Ive stayed out of these rips but I think he deserves the attack's.

He makes a point to write how you should keep your fishing a secret and even lie to people to keep them from knowing that you had a good day or about a zipper lip river.

On the other side of the coin he has no problem with telling every one about many peoples seccret spots and exploiting many rivers.

I wouldnt have a problem if he was one way or the other but you cant be both.

He show pics of the same fish over and over trying to make it look like a different fish by changing the angle or reversing it.

And the one with the jig in the bottom of the jaw is unethical. I have no doubt that that fish actually bit but the hook was set late or somthin. At least take the jig out so know body knows.

Rich
I usually don't jump in on issues like this either, but why put the blame on this guy when some other "fishermen" had to be the one who had to tell him about the "little honey hole" in the first place? In this day and age, keeping the old "honey hole" a secret is almost impossible!

I live in a small town called Toledo, and my damn phone is ringing off the hook before I can even get past my garage door. Sure as heck, someone saw my rig parked or had talked to someone that saw me walking out of an area. It's just human nature to have to tell someone you're secret. That's why there is almost never the "perfect crime", because no one will ever have know that you have done the "perfect crime" unless to tell them about it.

We have nobody to blame but ourselves, because we just had to tell one of our buddies about the supper hot spot that "I" had discovered. Then our "buddy" has to do the same thing and tell one of his buddies, and the chain goes on and on. So why blame someone else when it was our own big mouths and ego's that leaked it in the first place?

That's all I have to say on this issue.

Cowlitzfisherman

Is the taste of the bait worth the sting of the hook????

I'll agree with you on ONE point RICH, and that is that he sounded pretty goofy telling you to lie while he's writing articles about rivers throughout the South Sound and Peninsula. But hey, I don't see people bagging on Herzog for writing about the upper Bogie summer-run fishing.

The rest is bull$hit. He's had one article I can think of where the same fish was shown more than once. That fish was pictured in more than one magazine though. In the rest of the articles I've seen, they were different fish. Since I take most of the photos of him with the fish, I know which fish is which. Yeah, the cover photo fish had the jig set back in it's mouth after it fell out, but who knew everyone would get their panties in a wad over it. What that photo has to do with ethics is beyond me.

I figured Tony would take some heat for what he's been writing. When he wrote about the rivers closer to me, I was the one bagging on him. I guess it goes with the territory when you're a fishing writer. Everybody hates F&H News, STS, and the internet........but somebody is reading it. And even if you DON'T read it, it's not going to go away. Fishing is a popular sport and the poulation just keeps growing. If you don't like company.........get your walking shoes on.

Alot of people will do anything for a buck...I refer to them as wh*res.

I have to agree with Cowlitzfisherman there is no such thing as a Zipperlip River anymore. We as fishers have to much to tell others whether here on the net, in a magazine or just a casual meeting on a river or in a bar after fishing all day. Face it word gets around and when it does not much can be done about it.

Just this weekend I fished one of the local rivers close to home, I fished next to a guy not from the area, he was from further north. He didn't use the internet much to pick up information about fishing different rivers and he was more than willing to proceed to tell me all about key spots of several "zipper lip rivers" up on the O.P. Places that he had personally fished. All of the information was freely given and never once did I solicit him to give me any. He just started to tell me in a matter-of-fact manner. Most of them sounded like great spots, for what ever good, you may rest assured I will never fish those rivers and I have already forgotten most of his information.
Some people would love to get their hands on information like this and use it to their advantage, and most likely willingly pass it on to the next person they meet at riverside.

You think this dosen't happen daily? You are only kidding yourself then. It happens all the time. I hear of certain places and rivers that I frequent and I use that information to my advantage. I tell a close fishing buddy and well you get the picture. As long as there are fish in the rivers and people to catch them, there will most certainly be people to brag about the places to fish. Zipper Lip or common place.

I fish the crowds and when I get enough of being crowded I do like Dan S. said, I put on the walking shoes. Will I come fish your rivers? I doubt it, I have to many here in my own backyard with to much uncrowded water to cover.

In defense of magazines and writers, I know first hand how an article rough draft can sound good one day and then a few days later it sounds a little different. We have a deadline to meet. I recently learned the hard way to get it done well enough before deadline to go over it a few times with a different mindset before submitting the final draft. Of course I'm referring to my lame joke about paint for removing driftboat competition. Stupid! It just struck me funny when I was in a silly mood writing it, and I didn't have time to re-write it before deadline. I usually have funnier stuff in short posts on the BB here. Then the "just kidding around" sentence got left out because they thought it was so obviously just joking. Man I wish I could have that one back. Can't though. So ....

.... what I'm saying is that many times articles aren't thought thru a second or third time before being submitted; and they need to be. I haven't met Tony, but perhaps what didn't occur to him before submitting that article to NW Fishing mag (or whatever it's called?), in which he gave up some lesser fished areas, is that in his fall STS article he said it's all important not to divulge secret or lesser known fishing spots to others. So it made him come across a bit hypocritical. But from experiencing the other side of the coin, I figure that those things escaped Tony's thoughts when he was writing away. It happens. I know I will forever be more cognizant of all ramifications of what I submitt. Maybe even be a little reluctant to use some of the type of humor I like to use here. Now as for Dan ....

.... geez mon, if you are going to pick up a lure to put back in the fish for a pick, make sure it's in the mouth, not under it's chin (or near the anal fin where you hook most of your fish ... jk). But we give you the benefit of any doubt because of the haste of the situation. No biggie. And ....

.... maybe a little more tolerance is due of human imperfection in mags and writers; especially in relatively benign matters such as these? My 0.02 worth.

A zipper lip river is only zipper until someone else finds it! Sucks but happens... I have lost a few zippers over the years.

I actually got to meet Tony D. and Nick one day fishing recently. I joked around with them and then asked point blank about the cover shot. Tony explained that he had a few fish take jigs like that before,almost like they were swiping as it. He also said they were fishing a very deep hole, and he remembered casting over 10 ft. of line. I told them the shot just looked kind of funny. Nick said it was one of many fish that day, and the jig could have fallen out before that picture.
They are really nice guys, and we sat and joked about a few other things too like RT's little article , and the guy that writes about drift fishing, yet all of his fish shown have jigs in their mouths :p . We thought that was pretty funny. Anyways, nobodys perfect. I told Nick he puts out a great mag, and he does. There is just one other publication around here, and I really don't hunt that much. I'll keep buying STS, almost just for the sake I might learn something. Last year I tried something the next day, and hooked three fish on consecutive casts. Not bad for something I never would have given a second thought to before then.

Tight lines and smoothe drags,

Chris