The Spotburning Thread

afishinado

afishinado

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Joined
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Messages
16,139
Location
Chester County, PA
Enough already! We are all getting a headache from reading dozens and dozens of spot burning admonitions in the stream reports and stream locations threads.

We are not Marxists on here - we all believe in free speech.........but a stream report is......a stream report, and bitchin about spot burning.... is bitchin about spot burning.

DO NOT POST SPOTBURNING TOPICS OR ANY OTHER TOPICS IN STREAM REPORTS OR STREAM LOCATIONS TO DERAIL THE THREAD. THIS HOLDS TRUE FOR ALL THREADS IN ALL FORUMS.

BE COURTEOUS, START A NEW THREAD IF YOU WISH TO COMMENT ON A SUBJECT DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL POST.

POSTS TAKING ANY THREADS OFF-TOPIC WILL BE DELETED.

POSTERS ATTACKING OTHER POSTERS WILL BE WARNED AND MAY BE BANNED.

I have started this thread so we can all know what the topic is, and we can choose to read or not read it.

All opinions about spotburning all welcome in this thread.


 
IMHO, if you the posters use common sense in your stream reports and you the responders use common courtesy in your replies, we can all get along.

This opinion is not necessarily the opinion of management and may not be used or rebroadcast in any form without the express written consent of Major League Whatever. :-D
 
I think a good amount of people who are "spot burning" are unaware of the results of their actions. They just don't know the amount of people who come on this board and realize the impact it may have on foot traffic. We are an informative website so that's the whole purpose of this web page, but if you feel a certain stream should be a little more hush hush, then send a PM and explain NICELY why such stream should be kept a bit more of a secret.


There are NO secret streams in PA, but definitely some that should have extra care taken of. Thanks Afish for the thread and hopefully we can all just get along! :-D
 
Anybody that feels the need to "SPOT BURN" feel free to contact me directly. By PM of course so not to upset anybody..lol. In all seriousnes I know first hand how this can be bad for a fishery but in the same respect there are some members of this forum(me expecially) that really appreaciates when a seasoned member throws us a bone once and a while. I've taken many bass fisherman under my belt and showed them the ropes with disgression of coarse, till I get a feel for the kind of person they are. This is one of the reasons I am on this forum. Im realitivley new to the area after getting out of the Marine Corps. When I got out I met a gentleman who loved to fish as much as I do and we became good friends and fished together almost everyday. He passed away last year and now I have nowone to fish with. Since all we did was fish the river for bass and walleye I dont know many places to fish for trout or know anybody to show me the ropes. So If anybody is looking for someone to fish with hit me up im always looking for the next adventure. Or if you wanna "SPOT BURN" ...LOL....just kidding!
 
Finally, thank you! Stream reports should be just that, no other discussion required. IMO the report should be the OP's post and nothing else, thus ending these endless multiple page stream reports.
 
Good call afish, a long time coming probably. Most of us on the forum have gotten sucked in at one point or another to the SBing debate, no matter which side of the fence we are on. It was just all too common, to the point where it was nearly infecting every stream report thread. Granted it usually took some initial provocation alledging of a spot burn to start the thread down the wrong path, but the rest of us (myself included) probably weren't helping matters by continuing to allow the discussion to stray from the OP.

I like reading the stream reports and looking at pictures...not to find new places to fish, just because I like reading and learning from them. I'm not sure any of my stream reports ever got turned into a SBing debate, but I know I'd be pissed if it did...after I took the time to gather my thoughts, write the report, and share a few pictures. That's why I traditionally stood up for the OP in these matters. Probably wasn't helping anything though. This thread is the more appropriate venue to air these matters.

Keep in mind guys...just the fact that we are all members of the same FFing board means we have a lot more in common than we do different. If we must discuss SBing, let's legitimately try to do it here, and try to keep it civil.
 
afish, I agree with ya, but what set you off? I must have missed something!(as usual!)

edit, never mind, I think I found it.
 
An alternative to consider (not that I support it, but it would allow some to have cake and eat it too) is to make the Stream Reports section members-only, with access gained at 50 or 100 posts, or invitation only.

I typically do not like those sorts of hangups on forums, but I will admit that we focus on a unique resource that can be potentially non-renewable.


Pros: Larger incentive to have a larger and more active community.
Cons: Censorship and elitism.
 
Gorosaurus wrote:
An alternative to consider (not that I support it, but it would allow some to have cake and eat it to) is to make the Stream Reports section members-only, with access gained at 50 or 100 posts, or invitation only.

I typically do not like those sorts of hangups on forums, but I will admit that we focus on a unique resource that can be potentially non-renewable.


Pros: Larger incentive to have a larger and more active community.
Cons: Censorship and elitism.

Wow, that post is almost verbatim what I was thinking but afraid to post. If you be thinnin' like me, yous in weal trouble!
 
Same here Fox-lol
Since I don't get around there anymore thinking I best not out loud.
 
Gorosaurus wrote:
An alternative to consider (not that I support it, but it would allow some to have cake and eat it to) is to make the Stream Reports section members-only, with access gained at 50 or 100 posts.
I agree with this, I used to think that spot burning didn't matter but my thinking has changed. That is my opinion only, and am not trying to tell anyone not to post their steam reports because I enjoy reading them. Some streams are impossible to spot burn though. By opening this new post I am assuming that it was ok to talk about spot burning in here because it would then not be off topic.
Edit: Never mind, I read what you said at the bottom after my post, sorry.
 
afishinado wrote:

POSTS TAKING ANY THREADS OFF-TOPIC WILL BE DELETED.

Is this for the stream report section only or for the entire forum? This is gonna be one empty place if every thread that goes off topic is deleted.

oops crap, i just took this thread off the spot burning topic...

sorry.
 
Just to add to that... I have spot burned and caused harm to the stream by doing so, saw the repercussions afterwards. This is why I have changed my mind.
 
csoult wrote:
Just to add to that... I have spot burned and caused harm to the stream by doing so, saw the repercussions afterwards. This is why I have changed my mind.

I'm not going to call what I did spot burning but it's probably the "potato" versus "patato" argument and just words. I did post more info than was maybe wise and the next time I went to that spot I had more company than expected. I have no idea if they read my post or not but I did get a friendly PM, from a guy a now have a great deal of respect for, saying that I might want to not post about that "sensitive" stream. That stream is by no means a secret but it certainly didn't need the added pub of my successes. That said, I have never and will never blast someone in open forum because it was done to me and I have to tell you, it didn't feel too good.

Reap what you sow and sow what you reap!

George
 
csoult wrote:
Gorosaurus wrote:
An alternative to consider (not that I support it, but it would allow some to have cake and eat it to) is to make the Stream Reports section members-only, with access gained at 50 or 100 posts.
I agree with this, I used to think that spot burning didn't matter but my thinking has changed. That is my opinion only, and am not trying to tell anyone not to post their steam reports because I enjoy reading them. Some streams are impossible to spot burn though. By opening this new post I am assuming that it was ok to talk about spot burning in here because it would then not be off topic.
Edit: Never mind, I read what you said at the bottom after my post, sorry.

I'll throw a vote in for making the Stream Reports members only. Problem 90% solved I would think. If that doesn't quiet the folks yip'n n yap'n about spot burning down then take the next step to stop the bitch'n. I'm not a moderator but, I did stay at a Holiday Inn last night.....
 
Hey, Afish, don't blame me. I have been trying to be nice, even though you and many others know what I think of kissing and telling. But, anyway, it wasn't me this time!
 
Here is a parallel situation which may support the excellent idea of restricting access to Stream Reports to reduce spot burn concerns: some of the forums I frequent have buying/selling/trading sections. Sometimes they attract folks with nefarious intentions who try to rip off the members. The common remedy is to establish a threshold of number of posts and length of membership time before you can access the buying/etc section.

A year ago, someone observed that the number of unregistered lurkers exceeded those of legitimate members looking at this forum. Maybe some of those were actually members who just didn't log in. Further, I recall that some felt a lot of the lurkers were not flyfishers but baiters and harvesters who were looking for hot spots. If this is indeed the case, we can preserve the founding intentions of this fine forum by keeping freeloaders from raiding our treasures.

If you were trying to run a restaurant with a particular atmosphere and clientele in mind, would you let random freeloaders come in with brown bags and let them use the restroom, enjoy the music (if any) and otherwise freeload off your facilities?

tl
les

PS - although sometimes I like solitude when ffishing, I usually enjoy running into other PAFFers on the water
 
I think 1. stream reports for members only would be a good idea, mainly because it would address alot of concerns i have with thousands of people reading the reports. and 2. It is still possible to post small streams and such and pictures!! just leave out the name!!! If someone is curious and you want to share, PM it, heck word of mouth is one thing taking someone fishing to your spot is all on you, but putting a spot online for a few thousand to read very easily as Dkile has pointed out, is a bit of a different story.

When in doubt, don't name it, and PM it if you must!

 
Heck you could even say the region,

Fishing report SE PA, these bugs, this water temperature, here is a neat picture. end report.

Same thing, no need to name drop??!! Common sense is a beautiful thing.
 
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