Giving away the farm

I was pondering how the internet has changed fishing. With more information available online, great forums like this, intel on even the most isolated rivers is getting shared at the speed of light it seems. I personally have posted some glory shots on the webz, some with detail of location, some as vague as could be (except to savvy folks who can read background shrubbery like a roadmap!)...many enjoyed them and some sent cautionary PM's.

Personally, when I look at a killer pic online I do take a look at what the surroundings look like to see if I can pinpoint the river, maybe even the exact spot. Mainly I just find it amusing, but on occasion I have added a few new hush-hush spots to my arsenal. Still pics are one thing, but the latest and greatest trend I see is the goPro army...my guess is that this trend will explode as more of us see cool vids and the technology gets cheaper...so here's my question...do you care? Do you think it's a good trend? Are you worried your fav little spot will get exposed to the masses? I personally haven't formulated my opinion fully, but thought it would be an interesting question to pose....

I got rained on by my crew that using my new gopro would be bad for pressure, I disagree , there isn't a fishery in my mind that doesn't have pressure now so.......might as well!

I don't like when people identify the river, let alone the specific location. Fish pictures and stories are just as good without naming or giving away the location.

I like looking at fish pics. I hardly ever take pictures of fish though (kid or wife posing with a catch on occason). Like 2many said, I grew up learning through trial-and-error. They're "just fish" to me, so when we get one, I want to hurry up and get the gear back in the water to catch more.

I've never done the video thing or really even watched them when posted. I don't have enough time in my schedule to watch the vid's generally.

I completely agree. If someone can figure out what river and what hole based on a non-descriptive photo then they've done their homework really deserve to fish it.

When someone takes me to a piece of water that is secret, I keep a zipplerlip about it and only return with him or alone.

Let all of the people who are not into exploring and figuring out different rivers keep the Cowlitz.

I for one love to see fish porn. When I'm stuck here at the office on a nice day and get to see a awesome picture of a summer Chinook, it gets me excited for the weekend.

As others have already said, you'd have to know the location of the picture already, meaning have most likely been there, fished that. I say post away, but don't give specific location of the spot.

I love the banter on this site, it is one of the best for good information about our hobby, with good science based opinions, but it is not where I go to see fish porn.

BRING BACK THE FISH PORN!

Morevec,

Awesome post!

Despite having more and more friends that have them, I have already begun to dislike the GoPro cameras. I couldn't agree more about them giving away WAY too much info about how and where. And while I've seen some really good videos and nice edit jobs, most of the vids are actually unimpressive to me when compared to a great still shot. To me, getting a great still shot is way cooler than fully documenting an experience. The still shot WILL document the experience in my mind.

To those that think it doesn't make a difference as far as pressure, I couldn't disagree more. The years of finding spots and honing techniques can largely be given away in minutes with certain footage. I know that this knowledge has always been passed down from friend-to-friend or guide-to-client. The difference now is that hundreds or thousands of people now get to devour the information at once.

I'm pretty sure plenty of people will disagree with me.

Those that put their time in exploring or fishing on the river will always be more rewarded than those that put their time in exploring or fishing on the internet.

A well edited video that tells a story and paints a picture, stuff from Todd Moen Creative, Felt Soul, etc. are works of art that take time, a great degree of skill, and a huge amount of knowledge and passion to pull off. Those types of videos I find moving in a way that photography can't really achieve. I am not saying it is better or worse, just different.

Ten minutes of blurry helmet cam footage of some dude reeling up a fish on the Cowlitz and high five-ing his buddies I could give a crap about. The technology revolution has brought high end video capturing capabilities and data manipulation down to an everyman level, but the difference between a piece of crap and something brilliant will always be more of a factor of the person holding the camera rather than the camera they are holding.

As most here know, I love photos and good photography and that will never be replaced or surpassed by video footage. They are different art forms and each can be magic when done well. If given the chance to check out 20 average to decent photos or watch a 10 minute go pro clip that has been slapped together by average Joe, I'll take the photos every time.

As for the sharing of secrets, don't give away places to people you don't want to share them with. Pretty easy.

My personal favorite was when I was blamed for the spike in boat traffic on the NFL after I'd post up a report here. Even got some nice threats.



I do regret posting the Kispiox stuff. I really do believe that those posts led to others here posting their trips/photos which lead to others, which leads us to now.

Want to go to the Kispiox? - just follow the caravans of cars heading North in late September and early October.

Or, just wait until the pictorial posts are put up here, Facebook and in your favorite fishing Mag.

In the past, I was a firm believe that it really didn't matter what was posted up here and other fish sites. Now, that's not the case. Heck, back in the "day" pretty much I was one of the few people that had one of them fancy "digital" cameras, let alone could figure out how to post a peekture here. Guess that's just my nature as an IT guy. I am always embracing new technologies and running with it. One thing led to the other and the next thing you know thousands of people are looking at those pictures and using that information.

The real "gem" of PP is a all the friends I've met and made here. If I truly want fishing information now, I use the phone and just ask.

PP is more of my source of entertainment now.

The reason I have lurked for years here was the quality of the photography. Some top notch photogs on this site for sure. A good picture does not need to give away much information in my opinion. My favorite summer run stream is easily impacted by overfishing. I am very vague when asked where I go. I turn off the gps tagging feature on my camera (I hope. not too tech savvy).

But there is something about pictures of the fish I have caught. They bring back memories. I always try to capture the fish I catch on film. Possibly because I catch so few? lol

First it was newspaper sport fishing columnists, then the fishing magazines, then the fishing books, then the internet, and then Paker and the rest, all whoring out the fisheries to the unwashed masses. With the main difference being the speed, (but it should be noted that speed whoring is not the same as speed dating). However, for all this fish whoring, you guys sure are a stingy bunch, because I haven't learned one single new hole to fish from all my years of reading the PP forum. I think all the fish pimping has certainly contributed to larger crowds of fishermen on the rivers, but I don't recall ever having one of my favorite spots pimped out on the internet - yet. And notice all the photos I post.

Sg

I guess that is why some forums will ban you if you mention the river or spot when posting a report or picture. Some are pretty strict about it.

I am not a fan of "zipper Lippin". I think we need to share conservation, but not be greedy and butt holes about "our spots". I dont bring just anyone to my favorite spots. If I know someone is out for blood (although i love fish, so I bonk some occasionally), I wont bring them to less well known river, lakes, or creeks.

There is nothing wrong with passing on good information, techniques, and places to fish. Just as long as we dont give it to snagger john. I know I appreciate it when my buddies give me their "zipper lip" Locations; but i make sure im not killing every big fish that comes my way when im there(never native). Nor will i go around telling every 3rd person at Cabelas about it when im there. However, on a good forum, in a good group of people, I will tell as many people as i feel like telling. God gave us beautiful places to fish, so I am going to share it, and respect it.

Im not trying to be against the grain, I do respect those who feel they need never tell anyone how to, or where to fish. Trust me, I get it. I have told people about some great spots for cutties, just to get a txt with a stringer full of native fish...sucks yes...but I know not to give them info anymore. We should use discretion, but not be butts.

As for the question...I love watching good videos and looking at some awesome pictures! I think if people are getting excited about fishing...its a good thing. Im a young guy, and im so thankful for info past down from guys that arent arrogant and want to pass down the secrets to 21yro kids like me.

If people get excited about fishing, we can educate them. There is hope!

I tell my buddies too. I will sometimes tell friends of friends. What I don't do is post in the 'net for 1000 people to see.

If you want to know what body of water to fish, at what time, with what bait or lure just pick up a copy of STS or tune in to NW WILD COUNTRY. I think the majority of the photos/videos posted on this board are pretty vague when it comes to locations. Like others have said before, if you can tell a location by the background you've probably fished it before. I just picked up a gopro and plan on documenting some floats this summer and if I do post any footage it will be lacking locations or specifics on bait/lures. So I say keep posting the fish porn just leave the specifics out.

So when we post photos and leave out the specifics, is this the message?

"I want you all to know that I fished this really beautiful place and caught this fantastic fish. I just don't want you to know where it is."

Is that what your avitar is meant to convey?

Many times it isn't the initial picture poster that gives a spot up, it's the guy that wants to show how smart he is by telling everyone where the picture was taken.

the internet is like the miracle grow for people on streams...

i crop the majority of my pictures to hide what i can...

i have watched my favorite small stream get obliterated by people after 1 or 2 posts on the internet each year.

if they start closing down more rivers for salmon or steelhead, there wont be much keeping me in this area any more.

Man I am going to miss you guys , Like "abu" all I will have is picture's from your adventure'! I have never posted picture's on the internet because I got roasted the 1 and only time I had a guy snap a shot of Timber and myself with a monster Satsop king, dark boot but a true Northwest trophy.
Boot this, boot that, native out of water and released mind you this was a long time ago! Learned my lesson I did not like the feeling I got from Public response. Yes I'm with Stam just go fish it Is always good for the soul. Enjoy and leave the blame game for those that want it that way , be friendly and courteous to your fellow angler's when you are fishing and Life is good, great thread !!!!Peace

Good thread Andrew!!!
I have to admit there are some great "photographers" here on the board, and some great "picture takers". I guess we have to determine which one we are. Same goes for the new age "videographers", and as Coley put it the "Helmet-Cam" gang. Where do we want to fit in. I too enjoy Todd Moen's work, and subscribe to an online pictorial board called "Catch Magazine" some of you might recognize it. Brian O'keefe a great photograher in his own right came up with this idea to share still photos and some great videos on this sight.
I have to admit, I was a picture taker, but I am taking the steps to being a photographer, composing, cropping, fill flash, no fill flash. But the main reason I take photos is for myself and my way of remembering the days events, a photographic fishing journal if you will. If one shot happens to turn out and would consider sharing it on the web, I rationalize myself out of doing it.
As for the GoPro gang, I dig it, but It would take alot of editing prowess on my part to put out something worthy out on the web. But I would use it like my Dad did with his "Old School Super 8" and take family movies of his boys surfing Waikiki more than anything else. It's still too expensive for me anyway.
"Photographers vs Picture Takers"

"Videographers vs Helmet Cam Gang"

Where do you fit in???

But I'm with Stam......I'm too old to "Rage against the Machine" or to worry about it!!!

Just want to go fish,
Winterun

I know that spot!

AP -- touche'! It never occurred to me that revealing this zipperlip would result in flack, but in the interest of not devolving into yet another ascot thread I'll not say anything for the moment.

Being a realtiveley new comer I feel the internet provides information but not the necessary tools.. I have grown and learned more just from being on the water and putting in time. This has allowed me to gain a little credibility with people that consistantly catch fish. That's the greatest compliment in my opinion.

I dare not take anyone but the wife to those spots. I've been burned once by someone and its not cool at all. A big reason why many are interrogated is because no one wants to work, everyone wants instant success. I've been skunked many a times and still go out with a high level of confidence. Others go straight to hatchery holes and then grill you when you post a chrome fish.

I think it's a crappy trend.

There are places I fish that are no secret, and have not been secret, for a long time. Those places are hatchery rivers with a steady stream of anglers. More people, lot's of fish(and usually, action) are the expectation.....not much phases me on these trips.

Then there are the places over the last 25 years that I have busted my butt to explore either on my own or with a few select friends. 100 of hours invested pouring over maps, driving roads, searching out trails(and in some cases building them) and most of all, walking the river. These are remote spots with not so much a sense of ownership on my part but reverence because I found, discovered and researched them on my own. They saw(notice the past tense) few to no people.

A killer summer run river in the southern part of the state had some spectacular, light pressure fishing in the late 80's-mid 90's. As the internet came to be there was a noticeable shift in pressure within just a few years. Pics started appearing. It's an easily recognizable spot if the background is shown. Would that spike in pressure have happened w/o the internet? Maybe, maybe not. Newspaper coverage was non-existant during the good times but once it spread on the internet, outdoor newspaper editors caught wind and now mention it frequently......more exposure and rarely not crowded. I haven't fished it in a decade.

My most cherished winter run river is remote with little access. Not a lot of fish but they are all wild and sometimes pretty damn big. It's a beautiful river. The first 10 years I fished it(on foot) I not once ran into another person or boat. Some years I'd come across and old set of boot prints but that was about it. 5 years ago, a guide caught wind of it. He started floating it every weekend it was fishable and does to this day. We cross paths occassionally. When I first ran into him I asked how he learned of the area? He said he'd been curious about the river so he posted a thread on another fishing board asking if anyone had info on the river. Got the info he needed and game over.
He takes clients, clients tell stories and the thousands of readers on the other board just got a seed planted in their heads about a new place to try too. The last several years, it's typical to see driftboats, pontoons and bankies in many of the accessible spots and even in a few of the unaccessible ones on any fishable weekend.

Coincidence?

Look, everyone has the right to fish....no one owns the rivers....I get it. But many of us hate crowds. In fact, I go to extreme measures to avoid them. To that end, I've done my homework x 100 to find that solitude. So how should I feel when the internet has taken away my hard-earned solitude at the click of a mouse?

About pics.....I love pictures. Love to take them. But 99.5% are shared via e-mail with family and those I fish with if it's a sensitive location. Hatchery river pics or fish close ups I don't worry too much about. Even put one up here from time to time.

The damage has been done in my eyes....too many people, too much instant info at their fingertips, all being forced into smaller and smaller open areas. Make the most of it while there's still something to fish for.

NWWC an other radio shows and magazines don't help either. they have some "true" Steelheader BLASTING hour segments on Big fish rivers especially low key op rivers and have "how to / and when to". That doesn't help in my book. welcome to the 21 century. Technology is a B*tch.

A perfect example of how to post a perfect picture on persnickety PP:

1. Crop photo to eliminate adipose and avoid all controversy.
2. Crop or process photo to eliminate all locale identifiers.
3. Add or darken glasses and remove wedding ring in post to conceal true identity and maintain plausible deniability.
4. Hold fish forward to make it look bigger, brighter and badder.
5. Colorize background and wear a hat and coat to make it look like autumn, even though it's the dog days of summer.
6. Avoid logos so they can be photoshopped in later to the highest bidder on STS.
7. Smile like the fishing is off the hook to make cyber fisherman jones with jealousy.

Awesome shot Stamly, I'm sick with envy.

PS. Thanks for the metadata too.

LMAO!

I was going to throw down some long f'n post, but stam already said everything I was going to say.

Cool pic, stam.

This is a pic of stam. He's on a river. If you guess where, good for you.

Took care of that for ya Dan!

Not my style to get that long winded but the fingers just kept a type'n on this one. Struck a nerve I guess.

Innernet?





What me worry?

Whew, almost forgot the Ray-Ban's.





What me worry?

atleast its not upside down...

How's this one for keeping the spot, angler, and a gear secret?

What we were fishing for, now that is not quite as hard to guess.

Russia is where it's at, and they are not.

Based on these statements and the lack of concern you show for anyone figuring it out, and the run-in I had on said river with the both of you two... you made it too easy for me to figure out.

That spot is no secret.

I hate the internet sometimes.

I'll tell you what it did. It made people think we live in a destination fishing area when WA isn't really that good anymore.

My grandpa and his friends raised me telling me the good days are over, the rivers are farked and it is just not the same. That is how people used to think and to some extent it is true. We all work way WAAAAY harder to catch fish these days than did my grandpa.

Now, thanks to the internet, people are moving to places like my home town Bellingham planning on spending all their free time chasing "steel faces" with a fly rod or something like that. They actually move here thinking the fishing is a bonus or maybe literally for the fishing.

All the experienced anglers, including me, have seen the seasons on the local rivers vanish in the last 10 years. Sometimes many us talk about moving to a place that actually still has access and decent fishing. It is a typical conversation, "Where would you move?"

If you were an internet layman you would think moving out here is the first step in becoming a steelhead fishing God when the truth is it is on its way out and fast and has been for decades. The industry and internet gets a lot of blame for changing the perception of this region even as it sink faster than rock......

"Where would you move?"


East Cape, Baja California Sur or up the Cape cost toward Loreto or near Los Suenos in Costa Rica and join about 100k of US citizens who already live there.

If you like watching line get peeled off your reel at warp speed....that would be an excellent choice

dont tell anyone, but 1 time i hooked a fish in this 1 river while standing on a rock along the bank.

I can't tell you how many times I've said..."oh look! it's that high bank on the Queets below the salmon! It's time!!!"

or the Hump, or the Nooch, or the upper Sky, or Hoh or half the other rivers I've only been down once or trice....

This is from Hooten's new book, which is worth the read "Skeena Steelhead" Unknown Past, Uncertain Future, which I thought put it in perspective.


There is one more feature of the changing steelhead
fishing landscape that has had as much bearing on
angling traffic and distribution and angler efficiency
as roads, helicopters and jet boats ever did. I'm talking
www here. The internet offers up instant updates on
water and weather conditions, fish supply, latest and
greatest equipment and techniques, where when and
how to ((get 'em", who to hire to guarantee success,
yada, yada, yada. A digital equivalent of a fishing
Super Store provides up-to-the-minute fishing reports
on rivers from Smithers to Prince Rupert and the
news and availability on anything between rubber
worms and riparian real estate to both neophytes and
veterans. Nothing is left to chance or self discovery
any more. Odds have been shortened dramatically.
What took years for an entry-level angler to learn
a generation ago is mere mouse clicks away. No
apprenticeship necessary. Fish porn proliferates at a
steadily accelerating pace on bulletin boards, blogs
and YouTube. Addicts inflate their egos with kissand-
tell and hero worshippers thrive on their every
word and video clip. Then, when they show up and
find competition around every bend of the river, they
complain about crowding. In the near term the internet
may be the best thing that ever happened in the eyes of
many fishermen. They'll learn otherwise in the longer
term as the object of their affection bears the cost.

Good summary.

" what's that? Where to go?HA! Do it the way it should be done, get a good map, a copy of the regulations, fill up your tank and start driving, my friends........ I'd rather be strapped face down, naked, onto a block of ice with my ex-wife's lawyer with country music blaring over speakers while chewing aluminum foil than sell out my zipperlip streams. Just chant my mantra.. how to always. Where to never.

- bill herzog

I like that. "How to always. Where to never."

Key words..."my zipper lip streams" he might not talk about his zipper lips, but they definitely covered a few streams that I like to fish in detail this year on the show. For instance, two winters ago my buddies and I found a nice pool with a bunch of summer runs holding. We didn't know what we were doing at the time and only one of us hooked a fish. We decided we'd try the hole for winter fish that year. We returned that winter. The three of us managed to hook 8 winter hatchery fish in a few hours out of that hole all the while only seeing two other guys fishing who were also hooking quite a few. This year, two weeks before we were to return to this stream I'm listening to NWWC and here this location described in detail. By the time we got there it was damn near elbow fishing and getting close to reiter status.

Please don't get me wrong here. I'm a herzog fan. It was his books that taught me to read water under different conditions and to fish spoons successfully for steelhead. I also listen to the show while I work on Saturdays. I'm guilty myself of posting pics with too much in the background, especially the pic post I did on my October summer run trip to the east side.

I've learned a ton since I joined this site and met some great friends. I'll stop rambling now, as I've realized that I didn't even say anything worth typing but I typed it so I'll post it.

In summation, here is my theory: Internet fishing forums and outdoor radio shows really are a double edged sword. We love em and hate em at the same time.

electronics in general have made "experts" out of many......

GPS probably more than any other single thing.
Cell phone technology number two.
Fish finders and radar number three.

There's no going back to using triangulation and a weighted depth line and hours of current observations for salt water hot spots.

Couple all that with population growth and well, fishin' ain't what it used to be.

There are still many off the beaten path adventures to be had and in most cases the limiting factors don't have to do with access to information. There is something still to be said for good old fashion blood, sweat, and tears. Some of my favorite places will remain uncrowded not because others don't know where they are or don't want to get there, but because either they can't or they aren't willing to put in the time, effort, and $ to do it.

Drew, zipperlip and hatchery fish in the same sentence? Really?

The internet = easier access to information that has always been available. These days those that want to know have to invest far less than in years past. This isn't specific to the fishing world. The same can be said for most other aspects of life on this planet as well. For example, my first trip to the Alaska Range in the early 2000's, which wasn't that long ago. There were no guide books, very little published about climbing routes and peaks, and sketchy maps at best. If you wanted info about a peak, place, or route, you needed to talk to someone that had been there so that is what everyone did. The quality of information you got depended on either your ability to develop rapport, your resume, or who you knew. Now there are a handful of guidebooks, dozens of internet sites and chat boards with up to the minute conditions, and move by move info on most any route that might strike an average Joe's fancy. As a result, there are a lot more people in the range and on the published routes than even just a handful of years ago. When I hear people say that the range is "crowded" I just laugh though.

Granted, your backyard streams or favorite hole might not be what it once was, and getting away from the crowds might take a little more imagination, but it can be done. Broaden your horizons, plan an adventure and carry it out, and embrace the weekend warrior stuff for what it is, cheap entertainment.

How does the old saying go? "Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone." I would be curious to know how many here have never altered their decision making process based on, or even gone directly in search of "where and when" info on this site. It seems funny to me that so many are quick to criticize something that we have all made use of at one time or another if not on a regular basis.

That's not so difficult Coley, if you happen to be an old fart. Every river I've fished since the internet, I also fished before the internet. That's why I posted earlier - mainly as a joke - about the PP crowd being so stingy, cuz I haven't learned one single new fishing hole as a result of the forum.

Fair enough. Perhaps you have nothing new to learn in the "where" category. How about the "when" and "what/how?" categories?

Coley,

The what and how catagories have all been been bait thuggery, so my salmon fishing has taken an uptick, as have some less savory aspects of steelhead/trout fishing.

Sg

lol

You gonna be OK after getting down in the mud like that?

It's hard to stir the mud unless I get in it. Come on, doncha' have a zinggg or sumpin'?

i can deal with the fact that the population is growing, and good fishing areas are decreasing. with our society, it's just kind of a fact of life.

when reports shouting out the where, when and how get put up on the net, the mentioned areas get overrun by slob fishermen. they show up, leave garbage all over, piss off land owners, then once fishing cools off, they disappear until the next hot report comes out.

there are plenty of places that are known, or were known in the past that can offer good fishing under the radar. i've seen first hand many, many times how pressure can be light and fishing good, then comes the online reports with all the glory shots and a full writeup, all of a sudden out come the report chasers.

if anything, it's altered my fishing habits to focus more on the early and late parts of a run where there are enough fish around to make it worth the effort, with a lot less pressure than the peak of the run.

I agree.....pretty tough, in my area of the State.....to having not been to or fished a river or body of water. Gone are the days of being completely alone on most bodies of water.......but what is even more amazing to me, is the ages of many I see on rivers today.....where is pride of doing a job and earning a liveyhood, and not living on the "public dole"?????????

How to never. Where to never.

With each click you become more anxious about whether you're doing it right, in the right spot, to become the next Legend weeping over a "20 pound" "hawg" who is for some reason named "Ike".

Guide books, news papers, radio etc., though around long before the Internet, do not spawn the same variety of collective fish lust. I swear some anglers fish mainly so they can post photos of their catch online and bask in the e-accolades that follow. My only regret is that I participated in some of this before my frontal lobe had fully matured.

Fishing forums have their purpose - providing a means for organizing efforts to help fish, or for organizing against forces that threaten to destroy fish/fishing, for example. The unfortunate development is that fishing reports on fishing forums seem to have become one of those forces.

Before you post your next report ask yourself how much telling a bunch of strangers about it will add to your enjoyment of the trip. If the report is for your friends, email it to your friends or give them a call.

Or not.

-IS

I kinow the internet, magazines, radio shows have all done their share but I feel there is one other factor.

That is the popularity/acceptance of people using Spinning Reel set ups.

Before you all laugh, think about it. When many of us 1st started, it was "learn to use a baitcaster". As many of us know, it is'nt always easy for people to learn on and use. Now I go to spots where I would never see anyone fishing with a Spinning Reel and not only are they using them, but they are out numbering Baitcasters. And some of these spots are those "out of the way" spots we all love.

So when I see the bigger crowds, see 8+ people in a spot where I rarely would see 2 and 5 of the 8 are using Spinning Reels I have to ask;

If these people had to rely on using Baitcasters, would they be here or would the frustration have gotten the better of them. My guess is that a lot of them wouldn't be there.

Kevykev,

Talk about thinning out the crowds, imagine how much space you could find on the water if recreational fishing were restricted to split cane bamboo fly rods, reels made in England, silk fly lines, and natural gut leaders. Now ye'r talkin'!

Sg

Salmo g.

I did not say there is anything wrong with it. It is an observtion.

Like the internet, radio shows etc it has evolved. I feel it has added to the people fishing rivers, whether for Salmon or Steelhead. I grew up back east using a Spinning Reel. I understand why people use it. It makes fishing easier. Just like the internet, radio shows etc do. They tell people what to use, where to go etc. Spinning Reel is easier to cast, no backlash etc.

I took customers out with a guide for Coho on the Snohomish last year. When I booked the trip I asked him what gear we would be using. He said Spinning. I asked why. He said he can pretty much teach any customer to use a Spinning Reel in 5 minutes. A lot of those same customers could never learn how to use a Baitcaster.

Easier means more people doing it. More people doing it means more people going fishing to rivers where our opportunites have been cut.

I think affirmative action should let the bruthas fish a couple weeks earlier than the opener and supercede netting day closures.

Didn't read the entire post, so forgive me if it's already been said, but if someone can ID a river and hole by the background in the pic, then they've already been to that river, and already know that spot.

If they've never been there, they aren't going to know where it is from a picture.

All that being said, I try to keep any pics that I occasionally post to be the fish, and the water, and that's about it.

Fish on...

Todd