Whats the big deal?

[Flyrod Man]

I have a question, I have fished many-many places, both fresh & saltwater,Costa Rica, NWT, Alaska only to mention a few. I am from WI but have a place in ARK. My question is I have never met secretive, untalkative, don't get near my boat and get out my face fisherman like in WI. I think this site compared to the other sites, this attitude can be seen. Why is that?

[Crappiekiller3]

I too was wondering the same thing! I've lived here for 20 years and fished here for 40 years prior to that. There's very few posts on this site and not much help. Lake Link is my go to source for info. I live in a small town on a large lake and have always shared info with folks. I was even threaten with a gun at a launch for getting too close to someone fishing. The people are great in day to day life but certainly turn into werewolves at the lake!!
I build rods, tie jigs, make custom spinner baits and buzz baits and it's very unlikely I'll use the same lure as anyone on the lake except maybe a senko.
I've shown people what I use, even given them a couple but it's a one way deal. Ya know it's a rare day when I get skunked so it's not that spots are limited. The lake I live on is 9000 acres, plenty of room for everyone. It's true that 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish. I consider myself in the 10% group after fishing and studing fishing for 60 years and if I can I'll give young people or a guy with kids who fishes 1 or 2 weeks a year, my honey holes and tell em what to use. It's not like people today depend on fish
to eat or starve. Don't understand the attitude!!!!!

[fishbandit50sf]

Maybe you guys are just fishing on the wrong lakes in Wisconsin. I have always fished the lakes here and have NEVER ran into anything like that before.

Where were you guys fishing at?

[badaxed]

about unfriendlieness. I had been a guide on The Mississippi river for 30 years and ran into many poor sportmen and unfriendly people when fishing bass or walleye. I think it is because of the extreme competition for a limited resource.(example: ten bass boats all wanting to fish the same shorline). I switched to crappie fishing last year due to tendinitis in my thumbs (casting all day is history now). I did not know much about crappie fishing even though I was a fishing guide (most of my clients wanted Walleye, Bass, or Northern pike). A lot of crappie were caught by ice fishermen in my area but very few went crappie fishing all the time like southern fishermen. My neighbor and I met several Crappie.com members from Mo. on line last winter and were invited to a "crappie camp" @ truman lake in april. We were amazed by the genourous hospitality offered to virtual strangers. Tips, techniques and locations of fish along with lures (one great guy "Ole silversides" even gave everyone crappie counters) were given to people and we were treated like good friends. This is the first time in my life I had expierienced any thing like this in my life. I think Crappie fishermen are more friendly anglers than some of the other anglers i have met. I have an appreciation for this attitude as well as the sport of crappie fishing. I am glad The lord saw fit to make my thumbs ache to introduce me to this fine sport and the fine people who pursue it. I also plan on making my Mo brothers proud and will help all my fellow crappie anglers with info and good cheer.

[fishergirl06]

I have been fishing in Wisconsin all my life (about 3- years) and I see the same attitude, and I don't understand it. Even when a 'friend' or 'colleague' says they caught some great fish and had a great time with the kids and you ask where they were so you can take a kid fishing they get all secretive about stuff! I have come to the thinking that I just want to know where to fish to get some action, i don't want anyone 'super secret honey hole' or anything. Its really more fun to find your own spots in that sense anyway. I used to look at Lake Link, but people there are sometimes giving out backwards advice to protect their spots too. Its like they pay taxes on the spot they fish and no one else can go there!
Its a pity really, I enjoy building fishing rod, and started to make lures and the people in those communities are so helpful and wonderful, regardless of where they are from, that people would really benefit from some friendliness about fishing.
Remember the bumper stickers: Wisconsin, you're among friends. Well you can take the r out of friends with some of the people in this state.
I don't mean to offend anyone with my post, and I am not meaning to start an argument, this isn't referring to everyone out there, it is just an attitude that is observed by others and I wanted to comment.

[Slabasaurus]

My cabin is in NW WI, and I have had nothing but pleasant conversations up there. The neighbors gave me tips on generally where to find walleye, bass, and northerns, and how the lake changes, even how to get rid of the fish guts so the bears don't find em and dig em up like they did last week (ew).

Sure, folks are reluctant to give their specific spots up. They'll leave it at "Oh I was on the north end along the weedline" or something like that. In MN when i am fishing a lot of times people don't even look at you much less say hi or listen to or give advice. The exception being on the pier at Bald eagle or on my friends dock at White Bear when we see the neighbors.

Maybe it's a resident vs weekender thing. Everyone at the cabin is there to relax and generally have chill attitudes, while everyone where i live is there to get away from work/kids/wifey/hubby/dog/whatever they have dealt with all day long.

I am from the Twin Cities. The MN Nice thing has driven me insane forever. A minnesotan will give you directions anywhere, except to their house. I had the luxury of living in the Appalachian mtns in SW VA, and the people there were much more hospitable and friendly than those in MN..

In general, however, I do find that crappie/panfish enthusiasts are much more open and willing to help fellow anglers. Just another reason to keep on huntin the slabs

[crappiedoc]

Hope you don't mind a KS boy chimin' in. I don't know about WI, but it can
be just as bad down here also. Sometimes even among friends, as you watch
them looking over their shoulders at each other. But, at the ramp they can
converse as if nothing even happened. I know here it's always the same guys
talking/helping others find fish, however generally there's no recipriation.
Some guys glass all day only to swipe another anglers spot the next day.
Others won't find their own fish, but need a map and every detail before they
go, claiming they don't want to waste THEIR time. All in all, we're all in this
together, let's show some civilty and say 'HELLO' to each other and give
some space. I'll give up my spot to people who are courteous and appreciate
fellow anglers.

You can't catch them sitting on your sofa. LOL Thank You & GOD Bless

[GCD]

This thread caught me eye and I'll chime in too! Down here in Alabama the folks are usually friendlier, but can be secretive about their fishin' spots too... I know because I'm pretty secretive about my spots. I will show my friends where the fish are and take them out in my boat and show them how to catch them, but I'm not going to show or tell everyone I meet on the lake or the internet... that's a good way to ruin a good fishin' spot quickly!

Lazy fishermen are all over the world, and will stoop to some pretty low tactics just to clean out someone elses fishin' hole... and if you're asking a lot of questions about where the fish are, you may be coming accross as a lazy fisherman even though you may not be! When you ask someone about fishin' spot(s) and they give you general information, listen to what they say and then thank them when they're finished and tell them you really appreciate the info. When they see you're polite and grateful they may be willing to give you more info. Don't play 20 questions with them, just take what they offer.

The absolute best thing to do is to find your own fish away from where everyone else fishes. This is one of the things I pride myself on being able to do. It takes a lot of hours of looking to find these fish, but when you do... they're yours!... and that's one of the main reasons I don't give my spots away to just anyone.

Stay away from the ill mannered fishermen, but if they come near you.. smile and strike up a conversation and they'll usually be friendly back. Be friendly at the boat launch. If you ignore them and don't speak, they're going to do the same thing to you the next time they see you. You may even get to be friends with these people after a while and they'll loosen up and be more inclined to give you more info or even take you out to some of their spots... even if they stay cranky, you haven't lost anything.

People that go fishing to catch fish only are only enjoying a very small part of what fishing is all about. Get out and away from all the other people and enjoy nature and the quiet that comes with it. Look for and find your own fish and they'll be much sweeter when you do find them!

[crappie dober]

well spoken and very true I never ask where the fish are I uasually fish alone or with family and go till i find them on my own much better feeling than asking everyone where they are

[Slabasaurus]

People that go fishing to catch fish only are only enjoying a very small part of what fishing is all about.

Exactly! Although my fishin buddy and I have only been skunked once together... (memorial day this year ) The point isn't catching fish, that's for sure.

I went out on my boat alone yesterday, fished primarily an area of the lake where the other boats weren't. The only person who knows where I was is my neighbor, who happened to be in the same general area (we were literally the only two boats out there). When I saw him as I was leaving to go home we exchanged ideas on what the heck we were doing there and if it worked.

Would he have given the detail he did with others? probably not. Would I? also, probably not. IF you live in the 200yards or so of shoreline that we share with 2 other neighbors, then you're privy to the info. You're also privy to the "extra" fillets that were fried up. Otherwise, I'll give relatively detailed info on technique, and there are a few spots i will give up. I do have some secrets though...

In general it's good to be courteous and friendly when a boat is involved. Never know when you'll be the one stranded lookin for a tow. Twice this year, that was me. Both times on the far side of 2000+ acre lakes from the launch or dock.

~Slabs