Giving away secret spots......????

[fish-n-dive]

Recently, I have noticed how many newbie members on Ausfish are asking for marks or secret spots.....maybe it has always been this way??......... Anyway, i am just wondering if you freely share your marks or are more guarded and only divulge when you know someone will respect what you have give them???

I personally don't think that Ausfish members are elitist, just a bit selective..........

What are your thoughts???

[ronnien]

i have givin a couple of marks out, only after reading a few of their posts & reports & coming to the conclusion that they would not abuse them. manly marks out to wide for me to fish in my boat.

ron.

[ifishcq1]

Secret spots are just an illusion from someone delusional

Does anyone really seriously believe that they have a spot that has never ever been fished ?

there isn't any and if there was then it would be in the millions to one

how and when to fish each particular spot
what gear to use
live bait or lures
these are the real secrets

cheers

SL

[Jeremy]

your poll does not match the thread topic. Big difference between giving out marks and giving out your favourite secret spots. There are several books and internet sites available which list hundreds, if not thousands of different marks for well known fishing spots. Newbies should check these out first.

I only have 3 or 4 spots which I reckon only a few would know about, and these are only given out to my friends who I know will not pass them on and who have or will give me spots in the future.

Jeremy

[fish-n-dive]

Secret spots are just an illusion from someone delusional

Does anyone really seriously believe that they have a spot that has never ever been fished ?

there isn't any and if there was then it would be in the millions to one

how and when to fish each particular spot
what gear to use
live bait or lures
these are the real secrets

cheers

SL

well, we all have our opinions and i do believe that many marks are only general but only specific to a lucky few............. but hey, to each their own and your opinion is noted........thanks.......;)

PS: please email me ALL your marks and I'll check them out!!!

[fish-n-dive]

your poll does not match the thread topic. Big difference between giving out marks and giving out your favourite secret spots. There are several books and internet sites available which list hundreds, if not thousands of different marks for well known fishing spots. Newbies should check these out first.

I only have 3 or 4 spots which I reckon only a few would know about, and these are only given out to my friends who I know will not pass them on and who have or will give me spots in the future.

Jeremy

Semantics.........but I accept your point as you should accept mine from reading the thread!!!;)

[sparkyice]

i have to agree... theres not many new frontiers.
i do tend to play my cards close to my vest, though. most places are public knowledge, but it takes time and effort to find a good spot and get to know it well enough to have reasonable expectations of success there.
if you're into your cups at the pub, and start braggin on a "secret" cove where you've been hammerin the fish regularly, you can bet the next time you go there you'll be able to walk across the boats to get to your spot.
i've got to be pretty close to a bloke to let him in on the spots that i've spent alot of time finding.

[Poodroo]

I give out spots without saying or typing a word. My boat with the Ausfish stickers out on the water is a bit of a give away.::)

Poodroo

[Tangles]

I tend to get a bit bored going back to the same spot all the time anyway, dont have any secret spots and think its all a bit of gee up. Its all a bit of smoke and mirrors,, think its more about time on the water and i dont do enough of that to know.

Id rather have a sweet spot,, a beer , good company and a line in the water.

[fish-n-dive]

I tend to get a bit bored going back to the same spot all the time anyway, dont have any secret spots and think its all a bit of gee up. Its all a bit of smoke and mirrors,, think its more about time on the water and i dont do enough of that to know.

Id rather have a sweet spot,, a beer , good company and a line in the water.

Opinions vary and I accept yours.

I contribute food to the table by fishing so if I had a hot mark I would be there regularly but if you fish to satisfy an urge than I accept that; It's a bit more than just playing around and a fun day out with others from the piscatorial fraternity I think.............

[Tangles]

Fish-n-Dive,

yep each to their own,

i reckon the guys who really put the time on the water and fish are the ones catching the fish, a secret spot doesnt catch fish by itself, usually the guys catching the fish give enough hints to others where etc as they know it just isnt about the spot,, all a starting point.

WHo would you put your money on to catch a feed ?
A: a good fisho at a non secret fishing spot, who lived it, breathed it, and who practices thinking like a fish ( and i reckon there are a few here who try?;D) or
B: a bloke who has never fished but has your best secret of secret guaranteed fishing spot?

I know who Id back,

Just like the secret hole in the bay this year,, every man and his dog suddenly came out of the woodwork once a map was published, all claiming to know of it and the record catches and offer opinions..


mike

[garman1]

I found a great spot for fish............ called morgans guaranteed catch, just remember to grab a number on the way in, sorry couldn't resist.

[PinHead]

I found a great spot for fish............ called morgans guaranteed catch, just remember to grab a number on the way in, sorry couldn't resist.

LOL...I agree..and a damn sight cheaper than going out having to catch a fish for the table. I agree with Mike...a day on the water is great..catching fish is a bonis.
In SE Qld I doubt there are any "secret" spots...as said previously...knowing what to do when you get there is most of the secret.

[reddybayfisher]

A GPS mark - gives me a specific direction and spot to head to when in the boat.....to me fish could be there one day but not the next....also as I further my fishing knowledge - you must know how to fish the fish (as Augisto & Pinhead stated) - rather than just chuck a line in and expect a fish....just my opinion....

[TimiBoy]

If it weren't for people handing out a few marks, It would have taken me longer to have some success. But what's really useful, is the advice I was given along with the marks.

"Sound around them, move out, look around, spend time moving and watching."

Until Grasshopper learns to do this, he will not find the fish.

I never give out marks I've been given, :-X but I am happy to share generics which I have found to work (plenty haven't) and I always tack on plenty of advice - most of which is advice I've been given - I'm wayyyy too inexperienced to have developed my own!;D;D;D

Cheers,

Tim

[tunaticer]

To me there are no secret spots, undiscovered spots by me yes, but I am certain many a fisherman has visited them before me.

I tend to fish regularly fished spots a lot with good results by putting in the effort that is not the norm by the majority and therefore less learned by the fish i target.

I also fish areas suspected of not worthy of fishing f0or a variety of reasons and produce very good results.

Just because a location is not a known "hot spot" means very little to the fish that happily and safely inhabit these locations.

Go back 25 to 30 years ago, the Brisbane CBD reaches of the river were the hotspot for jew fishermen in the know and they recorded some amazingly large fish in waters that presumably would no longer hold those monsters. I believe there is still some of those monsters residing there as well as newcomers into the area. They probably feel fairly safe in their environment because of the lack of fishing pressure.

Fishing "inside the square" is very narrow minded and will soon deplete reasonable amounts of fish stocks in those areas. Broaden your horizons and look for new areas and you will not need other peoples hot spots.

If people ask me for a good fishing location I will happily give out some good advice as someday I will be a newbie to a new location and out of my usual habitat.

Jack.

[blaze]

I tend to get a bit bored going back to the same spot all the time anyway, dont have any secret spots and think its all a bit of gee up. Its all a bit of smoke and mirrors,, think its more about time on the water and i dont do enough of that to know.

Id rather have a sweet spot,, a beer , good company and a line in the water.
I very rarely fished the same spot twice, may be only 10m away, might be on the other side of an island. Just enjoyed being on the water with a couple of mates. Even been know to hang a line over the side with a sinker to make it look right, kick back, have a snooze. I wonder how many peaple pinged me for those gps marks
cheers
blaze
ps
I used to give my marks up to any one needing a spot to fish

[choppa]

Secret spots are just an illusion from someone delusional

Does anyone really seriously believe that they have a spot that has never ever been fished ?

there isn't any and if there was then it would be in the millions to one

how and when to fish each particular spot
what gear to use
live bait or lures
these are the real secrets

cheers

SL


i tend to agree with SL,,,,, how many times have we been fishing in close proxsimity to another fisho,,, whether land based or boat,,,, and there pulling in fish but we're getting didley squat,,,, or vice versa

then you've got your avid fisho's who are wetting a line at every opportune moment,,, they don't bombard the one spot continously,,,and fish different methods,,,,, nuggstar comes to mind here

as stated above,,, theres heaps of info,,,,including a site thats similar to ausfish that you can go on and actually log your spots ,,,,its knowing what to do once your at a spot that puts a fish on the end of line

choppa

[MeePee_99]

I have a few spots in the passage which are rarely fished which i catch alot of fish at. I have told people about these spots but they dont fish there because they dont know how to.

Even if you give people the spots, the angler must know how to fish them correctly to obtain the same results as another angler

[4x4frog]

The one thing is, if the tide was turned around and they had a spot, would they give up the info?
If you have a spot that produces for you when you are there and you've concluded it's not well known due to it being relatively uninhabited then I think you have every right to keep it quiet. ;)
By all means, if you want it public knowledge post it on one of the websites for gun fishing spots, if not , don't.

[theoldlegend]

i've got a good spot for you, Mike. :-X

The shed in my backyard, anytime after high noon on a Friday and/or Saturday. :D

Lots of fish have been caught there, especially late afternoon. ::)


TOL

[Fish'n Junky]

I have been fortunate enough to have had a few "Top" spots given to me from time to time, but when I've fished there i've either come away empty handed, or with nowhere near the success of the person who told me about it.
I put this down to not having the knowledge needed to fish there successfully. There are so many variables... Wind, tide, current, water temp, time of day, has it rained in the past week or so... etc etc.....
When I'm on home ground, I prefer to move about searching for structure and fish..
A few months, on a really windy day I decided to drop into a creek I have fished before with no luck. I gave up thoughs of catching anything, firmly believing the place was "fished out" and instead decided to just enjoy a day on the water, and have a good muck around with the sounder in between practising casting.
I had read alot on this forum and others about targeting bream with SP's and when i found some nice looking structure, despite no fish shows on the sounder, put into practise all I could remember. I ended up having the most productive days fishing I've ever had, and boated a good two dozen or so of the silver beasts. All on SP's from an (at the time) SP virgin.
I moved around alot, watching the sounder, and trying to "think like a bream".
from that day I have not been on one trip without landing at least one fish.
in my opinion, it comes down to knowledge and application of knowledge, not a particular spot.

[the gecko]

The problem with trying to help a newbie on ausfish, is that it ranks so highly on google. You help one bloke who is gonna come up the ranks and be a contributor to ausfish one day, and then youve got a hundred blokes at the spot who arent even ausfish members. Thats why the only way to help with locations is by pm, and to guys who have shown that they are going to keep the info quiet. We are not elitist, just cautious.

Just run a search on 'gold coast reefs' , 'gold coast gps' or 'moreton bay snapper' and youll see what I mean. Ausfish is always in the top 3. Then the info stays there for years. We are a victim of our own popularity.

Andrew

[Ozie_3]

i dont know that its a secret.... but this spot guarantees a feed every time....
great for landbased or tralerboats...at victoria point area
27.35.156S 153.17.117E

all types of fish.....

i call the spot....'Naked Seafood'

;) ;)

[Flyfanatic]

General Marks (Offshore) are freely given, hey my boat is faily obvios anyway. But I do a lot of Fresh water, Bass work in tiny little creeks. A bloke once begged me for months to share a spot, 3/4hr walk from a really rough track. I agrred to take him ONLY if he agreed not to share it with any one. Next day he took 6 bloody yobbos down who left rubbish and mess everywhere. A week later he took another crowd, slipped off agreasy log and broke his leg. The others had to carry him out. (that's Karma
No I don't give away those spots freely anymore.

[Little grey men]

I've passed on info about NorthPine dam to certain members who I know are really interested, but usually via PM. Just like the same info was passed onto me by long time bass addicted ausfish members.
My special starting spots are quite hard to get to in the first place so I'm fairly sure that not too many crowds will show up....you have to be tough of foot and thick of head;D
It's usually only keen fisho's that I meet out there and they are always a pleasure to hang out with.

[rockfisho]

With beach and rock fishing. Most people know the spots or hear about them pretty quickly. But its everything else that determines whether or not you bring home the bacon. Like, bait, tides, time, weather and moon all have an effect.

Owen

[reddybayfisher]

Look - you can buy secret spots for $10....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120306528486&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching

[fish-n-dive]

Look - you can buy secret spots for $10....

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120306528486&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab%3DWatching


Whats really sad is that people actually buy them.................::)

[theoldlegend]

I give out spots without saying or typing a word. My boat with the Ausfish stickers out on the water is a bit of a give away.::)

Poodroo


Is that why nobody ever goes near you?


TOL

[Cammy]

I would only give out secret spots to mates that i personally know and some trusted Ausfish members, otherwise if you tell everyone about a spot its gonna get raped, even if they dont catch as mch fish, you can be pretty certain theres gonna be rubbish everywhere and more harmful things done to the enviroment.

Cam

[Willow1]

For a newby to fishing I would give a couple of general productive spots to get them going in the right direction . Dont think I would give them my top hot spots as I only give them to friends who I know will exchange their spots. As for secret spots, I thought they were myths in this day and age. There is always someone watching ;D

[Xahn1960]

I think "Secret Spots" are a bit of a myth..... Skill and technique are probably more the sectret ingredient.... My wife loves fishing, I love boats, our " Secret Spot" is anywhere we find that suits our mood at that time. We didn't buy a boat to visit one spot each week regardless of how good it is, the enjoyment is in the searching out of new spots, to relax, catch a few (maybe),or just enjoy the trip.

Bill.

[batten]

i would encourage people to share certain things such as a large area to fish for noobs eg. fishing a common shoal, but i wouldnt giv away my 'special' spots, that produce for me, i know they get used by others but we hav 2 liv with that, but say there is a lone couple of rocks in the bay that MOST people fly by without even giving a look i wouldnt tell many people bout them, specially if they regularly produce and dont get much other pressure. id b a bit selfish i guess.

[reel scream]

Happy to give out general marks to people i don't know, but keep my special(ie little lump in te middle of nowhere) marks to a close few.

Used to think no one fished a couple of my marks UNTIL i went out on a weekend. Bloody hell. The theory of unknown marks got blown out the water

Cheers Scott.

[RAT-KING]

There no such thing as a secret spot! There r spots that not alot of people know about! but with me im always looking for "THAT SPOT" that know one knows about thats close that u can look after burley and release the fish to get bigger and catch again! Cheers simon

[NAGG]

I'll share spots ..... but usually only with likeminded fishoes which I've got to know :) .......... I would hate to see a location abused

Cheers

Nagg

[Scott nthQld]

Yeah, I do, but I don't share spots.

If I have a general mark for a reef or shoal, then I'll give that out no worries, but 'my' spots, or should I say, the spots that I frequent, I will only give to those I know.

I've been given a lot of marks from members from this site, in fact nearly all of my marks are because of Ausfish, and I've gained some great mates out of it.

AS some have said, there's not much of the sea floor that hasn't been fished before, but living on the GBR you do sometimes find some great "honey Holes" which are more often than not passed straight over as people make their way to the biggest FAD known to man, the Reef, so they don't stop and check out the scenery when crossing the paddock. These honey holes would be places I'd guard with my life, only taking the most trusted friends and family to them.

If I had the resources, I reckon I'd hardly fish the reef, I'd be trolling everywhere, searching for these honey holes that go ignored, you'd be surprised with the amount of fish a small lump the size of a motor bike or half a small car will hold when its so far away from any other structure, that is dead, flat ground for miles in every direction. These spots are often so overlooked that you'd have a good chance of being only one of a very few people to fish it, where bait presentation, and that whole box'n'dice won't matter one iota.

[geeffa]

u gota be kidding fella,s ;D ever since gps and fish finders have been invented there,s no such thing. just because you bag out at 1 spot today doesn,t mean some one else will the next day or week will eh! i,ve even heard of [ from a charter boat skipper] a few times over the last couple of years that blokes actually take a hand held gps to steal spots outside so they can give to there mates:o these grubs were caught red handed so the skipper took them to areas that were none productive. good move i thought8-)

[Tangles]

i would encourage people to share certain things such as a large area to fish for noobs eg. fishing a common shoal, but i wouldnt giv away my 'special' spots, that produce for me, i know they get used by others but we hav 2 liv with that, but say there is a lone couple of rocks in the bay that MOST people fly by without even giving a look i wouldnt tell many people bout them, specially if they regularly produce and dont get much other pressure. id b a bit selfish i guess.

We all know about those lone couple of rocks, thats Dud and Peel Island and there's that lone fishing trolley off Green Island which holds fish:-X

[childers]

theres a jack spot i know of , , its no secret but its a hot spot ! most of my mates are real meat hunters you show them somewhere like this and they try strip the joint ,some places are just too good to give away to get pillaged :-X

[scrubba01]

Happy to give out starter marks for known reefs but as a few have said when you put in the time and effort trolling in the middle of nowhere to find a small lump which holds fish. Which in all likelyhood you might be the only person to fish or gets fished very rarely then I keep those closely guarded. I will take people who come out for the day with us to them because half the enjoyment is watching them get a few quality fish, but do expect that they show these marks the respect that they deserve and not hit them every time they go out.
Out of the 300 plus marks on the gps I would only have a hand full of such marks that produce good fish consistently and these are mostly 70 klm out where fewer people frequent and there are no marked reefs. Most trips we will spend the majority of the time looking for new ground and fishing on it, if we don't do as well as we hoped we might drop in on one of these marks to top up the esky.

[squizzytaylor]

If a total newby were to ask me for spots I would gladly give him general locations and techniques, would I share an exact mark that regularly produces fish with him?....nope. I have done in the past only to go out a couple of weeks later to see them and a couple of thier mates boats right on the spot.
Would I share the spot with a good mate whom I trust?......Yep gladly.

GT

[kingtin]

If anyone wants a few catties, shovellies, and stingies, then pm me and I'll give you all my secret spots. I'm not that charitable though.............I'll keep my pike eel spots to myself ;D

The Verminator

[Hornet Rider]

i,ve even heard of [ from a charter boat skipper] a few times over the last couple of years that blokes actually take a hand held gps to steal spots outside so they can give to there mates:o these grubs were caught red handed so the skipper took them to areas that were none productive. good move i thought8-)

I'm sure this will bring a few poison barbs my way, but geeffa you can't 'steal' a spot. I know what you mean, but it's not owned by anyone. Commercial & industrial espionage is another matter however & there are ways to protect your proprietary information (trade secrets) against lawful overt or masked competitive intelligence gathering.

cheers, HR

[Noelm]

hhhmmm if you give away a "secret" then it is no longer a secret? so as soon as you tell one person, you might as well tell the World yes/no?

[Noelm]

and after that deep insight, I fully agree, some people could not catch a Fish if you threw it to them, so to them, unless they start to learn a bit, the location will mean bugger all, except they might be there when you want to go there, then that will be two Boats, then someone will zip by and see two Boats, guess what's going to happen now!

[richieboy]

I'm of the opinion as are a few others that no secret spot is really secret unless you live somewhere like Cape York or Arnhem land.
Most spots are fished hard. What can make a spot fire is more what people should be looking at in ragreds to what turns the fish on.
If it's moons or tides, water temps, bait, clarity, etc whatever floats your boat then that's what you should be studying.
It's this stuff that drives me to be a better fisho. Rather than ask for a spot, get out and explore and try new techniques.
When I got up to Darwin, no-one held my hand and showed me the ropes. I took what I learned down south and applied it to my fishing up here. Now I'm seeing a few fish it's all good.
Take note of when people post and what they catch, extract the key points and deduce what you will and apply that to your own spots.
You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink boys.

Richie

[webby]

It all depends if you give them your y-z spots and the not the x ones

[kingtin]

I've done a fair bit of research on quite a few (fishing) subjects, but I really wish I had the time to collate all that is said on different threads here on Ausfish, and who actually said what?

I reckon that if we took a long hard look at what has been said on this thread,(and similar others), then collated that to the respondents who have actually written up reports, then the results would throw up quite a few questions?...............all those with 'secret spots'? How many of them actually report or give advice? Look at the membership stats and look at the report stats.............are we really a "community"?

I don't for a minute think that folks should give up their "secret spots" but why is it that I so often see a thread that seems to draw out of the woodwork those who we rarely see imparting any semblance of aid to fellow fishos, and that they seem to post only to illustrate to others how they, (apparently), know more, or are better fishos than others?

The number of times that I've seen it written here that fishing is just, "about being on the water", or "chilling out" or "being with the wife and kids" and then I see responses that relate to "secret spots" and/or some other magical skills/knowledge that the poster has, when they have previously implied that they don't see fishing as competitive or egotistical. If you do, that is fine, whatever floats your boat, but I'm tired of seeing posts from those who have never posted in the reports section or indeed, in any section offering advice, and yet they somehow think "they're in the know', and yet they do nothing at all to serve their fellow fishos other than to say "I've got a secret spot or a secret technique"

Get real people................by all means exercise your freedom to say as you find or feel, but please don't attempt, when you have never posted a report or imparted knowledge to fellow fishos, that you are in someway superior because you have a "secret spot" or a 'special technique"..................You may well catch more fish, and you may well feel good about yourself................but if you ain't got nothing to offer those less fortunate than yourselves..............then you ain't worth jack shit!

If you really had secret spots, what would be your motive for telling others that you had, when you weren't prepared to divulge them, and why put up reports of catches without even a mention of something as simple as hook sizes or bait?

Don't get me wrong, there are those who have responded here who have admiited to secret spots whilst at the same time being regular contributors to increasing the knowledge and skills of their fellow fishos, and they will know who they are, but there are also those who only pop up on a thread such as/or similar to this, who talk of their knowledge, and yet never impart it to others in the slightest manner.

Sin bin here I come, 'cause this response may come across as confrontational, (and I 'ain't being, I'm just asking you to think), but before you judge this purely on a fishing level, appreciate that this response relates to life in general. If you've nothing to offer, then it pays to stay quiet..............tall poppies may hold their head up high for a short while, but they bend easy in the wind.

kev

[TimiBoy]

It all depends if you give them your y-z spots and the not the x ones

no G-spots I hope...

;D;D;D

Tim

[TimiBoy]

Sin bin here I come, 'cause this response may come across as confrontational, (and I 'ain't being, I'm just asking you to think), but before you judge this purely on a fishing level, appreciate that this response relates to life in general. If you've nothing to offer, then it pays to stay quiet..............tall poppies may hold their head up high for a short while, but they bend easy in the wind.

kev

I like your point, Kev. I get a little touchy when folks say what they caught, but give no idea of the conditions, date, time, rough location, ie "off Moreton" would be enough. Was it two years ago? Three? At least if I know when, I can find out what weather folks are prepared to fish in, and how much success they get.

Same re bait and some other details. It would then be very helpful, for someone like me who doesn't know jack and wants to learn!

Love the poppies comment - try this; "If you soar like an Eagle, you'll be sucked in by a jet engine"

Cheers,

Tim

[childers]

I've done a fair bit of research on quite a few (fishing) subjects, but I really wish I had the time to collate all that is said on different threads here on Ausfish, and who actually said what?

I reckon that if we took a long hard look at what has been said on this thread,(and similar others), then collated that to the respondents who have actually written up reports, then the results would throw up quite a few questions?...............all those with 'secret spots'? How many of them actually report or give advice? Look at the membership stats and look at the report stats.............are we really a "community"?

I don't for a minute think that folks should give up their "secret spots" but why is it that I so often see a thread that seems to draw out of the woodwork those who we rarely see imparting any semblance of aid to fellow fishos, and that they seem to post only to illustrate to others how they, (apparently), know more, or are better fishos than others?

The number of times that I've seen it written here that fishing is just, "about being on the water", or "chilling out" or "being with the wife and kids" and then I see responses that relate to "secret spots" and/or some other magical skills/knowledge that the poster has, when they have previously implied that they don't see fishing as competitive or egotistical. If you do, that is fine, whatever floats your boat, but I'm tired of seeing posts from those who have never posted in the reports section or indeed, in any section offering advice, and yet they somehow think "they're in the know', and yet they do nothing at all to serve their fellow fishos other than to say "I've got a secret spot or a secret technique"

Get real people................by all means exercise your freedom to say as you find or feel, but please don't attempt, when you have never posted a report or imparted knowledge to fellow fishos, that you are in someway superior because you have a "secret spot" or a 'special technique"..................You may well catch more fish, and you may well feel good about yourself................but if you ain't got nothing to offer those less fortunate than yourselves..............then you ain't worth jack shit!

If you really had secret spots, what would be your motive for telling others that you had, when you weren't prepared to divulge them, and why put up reports of catches without even a mention of something as simple as hook sizes or bait?

Don't get me wrong, there are those who have responded here who have admiited to secret spots whilst at the same time being regular contributors to increasing the knowledge and skills of their fellow fishos, and they will know who they are, but there are also those who only pop up on a thread such as/or similar to this, who talk of their knowledge, and yet never impart it to others in the slightest manner.

Sin bin here I come, 'cause this response may come across as confrontational, (and I 'ain't being, I'm just asking you to think), but before you judge this purely on a fishing level, appreciate that this response relates to life in general. If you've nothing to offer, then it pays to stay quiet..............tall poppies may hold their head up high for a short while, but they bend easy in the wind.

kev

mate he asked for peoples thoughts on so called secret spots ,must have taken you a while to type this lot of delluded garbage ::)

[Jeremy]

I reckon Kingtin has got a very good point there. Well said. There is alot of chest beating that goes on on Ausfish. Some of it is fair enough.

Jeremy

[wilcara]

I think some good views have been expressed actually.

These so called "secret spots" are not fabulous little "holy grails" of fishing are they? Are they so filled with hungry and enormous fish that one can go there day or night to catch your limit?

More realistically methinks is that they may be a productive spot for a certain species in certain conditions at a certain time and all that if you hold your mouth right and happen to be lucky on the day and that the conditions hold well enough for you to get there and it is on a day off and you have the lawn mowed.

And then, you will need the knowledge and skill to actually present the right bait at the right time in the right way at the right place to induce one of thse monster fish to line up and take it.

I have been to other peoples "secret spots" and got skunked. I have been to my own secret spots and got skunked. What works today may not be the go tomorrow.

I just tell people now; I figure that if they don't have the right skill then they won't catch anything anyway; and if they do have the skill they probably know about it already.

[fish-n-dive]

someone earlier said something like pick the essence of posts to get bits of info that can be useful to us.

I took this challenge up and it's surprising at what you can piece together and then put into a search on the WWW and find nifty stuff like (coordinates etc) . So, I guess with a bit of research most "secret spots" could be deduced with a bit of brain work..............;)

[milligan]

Hi All , Iam a new member,have been fishing for many years, my time you only told them about a tree and gap in a mountain.Now with gps a different ball game,one wrong number in the co-ord and your miles out.yes I have given marks,but not a certain few,anyway the certain few only produce if you pick in the right spot and burley properly,also depends on current.well thats enough for a new guy{old guy}.Cheers Lew.

[straddie]

I was going to give away all of my best marks that I have spent 1000's of hours of trial and error finding, 10000's of dollars in fuel, tackle and bait, plus give you the right gear, baits, weather and methods to fish those areas correctly. But then I thought why put people through the drama of having to get their boat ready, launch and then put in an effort to actually fish, exhausting themselves in the process. It just didn't seem right to put people throught that hassle.

Instead I thought I would save them the trouble and go and do it for them, save them the inconvenience of having to learn something so they could stay warm at home and watch the telly. Then having caught some nice fish for them I thought well hell they won't want to get all smelly now cleaning them so I did that for them as well. Then the cooking odours, can't risk exposing the delicate folkes to that kind of nasty aroma can we so I cooked it up nicely for you as well.

Just when I am about to bring the finished product over to you I start to think about the health and safety. What if you are alergic to seafood, I could kill you or something then I remember, I don't know where you live bcause I have never seen you nor spoken to you and probably never will so I can't deliver your fish anyway. Shame that, but I tried. :D


If you give something away for free that is usually the value the recipient places on it. copyright straddie 2008 :D

[banshee]

I was going to give away all of my best marks that I have spent 1000's of hours of trial and error finding, 10000's of dollars in fuel, tackle and bait, plus give you the right gear, baits, weather and methods to fish those areas correctly. But then I thought why put people through the drama of having to get their boat ready, launch and then put in an effort to actually fish, exhausting themselves in the process. It just didn't seem right to put people throught that hassle.

Instead I thought I would save them the trouble and go and do it for them, save them the inconvenience of having to learn something so they could stay warm at home and watch the telly. Then having caught some nice fish for them I thought well hell they won't want to get all smelly now cleaning them so I did that for them as well. Then the cooking odours, can't risk exposing the delicate folkes to that kind of nasty aroma can we so I cooked it up nicely for you as well.

Just when I am about to bring the finished product over to you I start to think about the health and safety. What if you are alergic to seafood, I could kill you or something then I remember, I don't know where you live bcause I have never seen you nor spoken to you and probably never will so I can't deliver your fish anyway. Shame that, but I tried. :D


If you give something away for free that is usually the value the recipient places on it. copyright straddie 2008 :D

Couldn't have said it better (without infringing on your copyright),my thoughts exactly.

[reidy]

general fishing spots no worries (do Tamar fm (community radio)fishing report).
My top spots no. I will pass them on to friends but not on air.When the end is near for me i will then pass on every spot i can think of but not at this stage.
A number or years back i passed on a top kingy spot (for Tassie) to my local who writes for the local paper and the next week-end i could walk across the boats in that location (place was my own until then).Not happy jan.I see the comercial value for the tacklo but what about me.
Cheers
Reidy

[Jeremy87]

I think in the salt there isn't really many secret spots left, most of the time i'm quite happy to share were i go chase squire etc because there are so many boats who fish it anyway. When the mackeral are in the bay i'll let people know the general area they are in, but i'm not explicit to the point of saying in between these two beacons etc. This is for a couple of reasons, firstly the macks won't always be there, your not actually helping people become better fishermen by spoon feeding them (they are better off learning how to read the water and search for birds themselves so they can find their own school) and finally because mackeral can be affected by pressure. I can remember a couple of years ago they hung round the east side of peel nearly all season and as time progressed more and more people knew about it until you'd go out on a good weekend and there would be 40 boats casting slugs and pillies at just a few schools and the fishing was almost ruined. Of course you could go several other spots in bay and find better schools with no boats on them but if you had found those fish on your own accord and didn't know were else they were bitting you'd be p!ssed. Jack spots are always a tough one. I won't tell most people my major jack spot unless i'm taking them to fish there even though they probably couldn't fish it without a canoe anyway. Same with small water bass spots, the number of places i've heard of being good bass spots compared to the number i fish is pretty low. But still i think i have some spots down the tweed which i'd say only a handful of blokes do go to the effort to fish and i'd like to keep it that way.

[Volvo]

I'm in agreement with ifishcq1..No such thing as a secret spot..Might be to you but not to everyone...
And no, i dont mind sharing marks :) , oceans a big place n room enough for all to enjoy..
Only thing that peeves me off is when someone lays claim to a certain spot n thinks they are the Kings o the castle regarding that area and get the buns when someone else turns up;D .......
I would have a collection of :-/ marks that ide say i havent even visited 98% of and never will and as most know we always seem to head back to the same ole halfe a doz spots over n over cause we know we will get a feed there, Correct??..

[ThePinkPanther]

That reminds of a post on Ausfish last year from some guy saying that he had caught some 50 kilos of reef fish on the sunken reef at the Spit Beacon to the north west of Peel Island. ;D

This reef looks great on the sounder but has been dead for many many years. :'(

Anyhows, thought I would have a look at it the next day after the post and you didn't need a GPS to find it - it was crawling with boats with dirty great sinkers, jigs, lures being chucked all over the place! :o

I sidled up to a guy in a tinnie to ask how he was going and and got roundly abused to get off "his spot" as he had been there all night. After he settled down he fessed up that he hadn't had a bite - nor had anybody else. >:(

Boats were charging all over the spot and - as usual - the sounder showed absoutely nothing. :-/

Everybody left by late morning with nary a scale to show for their efforts! :-X

The phantom poster must have been having a great larf!! Does show you how desperate fishos are to get anything decent in the southern part of the Bay though! :(

[Mac1952]

Us inexperienced guys can only look and learn from you blokes. I'll be watching out for the boats!

[iceknight]

ILL give yous a hint use a 2/0 7766 at hervey bay jetty. any sinker u want. about a 4 i reckon 2 meter leader, and a livie herring lip hooked. at end of jetty. ull get as many trevs as you want! on 50lb. theres nothing about secret spots. its how you FISH ::

[xrnath]

PS: please email me ALL your marks and I'll check them out!!!

haha very subtle :thumbsup:

I'm happy to share with friends my favorite fishing spots, providing they take me along for a fish :)

[wayneoro]

those that dont have good marks want to share them those that do dont :-[ its the humen way;D

[Dignity]

I go out and find that there are often boats sitting on tiny little reefs about the size of a tennis court that I nutted out myself, could be the other boats have found them or in the past gone past me and taken a mark. Doesn't worry me too much these days as lately I ususally don't turn the GPS on any more until I am pretty close to where I think I should be but keep an eye on the sounder, found many more good marks tis way as I think I got a bit lazy with the gps

[dhess]

Interesting approach Dignity. I reckon it would be a really neat way of bringing back some interest in an area that you fish very regularly and start gettingbored with.

[Dignity]

dhes, I am finding isolated patches of reef where I don't expect to see anything and getting some interesting results

[finga]

here's mine....
Head out off Evans.
Go south past snapper rock.
Just past sanpper look at the hills and you'll see 3 power ploes (or was that 4?). Line up the 3 poles going up the hill.
Head due east 3 km and throw out.
Easy :)

PS watch out for the breakers
PPS not really a secret spot but you'll probably catch a fish or two if the breakers don't get ya ::)

[oldboot]

Then as has been raised..... how many people give away their "secret spots", that are infact rubish or common knoweledge just to put people off the sent and have some other spot to themselves.

A classic example.... a recently claimed 20KG snapper... suposedly caught " just of wellington point".......I spoke to a bloke who has coppies of the pictures and saw the actual fish........yeh just of wello'.......western side of moreton...... or so the story goes.....or is that a red herring too..... perhaps It wasnt a snapper maybe just a very big herring.


cheers

[TheRealAndy]

I give away all my secret spots. That because if you dont know how to fish them you wont catch jack shit. Also, my secret spots always go hot/cold anyway.

[webby]

Why shouldn't you keep your secret spots or what ever you want to call them ??
Fishermen are like sheep and will flock to any spot where they think they can boat a fish.
You could anchor in the middle of a desert and if the weathers right, it wont take long for others to be parked around you.
You could give away numerous spots ???, but if you dont state how/when to fish it, it could be like parking in the middle of that desert.
regards

[TheRealAndy]

too true webby. I dont have may spots anyway! Sometimes I sound out a bit of interesting ground and pull up to try in out then next thing you know there is 2 or 3 boats hanging around.

[joe 09]

Sometimes I sound out a bit of interesting ground and pull up to try in out then next thing you know there is 2 or 3 boats hanging around.

I agree with you because i put it to the test a couple of weeks ago,stop some where that looked good and because my boat looks the part i had two other there within 20min.
But on the other hand why not give out one or two old spots,just to give guys like me that have not caught any thing in the bay somewhere to start.

[struktcha_man]

I often tell people where I caught a fish, mind you many of the places I fish are no secret.

But personally I f somone told me their secret spot I probablly wouldn't go to it anyway...

I enjoy the excitment of finding your own spot and have caught many good fish like this in areas I have just sussed out as "interesting".


Dan

[finga]

Fishermen are like sheep
I'd expand that to people in general are like sheep.
Just take note of people lining up at traffic lights.
They see a line and stand in it.
Just a few of us are black sheep and been caste out of the crowd ;D
I love it ::)

[kingtin]

There seems to be an assumption prevalent throughout this thread, and others in the past, that because a boat/s pulls up in the vicinity the skipper/s has "flocked" to the position simply to follow the boat already there.

There is a likelihood, that if you are fishing an "interesting" spot, then others may also have found it interesting in the past and are simply returning, or that they just happen to be passing and have seen something of value on their sounder.

It does not always follow that just because you are in a spot first, that whoever arrives later is "following" you.

FWIW, I rarely fish near any other rigs except at spots that I can't avoid such as the 4 beacons, where I go to collect bait on my way to somewhere else.............I prefer my own company. I've tried Hutchies and other well known spots many a time, and the rigs on a drift, or motoring round looking for a spot, simply piss me off................I've even had 'em wrapped round my anchor warp ::) Spots like that are reserved for mid-week in my book

kev

[oldboot]

I have to say that part of the "sport" is pouring over the charts and google earth, getting out there are checking out the locations for myself.

Sure I welcome information on a "likly spot" and am happy to give same ( for what its worth).

But just going blindly to a mark, has to be pointless.

It wouldn't even work in a supermarket......... 3rd bay from the front isle 3, second shel from the bottom.

What ever was there might have moved and from what I understand lots of theses spots if you are a few meters out on where you are casting, you are wasting your time.

Considering that it is not unreasonable to have a 5 meter GPS error on a given mark...... both on the mark given and the mark read.
You could be somewhere arround 10 meters from the mark... quite likley more.

As said before, a mark is nothing more than a hint or a tip, more or less useless without some craft and observation.

cheers

[tunaticer]

I figure these days with so many people in the know of nearly every little spot that may produce a fish, that there are no secret spots, only those we wish to be protective of for our own future fishing. Reality is all of these protected spots are visited regularly by other people with similar wants to catch a fish. Whether they release it or not is a personal thing as it should be.

If someone asks me on a one to one basis where I would go for a fish I will tell them upfront with no bullshit. However I will not publicly broadcast any location as that is unfair to the fish that inhabit that spot. I do not care who the person is or what colour or creed they are, one to one I will share.

Jack.

[Donny Boy]

I figure these days............................. that there are no secret spots, only those we wish to be protective of for our own future fishing.
Reality is all of these protected spots are visited regularly by other people with similar wants to catch a fish. Whether they release it or not is a personal thing as it should be.


Jack.

Bravo Jack,

No reasonable person would actually think that EVERY time they go to a mark, they're the sole possessors & custodians of that mark. Surely not ...

[lee8sec]

I used to spend a lot of time fishing LBG in the early 80,s and still do for a change. Its always funny when some young twit complains about" there secret spot" when you where fishing it at a time they weren't even a itch in there old mans sack:-/ I would doubt there is a "secret location" on the east coast on land or in a boat.:D

Its reports with time,date weather details that do the damage. Leigh

PS, Just because you didnt know of a spot doesnt mean that every one else didnt.

[oldboot]

There are no secret spots........ unless of course you have a private pile of shopping trollies and besser bricks somewhere;D

cheers