Missing fishing posts & members

[EricM]

As an explanation to the CFF gang about some members and reports that have not been appearing lately, and in answer to some recent questions, it's not so much anyone jumping ship or having major problems with ugly posts (although they tend to pop up) as it is a problem that has developed with freely giving information in fishing posts. For a long time there was very little problem in posting info to help other CFFers shorten the learning curve, but there are so many members now who don't know each other and use the posts to find a new "favorite" spot at the expense of those who have posted their hard-earned knowledge - and worse yet about 1/3 of the viewers are "guests" who check for ideas but don't ever post any reports or info - that a number of highly respected members have stepped back and taken a "wait and see" attitude. Many of the fishing spots are very small and there are a limited number of similar places, so going out and finding a boat on each of the places you have given info about that had no traffic a year ago is a huge disappointment. Finding people on the spots that you had shown them when they asked to fish with you is even worse, and drumking (only one example, and I hope you don't mind Dickey) has been extremely open about taking folks who asked and taught them "how" to fish using his method, only to find that they decided to keep going back to where he took them. He (again using Dickey as an example) did not do this as a paid guide service and a number of us feel that the friendship extended personally and in posts has been taken advantage of. Personally, I am fortunate that the not-secret area I fish is large and can and does accomodate a large nunber of fishermen. However, it has become a bigger problem, more often, there too. Additionally, making a lot of posts draws a huge number of requests from people to take them out. I have a list of 26 people right now and if I were to take folks twice a week it would still take over 3 months to do it. I don't even want to think how many requests Dickey and some of the others get.
None of this is to be taken as a complaint, just as an explanation of how some are currently feeling. I hope and expect that the fishing reports from several of these folks will resume in the future - although with less specific information - if and when the pressure on them eases somewhat. I hope this explains some of the comments you may have read.
And I miss their posts and pictures!!
That said, I wish everyone good fishing! Eric

 

[MrWiskers]

I have noticed a significant increase in boats fishing the spots Alvin and I fish this spring. I am pretty open about posting pics that clealy show where we are fishing and up until now it has not been an issue. Friday we saw 2 boats beside us fishing the bend and they were both fishing within 200 yards of us. Don't know if they saw some of my posts or if it was just luck but sure was strange. Going forward I plan to be a lot more "abstract" in my posts to avoid giving away where we fish while still giving enough information to describe our pattern, etc. Having made over 140 fishing reports and fished with over 30 memebers I have given and taken a lot of information from the forum and hate to see it going in the direction it is going where the verteran members stop posting but I know of a few that have stopped posting all together. It will not take long for this site to close down when the fishing reports stop. Not much anyone can do about I suspose but sure is a shame.

I plan to continue posting for a while to see what happens but I can see a day coming real soon where I may stops. Only time will tell.

 

[Guest]

Great fishing holes are like gold. The reason for the value of these holes is the same as the reason for the value of gold. They are rare. The CFF is like the California and Alaska gold rushes. Look what happened in these gold rushes and they didn't even have the world wide web. When CFF was small it was like a family affair. Now we have nearly 2500 members and thousands more reading. This type of thing that EricM and MrWhiskers is talking about was inevitable. Gas prices I believe have compounded or sped up the process of this inevitability.
I for one am very appreciative of the techniques and holes that have been shown to me be by a number of the members here. I have also tried my best to give back when I could. There are many however that only take and rarely if ever give any thing iin return. That too was bound to happen as it is unfortunately human nature.
Many of us have CFF stickers on out boats and vehicles and we welcome and encourage others to participate in our love for this sport. We have put up pictures of ourselves and our boats and tow vehicles. We put up photographs of us holding huge fish and lots of them.
I guess my question is; did anyone actually think this would never happen?

 

[DHaun]

I am very grateful to DK and others who have contributed on CFF. They have done their part to promote the fishery and help educate many on conservation. I support them in any decision they make about their level of future reporting and really appreciate all I have learned from their past posts.

This is a free site with free local reports and a wealth of seasoned anglers. Regardless of the level of information provided I don't see how I can ever have anything negative to say about a report posted for my reading. In my search for stripers I have been to a few other TN sites recently. In comparison CFF has a lot more helpful information and is still friendlier/cleaner than other sites. I believe internet forums eventually become whatever the members put into them...posts collectively set examples for others to follow and establish the "tone" of a site be it negative or positive.

I have taken many other members out and shared a few special locations seeing them passed on to many others over time. When you give anglers your location on the internet or take them right to it in a boat, most will be there again at some point and will probably tell several others. The best way to keep fishing holes un-crowded is to NOT divulge them.

CFF has grown exponentially. I started cropping my pics a long time ago. I provide water temp, general depth and a basic pattern...but I keep locations to myself unless I want a lot of company the next time out. Even without the internet there are no secrets on the water and Chattanooga has a large population of anglers compared to other areas I fish...I still have anglers I don't know pull right up on me if they see me catching fish. Hopefully they will eventually read posts about common courtesy...but I will always welcome a CFF contributor to pull up and fish with me.

With the proper level of ambiguity, fishing reports can be provided in a manner to help promote conservation to the masses and define the health of the river system without compromising exact locations. Each visitor on CFF represents a potential ally in protecting area resources, which seem to be under threat according to recent news articles. That's why I will continue to report and support the site. Those who choose to share exact locations with hundreds of other daily readers will probably find them occupied the next time out.

Out of nearly 2500 members there are only 130 or so actually reporting on CFF. When I was an admin I always removed a post when requested that may have compromised a specific location. These concerns are the primary reason I considered making fishing reports totally private to past contributors last year. With continued growth, I can see that there may be some site changes to consider.

 

[foodsaver]

I have been the recipient of some of the knowledge that has been passed around and I am sorry its gotten to the point for some folks where posting a report starts to mean follow me to the fish! I am grateful for the knowledge thats been passed around over the years and can see where the frustration would come from. Sometimes its nice to get on the water by yourself and thats something thats alot tougher to do when you post reports about the big one that didnt get away.

 

[craazyboutbass]

I think this forum should only be viewable to Members instead of lurkers. That would probably help alot and we can just keep on posting our reports that only members can read.

Billy, Brandon.... Think about it!

 

[finbully]

I have lived in the Chattanooga area since June 2006, so I’m new to fishing here. Part of the fun and excitement for me in this new fishing area is the hunt itself. While I enjoy reading posts containing as much detail as the author cares to divulge, the information is quickly history. Sure it goes into my memory bank, but it is by no means the only piece of fishing information I compile in my brain. To me the posts are just stories of a day on the lake (hopefully) having fun.

I find that fishing changes by the minute or cast. What anybody posts in terms of catching success, while great to get the blood pumping, it does little or nothing to change my techniques – including locations the next time I'm out. A good angler develops their own set of a go to arsenal of techniques and locations, and I aspire to be that angler.

If I happen to be on a particular spot one feels they discovered it is not because I saw you or read about you catching there, it is the coincidental event of me experimenting with whatever knowledge I have developed over more than forty years of recreational and commercial fishing world-wide, studying maps and the excellent electronics anybody can purchase nowadays - all applied to the conditions I perceive during my day on the lake. I think folks that believe a person is on their spot when they come around the corner is being caviler, since, fisherman and women aspiring to become more productive will use as much information and study methods that are at their disposal will find the same productive spots/zones that are already known to others.

All of that being said, and as I mentioned above that catching information is history as soon as you unhook the fish, I have been very surprised at how much information is given out on the CFF site. While it is your choice to do so or not, nowhere else that I have seen do people post a roadmap to their spots. Notice the word secret (as in spot) is missing, since as soon as you tell one person your secret spot, it is no longer a secret. In that light, I don’t blame anyone for keeping as much information to themselves as they want. For you own successful catching self-preservation, I’d leave location out of the report, but that is just me.

This “issue” will not go away whether or not CFF or a similar web site exists. The fact is that the area is growing in popularity and with that comes more people fishing. While I respect an angler’s position on a fishing location at the time it is occupied, if an area that I believe is worth trying is vacant you can bet I will see if any of the finned creatures are home.

In closing, I do applaud the CFF’ers that have freely given information to shorten the learning curve for some, however this graciousness is bound to put pressure on the spots you have found to be productive, as it just makes sense for the person(s) you have taught to go out and apply what they have learned.

 

[drumking]

Eric, I don't mind you using me as an example at all. I haven't changed at all and I'm not mad at anyone on the forum. What you said is what I am sensing from others who used to post and those whom I have great respect for. I still plan on fishing with many of you and will be just as informative as I have always been. I am posting my reports by email to about 22 of you guys that I have met and have great admiration for. You know who you are.

A generic report to me at least is nothing more than a fishing tale. That's why I don't read Outdoor Life or mags like that anymore. A generic report is useless in my honest opinion. Without giving specific info, I will make a last post today.

I fished Saturday morning and our goal was to find and catch crappie. We caught a mixed bag of fish. Had the crappiefest tx not been canceled, I believe that I would have had a great chance of winning it. We caught 45 keepers sized crappie, many in the 13+ inch size. I showed about 1/2 of them to Richard Simms who stopped by just before we quit fishing for the day. He had a client out with 2 children and I only showed them the crappie in one livewell. We had the other livewell almost filled too. (Don't worry folks, we culled down to the legal limit) We caught most of our fish on ringer stingers and slab slayers.

But the bass were going nuts. We almost couldn't catch crappie for bass grabbing the lures before the crappie could get them. I caught one largemouth that weighed 7.0 pounds. Our biggest smallie was 3.8 pounds. Our top 5 bass would have weighed between 18-19 pounds. From reading the reports from the tx out of Chester Frost yesterday, I believe that that would have been the winning weight if we had been in that tx. I don't do bass txs anymore. All bass were released. Water temp was in the mid-50's and the water was stained. I'm not going to post the pic of the 7.0 lb bass. It would reveal the area that we were in.

I also caught 8 drum. The drum are going nuts right now too. Fun on ultralight tackle.

Eric, we will fish together in less than 3 months and I'm not even on your list! emoBigsmile emoGeezer

 

[Liveliner]

Good topic ... </p>

I think that there are many of us who find pleasure in taking Nubies out fishing so as to see the pleasure and excitement they express when they hook-up.  I have only one honey hole that I refuse to share, however, other than that I will try to put folks on productive spots anywhere.  It is a bad feeling when you find that the person you shared a good spot with has posted it's location to the world.  Tough call isn't it? </p>

With a little respect back from the ones we share our spots with they could be a little more discrete.  But then again ... This is CFF where we pride ourselves in the fact that we are here to share our fishing knowledge.  "Yep - as I said - Tough call isn't it."</p>

 

[MadBomber]

OK, to make sure there is no future resentment on my part, I'm going to announce to the world my favorite "Honey Hole".  Any bank with rip-rap!!</p>

</p>

 

[Bprice]

Hello all... sorry I haven't been around this weekend and just now have limited time to read through what seems to be an interesting thread.  I plan on posting another poll in the very near future to gauge the interest of this... last time david made a poll I believe it was voted that the site is left as be.  Lets test the water again, and see what folks think.  It might be a little while before I can get something up, as I'm about to get studying for mid-terms.  Billy is on vacation with his family, so give us a little bit of time and we'll get something worked up.  If there are any other specific concerns please let me know.</p>

THanks!</p>

 

[Buoy-Master]

craazyboutbass - 3/23/2008 11:37 AM I think this forum should only be viewable to Members instead of lurkers. That would probably help alot and we can just keep on posting our reports that only members can read.

Billy, Brandon.... Think about it!

</p>

In response to that Kevin...we could ask First Light to set that data private until your a member but think about that for a sec....we would have more "names" listed and not posting.

.LOL. Sort ofa dang if you do , dang if you dont thing. Good thinking though!

</p>

 

[Buoy-Master]

MIAs...Lord knows you guys are some of the ones i want to ride with one day. Just to get to know you better! You guys are the reason my fishing knowledge and education have grown 100% in the last 2 years! For me, its not about the holes...its the people here and the friendships I've made. </p>

 

[WLG]

Here's how I feel about this. Alot of the members on here (like me) would have never got to catch the fish of a lifetime if it wasnt for CFF or I should say the members of CFF who have chosen to teach someone else their method and usually location of fishing. I remember the first person that took me fishing from the forum was Fishing Machine. He took me to the exact "hole" he was fishing regularly at that time. He also showed me the way to catch the bait we were going to use, the hooks,the sinkers,the net that I needed to buy,the rod holders and the list goes on and on.....My point is.....Terry was nice enough to take the time to take me and TEACH me how to go after these BIG CATFISH. It was always a dream of mine to catch a really HUGE catfish!! I really appreciated Terry taking the time and effort to do this for me( as he has done for others) and I HIGHLY respect him for that. I told him when we were leaving the fishing hole that day..that I would return there but If I saw him fishing there I would move on to another spot....or if I was fishing there and he came driving up that I would move on. This is because I RESPECT TERRY and appreciate what he did for me. I have also fished with others on here like DRC ..Foodsaver..Drumking..EricM..Spurhunter...and the list goes on..and I have the highest respect for all of them. I have also took others and shown them the same teqnique that was taught to me..and I would expect the same amount of respect. I have also learned how to "HUNT" for the fish that I like to catch . Sometimes you may come back to the same "hole" and you may not catch a thing....switch baits or the presentation and start catching them again. I guess the thing that hurts your feelings is when you have shown someone your way of fishing and come back to find them fishing your HOLE or area and they dont even aknowlege you are there. But I do beleive if you did share the information with them....you should not be offended if they are fishing in your areas when you come back there....after all..you did take them and show them the EXACT spot....as long as they treat you with respect!!!! As far as SECRET HONEY HOLES go....if you dont want the WORLD to know about your fishing hole...then dont post pics of it on the World Wide Web. Most places that we fish for cats around the nuke plant is no secret...not even in the least....so I dont bother cropping pics when I am fishing that area. If i go HUNTING and find a NEW TO ME hole...then I may not post pics or even give a detailed report of EXACTLY where i was on an open forum. I will however give that information if you have shared information with me and take the time to shoot me a PM. I think we all know...there are no TRUE SECRET holes anywhere on any body of water we fish. Chances are....someone else has fished there before...or may stumble on it in the future. If its a place like the Nuke plant...and you have a depthfinder and know how to read it....anywhere you fish out there...I can guarantee you that someone else knows about it. Bottom line...its all about respect. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you!!!! Unfortuantly...not many people live by this motto anymore. Its sad....but its the truth of the matter. I hope CFF stays around forever...I have really enjoyed all the members that I have fished with and the true freinds that I have made on here. I will continue to contrubute to this forum...and I will continue to give respect where it is due!!

 

[slo-ride]

[No message]

 

[SpurHunter]

<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I am much like Wade on the subject. I don't know if I can convey how much the CFF has done for my fishing in a post. </span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I was a die-hard fisherman for my whole life while I grew up in FL. When I moved to TN, my first experience with "local" fisherman was horrid to say the least. I was told that I was not allowed to revisit the spots I was shown, or someone might <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><u>shoot</u>[/i] me! That solved my fishing itch until about two years ago. </span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I was wanting to find out how to really catch some good fish <u>with my kids</u> as they seemed to have an interest in it.  I heard about a guy that caught lots of monster fish down on the upper-most "G". I hooked up with him for an afternoon, and was not impressed. I was constantly on the prowl for more info, until the day I found CFF, by searching for "Chickamauga catfish reports". Guess who's smiling mug I saw?? That is right, EricM. Where did I see the guy??? on the CFF, not only showing off HUGE fish, but telling folks what to use, and how to catch them! I thought the guy might be off his rocker for giving away this information, and surely the folks that would have shot me years ago, didn't know about this guy!</span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I lurked for a couple months trying to figure it out on my own, then I joined up. With-in a few weeks of trying on my own, I asked and was granted a trip to learn the tricks of the trade with MR. Maurer himself. This really blew me away....</span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">He even supplied me with the terminal tackle, bait and all. I was dumbfounded by his generosity of knowledge and of course his skills. I learned that he was also a member on the BOC, Brotherhood of Catfisherman, and when checking out his posts and reports on both sites it hit me that he was an anomaly in the fishing world, or so I thought. He was successful at his chosen target species, and shared EVERYTHING he knew! And STILL caught more than the rest. Those members that were around for the last picnic may remember I had a shirt embroidered for him with some of his biggest accomplishments on it out of thanks and respect for what he did on the CFF, <u>NOT just</u> for me. He educates and enriches the lives of the folks he takes fishing. He doesn't do this for monetary gain, he enjoys life, and making folks happy.  THEN I started to meet and fish with other fine folks that were every bit as open with their information, Cheez, Drumking, DOC1, team-d, MrWiskars, WLG, RSimms, the list goes <span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">on and on</span>. Some of these folks are now true friends, and we even do things outside of fishing together. The point is that I would have never been able to find out the quality and quantity of information in 10 years that I have in 10 months without the ENOURMOUS generosity of CFF fishing reports from so many open people.  I thought Eric was an anomaly, but he is the norm of the true report "sharers" that post reports. </span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I hope you all have seen my recent reports with my kids center-stage with great fish, and HUGE smiles, and I owe this to all you guys that post reports with amazing details. I would not fish 10% of what I do now if I didn't have them interested in it. While I have not made the Hall Of Fame yet, my son now has twice! I couldn’t be more thrilled. I certainly didn't need another hobby, but "me and my kids" did. So I want to make sure those that are responsible are appreciated. </span></p>



<u><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; COLOR: red; FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">THANK-YOU ALL FISHING REPORTERS!</span></u><span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??=""></span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">Having said all this I want to make sure and reciprocate what has been granted me in the way of accelerated knowledge. I take every newbie I can get my hands on to let them experience the thrills of catching great fish right here in my backyard. That will not change, but I will start to be more considerate of where and when I go to certain places, and if I see a member that has shown me the hole they are on or near, I will back out and find another place to go. I am lucky that the majority of my fishing is for cats, and we all know where I will go most times, but I even started looking for new water a couple weeks ago, (without luck), but I will keep trying, and I will absolutely tell all that have shown me so much about the holes I find, whether I ever fish in their boat again, they are a part of my fishing experience. </span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I certainly do not hold any grudge against a member that has chosen to make their reports private, or non-existent. Every person has that right to tell who and what he wants, and no-one should ever feel obligated to do otherwise. I will do everything I can to help the next members in line that are as hungry as I was for the “good” info, but if I am using a technique or fishing a “hole” that was shown to me, I will be as discreet as I can out of respect for that person. </span></p>



<span style="FONT-FAMILY: " verdana?,?sans-serif??="">I hope one day I will have the secrets figured out that many will want, but until then, I will post when I have something to contribute to all, and if I have a super-secret, I might share it privately with some that have shared with me as I have been doing for some time. </span></p>

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[Buoy-Master]

 Dadgum Spur...well said Buddy!

 

[foodsaver]

emoWorthy Spur you get the message across loud and clear. I feel exactly the same way you do about the fine members on this forum. Thanks for saying it as well as you did!

 

[Bprice]

Well put everyone, lots of heart and thought into your posts, and I appreciate that.  Remember there is a medium for those folks who post fishing reports, to detail more information than would be normally conveyed on the open forum.  Its fairly underutilized at this point... thanks for all the insight folks!

 

[bassnbug]

being fairly new to cff i just wanted to add a few lines on the subject. first of all i want to say thank you to ericm for taking me out for one of the finest days of fishing i have ever had. it was one of those days i will tell my grandkids about someday. i have returned to the area we fished several times and have not had the same luck. i have saw ericm back out there several times since then and i always try and keep my distance and not fish in the exact areas he is fishing but if i have stepped on anyones toes i do appologize. i really only know 2 places i can regularly catch fish, the nuke plant and the dam tailwaters, both very public places. i can see how annoying it can be for people to find your honey holes but i think if you want your spot kept secret, don 't take anyone there or post its location. having said that, this just may be my last post on this forum. (remember when fishing was just about fun)