Posting Reports, or Not?

[Littoral]

I hadn't given it much thought until recently but there are a lot of members who either don't fish much at all or they don't post their reports. I look forward to the reports to learn from what's going on across the region. I don't get much out of fishing tournaments so that may be part of the story, especially with the redfish tourny coming up.
So, what's the deal?

[Chalk]

I have no trolling motor therefore I have no report ....but I do have floors in my wood boat now

[bman]

I have been working my tail off for the last month. When Customers call I got to go!
Its a good thing - just keeping me off the water right now.
Couple that with the end of Duck Season and I have not wet a line in months.

Now my dad on the other hand.... REDS REDS REDS!
It almost stings when he calls to offer me fish for dinner.
Almost

[Barhopr]

I post whenever I go. From Dec. to March I just don't get to go much. Just always seems to get busy every year about that time plus throw in the weather factor and it makes for long stretches between trips.

[Littoral]

Thanks, so far.
And... I do assume that the people who will weigh in on this are
most likely to be the folks who post their reports.

[wevans]

I've been SKUNKED the last 5 or 6 trips including 7 hours of offshore trolling yesterday and just don't feel like talking about it

[jsuber]

I post my reports, and the people I fish with post their reports.
Can't do much more than that.
I know people complain that their post don't get commented on or that their are cliques that only repond to each others post, but I see that on all types of boards and tell folks "Thats just the way folks are".
Kinda like High School.

That is an etiquette that changes all the time, and for those that do post, everyone that reads them should reward them with some type of comment if they want to see more post. If your a sponosred board it really helps for sponsors.

Just my 2 cents. And in my opinion, a tournament is fishing, but at the end of the day, you get to compare how well you did against others. If you didn't do so good, you can figure out what you need to change to increase your productivity. If thats what your hoping to do.

[Ty one on]

I have not been fishing in about two months. I never fish much during the winter, I find it nice to take a break. I use this time for projects around the house.

With that said.........The last couple of weeks I have been waking up in the middle of the night and thinking about fishing. I've started getting excited like a child waiting for Christmas. Yesterday I cleaned out my boat and bleached it. After that I oiled and threw my reels. This week I will be replacing the hooks on my used lures while here in Pensacola.

See everybody Thursday night.

[caseycook]

I agree with you Lit, it would be nice to see more fishing reports. I know that when I'm not able to fish, reading about fishing is the next best thing. It can be a PITA to write a report after you get home even when the day wasn't worth writing about, but this forum was started so that everyone could share knowledge about fishing. Sometimes hearing about what didn't work is just as good as hearing what did. For all those who don't post because you don't want to give away too much information, you don't have to get specific about where you fished, just try and write about what you used and any patterns (or lack thereof) that you noticed during your trip. There are several guys on the forum who have been loading the boat with fish lately and I don't blame them for not posting super specific locations, but the important thing is that they still post their trip summaries and are happy to share information. I appreciate that.

I haven't been fishing a lot in the last month, but look forward to warmer days and more fishing trips in the future! And if you're lucky, I might even post a report or two.

[Dubble Trubble]

When I go, I post, even when I get skunked. My last report proves that..

Dubble

[Reel Cowboy]

I post whenever I go or my dad goes. I just haven't been going lately (bad weather, other stuff going on).

[Littoral]

Sometimes hearing about what didn't work is just as good as hearing what did

This can't be emphasized enough.
We're all looking for patterns and unproductive trips usually teach more than the productive ones.

[Talltails]

Thanks for the bringing up this topic, Lit.
I post my reports for several reasons.
#1 I'm fairly new to this area and this fishing club, so I'm trying to get to know other anglers in this area.
#2 I live down at the coast, so I fish a lot and have learned a lot. I hope this info can help others like myself a couple years ago. Plus it gives others something to see when they can't go fishing.
#3 I like to post reports of fishing from both my skiff and my kayak. I fish regularly from both, but post more of my kayak angling. A lot of people still don't understand how fun and effective fishing from a kayak can be. I catch triple the redfish in the winter time from my kayak as opposed to the boat--maybe even more than triple.


All of our reports contribute to making this fishing forum so diverse and interesting. I'm stoked to be a part of it.

[jmlockwood]

I will be honest and say that I have never posted a fishing report on this site. There are numerous reasons but probably the most significant is that I just recently joined this Forum and have been gradually devoting more time to this discussion board than others where I previously posted. My fishing partner took a job out of state and I have spent the last couple months looking for a suitable replacement (we fish almost exclusively with the long rod). Further, the majority of my "fishing" time has been spent preparing for a bonefishing trip in May. BTW, if anyone is interested in doing some bonefishing from May 3 to May 10 in Eleuthera please send me a PM or post some sort of reply. I am trying to put together a group of 4 but so far we are short at least 1 person. I am going to post something in the flyfishing section about the trip shortly.

Regardless, I can honestly say that I am not withholding any information regarding posts. I plan on getting out somewhere this weekend to test out a new rod and I will post irrespective of success.

[big bend gyrene]

Littoral,

For what it's worth, I'm one of those folks who is an avid reader but I don't get the chance to get on the water as much as I would like.

Speaking for myself alone (but seeing several folks have shared similar responses), I much prefer taking the boat out in the months the water is above the 70 degree mark versus the winter months. Sure not saying the fishing can't be good during the winter (as many of the recent redfish posts show), I just don't love the colder temps (on days it is actually cold - sure NOT today ), and don't enjoy creek/river fishing as much as I do running WOT between inshore and nearshore. Also love the late spring/summer/early fall bite because there are so many additional species out on the flats. If the trout and reds aren't biting a little chum can turn on blues, mackerel, sharks, etc... and my personal favorite target, the cobes, seem to always show themselves during the hotter months, even midday / during weak tides when other fish often aren't biting as well.

Guess the last personal reason I can offer for not posting during the winter months is that I try and use the downtime to do some boat preventive maintenance too, as well as knocking as many honey "to-do" tasks off the list as possible so I have fewer obstacles to going out on the water when it's warm and all the stars are in proper alignment. Guessing that there are many others that do the same.

Just my .02.