may make me go there are try my luck, but doesn't make it an automatic.
I'm a commuter, drive 45 miles one way to work every day. Any body of water within 50 miles of my house is fair game to me. If I show up in someone's "honey hole" it's because it looked good on Google Earth and there was favorable info on the Internet that made me interested in it.
if you google a pond name, and maff is the top result, usually is the kiss of death. I've seen first hand traffic increase ten fold on ponds once they are mentioned on maff. Most of the know it alls who cant catch bass over three lbs dont see the issue. Guys who do well and catch hogs weekly dont like seeing 15 boats on a previous low pressure spot. I have talked to guys on the water and asked how they knew about a particular spot...maff has been the answer many times.
green harbor is my favorite spots!
i cringe when i see my fishing spots online, not frequently tho. at a paticular spot i fish i see people fish, ill ask how they found this place. oh i grew up here. thats cool! i havent met anybody that has said MAFF.
lots of places im the only person out there!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!! keep my friends close and my fishing spot closer. good luck, getting a spot outa me! gota earn my trust.
me and my buddies have a set of rules. if someone shows you a spot, you cant fish it with out them or without their permission.
i cringe when i see my fishing spots online, not frequently tho. at a paticular spot i fish i see people fish, ill ask how they found this place. oh i grew up here. thats cool! i havent met anybody that has said MAFF.
lots of places im the only person out there!!! I LOVE IT!!!!!!! keep my friends close and my fishing spot closer. good luck, getting a spot outa me! gota earn my trust.
me and my buddies have a set of rules. if someone shows you a spot, you cant fish it with out them or without their permission.
I lurked on this site for years before I joined it, if you Google "fishing in xx massachusetts" more likely than not a link to a trip on this site is going to pop up. Also while I enjoy having a few honey holes and a nice quiet place to fish it's not like I own any of the places I fish at, other people have as much right to be there as I do.
I lurked on this site for years before I joined it, if you Google "fishing in xx massachusetts" more likely than not a link to a trip on this site is going to pop up. Also while I enjoy having a few honey holes and a nice quiet place to fish it's not like I own any of the places I fish at, other people have as much right to be there as I do.
Sooner or later someone will tell someone else even without this site,or any other for that matter.I have a couple of spots I don't give up because we do well there and have fun.We got over 20 3 weeks ago and got 16 or 17 this past Sunday.Some day this place will be given up too.Limited parking though.I love the places I don't even have to use gas.Drop the trolling motor and fish.
As far as I'm concerned the only people that ruin the ponds and lakes are the bucket brigades and the garbage leavers.People that throw their junk in the water like fishing line and plastics and any other garbage.If they can't respect it they don't belong there.
If parking is an issue get your ass out of bed and be there first.I think most of the people I have met here are catch and release and respect the water and land they fish.More pressure just makes it more of a challenge.Keep fishing guys,you'll get them,if not today next time.
As far as I'm concerned the only people that ruin the ponds and lakes are the bucket brigades and the garbage leavers.People that throw their junk in the water like fishing line and plastics and any other garbage.If they can't respect it they don't belong there.
If parking is an issue get your ass out of bed and be there first.I think most of the people I have met here are catch and release and respect the water and land they fish.More pressure just makes it more of a challenge.Keep fishing guys,you'll get them,if not today next time.
i learned the hard way. When I first got on this site I posted a video and a few trips from my favorite place. Most people didn't know how to get in there or where to park. I told every person who asked because I thought that was the nice thing to do. The following season I went from being the only boat there most days to always seeing one or more and even a few times up to 6 other boats. It's a small place. Couldn't handle it. I went from catching 4 pounders on a regular basis to hardly ever. I fished it once this year, once last year and zero times the year before. I have no doubt that maff did it and I feel personally responsible. There was always someone asking me if I was shawneramone or if that was White Lightning. If you like a spot and feel it doesn't get a lot of pressure then shut up about it. Especially here. It's like telling a million people at once.
no offense, but if u don't buy into that your out of touch with reality . Fishing pressure changes lakes for sure , and not for the betterI don't buy into that. There are a lot of other fishing sites on the net passing out info. I have never rushed over to a pond to fish it based on someones report of having a good day. Ponds are hot one day and cold the next. Just because someone did really well one day doesn't mean you can go there the next day and kill them! Sometimes you just hit it at the right time and the right conditions.
there's ponds where there always chewing,has nothing to do with the day . 
no offense, but if u don't buy into that your out of touch with reality . Fishing pressure changes lakes for sure , and not for the betterI don't buy into that. There are a lot of other fishing sites on the net passing out info. I have never rushed over to a pond to fish it based on someones report of having a good day. Ponds are hot one day and cold the next. Just because someone did really well one day doesn't mean you can go there the next day and kill them! Sometimes you just hit it at the right time and the right conditions.
You and everyone else pretty much nailed it. People don't realize that word on the Internet travels fast and exponentially. Talking about spots leads to more pressure and people going that would otherwise never find the launch and parking due to difficulty and or laziness.
What people also don't realize is that trips and obvious pictures also contributes to this.
Factor all of these things in and people also aren't thinking about the long term impact the pressure has on the fishing. They're destroying the place in the long termm. If this happens to enough places, well forget about any honey holes. Especially in this state where fishing gets no love by the state compared to other places. We mostly get multiple weed kills at ponds now.
I don't buy into the whole 'spot burning" thing either. Sure, there are some instances where a pond gets a ton of pressure from over-exposure, but I think most of the time this doesn't happen.
I share my spots with pretty much anyone, provided that I trust they will release the fish. I'm all about getting new anglers into the sport and helping other anglers. They will still be there for me to catch. Maybe pressure will change the game a bit, and old lures won't work anymore. I can adapt... maybe the other guys will start to get skunked throwing the same things but in a way I find that fun... I have to change up my techniques or I wont catch. It's like a game.
99% of the time I will share my spots, with no regrets. Thinking about it now, I really only have 3 spots I keep to myself, and 2 of those are carp spots so who cares about them! My one "secret" bass spot isn't really even a secret, it's a pond that gets a lot of pressure but nobody thinks there are bass in there over 4 or 5 lbs, but they just don't use the right techniques! I have given hints about it all the time in past posts
(And no, it's not Spot )
Going to one spot and being able to catch nonstop 4 pounders isn't fun for me. Well, it's fun, but I get more satisfaction out of figuring out a new pond or catching a pressured 4 pounder.
If someone shows me a spot I will keep that quiet though.
I am more protective of my techniques than my spots. Certain techniques will catch big fish from a lot of bodies of water anytime, and I guard these more than I guard a spot where anyone can go and catch some 3 and 4 pounders. I feel like the best anglers shouldn't rely on a honey hole to catch big bass, but should have certain specific techniques that allow them to catch big bass from other places, even if they're highly pressured. (And no, I'm not trying to claim that I am one of the best anglers . Just that the best anglers that I know seem to catch big bass wherever they fish, and don't rely on a honey hole.)
But if you don't want other people in your spot or don't welcome having to change up techniques a bit, just don't mention your spots on here!
I share my spots with pretty much anyone, provided that I trust they will release the fish. I'm all about getting new anglers into the sport and helping other anglers. They will still be there for me to catch. Maybe pressure will change the game a bit, and old lures won't work anymore. I can adapt... maybe the other guys will start to get skunked throwing the same things but in a way I find that fun... I have to change up my techniques or I wont catch. It's like a game.
99% of the time I will share my spots, with no regrets. Thinking about it now, I really only have 3 spots I keep to myself, and 2 of those are carp spots so who cares about them! My one "secret" bass spot isn't really even a secret, it's a pond that gets a lot of pressure but nobody thinks there are bass in there over 4 or 5 lbs, but they just don't use the right techniques! I have given hints about it all the time in past posts
(And no, it's not Spot )
Going to one spot and being able to catch nonstop 4 pounders isn't fun for me. Well, it's fun, but I get more satisfaction out of figuring out a new pond or catching a pressured 4 pounder.
If someone shows me a spot I will keep that quiet though.
I am more protective of my techniques than my spots. Certain techniques will catch big fish from a lot of bodies of water anytime, and I guard these more than I guard a spot where anyone can go and catch some 3 and 4 pounders. I feel like the best anglers shouldn't rely on a honey hole to catch big bass, but should have certain specific techniques that allow them to catch big bass from other places, even if they're highly pressured. (And no, I'm not trying to claim that I am one of the best anglers
. Just that the best anglers that I know seem to catch big bass wherever they fish, and don't rely on a honey hole.)
But if you don't want other people in your spot or don't welcome having to change up techniques a bit, just don't mention your spots on here!
Sooner or later someone will tell someone else even without this site,or any other for that matter.I have a couple of spots I don't give up because we do well there and have fun.We got over 20 3 weeks ago and got 16 or 17 this past Sunday.Some day this place will be given up too.Limited parking though.I love the places I don't even have to use gas.Drop the trolling motor and fish.
As far as I'm concerned the only people that ruin the ponds and lakes are the bucket brigades and the garbage leavers.People that throw their junk in the water like fishing line and plastics and any other garbage.If they can't respect it they don't belong there.
If parking is an issue get your ass out of bed and be there first.I think most of the people I have met here are catch and release and respect the water and land they fish.More pressure just makes it more of a challenge.Keep fishing guys,you'll get them,if not today next time.
Didn't read this until I had already posted, but I agree with everything you said here.