ronk Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I've noticed a trend to include specific locations in some recent fishing reports & replies. It's always been ISA policy to not divulge locations even including the general area ie Batavia,Shorewood etc.. While there are no "secret" spots in a heavily populated area that's a good policy nonetheless considering that everyone not just ISA members can access that infomation.Sharing location info between ISA members can & should always be done via pm only.Let's all try to be mindfull of this in future posts.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgoodmanii Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 Agreed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I do not believe that ISA has an official policy about this. But I will defer to an officer to inform us on that question. Freedom of speech says that you can give out as much or as little information about your honey hole as you want. In the past we have all defended the tight mouthed individual who refused to give any details about the location where he scored. That is a different story. Since I do not see GPS co-ordinates in any posts, I have no problem with the current level of detail in our posts. The site moderators do not seem to have a problem either. For instance, considering both banks and mid-river structures, there is a lot of Fox River in St Charles. I am not giving much out by saying the west bank was hot last night. But will lurkers steal our spots? Who are we kidding anyway? There's probably a worn path leading to the "secret" spot. And besides by the time you read it here, it is yesterday's news. There that saying, "You shoulda been here yesterday." Oops, forget I mentioned the Fox. No fish there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Ferguson Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I do not believe that ISA has an official policy about this. Actually we do. It's in the Forum Terms & Rules. "We encourage catch and release fishing. We realize not all people that browse fishing forums practice this. To help protect the waters you fish, when posting, do not state specific fishing locations. Anything deemed too specific by the moderators will be edited or removed." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 whether we post specific locations or not, people are going to find the good spots, after all, we found them..but, if it is in the policy, i suppose we need to heed to the specifics. after all, it is just fishing......right ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tgoodmanii Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 We need to follow the forum policies. I don't know why anyone would want to broadcast specific locations anyway. Share them with your friends, family, or someone else you believe to be a responsible fisherman privately. But to put it on an online forum just seems like a bad idea. Why would you give up such info and invite even more pressure to your preferred spots. Good fishermen will find them anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Actually we do. It's in the Forum Terms & Rules. "We encourage catch and release fishing. We realize not all people that browse fishing forums practice this. To help protect the waters you fish, when posting, do not state specific fishing locations. Anything deemed too specific by the moderators will be edited or removed." Thanks for getting back on this Scott. Personally I prefer the tight lipped approach. I won't give out the names of small streams and ponds. For a lake the size of Shabona, I might name the lake but I would not say whether it was the dam, the roadbed, or one of the rock piles where I found success. My personal rules are probably tighter than the house rules. I can't think of a post that I would call indiscrete about giving out location information. So the moderators are doing a good job in my book. If Ron or anyone else has some posts in mind, I suppose they can take those up "off the air" with a moderator. Oops that is easy to say. But where is our "Contact Moderator" button. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike G Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Oops again. Now I see the report button on my own post. On other posts it is blurred out till I point at that post. I will give that a try next time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bterrill Posted July 12, 2013 Report Share Posted July 12, 2013 Oooh, locations. Nice. Let me get my buddies and our stringers to catch 'em and gut 'em. Only caught about 1800 last year. Should be plenty left over... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted July 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 14, 2013 Oooh, locations. Nice. Let me get my buddies and our stringers to catch 'em and gut 'em. Only caught about 1800 last year. Should be plenty left over... The next time you give away a location even so much as naming the river will be the 1st time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 First of all, it's important to note that unless you are signed in as a registered user of the forum you can't access the "Fishing Reports" section. You can't even view it. To my knowledge, the only way you can become a registered user of the forums is to be an ISA member or an Inter-Alliance Participant. As a new ISA member, this thread has raised a question for me. If we shouldn't name the general location (possibly not even the river), when we fished, and what baits we used then exactly what is the function of the "Fishing Reports" section anyhow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Buric Posted July 15, 2013 Report Share Posted July 15, 2013 Naming the river is OK, when you fished is OK, what bait you used is OK, even how you used it is OK.The object is to teach others how to fish for smallmouth not exactly where old bronzeback lives. Also anyone can register not just members. Ed B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 if we are going to stop naming specific areas, how about not posting pics any more..they sure tell more about where the fisherman is than any written post..just saying Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 Hi Everyone, This subject comes up on our forums about twice a year, every year. Our officers have been on fishing forums since they began 15 or more years ago. The ISA was founded on conservation principals making us a more unique fishing organization. There are plenty of generic fishing sites with forums guys can go to and exchange information. Our mission statement is Conservation, Education and Fishing. Everyone has a different opinion in regards to the location discussion, how much info, how specific etc. Our officers monitor the boards and if we see some information we feel is a bit over the line we try and send a respectful PM to the person. Our boards are totally public and anyone can see what’s here as long as they register. After many many hours of this discussion between officers, we always come to the same conclusion. We always err on the side of conservation. Some don’t like it but that’s the way it goes. We’ve been called names, made fun of, put down but that’s irrelevant to us. We have a great organization with great members who care about what we do and how we do it. These policies aren’t designed to please everyone, they are well thought out by long time, conservation minded anglers. That’s about it. It can be discussed here as much as we like, but the policy we set stands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 On a personal note, teaching someone what baits to use in what situations, in what water levels and clarity at what time of year gives an angler many more tools to become succesful than telling someone a spot. Telling someone that doesn't fish well a spot to help them is actually a doing them a disservice. Once that spot dries up, they have no tools (except trolling more forums) to find another spot. Our forums and magazine that contain many articles do just that. Educate. You can come here and see what baits are hot, ask about water levels, equipment and more. You can join the ISA, and come to outings and learn from other excellent fishermen on the water. Most good fishermen I know spent a ton of time on the water, experimenting, exploring and learning. Looking for internet spots is a cheap way to cut corners and does not lead to someone becoming better at anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sambennett Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 On a personal note, teaching someone what baits to use in what situations, in what water levels and clarity at what time of year gives an angler many more tools to become succesful than telling someone a spot. ^ This Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted July 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 if we are going to stop naming specific areas, how about not posting pics any more..they sure tell more about where the fisherman is than any written post..just saying So you can tell all the locations in William C's,Eric's,Bart's etal reports? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotth Posted July 16, 2013 Report Share Posted July 16, 2013 So you can tell all the locations in William C's,Eric's,Bart's etal reports? if i was from that area ? yes..or if i was to travel up that way, wouldn't be too hard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bterrill Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 The next time you give away a location even so much as naming the river will be the 1st time. A good policy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick G Posted July 17, 2013 Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 The problem with giving out too much information about locations seems to be more of an issue in the northern part of the state. The Fox, Kankakee and the D----- are the main rivers in this area that many of us fish. I think pictures add a lot to a report. There are many spots on these rivers that are identifiable from photographs. Often the bank height and vegetation or the water color can give clues about the river just as much as rock formations, bridges and power lines. South of I-80 it is still uncertain if cell phones and cameras have been introduced to the area yet, so it is not as much a problem there. (Just kidding) Sometimes I accidentally post photos that I have not scrubbed of details and some clues are there for all to see. Sometimes I leave some information on the picture, or don't crop out some landmark because I feel that the location is so remote that most will not attempt to go there even if they recognize the river. It is through ISA events that I have met fellow fishermen that will gladly exchange information one on one. You still have to get out and explore the water to have success. If someone reports that they caught some nice fish at the state park on the Kank, it doesn't mean squat if you don't factor in water temp, air temp, USGS flow, forage, sunlight, rocks, weeds, time of day and lures used when you go the next day. So, follow the ISA information online and in the Bronzeback Bulletin, talk to other members, get a map and start finding some new water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronk Posted July 17, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2013 if i was from that area ? yes..or if i was to travel up that way, wouldn't be too hard Although not all the vast majority of pics on our site over the years have been pretty generic looking re location.Anyone who can determine locations from them already knows the river & its prime spots well from having put in the time & effort to learn them.That's not the person of concern in keeping locations off this site.Your post along with Dick G's serves as a reminder to frame the pics generically.Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian R Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Naming the river is OK, when you fished is OK, what bait you used is OK, even how you used it is OK.The object is to teach others how to fish for smallmouth not exactly where old bronzeback lives. Also anyone can register not just members. Ed B Our boards are totally public and anyone can see what’s here as long as they register. Ed, that's how I see it as well. Thanks. Is there a way to make the boards private. I actually assumed some if not all of the forums were private. When I joined the ISA recently, I couldn't post in the forums or view some of the forums including the "Fishing Reports" until my registration was approved. I assumed that someone from the ISA approves the registrations. Why are non-members' registration requests approved in the first place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim J Posted July 18, 2013 Report Share Posted July 18, 2013 Hi Brian, Again, we discussed this subject a lot. It is too time consuming to monitor each member and non member. Dues go unpaid, people drop etc. It would be a monthly deal to track 400 people. Also, we use the boards as a vehicle to recruit new members so by making it private, it wouldn't have the ability to attract someone looking for smallmouth information. We've had guys participating on the boards and then decide to become members which wouldn't have happened had they not been able to view. Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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