What intell should a real "fishing report" include?

[BrokeLoser]

Originally Posted by Drake

How about this...

Lets say you spent hours a day, many days a week over the course of a year playing around with ATM's. Finally one day, you found a way to have that ATM pump out free money, all you needed to do was enter a certain code. Would you share that code with everyone on the internet? What would happen? Everyone would be using your ATM now right? What would happen to all the money? You would get less, and eventually it would all be gone. You put in your time and everyone capitalizes on your labor.

And if you think it has to do with said anglers being worried about other people potentially stealing their fish, you're sorely mistaken. Do you think it's coincidence that it's always the same people catching fish, regardless of how many people are out? Do you find it odd that 40 kayaks could be sitting on the squid ground but the same guys who catch fish, catch fish and that Josh and Kevins clients almost always go home with a full bag while the other 36 people go home empty handed?

They were in the same spot, using the same bait...so what's the difference right? Luck maybe? Good Karma maybe? Or did they spent YEARS AND YEARS perfecting methods that others aren't even close to scratching the surface on.

The anglers that you're referring to, the ones who don't post detailed reports aren't intimidated by massive numbers of fisherman ruining their odds. They/We will catch fish regardless of who is out there.

Did you ever think about the impact it has on the fishery? The long term consequences? With the MLPA already breathing down out neck, lets just hand them more reasons to close more areas off. If 1,000 people see there is a good bite going on, and they tell two people, and then those people tell two people...well, you do the math.

If every person who caught a trophy posted up where, when, how, why... sure they odds would swing in favor of the anglers, not like it already isn't...but now you're talking about 500% more lines in the water.

This sport is growing EXPONENTIALLY, I fear for what the next 10 years has to bring. Soon you'll be able to walk from kayak to kayak when the word of a bite gets out.

Sorry to sound like a dick, but it's a reality.

If you want to know what the water temp is...get in your kayak.
If you want to know what the fish are feeding on...catch one and cut it's stomach open.
If you want to know what time of the day they are biting...fish sunrise to sunset

When you catch on, it will all start to make more sense to you. It took me and some other people a while to catch on.


Your post isn't going to make any of us say "Hey you know what, you're right. Next time I catch a fish, I'll be sure to give away every bit of information I know"

You make perfect sense with everything you said...well, almost everything.
Your ATM metaphor isn't really that accurate as it relates to my original post. As I've already said you shouldn't give coordinates / ATM codes and I'm not saying anyone should be required to post a fish report but if you're going to post in a forum titled Fishing Reports why shouldn't you include the standard information that 99% of fish reports would include. If it doesn't include said info how can it be considered a report? It's nothing more than a hey look at me photo. Why is it such a tall order to expect a report to read something like this: (previously posted)
"6/19 - I caught this 32# yellow in 63' of water about 400yds NW of the big boiler rock at about 7:30am on a sardine 3oz dropper loop, 65# braid and a 20# 4' mono leader."

I just don't get it.