Spot Burning vs. Info Sharing

[Bergen Angler]

Looks like everyone has a strong opinion on this topic. I personally don't mind sharing info with other anglers. It's not like I am guarding a national secret or my family's livelihood depends on it. I just can't stand the bucket brigades (new term I learned a few days ago).

[dfish28]

I'm with ya dude, best way to go about it is if asked pm said member or vice versa, that way all the "lurkers" don't get the same. Word can spread pretty quick, general areas are better than exact, unless you are looking for a lot of company.

[acabtp]

it's New Jersey. there are no secret spots to burn.

however, the bucket brigades never go out of sight of their cars so there is plenty of fishing solitude for anyone willing to walk five minutes before tossing a line in.

[Doug Vitale]

Originally Posted by Bergen Angler

Looks like everyone has a strong opinion on this topic. I personally don't mind sharing info with other anglers. It's not like I am guarding a national secret or my family's livelihood depends on it.

I hate seeing "fishing reports" on websites like this one that basically say, "Today I went to the lake (or the river), caught five, here are the photos". Accounts such as these are bragging attempts disguised as fishing "reports". Is it really such a big deal to name the body of water that you fish? I'm not referring to specific spots in those bodies, but come on...would it really kill some guys to say "Musconetcong River" or "Monksville Reservoir" or "Big Swartswood Lake"? Is the type of bait or lure that was used really such a secret?

Where are these fishing cornucopias they are trying to keep hidden? In such a small, heavily populated state like NJ there are no "secret spots" that need to be protected against "spot burn".

It's this type of attitude that some spots are "mine to be protected" that results in some fishermen acting like d-bags when you encounter them.

I just can't stand the bucket brigades (new term I learned a few days ago).

We should all have this number saved in our cell phones: 800-222-0456. This is the wildlife violations hotline. Another one is 1-855-OGT-TIPS. If you ever witness someone breaking wildlife law, such as the Brigade filling their buckets with undersized or out-of-season fish, feel free to report it to the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife.

[acabtp]

Originally Posted by dfish28

if asked pm said member or vice versa

good thought, but personally, i find the 50 PMs that they give us here pretty much uselessly small for keeping in touch with your fellow anglers about this kind of thing. to send a PM, i have to delete an old one. it is very inconvenient to have to copy/email/print the ones you want to save. for comparison, most other sites give you about 5000 PMs these days.

this is especially ridiculous, because this forum runs vBulletin, with which it takes less than 30 seconds to make this change. I know, because i also run vBulletin on a couple of my own websites.
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[catfishonthelake]

I'd be lying to say that I'm not curious to see how the Passaic pike fishery holds-up in 5 to 10 years from now to see how much blowing up a spot can have an effect. Until then, I'll keep my reports to myself so I don't have to worry about stuff like that....just in case.

I'm more than willing to share info with almost anyone who asks me, but I don't find it necessary to advertise it. I agree that there are no "secret spots," but I can't tell you how many people don't do the research and there's no point in doing it for them. Jrock put a spot up last summer to help people out about a hot bite and the next night he said there were 15 guys there.

There are lots more people looking on this board than the ones posting.