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[QUOTE=SeaWolf]mike, i do (get pissed off at tackle shops). i go into some of the shops i frequent and ask, beg, and at times almost demand that they dont put certain areas in their reports. mind you, these reports are a week old, but you will see an increase in the people fishing there after a report.
as far as the shops, i look at the reports they may give an angler coming in as their "reward" for shopping or buying some merchandise from them. maybe how much the person buys or if they think they will come back will dictate where they may send those anglers. but, not all owners think like that. they are making a living from their business. i do not see to many authors making a living from writing articles or posting reports on the internet.
turn that around now, what does the magazine that prints these detailed articles on spots really earn? well, more subscriptions and if they are lucky more magazines that month from the tackle shop they are in as the newstand price is more than the subscription. so, what about the author of the article, what are they gaining? money for an article? what, a couple hundred for an article, maybe? some may have a side business, which benefits from getting their name or business exposed. for others, it may be new friends to fish with? or teaching someone how to fish a spot they may have "graduated" from? or, just notoriety for saying they can say they wrote an article and learned that spot? it could be one, many, or none of the above.
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My experience is that tackle shops have as many reasons for what they do as there are tackle shops. I do both the RI and offshore reports for Nor'east, so I talk to dozens of tackle shops every weekend. It's remarkable that very few of them single out individuals in their reports. There are only three in RI that regularly name people. But the one thing they all value is the publicity it gets them. By handing out specific reports they hope to increase their business.
As far as what does the writer get? Again there are probably as many reasons as there are writers. I do it for several reasons, money being at the top of the list, but I'm sure not making a living at it. Lots of charter guys do it for the publicity. When I do feature articles, as opposed to the weekly reports, I do name areas, but I don't give anyone the exact locations to fish. One reason is that fish have fins and tails and they swim. One day they may be at one set of numbers and the next at another. If I write about a specific set of numbers, and someone goees there and doesn't find fish, it hurts my credibility. So I avoid specfics. OTOH, when I'm doing the reports and a shop tells me that the fishing is hot a Quonny, that's what I'll write, and I don't feel guilty about it.
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