Anyone else kind of a jerk?

[NiX]

I will let people know what I am using. It doesn't really matter to me. Most of the time they won't know how to work the lure the right way if they need to ask random people what they're using.

 

I don't ask others what they are using. I might say, "any luck today?" or something of that nature.

[Turkey sandwich]

I've had other anglers generally be pretty courteous to me, so unless someone is being a jerk, littering, or being generally obnoxious, I'm probably going to help them out.  I've had people be patient with me while I've struggled with things in the past, and I genuinely enjoy seeing someone start to "get it".  

[Steveo-1969]

To strangers while I'm fishing the response to "Catching anything?" is always "Not yet".

 

My fishing friends get full details.

[finatic]

I use jerk baits.

 

[mattkenzer]

If I am asked a question, I tell no lies.

[Bluebasser86]

Only to people who give me a reason to be.

 

I'll share most of what I know. Just because somewhere knows where and on what I caught my fish, doesn't mean they're going to be able to go catch them too. 

[RichF]

I'm not a jerk but I don't go into great detail.  I never lie though. 

[kickerfish1]

I don't ever catch fish so no one ever asks me.

 

If is share things with others it is usually situational. So with people I know I will give them more specifics. With complete strangers it always depends. 

 

Years back I was fishing a really tiny lake. Seen a mom with her boys out fishing(dad probably at work). They were friendly and polite but weren't catching much. I gave them some baits and terminal tackle and explained what they could try and where. They thanked me. Always enjoy helping/teaching when I can. It is also good to see kids outside and doing something other than being glued to a TV, video game, phone, or computer.

[LxVE Bassin]

I have no problem telling what I am catching them on. I won't hesitate to ask what someone else is catching them on. Bass are fickcle so just because someone else is having success doesn't necessarily mean that someone else throwing the same stuff will yield the same results.

[Sword of the Lord]

2 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

I have no problem telling what I am catching them on. I won't hesitate to ask what someone else is catching them on. Bass are fickcle so just because someone else is having success doesn't necessarily mean that someone else throwing the same stuff will yield the same results.

True. Last weekend I took my buddy out to a little pond that basically nobody fishes for bass because they don't believe there's anything in it, but awhile back I quickly found out that it's a hot spot and has some good ones. He hasn't caught a bass all year so I figured he had to be able to catch one here. NOPE. No luck. I even tried him on a Senko rigged Texas style, fishing slowly and showing him exactly how to do it. I caught my share including big mama pictured below but his technique was just not the same no matter how much I tried show him. 

 

[LxVE Bassin]

12 minutes ago, Sword of the Lord said:

True. Last weekend I took my buddy out to a little pond that basically nobody fishes for bass because they don't believe there's anything in it, but awhile back I quickly found out that it's a hot spot and has some good ones. He hasn't caught a bass all year so I figured he had to be able to catch one here. NOPE. No luck. I even tried him on a Senko rigged Texas style, fishing slowly and showing him exactly how to do it. I caught my share including big mama pictured below but his technique was just not the same no matter how much I tried show him. 

 

 

Good stuff, no one can fully duplicate how another person works a bait. You just proved it. 

[Sword of the Lord]

8 minutes ago, LxVE Bassin said:

 

Good stuff, no one can fully duplicate how another person works a bait. You just proved it. 

It takes so much more time to get a technique down and know when and how to change it up than most people realize. 

 

I guess I'm just super protective. I don't want to go fishing one day to find out that my blabber mouth resulted in heavy pressure, gut hooked and killed fished, illegal over harvesting, etc. I like my spots, and I want to keep liking them.

[LxVE Bassin]

9 minutes ago, Sword of the Lord said:

It takes so much more time to get a technique down and know when and how to change it up than most people realize. 

 

I guess I'm just super protective. I don't want to go fishing one day to find out that my blabber mouth resulted in heavy pressure, gut hooked and killed fished, illegal over harvesting, etc. I like my spots, and I want to keep liking them.

 

Im with you, can't knock anybody for wanting to keep things private. You brought up great points.

[Attila]

Every area and spot I fish is 100% accessible to any person at any time. There are times when there are people there, and there are times when there are no people there. They see me catching, they see what lure I'm throwing, if they have it, they throw it and hopefully catch something.

 

When I post on another site that I frequent, I don't bother posting locations. Rather, I post techniques and the structure or environment I was fishing in as it's more helpful to anglers to learn how to apply what I'm doing rather than giving them a specific location.

 

Cheers!

[CybrSlydr]

I never catch anything so I can't tell them.

 

If I do, I'll tell 'em.  Fishing is a community sport - the idea of keeping all these "honey holes" secret is obscene to me.

[IndianaFinesse]

I'll tell anyone who wants to know anything they want about a good shoreline pattern that I'm on (outside of tournaments), that stuff comes and goes by the day.  The one thing that I will not share with anybody, at all, is an offshore spot.  That stuff stays the same forever, and holds fish year round.  The only person who I would show an offshore spot to is the guy who showed me some of his offshore spots.

[OCdockskipper]

4 hours ago, CybrSlydr said:

I never catch anything so I can't tell them.

 

If I do, I'll tell 'em.  Fishing is a community sport - the idea of keeping all these "honey holes" secret is obscene to me.

 

So the guy that never catches anything is against keeping honey holes a secret.   Hmmmmm.... 

 

Reminds me of an old Russian story...

[Sword of the Lord]

4 hours ago, CybrSlydr said:

I never catch anything so I can't tell them.

 

If I do, I'll tell 'em.  Fishing is a community sport - the idea of keeping all these "honey holes" secret is obscene to me.

Sounds a whole lot like "I can't find them, help" but I digress.

 

I don't think it would be obscene to you if you've seen people around your spots just cut the line on gut hooked bass instead of try, harvest illegally, or bring the whole neighborhood down.

[BrackishBassin]

On 9/9/2017 at 10:21 PM, Angry John said:

I will share what is working with other bass fishermen in boats that i believe are also C+r guys like me because even in a tourney i am there to have fun.  I will also talk to people and if there good solid people i will share with them.  The guy sitting on the bucket on the shore is getting nothing  

As someone who exclusively fishes from the bank, that's a bummer to hear, but I guess I understand. Never catch me with a bucket though. Just a couple of rods and my backpack. 

 

Last time I fished my local lake, I had a couple of guys in a boat ask me what I was using after I caught three right in front of them. I shared. Even tossed them a handful of the plastics because they didn't have anything in their boat that color. 

 

Guess I fall on the other end of the spectrum. Don't mind sharing at all. 

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

My experience is that if I give a little, I seem to get a lot. A couple of guys in a Jon boat saw me catch a couple of decent (1 1/2 - 2 pound) bass from one of my more productive spots and asked what I was using. They were using spinnerbaits with no success. We chatted a bit, swapping lies about how good we were, and I explained the weightless fluke I was using and how I was fishing it. They thanked me, then described how an old roadbed ran the length of the lake and how it meandered from one side to the other. 

 

Now this occurred last year, but this past weekend when I was having no luck fishing shallow, I remembered the info they shared and moved out deeper to where I guessed that roadbed was and apparently guessed correctly because I caught three decent fish in less than a half hour. Since I fish from a kayak with no electronics, I would probably never have tried the area they described if they hadn't shared their knowledge. A whole new area of the lake was opened up to me and as the weather here in Massachusetts gets colder, I suspect I'm going to be fishing this area more and more.

 

There seem to be a lot of guys like me who just enjoy bass fishing and enjoy the camaraderie the sport provides. Now if they had been a couple of yahoos in one of those $70,000.00 fishing rockets, I would have told them I was using sardines soaked in panther sweat. My personal experience with that type is that they consider those of us who can't afford the fancy equipment as not being REAL fishermen. Not trying to rant - just relaying my personal experience. I have met a couple of them who were absolutely fantastic, but that doesn't seem to be the norm around here.

[CybrSlydr]

11 hours ago, Sword of the Lord said:

Sounds a whole lot like "I can't find them, help" but I digress.

 

I don't think it would be obscene to you if you've seen people around your spots just cut the line on gut hooked bass instead of try, harvest illegally, or bring the whole neighborhood down.

I'm not going to hide where I fish or prevent a fellow angler from doing so.  I even post GPS locations in my threads  Nobody owns the fish - if I can help someone else profit where I failed, I will.  

[fishballer06]

I generally keep to myself. I'll give the most basic, broad answers that I can. However, my tournament partner tells people exactly what we've caught, what size, what we're using, and locations. Drives me nuts when he does that. 

[RPreeb]

So.... what I'm getting is that yes, some fishermen are a bit on jerk side, while others are open and friendly and forthcoming about what, how and where they are catching.  Good to know that some folks still believe in being neighborly.  I'm something of a believer in karma, both good and bad, and I'd rather do what I can to attract the good kind. 

[Russ E]

47 minutes ago, RPreeb said:

So.... what I'm getting is that yes, some fishermen are a bit on jerk side, while others are open and friendly and forthcoming about what, how and where they are catching.  Good to know that some folks still believe in being neighborly.  I'm something of a believer in karma, both good and bad, and I'd rather do what I can to attract the good kind. 

Would always rather stay on the good side of karma

[Al w.]

Unfortunately I'm not good enough to really have any great spots or baits. If I am fortunate enough to have some good outings I'll share especially if the person seems like a nice guy. Now if I find some kind of "honey hole" I may be a little more tight lipped. 

 

However, a lot of my fishing revolves around fishing with high school kids and their boat captains. We share a lot.