CFF Origination

[Liveliner]

Looking at the Website and reading old reports as if they were yesterday got me to Figuring..</p>

When did Chattanooga Fishing Forum first go online?</p>

I go way back as one of the first senior members.</p>

I am looking at a Wall rack at a Brand new Old Fising rod and Reel that has CFF History written all over it. A member Fat Albert was a craftsman at building Rods. He had created a Work of Art that he incribnbed on it as the Grand prise for the very first CFF Group picnic. I have that Rod. I never fished it. In fact I bought the #1 Bait casting reel at that time which was a Garcia REVO STX. It is hanging there still unfished and dusty.</p>

Should I sell it to someone who would appreciate it as related to CFF. I have owned it long enough. Well over a Decade.</p>

 

[fischnrod]

I remember fishing the early CFF's , I would like to see the rod and reel if nothing else .

 

[rsimms]

Go to the Members List. At the bottom you can sort the list based upon "Date Registered." You will see DHaun (David Haun) officially created CFF on 12/15/2004. His daughter became the 2nd member in January. I am proud to say I became the 3rd member on 4/29/2005. It limped along gaining about 200 members over the next 14 months.

I don't remember exactly how David and I got hooked up. I'm sure through the forum. We went fishing together and in March of 2006 I wrote a newspaper story about CFF (I'll post it below). I'm not going to say that is the reason it took off, but it definitely provided a big boost. Navigate the Members list up until March 2006 and you'll see the number of registrations climbed by more than 200 in just the next month. The rise has continued steadily to the current 14,089.

You can also sort that list based upon the number of Posts. Select "Descending" and you will see which members have made the greatest number of Posts. There are a few of us who were once incredibly active and remain very high on that list. Many of us have reduced or even eliminated our CFF activity, but because of the huge number of posts we used to make, remain high on that list.

Of course the world-famous EricM passed away or I'm sure he would still be going strong. Others have just become more interested in other outlets... either social media (me) or other forums that seemed to better suit their interests.

Every Internet Discussion Forum takes on a life of its own and evolves. CFF is no different. That's not a bad thing... it just is.

Chattanooga Fishing Forum
For the Chattanooga Times Free Press
March 5, 2006

By Richard Simms
(Correspondent)

Snow flakes filled the air like confetti, turning Chickamauga Lake into a February winter wonderland. It was pretty, but combined with a stiff breeze it was what most would call a miserable day on the water.

Not David Haun.

"There's no such thing as a bad day on the water," he said while reeling in a crappie.

"I grew up fishing Chickamauga and Nickajack Lakes," said Haun. "In recent years I have developed an addiction to saltwater fishing. I found myself planning trips based on what was being reported on various Internet forums. One day I was thinking, since I can't get to the ocean as often as I would like, then maybe I should make the most of fishing at home and create a forum for Chattanooga. "

Enter www.ChattanoogaFishingForum.com (CFF).

CFF is quickly becoming an electronic launching ramp where anglers from all around the area gather via computer to share fishing notes and anecdotes.

CFF was born in April 2005. This week there are about 240 official "registered" users, and hundreds of guests who just read the latest fishing scoop, but haven't actually signed up.

"If you look at it on a linear scale, we’ve got more than 200 in less than a year which means we could have more than 400 next year," said Haun (screen name DHaun). "But as more people hear about it, it could increase on an exponential scale.”

Haun says the most surprising thing about CFF has been how willingly anglers share good information.

"In the fishing world you don't hear people giving up a whole lot of secrets," he said with a smile. "So just based on past experience I didn't think that people would be so generous."

Many CFF posters are giving up fishing specifics usually reserved for best friends and family. Of course Haun says he sees CFF turning into just that - a fishing family.

So far there have two impromptu fishing tournaments organized via CFF and a summer picnic is in the planning stages.

"It makes me happy that it's working out so well," said Haun. "When people are signing up, staying friendly and you're getting good quality information then it makes you feel great."

Users agree. We asked for input via CFF. Here's what a few folks wrote:

Ranman (Randy Lewis from Cleveland) - "I love the daily fishing reports from our local waters. You can really learn a lot from others success, and their failures."

Biofisher I (Gary Fomby) - "The CFF has done for me what it would have taken years to do for myself… meet people that have a genuine interest in helping others succeed on the local lakes."

Polo-dog (Mark Pollard from Harrison) - "I really love the science behind the how's and where's of fishing and the CFF think tank is helping me understand the wonderful creation that we all take for granted."

Northrivergeek (Sean McDonald from Red Bank) - "After 15 years living in Chattanooga, it is the first place I have ever found to meet other people to discuss fishing area waters. Fish-O-Holics 101 is now in session."

TennesseeTalker (Karen Orcutt from Harrison) - "I guess you need a girl's point of view. I stumbled across this place looking for some local fishing reports. It took me a couple months to settle in and post because I thought at first ... it was for 'boyz only.' Most of the folks are just down right gabby about their fishing trips which makes me feel welcomed even though I haven't met anyone. If the internet is the super highway for sharing information, then I consider CFF the interstate for local fishing facts and fun!"

Jason (Jason Myers from Ringgold, Ga.) - As a "weekend warrior", I can log on Friday and fish with confidence on Saturday."

ChooChooSnakeMan (James Dillard from Ooltewah) - "I've fished with a couple of these guys, been in their homes and have found that not only do we share a love of fishing, but a love for Christ. One of the guys was searching for a church home and he and his family now attend church where I do."

Jmax (Jim McClanahan from Ooltewah) - "I am the guy who was struggling finding a local church and he invited me to Silverdale and now, not only do I feel blessed to have signed onto CFF, my whole family has benefited from it."

Those are words that should make CFF creator DHaun proud. He says he monitors the site closely to make sure it stays "family friendly" without the bitterness found on some Internet forums.

“I don’t want people using the platform for arguments," he said. "If they want to yell at each other there are ways to do that privately.”

Haun registered the web domain and pays all of the expenses out of his own pocket "because of the information that I get out of it, because I love to fish and because I want to be able to make the most of where I live. In the process I've learned a whole lot more than I ever thought I would. That's my payback."

Payback you can share, for free, at www.ChattanoogaFishingForum.com.

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

I am proud to have been quoted in the newspaper article and was one of the early members. I guess my most special memory was being one of the 5 boats to fish the first CFF bass tournament. We went out of Grasshopper creek and I still remember the search that we put on for one of the boats that didn't show up for weigh in on time. It turned out that his watch was set on Alabama time so he was an hour late coming in. Some people went out to look to make sure he wasn't broke down and I don't think anyone left until he was accounted for. We were all relieved when he idled up to the dock with a look of "why is everyone looking at me like that" expression on his face. I haven't been active in tournaments the last few years (since my NET man Jmax left LOL) but I have made so many great friends and learned so much because of the CFF and continue to learn. I sense that there is a growing hesitation to post fishing reports when it is close to a tournament day but I encourage everyone to post a report. You can reveal only the info you want to and if done right you can actually be helpful to others without giving details of your locations and pattern. It is helpful to just know the water temp and if the fish were biting or not. Happy Fishing everyone and thanks to all the CFF members for keeping this forum a relevant and valuable resource.

 

[churly]

Jmax Recruited me from the BAss fishing home page

 

[SpurHunter]

I found the forum from Richards article. While the vast majority of my close friends I met through the CFF, I just don't do forums much anymore. Im still the admin for CFF and check on it near daily but the activity level isn't what it once was. There are lots of reasons for that, primarily social media and ease of interaction via mobile devices.

 

[fischnrod]

I found CFF in 2006 , not sure how but it must have been the dogfight type tournaments CFF used to have or an article in the paper, probably the later

 

[elwestb]

Spur is right. The forum just isn't what it once was but I still gotta have my fix from time to time!

 

[ChooChooSnakeMan]

elwestb - 2/16/2021 7:53 PM

Spur is right. The forum just isn't what it once was but I still gotta have my fix from time to time!

To my earlier post on this thread. I think a few things have happened. The CFF had an exodus of non bass fishing enthusiast. It happened over a period of time and some of them moved to forums that were more specific to what they like to fish for. I liked the old days when we had posts and discussions about all kinds of fishing since I like bass, crappie, bluegill, what ever is biting. CFF is "Fishing" not Chattanooga Bass Forum. I think this has weakened our form. Second is with Chickamauga gaining such national prominence in the tournament bass fishing world, as I mentioned there just aren't the people who will post details of their bass trips like for example Jmax used to do. I think a lot of people are going fishing but don't post anything because they think it will hurt their chances in the next tournament. This is sad but I personally think is true. As I said earlier, if we will just post the water temp and if you caught anything that is at least something but more detail is needed and if done right won't really hurt your tournament standing. I try to post water clarity, depths I fished, results, even general lure types, was it soft plastics or something else. I usually will post the general area I'm in. I think the general lack of fishing reports and the lack of detail when there is a report is also responsible for the CFF not being what it used to be. I also agree that everyone is busier and there are other social media opportunities. This is my take on it and I encourage everyone to go the extra mile and try to contribute to this resource. The CFF is after all, all of us and it is what we make it. Thanks for reading!

 

[drumking]

I joined the CFf shortly after Richard Simms wrote the newspaper article. For several years, it was a fine forum. I used to post detailed crappie reports and over time, met and taught over 70 different people how to shoot docks and other techniques.

I used to tease bass fishermen about things and some took it took serious and began to say things that weren’t...I’ll just leave it at that. To make a long story short, I quit cff and only came back to make this post at a request from a friend.

I found a crappie forum that people are willing to share info about and the moderators will not allow any arguments, cursing, or anything untoward and is a wonderful forum. It is what cff was in the beginning. I post detailed reports on this forum and sometimes a report on Facebook without giving any details.

Giving fishing reports is the lifeblood of any fishing forum, but alas, tournament fishing has killed it. People worrying about not winning 50-100 dollars in a local club if they gave out any info is the cancer that kills the whole deal.

I choose not to be a part in that kind of organization. Too bad. There are so many good people that would benefit from some helpful information.

 

[M GO BLUE]

drumking - 2/17/2021 6:08 PM

I found a crappie forum that people are willing to share info about and the moderators will not allow any arguments, cursing, or anything untoward and is a wonderful forum. It is what cff was in the beginning. I post detailed reports on this forum and sometimes a report on Facebook without giving any details.

Giving fishing reports is the lifeblood of any fishing forum, but alas, tournament fishing has killed it. People worrying about not winning 50-100 dollars in a local club if they gave out any info is the cancer that kills the whole deal.

I choose not to be a part in that kind of organization. Too bad. There are so many good people that would benefit from some helpful information.

SAME. Take a peek on here from time-to-time, but pretty rare anymore.

 

[31airborne]

I found CFF while preparing for our FoM national championship in 2014. I spent all of my time searching, querying old reports to learn what I could about the lake. I did have a few specific questions, mostly on navigation and navigation aides. Folks were super in responding w/ very detailed info. Made our practice much more effective and safer. This championship has been my only trip to the Chick (so far). You'll see my report, posted shortly after getting home.

CFF is not the only fishing forum realizing an ebb and flow of membership, activity, and content. All of the forums I hang out in are experiencing the same thing.

 

[sdfd504]

I joined pretty early on (member 86) and enjoyed the meetings and picnics we used to have. I learned a lot about reading maps back when we would have them printed from the TVA store and the dogfights were a blast. I would love to see the rod as well since Fatalbert made some awesome rods for group members.