Fisherman! Check This Out!

[+driven1]

There's a brand new Yahoo Group dedicated to Fishing using GPS. The Idea is to post your favorite spot's GPS coordinates in the database and any other info on the spot you can provide. Not much there right now. Has to get better if folks start putting their info in! Looks like it could be a great thing for Fisherman!

 

See it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/geofisherman/

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

As an old school fisherman, I will gladly supply coordinates to any fishing spot that is as far away from my spots as possible!

When you find a good spot, you don't want it advertised. As a matter of fact, I was going to place a cache near one of my favorite spots but decided against it for just that reason. A cacher may get ideas about fishing!

[GeoFD]

AMEN TO THAT MAN ! I DONT WANT ANYONE KNOWING MY SPOTS

[+driven1]

And just as expected, I see that we have a couple of crusty old salts who feel that their "Spot" is sacred ground. Face it guys, there's no such thing. The days you're not in "Your Spot" someone else is! Why not share it? Have you ever taken a friend or family member with you? If so, did you Blind Fold them first?

 

Do you think that giving up the coordinates for your spot is gonna put three Thousand fisherman on it the next day? Nope, ain't gonna happen. Maybe a couple more but certainly no "Swarm".

 

I understand though that your spot IS the best spot on the face of the Earth and that everybody knows it. They've tried for years to find out where it is, but you've managed to elude them every time! God, you guys are good!

 

Check out Garmin's Hotspot software. Better check and make sure your spot's not on it! If it is there'll be 300 Fisherman on it in the morning and not a fish left in the lake.

 

I'll let you in on a little know secret. There's a company out there that's going Lake by Lake and sonar mapping the whole thing. They map everything from depths and contours to bottom compostion and fish concentration. The days of the "Sacred Spot" are nearly over whether you like it or not.

 

Put the beer down, get your heads out of your butts and think!

 

I'm not asking just you! I'm asking for thousands of people to post. Just imagine! Thousands of Fisherman Tested spots to chose from!

 

If all goes well, the GeoFisherman Group could be one of your best sources for new places to fish, complete with all of the info you need to make it a succesful outing. It's not just your spot, it's thousands of them for everyone to share. And we do promote Catch and Release heavily because we realize how succesful this type of information can be for the Fisherman.

 

If all goes REAL well, it could be The number one GPS Fishing info spot on the net period. It could also be the number one spot on the net that puts fish in YOUR net!

[+Klondike Mike]

what the ol' salty dogs said......

 

they may as well call it the "yahoo spots of no bites"

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

driven1 - I find your generalization of 'fishermen' who don't agree with you offensive.

 

As a fiery, redheaded female, I DO NOT consider myself old, salty...crusty...etc.

 

Nor do I consider myself stupid! The fun in having a hot fishing spot is the discovery of it and the joy of not having it over-fished! I am a very generous person, I have donated my time to charities, given money to those down on their luck and am always the first to offer assistance to those in trouble. But give away my secret fishing spots? NEVER!!! Also, I don't drink beer.

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

As the "original old school poster" (I am 32). It was meant 1/2 tongue in cheek. My friends and I have fished all over in MI. If you aren't from the area, the locals aren't giving up the good spots- you gotta find them yourselves! Also, the spot in question is becoming more well known and we've been camping/fishing there for 10 years. It is really annoying to have people traipsing through your campsite all the time. We camp there because it is not a campground and we like the relative privacy (and my dogs don't need to be leashed). I have used on-line chat and the like in regards to fishing spots of which I am not familiar. That being said, your still not getting this particuliar spot outta me!

[+driven1]

Ok, Ok!!! Sheesh! Look I didn't mean the post in an offensive manner. I'm sorry if I offended you Gizmo & Brazin. Didn't mean to! I was using a tounge in cheek means of writing to make a point. Sorry if it offended!

 

I'm a fisherman too, and I understand the Sacred Spot concept. I have some of my own. I'm really not asking everyone to give up Honeyholes. I'm asking that if you know some spots on a lake that you regularly fish and are productive for you and have coordinates for them, to share them. That's all. I'm not asking for everyone out there to give up their favorite honeyhole. I'm probably not even going to give up mine.

 

The example that I've provided in the GeoFisherman group IS a real spot in PA and the info is accurate. Is it my Honeyhole on the Kinzua Reservoir? No. Is it a good productive spot on the reservoir? Yes. That's all I'm asking.

 

Oh, and thanks for being a "Fiery Redhead" that likes to fish! I like people who keep me on track!

[+tirediron]

what the ol' salty dogs said......

 

they may as well call it the "yahoo spots of no bites"

exactly right. You want to go fishing, you log onto the site and check to see if the co-ords are already logged. If they are, then don't bother going 'cause someone has already checked it out, and decided that it's free of fish enough to share!

[+Planet]

Heaven forbid someone finds my GPS and knows all the spots!!! But I'm very willing to hear about theirs. Maybe I should start marking them as train stations instead?

[+fosterbass]

When you find a good spot, you don't want it advertised.

Thankfully, "old school" hikers don't share that "sacred spot" philosophy. If cachers like jonboy and briansnat chose to keep their favorite lookout spots private instead of placing caches near them, the rest of us would be missing out on some spectacular views and hikes!

[+rusty_tlc]

Patrick F. McManus wrote the book of rules for sharing your "spots".

If somebody shows you thier spot it is considered bad form to go there without them.

If you have never read any of Pat's work take the time to do so. He is the funniest outdoor author, and author in general I have ever read.

[+AJ of Dunbar]

Aye! No fishing in my spots! Although i dont really have one spot i fish all the time. Just up and down the lake shore line, although on a lake in another state we use to go to alot we had many spots, but i wouldn never let any one know about it.

 

theres PLENTY of other places!

 

aj

[+driven1]

Thank you FosterBass! At least someone gets it!

[+driven1]

Just thought I'd let you all know that I've put my mouth where my idea is and have put some great Lake Ontario spots up in the GeoFisherman Group. Unfortunately, you can't see them unless you Join as a Member. It's not my idea, it's just the way a Yahoo group works.

 

The spots I've put in it's database are some of the best you'll find in early spring for Fishing the Lower Niagara River and Western Lake Ontario period. All of the spots I've listsed are for the Spring season and are accesible either by boat or walkin. None require a huge boat with Downriggers. Ask any Lake Ontario Charter Captain or Local Tackle Salesman and they'll readily agree that these are ALL High Quality spots and that the tackle descriptions I've given are accurate.

 

Ah, there's nothing like a 30+ Lb. Salmon on medium tackle while standing in the water in waders!

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

Difference between a beautiful scenic spot and a great fishing spot is, the beautiful sunset at a scenic spot can be shared over and over and it's still beautiful and worthy of going to. But a fishing spot can easily be over fished and depleted. I will gladly share the coords for some of the beautiful spots I have found in the Puget Sound. You are trying to compare apples to oranges: both are fruits, but not the same.

 

Also, no hard feelings driven1, I understand the idea is yours and has some positives to it. I did go to the sight to check it out, but as I said before I share many things, but not my fishing spots. In addition to the good fishing, I love the quiet, peacefulness being on the water offers. We avoid spots where the fishing is elbow to elbow, even if the fishing is good. Our spots are like private little getaways we share with family and good friends. That the fishing is good as an added bonus.

[+Two Geeks and a GPS]

We avoid spots where the fishing is elbow to elbow, even if the fishing is good. Our spots are like private little getaways we share with family and good friends. That the fishing is good as an added bonus.

 

Agreed! The fishing is elbow to elbow for several reasons (accessiblity, proximity, and of course good fishing!) I am looking for more than just good fishing - solitude

[+BadAndy]

You can have my fishing spot coords when you pry them from my cold dead hand..errr...gps.

 

Seriously tho. I have quite a few favorite spots, and wouldn't mind a bit posting them for other fisher...persons. There are however, half a dozen spots (2 on the henry's fork) that I will only share with my children and grandchildren.

 

Then theres MY spot. No one knows about it but me and some beefy Cutthroat trout. Every time I visit, it is as pristine as the first time, never as much as a footprint. That one my friend....I take to the grave.

[+driven1]

BadAndy - Don't blame you! Would certainly appreciate it if you'd share the spots that you don't need to take to the grave though! Someone has put a new spot in the GeoFisherman Database that just happens to be on Henry's Fork near "Coffeepot." Might wanna check it out! (and find out if it's yours! )

[+BadAndy]

I posted it. It isn't a secret by any means...but the traverse down to the water, and the speed of the flow makes it a difficult spot to get to. Once there with some local knowhow, you have a shot at possibly the best fishing on the S fork. Coffeepot is a good wellknown spot, the cache by that name is just above coffeepot rapids. In actuality, I don't think there is a poor spot from Macks Inn all the way to Ashton. I'll be placing a few new caches in that area just before Memorial day.

[+driven1]

BadAndy,

 

Thought it was you! Thanks! I did notice that the spot looked like it might be a "hike in" and the terrain a bit difficult but looks great! As far as the spots I put in the database they also by far are no secret in the Western Lake Ontario area but they will provide some of the best fishing you'll ever experience there. During the Perch run in the Lower Niagara you can end up with a 5 gal. bucketful of them in an hour and it's not uncommon to have 2 perch hooked up on the same line at the same time. Salmon and Trout are a real treat too. Trout in the 10lb.+ and Salmon in the 20-40lb range are the norm. If you ever get out that way ya gotta try it!

 

We look forward to your other Spots! Thanks!

[+briansnat]

Thankfully, "old school" hikers don't share that "sacred spot" philosophy. If cachers like jonboy and briansnat chose to keep their favorite lookout spots private instead of placing caches near them, the rest of us would be missing out on some spectacular views and hikes!

 

Some do. Backpacker magazine recently started listing coordinates of spots they write about. There was a furor over the practice in the Rec.backcountry Usenet group. People were concerned about hordes of hikers and backpackers descending on these areas with their GPS's. I tried to explain that that wasn't going to happen, but was pretty much shouted down by the Luddites.

Edited April 28, 2004 by briansnat

[+joefrog]

From the B'ham News a few days ago:

 

To catch a thief, charter captains outlaw the GPS

 

Sunday, April 25, 2004

 

As far as thefts go, this one is pretty high-tech. A person secretly pushes a button on a device in his pocket and the victim never even knows he's been had.

 

Get on about any charter boat on the Alabama Gulf Coast these days and you'll find signs warning you not bring a GPS unit on board. And the captain usually will ask if anyone has one. He explains the consequences if they do.

 

A GPS (Global Position System) is a small electronic device that receives a signal from a satellite that allows the owner to pinpoint and record his location. It enables the user to return to the same spot even if they are 50 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Charter captains use GPS to pinpoint the reefs that they build. Unscrupulous people use GPS units to steal the locations of captains' reefs.

 

As GPS units became smaller in recent years, people sneaking them aboard charter boats became a problem. Now that GPS units have become so small that they can be found in some cell phones, a lot of captains on the Alabama Gulf Coast have become really worried.

 

Man-made reefs are a charter captain's lifeblood. Without secret spots to fish, a captain would be ineffective. Building a reef and having it taken offshore and dropped to the Gulf floor can cost anywhere from $500 to $1,000, depending on the materials from which the reef is built. The typical captain will have 300 to 600 reefs in the Gulf. They do not take kindly to someone stealing their hard, expensive work with a simple push of the button.

 

Springville's Carl Connell was fishing on a charter boat last year when a deckhand walked into the cabin and found a fisherman with a GPS. He had been warned before the boat left the dock that no GPS units were allowed. The deckhand got the captain and the captain called the fisherman outside. The captain explained the situation in simple terms. Either the fisherman would toss the GPS overboard, or the captain was going to toss the fisherman and the GPS overboard.

 

"The guy wanted to argue that he was just trying to figure out how far offshore they were and he wasn't marking any spots," Connell said. "He realized pretty quick that the captain was serious about throwing him overboard. He threw the GPS overboard."

 

Just this past week, Grady Sowards, the captain of the Good Times I, caught a fisherman aboard his boat with a hand-held GPS. He confiscated the unit.

 

Jack Murphy, owner of the Good Times II, says he doesn't know if fishermen sneaking GPS units aboard is a real problem or just paranoia.

 

Murphy has signs on his boat warning fishermen about using GPS units. His philosophy is simple. Prior to the boat leaving the dock, he warns everyone about having a GPS aboard. If someone gets caught with a GPS after the boat leaves the dock, the charter ends at that instant and the money paid for the trip is forfeited.

 

"What do you do now that all these cell phones have GPS built into them?" Murphy asked. "You can't ask every single person to leave their cell phones back at the dock. I really don't know what will come of all of this."

[+protocoldroid]

i used to fish with my grandfather, who lived in Islamorada florida (which I believe is also the sport fishing capital of the world... err at least ESPN would say so), and his secret spots were kept inside the family only. Usually, my grand father wouldn't even mention where to fish until he assessed who was on the boat, and the engine was on and loud

 

That being said... I'm not of such the same ilk... I'll tell anywhere that I fish (of course I live in Upstate NY and not the florida keys! might be different ), just hope that others would do the same I'd love to share my fishing spots too, and I'd love to find more good fishing spots while out geocaching.

 

i'm pesonally only interested in freshwater fish I can find inland, cause... I ain't gotta boat so I won't be stealing the coords for any man made reefs (which, sometimes are just a pile of old refridgerators on the ocean bottom! )

 

Thanks for pointing me to the group... definately more data to feed my GPS that I can use

[+driven1]

protocoldroid,

 

Go check out the Group! Now that you're in upstate NY you should check out the spots that I've put up for Western Lake Ontario and the Lower Niagara River.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/geofisherman

[+driven1]

Just thought I'd put in a note to bring this back up to the top of the Forum. The very first place I posted this group was here at Geocaching.com because it's where I got the idea. I originally bought my GPS to mark fishing spots and then stumbled across this site and have been Geocaching and bencmarking ever since when not out fishing. So I felt it was best to offer my idea to those using Geocaching.com 1st!

 

If you haven't checked out the group, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/geofisherman, it's there for folks to post coords. for productive fishing spots on a body of water that have been productive for them. I'm not asking for "Honeyholes" (deeply guarded secrets in the fishing world), just good spots that you know of. If this gets going it could be great for fisherman everywhere!

[+PandyBat]

Do you think that giving up the coordinates for your spot is gonna put three Thousand fisherman on it the next day? Nope, ain't gonna happen. Maybe a couple more but certainly no "Swarm".

Thank goodness this is only for regular fishermen and not bowfishermen. If you posted the coords around here to a bowfishing "honey hole" for carp, gar, buffalo or grass carp, you can bet that it would be swarmed. The "honey hole" would be depleted over the course of a weekend.

Bowfishermen do not give up sweet spots freely for just this reason.

[+driven1]

Understandable, but as I said we're not looking for your Honey Hole. Just good productive spots that you know of on a body of water. The main idea is for those that like to travel to new areas to fish, camp, etc., wouldn't it be nice if you didn't have to spend the 1st two days scouring the water for good spots to fish? I realize for some folks that's part of the fun of it. For others there are time constraints, especially these days. Knowing where to fish right off the bat could make for a great fishing/camping weekend fort those who are short of time.

[+HartClimbs]

Never fails to amaze me how people will keep secret pretty much anything that someone else would want to know. Just remember how many things you wouldn't know unless someone shared the info with you.

 

That's the nice thing about caching - you bring people to places and share the views, hikes, experiences.

 

Nothing useful to add - I just thought the term "honey hole" was funny. Who knew there's someone somewhere who says at a cocktail party "Oh, yes - I work for Honey Hole Magazine in their marketing department.".

[+sbukosky]

Well I think that I ''get it''. Here in Wisconsin, the undisputed fishing capital of the entire universe, I have a favorite lake that I give coordinates to work a general area. However, my sacred honey hole is some structure that I found when the lake was drawn down and it cost me a propeller. There is a gravel bar near the middle of the lake and the map doesn't show it! Until GPS, I had to line up certain shoreline features and crisscross until my sonar found it. So, go fishing with me and not only will you have to leave your GPS on shore, you'll have to fish blindfolded!

[Dreadnought]

Here is a trick I learned! Get to know the guide's boats, then when they're out fishing "their" spot find 'em and anchor a couple hundred yards away. Get your coords with your GPS, get a range with your handheld range finder, get an azimuth with tour comapss and presto you build a great database of spots. You can do this with anyone catching fish so bring Binos also so you can see what others are catching.

Also works great ice fishing, walk around with your GPS locking in coords of clusters of shanties on weekends and add them to your database also.

[dampeoples]

Good idea. I have a hard time giving out my spots, but it's ok, I know that the fish move around at different times of the day/season, so it's still my little secret!

[vagabond]

Here's one of my favorite spots N32.41.384 W117.23.899 very good drift fishing

its a high point in deep water. Although the coords are off a bit, with a good depth recorder it shouldnt be too hard to find. If your reading is over 1000 feet your in the wrong spot. I found it by accident after fishing the area for over 10 years. yeah the coords are offfffffff

[+Team Bayberry]

Never fails to amaze me how people will keep secret pretty much anything that someone else would want to know.  Just remember how many things you wouldn't know unless someone shared the info with you.

 

That's the nice thing about caching - you bring people to places and share the views, hikes, experiences. 

 

But hiking and geocaching aren't anything like fishing.

 

I'd never want to fish in a spot that was posted publicly, nor would I ever want a favorite spot posted.

 

It's bad enough that boats take up a lot of room, and lines can cross if too many are in the water at once. It's bad enough that some people "forget" the quota for each species and the minimum sizes, and overfish every nice spot they find. There's also the dummy who invariably shows up and drives his boat right through the middle of the flotilla, cutting lines and upsetting carefully laid out equipment with his wake (and propwash, sometimes), and scaring off any fish that were hanging around getting hungry enough to take a bite at that odd-looking bit of bait.

 

How to compare it for you non-fishing types?

 

It would be kinda like going out to cache and having ATV's driven by 9 year olds coming barreling across your path, strewing Micky D's wrappers, hanging around to watch what you're doing, and then stealing caches.

 

There seem to be far fewer badly behaved hikers than boaters. I hope hiking never gets a rep as a fun way for any dope with some bucks to party hearty and impress the babes. What's that? You thought that...

 

...oh, never mind.

[Pto]

Well since a "resort" on my cabins' lake advertises in Iowa & Indiana, our lake has been severly over-fished for years. I surely wouldnt invite anymore people to come and crown me off of my 205 acre lake. Some lakes can support over fishing, most cant.

Ever hear of Red Lake, MN?

 

I think the furthest I'd go is to give a name of a lake, maybe a shoreline(N,W)but after that your on your own. I would however, have no problem telling what color jig to use, depth, technique or whatever. Its a sport - like any other, you need to develop skills and become a "good" fisher....ah. . . person

[Toron]

I think the idea of locations for good fishing spots rocks.

 

The idea that this will lead to a flood of fishermen to a location and result in overfishing is alarmist and a convenient knee-jerk response for people opposed to innovation.

 

The over-fished spots don't remain overfished because of the great fishing (doh). They remain overfished because they are easy to get to and have other conveniences (ie nearby parking, reasonable access to facilities, foodmarts, etc).

 

There are only so many people who are willing to trek the three miles through brush carrying heavy tackle to get to that perfect spot where the fish jump into your live well.

 

If someone is going to use a gps and cross-reference it with an internet service to find great fishing spots, that is a fisherman in the category of those who hunt for good fishing spots anyway. There aren't that many of them, and they are already fishing all the days they can.

 

In short, it's not going to result in all the good spots suddenly being fished out. It's just a great service.

[Pto]

The idea that this will lead to a flood of fishermen to a location and result in overfishing is alarmist and a convenient knee-jerk response for people opposed to innovation.

 

Well, it Is Reality on my lake. Not via posts here, but the advertising I mentioned.

It DID become overfished. It still IS. 205 acres isnt enough lake to pour 100-175 additiononal fisherman onto over a 5 month period. "Overfished" doesnt just mean too many fish are taken, it also has to do with environmental damge caused by that many more motors, etc.

 

Alarmist? Yes, it alarms me that my lake (in WI) is being overfished by a bunch of people from Iowa & Indiana who dont know a fishing pole from a flag pole - who are brought to this lake, and sent to the "hot spots". Live it, then cast your judgment.

 

In short, it's not going to result in all the good spots suddenly being fished out. It's just a great service.

 

Maybe not ALL spots on every lake- but I am most concerned about the one I pay huge taxes to own property on in WI.

 

Im pretty sure any owners of lake property would enjoy large crowds of out of towners coming to thier lakes.... Anyone?

[Toron]

k PTO, I'll bite.

 

I can see your point. If I owned a piece of property on a lake, I would have an interest in maintaining the lake "quality".

 

two points:

1) if anything, this service would help alleviate the pressure on your lake. The point of the service, as I understand it, is to network fishermen's knowledge of good fishing spots that are not known to the general public (as in the five lakes around my metro area that are standard go-to's for fishing). Some group (state, private, who knows) apparently advertised the fishing of your lake. Let's imagine a ratio of good fishing spots to number of people who know about them. That's got to be around 100:1. (meaning if your lake is the only advertised fishing spot in a fifty mile radius, all the out-of-town fishermen are coming to YOUR lake vs. the other fifty or so other good fishing spots in the area.) No agency is going to advertise for the fishing spots that just occured naturally and in which there are no development dollars tied up.

 

2) similar to the first. You are discussing a targeted advertising campaign vs. a non geographically specific service. To use your experience as a predictor of the impact of this service is an apples to oranges comparison. This service isn't going to create a new wave of fishermen, it's going to be a service for people already interested in fishing. What it MAY do is help dilute the concentration of fishermen.

[+driven1]

Holy cow! Just gotta jump in here. Just one question for you Pto. Does the resort you mentioned provide funds to the Local department of conservation to restock the lake? If not I'd be jumping all over someone's butt!

 

Toron gets it totally! That's exaclty what I've been saying. If we all share spots there will be so many that it may indeed take some pressure off of the local Hotspots. There would be so many to choose from that it just may take some pressure off the overfished areas. You may even find that there are spots within a 20 mile radius of hwer you live that you never knew of!

 

These days, unfortunately, most folks don't have the time, or the equipment, to hunt a body of water for a succesful day of fishing. With the price of gas, fishing licenses, travel, eating, all that goes with it, something like this can also save some bucks for folks. Think of how much gas you've chewed up hunting for productive spots. Think of how much you'd have saved if you knew where they were in the first place. Also think of it from a polution point of view. If you're not using as much gas to get to good fishing spots, you're poluting the water less, helping to create a better, cleaner, fishery.

 

Man this is getting deep!