FF & Everyone else (and this is not directed to any one individual)- a lot of what's above sums it up but I have a couple things to add...
This board has several main goals and has developed so far along those goals:
1) To provide friendly a place on the Web where people can go & talk fishing, meet up with people new to them and have a lot of fun. How many here have made solid friendships with people they have respect for - mutual respect that goes both ways. I can't tell you how many quality, stand up people I've met here that I never otherwise would have.
Again, a friendly place - a lot of boards have gotten into frequent who can pi$$ the furthest and until recently, that hasn't happened much here. (It's on the rise a little recently and would like to see that stopped ,please. Thanks for yer anticiapated cooperation
)
2) To help fight against one of the biggest problems facing anglers new & old - Education on best practices in relations to the fish. Education first and foremost on becoming a more responsible angler. Things like better release of a fish, gear & methods less likely to guthook and eventually kill a fish. Crushing barbs - that sort of thing. Education to help us as a group of anglers be a little more responsible about HOW we go after fish and how we leave them. I know I've learned a ton of good things here.
3) Education on how to fish. Methods and ideas that get all skill levels a little sharper. Education on how to make yourself a better angler. Info like go to this place on a dropping tide with this lure and this wind at this time is wonderful, but it really doesn't make you that better of an angler. I was lucky, I had some pretty good people, that put in a lot of time over the years fishing, show me a lot of sweet spots and how to do things but my FAVORITE has been taking the knowledge I've learned from them and other people here that have allowed me to FIND my OWN places to fish because now I'm beginning to know what to look for. Figuring out what to do based on conditions and what looks and smells fishy - and getting nice fish. That's
VERY satisfying.
3) Protection of our resources - both fish & access. If the fish are gone, access doesn't mean much and if the access is gone, even more people will be pushed into too small areas that are too packed to begin with...
The biggest problem with the Internet has been to make things sometimes TOO easy. The Internet fishing sites should make us better anglers and allow us to have more fun and meet new people. It should also help us become more efficient.
The Internet also has a lot more people fishing their hooks and becoming more effective. The Internet now has more people fishing more spots. That, overall, can be BAD for the fish with more and more competent pressure from all anglers. The Internet has also burned spots too. I've ran into a fellow once at a secret location that said he was from PA and heard about the spot on the Internet (not here
). I nearly crapped my pants
because the spot can't simply handle the pressure and would be lost for sure iff too many people fished & trashed it.
Ooops, I'm digressing here... a little stir crazy at work (and I just finished playing Quake
In a nut shell, I believe this is one of the better, more accomodating boards around. There has been some bragging going on which happens more frequently in the spring and again n the fall. It always happens - doesn't matter if it's a club meeting, at the B&T, or online on a message board. The main purpose of this board is not to put people on to fish but to have fun and help make us better and more responsible anglers. Give and take of knowledge, including spots, is one of those ways we get better as a group. Spilling all the info on where to go does not.
I hope that wasn't too long winded or disjointed
