To Tell or not to tell

[Graham Elliott]

Over the years I have generally posted my catches, unless on a water with a Publicity ban.

However, It does seem many on BFW don't.

Just to get a view

Here are 4 options to chose from

1/ I always post my catches, including blanks

2/ I post when I catch something, but only mention the river not the venue

3/ I never post anything unless it's an exceptional catch

4/ I am never going to post any details.

 

[Stephen Bond]

Good poll

I welcome people posting the blanks. Without them, just reading only of captures is a bit misleading. Even worse is just reading of notable captures! One can start to feel a little inadequate as it seems that everyone else is bagging up with mid doubles every short session they have on the river.

The truth is that we all fail and blank. One may not wish to report ones failures after each session but it sure would be helpful if the reports contained something like "ended the run of XXXX blanks with..."

I also welcome the reports to give some idea of times fished, bait, tactics and general locality. Many seem to baulk at the notion of letting people know any closer that 50 miles from where they are fishing but unless exact swims or beats are being disclosed I can't see much of an issue. Most of the places I fish the barbel are clearly nomadic and there is hundreds of yards of unfished bank.

My own opinion is that they are "River Reports", not Catch Reports for nothing.

Stephen

 

[Robert Beal]

always post mine but dont name where other than river as alot of my tickets have publicity bans , dont mind others not posting but find it at the very least annoying when someone pm's me asking where I was catching

 

[Iain J McDonald]

have you been catching bob,,pm sent

 

[Howard Cooke]

Good poll

I welcome people posting the blanks. Without them, just reading only of captures is a bit misleading. Even worse is just reading of notable captures! One can start to feel a little inadequate as it seems that everyone else is bagging up with mid doubles every short session they have on the river.

The truth is that we all fail and blank. One may not wish to report ones failures after each session but it sure would be helpful if the reports contained something like "ended the run of XXXX blanks with..."

I also welcome the reports to give some idea of times fished, bait, tactics and general locality. Many seem to baulk at the notion of letting people know any closer that 50 miles from where they are fishing but unless exact swims or beats are being disclosed I can't see much of an issue. Most of the places I fish the barbel are clearly nomadic and there is hundreds of yards of unfished bank.

My own opinion is that they are "River Reports", not Catch Reports for nothing.

Stephen

This would be my view too. There are boundaries to respect which I think most of us would recognise, but within that I think there is a fair bit of data that people can share which would be generally helpful as a guide to the state of a river etc, but without pinpointing exact locations.

Howard

 

[Damian Kimmins]

Not that there's any liklihood of catching anything sizeable, but if I did I would have to say that I wouldn't tell many, certainly not here or the weeklies.

 

[Chris Jones]

I learned a harsh lesson a few years ago. I won't post about catches any more.
I've no desire to enjoy/endure any level of fame, so there's absolutely nothing to gain.

 

[Alex Gowney]

I would not usually refuse a polite reply sent by pm but would never discuss catches on an open forum

 

[Ian Crook]

It's amazing how many picked up their now gained knowledge through the river reports and other threads in this forum but now feel they should keep everything to themselves

 

[Chris Jones]

It's amazing how many picked up their now gained knowledge through the river reports and other threads in this forum but now feel they should keep everything to themselves

I've not fished for barbel in nearly a year now, and there's little prospect of me doing so for a while yet. However, even when I was regularly fishing for them, I never learned a thing from river reports that I acted on, beyond an indication that fish might be feeding well on a certain river. I never changed rivers, locations or sought out new ones, due to river reports. I have never, and will never, see a post in a river report and try to find that location. Unfortunately, many others have no such scruples.

There are plenty of people that I'll tell absolutely everything they could wish to know, and more besides. However, I will not furnish the anonymous online information harvesters with a sniff of venue information. If all you do is screw your own fishing up it's not so bad, screwing other venue regulars over is a different kettle of fish.

 

[Mike Hodgkiss]

The bottom line is , if you want to absolutely ensure that nobody knows where you fish or what you caught then say nowt to nobody , online or otherwise . It is daft to indicate exact locations where you caught fish as inevitably people will give the place a visit , I would , it's human nature . Afew years a go I used to put up regular posts about my barbel fishing trips on the Yorkshire rivers , advising on conditions , blank or success , wildlife observed etc . In the end I gave up on this as it engendered a lot of PM's and E mails asking me more specific information re locations which became tiresome in the end . The one thing I have learn't is that if you catch something exceptional and publicise it you will get interest , sometimes a bit too much interest . I once had one chap following me to a rather remote stretch of the Nidd that I was fishing at the time . Eventually I got fed up , and challenged him , he spluttered out that he was '' walking his dog '' , trouble was he didn't have a dog ! Anyway I never saw him again . The way I look at it now , if someone thinks my advice is worth listening to I will meet them face to face and see if they appear genuine and trustworthy . This seems to work OK . As a final comment if people didn't mention outstanding catches , witty anecdotes or post a few pictures,the BFW threads and picture galleries would be very dull places

 

[Chris Jones]

It is daft to indicate exact locations where you caught fish as inevitably people will give the place a visit , I would , it's human nature .

My lesson was that you don't have to say anything specific and don't have to post a tell tale picture. Some will give extra attention to places you are known to frequent, even though I've only ever indicated that I'm fishing the Swale. In my case it was Topcliffe, granted, not exactly a secret stretch. However, the post that caused the extra pressure was about a fish caught about twenty miles upstream. Unfirtunately, people thought I only fished Topcliffe, and the circus of faces I'd never seen before descended.

 

[Howard Cooke]

Some great points Mike and as your final comments indicates, it's finding the right balance. We are all on this forum, hopefully, because we like being part of a community which is connected by a common interest. Thats just human nature too. To make the forum survive it needs the oxygen of contribution.

I would hope that the negative reaction anyone gets following a disclosure reflects the actions of a minority. In those circumstances we focus on those that have sought more information via PM or email rather than those that have not done so.

I can honestly say that when someone posts a catch/blank report on a river I fish, it either serves to inspire me to go and fish or make me feel not quite so bad about blanking.

I also believe that it is possible to be helpful to fellow members without being to specific about a particular swim and how to fish it. I received some great advice from people in relation to the Wye. It was sufficiently informative to give me something to plan around without giving everything way- something the person may have worked hard to acquire.

 

[Mike Hodgkiss]

My lesson was that you don't have to say anything specific and don't have to post a tell tale picture. Some will give extra attention to places you are known to frequent, even though I've only ever indicated that I'm fishing the Swale. In my case it was Topcliffe, granted, not exactly a secret stretch. However, the post that caused the extra pressure was about a fish caught about twenty miles upstream. Unfirtunately, people thought I only fished Topcliffe, and the circus of faces I'd never seen before descended.

.No way round that one Chris . If people know what you look like and feel that the fact you are fishing on a particular stretch is a sign that it's full of monsters then they will turn up , more fool them given my blanking experiences . Ultimately unless you adopt disguises , swop cars frequently , there is nothing you can do . Regarding popular stretches I don't think it makes much difference how much publicity they receive , they will still be popular , Topcliffe being a prime example similarly the Cundall day ticket stretches on the Swale .In places the banks are worn bare , it doesn't seem to adversly effect the fishing though , the old billy bob barbel keep coming out

 

[Chris Jones]

.No way round that one Chris . If people know what you look like and feel that the fact you are fishing on a particular stretch is a sign that it's full of monsters then they will turn up , more fool them given my blanking experiences . Ultimately unless you adopt disguises , swop cars frequently , there is nothing you can do . Regarding popular stretches I don't think it makes much difference how much publicity they receive , they will still be popular , Topcliffe being a prime example similarly the Cundall day ticket stretches on the Swale .In places the banks are worn bare , it doesn't seem to adversly effect the fishing though , the old billy bob barbel keep coming out

It's not a drama if people actually make the effort to go to the stretches, as I said, they are hardly secret. Hellfire, if they made the effort to go, I'd happily bore them to death with every bit of info I could. However, I'm not prepared to make life easy for the terminally lazy. There are a surprising number of people that offer nothing whatsoever on the various fishing forums. All they do is trawl for venue information. It's not my job to provide it for them whilst cheerfully shooting myself in the foot. You may not adversely affect the fishing per se, but if you yourself, and other regulars, can't get near the place because of your loose lips, you've done yourself and other regulars no favours at all.

 

[Keith Speer]

Graham
You missed one mate!

"I post depending upon how much stick I have gotten recently!

 

[Graham Elliott]

I did warn you Keith.....................


Unfortunately some people will always be envious of success.


I have my moments, like the bloke who's rig I tied up last week, bought him the right bait, showed him how to fish, and who caught the d/f tench I have been trying to catch for 4 years!!!!!! in fact it was 11.6.................

Gutted. And Envious. It's when It's taken to the extreme and gets nasty that its totally wrong.


Anyway. This thread was nothing to do with your fun and games


But a realisation that the contribution to the River reports has waned so much (as indicated) that I wondered whether I should bother recording recent successes.


Keith, can't wait to get out together again.

Graham

 

[Howard Cooke]

I did warn you Keith.....................


Unfortunately some people will always be envious of success.


I have my moments, like the bloke who's rig I tied up last week, bought him the right bait, showed him how to fish, and who caught the d/f tench I have been trying to catch for 4 years!!!!!! in fact it was 11.6.................

Gutted. And Envious. It's when It's taken to the extreme and gets nasty that its totally wrong.


Anyway. This thread was nothing to do with your fun and games


But a realisation that the contribution to the River reports has waned so much (as indicated) that I wondered whether I should bother recording recent successes.


Keith, can't wait to get out together again.

Graham

Please do bother Graham. Hopefully all the other stuff is water under the bridge.

Oh bolloc**, just given my favourite swim away.

 

[Kevin Daly]

I used to think the same way as Crooky, but the internet angler; who is a selfish son of a whatnot; does not return the favour. So like most these days I share information with a few likeminded friends.
Most of the clubs I belong to have publicity bans anyway,

 

[Keith Speer]

Graham


Oh dear, I would say never mind but I know it stings a bit!

And as for other stuff, happily I am at a time of life where I know exactly who my friends are!

As for our day out I can't wait, the soonest I can make it will have to be at the end of this month, to be honest, I'm thinking September?

Also I have a suggestion for another venue and we will probably have to do both at least twice to see if they are any good?

Howard, I know we have a date?
When you have an idea of when you want to do it ping me a text or E-mail!

Tight Lines Chaps