02-15-2007, 05:30 PM
My name is Rob Thornberry, and I am the outdoor editor at the Post Register.
[url "mailto:rthornberry@postregister.com"]rthornberry@postregister.com[/url]
I will assert again, hot-spotting is largely a non-issue, and a silly and simplistic complaint from anglers, who as a group spend millions on magazines and papers to get information and then are surprised when others read the same articles.
Below is a recent column on the topic.
Please read, argue, cuss and rage.
But also think clearly about what really changes over time when the paper mentions a place to go.
Secondly, anglers have a duty to protect wonderful places. Learning about those places, and their issues, is the first step toward their protection.
Nov. 9, 2006
Friend Alan Woolley sent me this e-mail last week after the Post Register mentioned one of his favorite fishing spots:
"You Hot Spottin' liberal John Kerry lovin' bastage," he wrote.
Yikes.
And he's a friend.
Though most of what he?said was
-in-check, any time I mention an out-of-the-way fishing spot, somebody gets his feelings hurt.
I've been called a "witless putz" and a "jerk" for mentioning favorite spots. Those are the ones I can reprint. The e-mail traffic from Jefferson and Fremont counties has been edited out for the children's sake.
Folks don't have any sense of humor when I mention their spot, no matter how famous.
I've had people mad I mentioned the Henry's Fork and Henry's Lake.
Although those are two of the most publicized fisheries in the world, some folks think they are fishing on a "secret honey hole."
"How could you?" is the plaintive cry from the offended.
To which I say: I hear your pain, but the whining has to stop.
I've never seen an instance where my writing has led to the ruination of some secret spot.
Ever.
The belief that the unwashed masses wait until Thursdays to follow my advice is quaint, but unrealistic.
There are simply too many things to do in the woods and too many so-called hot spots to cause people to abandon their favorite spot for somewhere new. A couple, maybe. A horde? No way.
Take the brown trout redd upriver from the end of South Fork Road as an example.
I mentioned the redd -- which is within walking distance from the end of the road -- as a fishing spot 10 years ago and a flock of readers claimed the browns would be fished out in a year.
I visited the same redd last year, and it's larger than ever.
The same can be said for Bear Creek, which I mentioned a dozen years ago. Again, the worrywarts said the creek would be ruined.
Lo and behold, it still has fish and you can escape the crowds most any day.
That isn't to say every spot I visit will end up in the paper.
My rules for writing about any fishing area are simple:
n Don't draw maps to holes and claim them golden.
n Don't write about small creeks near roads.
n Always write about stocked waters. If we pay to stock it, people should fish it.
n And anything that requires a hike longer than four miles roundtrip is fair game, because the average Joes won't make the trek.
n Promote conservation and no-trespassing laws.
It's a simple, straight-forward strategy.
Don't you think?
[signature]
[url "mailto:rthornberry@postregister.com"]rthornberry@postregister.com[/url]
I will assert again, hot-spotting is largely a non-issue, and a silly and simplistic complaint from anglers, who as a group spend millions on magazines and papers to get information and then are surprised when others read the same articles.
Below is a recent column on the topic.
Please read, argue, cuss and rage.
But also think clearly about what really changes over time when the paper mentions a place to go.
Secondly, anglers have a duty to protect wonderful places. Learning about those places, and their issues, is the first step toward their protection.
Nov. 9, 2006
Friend Alan Woolley sent me this e-mail last week after the Post Register mentioned one of his favorite fishing spots:
"You Hot Spottin' liberal John Kerry lovin' bastage," he wrote.
Yikes.
And he's a friend.
Though most of what he?said was
-in-check, any time I mention an out-of-the-way fishing spot, somebody gets his feelings hurt. I've been called a "witless putz" and a "jerk" for mentioning favorite spots. Those are the ones I can reprint. The e-mail traffic from Jefferson and Fremont counties has been edited out for the children's sake.
Folks don't have any sense of humor when I mention their spot, no matter how famous.
I've had people mad I mentioned the Henry's Fork and Henry's Lake.
Although those are two of the most publicized fisheries in the world, some folks think they are fishing on a "secret honey hole."
"How could you?" is the plaintive cry from the offended.
To which I say: I hear your pain, but the whining has to stop.
I've never seen an instance where my writing has led to the ruination of some secret spot.
Ever.
The belief that the unwashed masses wait until Thursdays to follow my advice is quaint, but unrealistic.
There are simply too many things to do in the woods and too many so-called hot spots to cause people to abandon their favorite spot for somewhere new. A couple, maybe. A horde? No way.
Take the brown trout redd upriver from the end of South Fork Road as an example.
I mentioned the redd -- which is within walking distance from the end of the road -- as a fishing spot 10 years ago and a flock of readers claimed the browns would be fished out in a year.
I visited the same redd last year, and it's larger than ever.
The same can be said for Bear Creek, which I mentioned a dozen years ago. Again, the worrywarts said the creek would be ruined.
Lo and behold, it still has fish and you can escape the crowds most any day.
That isn't to say every spot I visit will end up in the paper.
My rules for writing about any fishing area are simple:
n Don't draw maps to holes and claim them golden.
n Don't write about small creeks near roads.
n Always write about stocked waters. If we pay to stock it, people should fish it.
n And anything that requires a hike longer than four miles roundtrip is fair game, because the average Joes won't make the trek.
n Promote conservation and no-trespassing laws.
It's a simple, straight-forward strategy.
Don't you think?
[signature]
truth is this happens.[/size] 