I'm by know means new to this bb. Allthough I don't post much, I do frequent the site multiple times a day. So lets get to my point. What has happened to this bb? When i first started viewing this site it was the greatest thing. Everyone could post back and forth with no concern at all. Posting reports and naming the body of water was no big deal. It seems to me that the content of this site is much less than it used to be. I can understand not wanting to give away your favorite spots. And we all know most of those spots are no secret anymore. I consider myself a good fisherman, and catch/hook fish most every time I go(suckers count don't they). But I don't get to fish as much as I would like. And I know I can't be the only one in this situation. Even the best fisherman won't catch fish if there aren't any to catch. For those of you that don't get to fish as much as we would like, wouldn't it be nice to just get a simple report on how the fishing is? So that we are just wasting our time. Don't get me wrong here. I go fishing when I get the chance, reguardless of how the fishing is. But sometimes you can score serious point with the wife if she knows you are planning on going fishing and then you end up staying home for the weekend! It would just be nice to know if we can expect to be catching fish or enjoying the day or both for me in most cases. Let's bring back some of the good quallities of this board that got so many of us hooked on this site and on fishing. Let some of the attitudes go. If you don't feel like posting a report than don't and don't jump down someones throught for giving a report. Unless it is a zipperlip. And come on, are they really that many of those left?

I wonder if this thread will be huge or just die?
I think a lot of people figured out quickly (or much to slowly) that posting spots to fish ruin your own fishing experience.
I'll post stuff about saltwater fishing for migratory stuff because it doesn't last too long but never specifics on bottem fish or rivers.
I think most guys here have made friends with others and they share their (our) info offline.
Have you ever been to ifish? There they post how many people "view" a post. That should spell it out.

alot of it that there is not much going on right now

seastrike i understand your views and i don't really care much about the hole report thing. Being you are a new member to this board i wouldn't expect you to know how this board was say 5-6 years ago. Now days theres only a few rivers that have been getting good fish returns and those are the rivers that are getting all the pressure. you know as well as i do that it only takes one guy to spill the beans to the wrong person and before the next weekend arrives the whole town knows about the good fishing. Honestly all the talk about the Skykomish, and the last few years haven't been all that good at least for me and all the guys i talk to and the few reports that come across this bb. in all the years i have been a member of this board i can say i don't think i have seen an increase in fishing preasure do to a report on this site. rather i would attribute it to the lack of fish returning to the rivers. you find the most preasure were the most fish are returning because you have the best chance of catching fish there. i can also say i have never packed up an ran to a river just from a report on this board. I fish the same rivers years after year after year for both summer and winter. i fish these rivers because i know them. not because of some report. and the people that do just go to a river because of a report usually don't catch anything because they don't know how to fish that river or were to fish.

I will gladly post striper reports from here in maine

There are alot of people on the internet who dont know were they want to fish on a given day or week. Instead of doing some homework and finding out the hard way by actually going fishing, they search the net looking for the recent "hot spots" and if you happen to post a "hot spot" that same person just might end up in your spot, along with a buddy or two.

Fishmaster:

Not trying to be overly critical here, but you mention checking the board several times a day...yet, after belonging for nearly 5 years...

You only have 87 posts??????????

If you want to GET, you got to GIVE. At least that is the way I see it. I check it several times a day (OK...20 times) and enjoy participating and learning.

For the board to grow and have the kind of threads your talking about, the LURKERS need to post too...not just wait for the good info to show up.

Just a humble opinion from one who posts on occasion....and learned a TON (but I'm still a cracker!) from reading the posts of, and asking questions of the members of this board.

Mike

too many people want to reap the benefits with out putting in the time themselves. BW- well said

Another aspect is that the content of the site has been heavily slanted towards pro-WSR/CNR postions by the moderators. This is certainly Bob's perogative to operate this site as he sees fit. However, I think by driving away the dissenting voices, het has adversely affected the site. A lot of those pro harvest folks are intersting people with great passion for fishing that don't see eye to eye with the WSC crowd. Driving them off has killed much of the debate on this site dealing with fisheries management and science.

Those debates rage on elsewhere. Not to say I don't understand. Dealing with all the petty name calling, etc has got to get old.

Just the observations of an occasional viewer.

Well said Geoduck I think your right.

You beat me too it, Mike! Well said - for a cracker.

You get out of this board what you give.

Heck, do a search for what I have posted. Ok, fine, 90% is crap (having fun, ribbing Doc, etc ), but I'd be willing to bet I could sell a book with the 10% of the usefull stuff that I have posted here.

Do your homework. Do your searches. There are some real gems here. Like any valuable gem, they are not exposed, but hiddin (in the dirt?) Dig a little bit, and they will present themselves.

Or, just be like "the kids these days" and take the easy way out and whine and complain on this board. You *will* be treated like the way you act.

Give a lot. Give some more. Take what you see fit, or not.

Oh, and like you, I have not been fishing for crap, so the best I can do is just flip some crap at ISO and Sol! Ok, maybe Stam and Doc, too.

When I do go fishing, I usually give a report, with photos, and don't care if I piss any of you off.

Regarding this thread, some of us who have not posted much simply do not have the time to do so. Being self employed, I can manage only one day a week off, and as a result, connot go scouting local rivers for so called "hot spots", as I have to do all the domestic things one must do away from the business, in addition to those things that cannot be done during business hours. That being said, many of us who ask for info are doing so out of necessity, as our time to fish is severely limited. I can only speak for myself, but, I'd much rather spend my limited time getting my line wet , as opposed to trying to find a spot that may produce fish. It's not laziness to try to glean information from others, rather, it is necessary to allow me a quality fishing experience. The joy of the hunt can be greatly exagerated.... My 2 cents..
Tight lines and bent rods!

Oh, gosh, I just noticed that this makes my 87th post!!!!

I've made choices in my life that provide me with time to fish (no kids, a job with a fishy schedule). I have no obligation to post info on the internet for every person who has chosen other priorities.

Helluva post, Parker. I agree with 99% of it.

It's pretty amazing how when different people look at a rose, some see the beauty of the blossom while others choose to focus on the thorns (sorry guys, had to get that eye/vision metaphor in there somehow). Take your pick.... either this is great site or it really sucks.

I too choose to believe this board is a treasure trove of good fishing info, interesting ideas, and some very generous fisherfolk who have graciously invited me to personally share in their escapades during the short year and a half that I've enjoyed this site. Perhaps the fact that I'm well on my way to becoming a "Three-peat Spawner" has something to do with it.... damn, that's a lot of posts for a relative newcomer!

Like Parker, I post just about every time I go fishing.... good or bad, I tell it like it is, pics and all. Yeah, I've been flamed by some veterans for too much "sharing". I'm OK with posting locations with generalities, but I don't post exact locations to attract the masses where I think it might be detrimental to the quality of the fishery.

On the other hand, I don't have a problem posting about a specific spot if it is well known or has already been featured in the Seattle Times fishing page for the past week with a feature photo to boot. The cat's already out of the bag.... sharing my own success isn't gonna do much more damage. Besides, everybody on this board loves a good fish pic.

Some people get flamed for a pic that is too revealing (one that shows the secret lure or the secret spot in the background, not Mingo's avatar!). Guess what? If somebody can recognize the spot from a photo, it ain't no secret, so what difference does it make? They already know.... and those that don't won't. No harm done.

Most guys chasing the hot report aren't gonna be much of a threat to the regulars at the "secret spot" anyway. They might make the day a little more crowded, but they aren't gonna put much of a dent in the actual catching. The guys that really know how to catch fish probably aren't chasing reports on this board.

So post away guys.... sure works for me. Contribute generously.... you'll get it back, and then some!

I will telly ou whats up with the BB

There are to many self indulgent weiners on the board that think they are so high and mighty at fishin. When in reality, my sister could take some of these guys to school!

I haven't pinpointed it yet, but the atmosphere of this board has defintiely changed over the last few years.

Good point. Bank Walker has a good point too. You gotta wonder how people found they're money fishing spots before the internet. I know what I did.

I don't care about the fishing reports (I'm gona go where I'm gona go no matter what). But there used to be a lot more talk about different techniques. Now days it seems it's all just BS. Kiding around is all well and good a little less smack talk and more fishing talk would be nice. So I don't spend much time here anymore ether.

I got the Maine striper reports you need them