Stop the spot burning - get your flyaddict secret decoder ring

[Todd K]

FOR $19.95 YOU CAN HAVE THE KEYS TO THE WATERWAYS

http://www.flyaddict.com/gallery/data/504/o-ring.jpg

Your purchase will get the FlyAddict Decoder Ring and an alphabet code key.

When you submit a river or salt post to the forum just use the code. This way no one will be able to read your post except those with a Decoder Ring! Its that simple! What are you waiting for?


....All joking aside. We all love our sport and many of us love to share our outings and our catches.

Do we remove the river/salt reports forums and keep general topics, fly tying, etc? I think posting can be done intelligently. I can live with a simple post that describes the outing(this doesn't have to be dry), the bugs, the temp, a general location. I think the name of the forum says enough(examle: Farmington River Reports). This gets me through a day of no fishing while living through someone else's experiences. If you need something with more beef, read a book. I don't want Flyaddict to become a place people join to just to find the hot spot so they can poach/burn,etc. I also think that you are lying to yourself if you don't have a special place in your heart for some stretch of water that you would like to keep for yourself. Share Smart!

What are your thoughts? Don't let this turn into a crying session.

Thank you all who have been positive and value this forum. Thank you to those who can follow simple rules and make our job easier.

[Andrew]

Do we remove the river/salt reports forums and keep general topics, fly tying, etc?

I'd prefer to keep them, but see below...






What are your thoughts? Don't let this turn into a crying session.


Seems we should have a blanket policy. We all have different opinions about how crowded is too crowded. Personally, I think "mouth of the Housy" is too specific. Others disagree. And that's the problem. But if we have a blanket policy of not being specific at all, keeping ALL location specific information to PMs, etc then the "gray area" disappears. If you want detailed information, you can get it on other sites. I think what Paul D. said made sense, which is that while he himself likes to share location information, he generally doesn't do it here because those are the specific rules of this forum.

For me, the issue for places like the mouth of the Housy isn't that the location is broadcast - we all know it's there. What fishing reports specific to that area do is let a lot of people know when the bait and bass or blues come and go, and THAT'S what will influence the crowds there. This is why I say I really wasn't losing any sleep over Paul's previous posts, which were just providing useful information. But come July, when fishing is tough, if somebody reports a school of big blues there, it WILL have an effect on crowds.

[trouter203]

this is obviously turning into one long winter for all of us. i won't comment much, but i do have a couple of points to make.
1) i cannot help but feel there are double standards happening here. the moderators should lead by example. i am not going to go into specifics, but i don't always see that happen.
2) folks on here need to get their attitudes in check. there have been some less than pleasant tones that are not called for.
we are all here because we have a common interest. i thank the site admins for bringing us this forum. i have learned a lot and met some great folks. that being said, how do we digress from someone trying to be helpful to bashing them for being too helpful?
i do not agree at all with moderators deleting "specific" information that is posted. they should be deleting profanity and personal attacks, not someone's post about the "lower hous." many non fly fishers view fly fishermen as being elitist. i am not so sure we are disproving them as of late.

[Andrew]

many non fly fishers view fly fishermen as being elitist. i am not so sure we are disproving them as of late.

Maybe, but I can certainly tell you that a) if you get on SOL and start broadcasting specific spot info, you'll get blasted, and it won't be by fly fishermen only. And b) I have met some incredibly tight-lipped plug casters on the Housy, especially at up-river spots.

Keeping hush hush about a hot bite isn't even remotely unique to fly fishermen.

We're much, much more likely to be perceived as elitist because we promote catch and release. Are we going to change that in order to "improve" our image?

[trouter203]

andrew, my point about elitism was not in regard to fishing and telling, it was more about governing.

[Andrew]

andrew, my point about elitism was not in regard to fishing and telling, it was more about governing.

Oops. Got it.

Sorry!

[dudley]

I feel that very often around here that the sediment against spot burning goes a little too far.
Places like the church pool or Quanny breachway are common knowledge and even nationally known. The location of all stocked streams is published by the state for the benefit of everyone who purchases a fishing licence. In these cases, trying to hush things up is a disservice to folks learning the ropes and looking for new places to fish.
If someone wants to know what county the Mill River is in.....there's nothing wrong with that.
For other, more private places, posters need to use their own good judgement and be cautious of the information they give out.
Those who are reading those posts and believe that the poster has gone too far.... voice your opinion, then cut them some slack....it ain't the end of the world

[Catch 22]

Tough subject. What is fine for one river (fished above the TMA on the Farmington) may not be for another (fished the WTMA on the Xxxxx River). It's a judgement call most every time, but spotlighting even prominent places like Dudley mentioned can lead to increased traffic if you are reporting spectacular success.

Just think before you post, "Is this location specific enough that increased fishing traffic is likely there if I post it?". If the answer is "Yes", then back off on the location. I've sent PMs to strangers as well as to friends asking them to edit their post to be less specific. No one has ever given me a hassle for asking politely.
YMMV,

Jeff

[waterworker]

Trouter 100% right,Dudley 100% right.Most come on here to share not steal.To suggest otherwise is insulting.As for the few that do,they probably won't or can't catch anything anyway.

[Z Fisher]

I don't name any piece of water that's not in the Angler's Guide. I'm reluctant, though I have done so from time to time, to name WTMAs. I can't think of a single time I've named an actual location except for holes on the Housy and Farmy. That being said, I'm rarely very successful so I'm not sure folks are going stampeding anywhere based upon my Farmy or Housy reports. :P

People in our sport are very reluctant to name spots for good reason. I try to follow that principle where possible. And if anyone who's a good member of this site (e.g. contributes regularly) I'm always willing to give specific info in a PM.

All that being said, to each his own. We're all standing around the virtual fly shop and if someone comes in talking about how he caught the biggest Striper of his life standing thirty yards out on the sandbar casting towards the jetty on the outgoing full moon tide with a sand eel, well, that's just the joy of having a few louder individuals in our community.

[Ruby River]

[

Do we remove the river/salt reports forums and keep general topics, fly tying, etc?


I say keep them. I don't find them to be all that specific most of the times and what works for one may not work for another angler.
If there is a special spot it seems most guys posting keep it secret.

[Jon]

My overriding thought is to sympathize with Todd and his Mods. Can you imagine dealing with all our grief and not getting a cent in pay?!? Seriously, I think we'd all do quite well to remember that this is a private site run by folks for their enjoyment as well as ours (I can't imagine having the time or energy to deal with all this stuff). Big up to the mods for indulging us I say. Perhaps we should respect the site's mantra for fairness, and cut them a little slack into the bargain.

Beautiful out today, thank the Lord!

Jon

[dudley]

For something like 15 years the conventional knowledge was that the fishing on the Monomoy flats was the pinnacle of northeast SW fly fishing.
I can tell you for a fact that if you traveled there this past season, you were wasting your time. Yet, I still see website recommendations of fishing this area as recent as last week.
If you want to believe what you read on the web.... you deserve what you get.
:rolleyes: