Anyone else kind of a jerk?

[clh121787]

I don't mind sharing anything and everything  MOST of the time. Fishing for already caught fish is a pattern that's way over rated. The skilled anglers usually will do well no matter what. Unskilled anglers usually will not. Imo

[MassYak85]

I'm usually an open book personally unless I know you're gonna eat the fish, but I understand other people not wanting to give up the secrets to their success for that day and I respect that. The only one that annoys me is people not wanting to say how they did or what they caught. I don't see how telling someone what you caught could possibly in any way give that person an advantage unless they were watching you all day, observing your technique and lure selection, in which case they already know how you did and telling them otherwise just makes you look like a pathological liar. 

[gim]

It's all relative.  Divulging the exact presentation one might be catching fish with on a small lake that could potentially get pressured is not a good idea.  Being less specific like just saying "soft plastics in shallow water" on Lake Erie is probably not going to bring out an army of anglers.

[tracker01]

Yes, I'm 71 and have met some real nice "sharing" people in my travels. About five years ago a guide was coming off the water as I was putting in. I asked how he did and he not only shared info but gave me a couple swim baits that were working for him. So yes I share, I even have given a few soft plastic baits to fellow anglers. Especially young anglers when I'm on the water. It's a great feeling.

[david in va]

well here in VA about all the locals know , where , when, how and what to catch em on. The out of state'rs are not going to stay long enough to bother the Bass population any way. lol

[Ktho]

While I'm fishing I really don't like being bothered, I'm kinda in the zone. That and it's usually not reciprocated. Today a guy cruises by and asks how I'm doing etc. and I tell him I'm doing alright etc. and then he's just like cool and moves on without sharing anything. That kinda irks me. I probably should just stay quiet or curt while on the water. 

 

Once I'm off the water I have no problems sharing and talking about where/how I'm catching fish. Most of the bites around here change pretty quickly and I fish a handful of different lakes so if the person is following the bite instead of leading it it's really no skin off my back. 

[N Florida Mike]

For me it depends a lot on the attitude of the person and where Im fishing. Im not too worried about" meat " fishermen.Many of the places I fish have TOO MANY bass anyway and they might even be stunted and need to be thinned out . If theyre asking they probably still wont catch many even with the extra knowledge. (  how many times have you gone out knowing what youre doing and still got skunked?) There are too many little details about bass fishing that a little knowledge given wont really help an inexperienced fisherman that much.I usually help kids and undemanding folks. I might even start the conversation.T hat being said,

I have a few trusted friends I  search new ponds with. If I find a good one,I will share with them and they do the same with me. These we guard with our " circle of trust" . The ones a friend found I dont share with anyone else because that isnt fair to my friend. If I find one  I may or may not share it depending on whos asking.

 

[MIbassyaker]

Yeah, I'm a cranky loner and a jerk. I don't ask for info on your locations, patterns, or anything else. I put in the effort to find productive waters and spots, and I try to figure them out myself. Sometimes I succeed and sometimes I don't. I expect others who share these small, public fisheries with me to do the same.

 

Sorry, I guess.

[fishwizzard]

 Just this saturday I had a guy, unsolicited, give me a tip that turned the day around.  It was a small pond, so I am sure he saw me trying for an hour to get the bass to eat what they wanted all last month (pink robo on a dropshot) and as he passed me just said "throw a lipless out like you are trying to lose it and reel it in nice and fast".  Sure enough, I did it and bagan catching almost immediately.  I got about 5 in an hour and walked over to thank him.  He said that he had been there since 6am (I arrived around 9am) and had "wasted two hours with a damm pink worm" as well, so he couldn't stand to see me waste my time too.   It turns out that I had turned him onto the pink worm weeks ago and he was repaying the favour.  He had a fly rod the first time and a pair of baitcaster the second, so I guess I remember gear more then faces, but my kindness was repaid and I ended the day with 8 bass all between 1.5 and 2.5, which is great for that spot.  

[NHBull]

Today there was a rather big tournament  on my lake so I avoided some of my better spot.  I set up on some shallows in the open part of the the lake.....an area surrounded by markers.  Mid morning, a highly sponsored competitor buzzed withing 50 feet of me.  His son was on board and quickly shut it down and circled back.  He gestured to approach and I waved him in.....He apologized and threw me a bag of hula grubs.  Then said, " if your looking for numbers go to x".  He said he had seen me over the summer and we exchanged pleasantries.  This was clearly a situation that could have got heated, but I felt pretty good after the encounter.

 

I seldom fish my better spots during a tournament .

[BuzzHudson19c]

23 hours ago, Weedwhacker said:

  If I am fortunate to be catching fish and someone asks, I will try to point them in the right direction.

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't that the reason for this forum?

 

Nope. I'll help a kid study, but I'm not going to help him take the test.

[JRez]

I am wary of people who catch and kill everything. I'm a huge rule enforcer haha. Especially during trout season. Overall, I try to be as helpful as I can to people. I learned A LOT from awesome local fisherman all over the country who were willing to help little ole rookie me. Including this forum. I will never forget where I started. Even if I see people struggling I'll take the time to show them a thing or two. We're all in this together. I can be your best friend or worst enemy. Since I just moved to a different state I'm still learning the area. The other day I said good morning to a father and his son and asked if the area was pretty decent since I have never fished it. They didn't even acknowledge me. Just looked at me and turned around. Maybe they didn't hear me  so I asked again-same response. They didn't catch anything and I was laughing the entire time reeling in dem bass. 

[Largemouth21]

On 9/9/2017 at 9:19 PM, Gundog said:

Plenty of fish where I'm fishing at so I tell them the secrets. Baits, locations, even about my lucky deodorant. Its a mix of Hoppes gun oil and WD-40 with just a hint of diesel fuel. Drives the ladies crazy. 

Wow, thanks for sharing that secret with us, i am going to try it!

[Troy85]

 I've had a lot of veteran bass fishermen give me some very helpful tips, not specific lures or spots so much, but techniques and stuff to look for(which I think are far more valuable).  I try to pass on the favor, although I feel my bass knowledge is limited, I try to pass on what I can.

[Turtle135]

I generally tailor the information to the person asking. I will give descriptions of what to look for structurally and presentations that should produce but I do not give specific spots away unless I really know the angler well.

[Fishin Dad]

I don't give out information Willy nilly, but have a group of friends we share info back and forth.   I will help out a new angler as well.  If I see a kid in a boat, I am all in with helping any way I can.   It always brings a smile to my face when I see a parent with a kid fishing.   

[NYWayfarer]

I am the opposite of a jerk. I share info for free. If someone asks me what I used I gladly tell em' I caught it on a wacky rigged senko or a ned rig. It's no secret anyone can catch on these baits and fish will always bite them.

 

As far as fishing spots go I have a few so if someone is in one of my favorite spots I move on to the next. I rarely stay in one place for more than 20 minutes to give everyone a chance at. I had a guy pass my kayak yesterday on his Lund (no offense A-Jay) and throw his hands up in the air. I can only imagine that was him trying to say why are you in that spot as why wouldn't you just wave like I did? He anchored about 50 feet away to start fishing. Once I left he moved in and anchored there wouldn't even look at me as he passed.

 

Really sad when people act this way. If you think about it I don't know this guy but I do know we have one thing in common already, fishing. We could have struck up a convo about that rather than getting pissy that I was in a local hot spot first.

 

 

 

[the reel ess]

People who keep everything are not educating fish. It's actually the strictly catch and release crowd that do that. I'm not judging either group. But the places I usually fish, there aren't many people fishing anyway so it doesn't matter what I tell them.

[J Francho]

I'm definitely not a jerk about things, but what I share is very situational.

[RPreeb]

I would have very few issues with telling what I could, but I don't really know that much myself.  How much detail I give out as to locations would depend on the circumstances.  I would certainly be a lot more specific with an enthusiastic young person who is just trying to learn the sport than I would with someone older who just appears to be too lazy to try and work things out like I am doing for myself right now (with a lot of help from Bass Resource   ).  

 

I feel that in the right situation I would love to meet someone who is as clueless as I am so that we could practice and learn together, passing our discoveries back and forth to each other.  At the moment, I have no fishing friends, so I'm a shore fisherman who is strictly on his own.

[Ratherbfishing]

To me a "jerk" is someone who actively interferes with another fisherman's free access (on public waters) to this resource OR is simply unpleasant and/or unfriendly to other fishermen.  Having said that, no, I'm not a jerk.  They have as much right as I have to public waters and I am as pleasant as peach pie.  As far as telling them WHERE the fish are and/or WHAT to use, etc, I'm rather unlikely to do the former but relatively likely to help them with the latter.  IF they have a 5 gallon bucket or a stringer, I generally assume they are keeping fish (which is fine within their legal limit) but I am generally less helpful still.

[frosty]

It depends, if the conversation starts with "there any catfish in here" I usually just keep my mouth shut, I had a couple young men start the conversation by calling me sir and acting respectful... I was more open with details about where to go with them. 

[Abzorb]

It depends who it is. Unfortunately my local pond has drivable shore line so I get people driving thier freaking car right up 6 ft. away from me and choke out a 'bitin?'. This can happen up to 6 times an hour and gets real aggrivating when it's obvious they aren't even fishing just looking for people to talk to. Im more than friendly to other c+r bassers or kids especially. I'll save bobbers and lures I find and give it to a kid in a minute. I don't mind sharing what's working to like-minded folks.

[MrPeanut]

I'd fall into the camp where it's depending on the situation.  I'll always be respectful, but tend to keep it very general at places that already receive an insane amount of pressure.  If somebody is genuinely trying to learn though, or particularly if they're trying to get a kid on some fish, I don't hesitate at all to give out specifics or even lending baits I'm using as I'm leaving. 

[S Hovanec]

Where did you catch them?

"In the mouth"

 

On what?

"Hooks"

 

Typically no more questions are asked after those two answers.