Harold Flowers

I've fished both the Potomac and Upper Bay a few times in the spring. Yes, they're crowded. This means that the bay and river get crowded. Mostly irrelevant in this case and doesn't mean it should become standard practice to spot burn small lakes.

It was a bass. The post I was shown was your post. The place rarely has more than a person or two fishing it at a time. Attribute the crowding to whatever you want... The one person I spoke to showed me your post and cited it as his reason for going there. Was the guy who kept the big bass there because of you? Maybe... Was it his legal right to keep the fish? Yes... Neither of these points change the fact that it's pretty crappy to blow stuff like this up online. I can imagine something like this could easily ruin a small pond or lake. Doing it for online glory or because you want crowding doesn't click with me. Maybe I'm too young to understand.

So I went to check out one of my favorite spots today. A peaceful "lake" in Potomac, MD. I get there, and the place is packed with people fishing. Everywhere. I had never seen so many people there before. I asked one of the guys what was going on and if he knew why it was so crowded. He pulled out his phone and showed me a post online from someone pointing the spot out for the whole world to see! What a way to ruin a resource... to put something like that in the public eye for a modicum of online glory is pretty low. I'm guessing it's mostly newer fishermen doing this sort of thing, but man... way to see a fishery potentially get wrecked. Right during the spawn. Almost hurts. Saw a guy walking out of the place with what looked like it could have been a 7 pounder on stringer. He was getting it mounted. Great for him. Bad for everyone else. Back to private ponds I go.