Been there, seen that - on many small ponds. Although word of mouth spreading among individuals can hurt the fishing, its the groups that show up in vans with 6 people and 15 poles between them that really ruin spots. The garbage I can deal with, the taking of every legal-size fish I cannot. Although what they do is legal, our culture seems to be the only ones that understand C&R. I work with people from russia, bulgaria, romania, peru and china. When I show them pics of big fish(like the pike) they all ask the same thing: how did it taste? I try to explain the C&R policy and its benefits but they still say letting them go is dumb since they'll die anyways
Anyhow, I never say where I go unless its well known. The fact is there are no secret places - just places. As popular as say Spruce Run Reservoir is, I've had plenty of 3,4,even 5 hr trips where I saw one or two boats. I've had other trips where within 10 minutes of being there, I've already seen 15-20 boats. Just like catching fish, its all about luck and timing.
