Just an observation by me.

Yesterday there was a thread going on FB about the Canal. I know it has been a S*&^% show for awhile now, especially on the breaking tides, but this thread was crazy. Over 100 comments and some rather derogatory comments being thrown around.
Now I know I'm an old bastard and probably have no right criticizing anything but WTF has happened to this sport???
It's fishing for Christ sake!!

Seems like there is a certain group that uses the cell phones to spot jump anyone hooking up. Is there no honor anymore? Doesn't anyone consider this a sport or is it "catch the biggest fish and screw everyone in the process"?

I stopped fishing the canal 3 years ago. I miss fishing with Tony O, the Professor, Andy and Tyler and a few others and I feel for them as this has been their go to spot for 20+ years. Now it seems to have been taken over by misfits.

JMO.:hidin:

You're right, Paul. It seems like it's getting worse every day. I don't pay attention to all the drama on FB and other sites. I fish the canal from late June through October and have found ways to avoid the crowds and still catch a few fish. I rarely run into anyone when I go because I don't chase the reports, and most of the guys that do are in bed while I'm fishing.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I guess the bites on at the canal.
Welcome to the information age
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I hear you Paul. disrespectful jerks have been around for a long time it seems, add selfish spoiled rotten to that and you get no etiquette at all.
I hate getting there early only to get crowded out but it has come to that and expected I guess since the banks are lined practically the whole 7 miles some weekends. Fishing in larger groups of guys you know helps but there are times you just want to find your own fish and not be bothered. I have fished it less and less each year but when I do I like following Paul M around and learning from him, I would show him jigging but he doesn't seem to want to do that much at all. As I get older, I have less desire for the cell phone crowds or the slippery rocks down there. The last 2 times I went it was more about seeing people than catching. Everybody is a hero with a cell phone. And what is with the up to the minute pictures of fish on FB? Who does that and why would you? I guess some need to feel important.
sorry for my rant , I don't know how it's ever going to get better

Purpose of my thread was just food for thought. Seems like the guys I most respect agree with me.

Oh yeah, and thank God I have Clammer, Denis and Joe to fish with on the Bay.:gh:

Can't say about the impact on fishing but it does amaze me how people A) think it's ok to post offensive or inflammatory material and B) don't realize who could be seeing it. The racism and hatred are really ugly...but what I see on facebook pales in comparrison to what people post on comment feeds of news and blog sites, especially the political ones.

Even if it's with good intentions. A site member yesterday posted a very graphic pic of what was left of a girl's feet after a motorcycle accident wearing flip flops. I don't really want to open my browser and see that or worse have my kid walk up and ask what that's about.

It has gotten worse every year and its not just FB....these fishing forums kicked it all off its sad but true!! I fish there less every year as well......no tolerance for the jack-offs that stand between the 5 poles where the fish were caught yesterday.......the mentality of people amazes me......they have to go all the way through the canal to get to those 5 poles soooooooo........come on people!!!! Wake up!!! I find it more and more difficult to pull myself away from my kayak!!!! Its a little slice of heaven wherever I choose to fish! Might just roll my canal bike into the ditch one day and say screw it!! They can have it!

It has gotten worse every year and its not just FB....these fishing forums kicked it all off its sad but true!! I fish there less every year as well......no tolerance for the jack-offs that stand between the 5 poles where the fish were caught yesterday.......the mentality of people amazes me......they have to go all the way through the canal to get to those 5 poles soooooooo........come on people!!!! Wake up!!! I find it more and more difficult to pull myself away from my kayak!!!! Its a little slice of heaven wherever I choose to fish! Might just roll my canal bike into the ditch one day and say screw it!! They can have it!

Larry, I agree. I'm spending all my fishing time on my boat and loving it.

I remember back 10+ years ago when Fishing Chat Boards (no offense SB.com) were just starting up, social media wasn't even close to what it was today and cell phone technology consisted of a flip thingy with a crappy camera.
Sure I was caught up in the hype wanting to be the "one" who caught the big fish that day or the "one" who caught the first fish of the season etc (made me feel like I knew what I was doing).....after meeting some great people, fisherman, and learning a heck of a lot I would not have if it wasn't for "it"......I realized it was doing some damage. It began to disgust me, peeve me and really p^ss me off. Now, I watch from the sidelines.....never post any reports or pictures of my fish. But man, sometimes I want to....just not like before. I have witnessed friendships broken, ties severed. A shame for sure....
Now, I just do my own thing.....just happy to get out when I can get out with my busy lifestyle. Hi Tide, low tide and any tide between. I agree with BF....the serenity in a Kayak is bliss.

Facebook and all the "intelligence draining" sites like it are only part of the problem. With a society that has morphed into an "immediate-information" society, people can't wait for anything.
Patience?.... that's gone the way of etiquette, morals and logic.
It's been replaced with greed, egotism, and "selfless-selfies" as the virtues of the day!

I rarely fish the salt during the day, for fear of running into any of these social rejects. Luckily, most of these "internet zero/hero"s are afraid of the dark!

I tend to spend more time kayak fishing small rivers and ponds and maybe a salt trip or two in some backwater areas.

Another thing to be happy about...because these internet zeros have to have the latest camera/phone upgrades every year, they can't afford to buy a watercraft (let alone move out of their parents basement).

How's that for a non-rant???

Everyone has gasoline in their piss. You piss on the fire to put it out, it just gets bigger. Best to just ignore it and stay quiet.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Cancel your facebook page and take your life back...

(Never had one... things seem simpler this way)

Cancel your facebook page and take your life back...

(Never had one... things seem simpler this way)

I agree....and good advise. I have one and only have about 20
connections. Most of them surfcasters, but not one of them
actually posts fish or spots.

I myself, am not a Facebooker. I do not post. For me It is not a tool
for fishing, and I am oblivious to the raunchy antics. It is nice to see
keep in touch with peeps though. I use it mostly as a message board.

Good to know to stay clear of the canal.

I guess the bites on at the canal.

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

where ? where- where exactly?

i'll be right over -lol

I am on FB all the time.......rarely an issue and its never fishing related! Stay away from the group scenario.........I have no dog in their fight! I fish for enjoyment......not headaches!

PS-I love Facebook! Its a blast when you use it correctly but hey, if your an #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& your an #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&! Does not matter where you are or when you are....you just are!

FB, what's that?

I lose enough time bothering u guys here....:huh:

I am on FB all the time.......rarely an issue and its never fishing related! Stay away from the group scenario.........I have no dog in their fight! I fish for enjoyment......not headaches!

PS-I love Facebook! Its a blast when you use it correctly but hey, if your an #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& your an #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&! Does not matter where you are or when you are....you just are!

I was not talking about FB in the broader scope, just as it relates to the canal and the crap that's going on. FB has it's place in society, like it or not.

It is what it is and it's not getting any better. Phones, Internet at a seconds notice (iphones and the like) and FB are all contributors but I also attribute a lot to the outer beaches being full of seals and ORV permits being difficult. I've talked to a number of people, like myself, that used to fish the outer beaches exclusively and have turned to the Canal because of the "issues" out there.

I just go about my business, don't get in a huff and try to have fun. I am just as happy away from the crowds trying to catch a fish. People seem to "mass" up at the one spot from "yesterdays bite" and I just go elsewhere. There's plenty of room.

I can't get all bent on it. It's just a sign of the times and there, quite frankly, is nothing I can do to change it so why get upset.

Now if someone tried to fish in my pocket, I'll say something, but normally, I fish with a few I know. Just this past weekend, I met a guy and he couldn't have been nicer. He even offered to move down so I could grab a spot next to him. I took a few casts but felt like I was encroaching. I just watched pops fish for a while and laughed at the mayhem around me! ;)

Cancel your facebook page and take your life back...

(Never had one... things seem simpler this way)



+1

Wish fishermen could be like Barry Sanders, he'd just hand the ref the ball after a touchdown. Act like he has done it before.

I do get a kick out of the chest wader wearing bike mob, especially the cool ninja bat belts.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Moved three times this morning to have peace. Each place filled up, because I am a legend, just happens.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Yup ,Yup an Yup. Internet,cell phones,seals an poor fishing in other places means that easy access places are mobed.Paul can't get over never runnin into me at the ditch. The night is your freind. Still plenty of fish just not the surface action.Nor the crowds. Night time selfies don't come out good. Instant heros and pros all want to be famous so they load the net and their cells with pics an comments. I stop fishing most days there at 6 but at times I hold my ground and fish. If that means crossin someones lines cause he thinks it's ok to do a 100 yard drift with 30 people 20 ft apart then it's his problem. The Canal rangers were talkin about manning the gate from 6 to 8 at night on weekends due to crowds an income potential. i don't know much about facebook as don't have it but its part of the problem yes. But not the whole problem. Easy access draws crowds.

I do get a kick out of the chest wader wearing bike mob, especially the cool ninja bat belts.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Lol! I'm one.of those waders wearing ninjas ,and I wear the same belt there as I wear in my wetsuit so yup thats me !! I was parked in front of you the other day, didn't see you to say hello though.

In the past I've been guilty of posting pics too here and on FB. I was new to fishing in general but I was taught quickly by many people on this site not only how to fish but proper etiquette.

That particular thread Paul mentioned is about what it's like down there now. "My spot" ,"pro staff" etc. The really ironic part of that is today the OP of that thread and many others are posting live pics from this morning , and tomorrow they'll be complaining about people down there.

Last year I fished down there less than ever, Ty and I spent a lot of time in many other areas catching by ourselves most of the time. He's big enough now for me to get him a wet suit so he can join me in other places.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I don't want to sound like a broken record as I've said this before at least a few times, but I sometimes wonder if the friends I've made due to sites like this one are worth what sites like this one (as well as MANY others including FB) have done not only to the places I fish, but to the sport as a whole.
It's free advertisement, not only for gear, for spots that are seeing action, and more importantly for self-empowerment.
When guys that have been around for a LONG time think of how "it used to be"....they'll remember how great it was. You can toss that philosophy out the window. Things are NOT going to get better. Many guys post less, some no longer at all due to things that have happened either to close friends, or themselves due to social media.
I feel bad for guys who came to this party late....a lot of the new guys on here seem to be decent folk. Due to all the drama over the years, I've lost that passion to meet new people.....everyone seems to have an agenda nowadays.

When guys like Clammer talk about the "old" days.....that's when I feel it most. Sure we had our drama-boys back then, but for the most part...we were a solid group,..

How destructive is FB (to fishing) you ask? IMO....It's a powerful tool. Probably destroys as many friendships as it creates.

illy , I thought I was your friend , But you never took me fishing anywhere ......at least we [all] had the HOOTERS meetings <><><

Mike, you got no choice but to be my friend.
suck it up and love it, you're lucky I don't live closer, I'd be sleeping over!

Gilly, I really miss your cartoons

It's nice to see level headed people post on this thread

I have alot to say about this issue, but It's pretty much all been said. I would rather not fish than fish in a crowd with a bunch of chest thumping bullies. I knew it was over when I fished alone there I started to carry a weapon

Canal rats in my experience feel they are owed something and the canal is theirs and theirs alone .. be there when the fish push thru and you to can be a successful as any regular canal fisherman

illy , I thought I was your friend , But you never took me fishing anywhere ......<><><


sad really

Well, it appears that I am not alone in my thoughts on the FB/Canal debacle. Glad there are still a lot of level heads about.

On the plus side, I have gotten to fish near Clammer and Denis a lot this year. I'm gonna try and run this AM but I just checked the buoys and 25knts at Conimicut Light may be too much.

Paulie , its fu ckin blowin , but Denis is already on his way :gorez:


gilly , no problem sleeping over .I,m use to sleeping with the Portaguese temper/ never forget I was married to one for 36 tears of great adventures & battles ><>< its been waaaaaaaaay too long my friend ><><>

It would simpler to ask "How constructive is FB?"

The list would be a hell of a lot shorter!

As to Bloocrab's statement, the friends you've met through these sites were met and made AFTER the initial online chatter.
Any "real" bonding took place once you got away from the computer and stepped outside!

Like most scientific and technological advances, they started out with great plans of advancing mankind but ended up making us their b*tches!!! You cannot go ANYWHERE today and not see some techno-tard with a phone or ipad/ipod in their hands.

With the continued "dumbing-down" of today's society, Jesus Christ could make his second coming, and these idiots wouldn't know until it got pasted online.

I don't have FB, I tell friends and family I don't need that because I have PHONEBOOK!!!

they still make a phonebook ????

they still make a phonebook ????

you should see the looks I get when I look up a number on my rolodex... people I work with think I'm senile...

Put me in the camp that still thinks your business is your own and I don't feel the need to share it with everyone in the world...

The FB/Canal post could be used as an analogy for many other situations/locations. It's a world of instant information but of course it comes down to how one uses it from an etiquette/discretionary perspective.

Personally I find FB great for connecting with friends & family and post many pictures (mostly sunrises & other family stuff) but when I do post fishing related pictures, they are usually nondescript. I always try to snap a "location neutral" picture. If I can't, I simply don't post.

I've seen other social media tools/FB/online boards where boaters have posted pictures with exceptional details on the where & when. Same crowding happens almost immediately. Just like the canal on my bike, I simply move my boat and go find fish elsewhere.

Crowds don't bother me as much as rude people without common sense or courtesy. This is really what it boils down to imho.

What you are seeing is a complete decay of society. Instant gratification, ect. the new generation are a bunch of spoiled brats that can't do anything unless their phone tells them to. Everyone wants it NOW, whether you're on the road (everyone drives like they stole the f-ing thing) or waiting in a checkout line. Everything is fast paced and needs to be instant.... Rant over.
I don't do facebook or fish the canal anymore. I don't need the BS in my life. Like catching fish in a barrel anyhow. :) Peace.

As a rule I never accept friend requests from anyone holding a fish that I don't know. I think it's saved me a lot of agony.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I am on FB but dont really follow it for fishing other than a few peeps ....dont belong to any fishing groups or anything...so I really can't say for myself the effect it has had. I also admit I dont come around here as much either and in general dont even fish the salt as much either but thats more of "life" and work taking effect. I can say that it's not like "the good old days". There was a time when I first found this site (and really only stuck to this site, not any others) that I felt truly comfortable making the meets and fishing with folks I never even met before, in essence, strangers! That is saying a lot for someone like me who has social anxiety AND being female in what can be considered mostly a "man's world". 99.9999% of my experiences with folks on the site back then when it was a much smaller group were so good, positive and my own social awkwardness aside.... I never felt uncomfortable meeting up or with anyone "from the internet" in a "stranger danger" sort of way. I have met many great folks and was always mostly humbled and in awe of most folks skill and generosity to share their knowledge. Never regret any of it other than I didnt captialize on the opportunities like I could have at the time.

So what changed? Maybe getting older, a larger group of folks, less of a "small group feel"? who knows...probably all of the above. What I do know it we will never have "the good ole days" back but with that said I remember folks complaining about spot burns then as well and it wasn't all just internet burns....it was the fishing mags and reports, the radio chatter, etc. It has always been something but now with social media (FB) I am sure word just spreads further and faster then any of us would like with less actual personal relations!

illy , I thought I was your friend , But you never took me fishing anywhere ......at least we [all] had the HOOTERS meetings <><><

Why are you suing Hooters?? You Irish prick!! Saw it on the news today...don't deny it!

Guz they wear bra,s & their tits don,t giggle in my face :morons: you greenhorn Port :love:

Jenn you sweet ass woman .it would have sucked out there today :love:

The ONLY way we'd have any semblance of returning to the "good old days" would be if they suddenly discover that holding a cellphone against your head 24/7 really DOES cause brain damage (wait, doesn't already do that????) or if we experience a MASSIVE solar flare that completely fries all the telecommunication networks.

Of course we'll lose access to all those consciousness expanding, mind altering tv shows like "I am Cait", "The Kardashians" or ANY show on TLC.....

If either of these were to happen, imaging the insanity that would ensue because so many of todays "technotards" couldn't boil water unless they googled it online first.

Then we "craftsmen" and "craftswomen" would be the ones with the power and knowledge to survive!

Remember, when you relinquish your control to a machine that can fail in so many ways, you have already lost! It's not a matter of "IF" it will fail, but just "WHEN" it will.

FB was just the "tip of the info-idiocy" iceberg.

I like FB, but I don't trust it. What I don't like is the SelfJusticeMob that comes with it - makes the SurfFroumPosses of the of days look tame.

But - everyone gets to be a publisher, the further crowdsourcing of the social experiment

Wish fishermen could be like Barry Sanders, he'd just hand the ref the ball after a touchdown. Act like he has done it before.
Well, that and everyone would get 17 minutes in a spot and every hour some kommisar would come along and take all your good plugs and give 'em to backwinders. #PlugRedistrution, #AllPlugsMatter #CheckYourAnglerPrivelege

But I kid, I kid :hihi:

the whole selfy thing is mental

fb is horrid ...i hate their policies

It bums me out too. I used to enjoy going there on the breaking tides before 3 or 4 years ago. Sadly, the place is a zoo now. I've said it many times before, but I think fishing has become a new fad, which explains why there are so many more people around. Difference is, their deep down attitude towards fishing is a means of getting attention and looking cool, and Facebook is the way to get that. "Look at me, I caught a 20-lb striper during a blitz!", and they're hoping to get a pat on the back and some comments from a bunch of people that now think fishing is cool because it's all over the idiot box. Take that #^&#^&#^&#^& away and they're nothing more than wannabes. I miss when fishing was for oddballs.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Maybe it could be time for a major fishing "misinformation event"??

You know, send tweets or pokes (or whatever the terms are) to draw the fools in, and send them someplace else where we all know there are no fish.

** "Hey, the fish are breaking like crazy on White Horse Beach, 20lbers are practically beaching themselves."**

**"Get you arse down to Duxbury Beach, there are albies and cow bass blitzing all the way out to the point!"**

Luckily the fools wouldn't realize they've been punked :bshake: until after the "tides had turned"...:laugha:

Maybe a post like "the time to catch 50#er's is when the surf is charged up and the waves are 6' or larger at Hazards Rock and Beavertail". You know they can't help themselves. They'll go to the edge just to get a selfy of a huge wave breaking or creating behind them.
A little misdirection never hurts, well, most times doesn't hurt.

It bums me out too. I used to enjoy going there on the breaking tides before 3 or 4 years ago. Sadly, the place is a zoo now. I've said it many times before, but I think fishing has become a new fad, which explains why there are so many more people around. Difference is, their deep down attitude towards fishing is a means of getting attention and looking cool, and Facebook is the way to get that. "Look at me, I caught a 20-lb striper during a blitz!", and they're hoping to get a pat on the back and some comments from a bunch of people that now think fishing is cool because it's all over the idiot box. Take that #^&#^&#^&#^& away and they're nothing more than wannabes. I miss when fishing was for oddballs.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

They say history repeats itself. I wonder if it will ever go back to "the good old days". I doubt it with the proliferation of social media but one can hope.

I have rarely traveled along the canal shore road on the cape side of the canal, but have been this spring to get to a black sea bass kayak launch site and it's staggering how many vehicles are parked along the canal every morning. I'd say zoo is a good description of what that place might be like every weekend morning.

Hate FB! Made a page a few years ago. My wife lurks on my page to spy on people. Every few days I get in trouble cuz someone posts something inappropriate to her standards that I have nothing to do with. I hate it!

Facebook been berry berry bad to my brother.

I like to post pictures well after the fact, and try to not give out specifics.

I think what I saw today was like 30 % FB, 30% whoever is doing the Outer Cape report now that Nelsons is closed, and another 30 % OTW trying to sell Striper Cup spots.

If you ask me, as much as I like to read OTW, their gorilla email blasts and fishing reports seem just as likely a candidate as Facebook for blowing up spots.

Just like Zuckerburg needs to make money selling ad space, those OTW guys gotta do the same thing....

I tell you what, though...just like we did in the old times. Keep a log, note the patterns year to year, and launch or fish when it's dark will always get a fish. Facebook or not.

Just my two cents. I do really like Facebook for non-fishing related networking and keeping up with friends who live far away.

Rick

Hate FB! Made a page a few years ago. My wife lurks on my page to spy on people. Every few days I get in trouble cuz someone posts something inappropriate to her standards that I have nothing to do with. I hate it!

I hear that My GF apparently pays very close attention to mine. I have to friggin explain why some girl i haven't seen in 2o years who lives 700 miles away "likes" something on my page. Its great for keeping in touch with people but its also caused a lot of needless drama in my life. It was easier before FB.