This is probably gonna start a huge war but I want to ask this.
Do you give up you're spots??????

Myself and my fishing partner(Canalman), put in some serious time spot hunting and we go through extreme measures to access some of our spots. It has paid off bigtime for us. I hate holding my spots too myself, but would never give them up(sworn to oath) in fear of others ruining them. It's a sad thing and it really bothers me sometimes because I'm not like that. It's just too bad that fishing turns guys into A-holes(like me) because we CAN'T trust people with our PRECIOUS SPOTS!!! Yes, my spots are PRECIOUS to me. It's just too bad that we can't share and trust....Life would be so much better!
I just want to see what others thoughts are on this subject.
There are still certain guys that I will fish with in my spots, because I know they will respect them. Or at least I think!!! :exp:
P.S. Sorry John..This will surely keep you busy but I had to ask...

Bud, all I can tell You is Im old school.
and been burned big time by quite a few people
the crouds change through the years. But I know one thing rocks dont move and sand does.
If I told you a stage of the tide and to be some where I would be po'd if ya showed up with a clan.

:doh:

..... ........ .......







:hidin:

Depends on the guy and the spot.

It's that simple. Good guy, knows how to clam up if he hits a good bite, and the spot can take pressure, fine. Same guy, different spot, one that only a couple of people can fish the right way-- nope :hs:

mike we use to be able to tell who was there by there water mark in may an june. ( goin round corners makes water marks)
Ya never blew the valve where ya fished. herring juce tells all.
some of the funny stuff that went on when i lived in falmouth.
the guys never thought to look in my live well when it was emty.
A guy I know , we talked in code and lied like bastages to each other and fished together.
any way he show up on nauset alittle late, He had a hard time findin herrin :faga:
any way he standin by my red ford and askin any fish and I was beatin round the bush,
this is to funny. He was standin on my fish I buried and I said nothin really or nothing big and the friggen fish did a tail flip. to funny.
I got a real good mashpees herrin run story to lol,,,,,

what Mike P said //

But also ya get to a point in life & ya think about all the things ,Tricks <places , that are in your memory bank ,thru hard work or some kind fisherman /// do ya want to take ya knowledge with ya when ya go // or do you let it out /& if sooooooooooo to who & when /// I have no one to hand my knowledge down too // someone should know about the banking rocks trick //.<.,., Its something I have been pondering == give it all up now & then live a while longer hoping I don,t get burned while I,m alive // or seeing that we don,t know when its time [[usually]] I may want to let go /but not right now // & then something happens & I can,t ////

this is all kinda stupid /because between the internet & good fisherman writing pretty accurate articles [[OH BOY]] on places , and how too,s // I call it selling your souls for a few bucks // its not very difficult to become a descent fisherman without doing any heavy duty homework ..,. :faga:

loose lips sink ships

I agree with Mike P. Depends on the guy and the spot. My partner knows all my secret spots. He's the only one. The other guys I fish with occasionally know SOME of my secret spots. But, let's face it. How secret are our spots? Joe Pagano at Nelsons in P-Town use to tell me that the bass have been going to the same spots for 1000 years. The structure may change and move around but the bass will be in the vicinity. :doh:

Depends on the guy and the spot. It's that simple.
Exactly.

It's great to share, but pressure is pressure and any location can get cut off if it's threshold is reached.

-spence

Like the mafia saying goes,
keep you're mouth shut,
and never talk to anyone!

Seriously I'd rather fish by myself. Too many "men" fishing with tampons in nowadays. :hee: buncha gossipy lil 8itches. :lm: :buds: Sell ya out in a second............... :exp:

I love it when the old timers are like "You showed up by yourself..." yeah.. told ya I would..keeping my word "Good cuz such and such.. would have half the internet down here by now..." I'll never forget that night I almost fell off the cliff I was standing on I was laughing soo hard, I think I can still hear chris laughing at that one....... That was pretty funny and so was "tell him to stfu.. all you need in your hand is a rod!" & "you better go weigh that in at the other end of the state and come up with a good story.." Gotta love the :buds: (whos this) "Oh I dunno what I was using, one of them things" I love that one I borrow from that one heavily. "What'd it weigh in at?, ..... ahh my scale must be #^&#^&#^&#^& "Enough about me... Lets talk about me....."

But being frank. Dave I wouldnt tell ya a thing :kewl: or I'd get you fit shaced then take you.. But then again most of the time Im like Seargent Schultz..... I've left fish to go fish with folks where I know theres no fish :faga: You got a better shot at landing on the sun barefoot than getting anything outta me..

But then again theres old folks (who get all doped up on Geritol, before they go out at night :hidin: ) that I'll call and volunteer any up to the minute stuff I see first hand.....and thats gods honest truth :cheers:

But seriously watch for sell outs.....

what the %$# wound you up this morning?

I believe that you should only show spots to a few people you can trust and will not show the spot to someone else. All you need is a chain reaction to start and the spot is gone. This is the best method to keep spots: :faga:

Been burned a few times, so if it is someone I know and trust, and there is a give and take, I'll talk a little.

It also depends on the spot, everyone know about WH and you can go with little fear and repurcusion. Not all of the fish are caught in "secret" places. But some places cannot support high traffic, and those places don't get talked about.

Like some have said, depends on who, and where...Me, personally, if someone is gonna trust me enough to bring me somewhere I respect them and trust them even more because of it. That's the bottom line. I really enjoy taking a buddy to a few of my spots, I know the feeling I get when I get to see new water, it's a rush. .
... speakin of that, Dave n Dave in a couple a weeks you gotta come on up :lasso:

The first rule of spot club is -- you don't talk about spot club.

The second rule of spot club is -- you don't talk about spot club.

The third rule of spot club is -- when a sand sissy says "stop" or twists an ankle, the night is over.

Fourth rule is -- only two guys to a rock.

Fifth rule -- one drift at a time.

Sixth rule -- no shirts, no shoes, no service

Seventh rule -- fights go on as long as they have to so horse ‘em outta that rip!

And the eighth and final rule -- if this is your first night at spot club, you will be skunked…

Yes I fish and tell but only to someone I feel will not wright about it in the Fisherman just to make a few bucks. To me that is the worst that can be. You may think to your self its ok as the spot is not one of YOUR best spots but it is for sure someone elses great spot and you just told the world about it for a few bucks. Now I know someone is going to say they are doing it as a service to their fellow fisherman then if that is so why not tell us about all these spots you two have worked so hard to find. Funny but did I not see some spots in the Fisherman buy the Canalman????????? If I am wrong I am sorry but I think there have been a few. Again I know these may not seem special to us but they are to some so who gets to say what spots are ok to tell and what spots are only for a few???? Please don't take this the wrong way I like the Canalman very much and think he is not doing anything he feels is wrong but why not wright about all the places you two have and keep to your self. I just find it funny to see who is talking about keeping places out of the publics eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with JohnR -- some spots really aren't that secret. Most of the ones I fish aren't. They're in books on "good spots", posts online, magazines, you name it. Nothing is secret except for my favorite rock to stand on.

Bud, all I can tell You is Im old school.
and been burned big time by quite a few people
the crouds change through the years. But I know one thing rocks dont move and sand does.
If I told you a stage of the tide and to be some where I would be po'd if ya showed up with a clan.


exactly amen brother!

I got a couple spots no body knows about.. some know the general area, but they dont know the exact location..

Its going to stay that way for a long time-

greedy?? maybe. protective?? yes.

Greg,

I'm not sure if that was a dig or a complement... :). I have written only a few spot specific articles and I have gotten flack about it only once. I try HARD not to write about spots but sometimes they are assigned to me and I have to, well I guess I could say no... in fact I have once or twice. It's funny though when I have written a "spot specific" article I have never seen an increase in fishing pressure. Could be that people think I suck, or the spots I write about are too far off the beaten path or people just read the Fisherman on the toilet and forget what they read by next weeks issue.... I really don't know........ but I do read it on the toilet :laughs:

-Dave

Fisherman and On the water are in my bathroom library! :hee:

Dave - people think you suck...


One thing I hate is that the maggies (and some sites and people) focus so much on spots spots spots followed with reports and reports. Obviously, that is where there bread and butter readership drives them to, but rarely does a proctectionist mentality creep into the articles.

How many articles have you seen that the author says access is private or cutting through yards?

It is one thing to show someone you trust HOW to quietly and respectfuly access an area, especially private, it is quite another to post about accessing a place that is mostly private with little proper public access and get people all juiced up to get into a place. Then some of these people, not courteous of the area, go an eff it all up making noise, leaving trash, cutting through yards.

I can honestly say, and we'll use "Q" for an example, that the amount of traffic across private land to access a public space is ruining it just as fast as the excessive traffic that can be read online, in the mags, or at the local baitshops. If you go to "C" you don't need to violate any of that but at "Q" you do. So when/if we lose "Q", who is at fault?

If we loose Q, it will probably be my fault, as I pissed off a couple of homeowners there last fall when I thought for sure they would be gone for the winter and I parked/cut through their house and low and behold they were not gone for the winter or may down for the weekend or something and they gave me a piece of their mind. D'Oh. Sorry guys, call me an a$$ if you must.

I don't go there anymore. I stay with where I grew up. Green hill to the Pier.

If we loose Q, it will probably be my fault, as I pissed off a couple of homeowners there last fall when I thought for sure they would be gone for the winter and I parked/cut through their house and low and behold they were not gone for the winter or may down for the weekend or something and they gave me a piece of their mind. D'Oh. Sorry guys, call me an a$$ if you must.

I don't go there anymore. I stay with where I grew up. Green hill to the Pier.

If we lose "Q" it is all of our fault for not fighting for our constitutional water access rights being constantly infringed upon by the pompous landowners who live around "Q" and who constantly spit in our faces, the faces of the DEM, the faces of the CRCM, and the law by putting up fake "private" signs and unlawful rock blockades to the end of "Q".

I got a couple spots no body knows about.. some know the general area, but they dont know the exact location..

Its going to stay that way for a long time-

greedy?? maybe. protective?? yes.
jeez, you guys slam me for this stuff but you all do it!

If we lose "Q" it is all of our fault for not fighting for our constitutional water access rights being constantly infringed upon by the pompous landowners who live around "Q" and who constantly spit in our faces, the faces of the DEM, the faces of the CRCM, and the law by putting up fake "private" signs and unlawful rock blockades to the end of "Q".

Yes and no, we as a community that gets involved (usually, or on rare occasions :fishslap: ) could/should be doing more to lean on DEM/CRMC for making access available and properly known, but what percentage of knuckleheads are not members of these groups or are not somehow informed by these groups? 80%? As a "group" I'm willing to bet the 75% DON'T know or care about preserving access and 20% purely don't give a rat's ass and would just as soon make noise and comotion and trash because they care about nobody but themselves.

Many of these same people check out the reports and maggies or bleed off a tackle shop purely for spot & report info as its their devine right to be there and damn the rest.

DEM is a decent organization hamstrung by lack of resources, CRMC is an organization that will side with the landowners more often than not than the general public or what is in the interests of John Q Public. With CRMC, if I had a house on the water and wanted a dock I would likely have a survey report state that I would likely infringe on potential eelgrass restoration programs in the 22nd century. If I was loaded with clout, numeric or political, they'd be tripping over themselves recommending piledriving barges.

I got a couple spots no body knows about.. some know the general area, but they dont know the exact location..

Its going to stay that way for a long time-

greedy?? maybe. protective?? yes.


I think this is the key, most people know general locations, but it's those special rocks, or that little hole you found that need to be protected. Those spots where there is only room for one or two people.
Although I thought I found a couple a special rock only to show up one day to a few people fishing from it, it was on supposedly private property also, go figure...

jeez, you guys slam me for this stuff but you all do it!

One of those spots we both fish :hee:

The others you know about.. and eels are not allowed. :hihi:

John-

You're right -- I meant the people who actually care.

what Mike P said //

But also ya get to a point in life & ya think about all the things ,Tricks <places , that are in your memory bank ,thru hard work or some kind fisherman /// do ya want to take ya knowledge with ya when ya go // or do you let it out /& if sooooooooooo to who & when /// I have no one to hand my knowledge down too // someone should know about the banking rocks trick //.<.,., Its something I have been pondering == give it all up now & then live a while longer hoping I don,t get burned while I,m alive // or seeing that we don,t know when its time [[usually]] I may want to let go /but not right now // & then something happens & I can,t ////

this is all kinda stupid /because between the internet & good fisherman writing pretty accurate articles [[OH BOY]] on places , and how too,s // I call it selling your souls for a few bucks // its not very difficult to become a descent fisherman without doing any heavy duty homework ..,. :faga:


Selling my soul for a few bucks? :huh: I don't need anyone's "spots" and don't we have anything of value to dicuss here on this board anymore besides spot insecurity? Unbeleivable................... :doh:

Flap - give us something good to discuss, dig into your Bag-O-Tricks and start a worthwhile topic, PLEASE :tooth:

The summer doldrums are almost as bad as the cabin fever shaknasties...

I can't WAIT for the fall run to start...

thought I found big spot on my :bshake: but come to find out it only a milk dud that I sat on last week.

Thanks cape sam's... I actually chuckled during my lunch hour...how you doing lately???

the interblab appears to have come full circle... in the beginning, people would draw maps of where to find fish, then spots got burned, people got pissed, yada yada yada...now, fishing reports have now become a chest thumping exercise of "look at me, i catch heap big fish all night long but because i had to climb a 300-ft cliff and walk 21 miles over hot coals i'm not telling you where, na na na"...complete waste of bandwidth...

i don't need to know the exact rock you were standing on, but could you at least clue me in as to what state you were fishing in???... :fishslap:

thought I found big spot on my :bshake: but come to find out it only a milk dud that I sat on last week.

:laughs:

Guys and Gals - it is JUST the Internet, not some holier than thou, prime importance, fate of the free world in the balance type of entity...

If we lose "Q" it is all of our fault for not fighting for our constitutional water access rights being constantly infringed upon by the pompous landowners who live around "Q" and who constantly spit in our faces, the faces of the DEM, the faces of the CRCM, and the law by putting up fake "private" signs and unlawful rock blockades to the end of "Q".


amen- as someone from ct. who owns a house in that town (but not in that exact location) i find it appalling how those people act. although i avoid that spot because it's crowded i plan on fishing it this fall in the hopes being able to "discuss" some of the illegaly posted no tresspassing signs......

Dave a little of both you know or should know how much I like the articles you have done. Capesams thats great now you got me thinking I need to look for spots at home in the bathroom. :doh: By the way Clammer and I stold a new hot spot from a few guys the other night out to the islands. They were trolling tubes in a area about the size of my house back and forth and getting fish. So when they left I took a ride over and marked the spot on the gps and don't you know they came flying back over from about 4 miles away to push us out. All I wanted to do was see what the bottom looked like and we moved back to were we had been getting fish all night. So if any of you guys would like a new hot spot let me know and I will post the numbers here :cheers: and we can all enjoy this guys spot.

I have stripes no spots .

I just fish everyone elses spots .

anyone want to tell me where to go ................................ to catch fish ?

exactly amen brother!
#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& I know some thing an i wanna tell ya but i cant and its killin me cause i know u wanna phish it.

My best spots are accessible through private propetry, or a long trek from public way. Anyone I've taken has been told in advance that it is MY access, gained from the landowner, and they are welcome today but it's not available unless I give an invite. Sounds pompous? I don't care. Got over twenty properties to access. I also don't let my 12 yr old son go through on his own yet. While he has had a quantum leap in his fishing skill and interest, I am more comfortable walking him through personally. I'll probably let him out on his own next year, after he has read this thread in order to understand the process of how one selects who you bring where..... He's become my best fishing companion.

Q is easy to get around.

Just float in your wetsuit out to the tip of the breachway. Hope you're a good swimmer. :hihi:

Nothing's worse than sharing a spot and not being able to use it again because it's crowded. The feeling of betrayal by your bud and stupidity by yourself is awful. I'm ultra careful now. :faga:

Nothing's worse than sharing a spot and not being able to use it again because it's crowded. :faga:

Had a guy write an article in one of the local fishing magazines about a spot. Gave exact directions including where to park, everything but a GPS cordinate.:(Ten years ago ya had to work to get there but could fish it alone.

Now it's elbow to elbow.:angry: Won't go back.

Ran into a guy who lives 3 hours away from the spot who had fished it 2 days before and was going back on the weekend. Lives 3 hours away but knows about the spot.

How much could he have made on the article to make it worth loosing the spot for the rest of his life, let alone mine.:huh:

thought I found big spot on my :bshake: but come to find out it only a milk dud that I sat on last week.

U know ur gettin up in age.Are u sure it wasn't a turtle pokin his head out from the inside.

couldn't b...made soup outta him a month ago.

Ahhhh what spot & what fish :faga:

5/0

What about the dudes who drive around lookin for certain fisherman instead of the fish....what skills what skills. computers sux

How much could he have made on the article to make it worth loosing the spot for the rest of his life, let alone mine.:huh:

Most magazines pay chump change. If you're particular about what you put your name to, you work many hours on an article. You write, redraft, edit once, re-write it, edit it again, then send it off for the editor to add his little pieces to it. You don't get paid nearly enough for the amount of work you do, if you have any professional pride in what caries your name in a by-line. No one ever got rich writing for a weekly like The Fisherman. Some guys do it for the love of writing. Some guys do it to get a foot in the door---you're now in the "club", you're "plugged in", you get to attend writers' meetings and maybe get a chance to field test some gear, and there's always hope that one of the national monthlies take note. Some guys do it for the thrill of seeing their name in print. Some guys do it becauase they like to impart information and before the internet, the print media was the only way to reach a large audience. But no one does it for the money, because it pays crap.

What about the dudes who drive around lookin for certain fisherman instead of the fish....what skills what skills. computers sux

Happened to us Friday night :devil2:
then the idiot does a u-turn right in back of us except instead of turning away from the water, he shines his lights right on us and into the water. :huh: WTF
Guy asked Dave if we got anything and he walked within 3 feet away from him and didn't say a word and kept looking straight ahead totally ignoring him. We left.

It takes time and experience to learn how to find spots and how to fish them, why give them away for nothing? :confused: Getting to be time to fish off a boat the way it's going. :(

It is no different in boats Bruce. People drive around, in boats, looking for certain boats. I have done it when desperate enough. Still a much better feeling when you find your fish yourself instead of being told where to go. Doing things the easy way are not quite as satisfying to me as doing them the hard way and succeeding. All that aside I have been looking for any boat on the water as this year has been one of my worst. I hope no one is following me. If they are they don't follow for long. Paul