In the early days of internet fishing boards (say, until about 1998), reports were sometimes generously detailed. Then some people's little-known spots became very popular spots. Some people clammed up altogether. Others began giving very general reports, say the body of water and the day fished, but no indication as to what part of the water they fished. Still others would obscure particulars of the places they fished or discuss them in misleading ways. (I confess these last two ploys are standard practice on FTR; if I say I'm fishing the Huron below Dexter, I might well be in Ypsilanti, which is, of course, downstream from Dexter).
Soon, board moderators began posting warnings not to reveal specific holes. Some board participants would call repeatedly for a ban on all reports; fishing secrets, they declared, are pearls not to be tossed before board-surfing swine (an attitude which makes one wonder why they would visit a fishing report board in the first place--is there a naughty thrill in watching acts of desecration? Or do they relish an invigorating outburst of self-righteousness?).
Plus ça change...These anxieties are merely a new expression of a habit of secrecy fundamental to the character of fishermen. Compared to fishermen (especially experienced ones), the Bush administration aspires to absolute transparency. Anglers are proverbially tight-lipped about their honey holes. Many would sooner share their Visa card number than the location where they hooked and lost a shark of a brown trout. I often think that locals like to tease out-of-town fishers by giving uselessly cryptic fishing tips, or by maintaining an outright wall of silence suggesting that fishing in their neck of the woods is far better than it actually is and that you might end up at the bottom of a lake if you ask too many questions about it. If telling one tourist angler the local hotspots risks ruining them, how bad is telling people all over the world that steelhead have reached the Pere Marquette's fly water, or that Hexegenias are hatching on the Manistee below the CCC bridge?
My thought is, not that bad. There are people that feel the internet has doomed their favorite rivers to overfishing, but I think that's a partial truth at best. The above mentioned thread from HRN offers some reassurances about this. First, there have long been guidebooks and magazines directing fishermen to hot spots, and if a river has any reputation all, chances are it's been in them. A lot of good fisheries have survived their outing in print. Second, most fishermen aren't going to bother wading more than a quarter mile from an access point. If your loosely described spot is more remote than that, people are likely not going to stumble on to it. Third, fishing pressure, especially for steelhead and salmon, was on the rise long before the net came into wide use; bulletin boards and blogs haven't brought out many fishermen who weren't there already. Finally, knowing where someone else caught fish doesn't equal knowing how to catch them there yourself. Even on good water, you will still need to puzzle out techniques, approaches, the best flies/baits, etc. Fishing holes can be complex equations.
I would grant that internet reports do influence fishing pressure, sometimes for the worse, but sometimes in ways smart or lucky fishers can turn to their advantage. A hot report about a certain stream will send some people running out to fish it, and it may encourage people to take a trip there they hadn't previously planned to. But if you know a river well, you may be able to gague when the fishing is likely to be good before--or after--the bulk of reports about
it are posted. If you ignore the net and just fish when you have the time, you might stumble on to good fishing that hasn't been publicized. Certain rivers turn up more frequently on bulletin boards (sometimes moderators only allow reports on the better known rivers), and some fishermen never look beyond those; this means fewer people will be exploring the smaller, lesser known rivers, and more solitude for those who do. There are anglers who look down on those who let the web plan their trips for them, but they may do the rest of us a great service.
I don't believe we need an impermeable firewall between the river and the web. Any hope of maintaining one is doomed, in fact, because among anglers, the habit of secrecy is in conflict with an irrepressible fondness for storytelling. Of course, telling stories to some close friends around a campfire is quite different from podcasting them, isn't it?
Not as much as might appear. (To Be Continued)
I don't think I've been out of the house since I had my surgery Monday, and I'm getting antsy. May have to try the Huron this afternoon. I'll tell you all the truth about my outing, but following Emily Dickinson's advice, I'll "tell it slant."
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