I like the site too.I might bitch and cause trouble in the eyes of some but I log on quite often.I can't say I have met many fishing partners,nor have I attended any legs for a while but I still look to see what's up.I have met some folks whose company I enjoyTT,Animal,5/0,BB,Piemma,ProffessorM,TO,Slip,Afterhours,Bigfish , etc....
I have also met plenty of folks from the Striper Cup who I'd like to fish with,team affiliation notwithstanding;the entire Linesider team is full of real gentlemen,and they like beer.Even Cowhunter sent me a pm saying if I had any questions about my new motor to just ask. Nice gesture IMO. Guys who I would like to wet a line with someday just from reading their posts, whether they seem funny like TDF or insanely driven to fish like Numby or Cowhunter.Manzi used to be in the same mold too. It is a good mix but does seem stale recently.This site really jumped the shark when #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& left,he won't be back for family reasons but he spoke from the heart and that is difficult to replace.Some of his threads were like watching a trainwreck where you couldn't turn away. Those were the days of censorship here at S-B and I fell victim to the mods as well. Others resented the Ledge,which was in essence an invitation only forum for those in the clique.Very bad move from a bandwidth perspective I would think but as the man with tired feet will remind you;it is his site and if you don't like it, you are welcome to leave or be banned.

Jim, you'd think with as many times as I typed that, you'd finally figure out that it was a smart a$$ remark. The last person I asked to take me fishing was my father. Since then, I've either been the invitee, or the invitor. I don't need anyone to take me fishing. You're reading too far into nothing. I am a joker, ...and no, sometimes I'm not funny. To sum this up, Sweetwater's remark had nothing to do with me, should I have kept my "insult" to myself?...don't know, don't care...I replied on instinct. :P
..and in regards to respecting other's catches or "the mark of a man" as you poetically put it, let me just say, I don't respect the guy that's out there day in - day out, could have dozens of 50's, and a handful of 60's.....a few 70's and an unbelievable surf caught 100# bass. If he neglects his family, his children, his head of household responsibilities because of his obsession, ....he gets no respect from me. Sorry, that's where my priorities lie.
Fishing is,,, for the most part, still fun for me. Sure at times the challenge I place on myself overcomes the fun, but it doesn't take long before I realize I'm driving outside the lines again.

Jim, I hope you get that 60 this year. I hope you start a thread and direct it at me. I will congratulate you while at the same time, bust your ballz. Sorry...that's me. I think you'd enjoy fishing with me, but hey...that's just me. :jester:

Best site ever.
Of course when your new to any of the forums you hang on everyword, then thru time and experience you may need less info and post less, unless you can help someone else.

I have met none but the best people here, and have made some very close and lasting friendships.

With this heat, the summer doldrums are early.

WTF ;

IT SAYS 5 PAGES /BUT ALL I SEE IS 2/3 A PAGE ???????????


NOTHING TO SAY ..JUST WANTED READ //


COME ON RIJIM .. I,VE TRIED TO HELP :fishin:

All kidding aside.

What I have found over the years is that fishermen or fisherpersons want to become instant fishing experts and they want the big one on their first outing. That is what I do not like. Pay your dues. You are not back in school paying another to do your briefs or taking your test.

Spend a couple of bucks, buy a chart of the area you want to fish, study it. Where I live & fish it is very rocky along the shore, find where the drop offs are that drop to 30-40 feet and come up on to the shoal in about 15 feet of water, sight fish on a calm day in the shallows when you see fish coming in to feed, look where they are coming from if it is possible lock it into your brain and where they are leaving the area, throw a piece or two of chum 3 or 4 feet from the boat, study the fish patent. Then start fishing when you see bigger fish come into the area.

Some days, not all days, even the best get skunked.

Discipline: Fishing along the shore from a boat you need to discipline yourself. Do Not! Do Not! fish any longer then fifteen minutes at any one spot if you are not catching fish. Do not let the devil on your left shoulder tell you to stay they will come if you wait to hell freezes over.

Finally: What works for me may not work for you. Leave the booze at home, keep the cob webs out of your head and pay attention to fishing and what the guy next to you is doing right when you are not.

Dangler, it's the communities site to much of an extent and I don't rule with an iron fist. don't believe in it. But I do need to make some calls that some don't like. Damned if I do, damned if i don't. But I have discovered that no matter what I do it will probably be opposite of what you would want ;)

The people that stoke the most coals tend to complain most about the heat. Still like tipping a beer with you though.

Clammer - had I know you would be there for dinner I'd have changed my plans ;)

:buds:

this is an awesome post and so f'n true. I have a friend from work that started getting into the surf game this year, he's been out maybe 10 times and he says "I can't catch a keeper to save my life" oh paleeezzzeeee!

if it wasnt true, guides would go out of business.
do people walk into casinos and say, I really want to win the jackpot but I have to put in tons of time and money to do it? No, they all want to win.
Its been said here a million times, if you go fishing only to catch fish, you wont to stick to it for very long.
With the web, some guys make it look easy so the inexperinced look for a quick answer. Its our obligation to tell them there is no easy answer, not fault them for wanting one.

couldn't of said it better mike:uhuh: exactly how I feel. Great entertainment value for me, i am a simpleton, also luv the friendships I have developed here and as far as fishing goes I like what I like and most likely at this point no one is changing that with their opinions, but I will still listen.

good post! and that is just what I said to him! He'll quit and go back to drinking on weekends....

Just like everyone's marriage
 

Its cyclical. Its good for long periods and then boom, its goes south fast. Their is nothing wrong here, nada, zip, goose egg. Actually some of the posts were rather funny. Its all good. We could all be living god knows where, but we are here. In America for christ sakes. So the fish are thin. Except on the north shore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!:fishin:

I haven't caught a fish yet this year.Thanks for all the help guys!If I posted reports I'd be scared it would lead a few to suicide due to boredom.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.Went out fishing caught nothing.I suck.The end.

I posted this on the whatever happened to Wild Bill Hickock thread (ChrisL) so I might as well copy it here as its relavent


The whole WMI thing would be hard to repeat.

I thought we got off to a great start here. We would have 100 menbers on the board and 40 would attend the barbecue before the 4 legs.

I think growth is hard but also the way this sight grew was unusual. It started growing as individuals joined and moved from other sites here. Then suddenly its growth was by groups. The MSBA crowd came in mostly all at once , then the CT sirfcasters and their seperate forum , then the wave of "Pros" and all the associated issues.

Its hard when the original group suddenly doubles with the influx of people who know eachother but not the existing core. If this happens 3 or 4 times , soon its like 4 or 5 seperate groups rather than the tightly knit initial group. It went from really knowing people to knowing about people as the rapid growth spirts in groups just became too hard to keep track of everybody.

Now I'm not being negative here. just recounting how I see things went that changed the nature of the original site and members to what we have now.

I don't think there's any way to redo things or rpeat history. I do think the key to moving back to the direction where we started would be to have more live events. No way the good relationships can get tight by just internet contact. Its a great way to break the ice and exchange info etc but to build a tight group of friends like in the beginning there needs to be face to face in person interactions.

I am going to need a thorough list of what you like so I can work my opinion on it :devil2:
Not posted from an iPhone/Mobile device cause I aint got one

BRING BACK HOOTERS NIGHT:devil2::devil2::devil2:

Fly fishing for stripers is another thing.

I am the worlds worst fly fisherman. Gone around the country and Canda fly fishing. And am the worst fly tyer you will ever meet. They had a fly tyer swap here one year and probably still do and I presented a fly and I would bet that no one would think of using it. The bottom line is that I would catch fish. Charteuse is the key to catching stripers. I do the opposit of what the pros tell ya to do, I slap the water, poor presentation and I use only a Orvis depth charge full sinking line regardless if I'm in 3 feet of water or 40 feet of water. And where do you get most of your strikes? if you pay attention to where your line is most of your strikes come in the white water crashing on the rocks. So why do shore fisherpersons try to cast to the open ocean. You should cast diagnally to the shore.

Where the heck you been fishmonger???

;)Technique burner















;):jester:

most excellent post Swimmer

reminds me of one of the herbs the three wise men brought.

Adam, I am no angling expert, but I have had a great May and June from shore, maybe my best ever, including many day hits. One sunset 2 weeks ago, while I was in class, my brother scored 13 Stripers in less than 2 hours from shore. That is great fishing! Seen 'em hauled in from shore from the South Coast, all over the bay, and even up in the marshes of the most northern estuaries from the Bay. Try fishing with different people. I met an old friend from high-school and he showed me a freshwater lure that was slaying stripers from shore. Pay attention to what bait is in the water and grab a lure that resembles it. Funny thing is, everyone I have seen and know, who have used live eels or clams from shore, have been skunked. Know your white-water, tides, colors, action, and use both topwater and submersibles. Two nights ago, they were feeding and flopping all around me and I only caught one, but the excitement and challenge of enticing those bad-boys is almost as big a rush as hauling in "the big one."

!!

Yo vic.... I don't think your funny!
this is why this site is what it is...you guy have no class!
there are some talented guys here like yourself vic....

I feel better now. It was good to see some confirming my feelings but even better to read all the positive comments about this place. Nice reminder of why it's a good place to be. Maybe it's not so sucky after all. :) Got sick of fishing alone because my buds have other commitments. PM'd TDF and BassDawg and we went out together last night. Wouldn't have had that opportunity if this place didn't exist either.

I still hate those f:fury::fury::fury:ing exclamation points though!!!!!!!!!! While I'm at it Larry should also use the edit button once and a while rather posting 3-4 times in a row without a response from anyone. :uhuh: Can I just have edit rights for BigFish?

and a good time was had by ALL!

thanks for including me luds and TDF, hope to do it agin
sooner rather than later. only next time we go LAHHHHHGE!!
and i doan mean lge weed ballllz ~~big enuff to pull drag~~
:wall: :wall: :wall:

Some of my best friends and closest fishing buddies have come via this site. Every site gos through its ups and downs. The ups have far outweighed the downs here.

I'm not wearing any pants.

Mike if you don't like it....don't let the ignore button hit you in the ass!!!!!:rotf2:

LOL

I've always enjoyed this site (even when I was banned). I really don't think it's helped me catch any more or bigger fish. I think its funny when all the "experts" get there panties in a bunch about spot burning, technique, keeping and showing fish..It's a fishing web site, wtf do you expect ? pictures of your old grandma's tea party ?:smash: