# Secret spots...and secret squirrel stuff



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

We were talking last weekend about secret spots, and the way that people keep them close to their chests.
I brought up the fact that some forums encourage/allow people to doctor/black out photo's to keep the background/prominent features unknown. Others have strict rules against this.

Then in the trip reports I see the smiley sun and blue sky in the bream photo, which for my money, just ruins it for me.

What is everyone else's thoughts on the subject ?

Personally, I'm not a fan of doctored photo's, but I've got no problems with "Spot X" type stuff - if it's that secret to you and you don't want a photo of it...don't take the photo, or take it in such a way that it obscures the obvious.

No disrespect to the sun/sky photo - just reminded me of another thread on another (Non Kayak) forum.


----------



## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Generally here, we run a 'each to their own' philosophy.

I personally, will spam the world with my fishing spots. The only exception I make is when someone else has specifically shown me one, and has asked me to keep moot. I try very hard, therefore, NOT to find out that sort of information, as I really quite enjoy putting others onto decent fish. That said, it takes more than location knowledge to catch something - location is only part of the picture.

Others prefer to hold their information close to their chest - that's no problem either.

Red.


----------



## chrissy (Jul 7, 2007)

Mate with what the worlds coming to, i am fully with people doing this. I know of a few cases where people have posted up pics on forums, and the next day have swarms of people at that very same spot. I love fishin with other poeple and sharing my spotx's, but dont to the wider community. I dont see the need on this forum as everyone i have met have been great people 8) , but other forums where landbased game and stinkboats are associated, then i agree.


----------



## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

my photos are usually off the fish on the ruler or occasionally of the lure hanging out of there mouths, not trying to keep the background a secret, just ends up getting more a shot of the bow of the yak in the background than any landmarks.

cheers Dave


----------



## chrissy (Jul 7, 2007)

lantana said:


> I like to get info to new fisho's,unless Iv been told to keep it a secret,and its a fact being on the spot will not catch fish alone.But having said that I have removed all my X spots they are too easy to see and replaced them with the letter G,after all, how many out there will find a G,spot
> 
> Lantana


good one lantana :lol:


----------



## Guest (Apr 2, 2009)

My attitude is pretty much in line with Reds. Yakabout is an open book about where I catch fish, and I share pretty much any useful info I uncover myself. But like Red, if I'm shown a spot in confidence, it stays that way. As such there are many trips I've been on that I haven't reported on Yakabout, a few others simply labelled 'spot X'


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said here. Most places are public access anyway so there's no reason to hide locations...unless you know something that no-one does, which is highly unlikely.

Where I DO keep locations secret it's because they are on, or accessed through, private property. I don't like every Tom, Dick and Harry driving around the place at all hours of the day and night. I have issues with people hearing about spots from someone who has permission to access and then those people decide that they too have access.

If it's public space and we're all responsible individuals, no problems, people's backyards...different story. While all fisho's share the same passion, they don't all share the same values...or backyard.


----------



## rob316 (Oct 2, 2007)

a fair majority of us here practice catch and release - so giving away spots is not going to turn our fishing spots into turnstyles.. 8) ...yes , their are the "browsers"...but really don't think they are doing to much spy work from this forum... :shock: ...i have some favoured spots - and most around my area know them as well - it doesn't matter...because when i'm not there , someone else probably is , probably thinking the same as i do - "its good that no-one else knows about this spot"..  
as for a picture or 2 with some inventive editing , well - my daughter likes to "edit" my pics on the computer - thinks its fun - artistic even...glad i havn't posted any of them by mistake !!....but hey - it was probably a prettier background than the original anyway !!! ;-) 
think nothing of it ben...its a bit of fun.....when they start drawing in the fish - then worry !!! :shock:


----------



## Biggera Yakker (Jan 25, 2007)

That's a heap of good looking bass Steve from a great secret spot! :lol:


----------



## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

Barrabundy said:


> I agree with pretty much everything everyone has said here. Most places are public access anyway so there's no reason to hide locations...unless you know something that no-one does, which is highly unlikely.


You may not know something that *no-one else *does, but if you fish long and hard, over many different tides with different techniques you may discover something that* everyone else *doesn't. And it's that person choice if the wish to share that information because it's very likely that that information may represent a big chunk of time both and money and once put onto an open forum like this it very quickly become available to anyone and everyone.

I personally got a chuckle out of the smiley sun painted into that image because I knew exactly where he was coming from. There are plenty of less obvious ways to go about it though - face open ocean when taking photos, photos of fish on deck of yak only etc etc and you never even know that they're keeping their favourite spot secret.

That said, respect to the people that do share their spots - can't help but feel though that on heavily trafficed sites you'll eventually just shoot yourself in the foot.


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

I've got no problems at all with photo's of fish, on boards, on yaks, on a bank, in the water and if you've got a spot that you want to keep to yourself - go for it, I know that other sites have been raped in the past after the word got out - Hence the trip reports being hidden on ECKFC from general veiw.

That being said, if someone asks me to keep something to myself, I respect that and do so - as without their knowledge (and the people before them) I wouldn't know about it.

100% agree Beefs - you can be obvious in an unobvious way - if you know what I mean.

I just wanted to get a feel for what other people think.


----------



## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

The worst example of giving out too much info is in my opinion "Queens Beach". Quite a few people have been doing there trip reports with QB in the title and last time I was fishing, on a nice day, there were well over 12 kayaks fishing just off the 400mtr long beach........and know one else (except me) fishing out side of QB. The sad thing is the place is copping a hammering and consequently doesnt fish nearly as good. I personally wont give out spots and will only mention way points. Even starting to regret giving out too much detail on tackle.

It would be good if people who came to fish Redcliffe did a bit more exploring and try other spots. You can catch Snapper, Bream Cod etc. from Woody Point right up to Deception Bay. I've caught most of my best fish out side of QB and personally find it over rated.


----------



## grinner (May 15, 2008)

to any new fishos to brisbane i would just say that its a bit of a running joke and an urban myth that there are lots of big snapper around mud island. for years the good snapper fishos have always said they caught them at mud island (no matter where in the bay they were caught) this sort of disinformation obviously worked because heaps of newbies get a boat and head straight over to mud because thats where the big snapper SUPOSEDLY are.

as i let all bream go and dont keep flatties unless a relative wants one , i dont really like fishing with the fill my esky brigade.

agree with paul that his very helpful tips on lures has probably led to his detriment and i wouldnt explore his area with a blue predatek spoonbill as it would feel like an invasion of privacy.

good subject though bjm and i see a diversity of answers

pete


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

That was kind of my reasoning Grinner,

Again, I have NO problems with secret spots, keep this to yourself or I got it from Mud Island...just getting views and thoughts on the above and doctored photo's is all.


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

grinner said:


> to any new fishos to brisbane i would just say that its a bit of a running joke and an urban myth that there are lots of big snapper around mud island. for years the good snapper fishos have always said they caught them at mud island (no matter where in the bay they were caught) this sort of disinformation obviously worked because heaps of newbies get a boat and head straight over to mud because thats where the big snapper SUPOSEDLY are.


 :lol: I have to admit I'm guilty of this trick.


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

I would like to share something with you all,

As you know I enjoy writing detailed reports on fishing destinations and have recently taken video footage of some areas, some labled 'Spot X' and some not. In my mind some areas near where I live are not 'Spot X' but are reffered to as to try and keep a heavy angler presence down, some areas I also believe should be shared for all to enjoy and I post reports here, on my fishing blog and on the ******** website ( Leaving the commonly major fishing viewed sites alone ).

Now I am a pretty strong willed guy who enjoys confrontation and a healthy debate but recently I was approached at work by a rather heavy weight man asking lots of questions. Apparently he is a friend of a friend or a mutual go between who would not give up his source, I was questioned about a spot I call 'Spot X' and asked if his guess was correct due to the identifiable features available for all to see in the background. The topic then skewed to something various Canberra fishermen have been discussing about in this location due to some high profile reports, the presence of a recently discovered pest species ( And my name mentioned in an article, having being brought to the attention of the author ).

Now this is were it gets tricky, said fellow decided to start reving me up saying his 'boys' use these species for live bait and clean up regularly. Now as I cant hold my tongue and I questioned his antics detailing why the report to a fishing identity was made in the first place ( Myself and others deduced they were probably introduced due to the 'Live Bait' issue ) and how illegal such an infringement was. The fellow left in a jovial enough mood but I was rather pissed off due to being at my professional place of business, rather than an internet forum or tackle shop.

Next day the fellow returned and I was nice as pie, afterall he was buying products from my shop. I was then informed ( Using my real name, instead of 'That Kayak Guy' ) that his mate ( And mine, apparently ) had put him up to it and he wanted me to know so I didnt stress out everytime I saw him in the future. I asked for his / my mates name and was told that wasnt going to happen, it was then the conversation got interesting. He then turned to me asking why I had posted about Pejar Dam, indicating how fragile the area was and how many local anglers from the region would get pissed off.

Now he does have a point, I know its a fragile area and have been informed by another ex-local how it has recently gone from one extreme to the other and is on the repair ( A commonly known fact ), so I did what I normally do and write a report on the area ( But not 1600 words as usual ). Why didnt I call it 'Spot X' if it was everyone elses 'Spot X', seems to me that one mans pain is another mans pleasure but to what extent, why didnt I notice hordes of fishing line, lure packets and rubbish everywhere and why did I have the place to myself?

The answer is its my job to inform people of positive fishing experiences, its one that I have used to get me to where I am today ( And I am good at it ). I am not the worlds best fisherman but my quest for fishing journo status has had its first negative effect, be it a friend of a friends joke or what. I am still extremly pissed off at being approached at work for a few reasons, one is that not even my blog has the all the information he spoke and questioned me about on it yet. Only two places have, one is here and another is a 50 member exclusive club called ******.

On AKFF you dont need to be a member to read posts or do a search, but unless you trawl manually through all my posts scattered through the trip reports you wouldnt be able to remember enough information to haunt me with. However I am sure if you did a google search using my name / nikname these items ( Including my name mentioned in other peoples fishing Canberra reports ) you may even come up with a sequential order. If you are a member of the exclusive club called ******* you have all the information at your finger tips in quite a small section, however I never spoke to anyone about the pest invasion apart from personally or by privately shared emails or PM's ( Apart from the identity's article ).

To this so called friend or mutual person who knows me, you obviously know I take my work and my fishing in Canberra seriously enough to get stressed out when approached in my place of buisness about topics that are so passionate to me. The internet is a powerfull place that can be used against you and twisted into whatever shape some people desire, I suggest not bothering to contact me unless you want to do in via a forum, blog or email ( Or even better, phone call ). Canberra is a small place and I post a lot of information available for viewing, so my name in headlights basically.

Outside of work or at the bike racks its your call, do it again in my place of business and you will be asking for trouble...


----------



## rob316 (Oct 2, 2007)

About 1 or 2 years ago i responded to a post from AWTY...fishing redcliffe/scarborough....he gave me the launch details , lures and lowdown on what i might catch there....i was stoked and thought what a great guy - i hadn't been a member long and he didn't mind if i tagged along....i caught nothing but did see some great fish being caught by some other yakkers....i vowed to return soon
about 6 months later i returned to try my luck again as reports were saying that the fish were there....instead of a few kayaks out there - there were 20 to 25..hammering the area like it was their last day fishing...there wasn't a spare corner in a good 1klm x 1klm square off the beach !!...i caught little
now i havn't been back , but obviously the place still gets peppered continuously ..going from the reports a month or 2 ago....
After reading his say earlier in this topic - i know understand his thoughts...he was helping out a new yakker back then , advertised in the trip section mind you though , and since then - his local area has been hammered more and more by every day by yak fishermen who travel many postcodes to try and get the big one.....it must feel like getting gatecrashed every time he wants to fish - people come down , ravish the place , then leave - and the local has nothing left to celebrate.....i'd hate that to happen - its opened my eyes
thanks paul for the info back then...i can understand how keeping some things a bit secret actually benefits the environment , not just one person....so i totally understand that keeping a secret spot is not being greedy - its being smart....i have a new perspective on this topic now


----------



## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

StevenM said:


> Ben
> 
> how many trip reports do you see from me mate?
> 
> ...


I can see one predominant mark, I think I might just head up that way one day. Shhhhh don't tell anyone else, but almost all those fish photo's show the Top End of Australia in the back ground.


----------



## ArWeTherYet (Mar 25, 2007)

Rob I'm only jealous others are doing better than me.  ............. :lol: Mate the big problem is everyone seems to just hit Queens. There is over 8kms of coastline (5 if you take away the green zone :twisted: ) on the eastern side and plenty of places to fish, if people would try different spots there would be less of a problem. Like what Merlow(t) wrote 12 month ago you used to get an even spread along the fore shore. I dont have a favorite spot X and prefer to launch and fish different locations.......and I still will give out a few tips if asked. 

Pete luckily for the Snapps and tackle stores no lures a sure fire. Spoon bill hasn't had a hit for a while, other hard bodies seem to be doing better and then I have been using bait and S/P with more success lately. ;-)

Recently I did a report on a holiday down south and included a way point coordinate of a particularly productive spot. I didnt think much of it as I hadn't seen another yak fisher all week and figured it isolated enough not to get abused............but someone on the forum PMed me and politely asked me to consider removing it, I obliged and I guess that goes to show even if the specific info doesnt affect you greatly it may affect others. I think this forum has gotten so big that its best to keep specific locations to yourself and trusted friends and just give a out general location.

Derek that just weird, its one thing to cop a bit of curry on a forum or out fishing but is another thing to be grilled at work or home for that matter.....you must be very p!ssed.


----------



## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

I've PM'd people who publicly mention locations in my local area. As far as I'm concerned, I'll deliver my logic, if members don't like the ideas I present, they are not forced into silence. Last time I checked I was neither a cop or a mobster.

The other day a dude Pm'd me saying everyone laughs behind my back about my "secret spots". That was the funniest thing I heard in ages because (a) I'm the first to admit that the secret spots I fish are very well known (b) I have a stack of launch sites that stretch 120km so I always wonder which particular secret locations these yakkers take the piss out of me about - Probably all of them (c) With the secrecy that's joked about, I'm also amazed why I had 25 open water yak fishing sessions in a row to myself without unknown yakkers sharing my chosen reefs. (d) Finally I believe my secrecy helped land the 9 x Spanish mackeral, 3 x snapper, 3 x kingfish, 3 x cobes, 1 x spotty mackeral and 11kg jewie in January and Feb that I didn't discuss on these internet forums at the time.

Nothing beats a good laugh or taking the piss... I hope they keep it up because it does wonders for the catch rate. :lol: :lol: :lol:

For me secrecy just helps maintains the status quo.


----------



## chrissy (Jul 7, 2007)

Ya sneaky bugger ;-)


----------



## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I'm guessing for those of you who can't wait to show the world your "big one", you'll be posting trip reports with the all important piccies and no location. After all I just want to see nice pictures, don't care about exact location.

If, on the other hand, you aren't one to tell the world, you probably won't even post a trip report (probably not even a member of this forum)

And if you're one of those outgoing types of people you'll post everything including what you had on your toast that morning. I suppose it pretty much sorts itself out, everyone is happy with how they do things, except for when someone else thinks they should give you an earfull because your view of the world is different to theirs.

I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone uses a forum. There are yak fishers out there who are totally oblivious to this forum. For those people this whole discussion is a none event.


----------



## blaggon (Jan 14, 2008)

kraley said:


> ...
> 
> Is everyone in the ACT that wierd? If they are, could you please just make sure they don't travel to NSW?
> 
> TIA........


not all are but a very good many are that weird :shock: :shock: 
ACT = another Canberra twit..

and please don't anyone take it personal, i used to live there myself ;-)


----------



## spooled1 (Sep 16, 2005)

If people show location pics and live in Townsville for example, its meaningless. If they do it on my home territory its different because of turf protection. Yep! NIMBY crap is powerful.

Some of it comes down to drawing attention to yourself as well. In the early days I used to parade my fish around the beach and take a bunch of pics before slowly gutting and cleaning them.

Nowadays I have the video and get occasional decent footage mainly for personal reference and the odd back slap for a clean landing. If I'm really lucky, a mate will have a camera and take an "on water" shot that can be used in a story. Aside from that it's not often I'll pop the hatch when I get back to the beach to pose for pics. Maybe sometimes.

As far as I'm concerned, beach people don't really need to know what happened on the yak. Some people get upset seeing dead fish so I figure there's no point staging a big fat smile if I can get a better pic at sea.


----------



## grinner (May 15, 2008)

spooled i think u raise an important point. i dont think its a good idea to ever show fish to the public on the beach.
i ll give you an example, ive showed people at work pics of some of those great spaniards caught off noosa. i thought people would say wow thats fantastic, how amazing (my reaction) WRONG several said they thought noosa was a national park and you couldnt fish there. got me thinking they'd probably pester their local mp to declare it a green zone. hope this doesnt happen but best to keep a low profile (my polciy with all govt bodies).

paul, makes me think some of the green zones near redcliffe may have come from that sort of public pressure.keep em in the eskies boys.

hell theres probably undercover agents for the epa reading this now signing off


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

paffoh said:


> I would like to share something with you all,
> 
> As you know I enjoy writing detailed reports on fishing destinations and have recently taken video footage of some areas, some labled 'Spot X' and some not. In my mind some areas near where I live are not 'Spot X' but are reffered to as to try and keep a heavy angler presence down, some areas I also believe should be shared for all to enjoy and I post reports here, on my fishing blog and on the ******** website ( Leaving the commonly major fishing viewed sites alone ).
> 
> ...


Can I just ask that whoever it was man up and own up to this? Paff's initial thoughts were that it was me who set it up because of the Pejar references. It's not exactly my style of a wind-up, and hopefully Mr.Steele recognises this now.

What I don't want however is for him to have nagging doubts in the back of his head and hold a grudge toward me for something I had nothing to do with. I'd prefer not to lose a mate over someone elses prank tbh. :|

Man up and own up, whoever it was.


----------



## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

Yes I've also had problems with spots being like Pitt Street the day after a good report is posted, and I've learnt lessons along the way. However as others have said, EVERYONE is entitled to their own ways of doing things. If you or I decided to do something (name or not name a spot) and someone else has a problem with that, then that is THEIR problem, not ours and we shouldn't be made to feel guilty or be harrassed into changing our decision.

For Paffoh to be confronted at work by someone who took offence to something he said or did not say on a public forum is a f#king low act. It is also harrassment and there are laws to protect individuals from that sort of stuff.

So Mr Lard Arse coffee guy - back off, or we'll sick Koich onto you.

.... and for those who send harrassing pm's to others about THEIR decisions, then let me remind you that this is the sort of stuff that leads to bans from forums such as ours...

You have been warned.


----------



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

Very well said Davey , good onya , we are all entiteled to do a trip report as we see fit and NO one should be made feel they have to conform to the wishes of any other paddler in the manner in which they present it ,provided such a report dosnt contain offensive or derogatory matter.


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

and pictures of begger fish that I'm catching...damn, too late.

I actually in a way, respect someone for speaking to another person face to face about an issue....HOWEVER hiding behind another person, or not giving away sources, and general hinting is a low and gutless act designed to provoke a reaction only. I can certainly see why it gon under your skin, if they're man enough to confront you, they may as well give you all the facts so you can re-evaluate a few things.


----------



## feel the sting (Aug 8, 2006)

When I first started boat fishing back in horse and carts days, I asked the local tackle provider for a snapper spot. I'd spent thousands of dollars over the years at the shop and didn't think twice that this was politically incorrect. His answer still sticks with me to this day and it was " fish at 5 finger reef" and proceeded to hold his hand out pointing towards the east and said " out there".

I thought what a great answer and have used it many times since. And then I found my own spots through trial and error, studying charts and use of the sounder. It makes you a better fisherman.

Unfortunately people want shortcuts.


----------



## southcoastmatty (Jan 21, 2009)

You don't want to act like the bra boys in Sydney and think that you own the swell that breaks at Maroubra. I feel fortunate to live in an isolated area but I feel obliged to help others on a site that has shown me how to fish, where to fish and most importantly to do it with style. Hopefully my reports will help those short on time to have a top experience in my neck of the woods when they are on holiday or there for a quick 2 day fish. If they catch and release even better. I have private messaged 2 people on this site and both have been generous and forthcoming with any requests for help in regards to unknown [to me] fishing spots.
Go AKFF
scm


----------



## murd (Jan 27, 2008)

In my 'Gulf of Carpentaria' posts from my last yak trip to the NT (parts 1 -6) , I revealed many secret spots which I have successfully fished since 1999. I was hesitant at first to do this but seeing the NT isn't that close to home, it didn't really bother me if other yakkers followed my same path across the Gulf. Plus, I sort of knew anyway that a certain species of animal would keep most yakkers away from the rivers and leave them basically untouched until I next return. To date since my Gulf posts finished I haven't seen another yak report from there so maybe the animals are doing their job!

I have 'secret' reefs and drifts off Sydney's Northern Beaches which the stinkboaters know about but they wont let me reveal the exact location on an internet forum. For some reason they believe that yakkers are taking over the oceans and raping and pillaging all fish stocks. Christ, my mate in the stinker puts out 4 lines on average and double hook rigs - and he reckons we're the ones taking all the fish? WTF!


----------



## MrX (Feb 7, 2008)

Spot X? That's mine, and I'm not telling nobody!

I find most kayak fishos to be very generous with information/techniques - and I believe the incredible generosity of knowledge/spirit sets us kayak fisho's apart from other fisho's generally.

Stink-boaters (and their forums) seem to be highly protective of their secret spots and techniques - happy to boast about the catch, but uncomfortable sharing their knowledge with others, and generally considering strangers in other boats to be a threat. Gross generalization I know - but that's the impression I get.

I used to kayak for exercise, trolling a lure, and catching the odd fish - a solitary activity. One day I was approached on Sydney harbor by a stranger on pimped kayak, looking for a chat. I thought it was a bit odd - I didn't know this bloke from Adam, and he was giving me all these great tips about rod-holders, bait, launch sites &#8230; and this forum. I had no idea that fishing off a kayak was a popular underground pursuit - I thought it was an oddball solo type activity.

I have no problem now turning up at a beach and finding a dozen friendly kayaks launching into the sunrise, attracted by the reports from fellow AKFF yakkers that the fish are on. I enjoy the camaraderie - the shared experience, bobbing around in the open water on a colorful little piece of plastic, learning about fishing techniques, and new fishing spots. And when I can't get on the water, doing the same in front of a computer screen - fishing vicariously through "strangers" up the coast, across the country and around the world.

If I had a "secret" spot X, I'd be happy to reveal it to anyone in a yak (and wear the flak).


----------



## DnN (Oct 5, 2008)

thats fantastic you choose not to share the secrets that those charts (others information) and that sounder (such intense skill) help to make you a better fisherman. You are correct in saying trial and error, persistance too maybe, but please don't take credit for what would take you back to the horse and cart days with out it. Knowledge might be power in a lot of ways, but that doesnt make any one a better person. sometimes people grow with telling and sharing knowledge, or did you really learn everything about fishing all by yourself? if you didn't, where do you draw the line, and how do you justify that decision?

Picture anyone in the extremes, new to fresh water or salt water from the other style, or totally new to fishing like we all are at some stage. how does someone learn the tricks of the trade, through magazines, videos, books or maybe word of mouth. For some depth of knowledge, we all need someone elses help, learning the location of a reef to learning how to even tie a hook. being able to learn something from a person or book doens't make one a better fisherperson, there is a lot more to it, but everyone needs help to get there. Just to think back, everyone has needed help at some stage to learn, pointing to spot A and giving tip B doesnt make person X a better fisher person unless they put the effort in.

But please, if anyone truely believes that they can now fish with the skill that they have due only to themselves, then don't share. i am by no means suggesting everyone needs to sell their soul, but surely by saying this sort of fish go off in this area at this time of year, and reading that some where or learning by other means makes some one no better off than finding that out by them selves and not sharing with anyone.

hope i havent had too much rum on a friday night watching the footy and can still deliver some sense.



feel the sting said:


> When I first started boat fishing back in horse and carts days, I asked the local tackle provider for a snapper spot. I'd spent thousands of dollars over the years at the shop and didn't think twice that this was politically incorrect. His answer still sticks with me to this day and it was " fish at 5 finger reef" and proceeded to hold his hand out pointing towards the east and said " out there".
> 
> I thought what a great answer and have used it many times since. And then I found my own spots through trial and error, studying charts and use of the sounder. It makes you a better fisherman.
> 
> Unfortunately people want shortcuts.


----------



## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

Well i am in a pickle because i ride a Hobie and the company subscribes to the ABT "who shares wins" which means tell everybody what you know/learnt 

I started a thread on another forum about maybe members could PM each other later in the future if a well known Snapper spot got to well known,,like we all PM the trip details,,the response was negative on the idea,,,some were defensive and bitter and felt they might get left out of the loop,,,

We decided with W.A 's low populaton its not really a problem,,but i am more worried about boaties that browse the forum,,one tackle shop reported a few guys from other areas buying pillies to catch those snapper the yakkers are catching.


----------



## deano (Nov 26, 2006)

No offense, but when I read a post about a secret location, some secret technique, or see that someone has gone to the trouble of blacking out the background, I find it kind of pathetic. I just don't understand why you would post it on this site in those circumstances (except to show off I suppose).

I came to this site to learn off others and to share my knowledge. I didn't come to show off pics of big fish and then turn around and say "I am not going to tell you how you can become a legend like I am". If there was something I didn't want to share on the forum, then I wouldn't post about it. I wouldn't post pictures of the fish just for the purpose of stroking my ego.

Shouldn't we be encouraging the free flow of information between us to increase our collective skill and success?


----------



## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

occy said:


> Stinkboaters trolling our forum for locations.


There is a perception that this is happening, but fortunately - that's all it is, evidence over the course of a few years has shown that it's pretty rare that your average, generic fisherman, scans AKFF on a regular basis, or even occasionally trolls the site for information.

One of the best tools the admins have at their disposal for verifying this is the 'referrer URL' information in the AKFF logs.
Whenever someone links to a AKFF web page (eg: in a PM on fishnet, etc), and then clicks on the link, the 'source' is embedded in our logs.
So for example:



> PM from: Fred
> PM to: Bob
> 
> Hey Bob, the guys over at AKFF have found a new spot where the bream are bighting! Lets go and hammer it!
> ...


In the AKFF logs, we'll get something like this:

123.213.31.21 - - [29/Mar/2009:07:40:57 +1100] "GET /forum/link/to/the/topic HTTP/1.1" 200 16630 "http://www.fishnuts.com/forum/viewpms.php" "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1; Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.1; SV1) ; InfoPath.1; .NET CLR 2.0.50727)"

Our web server software summarises this for us so we end up with:
http://www.fishnuts.com/forum/viewpms.php: 12 hits from this source

Looking over the referrer logs for the last few months, the referrers from these sites, are negligible. We have MANY many more referrals from kayak-fishing sites (in fact, we have 20 times more referrals from israelkayakfishing, than we do from 'fishraider'. We have 100 times as many referrals from a online share trading site called 'hotcopper' than we do from somewhere like fishnet. (wierd eh?)

The human brain is an excellent pattern matching device. We tend to see correlations sometimes where there many not be any.
It's tempting to blame the mass of boaties fishing in your spot, the day after you post a good report up, on boaties people trolling AKFF for any fish activity. It's more likely that it's a nice day, the wind is light in that spot, and people thought it looked like a nice spot, with good structure, that would probably hold some fish. Fair enough, if you've posted up a report that massive quantities of kingies are busting up around Sutherland, expect few AKFFers on your doorstep the next day, with DaveyG heading the pack. (Queens beach, in northern brisi is probably another good example, as AWTY has mentioned).

Anyway, this doesn't cover word-of-mouth, or other more traditional information distribution mechanisms.. but I thought I'd just puncture the 'everyone on the internet is watching us' myth. 

Good discussion guys - appreciate the level of respect that has been shown so far in most posts; please continue along those lines.

Red.


----------



## Peril (Sep 5, 2005)

I think it is naive to believe that there are significant differences between the behaviour of fishers using human powered craft and those using motor power. The level of sharing on this forum has diminished as it has grown. Much more sharing continues through private channels. This is the same on other forums and in the real world of fishing clubs etc. The openness of individuals changes according to their experience. Those who perceive that they have suffered as a result of their openness modify their behaviour.

In the big cities there will always be spots that are heavily fished. In Sydney there are many examples - hot water outlet, molineaux point, the wedding cakes, quarantine marker and long reef wall among them. At these places one sees good and poor behaviour by all manner of fishers. One sees many that have no idea what they are doing but who copy others and get some reward. One sees others who put in the effort to understand the fishery and get greater rewards. Why should they share, only to have the former group move in and overcrowd them? After all, there is nothing stopping anyone else from working out the place.

Particularly galling, though fortunately rare, are those who post saying their monster has been caught in a secret location and don't bother asking then are amongst the rush to a spot following a favourable report.

I used to be open about all of my fishing. Now I openly share only my techniques because I want a relaxed day on the water with a few mates. If I want to mingle with a poorly behaved crowd, I'll go to the cricket or footy.

BTW, the ABT motto is observed mostly in the breach by its members - try getting location information off the bream forums


----------



## justcrusin (Oct 1, 2006)

> BTW, the ABT motto is observed mostly in the breach by its members - try getting location information off the bream forums


 :lol: :lol: :lol:

how true, all my a bream are caught between the bridges, harbour bridge and swansea bridge :twisted: :lol: :lol:

even the sharing of technique on bream forums is sometimes not as truthful as it could be

Cheers Dave


----------



## azzaroo (Aug 17, 2007)

. Those who perceive that they have suffered as a result of their openness modify their behaviour.

The evolution of the modern day 'kayakitis fisherminis' :shock:


----------



## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

occy said:


> Peril said:
> 
> 
> > I think it is naive to believe that there are significant differences between the behaviour of fishers using human powered craft and those using motor power. BTW, the ABT motto is observed mostly in the breach by its members - try getting location information off the bream forums
> ...


Paul, I agree with Dave on this one mate....with so many coming from motor power to man power I cannot imagine the mindset changes

Having met many blokes over 30 years when I had my powerboats I found them to be the same as kayak anglers, and when you were a mate all were good fellers and shared info freely as we see in yak fishing, and might add that was also the case when a rock hopper angler.

From all the above I believe you can remove the _dedicated_ trophy seeker [pot hunter], who plays his cards fairly close to his chest and that applies through all facets of fishing.

With kayaks comps in their infancy the pot hunters have barely surfaced as yet but they will I feel sure


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

Some good stuff guys,

Its an interesting thread with some well known statistics to help promote unity, however I still think the elite mentality of standing over someone to remove / change something via PM out of this world. There are a few cases of what people consider to be unspoilt wilderness ( Venturing to weekdays ) only to find a different scenario due to weekend warriors.

Nothing wrong with them, wake up earlier and fish more during the week!


----------



## Dodge (Oct 12, 2005)

occy said:


> Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting the boaties are bad, they are as you correctly state guys just like you and I. However I perceive there is something more at play here, an X factor if you will, that the more relaxed nature of yakking seems to bring about, that peole in motor boats seem to lack..


Think the main edge yakkers have is the ability to venture and enjoy locations that are near impossible for other craft, such as the shallows and creeks etc...... Locations like this often only located or bettered by someone willing to do some bush bashing as you did in the little bass stream recently, and the jungle perch seekers up north


----------



## grinner (May 15, 2008)

Dodge said:


> occy said:
> 
> 
> > Don't get me wrong I'm not suggesting the boaties are bad, they are as you correctly state guys just like you and I. However I perceive there is something more at play here, an X factor if you will, that the more relaxed nature of yakking seems to bring about, that peole in motor boats seem to lack..
> ...


dodge i also find that ramp problems often put some boaties in a bad frame of mind, so much easier to just wheel down to the water and bugger off than stress about queing, starting troublesome engines, trying to park and reverse the trilaer etc


----------



## BJM (Oct 5, 2008)

One mans secret spot is next week's iFish/ET episode


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

i do think that yakking interests a select group of fisher man.
If i was to meet up a group of boat fisherman, i may get on with 30 to 50% of them, where as in my experience with yak fisherman, i seem to get on with all of them (except the odd one, YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE :lol: )
Not sure of all the reasons but i do know i have know qualms about meeting up with anyone off the AKFF for a fish. That has to say something.

It's not just the up creek options that yaks have advantage on.
Surf launches and places like Clovelly can put us pretty close to areas that take a bit of effort in a boat.
As the forum has grown, i do feel the trip reports have decreased and i have to admit that sometimes if i'm off to Clovelly or somewhere with a tricky launch i don't want the responsibility of helping new people through the launch (but not that often).
IT hasn't been a good season around here so i haven't posted many reports as i think people get a bit bored another report with one rat king released.
BUT if the fishing is bad i tend to get better photos.

just my
2p's worth


----------



## azzaroo (Aug 17, 2007)

i've never met a bigger bunch of freaks :shock:

:lol:


----------



## keza (Mar 6, 2007)

azzaroo said:


> i've never met a bigger bunch of freaks :shock:
> :lol:


that's what i like about them, they make me look so normal :lol:


----------



## bazzoo (Oct 17, 2006)

keza said:


> azzaroo said:
> 
> 
> > i've never met a bigger bunch of freaks :shock:
> ...


Make you look normal , :shock: :shock: , how , sorry mate but its that shock of brilliant red hair , and the fact that not many kayak fishos are only 2ft 6 inches tall , :shock: :shock: how you ever get that big kayak on is beyond me , apart from that , theres the eye patch and that bloody squaking parrot you carry round on your shoulder, :shock: :shock: but , still , i suppose that could be seen as normal when i think about it , yeah , i suppose thats a legitamate remark :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:


----------



## AJD (Jul 10, 2007)

Depends on the fish species and the location. Tiny little sweet water streams with bass and my camera doesn't work! Out on the wild blue who cares. the fish move around heaps and I reckon you'd be pretty naive to think you're the only person who's discovered that little patch of reef. Particularly in a kayak!


----------



## azzaroo (Aug 17, 2007)

got to be careful...naivity is easy to get ;-)


----------



## Junglefisher (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm happy to tell people my spots, I just tell them that there's crocs live there too.  
I agree with the original sentiment of this thread, why post a pic if you don't want people to see it? Although at least the smily sun one was entertaining, have seen many photos made real ugly by blacking out the background.


----------



## beefs (Jan 30, 2006)

occy said:


> Just goes to show how naive people really are. Thanks to that avatar of Junglefishers I now know where that secret spot of his is. ;-) :lol: :lol: :lol:


Yeah but everyone up here already knows about the spot behind the hand holding the jungle perch - hardly a secret...sheesh ;-) :lol:


----------



## mustrumr (Feb 27, 2009)

Occy said:


> But I do perceive that we yakfishos are a more relaxed, responsible, and friendly bunch of people than your average boatie.


I'm new to forums, but one of the things that strikes me about this forum (and the other kayak fishing forums I'm a member of) is how relaxed and friendly and helpful the members are. Sure there is the occasional disagreement between members, but even when they do disagree they tend to be quite polite about it.

Contrast this with some of the other fishing forums I've cruised (no names, but the word "bream" may give a clue). The heat and anger in some of the posts disgusts me. People get flamed over their choice of fishing reel or braid, deliberate misinformation about techniques is common, the competitiveness is intense. The attitude often seems to be "I'm fishing with $1000 dollar reels and a quiver of custom-made rods, so I'm not just a better angler than you - I'm a better person than you"

Thank God it's not like that here! When people here post about a good fish caught, the replies are almost always genuine congratulation (sometimes with just a smidgen of envy :lol: ). When people here have a bad day, or lose gear, or lose the fish of a lifetime the heartfelt sympathy of members is palpable. And there's always the members (you know who you are ;-) ) who can look at a simple post and come back with a devastatingly funny response.

I've received so much useful info and advice in the short time I've been a member. Whenever I've asked a question about technique or tackle or whatever the members have come good. I don't expect to be spoon-fed GPS coordinates or anything, but general advice about the sort of location I should be fishing for a particular target species has been given freely, and the advice has always been good.

I hope this forum will always remain the friendly, open, sharing place I've found it to be. If you don't want to post something, that's your choice, and I respect that. If someone does want to post something, that's their choice, and I hope we can all respect that too.

Cheers,


----------



## FazerPete (Mar 10, 2009)

> but one of the things that strikes me about this forum (and the other kayak fishing forums I'm a member of) is how relaxed and friendly and helpful the members are


Got to agree with that. I've been around on a bunch of forums on all sorts of hobbies from homebrewing, motorbikes and of course fishing and it amazes me how down right rude some people can be when someone disagrees with them. I've given up on most of them except for a couple but this place really stands out as a really positive environment. I had a good few weeks reading lots of stuff here before I joined up and I was amazed that I couldn't find a single nasty argument. Of course there's plenty of debate but that's good; if everyone agreed with each other then life'd be pretty boring. It's the personal stuff that ruins it.

Back on topic, I'm the sort to tell everyone everything and I like reading everyone's trip reports here. The only reason I haven't put anything up myself is because I'm a pretty crappy fisherman and don't seem to catch much. You can be sure that you'll hear about it if a nice fish feels suicidal and jumps on my hook though. On the other hand though, if people want to keep their spots to themselves then that's up to them but I can't really understand why you'd post about your success on a public forum if you don't want to share the success.


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

arpie said:


> If incorrect or 'sensitive' information has been put up, and you don't agree with it, surely that would be the sensible way to go? No offence need be taken, it is just a suggestion, after all.


Barking up the wrong tree here RP, how you can compare the two is beyond me... Ant summed it up well.

:? :? :?


----------



## Rstanek (Nov 5, 2007)

I was talking with Onelastcast about this at the Forster gathering. Apparently after a few reports he wrote, the next few sessions at a spot that was previously only by himself (and occasionaly a few others) was crawling with powerboats. He said he got chatting to one of the boats, who admitted that he and all his mates read AKFF for the reports, because they are so much more detailed than the ones on Ausfish and other 'general' fishing forums, and are hence easier to glean exact locations and techniques from. It's true - many reports on here resemble magazine articles with the quality of photography and literature. Others are more lexically dense, but are still far more detailed and entertaining (and hence revealing :shock: ) than reports on other forums.

Personally, I enjoy sitting down for an hour or so picking and resizing photos, then writing a detailed account of my day's fishing. I see the photography and subsequent writing as an extension of fishing as my hobby. Even if not for others' entertainment, I do it just as my own kind of personal fishing diary to keep archived (though I hope people get a kick out of reading them). The spots I fish aren't generally what you'd call 'secret', but occasionally I won't want to reveal an exact stretch of water within an area, though I'll happily provide this information to people who politely ask via PM if I beleive they're going to fish it responsibly, or to those who make the effort to come and fish a spot with me. However, I'm always wary that what I publish is no longer personal knowledge, but becomes freely accessible to any member of the public who happens to google 'Long Reef', 'Pittwater' or 'Narrabeen Lagoon'.

I also enjoy fishing with other AKFFers. Like Kerry, I've never had a problem with a single one and always enjoy turning up to Longy or Narrabeen carpark in the dark to see familiar and occasionally new faces rigging up their gear. On the whole, I think most of us yakkers have fairly similar ideals when it comes to fishing, and that's why we get along so swimmingly  .

P.S. I agree with Koich; own up you dog...


----------



## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

I don't report 95% of my fishing trips because I don't want a lot of people fishing the places I fish.

I rarely post up a trip invitation on the forum because I don't want a lot of people fishing the places I fish.

I do all of this via PM's.

I do all of this because I am selfish and don't want to have to share water with 1000 people who read the forum but don't post.


----------



## mustrumr (Feb 27, 2009)

> what sort of a user name is that?


It's all here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15001&start=165 .

Haven't read Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels? You haven't lived 

Cheers


----------



## paffoh (Aug 24, 2006)

You got your free speech Arpie, now here is mine...

I posted how I feel addressing everyone as a member, you posted how you feel addressing me as a mod...

Not my fault you cant look past the label anymore? ( Or is it? )

Please tell me so I can sleep at night...


----------

