"Are they biting?"

[Guest]

Anglers are catching on my friends.
How many times have you been sitting on your honey hole catching some good fish, when an on-passer askes the ever famous "Are ya catchin' anything?". And the response is always the same. It starts by pulling the line to within a few feet of the ice, so as to not catch anything in there presence, and then the one liner "Nope, just some small perch"
It used to be when an answer like this was spoken, they kept on there way to pursue the biting fish. But not anymore. It seems as though we all have gotten a little smarter.
I have been catching some good fish and answered with a small "fib" to protect my honey hole...."Nope, just a few small perch"....Only to have the party jump out of the truck, bore 10 holes right smack dab next to my house and set up camp....Thats right! And then they catch a few fish and race to my door to show me "What they found". I must have a look on my face that said "I'm full of it".....either that or I am a fisherman...
Either way, my old secret honey hole isn't a secret anymore, and suddenly not so sweet...
Not a bad thing though, cuz now I have new challenges....Find a new honey hole.........Happy angling!!! :-)
PCG

[Guest]

Seems like I am alone on this one...
Why me????
Just kidding.
PCG

[Piker]

I put em in buckets, that way when people come over they don't make you fishhouse the center of the ice city.

[Guest]

PCG,
It never hurts to be as tight lipped and inconspicuous as possible, thats why I really like portables, keeps a lid on the action. I have had the same situation that you descibed, happen to me in several forms over the years, and even kind of makes a forum like this a double edged sword, on one hand, I love to socialize and talk shop, on the other, I don't want to hand out anymore information than possible, just educating the competition... Lakes with a good population of nice sized crappies can be converted to lakes with a very small population of nice crappies, and lots of puny crappies in just a few seasons once the word gets out... $0.02

[Guest]

Piker,

I always listen when I get to an area if there are other people for fish flipping around in buckets. I like to add a layer of snow to the bottom of mine.

This "I'm not catching anything" has gotten so bad that the guys I fish with won't even tell one another if they're in a hot hole. Talk about competitive.

[Guest]

I made the "mistake" last year when someone asked me if anything was biting. I was fishing in my portable about 20yds away from a group of permanent houses when this guy walked up to see if I was catching anything. I told him what I had caught and how I was catching them. The next night when I went out to the spot, the guy had moved his house directly over the spot that I was fishing the night before. I wasn't on any special structure or anything, so I just setup 10yds away from his house. The guy came over and asked again the second night. Same result! The third night he had moved his house 10yds over to the spot I was fishing the night before. I had to laugh. I ended up finding a new lake to fish. I don't think it really matters what you say. A little respect would go a long way.

[Guest]

I'm always the one to go out and scout for new fish. I made the mistake of inviting a friend out to fish with me after finding a honey hole. We caught plenty of fish. The next day he asked if I was going back out again. I told him I probably wasn't going to make it out. I ended up finishing my errands a little early and made it on the ice, but it was a little later than I would have liked. I went to my spot to find my friend fishing with three other guys. The other three guys acted irritated when I came over and fished by them. I didn't make anything of it and I still fish with the same friend, but if I do all the work to find fish, he won't be the first one on my list to know about it.....

[Guest]

I use a sliding scale(no pun intended)when passing out info. If it's someone who puts in a lot of ice time and I have seen them around a good bit I am far more inclined towards honesty. If it's a guy who either does'nt take fish home with him or throws a good many back, I will share most of the time. If someone comes out, drills two holes and sets up camp(it still amazes me that people will sit for hours over an empty hole)I will not help even a little bit. I figure that eventually they will look for fish or go home. I still have buddies that won't fish with me because I move too much and drill too many holes in a day. This is my observation on the subject. Do you remember that cartoon in the first ice fishing book by in-fisherman of the guy who got froze in with the wall of fish in his shanty because he did'nt want anyone to see he was catching fish?

[Jim W]

If they are practicing "Selective Harvest" and obeying the law, I could care less if they are sharing my five gallon bucket with me.
The more the merrier!!

You see, they will soon get sick of me talking, then move on! hehehehehe!!!

Jim W

[Guest]

I too have been a little loose with the lips at times. I had a sweet little honey hole five minutes from my house, but people saw me fishing there and came to see what I was catching. I told them just a few mini crappies, just something close to keep busy. But within a few days I was surrounded, mind you it was only a 50 acre lake. I was catching crappies that were a pound, (Slab size for the metro, and anywhere for that matter.) but now I've been catching smaller ones. I left it alone last year for the most part, and didn't see many people fishing it, so maybe they've come back. Cross your fingers!!! I'll let you know how I do J/K Good Luck

Rusty

[MnSportsman]

Tell everyone!... Spread the word!... Heck,...
Send it in to the news people!.....

Next year..... Maybe.

It never hurts to tell a friend about good fortune, but only if you know the friend well,& don't want more New-"friends of a friend".

Hmmmm, just a thought...
It kinda reminds me of the ol'sayin'...
"Don,t Kiss & Tell!"

[at least when it comes to "honey holes" ]

Get out & Fish!!

------------------
Good Luck & Watch your bobber!
MnSportsman
Proud to be a member in good standing, of the
"Church of the Divine Wilderness"!

[Guest]

I'm with Jim W. I've always believed in limiting your catch and not catching your limit. Anyone who shares this philo. is more than welcome to share in my honey hole/scouting efforts. Chances are the more people involved in the outdoors the louder voice our voice will be when it comes time to preserve these waters/lands for our children. I personally have a tough time accepting anyone who enjoys the outdoors for just themselves as a sportsman. This is not to say I want someone right on top of me while I'm fishing. Many times I've gone to one of my spots only to find others there and just decided to leave rather than fight with the competition.