With winter in full swing it's time for the shows and the seminars. It's the time of year where most guides and anglers look to things other than fishing to keep the Cabin Fever away. For fly rodders The Fly Fishing Shows are a big annual draw. For other types of fishing there's regional fishing and outdoor shows that keep the blood flowing in and around things like the run to the NFL's Super Bowl, in early February.
Over the years, moreso early on, I did the local club and shop circuit giving seminars trying to drum up business for my guided trips which included those on the Upper Delaware and along the Jersey Shore. While there was only a few bucks offered to offset the time, gas, and tolls, the get was booking a trip or two and increasing the exposure out there to draw in new clients.
And while the fly fishing community is one based on sharing, teaching, and learning, I always made sure I protected "home" as to not give away too much information. These days with social media, well for about 10 years now, keyboard anglers can become well versed on all things about a particular fishery. I use my early days on the Upper Delaware as an example.
I first discovered the Upper Delaware River in the mid-1990's after having made my way to the furthest points north in New Jersey. I was all about trout, first with the spin rod, and then with the fly. That brought me from the Manasquan, to the Rockaway, to the Paulinskill, Pequest,
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| Pequest River 1994- Nice hat- goof |
and Flatbrook. Then it was my first trip to the Upper Delaware, and I never returned to fishing New Jersey for trout with any kind of regularity.
Back in the day there was no internet. No cell phones. No social media. Magazines and the shows were THE source for intel on fly fishing for a particular species or a body of water. It was during those days that I would call "Larry's Hotline" at the West Branch Anglers's for river conditions and which bugs were coming off. If I went I can remember driving a stick into the waters edge before I went to bed only to check in the morning to see which way the flows on the river were headed. I can also remember eavesdropping the local guides while hanging at the bar when they returned from a days fishing. It was a time when knowledge and success came strictly from time on the water.
But we have morphed into a time when a guy or girl can wake up and do a quick search online and know, well appear to know, everything they could about current fishing conditions on that day, even if they are planted in front of the computer hundreds of miles away. I can remember having a conversation with a guy who told me the flows and what kind of bugs were coming off- even though he hadn't been up there for over a year. The same goes for todays "anglers" who's first move it to check Facebook, Instagram, Stripers Online, or the local beach cams. Truth be told from time to time I've been sucked into that as well.
In my opinion there's a difference between sharing and teaching and giving away the farm. Bob Popovic's always told me the best part of our community was teaching and sharing- but I always stated that was all good to a point. If you share too much you risk at becoming a spot burner, which in today’s world is akin to committing a felony.
So why do I write this today? Because I have seen, without calling anyone out, the various lineups of guest speakers at some of the local upcoming shows. I see it more with the non-fly guys and gals then I do the fly fishing crowd.
Fishing for striped bass has changed as we knew it along the Jersey Shore, and moreso in the bays and rivers where during the spring and fall bass call home, either for a few months or a season. We all know some spots are golden and limited in access based on the time of year, tides or not, and time of day. I have seen firsthand a spot with relative low participation only to watch it become blown up after someone makes a post or attends a talk. And that is more annoying for those boots on the ground spots then the ones you motor around to.
There's a fine line between sharing knowledge and expertise in a business sense vs ego and status. Most guide operations are a one man show and once you're booked you're booked. Increasing the potential of more clients has it's limitations because there's only so many days you can book trips, in and around bad weather and times when the fish, especially migratory fish, are around.
Left Kreh and Bob Clouser once had a conversation ( as heard on the Millhouse podcast) where one of them said, "They don't know what they don't know". Years ago you had to earn your stripes, no pun intended, and the book of knowledge of fishing that sits in your brain. In these times of instant gratification putting lots of time in has become a thing of the past, and more about big fish holding pics that gives the false appearance of being dialed in to a spot. With striped bass now becoming an all-or-none blitz type event those that put their time in and fish tides and time are a thing of the past. So I caution those presenters who are sharing those spots and times of the year because they can ruin what other people have worked hard in learning and keeping secret.
So truth be told there's some seminars I would like to attend to see what they are letting out of the bag but I won't. In the end it would take away from the work and discovery of something special. It's like finding your own fish, there's nothing better. While yes, I have a small group of guys I share intel with, but truthfully, in the end it's a selective edited version of all the facts that is shared. And, sometimes I have to even practice what I'll say before I do, because one person tells another's and so on, and so on. And then there goes the neighborhood.
So my prediction for 2026 in some of my favorite locations will be this..... "It's over Johnny". The word is out, or will be even more, and everything will change. I just look at the Upper Delaware and what that that fishery has become over the years. Yes, still fantastic and one of my favorites, but it's totally different. It’s become a game of trying to escape the crowds and the boats and finding trout without scars from that were previously hooked, especially as the spring turns into summer. And the same can and will be said for those that fish for striped bass and fishes of the salt.
Fishing pressure changes a fishes behavior. And while we're all entitled to go fishing, the more we fish in those limited spots, the more the chance of ruining it will occur.
So in the end I ask those that do teach and speak to be careful. Yes, you're doing it for your business and your status, but giving away the farm can have big and negative impacts on what others may call home and their favorite fishery. For most shallow anglers, they follow a bite, and then leave, and in the meantime they just blow it up for the regulars.
For my first time I went to ChatGPT for some help with artwork for this post. I entered "Fly fisherman giving a presentation" and the top image is what it came up with.
While I was happy with what came out, because I didn't want to post a pic of some of the people I'm talking about or list the upcoming seminars that I fear are dangerous, I had to laugh when I looked closer. The above cropped image shows what ChatGPT came up with for a fly reel. WTF is that?
So be careful when you attend a show a show this winter and get sucked in to the room like a bug to a bug light. What you may learn may actually do you harm and kill the fun of putting in time and learning a fishery for yourself.
