Why won't people help others with fishing

I have been saltwater fishing for 30 years and I can honestly say I personally have never caught a limit of specks or reds in the 'exact' same spot as I did last week or last year or even yesterday!!! I have caught them in the same area or within a hundred yards or so My question is why when someone ask where to fish in a general area does no one reply??? We all look at this forum for the guide reports to see what the fish are doing, or at least I do.They want say where, when or how and I don't blame them; they fish for a living, I would like to see the general fisherman help the general fisherman out a little more on here thanks for you time!

Because unfortunately fishing has become more of a business than a pastime

I don't think many people communicate on this site anymore. There have been numerous topics posted about the old forum format vs the new format. Being a member of this site since probably the early 2000's, there used to be a couple of replies (if not dozens) on pretty much each post. Now, consider yourself lucky that people even replied to your post. Is it because of the format? Maybe there aren't as many people that are members? Maybe people just don't want to talk. I don't know, but there is definitely a significant decline in communication since the early 2000's.

My hunch is with the advent of social media and so many people being connected by the internet posting ones location of fishing or hunting spots creates a circumstance of lot of people showing up in an area. I remember back in the day Frank Davis going to any fishing area showing fish being caught on TV was a kiss of death to the regulars. All kinds of people would show up.

Duck hunting is more secretive than fishing. If guys know somebody is killing ducks in a particular area at some point you will have uninvited company. Thus the alias names and general locations at best.

its the new format I rarely post anymore as for the fishing spots
I think a lot of real sportsman are just cant take the crowds and the idiots
that think they can fish because they could afford a nice boat but have no idea how to operate it. just this year I've pull 1 out of the mud and seen 2 ram the
dock so hard that people fell out of the boat. same kind of people that will pull 20 ft from you toss the anchor up in the air so it hits the water like a cannon ball then ask you if you're catching anything I usually reply 'not anymore'

Personally I find it more satifying to find the fish myself. Fish have tails so they can be mobile. Here today gone tomorrow. I think good fisherman know how to hunt the fish down. Sort of know what weather, water temp, tides and various other elements make for good fishing locations. Instead of simply asking where the fish are, people need to be willing to think a little. After all fishing should be a thinking persons sport. Not catching them in a barrel.

I am learning the hard way how to find and catch fish out of Shell Beach/Hopedale. I have had good trips and bad trips. However, if I don't have the 'gotta limit early' mindset, I enjoy the day a lot more as I just go fishing, and move if they aint there after a while. Run n Gun aint my style. I Run n Gun at work all week. I like to relax while I fish. Good luck guys! DB

Mileypop hit de nail on de head,at least as far as duck hunting is concerned,particularly for public-land warriors like me and Bayoubob!If we told folks even the general vicinity of where we typically shoot quality ducks,we would have way more competition(mostly un-wanted)and it would not make for pleasant hunts.I fish a fair amount,though not as much salt water as I used to and do give generalities as far as where I caught fish and I took a buddy from the Abita KC Council that he and I belong to and we fished a nice spot,saw another fisher in the exact spot we wanted to fish and all we did was very slowly and methodically use my trolling motor to very quietly fish and he told us he caught zero fish(after he left I caught two small reds that were under-sized)and we saw at least 5-7 'synchronized mullet dances' caused by a huge predator(s)but we never got close enough to spot the predator(s).Lake P will make believers out of lotta folks that travel all de way to Delacroix to buy live bait,spend a ton of tow gas and boat gas when I can nab quite a few fish right here in my proverbial back yard.Guess selfishness has something to do with why folks do not give exact coordinates and I sorta can't blame folks-find ya own fish!I will give generalities,though and even exact lure and rod n reel nd line set-up,if dat make a difference!!

Mandevillian

nothing to do with the format.

as said before with social media it is much easier to share information to those 'friends' you know instead of the entire public on a forum.

Saltwater information is still somewhat given out but you will almost never see fresh water reports simply because there are those that 'fish' by browsing the net looking for that bait, color, gps coordinates and will be there the next day. Be a fisherman and learn how to find and catch them.

I have friends and relatives I don't even tell the exact location I caught fish in because they WILL be there on their next trip and they get upset with me. But I do some tournament fishing and they just don't get that.

I've seen posts by some members here that all they do is ask for information and then get mad when they don't get any. Maybe know one has been fishing that area?

I certainly lost motivation to give reports. I used to give tips and general locations, and in return I had a fishing archive of reports to tap. There was sharing of information, though. When that ended, I stopped my reports too -- snowball effect. Frankly, the new generation is into social media.

I never gave exact spots, which is pointless because the fish move each day, but sharing info about the general trout migration in the Fall was useful...or learning about changes to fishing patterns because of new structures (i.e., 'The Wall')... or discussions on changes to salinity was useful. Now we get....nothing. And in the Times Picayune and Advocate outdoors we get......nothing. It's like we stepped back to the stone age to get basic fishing information.

Perhaps that's why LAS has posted more fishing articles on their homepage, for which I give kudos. But there's nothing like current information. Only one marina (Sweetwater) is even doing fishing reports anymore, which boggles the mind.

We've lost general info, too. For example, the Yscloskey bridge construction was causing headaches for fisherman this summer. But it was never reported here. We lost the last restaurant/bar accessible by boat on the East Bank Intercoastal Canal (the Yellow Store at Chef Pass recently closed). Not a peep was mentioned -- you found out the old-fashioned way with a drive-by. There are no field reporters anymore. Its very sad, but again probably due to a change in culture and social media.

When I post reports I always give a general area. If you want more specifics, send me a check by mail..NO ONE has ever brought me to their fav spots, its always been the other way around. If you cant find trout/reds in La with a boat, me helping you wont work either.It aint hard.

If you post a specific area or spot, you can bet that people will show show up in numbers. In the numbers come rude and uninformed people who will just about jump in your boat. Lets face it, social media can put 1000 people in Lafitte or Delacroix. Why not go find fish on your own ? it's called fishing. I don't post fishing reports.

Bayoubob and I just chatted about the relative lack of hunting/fishing reports and I am gonna keep posting reports,good,bad,indifferent and I guess I feel fortunate to be self-employed and have more than ample time(outside the crazy-busy Medicare and Individual Open Enrollments about to explode)to pursue my passions-duck hunting and chasing bass/specks/reds,flounders,followed by bow hunting when I have time.I hunt a private deer lease,hunt public land for squirrels and rabbits and ducks fish almost exclusively Lake Pontchartrain and the Cane Bayou and T-Funky areas and sometimes nab a few nice bass(two are in Crossroads,MS getting mounted)and sometimes shoot some trophy-quality ducks,all on public land.It would be fool-hardy to pin-point exactly where Bayoubob and I hunt and fishing a totally different subject and my feeling on fishing is the fishermen make the spot,not the other way around,most of the time and last time I checked,fish swam and not always in exact same location,day after day,etc!!

Mandevillian

the information is out there, u just need to decipher it. Even when the guides post, u can get cues as to where the fish are in relation to the spots they mention. If u want specks now they are still close to outside, thats where i have been finding them for the last 2-3 weeks ( doenst matter if its hopedale, dleacroix, or lafitte) and from my records after this front this week, u can start in the middle bays. I wont start to look in the inner bays or what is considered winter spots until Thanksgiving. So from now until thanksgiving im hitting all my mid bay spots. If u want specific spots u are just going to have to hire a guide.