To Tell or Not To Tell 2024

VAbacklash reply :

It's probably happened to most of us, you take a friend along with you bass fishing and you hit your favorite "secret" holes. The next time you go, there sits your friend fishing your spot and he has two of his buddies with him. It's happened to me and little did I know that my friend was marking "my spots" with his GPS. So now my secret holes have become the community holes.

After responding to another forum member's comment about others on this forum being tight lipped about giving out the hows' and wheres' of bass fishing, I thought I would ask how others felt. What info are you willing to share with others that fish the same waters as you? Are you vague or do you share all the information you have? Do you feel that they need to work as hard as you did to locate their own holes or do you try to help them out?

As for me, I usually tell all I know. Being a "bank beater or "slop" fisherman, I usually fish community holes anyway. I'm not a money tournament fisherman but, I understand their need to keep their locations, tactics and lure selection quiet. I kinda feel that a secret honey hole goes community as soon as someone sees you boat a fish out of it.

BucketmouthAngler13 reply :

When I find a nice spot I only let my closest friends know about it and make them swear to secrecy. They do the same to me, and so far our golden brushpiles and bass-filled ponds have been kept a good secret. If one of us tells someone else, they are banned from the spot on the threat of your rods thrown into the water and a good black eye. So far so good.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

If someone shows me a spot I dont tell. Some of the places I fish no one else does because they look so stupid no one thinks there is fish there. For example a mud bank. How many of you guys catch fish off mud banks. Probably not many. Add a stump or other structure heee hee secret spot.

My typcal response is when asked I will give type of location but not the location. I dont spoon feed except for the best of buds. If I'm catching fish on a main lake point in 20 ft of water thats what I will say but the rest is up to them.

guest reply :

I have shared spots and what they are taking with a few on the forum who live by me and fish the same waters. There is enough fish to go around. If I don't know you thats a whole different story. I hate when some one comes practically in your boat and says " Are They bitting here?" I always say no they are bitting on the other side ;D Why would I be fishing there in the first place and not the other side? I once had Ron laughing so hard I thought he was gonna fall out of the boat Some mook came right on us as I was reeling in a nice fish and asked if they were bittin With a straight face and my rod bent into a U I said NO!! He got a bit upset and puttered away FOOL!!!!

I look at it this way If I take someone to a spot more than likely they will give it up. If I let someone use a rod and reel chances are it can get broken. If I know this going in then I have to accept these things when they happen If the spot is that sweet only me and Ron know it and thats it.

New 2 Bass reply :

I tell.

guest reply :

Like all things fishing related, I like to have fun.

So, I like to be "cagey" about it. And see how clever the other guy is, and if he is willing to "give a little to get a little"

It may go something like this.

Him "How they bitin' today?

Me. "About the same"

Him. " Whatcha usin'?

Me. "Usaual stuff"

Him. " I caught some nice ones on a crankbait the ohter day"

Me. " Yeah the blue/chrome rattlin trap usually works pretty good"

Him " You use soft plastics much?

Me " yup"

And so it goes ......I love this game when the other player realizes that is a fun and fair way to share information. Then there's those other guys.......... >

Marty reply :

I hardly tell anyone about the ponds that I fish from shore, except my two trusted fishing partners. I'm much more willing to talk about the bigger waters that we fish from boats.

guest reply :

I have shared some spots with friends and vice versa. We all understand that what we share between each other is just that......between us!!

Long Mike reply :

TBP, I PM'd you before I read your post here. Point taken. You may disregard my PM if you see fit.

Mike

BASS fisherman reply :

I look at it like this, if someone is willing to share a honey hole with me (that sounds so dirty), I would keep it a secret. They trusted me enough to tell me, and I wouldn't want to break that trust.

5bass reply :

I will take others to my proven spots if they are not boat owners! ;D

There are just some spots that dont need to be broadcast. I am one that sinks brushpiles every year and I just dont want people sitting on them when I want to fish 'em. Plus,I did all the work to attract those bass to that certain spot....not the other guy. It's like I'm the one that studied for the test and someone who didnt study wants to copy my paper. Aint happenin'. I hate to be like that sometimes but I learned the hard way and it wont happen again.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

In RI it goes somthing like this,....

"Whatchya catchin all them on?"

"The bottom"

KYbass1276 reply :

I fish private owned water myself. I personally don't mind takeing someone to my honey holes as long as I know there as serious about C&R as I am. But if they aren't then I don't take them. I beleve in selected harvest and all I don't keep but I understand some like to keep a couple here and there and thats fine. But I don't like the ones who try to keep everything they catch or someone who catches a Five pounder and wants to get it mounted. I have had a couple spots ruined by people keeping more than there fair share so I cautious on who I take anymore.

guest reply :

Quote
TBP, I PM'd you before I read your post here. Point taken. You may disregard my PM if you see fit.
Mike

I sent you a PM

Clayton reply :

i share and have been shared with, and some respect it and others dont. But the bottom line is the better fisherman will catch the fish.

=Matt 5.0= reply :

Quote
In RI it goes somthing like this,....
"Whatchya catchin all them on?"

"The bottom"

;D

Yep, pretty much... 8-)

craigaria reply :

If I have a good spot I fish it no matter who is in the boat with me. The whole reason I am going fishing is to catch fish, and I want my buddy to catch fish too. I will admit that it is frustrating to show up to the lake and see the same buddy fishing your spot, but you can't catch em' all.

On the other hand, I will not tell others (people I don't know) where I am fishing at. I will tell them how I am catching the fish, but that is about it.

Also, it is a give and take thing. If I show a buddy a good spot, I expect him to share with his spots also...

bassnleo reply :

I'm all about helping people out.......

BUT

I'm mainly a tournament fisherman. I have put alot of hours in to find the honey holes and I'm not much of bank beater.

I have been burned by more than 1 person.

I tell ya what I'm catchin em on, how deep, what kind of cover, etc...but my spots are MY spots, go out and do some searching on your own, that's the only way you will get better. Catchin em's easy, finding them is the challenge.

NBR reply :

In small fisheries I don't tell. Bigger areas yes I tell. I don't go to another guys spot unless I ask him. If a friend was putting my spots on GPS without saying anythings to me I'd find another friend.

bass109 reply :

"secret" holes.

Some people need a few secrets to catch more fish in their area but dont forget that fishing is still all about having fun, most of the time i forget that. :

Valascus reply :

I will usually help out folks that I know and trust not to tell anyone else about the area. Granted I don't really have any big fish honey holes, but if I did, I would tell my buddies about it and help them hook a good fish. To me it's all about possibly getting someone who is not so into the sport hooked on it and teaching them something new. Sometimes the only way to do that is to show them the thrill of catching a quality fish or a good quantity of fish. If that means showing them a honey hole then I will.

If I were fishing with a member of this site at a place I knew well I would have no qualms about divulging the info on the area...but again...that is as long as it's just between us.

dink reply :

On my home lake, I share everything with anyone who asks. I do this mainly because most bass fishermen who fish my lake only give it a chance from sunrise to about 11:00 am at the latest. I try to tell people to stick it out for a whole day, but they never listen. Oh well, I try.

Conversely, in tournaments I will usually only divulge baits and generalize the type of water I am fishing IF I am returning to that lake soon for another tourney. If not, I'll answer any question.

Bud reply :

I feel like fivebasslimit.

I don't mind taking someone who don't fish the same body of water all the time or out of town guest.

SuthernProg reply :

The paranoia exhibited by some of our bass club members about not wanting to let some secrets out has all but killed any "fun" fishing talk at our meetings. I think that has been the biggest disappointment with my club. We spend 2 hours at a meeting, and you never discuss techniques or lures or anything like that because everyone's holding close to the chest. We fish one tourney a month...what are the odds a discussion on how the chatterbait should be fished will screw someone out of a good finish somewhere at the least, a month down the road what with condition changes, tides, etc etc? It can be discouraging. And this isn't what one would call a big money club.

Prog

justfishin reply :

I have five very close fishing buddies that I share with, as they do also. We keep it in our inner circle but, if I am on the water and I see some young guys or some old timers struggling or not fishing a good area I usually help them out. I watched a couple of young guys struggling the other year trying to fish a river hole that I knew was dead water and went over to talk to them and they said they heard about the Susque being so good and could not catch a thing. I told them to bank their boat and I took them to some spots and we ended up fishing all day and had a great day. They had fun, I had fun. Your personality really comes to light will you are on the water. In other words how you interact with your fishing and other people kind of reflects who you are in other aspects of life. Just by reading this post I can see some personalitys appear and get a pretty good feel of who these guys are. I just went through this giving secrets away problem on this site. Some people got a tude about me talking about the Susque but, you know what, screw them. I like to share in my older years. I won't post anymore about smallie fishing and such but, if I am on the river I will help all I can. There is a difference between a person guiding just for the money and the guy guiding for money as well as fun. I have been sitting back and just reading all the post but, I had to get my two cents in this one. Have a good day. IMO.

roadwarrior reply :

Wow!

justfishin,

I for one enjoy your posts and hope you will reconsider. I think your fishing knowledge has helped a lot of people here at BassResource.com and I am especially interested in your insight and experience chasing big brown fish. If someone has attacked you personally, please send me a PM.

As for my personal perspective on sharing information: What do you want to know?

On the Tennessee River, my partner and I see a lot of guys struggling. We USUALLY strike up a conversation as we pass them fishing. If they are 1) pleasant and 2) interested, we will tell them EXACTLY what they might try and where they should be fishing. What is so surprising to me is that they RARELY take our advice!

squid reply :

I HAVE TOLD, BUT NEVER EXACT LOCATIONS...AND NEVER HAVE I TAKEN SOMEONE WITH WHOM I DON'T NORMALLY FISH WITH TO MY SPOTS. GET ENOUGH PEOPLE IN MY HOLES NOW...DON'T NEED ANY MORE..LOL

Banor reply :

What ever happened to sharing the outdoors experience with your fellow man? Where does this attitude that somehow an area of water on a public lake belongs to just you? On a 10,000 acre lake what are the chances that only one 100' by 100' area is the only area that holds big fish? Does planting a brush pile equate to staking a claim like the California Gold Rush? IF so where do I apply for that deed?

And we wonder why fishing and hunting are declining and we are brainstorming to come up with ideas on how to get our youth involved.

The day my son witnesses me become greedy with the wonders of nature is the day I am no longer a man.

guest reply :

Hey Fellas it is not ownership of a honey hole It is how I am approached. I always have some extra plastics and some hooks and If I see a newbee on the lake, particularly a kid. Me and Ron always stop , show them a Texas Rig and point them in a good direction

It is the fellas on a 339 acre lake that have to pull right up on you when they see you catch one.I always try to go at least 50 yards around a boat working an area. and I never go between the shore and a Boat working that shore line.

I can not tell you the amount of times this happens and it is boats we see all the time. Thats just plain inconsiderate so my take is SEND THEM TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE LAKE who wants that all around you anyway.

I really think I have spent a lot of time, logging patterns, trying different presentations and working hard to figure out my home lake. This has given me hours of enjoyment why can't these guys do the same?

my.02

justfishin reply :

Gee, thanks RW. That means a lot. A while back on a " Everything Else Post " , I recieved some emails that I had described in general in my " Can someone get your email " post. I recieved a couple since then and I am positive it was not from anyone in here, I guess. Anyhow, it just put a cloud over my giving my opinions on subjects in here. This is a fun site for me as well as educational. I am as guilty as the next guy because in my younger years I was hush, hush about certain holes on the river. I still have a few that are my spots that I know I can go and have a good chance at a trophy. All in all though I have reverted back to putting the fun back in fishing. There are some A-holes, that I would not give the time of day to but, there are a lot of good people out there that just want to learn. I am sure we all know both types. I enjoy learning new techniques as well as listening to other peoples points of view. I think it keeps us older guys from getting too set in out ways and improves our fishing. I will always read this post, and even though I will remain low key some subjects hit home and this was one of them. Good luck RW and I hope that #12 gets on the other end of your rod !!! I would say where you are fishing you have that chance. I think the next record will come either from your area, Great Lakes or one of the western impoundments. What say you?

senile1 reply :

No one ever asks me about my honey holes. I think they just assume that if they fish places other than the ones I'm fishing, they'll be miles ahead.

earthworm77 reply :

The only thing that is the difference between your honey hole turning into a community hole is your mouth. I'm well beyond the time where I wanted people to see what I was doing. When I shut my mouth my fishing got even better.

SPEEDBEAD. reply :

Quote
If I have a good spot I fish it no matter who is in the boat with me. The whole reason I am going fishing is to catch fish, and I want my buddy to catch fish too. I will admit that it is frustrating to show up to the lake and see the same buddy fishing your spot, but you can't catch em' all.
On the other hand, I will not tell others (people I don't know) where I am fishing at. I will tell them how I am catching the fish, but that is about it.

Also, it is a give and take thing. If I show a buddy a good spot, I expect him to share with his spots also...

Hmmmm...Nunya....Bling Bling.....LOL ;D

senile1 reply :

Sharing the water to encourage others to enjoy fishing as a pastime is one thing. Sharing a "honey-hole" with someone who can't be trusted to take care of it is another. We all have buddies that we know we can trust, and with these people we may share every detail of the hot spots that we fish. To share the exact details of a spot with some other people could be very naive. To share with those who may abuse a resource (any resource) is an error in judgement. That's why I have to know someone well before I give them every detail of the hot spots I fish. If I don't know them, I will gladly tell them what I'm using and what types of locations I'm fishing (i.e. channel banks, rip-rap, secondary points with drop-offs to deep water, etc.). But they will have to find this type of location.

FIN-S-R reply :

My Fishin' consists of about 75% practice for tourneys, 5% tourney time, and 20% fun w/ my son or friends.....I share good spots, I even share great spots, but I dont share money spots...if there is an outside chance I will ever fish against you- Ive been screwed by "friends" more than once. Friendship is one thing but gettin' paid is another....you dont screw your friends out of a paycheck. I do help my buddies w/ tourney info even if I fish against them, I just make sure my info is better. I work hard to gather it, and as someone else said, I dont want to be coppied off of on test day.

now as far as techniques/ patterns/ lures/ colors/ presentations and areas...I will give it all up.

2 Reasons

#1 Everyone is always looking for that special spot and "THEY" will waste time doing it

#2 You will always do better in the spots you know doing what you know works than you will in a new spot doing something someone told you about even if it is true

guest reply :

Justfishin'

I'm glad RW changed your mind. you have the absolute right to your opinion, and to your knowledge. If you want to post GPS points on this site showing all the "good spots" then so be it.

You saw my post, I make a game out of it. But having a generous spirit is wonderful thing. If it pleases you to help someone else and others get angry, well that's their problem.

So long as you stay within the guidelines established by Glenn and monitored by the mods, then you go right ahead and enjoy this forum anyway you see fit.

Avid has spoken

Psssssssst. Just between you and me, PM me with the secret spots on Lake Fork

Valascus reply :

I already posted how I feel and what I would do on this subject. But, I think it is interesting to note something here. Here is a link to a thread that was posted not long ago concerning the perceived decline in popularity in fishing and the possible ramifications of this decline. Please keep in mind that I am not attacking anyone's point of view or trying to tell them how to run or who to tell about their hot spots. These are just some observations I have made.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1168799464

Now, there are quite a few people who posted in the thread that I linked here that they are concerned about the state of fishing and feel they could do more to help it. Yet, I don't understand the high number of people here who refuse to allow RESPONSIBLE, TRUSTWORTHY people to fish their hot spots. For this sport to experience growth and prosperity I really believe people need to become a little less guarded with good fishing spots and be more open to teaching and sharing knowledge with fellow anglers, not just in places like this, but on the water as well. Now if the person could do major harm to the spot by not practicing catch and release or is the type who may abuse the trust of the person they are asking about the spot, then I can see why you may not share knowledge of the spot with them. I have seen some people who concern themselves more with the "getting paid" aspect of it all when it comes to sharing. What ever happened to the FUN behind the fishing and the joy of good, challenging competition? I, for one, would not mind sharing tournament info with fellow anglers. If I am confident I can out fish them despite giving them the information, then why does it matter if I share this information. And if they were to beat me, then so be it. I just got beat and obviously did not deserve the win that time. I am not a tournament fisherman...have never been in one, so maybe I don't understand that aspect of the sport. But to me when the money becomes more important to sharing knowledge and passion for the sport, then something is wrong. It is my OPINION that is one of the problems strangling the sport. I guess the point I am trying to get at is take the time to show someone the where, how, and why of bass fishing in hopes of turning someone onto the sport, even if it means sharing your secret hot spots.

flechero reply :

I'm a little surprised at how many people won't share info/spots. I almost never fish in anyone else's boat so it's a one-way street with me. I always fish the water i feel is best for the day and time... so if I have someone with me which is most of the time, they are going where I feel we have the best chances of catching fish... honey hole or not. And if I see them another day on a spot I showed, I'll stop and say hi, and ask about the success. There is plenty of water and other good spots to fish. I like exploring new water so I guess I'm less locked into the same old spots if some get outside pressure.

Do you non-sharing people fish junk water when you have a passenger? Why waste the gas and time to go if you don't fish what you think is good water?

Besides, fishing a good spot with a friend and catching fish is a great time.... fishing with a friend and protecting your holes is like casting practice... thanks anyway, I don't backlash much.

Catt reply :

I have 35 years experience on Toledo Bend and don't mind sharing with anyone. There is how ever one major problem I have no GPS locations, they are all in my head, so if you aint fishing with me you aint gonna find em.

I know enough locations that I can give you 4 or 5 money spots and it want effect me in the least but the way I look at it is unless you really good you aint gonna fish it right any way.

If you want to know my spots you gonna have to take me

guest reply :

I have already posted on this subject but I would like to add one more thing. I was fishing in a private pond several months ago and had a friend that wanted to catch some nice bass, so I took him there and we had a blast. Well about 2 weeks after we went the land owner called me and said that I could no longer go fishing in his pond because there was trash on the banks and floating in the pond. I asked my friend about it and he said that he told some of his friends about it but didn't realize that they went to the pond. Now it is ruined for all of us. I went back out there with the owner and cleaned up his pond. I told the other guys to come with me and help but they never showed up.

Now if it comes to some good places on a lake I don't have problems shareing all the information that I have. I had a member from this forum PM for some information about Lake Fork and I told him as soon as I finish with my research and everything, that I will send him the information. I have been going out there for the past 2 months and have found some great spots. I have no problems with that. Its a big lake and plenty of great fishing water.

earthworm77 reply :

I don't think that sharing is bad, please don't get me wrong. I think being too specific with the wrong people is what will ultimately be detrimental to my own fishing. You have to know who you can trust. Remember that shampoo commercial about some girl telling her friend and So on, and so on and so on........until 100's of people were in the loop. That isn't good for your honey hole.

guest reply :

[?quote]

Do you non-sharing people fish junk water when you have a passenger? Why waste the gas and time to go if you don't fish what you think is good water?

justfishin reply :

Thanks Avid. I know nothing of Fork but, one of these years I will make the trip. I know every rock on the Susky around Harrisburg and the Upper Potomoc in MD because I have hit most of them one time or another,lol. If you are ever on the Susky look for dark gray paint on a rock and that is one of my holes. I wish all of you a great trip on Fork. It must be awesome. Is your timing on the trip due to the spawn? If it is I would bet you guys will catch some hogs. I will say one thing. I would be willing to bet that I will hear the laughter clear up here in Maryland while you all are there. Good luck.

kbkindle reply :

kb here if there is not a tourney going on i will tell the guys that will return the favor. being iam retiered the tourney fisherman around here have got enough (BIRDDOGS) the way it is. there always asking me or watching where we go. thats what i dont like i guess i dont know what a honey hole is one week they will be at a certain part of the lake the next they might be up some of the side rivers you got to find them kb

flechero reply :

Quote
What is the big deal with making a choice in America anymore

Muddy,

I wasn't looking to ruffle your feathers or offend anyone, just asking a sincere question... Like I said in my original post, I'm surprised at how many people say they hold out or hold back... that never felt like the theme of personalities in this forum so I didn't expect it and maybe I stand corrected.

You and everyone here has the right to hide every detail if you want, it won't affect my fishing, just my thinking.

rocknfish9001 reply :

I tell any and everybody where i was fishing, what i used, how i used it, boat position, colors, depth, time of day, day of week, etc, etc. If they ask, i tell. Even in the river. Everybody know how i caught my 10+lb. walleye, what i caught it on, and how i caught it. I tell everybody who asks. As a matter of fact, it was just north of the bridge in berrien springs below the dam on a #10 black a silver huskey jerk casted upstream, and drifted downstream, then s l o w l y reeled in. The fish hit it on the way back towards shore. Do i care? No. If there is somebody else on my spot, oh well. If there is a line of people there, thats just too bad and ill have to wait my turn. I can actually benifit from having somebody in my spot. It gives me an opportunity to try something new, maybe ill hit it big somewhere else i would have missed earlier. Now i will sound very cockey and maybe ill come off as an @$$hole, but i usually outfish somebody in my spot after i tell them every little detail. Am i a better fisherman? Id like to think so. I have fished side by side with somebody fishing the exact same lure, same color, same jighead, same everything. I outfished him 7-0. They think im holding something back, but trust me, i do anything i can to make everyone a better fisherman.

5bass reply :

Please keep in mind that giving someone a guided tour of all your brushpiles and sharing info on an internet site is TOTALLY different.

And about fishing dead water with someone in the boat......I dont do that. I still fish productive areas but I wont give up much pertinent info about it...such as the big rock on the bottom,the isolated stump on the side of a point etc....

And I dont say anything when we just happen to "accidentally" float over one of MY brushpiles either.

guest reply :

Yo Flech I should have put a smilie on that[ I wil}l just a smart a-- quip I aint taking any offense to anything Sorry it came off that way Man

cart7t reply :

Quote
Please keep in mind that giving someone a guided tour of all your brushpiles and sharing info on an internet site is TOTALLY different.
And about fishing dead water with someone in the boat......I dont do that. I still fish productive areas but I wont give up much pertinent info about it...such as the big rock on the bottom,the isolated stump on the side of a point etc....

And I dont say anything when we just happen to "accidentally" float over one of MY brushpiles either.

Agree completely. I'm quite happy to put people onto productive water including some hotspots but I'm not going to draw pictures for them. Part of the learning process is in the doing and discovery. Besides, I've spent time sinking brushpiles before, it's time consuming. I'll save those for myself or point people in the direction of some of my slightly less productive ones or others I've found along the way.

Reminds me of the Florida Panhandle Salt Water guys. With no real offshore natural reefs, just about everything off the coast to fish is manmade structure. Anything from chicken coops to auto bodies and tires. Those things are very expensive to put together and sink. A hurricane can move them to where you can't find them anymore. Those guys are extremely secretive of their numbers. I can't blame them.

justfishin reply :

I guess ugly women and your fishing holes are similar. If you wake up with a ugly woman and can sneak out without being seen, then, its great and you don't have to explain yourself. If your buddies don't see you on a productive secret fishing hole and you can get out of there without being seen, you don't have to explain yourself either.

flechero reply :

Quote
Yo Flech I should have put a smilie on that[ I wil}l just a smart a-- quip I aint taking any offense to anything Sorry it came off that way Man

My miss... it's good.

jdw174 reply :

When I wrote the outdoor column for a morning newspaper, I would tell what lake, what depth, type of structure/cover, and type of lure. What I would NOT tell under ANY circumstances was the exact spot I was fishing. I gave my readers everything they needed to find the fish on their own....but no more.

Rattlinrogue reply :

Mostly people that I take fishing with me are folks that don't own boats,are not really big into bassin',kids that don't get to go often,etc.,so I take 'em to what I think is the best that the lake has to offer.I'm not really worried about somebody fishing the good spots that I find.I'm pretty sure somebody else found it long before me.

Grey Wolf reply :

Since I don't tournament fish , I'll spill my guts to anybody that asks but that's just me.

I certainly understand why people don't want to give up their honey holes and really that is their business.

Matt Fly reply :

A little side note from Takahiro Omori as I read on the ***.

To Tell or Not To Tell: According to Tak, what he's learned since winning the Classic is to not listen to any Dock talk.

Tak said that listening to the other pros after a day on the water has messed him up. This year, if you look in Tak's boat, he has a note taped to his rod boxes saying, "no dock talk".

Matt.

5bass reply :

Dock talk can definitely cloud your judgement. At the dock,everybody you talk to was catching fish and mostly all on different lures and in totally different areas. I have heard that about Tak too and a few others on Tour also but "dock talk" is different than physically taking someone out and revealing your spots.

If KVD took Tak to an awesome underwater hump that was loaded with 5 pounders,Tak cant tell me that he'd avoid that spot the entire tournament. I'd guarantee if he went by the spot and KVD was nowhere in sight,Tak would be sittin' right on top of it.

Ky_Lake_Dude reply :

I dont mark spots without permission then don't tell anyone about them without permission.

New 2 Bass reply :

Quote
I tell any and everybody where i was fishing, what i used, how i used it, boat position, colors, depth, time of day, day of week, etc, etc. If they ask, i tell. Even in the river. Everybody know how i caught my 10+lb. walleye, what i caught it on, and how i caught it. I tell everybody who asks. As a matter of fact, it was just north of the bridge in berrien springs below the dam on a #10 black a silver huskey jerk casted upstream, and drifted downstream, then s l o w l y reeled in. The fish hit it on the way back towards shore. Do i care? No. If there is somebody else on my spot, oh well. If there is a line of people there, thats just too bad and ill have to wait my turn. I can actually benifit from having somebody in my spot. It gives me an opportunity to try something new, maybe ill hit it big somewhere else i would have missed earlier. Now i will sound very cockey and maybe ill come off as an @$$hole, but i usually outfish somebody in my spot after i tell them every little detail. Am i a better fisherman? Id like to think so. I have fished side by side with somebody fishing the exact same lure, same color, same jighead, same everything. I outfished him 7-0. They think im holding something back, but trust me, i do anything i can to make everyone a better fisherman.

Nope, you are not Uranus at all. You sir, are a nice guy!

fish-fighting-illini reply :

I used to tell but the better I have become at fishing the less I am willing to share. I love to catch fish and when I go I want to catch them. If I don't I may as well throw away my equipment. I do mainly catch and release so they will be there the next time. One problem is the lakes I fish are fairly small and up untill now most fishing was from the bank. Good spots are hard to come by as things get crowded. I will share with my buddy but I hope he doesn't share with many others. On my small lake I had gotten to the point that I used to only fish from around 1/2 hr before dark untill around 10pm. I didn't have to worry about crowding and clowns ( lake is ver small). Now I see more and more people coming at that time of night. I've shared some info ( and will still share some ) but I'm being more careful about it. I think some of the problem is the "saving for a fish fry" mentality of so many people. They catch fish after fish and have to keep them all. They say lake so and so had good Crappie but now they are all tiny. These are the same people who are catching the 25 fish limit 4,5 and 6 times a week. Recently I posted that my dad caught a trout in a small pond near his house. Someone came by and asked if they were biting, I told dad right after he caught it that if we ran into someone to keep quiet. Heck the next day the lake would have been full of every greedy fisherman who owned a knife and fork. I know that is not the most popular opinion but just my .02.

northgabassfisher reply :

see i work at a bait and tackle store were it is part of my job to tell people were and how to fish a spot but i still try not to just give it to them i will give them a general area of were to go and what to look for, and maybe a tip or two on how to fish that spot. but i do share some of my good spots to some people it just depends on who they are, if its like a guy coming to fish a tourny and its the first time hes been up on my home lake then i will go it to more detail on the spots i show them.

CrazedL.IFisherman reply :

I think im too kind sometimes and give away too much info to other anglers, usually we'll exchange just whats working but who knows if what they are saying back to me is truthful, most fisherman are good guys but giving away secrets seems to be like pulling teeth, personally i dont seem to mind much giving away what lure and color works but exact location i try my hardest not give away, at the best it would be very general, like their being caught in the weedlines about 3-5 feet deep but i wouldnt give away my honey holes!

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To Tell or Not To Tell 2024

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