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fantastic words....maybe someday the younger generation will truly know the heart felt beauty of your words....I am hoping...
There’s nothing more gratifying than putting the work in and finding your own honey hole. The struggle is what makes success so sweet.
An interesting topic. A long time ago before the internet was a thing, there was the "Hunting and Fishing News". In the beginning I thought it was awesome! People talking about where the hot spots were! There were so many Great spots that were DESTROYED by all of that publicity. We started to learned in those days that maybe having your picture on the front page wasn't worth a great favorite place going down the tubes. The internet is exponentially more powerful! I try to be very careful about blowing up my favorite spots, and even so, still find myself unwittingly "letting the cat out of the bag" from time to time. Had to learn about that "location" setting on the phone. That damn thing labels everything with a really accurate location! I didn't even know it! For myself and my brother, we love our outdoor time. We approach it in a far more hardcore way than a lot of people do, and to a lot of people it must look like work. That means when we find a really good place we put a high value on it. When I see people asking where and how, I just laugh and ignore it. Maybe that makes me an A-hole; don't know and don't care. Sometimes a respectful and carefully worded P.M. will find me in a good mood and result in some useful information, but you can be assured that you ain't getting specific locations! Who knows I could even lead you in a different direction! Pictures of fish are taken by us because of the beauty of the fish. To me they are a marvelous creation. My wish is for everyone to find that beauty too, but I ain't holding your hand. The real sense of pride comes from doing myself. I wish more people were that way. I cringe when I see someone spouting off about a place I like to hunt or fish, but it's a free country. I just hope that like most things it will blow over and disappear. Usually it does, but occasionally that great place goes down to pressure. Too many people here now to prevent it. That's one reason that I rarely put pictures here now. I'd rather keep my places good than show the pictures. It used to be about sharing, but anymore it's more like a shark tank and I'm the bait fish.
It is helpful to post ice conditions and road reports. It can help people be safe. But when you report how great a place is, all it does is put so much pressure on an area it ruins it. A few years ago reports and newspaper articles about how good Holter Lake ice fishing for perch was, it ruined it. Within a couple weeks there were hundreds of people fishing and you could not even find a place to park. Think about what you are doing with your articles and reports. Alan, Belgrade
The truth is that 5 % of fishermen catch 90% of the fish. You can put some fishermen on the greatest Glory Hole their is and they will get skunked. Fishing sites and info. only lead a horse to the water but can't make them drink. On most of my fishing trips, I see very few other anglers catching anything. They may say different but their truth is not the reality. What I love most about ice fishing are the fishermen that I meet. Our group are the most helpful and friendly anglers of any other fishing group. There are few fishermen that always seem to be unsatisfied, and selfish. Oh well. In the case of Hyalite, there are fewer fish because the state stocks way less. At one time they stocked 10,000 fry a year, usually in June. Now the number is down to less than 4,000. Check the stocking records. The Cuts are also reproducing as are the other species. In a society where folks hoard, cheat, and can be selfish, its nice to be a part of a sport where most members share, teach, and celebrate the fellowship and sport. I still read about the anglers that complain the road to Hyalite is plowed. In the old days, only anglers with snowmobiles could get there. Even when the road is plowed, the road is sketchy and 4wd is a must. Those without end up in the ditch. Fishing is way different than catching. Often, just the hope of a positive fishing report is enough to enjoy the day. Not all fishermen need to catch a fish.
Love this take, we need more people with attitudes like this.
