What is the purpose of trip reports and...

[myt1]

...should we even post them?

I’m hoping this thread dovetails with the thread on pimping fishing locations. I didn’t want to do a thread hijack.

Last summer I posted several trip reports where I mentioned locations. It created a minor maelstrom.

Since then I have posted at least one trip report without naming a location, but some people guessed it based on the background scenery in some of my photos.

Add to that some people don’t even think you should divulge what flies you use, another useful bit of information found in trip reports, I’m wondering what is the purpose of a trip report.

I like to brag on myself as much as the next guy, probably more, but even I would get bored posting close-up grip and grin pictures of myself and buddies. Heck, I even read we shouldn’t post pictures of our campsites.

Should we just do without trip and fishing reports all together?

 

[fishiowa]

I would think anyone that recognizes the background and scenery from your pics already knows about the spot so you are not giving anything away.

 

[Acheron]

I've seen forums die because of groups of people attacking others for posting fish, jigs, tactics, reports, etc. Don't let it happen here.

I believe ALL posts attacking another poster or questining them for posting a report or information (including in private messages) should be edited, warned, and banned a second time. It should be almost zero tolerance.

 

[zjory]

This forum, along with others I frequent, has an undertone of everyone being ready for an argument lately. Everyone is tired and grumpy after a year of being cooped up.
Of course you should post trip reports, they’re much of the best content on the forum.

 

[jzim]

I say we keep posting reports. Name the spot if you want and the flies you use. In my mind if I fish a spot and don't see anyone lse I won't name it. But if it's a spot that has other fishermen I'll name it. It's my right.

 

[dillon]

Much of what was said in the other thread had nothing to do with publicly posting on social media. It was people stating their personal beliefs about sharing information with others. I personally don’t tell some people some of the places where I fish or camp. If I do choose to tell, or take them there, then I can’t expect them not to share that information with their friends. I can only control myself, not others...

I just read a new report this morning about “blue lining”. There were beautiful scenic images, tasteful pics of well handled pretty wild fish and well written prose. I enjoyed it while sipping my first cup of coffee and I don’t need to know where it was, but thanked him for sharing, it was fun...

 

[silver creek]

I like trip reports. Keep them coming.

 

[frickerdog]

Without discussions about actual fishing, this site becomes somewhat dull. Discussions about gear and tying can get a little dry (pun not intended).

 

[FlyTierant]

My 2¢,
I enjoy trip reports. And to me it seems posting here is different than posting on Instagram or Facebook, as it’s dedicated to fly fishing and not just going out to the entire universe. Also, naming places that are widely known is no big deal, for example posting a story/picture about and naming the Owens River here in California isn’t giving away any secret. It’s probably best to leave names out of stories about lesser known places is probably a good idea, but I wouldn’t jump all over anyone naming them because honestly is there anywhere on earth that you can’t find and get info on anyway? And if people can tell where somewhere is from just the photo then it wasn’t a secret spot in the first place.

 

[LOC]

I don’t need to know where it was, but thanked him for sharing, it was fun...

I have similar sentiments, I have friends or folks I rub elbows who want to show me their big catch which is great but in their excitement or just being naive they want to tell me the hot spot as well. I have to stop folks in their tracks and tell them I don’t want to know where you’re fishing and it’s ok keep it to yourself. Or I can tell they are hesitant about telling me their spot and again I tell them I don’t need to know where you are fishing and it’s better if you don’t tell me.

I can learn a lot and enjoy a trip report without it pin pointing a location.

 

[k_e_v]

myt1. I enjoyed your trip reports and hope you post more in the future. They are my favorite part of this forum, everyone has opinions but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to all of them

kev

 

[trev]

I've read that pictures taken with a phone have the GPS coordinates embedded automatically so anyone knowing how can place the photo from that info,
However, there is no place that you can be that others can't be there too and any public water is going to be "pimped" by the state anyway. The whole secret water nonsense is in fact nonsense.

 

[fr8dog]

I like reading about how folks did. There are ways to take/post pictures while keeping the background info to a minimum. I turn ‘location’ off for my phone so don’t think it is available on any of mine. Anybody that uses me as a fishing reference is going to say “I had a good time just being outdoors” (ie: I didn’t get ****!)

 

[Flyfisher for men]

This forum, along with others I frequent, has an undertone of everyone being ready for an argument lately...

Of course you should post trip reports, they’re much of the best content on the forum.

Definitely the case with the first statement. The board has changed noticeably since I first joined 15 or so years ago. Board posts now slant much, much more in the technical direction, and there are now elitist and purist elements that weren't as noticeable then.

Trip reports were never an issue then. You wrote your report, gave all the details of where you fished and how, and all was fine. That has always been the custom here. We were all trying to help each other locate and catch fish, not conceal our knowledge.

I've seen it on some other boards, too, not just flyfishing. I think it's because the internet was still new, and it was because the moderators were more like computer geeks who like to talk their hobby. Now a moderator is much more likely to be among the "1%" of the hobby.

Edit: By way of comparison, the board feels much more like the forums of flyfisherman.com did back then. It's hooked to a magazine. North American Flyfishing Forum (our old name) had a very different feel and tone.

 

[TwoThumbsUp]

I come here for the trip reports. The rest of the stuff is just "filler".

 

[mikemac1]

but I wouldn’t jump all over anyone naming them because honestly is there anywhere on earth that you can’t find and get info on anyway?

More prophetic words could not be spoken. We are naive to think there is a secret place out there. I’ve been collecting angling books for some 60 years so I did a quick look through the library to see what books I had that “pimped the water” as one of us has called it. Everyone of these titles literally lists just about every water available to the angler in its area of interest. (In no particular order)

Trout Fishing in Tasmania (1987) - Every lake and stream is identified
Angler’s Guide to the US Pacific Coast (1978) - Identifies just about every key fishery location from SoCal to Alaska
Iowa Fish and Fishing (1951)- Lists every trout stream in Iowa with a map ++ all sorts of warm water locations
Fishing in Ireland (1980) - Lots of maps with “Fish Here” captions
Smokey Mountains Trout Fishing (1985) - Details on every stream in the park
Virginia Trout Streams A Guide to the Blue Ridge Watershed (1991) - Every stream with details
Minnesota Fish and Fishing (1958) -Best places to fish for every MN species
Montana Fly Fishing Guide - East (1996) - Every water is mentioned in detail. This is a later version, been around since the 1970s. There is also a West edition.
Days on the Water -Angling Tradition in Pennsyvannia (1999) - Lots of stories about all the good water in PA
Fishing in Yellowstone National Park (1998) - Every water is detailed
Fly Fishing the Arkansas (2003) - Every detail you’d ever want about that secret fishery
River Journal Yakima River (1994) - I don’t know how many Amato River Journal editions there are (I have a few) but they detail a lot about secret waters.

I could go on, The number of different guides I have on Montana and YNP waters (at least 8) leaves no doubt that there are no “secret” places. Couple books published in the last century with the plethora of “hot spot” maps on the market and all the online sites that detail “places to fish”, it seems likely that a secret spot is only secret in the mind of the angler who is lucky enough to fish it when nobody is around.

 

[proheli]

I love the trip reports. The OP just has to responsibly determine to what degree his post puts the location at risk. If you have located a small special pool with quality fish and blab your mouth too much, you just might ruin it fro everyone - and I include the fish in “everyone.” So just be a smart about how much you share your location.

We all want to be successful in our attempts to catch a fish - and we have all been helped by those who are more experienced - they send us to a “good spot.” We all want to help others be successful and to share our great experiences. Its probably not natural to NOT want to share your experience with others.

We just have to be smarter about sharing the location now, because before, where the 5 guys at your local shop might be the only ones who found out, now it could be 5,000, or 50,000. That can create enough traffic to ruin a whole area.

Here is an example. I had done some modifications to new motorcycle. Myself and about 10, maybe 20 guys at the most, on that forum had been talking about the different modifications we’d made to our same-model bikes. To simplify matters, I decided to make a video, walking around the bike and pointing out the things I had done. Mind you, this was literally just for a dozen guys. In the end, I couldn’t figure out how to load the video so my wife put it on YouTube and I just posted the link inside of my post. Then it blew up. Now that simple video has half a million views. 500,000. And hundreds, if not a thousands of comments.

Some guy who has never even heard of this forum, does a search and if he looks enough, eventually ends up here at NAFFF. I’ve done a few searches and google gave me back my own thread or post that I started HERE.

When you post something here, especially something popular, you should just assume that post might blow up and 100,000 people will eventually see - and respond in some way. A picture really is worth a thousand words, and at least a few more people coming to that area. If you don’t want that, then be careful posting with your location.

 

[trev]

The earliest explorers and all that followed them have detailed every water hole, spring, stream, lake etc. in every place that man has walked because water is the basis of life and as such the single most important thing to discover about a new land. Intermittent streams and dry water courses are mapped.
The fish are counted and inventoried by state agencies and the results are public records. Every state that I'm aware of actively promotes fishing in all the secret waters and most provide maps, build accesses and publish details of all the waters within the state.

 

[proheli]

More prophetic words could not be spoken. We are naive to think there is a secret place out there. I’ve been collecting angling books for some 60 years so I did a quick look through the library to see what books I had that “pimped the water” as one of us has called it. Everyone of these titles literally lists just about every water available to the angler in its area of interest. (In no particular order)

Trout Fishing in Tasmania (1987) - Every lake and stream is identified
Angler’s Guide to the US Pacific Coast (1978) - Identifies just about every key fishery location from SoCal to Alaska
Iowa Fish and Fishing (1951)- Lists every trout stream in Iowa with a map ++ all sorts of warm water locations
Fishing in Ireland (1980) - Lots of maps with “Fish Here” captions
Smokey Mountains Trout Fishing (1985) - Details on every stream in the park
Virginia Trout Streams A Guide to the Blue Ridge Watershed (1991) - Every stream with details
Minnesota Fish and Fishing (1958) -Best places to fish for every MN species
Montana Fly Fishing Guide - East (1996) - Every water is mentioned in detail. This is a later version, been around since the 1970s. There is also a West edition.
Days on the Water -Angling Tradition in Pennsyvannia (1999) - Lots of stories about all the good water in PA
Fishing in Yellowstone National Park (1998) - Every water is detailed
Fly Fishing the Arkansas (2003) - Every detail you’d ever want about that secret fishery
River Journal Yakima River (1994) - I don’t know how many Amato River Journal editions there are (I have a few) but they detail a lot about secret waters.

I could go on, The number of different guides I have on Montana and YNP waters (at least 8) leaves no doubt that there are no “secret” places. Couple books published in the last century with the plethora of “hot spot” maps on the market and all the online sites that detail “places to fish”, it seems likely that a secret spot is only secret in the mind of the angler who is lucky enough to fish it when nobody is around.

This is all true of course, but, outside of that, different forums, or social media platforms, can also create their own, “Flash Mobs.” I’m sure the majority of people that are going out to fish this weekend have not purchased a book, but if anything, just did some searches, or searched and watched youtube videos. So while there might not be any “secret” spots left, I’m not sure how many people are accessing those sources of information. At least not dangerously en-masse like we can created In social media or forums.

We can and do contribute to our own problem by posting specific locations - with incredible pictures to inspire others to follow in our footsteps.

 

[Unknownflyman]

The Driftless reports started in 2016 the first year of the winter catch and release season. From when I joined the the forum Itchmesir and I had decided to meet and start fishing on the opener every year since and have fished more and more over the years. We have forged a friendship and continue to fish the driftless and share spring creek fly fishing.

I would like to think that we share the love of fly fishing in our driftless area, share some flies and tactics, we do not share stream and river names, you can read my dissertation in that section which I received a little flack for.

You will see beautiful country and nice wild trout for the most part and for a lot of us this isn't just masterpiece theater, we are out fishing all year long in every condition.

Bragging? come on, about out 14"-16" average trout?

I like to see peoples posts and where they are fishing, what they are catching. Some old timers cant get out anymore, its probably going happen to all of us at some point, maybe they still tie flies and cast in the yard, Ive been told its nice to see tasteful reports and pictures and talk fly fishing. Ive found people that I like that love fly fishing, and I would fish with any of the driftless gang that posts and hangs out there.

Looking at the views, people seem to visit the driftless reports a lot.

Instead of thinking of a the negative things all the time, what about all the positives? and there has been a lot, people become involved, people fall in love with the rivers and streams, people want conservation and protection of these special areas, people learn good fish handling, catch and release and hopefully respect the fish and its habitat. People that care think and learn, some people will never care and therefore are harder to reach.

With our number increasing, and more people fishing in general, more people on the river, with every right that you enjoy, education is the key, the passing on of skills and information. If new people dont have examples and talk of maybe foreign ideas and new ideas, how are we going to pass along this feeling and of what we hold dear?

Sharing names of waters hold more weight on forums and social media because of the example, all of the information is out there, but when you see people catching nice fish it holds a lot more weight than reading a DNR trout stream map. Thats why we shouldn't post river names, and I never worried about the big rivers or the famous rivers, but maybe that should stop too.

What example to you want to set? negative? positive? because it carries weight regardless. At least in my 3000 some posts I hope I conveyed that I care about the environment and that I give a shit about something other than myself and I love to fly fish.

Lets get out of this negative cycle we are in and look forward.