agreed.. I am guilty of hitting the political forum and need to step away its quicksand.. But its not my primary reason for using the site ..

I like the chance to PM guys with current Intel or get some intel on whats & where the action is ..seeing most of us are not on the water 7 days a week its a great resource to economize and make that 1 trip of the week if thats all you can do a success :claps: rather than :fury:

If you are fishing then your day is already successful.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Don't have FB, won't join FB. Keep it. When I want to talk fishing I want to talk to anglers, not clueless folks I'm hoping to impress.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

If you want more pics etc: up the limit size on pics and allow videos direct....mine all go to FB or YouTube. I don't really give a rats ass about someone's "bad" comments on a kept legal fish, I like eating fish of all kinds, and yes even stripers once in a while. My total striper catch this year = 1 !

I think the striped bass decline that happened around 2006 purged a lot of people from fishing frequently in the surf at least and that is one reason why the site isn't like it usta was.. But I still love this place!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I've never joined FB because it just seems too time consuming, but I've been here for 14 years. I don't post much and mostly not fishing related, because I don't feel I'm of the caliber of many here; like Yogi Berra said, "What can I say that hasn't already been said before," and I'm not going to post just to hear the sound of my own e-voice But I'm here most every day, probably giving the impression of being a lurker, but in reality a learner, because of the wealth and variety of intelligent posts on many subjects, both fishing and non-fishing. I've been to a few TFCTF's and wish I could have been at them all (and with a little more confidence in my abilities joined a "leg" or three). And I've met a number of folks face to face, but also interact with many I only know online, all great people, full of sage advice, caring and often humor. And it's all monitored so things don't get out of hand. What wouldn't one like about this site? When I see a "Keeping The Lights On" post I contribute in some manner (John, hope my last donation made it to the Linesider PO box or I'll send another). I'm proud to have the decal on my truck and I only wear my S-B hat (anyone still have them?) on special occasions.
Well, another reason I hesitate to post is I can ramble on a bit and lose focus (duhhhh!), but my point is I don't need or want something else. S-B.com is just the thing for me, the only thing for me. I'd be quite lost without this site, but it still wouldn't make me join FB or any other social media or fishing site.

I think that's a valid point. You see a fraction of the people out there now compared to 10 years ago.

I also think information is so readily available on FB that a lot of these new age fisherman see no point in coming here. All they need is a real time pic and off they go. Drives me insane - no one reads, logs, skunks,etc because they can find where the fish are without actually putting in any work.

I'm one of the younger members on here, but I respect the people on here and I will always be appreciative of the friendships I've made because of this site. I've also learned more from this site than probably anywhere else. I will always come to this site, because like someone stated earlier, real fishing conversations take place here. I also think that this site has the greatest concentration of highly skilled anglers anywhere. Again, I'll always be here...

No Cutty, Plugfest or Too Cold on FB. Would be nice to have a few legs again. Started some conversations about the Block leg coming back from Cutty.

Maybe I will start a new thread for leg suggestions and potential participation and see where that goes. Might be a little late for a Spring leg unless we do the North shore.

Wonder how much traffic is on the club pages v the main pages?

No face book for me.. I don't know much about it nor do I care to know... my issue is time management... the older I get the more precious it becomes........If I didn't surf the web on my breaks and while waiting for phone calls... I'd never go "on line" ...I enjoy my time on SB because most here share a common thing.. the love for striped bass.. this is one of the few places those people come together.... all my life I've enjoyed learning from the "elders' about fishing and life in general..SB.com can and is such a learning place for future generations.. at 61.. I've reached or am approaching that stage myself... the "teachers " of our youth are slowly fading away...leaving us older folks to carry on.. today will be the good old days for our children...tomorrow will leave our grandchildren wondering what happened to the "good old days" their parents enjoyed...only the rocks live forever...

and it seems that fishing has changed...instant gratification mob mentality...electronics...swarm...swarm...swarm... .no time for discussion of tackle and tactics gotta drive forever to get to the hottest bite and fish elbow to elbow or bow to stern crushing fish....go pro's and hero shots.....team fishing....to each his/her own....I'd rather fish alone for hours with no fish than suffer any amount of time elbow to elbow in a crowd catching big fish with all the antics...but again...it's all in what you want out of it....the problem with fishing discussions is you can only discuss how to load a redfin of fish a metal lip so many times...most has been done or discussed over and over...no one wants to post current stuff for fear that their sacred spot will be trampled....i love and find fascinating the plug building stuff but who has time for that anymore...there's plastic !...lot's of plastic...life has become plastic

True! Very true!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

So, in the beginning, like we all said, there was a core group of contributors that were on the site. For whatever reason, I think we retained about 30% of the core users.

Now, if what people say about the decline from 2006-2014, that would mean that we probably didn't attract the "young people", like Paul said.

Maybe we put up a booth at the RISSA show this year. I bet we'd get some new users.

This means we now have to have a wicked packed TFCTFN to pay for a RISSA booth. I can run with this idea if you guys like it.

OK, gotta fly. The job hunt continues.
Rick

I with you Rick and you know you can count on me to totally help.

Another Idea: Why not an SB.com Striper, Fluke and Bluefish Tournament all Catch and Release. I am in the Pabts Blue Ribbon Tourney and it's all C&R. Cash first prizes for each species and weekly results get posted on SB.com. I'm willing to bet we'd get a lot of new members.

I think a weekend Block Island Tourney in Early November would draw interest also. I know the fishing hasn't been the greatest on the Block in the Fall but I still do it all alone for 3 days as there is a mystique about the place in November.

Oh and NOTHING involving the Canal. Too many asshats as it's too easy to get to.

This is still my favorite site to read and learn and ask questions. Use msba facebook and falmouth fishermans facebook and stan gibbs facebook to keep finger on that pulse. Keep finger on family via regular facebook. I avoid posting anything political on any site, my personal rule as I am not changing anybody's mind.
I enjoy big fish's blog too. Lot's of options may keep pisting here down.
First love is still fishing. Was out from 11pm to 1 am today. Fish pre dawn and dawn almost daily. Being retired helps.. Seeing sunrise, seeing nature hearing birds is great. Last night skies cleared and stars came out and i was casting at the big dipper. Sweet. Fishing the best, catching fun but not necessary. But I do love to catch.
We all have lot's of options. I love having this one too. Keep up the good work John. Guys and gals keep posting. I know people bitch about spot burns on photos, but lets face it there are no unknown spots, but maybe unknown tides. Chill folks.
I am still catching bass on plugs my dad perfected with info from rhe plug forum and he passed 3 years ago.
Would still love to read threads about working favorite lures etc. Personally I am working on perfecting " the dying baitfish twitch".
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I consider myself a younger member on this forum. Ive learned a ton from this site over the years. There is definitley a lack of younger guys on here. also it seems over the last ten years alot of the die hard surf guys smartened up and bought boats!!:laugha:

Going back about 8 years or so there was a ton of surf talk. Gear, tactics, reports ect. I only surf fish a couple times a year now, since buying a boat. theres a big presence of the boat crowd on facebook. Back when there was a large surf crowd there was a sense of community about fishing for 2 nights straight while sleeping in your car while the tide turned, cause you know other guys were doing the same thing. I used to spend a ton of time hanging out at the local tackle shop as well. I rarely do that anymore either.

I think a lot congregate at the canal; there are certainly less guys fishing though. I was at my local lighthouse last week on a nice night at dusk and beyond. After the lone scupper left at dark I had the run of the point. In June. Not the first time that has happened this year. Go figure...

I do it all still. Sleep in my car probably 3-4 nights a week. Only way I can afford to do this while not living by the water. I hang in a lot of the tackle shops, too. Neil at QL has become a good bud over the years. I don't even think I do it for the fish anymore. Just always loved the lifestyle. I will never abandon the old school mentality. Fish hard, live long
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

the people on this site continue to be some of the most helpful and most skilled anglers anywhere. I think its true we all need to make more of an effort to post and maybe even have some get togethers. I know my time is very tight now that I have two kids, when I started here I was all fishing all the time, so things change in that way, but I'm still here!

I'd be in, at least for a night of that :spin:

I agree Scott....thats why I am enjoying the hell out of my kayak! Maybe go with a buddy or two.......fish fresh or salt no matter! We got fish......NO CELL PHONE CALLS......and its relaxing and peaceful! Very spiritually fulfilling!! I do GoPro pretty heavy and take photos but the video does not get used until the off season!

This greenhorn is willing to help with that stuff iffin you want....

Thanks Gup. We will need all the help we can get.

I don't post often because I never get the time to wet a line anymore, but it's all of the old bastards that keeps this old bastard checking in every day! I don't have a FB account and have no desire.

I lurk on here regularly while in the office (usually check in a couple times a day), and occasionally from home, but rarely post. Mostly because I have really only met a couple of you...guessing that I am probably on the younger end of the age bracket than most of you (39), but I could be wrong

This is a great change of pace from the other site- a much more intimate setting with guys who seem to actually know each other- a genuine sense of camaraderie exists here that doesn't over there. And yet I feel more inclined to get involved in discussions and post over there for some reason...

I was tempted to make the plunge and commit to the Cutty trip- I think myself and the 5 guys I was with last year were just getting on the boat as you guys were getting off (Rob G. made the trip with us last year)...was tough to commit to it this year as historically speaking the June new moon timeframe is typically when some real quality fish show up in and around my home waters (I had my best surf night this past Saturday locally for both numbers and size)...We had an awful weather pattern when we went last year in early June and the guys who want to head back out there all thought it would be advantageous to shoot for at least one commando style trip somewhere in the August/September timeframe- hoping for more comfortable and favorable conditions (last year we got off the ferry on Cutty and had constant drizzle to driving rain and a steady 20+ mph NE wind the whole time)...Rob was the high rod on our trip as well!

I do not do facebook outside of a couple of public pages to check out charter captains reports or tackle shop reports of another $h!tsh0w at the canal.

Hopefully the S-B website remains viable for years to come- I certainly appreciate all of the contributions of the various members. So many years of surf knowledge resides here and to be able to apply some of that knowledge to my home waters is invaluable.

Putty

Im 22yo, dont have a FB... S-b is my facebook
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

This place has always been a great place to learn. What John an the others do is the best. to loose it would be sad an I hope it doesn't happen. Instant anything is bad too much bitchin n moanin is bad an too much critisism of other peoples fish makes it hard for others to post out of fear of the fish morality police. You can't tell about where you fish or what you use for fear of the spot burn police. Bein low tech keeps me from puttin up pics an most have my plugs in them so that stops me as I don't feel comfortable advertisin with pics. But we do need to maybe be a little less criticle so new faces aren't scared away. Many of us here don't do facebook. Plus like Ross an a few others were sayin this has just plain been a bitch of a year for all of us. More fun n get togethers will make a load of difference as long as it all isn't left to John an a couple others. That's part of what killed the Tri-State tournament.

this is my first time here . seems like a nice place maybe i will sit back , put up my feet order a joint ( new law working ) and sit back and watch the festivities .


FB is a joke . lots of internet hero's and braggarts . smart phones too have killed fishing . don't forget them ! even though a majority have them . I'm a network engineer for a major university ( that's what they tell us to say ) and i still have a flip phone . Best part of meetings is when I place my pad , pen and flip phone on the conference table . The looks are the funniest ever . I laugh at them . Everyone else has their laptop , tablet or 2 and smart phone .

Oh well I find it funny .
ok back to just sitting and watching and having a good smoke .

Oh yeah i came here to say something ........... Hello

I have FB but wouldn't think of using it for fishing. Summer time I get real busy with work (tree service) and it's generally a 6am to 9pm thing which doesn't leave much time to visit and post this SB site but I make several stops each week. It's nice to know it's there when you have a little free time or need some opinions/advice. I have already met some new friends because of this forum and hope to make many more. To say my recent trip to Cuttyhunk with the group was enjoyable would be the understatement of the year. It is going to be regular annual event for me for sure....good lord willing and the creek don't rise ! This inaugural Cutty trip was a HUGE learning curve for me, by next year I'll blend right in.

Thanks to all for helping me out and making that trip special...especially Ross.

Regarding the SBC site "I ain't going anywhere"
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

See, our conversation brought one of the true originals out of the woodwork. When I first started here, I used to find my landlord (of my restaurant) on my recent calls . I thought I was calling him in my sleep. I really did not like him. I pretty much like everybody, so that's a strong sentiment from me. I was about to confront him for messing with my phone and then realized that he and Chris share the same name. Yup, it was me calling chrisL. The restaurant turned me into a real vindictive bastard. Chris has always done his best to help minimize my vindictiveness. I'm still a bastard.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device