Years ago I remember reading an editorial in a freshwater fishing magazine. A young and ambitious outdoor writer had stumbled upon a hidden gem of a fishing stream, and was eager to write a feature about it. Some older established writers, many of whom were very familiar with the stream, were anxiously trying to stop him. I don’t remember how the story ended, but anyone who writes or speaks about fishing details, whether in a large-circulation national, a blog, or even a crowded tackle shop, regularly faces this type of dilemma.

The problem is particularly relevant to surfcasting because (a) when using land as a point of reference and point of access, it is literally possible to find yourself competing for a patch of real estate the size of a man-hole cover, and (b) nearly every surfcaster has the means to know where that spot is, and many can get there on very short notice. Boaters have their own frustrations, but the fact that you need to have the scratch for a boat, and often a GPS, and be able to get that boat to said location, certainly limits (but does not prevent) an instant mass-gathering.

Many successful surfcasters will suggest “there are no secret spots,” but I have yet to know a sharpie who wasn’t relying on a handful of very specific locations, at least at a point in time (coupled with knowledge of how to play that spot, based on wind and tide), for a good percentage of his landings.

So… is this the type of detailed and specific information that you would kill for? Do you really need to know exactly where Joe took his last 50 pounder?

And if I knew, is it right for me to be able to monetize that knowledge, and sell you that information?

This is where it can get ugly. I am 100% certain that if I were in the publishing business (as opposed to just writing about it), I’d sell 1000% more by dishing all the dirty details. Yep, I’d make enemies along the way, but maybe I’d carry on with some type of slogan about how my mission was “to tell it all – no secrets here!” The newer fishermen dying for any information would love me, but the established guys would have a contract out on me (but most of them would be tuning in as well).

I am sure everyone in the writing business with staying power is sensitive to these issues. I know a good number of the regional outdoors writers covering the salt, some better than others, and I would say a good portion do shy away from too many details, even if they have the information readily at hand.

Are they doing readers a disservice by not giving it all up? That’s your call.

Some writers have crossed that imaginary line, or at least most have been accused of doing so, at one time or another. Sometimes the angst comes from the guy who fishes a specific jetty and thinks that the mere mention of a town or a 5 mile stretch of beach is already divulging too much. In a few cases, an ambitious individual (always with the help of “informants”) clearly crossed the line, and jumped headfirst into the “spot burning” business.

At the same time, I’d readily admit that every single long-time surfcaster I’ve ever known has himself benefitted from being tipped off about a location, at one point or another. Myself included. I’d be so bold (or so honest) to point out that some would never ever have found the spot, or discovered the bite, had it not been for the hot tip. I know some of the beneficiaries of that information went on to work the new spot into their repertoire. Many have rationalized it as follows: “I would have found that spot, and I would have discovered that bite, eventually.” Maybe, maybe not.

Ok, so tell me again why it’s so bad to talk about specifics and spots, when so many other experienced fishermen have benefitted from such detailed information, at some point in their own careers?

I’ll spare you the “fish stories” of when it was me getting an inside tip, but this was nothing more than me benefitting from someone else’s intelligence and labor. And for all the times when I did chase a mass-marketed report, or read about a “spot” and decided to give it a try, it never worked out quite the way I wanted it to. I’d usually find myself stressing about how many people were already there, who got the best casting spot, if there would be room for me, and what I was going to do if I did get mugged. I’d be stressing about this long before I made the first cast. I started asking myself, “So this is why I go fishing?”

Then there were those many nights when it was me finding some fish.

It might just be me, but I can tell you that my own finds (even when it amounted to nothing more than a slow pick) were always infinitely more satisfying than someone else’s discovery. And so this is why I personally tend not to chase reports, or write in a manner that promotes specific “locational” details. You can be sure, when it’s your own R&D, and there’s “skin in the game,” you become much more careful about what you say.

I do understand for some, landing that fish, by any means possible, is the goal. It’s all part of the game, and that game often includes competing with others.  A fish gets landed, a light goes on, guys jump out of their trucks, and if it heats up enough, cell phones go off. That’s the reality of living in a large metropolitan area. By that point, a writer is only reporting what is already old news – but now to tens of thousands of others.

For others, I think it’s more about the hunt. The “reward” is not what gets dropped on the scale, it’s the fierce strike that serves as confirmation that you’ve figured out where the fish would be, and when they’d be there – maybe even why.

I will accept that there is no right or wrong here. For most fishermen, I bet the motivation and “reward” is a complicated mixture of all of the above.

This mix of reasons why we fish does influence much of what we (or at least I) want to write about, and what we want to read about. Finding a way to entertain, hopefully providing some knowledge along the way, or at least offering a different way of looking at things – without the name dropping or spot burning.

That’s the goal, anyway.

I am in the giveaway mood this week..or maybe after two years, I am running out of things to say. Probably a little bit of both…
But today’s giveaway is very different than any we had before. Today’s we are giving away a whole person. You have to feed it, house it, nurture it…ok, I am busting your chops.
Burt we will give you a chance to win a trip with your personal surf guide, none other than Montauk Surf Fishing Guide Extraordinaire , Bill Wetzel. http://www.longislandsurffishing.com
One of you will win a full day charter with Bill for two. The only stipulation is that you must use it in 2012. That is. You will fish with a Hardest Working Surf Guide in the business, either in Montauk, South Shore or North Shore. You will get a chance to pick brain of one of the most intuitive surfcasters of today. This truly is a special giveaway, the value of this trip is $395.
Bill runs  one of my favorite sites on the net Surf Rats Ball . Every time he goes out, which is just about every night, he put a detailed report on his site for his subscribers. Contact Bill on how to become a member at Billwetzel50@aol.com
Bill also runs a hell of a contest each year. You can see his ad in this issue of the Surfcaster’s Journal Magazine. The contest is free to all his subscribers and the raffle at a shin dig he throws after the contest befits Camp Adventure for the Kids with cancer

THIS COULD BE YOU !!!

Bill and his customer after a great night

Could anything be sweeter than this on Mother’s Day yesterday ?
Cole Wetzel in the action, his sister watching, dad and Montauk Surf Guide Extraordinaire Bill Wetzel recording and mom beaming

SJ crew was in the bay this morning fishing some flats when we spotted this bad boy…

Any idea on what kind of ray this is?

(UPDATE!!!!!) The creature in this video is called a Torpedo Ray. It emits a 220 volt shock to stun and kill its prey.

No one ever said we were geniuses!!!!!

-Tommy