Surfcaster.com finally closes shop

[hq2]

Looked for it today, and it was gone. Found the cached version, and
clicked on the forums. It said "It's closed, so don't come f****** back!".
It had been a dead in the water site for about 3 years; I'm surprised
it took that long for it to go offline.

So the question is, does that fate await other forums too? The Reel-time freshwater forum, once very active, is now almost dead too. Is Facebook killing all of these old internet sites? Surfcaster was actuallly a pretty good site for several years, but people stopped posting about 3-4 years ago. I don't think that will happen here, as this site has an incredibly loyal and close knit following, but it gives you pause....

[Linesider82]

The community of people on this site's willingness to help is what keeps me here. If I post the same question elsewhere, the question is quickly derailed with bad answers and BS.

I have enjoyed the ongoing SB health of the stock debate, and have heard both sides and different viewpoints here which is a good thing.

The help I've received in the plug building forum has been awesome.

And this site hosts the CSA club forum which is used daily.

Kudos to John for his hard work on this site!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[JohnR]

Hate to see another one go...

Best thing I can do is make this place more mobile friendly and that is top on the list.

[ivanputski]

I check this site multiple times each day...

It is a part of my daily routine, like a cup of coffee.

[redlite]

Most of my lifelong friends ( people i talk to on a regular basis about sht other than fishin) are a direct result of this website. People i would never have know if it were not for this site and especially the get togethers like the legs when we used to have them. I dont post much but i am on here like a crack addict. And F facebook. Those r mostly people i dont want to deal with
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[iamskippy]

The one thing that is nice about Facebook is you can pick and choose your friends. I have been face book free now for just over 2 months minus 1 post (lol ) and its been great.

I enjoy SB for the folks and the help, the people here truely are helpful and kind once you get under the rough exterior of a few, but all and i the only piece this site is missing is mobile which JR is working on and a way to block people...
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Clammer]

TOOOOOOOO many times, events , happenings , people, [good] & [bad]

I have experienced on this site ......... I,m here almost as RAVEn but then he thinks to is secretly getting paid as a roll model .

Its well all great

Where else does T&A run on threadmills with FMS.s ????

THANKS

[Rockport24]

I used to love surfcaster.com I think I found this site through that site.

Still like the forum format better than facebook - I'm not going anywhere!

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Never been to that site. This place is home for everything striper related to me.

[bassballer]

i used to frequent that other site. I rarely log on there at all. this is the only fishing forum site I go on. people actually still talk fishing here. Good crew here of well knowledged fisherman. Nice to have somewhere to pick some guys brains once in while.

[niko]

Originally Posted by iamskippy;1057317I have been face book free now for just over 2 months minus 1 post (lol ) and its been great.

[size=1

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device[/size]

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by iamskippy

T and a way to block people...
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

I'll be good, promise

How about this:

"TOOOOOOOO many times, events , happenings , people, [good] & [bad]

I have experienced on this site ......... I,m here almost as RAVEn but then he thinks to is secretly getting paid as a roll model .

Its well all great

Where else does T&A run on threadmills with FMS.s ????

THANKS "

It took me a year to figure out what TFCTFN stood for,, I'll probably be working on the above post for another year LOL

[Clammer]

you don,t own a Clammerize dictionary ??????????????

[Guppy]

Originally Posted by Clammer

you don,t own a Clammerize dictionary ??????????????

LOL now there's a good idea 😄

[tysdad115]

Having the "clammoon" pic posted here will drive more traffic here. Now that's a shot that will " break the internet"! KimK got nothing on dat ass!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Green Light]

> Best thing I can do is make this place more mobile friendly and that is top on the list.

That would be like "Wicked Awesome" and stuff. ;-)

[eskimo]

The mobile version here is great. If getting rid of avatars is possible to widen the column of member's post it would be perfect.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Raven]

the bad thing that has happened HERE
imho
is everyone kinda went incognito (picture-wise)
and now it's just the same as "texting"
except for a few guys like BF larry
not enough "stock photo's" to make a picture story (pictorial)
just for a few laughs..... to get thru WINTER

[iamskippy]

Originally Posted by tysdad115

Having the "clammoon" pic posted here will drive more traffic here. Now that's a shot that will " break the internet"! KimK got nothing on dat ass!
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Dont cha know its pink flamingos
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Rockfish9]

I think there are lots of reasons for this... a combination of all of the above answers... but mostly.. it's about the lack of fish... some wont admit it but IMHO.. the down turn in the stock has played a part in it... for me.. I still use a flip phone and will until they are extinct...so the mobile "wave" doesn't factor in...it's the negativity that keeps me away from web sites...and I'm quite certain I'm not the only one that feels that way...

[bobber]

there aer LOTS of sites that have gone t!ts-up that are "similar" to SB.com. stripersurf, stripers247. reel-time, flyfishingsaltwaters, etc etc etc

decent people that can have civilized conversation make this place worthwhile...

(and guys that are not trying to prove anything in the fishing world)

[hq2]

I don't think this site will go the route of surfcaster; the community here is too close knit and long lived for it to fade like that any time soon. Still, if you look at most of the people on here, they've been here a while (I've been an occasional poster for more than 10 years). It really needs to attract new posters to keep it fresh. Maybe if people know friends who fish, they could encourage them to join. And, an earlier poster was right; need to fix the mobile version so the text willfill the iphone screen the right way. That would help some too.

[Duke41]

Ahem
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Finaddict]

This site offers a lot ... fishing insights, opportunities for get togethers, meet and fish with good people, and other types of advice for every day living be it home repairs or health issues etc. ... opportunities to help friends in need (very supportive site), and it also was the seed that helped me buy more fishing gear than I could ever use

It's a great community here.

[Mr. Sandman]

Face book is killing all these sites and is destroying some fishing places as well. I know others will disagree on how helpful it is but if you saw what happened offshore this year at fishtails that was absurd. And the near real time reports on various open social media sites help put 300 boats from NJ, NY, CT, RI, MA , all fishing a small patch of water 90 miles offshore nearly every fish able day. The language on the radio was so bad I just shut it off and moved away from the fleet. (Yes I still caught fish but I don't drive 100 miles offshore to be surround by fools like Carmine and Vinny threatening to kill each other.)

Closer to home we had a good bite of small tuna this summer about 8 miles past the hooter (tiny fish, 30-40" long) for a few weeks. I made a couple trips out there but the real time posts on face book soon attracted every guy with a boat bigger than a lund and a facebook account out there fishing with improper gear, no license and keeping all they could catch. Even major media publications were posting real time crap with GPS and tracking coordinates. Some even tried to sell fish to dealers upon their return. Many had no idea you needed a license and there were strict limits. Of course, NO enforcement for the entire time and I notified them.

With fishery departments with their heads in the sand and social media allowing posts in real time, fishing has gone down hill a lot in this generation. Inshore has become a joke. Now offshore is being taken down. It is getting so you don't want to even talk to your friends because you will read about it on face book within no time.

I am sure the membership rate and activity here has declined over the years. It will get worse. IMO it should move to a pay site. Where you pay to become a member and everyone else is excluded. 50/100 bucks will cull out the guys just here for free intel. I am sorry but that is the only way I see sites like this maintaining their identity and still providing useful info and intel to a few guys who more or less "know" each other.

[chefchris401]

Originally Posted by Rockfish9

I think there are lots of reasons for this... a combination of all of the above answers... but mostly.. it's about the lack of fish... some wont admit it but IMHO.. the down turn in the stock has played a part in it... for me.. I still use a flip phone and will until they are extinct...so the mobile "wave" doesn't factor in...it's the negativity that keeps me away from web sites...and I'm quite certain I'm not the only one that feels that way...

i agree with this and pretty much everything else that was said.

I check the site daily, or multiple times a day if the restaurant is slow. i dont post that much anymore, as the discussion type threads this year are fewer, which i think is from people searching the site and the lack of new people getting into surfcasting/striper fishing, low fish stocks equals low interest.

havent done much salt this year and the few times i did go, caught fish and enjoyed myself and basically kept quiet about it.

this site wont die off, too many sub forums that people use, the CSA, the cuttyhunk forums, poltical etc.

theres so many great people on this site and people willing to help each other in every facet its truly amazing

plus with all the new changes coming down the road, plugfest, too cold to fish, kids days, this site is a meeting place/calendar of events that are going on.

plus all the fishing management updates and everything else.

[tattoobob]

Surfcaster.coms demise if from lack of moderating and members fighting about crap that didn't even mater, if those few people were removed in the beginning the site imo would still be going strong but that was not the case and everyone left.

[Gary]

Plain and simple, Technology has killed the sport of fishing, social interaction etc. It all started out as innocent fun and now you see what we have.

[Ed B]

If good members make quality posts you'll have a quality site. If not, well it will go downhill. Remembering that we're all in JohnR's house as his guest before you press "submit reply" will help enormously in the long run.

Technology has changed fishing but you can easily adjust. Lack of fish probably makes people chase reports more, but most of the places that I fish in both FW and SW were pretty barren of other anglers. (I think they were all at the canal.) Simply going some place other than what everybody is posting about will often put you by yourself.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by Guppy

LOL now there's a good idea ��

But i found an ORIGINAL leather bound copy
in an old OLD bookstore ....in an Ancient Village.