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[Randog]

How has the internet affected the anglers of today? Has it created another “easy way out” for the next generation of anglers? Simply flip on the computer to FWR and see who’s catching what where and how. I don’t want to sound old, because I’m NOT but I vividly remember fishing with my uncle on various lakes around the lower mainland and the Fraser Valley and gleaned a TON of information from those learning sessions. Once I realized how easy it was to trick these little trout, my horizons broadened to the interest of moving water. So in 1977 my target became the Coquitlam River that I lived so close to. My bike and K-Mart bought spinning outfit was always ready to roll to my favorite piece of water on the Coquitlam with plenty of side trips for rainbows and crappie at what was know then as “Gravel Pit Lake” which is now Lafarge Lake. I also recall fishing the Fraser River at the mouth of the Coquitlam for sturgeon, we used to camp out in our little orange pup tents. Once I was able to drive (No “L” or “N” was needed then) it was weekends spent fishing on the Vedder River and sleeping at Alison pool campgrounds in the reclined seat of my 1974 Honda Civic. Back then centerpin setups seemed to be reserved for and elite few, but now it seems like most kids at age 12 is toting a $1,000.00 fishing setup.  I could go on but my point being I never learned about any of the spots or techniques from a web forum but instead, from word of mouth and fished with friends and family that introduced me to this great sport. When I was a kid I can’t remember things like the FWR fishing schools or the BCFDF Pathways to fishing, maybe there was, but the internet wasn’t available to let me know about it. I have to admit that I find myself checking the angling forums to see what’s happening on the flows from time to time. Just lazy I guess?

 I hope this tool called “Internet” doesn’t take the excitement of exploration out of the angling experience for the next group of up and coming sport fishers.

  What do you think?

[DionJL]

I think alot of people rely on the net way to much. Following reports and so forth. I follow reports from word of mouth at the shop and on here. But that will never dictate where I plan to fish. Most of what I have learned I learned at the store. And all of my fishing buddy's I've met through the store. Getting that job was probably one of the best things to ever happen to me.

BTW Randy, I don't think i can tie you any fllies. I'm booked solid this weekend for studying. Two midterms next week that i failed last time around. I'm not even in the sturgeon derby.

[bbronswyk2000]

I totally agree with you. I am 32 and as a kid their was no internet and only the information had was from my dad and grandpa. I used to fish lakes allot as a kid as my dad took us quite often. Also fished Bear Creek as it was just down the road and just like you we had our K-Mart specials and dug up some worms for bait to get some nice rainbows. We would just throw our lines out with a worm at the end and catch rainbows all day.

My grandpa lived only 5 mins from the Fraser in Chilliwack. We would go down to Peg Leg and fish for salmon and cutties. Back than you might see one or two people fishing thats it. We would also fish the Hope Slough for Carp. Also he would take us to the Vedder and we would fish the canal for rainbows and steelhead. Back than they were just throwing bait on the bottom for these fish.

At about 10 my dad took me sturgeon fishing just below the Patallu Bridge. I would just go and watch as my dad would catch sturgeon and bring one home ( you could keep them if they were between 3-6 feet )

I don't blame this generation for being lazy because its just there for them. If it wasn't they would do what we did. You cant blame kids for the advance in technology. It is good in a way as they do get many perspectives from so many people. Most people are pretty secretive about some of their "gems" so some places are still pretty safe just not as safe as in the past.

I am always willing to teach kids what I know. I myself have learned allot from the internet and have met people that know 10times as much as I do, If I had never met these people I would not have learned what I know now.

I am glad you brought this up as its good to reminisce.

Peace

[troutbreath]

A lot of the weenies probably don't know there are fishing websites. Too lazy to look for them too! But if the kids got a $1000 set up, dad or gramps must have taken the rodent out a few times throughout their life, and they probably know something about catching fish and fishing spots already. I like that a teacher would take his students out fishing to learn the way to do it as aweekend trip. I never had an adult around to take me fishing when I was a kid (years of therapy have helped somehat). SO it was a lot of blundering around and usually wishing you could get dynamite to try for them.

[marmot]

You don't learn to fish by reading internet posts anymore than you learn to drive a car by reading the owners manual.  There will never be a substitute for experience.....the kids still have to learn the hard way.  The tips they get along the way will help out but I think with the "competitive" nature of the lower mainland fishery these days people are a lot more closed to offering the really juicy info than they used to be anyways.  I moved down here a few years ago and dredged the internet for info...but everything I REALLY learned about fishing the LM systems has been through experience and the help of a close buddy who knows the ropes already.

[Ribwart]

Great post randog....I learned the way you described, putting the time in. There is no substitute for that, in any aspect of our lives. We all know it is easy enough to "know" something in theory, but it is another thing all together to know it from experience...
I've been fishing for about 27 years now, that I can remember clearly anyways... and no, I'm not old either...but I started when I was relatively young, and I learned from my grandfather, and from his books, and from any number of other sources I could find, be they word of mouth or friends, etc...sure, there will be any number of "guests" lurking around these sites looking for scraps from the table, as fishfreak pointed out, but when push comes to shove, if anyone, the guests, or the newest generation, or whoever relies too heavily on websites like these, then their learning curve will only be so steep, and will level out after a while. Nothing, and I mean nothing, beats good old fashioned footwork and rolling up your sleeves....
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[MERC]

Good post Randy and some interesting food for thought.  I seem to have noticed that there are two groups of fisherfolks: the "old school guys" and everyone else.  The old school guys are the guys who aren't that into the internet and often speak of it with some disdain as they feel it is a significant contributing factor to the gong shows.  The old school guys are the ones out there fishing with pins or level winds and are usually getting into fish.  And, if you start talking to these guys, they're a  wealth of knowledge and don't have a problem with sharing info (but they won't give away all their secrets!) and are pretty chatty.  At least that's been my experience.

Then there's everyone else.  I've been fishing for awhile now.  I also started fishing as a kid catching pile perch and flounders on family outings, biking to Brighton Park, Stanley park, Jericho or anywhere else (usually in the ocean) to catch flounders and maybe the odd greenling or rock cod to working as a deckhand on a commercial gillnetter on the Fraser.  Then it was learning to catch trout on small lakes, cutties in the Fraser, and onto salmon and sturgies.  Along the way, you pick up bits and pieces of new info here and there, put in an awful lot of time on the water, try different things and work hard at being really observant to understand what works and what doesn't.  I used to listen to Berry's report on the talking Yellow Pages, read fishing magazines, peruse books looking for new tips.  And, of course hours and hours spent on the water looking for new spots. 

So, has the internet made me a better fisherman?  I think so.  I've learned some small tips here and there or have been introduced to a new technique (for example jigs.).  The internet is an extremely pervasive tool in our daily lives.  We rely on it for info on a daily basis. I read reports to get an idea of the general water conditions on a particular system. It makes the difference between fishing that system or a different one.  Particularly important if you have to drive from Vancouver like I do and don't want to go fish a blown out river, especially in light of the recent rains we've been having.  Fortunately before I started on the internet, I had friends who I could also rely on for that info.  The internet makes it easier to get that kind of info.  It also affects the way we fish.  The traditional method of float fishing (where the weight hits the bottom every few feet) is getting replaced by short floating where the weight doesn't hit the bottom at all.  That is a result of the tons of discussion on the benefits of short floating.  It's an instrument of change.  It helps to change attitudes, one mind at a time but it happens on a larger scale.  Look at any flossing thread and see how people are trying to dissuade others from starting that technique. The internet gives rise to interesting discussions on general topics not related directly to finding fish but still fish related.  Fish biology, habitat, etc.  It can be used as a tool to persuade people to help out at clean ups or other volunteer events.  It helps fisherfolks to meet other fisherfolks. It can also be used to create the gong shows at KWB for example as well.    Or it can be used to try to keep people away from those spots as well.  There are drawbacks.  And as many have pointed out, there's no substitute for the experience of finding your own little spots or learning to read water properly.   I don't think it will ever take the excitement out of the exploration of the angling experience and in fact may actually enhance it. After all if you can find a stretch of productive water where there's no one around, you really start to appreciate the benefits of exploring.  Then you get to brag about it over the internet. 

[TrophyHunter]

I think that the internet has its positive side and it's negative side.. I don't think anyone can argue that a big reason our river banks are crowded now has a lot to do with the internet, fishing has gone from being a sometimes practised hobby for a few to being a mainstream hobby for many !! I can't even remember how I first got into fishing, I know when I was three or four I started fishing the local lakes with my older brother but I have no idea how we first were attracted to the idea ! Growing up in North Van I wuld ride to the Cap river almost every day and drown worms up by cable pool back then I had no idea about salmon fishing or when there was fish in the river, I just know that I would always catch tonnes of trout on worms lol..
I think I was about 12-13 when I first learned how to catch salmon and it was the older gents that would frequent the Cap that showed me what to buy and how to use it, one thing I do know is that I had a lot of success catching coho when I was a kid, these days it seems to be a lot harder 

The internet for me has been a very positive experience, not only have I learned a wealth of knoledge but I have also met many good friends through this site alone and that is something I am very happy about !!

I hope that the younger fisherfolk will have the same positive experiences that I had growing up, and I especially hope that there are still salmon swimming in the streams when I bring my child to the river for theit first taste of BC fishing

TR

[Geff_t]

I totally agree that the internet has taken the fun out of going out and exploring the rivers for fish for some of these people. When I was a kid I remember going on my bike to the allouette river and exploring different holes for fish. I must say though that the internet has helped out alot of people with fishing tech and what to buy but it is starting to ruin certain spots on the river with overcrowding where there never used to be but a few people simple by people posting pictures and exactly where they were fishing. It is to bad but you can not blame the internet completly you have to put some of the blame on peoples ego's.

[Ribwart]

Very well put Merc, and others...There certainly are positive and negative sides to this new information source. I believe in the benefits of the internet, and certainly use it to help me increase my level of understanding and river fishing knowledge. I fear however that the potential for serious damage to some systems might be realized. There's a certain level of respect a person gains for a river when they have gone out and put the time in to learn it's secrets...Often it takes many trips to a new river before success is achieved. This down time allows someone to develop a greater appreciation for their effort and subsequently more respect for the rewards a river provides. Although someone who doesn't do it the old fashioned way might still conduct themselves with this level of respect, the danger lies in the fact that some will not develop that appreciation when they simply pick fishing spots they read of on the net and then go there to kill fish indiscriminantly because they don't know that stocks are low, or that bait bans don't apply, etc. I don't think this happens a majority of the time, but I do think it happens, to what extent I am not certain. When such a person doesn't take the time to learn a river the hard way and hasn't the respect that many here and elsewhere have mentioned they may not even realize the negative impacts they might have, as the success factor has already been achieved, and it is human nature to often stop there. Some smaller river systems and more fragile fisheries might not withstand abuse. Having said that, the internet can be used to provide both information on spots to fish, and ethics. This is the direction I feel it is going and I believe that in time by providing the very same insight here, that we may have achieved by walking and learning the systems we value so much, we might circumvent this gap in the learning process by passing on the very things we learned when we didn't have an internet. It has the potential to provide the very same lessons, only the hones is on those of us who post here to continue to provide a good balance between fishing locations, techniques, etiquette and ethics so that others who might not have learned to appreciate and respect our systems might do so by association with sites such as these.
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[ever_hopefull]

There are a lot of good posts and differing views and experiences.  I am on side with Merc & Nuggy in their views.  I chose my career based on my love of fishing, but life intervened and I did not do any serious fishing for 30 years.  I am now back with a vengeance and loving every minute of it.  The net helped me modernize my techniques, find the local hot spots, meet some guys, and generally get back into thinking like a fish.  I now know the places to avoid, and also know what I like and don't like about fishing.  It was a quick re-entry back into the sport.

Like most things, there is a lot of crap being posted and you have to filter the bad from the good.  I certainly do not like some of the nonsense that is on the net, but also will not waste my time reading it.  If the internet discussion boards become a glorified supermarket tabloid, I will stop logging on and reading them.  That is the beauty of living in a free society.  It is tough being a moderator, but I hope they remain diligent and ruthless in editing out the garbage.  Tough job, but I certainly appreciate the internet fishermen.

[Xgolfman]

Then internet has made me lazy...I don't read any post's over a paragraph anymore...what were you guys saying???

[bbronswyk2000]

Here is a good question for you kids. How often are you walking or riding your bikes to go fishing?

[CAPTAIN BONK]

Here is a good question for you kids. How often are you walking or riding your bikes to go fishing?

^ IN HIGH SCHOOL I USE TO RIDE MY MOUNTAIN BIKE FROM 224TH IN RIDGE ALL THE WAY TO WHONNOCK WARF JUST TO GO STURGEON FISHING 4 AN HOUR !

[bbronswyk2000]

I lived by Bear Creek Park and rode my bike all the way to the Nicomekl as well as under the Pattulo Bridge. Dont you live in Langley? You have lots of places to fish.