Honestly guys, if you had any confidence in your own fishing abilities you wouldn't worry about telling people where you are catching fish and how many. There is plenty of water out there and killer numbers of fish. I was on the Kalama yesterday and hooked two winter fish and one summer run, but that doesn't mean that everyone will go running up there and if you all do then I will be more proud of myself knowing when I catch more today or tomorrow that I have caught these fish behind many other fisherman.

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Stlhdr1,

This has nothing to do with confidence in my abilities....I know what I can do.

It just seems odd that some of us are so open to inviting competition when it can potentially be lessened with a little tighter lips.

Yes, fish can be caught behind others but that chance becomes considerably less when loose lips create 25 boats going through a hole one after another.

What would you rather have? A peaceful experience with 4-5 other boats who,like yourself found a fishery through their own time and effort or that same fishery you discovered but got leaked out and now get to share with 20+ other boats?

Sorry, but anyone who says the latter is a liar.

Eric,

I agree with the premise of your argument, but I also think you're being somewhat unrealistic. A peaceful drift with 4-5 other boats is only going to happen when there aren't many fish being caught. If you can name me a drift on any river that will only have 4-5 boats on it when there are good numbers of fish, I'll drink that river dry. Now, there are certain no-name rivers where you can find decent action with little company, but those aren't the ones that get named on the BB's. Face it, with the numbers of fishers out there, you're going to have company whether they hear about it from F&H News, STS, the web, the paper, or whatever.

Of course, email is a more appropriate way to discuss rivers or holes in detail. But I don't think that saying "I got a couple on the Nooch today" is a major issue. Saying "I caught six on the Nooch today at the old White Bridge hole drifting eggs and a red sin-n-glo just below the boat ramp" would be a stupid thing to say, unless you were looking for lots of company the next day.

Let's all just use our heads here. I think the pressure seen on area rivers is simply a fuction of the number of anglers, rather than any particular news/information outlet. But, one should be discrete when discussing rivers and holes.

Fish on.......

All good fisherman have their favorite rivers and holes they fish. Reading water and presentation are the keys to catching fish consistently.If someone want's to put a post on here about their fishing sucess on a certain river it's a free country and they have a right to do that. I personally don't do that but it's nice to know how good of a run a certain river is getting.There are very few secret holes or rivers left and people don't give those up on here anyway. I know a guy who came to my house to show me pictures of fish he caught and trying to impress me I guess and then lied to me about were he caught them,I guess he thought I would run right down there and fish there to.What a jerk!Needless to say I don't fish with him. Only inexperienced fisherman will go to a river that they haven't fished before because of a good report and then they won't have much sucess and will probably never return anyway.

Well eric, one thing that is nice is with my job my weekends are during the week. So I see less pressure anyway. I do get burnt out seeing a lot of people when fishing, but I'm used to seeing alot of people, and that is what has made me the fisherman I am. That's why I love going up to the penninsula and fishing those rivers. Most of the finess tactics I use down here people don't use up there, you know long leaders lighter line and beautiful eggs, proper presentations it all adds up to big numbers of fish. I know this isn't a topic to talk about how many fish everyone catches or to flaunt numbers but I usually catch 150-180 steelhead a year, and 350-450 silvers a year, and 100-125 chinook a year myself not counting my side arm buddy who is a better fisherman than I am, and he usually fishes next to me whenever I go fishing. Loosen up a little and keep trying harder because the fish have always been there and there are many more coming.

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$14.95 for a Piss and Moan teeshirt! Geeeez, have you ever heard of anything so outrageous in your life. $14.95!!!!! Can't believe it. I'm not going to spend $14.95 for a damn teeshirt, I don't care what it says on it. Don't even get me started with the $5.00 bucks shipping and handling.

Spend a day at Reiter or Blue Creek and commune with human kind.

you all feal you have something special thats great if you want to share thats great to but to think your giving away secrets,(maybe)personally i wouldn't call much of it secrets but maybe skill and luck, yes luck i'v seen to many times, fish this this way or use this that way. i say this because i went fishing with a guide and brother inlaw same poles same line same reels same boat same k15 he caught all the fish me not one but this has happened in reverse situations i caught all the fish call it what you want again i call it fishing (just my opinion) good luck to all (forgot one thing) what fun would it be hearing about the fish you didn't catch

[This message has been edited by DOUG KELLY (edited 11-29-2000).]

I too absolutely hate people that try to use me as their fish finder. I've been burned too many times. Most of the time I fish certain drifts that I can have all to myself and I work them very carefully. There might be one or two Steelhead in there and that's it unless fish are on the move. A few chances at a fish or two if you work it right. Once I find where they like to lay each year I can usually hook at least one a morning. To have someone see you either with one on or packing out a hatchery to eat and then show up with three friends the next day and muck up the drift is very low but it has happened more than I can count. Of course none of them touch a fish but I also don't touch a fish with four other guys walking and splashing around. When they give up...voila...fish on! Same said for word of mouth types.....most people I know that have fished even longer than I would never tell specifically where fish are being caught to anyone unless they know it's a person that will show respect for their find. I tell only these people because I know I won't be seeing them tomorrow.
Steelheading is like hunting. Half the fun and challenge is finding them on your own. If you aren't willing to do that then hire a guide.

I have an idea. Post a fake report about your river or spot a day or two before you plan on going. It would go something like this:

"The fishing was horrible! There musta been 75 guys out there and I only saw 2 real nasty dark ones on the bank. I talked tho an old timer and he said that the indians will be netting for another 3 days. But I did hear that the (fill in blank) river is real hot right now. I think that I am going to try that one in the next couple of days."

I know that it's a dirty low down thing to do, but hey, it just might work.
BTW- I won't be posting bogus reports.

Dagumit Billy Bob you took my idea
People can post what ever they want,but it's wrong to expect fishing reports from all of us, if it's the middle of the run,I might say something but if I hit it at the begining of the run with very little media pressure around...My lips will be tighter than a lock jaw Silver...Os
Some of us had to pay our dues

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Row Quietly and fish a Cataraft
Release all Wild Fish----<'))>>{

I thought the idea behind this bulletin board was for fisherman to share information and pass along stories about the good times we all have out fishing!All you guys who want to keep your secrets or post bogus information should find another hobby!!lester

Share with the world your most favorite hole or drift to catch steelhead in. Be specific.

fp its the same as all you guides telling the people the same stuff over the phone.

A.k.a. "Guide-hype".....Though I don't get the same sense of anticipation when I read it on the internet.

My 2 cents: I think it's a poor idea to post to big audiences about any relatively low pressured small rivers or less known and fished sections of medium rivers. I also think that fishers who broadcast they catch hundreds of fish per year and mop up behind other guys that aren't catching fish won't get the kind of respect they seem to think they will. For well known medium and large rivers that have good brat runs I don't have a problem with reports about how the water conditions and fishing is in general. Skip the specific holes. I don't think that most reports are for bragging; only some of them. Most are to be helpful by sharing benign info. To help people that don't get to fish very often it's fine to let them know which of the popular rivers are worth fishing or not at given times. Within those simple guidelines you will likely see only minimal overall affect on your fishing world. This is the "info age" and you can't control it with put downs. Make some feasable guideline suggestions, then just deal with the reality. - RT



[This message has been edited by Reel Truth (edited 12-03-2000).]