[Skunk City]

As much as I love helping someone who has the same passion for fishing as myself, there is a very fine line between helping someone develop their fishing skills and flat out putting them on fish. As populated as this state is, a productive spot that doesn't get hammered is a priceless asset. Fortunately, I have a few of those spots that I only share with a small group of friends/family that I know will respect its "un-burnt-ness". These spots have been found by myself or my close fishing buddies through research, exploration, thorough skunkings, and many hours on Google/Bing/Navionics Maps. I always encourage new guys to do the same, because it is that much more rewarding when you catch your first fish, your first limit, or your first beast.

That being said, while there are definetely a bunch of guys here that practice the same, I couldn't tell you how many times I get the "Where exactly did you catch that fish? I promise I won't tell anyone". Its frustrating because fishing is more than driving up to a spot, tossing out a lure, catching a limit or beast, and going home. Hell, with the Passaic being as awesome as it has been the past few years, I won't even mention the word "Passaic" in my report posts anymore. Guys who are on here enough know if a report is posted by me with some big a$$ Pike, it's from the Passaic! Without mentioning the P-word, the report won't turn up on Google, Yahoo, etc. for the world to see. I like helping guys on here, not someone who will never contribute to NJFishing.

Having had spots of mine completely blown up on the internet by too specific wording or blatantly obvious pictures, I now am selective about my reports and the background in my photos. This forum is pretty respective of that, but some other NJ specific forums (rhymes with rICE pANTY) have guys who don't understand the concept that while only 10-20 guys may respond to a post/report, there are literally hundreds of "lurkers" out there reading it as well. They could be respectful to these "unwritten rules", or they could be spot burning, bucket brigading guys that will fish a spot til its sucked dry...you never know. I enjoy fishing too much to see that happen.

My suggestion? Keep all this in mind when posting a report, keep it to PM's, and be selective on the info you give out to guys that aren't in your inner circle.