Opinion needed on fishing reports.

[Sandbilly]

I posted this in the NE section, but wanted to know what the rest of the ice belt's views might be. Thanks.

Curious as to what all of you consider "too much information" in a fishing report on public forums??

dc

[SEF830]

I think it depends on the body of water.  I give updates on water that everybody knows about and fishes regularly.  If you've got a small pond or lake that allows public access, but has very little traffic, keep those ice conditions to yourself during early ice.

A lot of people put in a lot of miles and time to find safe ice early in the season.  I cringe when I see a positive ice report online on any of my early ice spots because I know I'll have a lot of company on the ice.  PM is a good way to get ice conditions from people you know.  It's also a good way to give ice conditions to people you trust.

[adkRoy]

I posted this in the NE section, but wanted to know what the rest of the ice belt's views might be. Thanks.

Curious as to what all of you consider "too much information" in a fishing report on public forums??

dc

Best way to report on a lake would be to tell what the ice thickness is and any open or soft spots to watch out for. You don't really have to give any more than that if you don't want to.

[OldSailor]

Best way to report on a lake would be to tell what the ice thickness is and any open or soft spots to watch out for. You don't really have to give any more than that if you don't want to.

X2  You don't need to include how you caught the crap out of them, and on what, or you'll draw a big crowd!! Mainly safety information as stated earlier. Thickness and open water, etc.

[addicted to ice fishing]

I think it depends on the body of water.  I give updates on water that everybody knows about and fishes regularly.  If you've got a small pond or lake that allows public access, but has very little traffic, keep those ice conditions to yourself during early ice.

A lot of people put in a lot of miles and time to find safe ice early in the season.  I cringe when I see a positive ice report online on any of my early ice spots because I know I'll have a lot of company on the ice.  PM is a good way to get ice conditions from people you know.  It's also a good way to give ice conditions to people you trust.

X2 I think you give a generic report to the public,  unsafesafe ice, etc.., otherwise use pms.

[slipperybob]

I have no maps, no gps, and avoid fishing community holes, so my reports are all about ice thickness, snow depth, and weather.  LOL.  I either got skunked, caught some fishes, or the fishes were just jumping up throught the holes.

[jiggenfrogs]

That depends on how may people you want fishing your hole   It is good to give people a heads up on areas to stay away from though, we don't want any buddy getting in a mess.

[iluvcrappie]

Too much info would be telling everyone where your fishing......ice thickness and conditions would be great as well as a slow bite or decent bite.....I like to let everyone know the places to watch out for since you are all good people and my fellow fisherman I want to lookout for you and make sure nothing bad happens......

[Gamalot]

I think if you are in Alaska you can tell all and show pics and most of us won't be coming!

Around these parts it is best to keep your fingers off the keys and I usually don't believe half the posted info. Too many times I read "Ice is a good 6 inches" only to find myself standing on 2+ inches and wishing I was safe at home. I have seen good places completely destroyed by forum posts and heavy traffic from them. I even share in some of the guilt. We have places that do hold some good fish but the reality of ice fishing in the southern part of NY is the fishing is almost always slow unless you happen on the right place at the right time on any given day. Too many times I have been there when just about everyone got skunked but a few times we hit it right and all had some nice fish and a lot of fun.

[coldsteel]

this is a GREAT thread, I am so glad that someone posted this

[lefty2053]

Giving away what you use is OK, giving away where on the lake is not. But if someone doesn't care if they loose their spot to Joe blow then fine.

[petrgill]

If I'm on a well known pond, one mentioned quite a bit here than I have no problem mentioning where etc.  If it's a more unknown spot I'll just say i fished in a town or area with conditions there.

[jeffro9023]

Ice conditions only...let's challenge ourselves to not post anything about what's bein caught where and watch how many confused unhappy people come crawlin out to beg for info

[Sandbilly]

Ice conditions only...let's challenge ourselves to not post anything about what's bein caught where and watch how many confused unhappy people come crawlin out to beg for info

Think that would double IS membership in a week.  

dc

[JerryofWNY]

If you're posting an ice conditions report, then yeah, just ice thickness and areas to stay away from.

I think a fishing report can give some information without enticing the free world to come fish your lake. Small ponds and lakes that can't support a lot of pressure probably shouldn't be named. I think larger bodies of water can be named, depth where fish were active and even a productive color can be given without directing the public to your honey hole. 

A picture of a bunch of fish on the ice and "Here's my catch for today", is simply a brag post in my opinion.

[North]

I agree with the KISS method... ice conditions and maybe a nearby town.  I was burned a few years back by a buddy on another site... I took him to a place I'd been doing pretty well at, and I had it to myself.  After his report I had 4 shacks within 20' of my shack...  Not that I really cared, but its a little irritating when you spend the time and energy to find a new hole only to have some internet trollers move in...
I guess the moral of the story is, make sure you have a conversation with your fishing buddies about how to handle any reporting before you take them fishing...

[jiggenfrogs]

I think if you are in Alaska you can tell all and show pics and most of us won't be coming!

Around these parts it is best to keep your fingers off the keys and I usually don't believe half the posted info. Too many times I read "Ice is a good 6 inches" only to find myself standing on 2+ inches and wishing I was safe at home. I have seen good places completely destroyed by forum posts and heavy traffic from them. I even share in some of the guilt. We have places that do hold some good fish but the reality of ice fishing in the southern part of NY is the fishing is almost always slow unless you happen on the right place at the right time on any given day. Too many times I have been there when just about everyone got skunked but a few times we hit it right and all had some nice fish and a lot of fun.

We do have an Alaska board and you would be surprised, what do you think people do up here for 7  months of winter.  I'm sure we don't get the pressure you guys get in the lower 48 though. 

[skulldugary]

Don't name lakes.....don't know why fishing reports can't be about,bait,waterdepth,jigs,area ice conditions,presentation...ect,ect......but Nooooooo,some folks have to name the small lake and just about give out GPS co-ords to exact spots,then a few weeks later wonder where all the people came from all of a sudden...

[coldsteel]

Don't name lakes.....don't know why fishing reports can't be about,bait,waterdepth,jigs,area ice conditions,presentation...ect,ect......but Nooooooo,some folks have to name the small lake and just about give out GPS co-ords to exact spots,then a few weeks later wonder where all the people came from all of a sudden...

well put

[GCD]

I'm pretty sure a FISHING report is about the fish you caught and how you caught them. Where you caught them and how much ice or whatever is on a need to know basis... and the general public doesn't need to know.

... or if you really want to mess some folks up, lie about where you caught them... it's what I do most of the time.

[Gamalot]

We do have an Alaska board and you would be surprised, what do you think people do up here for 7  months of winter.  I'm sure we don't get the pressure you guys get in the lower 48 though.

The real difference as I see it is in the fish supply. Here in NY where I live almost every trout I catch was stocked in the lakes or ponds and there is very little in the lines of natural reproduction. If the DEC stocks 2,000 trout at 15 inches and the place gets hammered it won't take long for the trout to be gone. Other species that do naturally breed might do OK but if guys show buckets full of nice perch or crappie and give up the body of water or section of the big lake you can be sure there will be more pressure quick.

One of the big joys of fishing for me has always been in the success I have from figuring out all the variables and finding where the fish are and what depth and bait they want. Coming here and reading that the Lakers are in the west bowl of the lake and hitting on pearl Swedish pimples dropped down to 45 feet takes all the sport out of the game of fishing in my opinion. I spent days upon days trolling out on Lake Ontario for Salmon. Every day was a new and different day and I had to find the right combination of lure, color, depth, speed and technique to find success. I might call a good friend and let him know when and where I find it but I sure will not blast it over the radio waves for all to hear. With fishing you always start with the basics and then DIY the rest.

[GCD]

One of the big joys of fishing for me has always been in the success I have from figuring out all the variables and finding where the fish are and what depth and bait they want. Coming here and reading that the Lakers are in the west bowl of the lake and hitting on pearl Swedish pimples dropped down to 45 feet takes all the sport out of the game of fishing in my opinion. I spent days upon days trolling out on Lake Ontario for Salmon. Every day was a new and different day and I had to find the right combination of lure, color, depth, speed and technique to find success. I might call a good friend and let him know when and where I find it but I sure will not blast it over the radio waves for all to hear. With fishing you always start with the basics and then DIY the rest.

I'm that way too, but there are lazy people that're greedy and would love nothing better than to clean out someones honey hole... and that's why I lie about where I catch my fish.

Heck, I saw lying taken one step further on another board. A couple of guys caught fish in one lake and drove over to another lake and took pics at the launch at that lake. 2 days after another member posted about taking a friend there and didn't catch anything, then the guys told him what they did and he got all pissed off and started a thread about people lying about where they catch fish. I found the turn of events rather hilarious.

[eriksat1]

Take fishing reports with a grain of salt. "you should have been here last week" It is very rare to ever hear a good fishing report and then have it pan out. Ice conditions are good.

[ice dawg]

If I have a fishing report to give someone it won't be done on the internet. I have seen too many times when a lake had crowds on it because of internet reports. I will tell friends that are able to keep their mouths shut. but that's about it for me. I have always thought PMs were a good way to give fishing reports.

[jeffro9023]

I'm sooooo happy to see more n more guys starting to see the effects of internet posting or "bragging"...when I joined in 08 it was crazy...guys blabbing everywhere...but now ppl are starting to see what happens to a small lake with the power of the internet...sure it boosts the economy bcuz more guys will buy gear bcuz blabbers made fishing easy...but once those small lakes are fished out and fishing becomes hard...lots of used gear for sale....so let's hope that tight lipping becomes more of a trend and we can weed out the lazy lurkers and go back to conservation and preservation

[addicted to ice fishing]

2
If I have a fishing report to give someone it won't be done on the internet. I have seen too many times when a lake had crowds on it because of internet reports. I will tell friends that are able to keep their mouths shut. but that's about it for me. I have always thought PMs were a good way to give fishing reports.

X2 If you post too much info, or post pictures from the ice with a geo tag on them, you need to expect people to move in on you. Other than giving out basic info such as ice condtions, water clarity, etc, my motto is SILENCE IS GOLDEN

[Gamalot]

When I first got on IS I was pretty proud of the fish I was catching and posted all sorts of pics and info, Honest! MY BAD! Next thing I knew I couldn't get a parking place at my spot and the DEC had a field day busting the creeps with 2 nice fish on the ice and 4 more stashed up in their trucks with 3 being the limit. The place isn't even worth driving to these days and it is partly my fault.

When I fish any place these days and catch a good fish I hide it on the ice and hope no one saw me catch it. All it takes is for a few guys to see a 5 pound Brown get caught and the news spreads like wild fire. If you go back the next day one of the guys who saw your fish will be in the hole you caught it out of.

[ice dawg]

X2 If you post too much info, or post pictures from the ice with a geo tag on them, you need to expect people to move in on you. Other than giving out basic info such as ice condtions, water clarity, etc, my motto is SILENCE IS GOLDEN

I call em the "thundering herd" and it seems to get me in trouble on some forums that haven't figured them out yet. It seems they also leave trash wherever they go. I'm in a low population state and I have seen an average of 1,000 people per weekend day on one of our lakes some years ago. The small lakes get fished out in a hurry by crowds.

[jeffro9023]

Amen guys! Most of these clowns should stay where they belong...at a football game getting juiced up and fightin each other...I call em jackholes...a cross between a.. oh never mind you get the point 

[ice dawg]

Amen guys! Most of these clowns should stay where they belong...at a football game getting juiced up and fightin each other...I call em jackholes...a cross between a.. oh never mind you get the point