Spot X

[SeaWolf]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

I do a lot of writing for Nor'east, and I can tell you that they are not soliciting these types of articles. OTOH if someone throws that kind of manuscript "over the transom" they are unlikely to turn it down. Like it or not, it does provide valuable information to a lot of their readers. You are right on with your comments about making your views known to the publishers. Nor'east has its own website at Noreast.com where you can post your comments, or you can write or call them directly. Either way you opt to go, they (and I) will appreciate hearing your views. One thing puzzles me, and this is aimed at everyone, not just you. Why don't guys get pissed off when a tackle shop points out the places to go, why single out the print media?

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.

like many things, you cannot group spots into one general "rule" for when to say it's ok and when it is not. some are very, very limited in parking or space to fish. others, there's private property to cross that many may not know about. others are well known and the public is welcomed. as an angler, it is your job to learn more about the spot you may be fishing.

if magazines are now asking for detailed spots articles, i think this is unfortunate turn for this media. as much as some may think it's ok, it may do more damage than good, as has been written hear and on the previous thread. to me, this also holds true the those websites that welcome this same information. my interpretation is that johnr is against that type of activity and i repsect him for it and putting up with those of those that may get hot when these issues arise. here on sb, i think the treand has been to TEACH you how to fish, not drive you there, put the lure on for you, and cast for you. thank you, johnr.

[Nebe]

Slipknot- my friend didnt read it word for word to me, he simply said what spots were mentioned and that it gave away alot... I figured it wasnt a big deal..

anyway, i am done wasting my energy over this. I'm bummed that there will be more people in those spots, but hey, thats life

[MakoMike]

[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.
[QUOTE]

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.

[Surfcastinglife]

after viewing such hatred for white buckets im officially painting mine black. i need to call my therapist now!

[BigFish]

Keep it white SCL....who cares what people think!