The Online Source for Washington Fishing Information

At what point does information become Too much information

I don't know who this "John Cambis" is. Probably T-Bone re-visited, but beware. He will pm you looking for help to get on fish. He and his trusty backseat gremlin, pictured below, may look to make Bass chowder out of your favored quarry.

Which begs the question..... I love helping people catch fish. I've put little girls on fish and old men on fish. I don't discriminate.....but when it comes to the internet, how many people do you guys think look at this site with intent to kill bass?, and how much info is too much? How do you make sure that a seemingly nice guy probing for info isn't a bass killing maniac?

If you don't know there, is a lot of smallmouth being thrown in bushes these days by salmon anglers who hate bass in the rivers. There are guys who would love to learn how to find bedding bass, and catch and take.

Just figured I might put this up for discussion since Mr. Cambis didn't like the way the previous thread was going, so he deleted it.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jake Anderson on February 5, 2013 at 11:51am

Great point Don...

I really like and appreciate generalized information that lends itself to people wanting to get out and figure out a fishery. I really like it when guys like yourself talk about terminal gear, rod pairings with line types, baits...the stuff that doesn't give a guy a fish, but at least instills the confidence that when a guy does come across fish, his presentation will have a reasonable chance and a guy can get the bass to the boat. I think its great that guys like Bob Adkinson write real nice articles about fisheries especially when he himself guides in those very same areas! That takes brass...and to me is a nice way to give back.

But what I hate to see is people giving up a ton of info via PM to people they have no idea about. Thats what I saw yesterday, I've seen it before, and it seems like a great way to get bit. Do I really care if someone's pond on the peninsula gets ruined? Call me Jake "the compassionate one" Anderson i guess. Just tryin to help people avoid a costly mistake. I've seen guys get burnt pretty bad... and to be honest, my introduction to bass conservation was a pond that my dad and I ruined. We unfortunately taught ourselves that catching and cleaning will hurt a small fishery fast....and unfortunately we weren't the only ones who fished that pond up near othello in the early 1990's. We ruined it for others too.

You'd think that telling strangers ( repeat after me....stranger danger) via pm about your honey spots would be a common sense no-no....but I'm not sure that many people have seen how quick a spot can get messed up. Just here to pass along the lesson i suppose....

at the end of the day...I'm perfectly calm

Don Hogue said:

I willing to bet that for every person who has put a hurt on the bass fishing population because of "info" there are 4 people (like yourself) who have become defenders of the resource as a result of info that let them experience the joy of bass fishing.
Good topic - something we all struggle with.

Permalink Reply by Mike Bess on February 5, 2013 at 1:09pm

Can I get that map anytime soon?

Jake "The Snake" Anderson said:

Great point Don...

I really like and appreciate generalized information that lends itself to people wanting to get out and figure out a fishery. I really like it when guys like yourself talk about terminal gear, rod pairings with line types, baits...the stuff that doesn't give a guy a fish, but at least instills the confidence that when a guy does come across fish, his presentation will have a reasonable chance and a guy can get the bass to the boat. I think its great that guys like Bob Adkinson write real nice articles about fisheries especially when he himself guides in those very same areas! That takes brass...and to me is a nice way to give back.

But what I hate to see is people giving up a ton of info via PM to people they have no idea about. Thats what I saw yesterday, I've seen it before, and it seems like a great way to get bit. Do I really care if someone's pond on the peninsula gets ruined? Call me Jake "the compassionate one" Anderson i guess. Just tryin to help people avoid a costly mistake. I've seen guys get burnt pretty bad... and to be honest, my introduction to bass conservation was a pond that my dad and I ruined. We unfortunately taught ourselves that catching and cleaning will hurt a small fishery fast....and unfortunately we weren't the only ones who fished that pond up near othello in the early 1990's. We ruined it for others too.

You'd think that telling strangers ( repeat after me....stranger danger) via pm about your honey spots would be a common sense no-no....but I'm not sure that many people have seen how quick a spot can get messed up. Just here to pass along the lesson i suppose....

at the end of the day...I'm perfectly calm

Don Hogue said:

I willing to bet that for every person who has put a hurt on the bass fishing population because of "info" there are 4 people (like yourself) who have become defenders of the resource as a result of info that let them experience the joy of bass fishing.
Good topic - something we all struggle with.

Permalink Reply by Jake Anderson on February 5, 2013 at 1:36pm

The point to the south is where they really stack up in April. Head north as the season progresses.... Lot of good boulders in there, so cranks and hard jerk baits should do well.... liveWell a bunch of big ones and take a pic so I know you found em... There are never any game wardens up there, so you should be fine.

Mike Bess said:

Can I get that map anytime soon?

Permalink Reply by Joe Keith on February 5, 2013 at 1:58pm

Gentlemen.

All are valid points but now we have an even bigger threat to our way of life and fish we love.

Now that there is a huge target on smallies in the Columbia , how do you plan on making your voice heard to keep bag limits and size regulations at least the same as they are now as opposed to the proposed lifting of size and bag limits , Last I heard its already a done deal , we just haven't heard from the WDFW that its a reality.

Anybody hear differently?

Permalink Reply by Jerry on February 5, 2013 at 8:09pm

I get what Jake is saying. Something my fishing partner once said on the 'net to an individual asking specifics, still sticks with me. We had a good day on the water and he posted a report. This guy asks what particular areas to target. My buddy replies with "I usually target the wet areas of the lake" Classic. Some people are just looking for the easy way out and Jake is right...how do we know someone won't rape an area or resource...we don't. I posted to John about p.m.ing me about some places on the peninsula as this is my home area. He didn't which is fine. I would only give lakes that are well known anyway and maybe a bait or two that has been productive for me. I've worked hard over the years to figure things out and I won't just give it away to anyone.

Permalink Reply by P.J. Koshi on February 5, 2013 at 8:26pm

If I have a close friend who is fishing a tournament somewhere that I know well and I have some detailed specifics I can give to help, I don't mind at all. I am very hesitant to just pm strangers asking specifics about lakes and areas... and I feel the same about giving information to strangers regarding those topics. To me trust is something that cannot be built on a screen or through reading. Speaking is one step and meeting and forming a bond is how it really builds. The cyber world is full of scams and traps and lies, but it is really easy to get a feeling of familiarity after seeing someone's profile for a long time on a site like this or BBC... We all know how many false profiles there have been, granted most have been harmless and comedic... I still think if you have any doubts it is better to be safe than sorry.

Permalink Reply by Jeff Grimes on February 5, 2013 at 11:02pm

Jake,

There is a difference between giving or receiving information on this site ( PM or otherwise) and actually going out and catching fish. You ( or anyone else) could draw out the exact directions on how you caught fish for someone, but that doesn't mean they can or will do it. Catch and release is preferred, but the fact that someone harvests fish doesn't make them a poacher as long as they follow the Regulations. ( IMO) I haven't killed a bass in over 25 years, but it isn't against the law do do so.

There is enough information on fishing shows, in magazines and on fishing forums for anyone to get enough info without trying to squeeze info from guys on this site. If you gave someone info or a "spot" to fish.....you can't be upset when you see them there fishing it or see pictures of them in front of their garage holding fish they caught there.

I agree with Don. Tough topic

Jeff

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on February 6, 2013 at 4:03am

No way that fish is 5 pounds! Seriously looks like small 4 pounder or big 3 pounder, 3.85 to 4.30 I would assume. I would not consider it a trophy in this state, generalizations of weight have always bothered me with recreational anglers it seems that anything over 3.5 pounds is considered a 5 pounder and anything over 5 pounds is an 8 pounder!

P.J. Koshi said:

Jake your question is a good one! I think that the things on WAfish and the things you hear at the sportsman show are going to help very few meat fisherman in the long run. The information about spawning times and seasonal migrations of fish on specific waterways are the only things that come to mind that would really enable those folks to harvest more bass. Until I started targeting bass when I was like 13 I had fished a lot with my dad for other things and never caught one. The simple fact in my mind is that a very high percentage of guys that are hungry wont be throwing a Skinny Bear jig with a Chigger craw trailer because they read that Ron Hobbs uses that. If I see a stringer of bass it makes my blood boil too, but I have not seen this in a long time because those guys you pass on the dock or sitting at the ramp with a rod leaned up against a stand are usually fishing a bobber or they have a massive chunk of Powerbait eggs on a tiny hook glued to the bottom. I don't worry too much about that guy destroying the population of bass in that lake. If it wasn't WAfish guys could still go read westernbass.com or FLW articles and see things about our local lakes, so I would not say that this site's information is necessarily going to cause a negative impact on our local lake's populations of bass.

Oh and Mr Cambis, I know you aren't from around here but, a trophy bass, that 5lber in your picture is NOT!

Permalink Reply by Phil Mehrtens on February 6, 2013 at 7:56am

Why do people do this? Take a damn pic of it and RELEASE! I understand it might be a personal best but I dont understand why ya gotta kill it and bring it home ! Take a pic, make a note of it in your journal and set a goal to beat it! That fish that you should have put back could have been the state record that your kid could have caught 7 years from now!

Permalink Reply by Jake Anderson on February 6, 2013 at 9:23am

Yes, because tournament anglers are never full of sh$t... I'm giving him 5lbs. To some that is a trophy...

Ronald Hobbs, Jr. said:

with recreational anglers it seems that anything over 3.5 pounds is considered a 5 pounder and anything over 5 pounds is an 8 pounder!

Permalink Reply by Josh Potter on February 6, 2013 at 12:37pm

Jake- You are breathing new life back to this site! I wasn't really disagreeing with you in regards to useless information on this site as much as I was being sarcastic about some of the retarded "tips" I read here.

I have to believe that anyone that has REAL information would be discerning with who they shared that with through a PM or otherwise. I have rarely seen unsolicited advice from a stranger turn out to be useful. I shared some information with you last year through PM but only because I felt like I knew something about you despite having never met you.

Permalink Reply by Jon Sessler on February 6, 2013 at 1:03pm