Is Iceshanty becoming the dead sea?

[Born Late]

As a general newcomer it IS, to me it doesn't seem like this place is very dead.

Compared to your MN Fishing Reports and Conditions, I imagine the MT page would appear lively. As is the case in several other states, Minnesotans rarely share lake specific info anymore.

[Splattypus]

Lol yeah, for basically being Ice Fishing Mecca, the Minnesota boards are shockingly inactive. I'm going to choose to believe it's because they're all out on the ice and not wanting to waste the phone battery or bandwidth. But really, I guess you can only say Mille Lacs and LOTW so many times before you get tired of it.

The activity elsewhere has been very educational about how widespread the sport is, and has still been a wealth of information for me as a newbie to the sport.

[doublehaul]

I still get on every winter and check out the reports from fisheries in my region. The decline in people using this message board may have something to do with an exponential increase in fishing pressure. Social media and hotspotting has impacted many of our fisheries.

 It’s the same story across the ice belt right now…”the fishing used to be good” Before FB and the 7 guide services now being offered. No offense to people who work in the guiding industry-it’s a selfless job.

People, such as myself have lost all faith in the new generation of googan squad bros and YouTube influencers that are looking for more subscribers. The impact of the drone shots, gps locations,  and the frequent trophy fish being posted have impacted our local water bodies.

Monetizing your efforts by exploiting angling opportunities via the internet has become the new normal for younger “outdoorsman”. The internet has  single handedly contributed to increased angler pressure and overharvest for the past 10 years.

I’ve reflected on this quite a bit over the past decade. I’m happy to contribute to meaningful discussions and help new anglers learn the sport, but not at the cost of exploiting our fisheries. This message board did just that,  for many years before the inception of social media. I’m starting to relate more  to old timers yelling “get off my lawn” than I am with the flat bill bros lately. The only followers I have are the ones tailing me around the lake all day creeping on my spots. Keep those lines tight boys!

[Splattypus]

Yeah I gotta be honest, I despise YouTube and immediately gloss over posts from people like 'check out my day on the lake, be sure to like and subscribe!'. Nah man. I appreciate you're trying to hustle and earn some money from your hobby, but I just don't take anything away from YouTube videos. If your instructional video is longer than 1 minute, I don't take the time. If you're just bragging, I don't care. I get a lot more information from discussions like provided from this board, where I can ask questions and get clarification. I don't want to see some dudebro yelling at his shake cell phone camera using SEO buzz words to increase views.

[Born Late]

I have mixed feelings about YouTube since I believe there are some worthwhile and educational channels amongst the stinkers that benefit newbies and more experienced folks alike. But, ALLCAPS any word in your title and I won’t click play.

This mainly applies to FB. I get it that “everyone has to start somewhere” but newbies might first consider researching the countless online videos, articles, and posts (including IS archives) or attending local seminars. It’s painfully obvious when someone expects info simply will be handed to them via message boards without any effort on their part.

I also get that those who have spent much or all of their lives dialing in where to go and how to succeed won’t simply hand their diary and GPS to someone typing from their couch. Nor is there any social obligation to do so. Polite and courteous questions while visiting with neighbors on the ice will reap far more benefits than loud demands on the interwebs.

[wyogator]

When I first joined this site, I was living in Wyoming, but did a lot of my fishing across the border in Colorado.  The WY boards were kinda dead.  So I was usually on Colorado or general chit chat.  I think Ice Shanty was better back then.  People would post about their day, how much and what kind of fish they caught, what they used.  People would ask good questions about fishing gear or techniques, or how to clean out a Buddy Heater.  People just seemed to post more interesting or useful material.  Now, there seems to be more bickering/political or just general complaining.  When I first moved to Montana, there was hardly any activity at all.  For the first year, I mostly stayed off the Montana board, because there was no activity.  Then it slowly got more and more popular.  I wouldn’t say it has become the Dead Sea like MFF.  The activity may have peaked, and is starting to wane though.

[DR.SPECKLER]

I think this site is full of the diehard smart icefishermen and women that know what social media can do to a fishing lake or spot.im fine with the regulars that stop in all year.yeah we dont spot burn but shoot the shat and talk about technique and gear.

[wyogator]

I just checked the thread list and noticed that there are still valuable questions and tips without the spot-burning.  So that’s good.  All I can say is the Montana board at least has way more activity than it did 18 years ago.  So I would say it hasn’t become the Dead Sea yet.

[missoulafish]

You nailed it Tyler…..

[albo]

Haven't seen any activity in a while.
Been working on the Kids clinic, slow there also.

It is easy to see when you read some of the posts that there can be many unfriendly comments by what I take as "good intentions folks" but turn out negative. Ask any rookie that posts a question about a certain body of water and they are going to get bombarded with comments about the lakes section of the forum. Post too much information and you will get roasted because the comments may bring more fisherpersons to that body of water and of course the newcomers always wreck everything. Don't post enough information and you are equally quilty. Just my two cents on this

[missoulaicebeerdog]

Yeah its dying - and the cranky people that jump on anglers helping anglers are killing it.     

[OTTOCAR]

DITTO

[BoomerFTW]

A place that is unwelcoming and hostile to new people (hotspotting, find out yourself, etc), whose members complain about other anglers more than they actually fish, is a place that will eventually die out.

[straightShot]

There is a lot of message traffic on the boards when there's ice.  This year, I haven't even bothered to get my gear out since we haven't had ice.  Note that the board traffic stops in the spring, too, when it warms up outside.  That's when these boards stop and the open water forums become popular.

[FreshwaterPhil]

Speaking of Dead sea, one of my good fishing buddies was there a few weeks ago 

[RuralMT]

Speaking of Dead sea, one of my good fishing buddies was there a few weeks ago 

(Image removed from quote.)

I'm assuming (read hoping) that was purely for the photo opp?  If not, I'm sure he found out the meaning behind the name "Dead Sea" and I imagine the locals were chuckling 

[FreshwaterPhil]

I'm assuming (read hoping) that was purely for the photo opp?  If not, I'm sure he found out the meaning behind the name "Dead Sea" and I imagine the locals were chuckling 

Yes photo op, that his wife in pic. He and I used to joke about fishing there.

[Splattypus]

Lol yeah, too perfect to not take advantage of the photo op

Though it has me wondering about improbable and unlikely places people have actually successfully fished now....