Thank you James for the perspective and I hope RD considers the message for his business.
I do think we need to curtail the negative comments when someone posts however. If you have advice such as that above, please share it with the poster but we have to curtail the negative posts or as you’ve seen, people will stop posting.
Thanks as always for handling a delicate situation with class!
Eric
There is an old Folk song that I recall. The refrain was
“Don’t SHOULD on me and I won’t SHOULD on you!”
I respect peoples choices as to whether or not to keep fish at the legal limit. I may share what I am doing but do not expect everyone to do the same.
River Dan, It is my hope you decide to continue posting and ignore negative comments. Be comfortable in your own skin. you obviously do a great job and have a lot to share.
Lloyd Gilbertson
Chatham, Michigan
James,
Sincerely,
John
Dan, do you fish Pool 4 year around, or do you guide and fish some place different in the summer months???
i would add that because a person does not follow the original posters views it does not mean its a NEGATIVE post.
for example; if you do not agree with someone of a different race, it does not mean you are racist.
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When large numbers of people are telling you “something ain’t right,”
I may be wrong here but in my opinion the large numbers have supported Dan and the FEW have had to ruin his threads by preaching to all of us and trying to impose their morals on him and the rest of us.
And as far as the penny jar goes, you can keep your pennies if people have to get hate mail for putting a penny in the jar. Whether the penny was a Canadian penny, a wheat penny, a dirty penny just picked up from the street or a brand new shiny penny, they are still putting in a penny and should not have to be ridiculed about the penny they put in the jar 
Sorry to disappoint some of you but I am 100% against over harvesting fish. The internet is just to powerful a tool and reaches to many people where images again and again of stringers full of dead fish promote that this is the goal of every fishing trip just as James stated above. The Linders back in the day had stringer photos of 8# fish trip after trip. There is a reason you do not see that any more or by chance see them keep any fish on any show.
If you guys dont think these web sites and posts have a impact on where and how people fish, think again. They do and in some cases a very huge impact.
As far as my comment about a 2 fish photo rule it would be a shame to see that happen on this site. One of the things that is great about IDO is the lack of these types of rules and us being responsible posters.
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I do think we need to curtail the negative comments when someone posts however. If you have advice such as that above, please share it with the poster but we have to curtail the negative posts or as you’ve seen, people will stop posting.
I’ve been right where Dan’s at. The ball is in his court. I’m confident he’ll make the right choice and come out the other side a more respected angler and busier guide for the change.
As for the negative comments, I’ve only seen a few in the past month as this has unfolded. To me disagreeing with someone in a respectful manner is NOT negative. It is simply a different perspective. What Mike suggested wasn’t negative in any way. It was simply his opinion and he’s entitled to it as RD’s entitled to keep posting pics of his limits if he wants to continue to field replies in disagreement with them.
IDO does a fantastic job of keeping the hateful off these boards but we have no issue with people with opposing viewpoints talking through ideas and issues… as long as the discussion remains civil. It is through respectful discussion that we can actually learn, be influenced and influence others and grow. The day we limit “discussions” to posts in agreement is the day I shut this place down. At that point there would be no reason to keep it around.
So to all those that carry on about the negativity and the bashing… put things in perspective. Take your last family reunion for example. What did you have 30 people? 50? Everyone get along all the time? I bet not. We have 130,000+ rolling through here… on a slow month. Get the picture?! Things here operate with incredible smoothness and civility 99.99999% of the time. But like any family… there’s always a brother-in-law that causes a fuss. It isn’t a sign that anything is wrong. We’re dealing with people and any time people interact with each other moods collide, personalities conflict and from time to time we need to remember what brings us here and what we all have in common.
In case you’re not sure what I’m getting at… that would be fishing and a love of the outdoors. And that’s a pretty strong bond. 
I would agree with that Joe! 
Problem here is not so much agree/not agree, it’s telling someone they did something wrong. Making them feel bad about their accomplishment, etc. It goes far beyond RD.
As noted here in several posts, people don’t report anymore because they have been criticized. That’s hurting this site (probably more than BK and I arguing about stadiums!).
ET 
PS, to James, I don’t think Mikes post is negative. See RD’s posts from a few weeks back. Ask RD to copy/paste a few of his PM’s.
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When large numbers of people are telling you “something ain’t right,”
I may be wrong here but in my opinion the large numbers have supported Dan and the FEW have had to ruin his threads by preaching to all of us and trying to impose their morals on him and the rest of us.
I have heard from huge numbers of people via email that were concerned, was approached by several boat loads of anglers about this when I was on pool 4 last week and have sat through more than a couple calls on this. I don’t know where the “for and against” breaks out on this, and I’m sure it doesn’t really matter, but I can tell you with certainty that many people are concerned. And everyone of them has been kind and thoughtful in the way they addressed it to me. People aren’t out to hurt Dan. I think overwhelmingly they want good things for him and experience has shown that he’s headed in a tough direction.
I would consider myself as a rookie compared to ssome of you on here. The last couple of years I have really got involved in the fishing industry and there is so much more to fishing then going out and catching your limit everytime. As I guide I think you are held to a higher standard you are a role model for future anglers to look up to.
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PS, to James, I don’t think Mikes post is negative. See RD’s posts from a few weeks back. Ask RD to copy/paste a few of his PM’s.
I’ll pass on reading PMs and believe me, I’ve monitored every thread and got involved when / where needed. Let’s focus on what is public and stick to coming to a higher understanding of what the “push and pull” is here and I think we’ll all come out fine. Nobody is here to hurt anyone. I’ve not met Dan but I’ve been told he’s a nice guy with a big heart. Same can be said for most if not all of the guys that disagree with the day after day limit photos.
Great post James. Anyone who has monitored this sight in the past has seen this all play out before. Hope Dan can take the constructive criticism from the guides on this sight with open mind. Guiding is a very tough business with long hrs. Putting fish in the boat for his clients is his main goal (which it looks like he is very good at). However as most guides will tell you that is the fun and easy part of his job, the hard work is spent off the water. Good luck to Dan. Live pics of fish never get ripped on this sight. Keep up with the reports.
I also hope RD keeps posting with some fish now and again. I sure do not hold anything against him,but when you are trying to make a living on a public resource you should and will be held to a higher standard. As for people being jealous of his catch ,maybe some ,but alot of those people can also catch their limit everytime out, but choose only to keep what they can eat. Alot of customers want to keep fish and should be able to . They most likely are not fishing everyday. I must say if people are giving RD hate mail that will not accomplish anything. In the end we are all fishermen with different ideas and this website is a place we can share our experiences and thoughts and hopefully learn somthing
Mike what are the rules about keeping fish by clients walleyed.? What do you charge for 1/2day walleyed. Have you ever posted info that would directly help other fishers?
James is 100% correct.
To back up James in his point of positive advertisement I will share my story on starting to fish Pool 4.
when my-wife-to-be and I moved to the metro area from Madison, we fished the lakes she grew up fishing and those her Dad fished (mostly Mille Lacs). I like to soak up info. in anyway I can about fishing (as it was a new passion started in college). I visited websites but had not heard of this one at that time. My father-in-law and I decided we would give the river a try as it would be new to both of us. we fished it a few times in the spring for 2 years and had fun doing the drift and vertical jig game mostly. It produced fish and we were happy enough to be on the water. But I wanted to find these monsters i was seeing online and in magazines/TV. i asked on other websites for references and I had read James name a few times in anglers reports. I decided to give the “kid” (my FIL’s words) a try, as it apeared he had knowledge of the system more than what we already knew (aka: jig up a limit of saugers). We had a great experience and realized what a truely great fishery Pool 4 is.
My point in all that is the great things we heard and saw on the quality of fishing experience we would get with a guide like James far outweighed a guaruntee on a fish fry.
I wonder at 50% what percentage does this relate to with non guided fishermen as far as numbers kept per fisherman?
I suspect even at 50% and the fact that the guides are putting their customers onto more fish that they are still hauling a large percentage of fish out.
More to the point, it’s james’s forum and he will do as he pleases, same as other forums.
If he’s pushing C&R, posting pictures of kept fish won’t go over well.
If he’s dead set on posting pictures, seems the logical choice would be to find another site, hope he lets us know where if he does, some of might like to see.
Al
I don’t see what the big deal is. They’re just walleyes, it’s not like they are a sportfish or anything.
I am a member of LSF and this site, and up until now I held IDO to a higher standard. If I want reports and information, Id come here. If I wanted fighting and people being judged unfairly for the reports they post, then Id go there. Apparently we are now on the same playing field, and its aided and encouraged by the IDO staff. I think its incredibly arrogant to force your beliefs on someone. The guy is making a living doing what he loves, and being kind enough to give us a peek every now and then. I practice CPR much more often than I keep them. If his clients are paying him for results and want to keep their fish, he should tell them no??? Yeah, that’ll keep his customers coming back… 
BTW RD, do you have a website I could visit? Perhaps I could add to your clientel.
i believe you (VIKEFAN) are missing the point here. ITS NOT ABOUT THE FISH HIS CLIENTS TAKE!!!!!! Its his own, personal consumption/gifting of fish that is being debated.
wait a minute, is Mike now getting bashed by people who say not to bash?? HMMMMMMMMM???
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Apparently we are now on the same playing field, and its aided and encouraged by the IDO staff. I think its incredibly arrogant to force your beliefs on someone.
It is amazing to me that you formed this opinion after reading what what I just posted. 
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I think its incredibly arrogant to force your beliefs on someone.
Not that anybody is forcing anything on anyone. But to make a point.
Sites like IDO and LSF are not public site. They are private sites and the owners of those sites can do whatever they want. It’s their own little monarchy if they so choose. Thankfully James steps back and lets us do as we please within the rules of the site.
One other thing that’s been stated already but I would like to repeat. Just because something is legal does not mean it’s ethical.
One other thing that’s been stated already but I would like to repeat. Just because something is legal does not mean it’s ethical.
This, I agree with 100%
In response to the negative comments. I don’t believe attacks are right.
However it is up to us as fellow sportsman to educate and if need be police each other. In doing so a person is going to be disagreeing with the people they are trying to educate.
CPR is something that’s taken many years to come around. Let’s remember the pictures of piles of huge muskie laying on the ground. We all need to do our part to preserve our resource for ourselves and future generations.
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Sorry to hear this RD.It is to bad that you had a good night and wanted to share it with the members of IDO.Who cares if you kept your limit or if 3 guys with 18 fish.It is not us(or IDO staff) to decide what is right.That might be the first limit you have kept all year or what ever.Maybe the 3 guys with 18 fish were on a guided trip,it doesn’t matter.We know that some people may take more while others take less,been this way since the beginning of time and I don’t think it’s going to stop.RD please don’t stop posting your pictures
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If your getting pm’s that were attacking you I would go to site administration to see what can be done.(first attack on org thread was PHIGS and no email for him..hmmmm)
I personally know people who over harvest, and have been caught for it.
So yes, when I see someone taking multiple limits of fish every day, for days on end, and caught by “clients” that are never photographed,it makes one think of other possibilities.
You want my email address, shoot me a pm and ill give you it. Ill even give my phone number if there is something you feel the need to chat about.
I don’t out all my personal info up on the web for people to spam, sorry.
And ill just throw my opinion out there since I was drug into this thread. I don’t have a problem with keeping limits, but when you are one of the few that has the opportunity to fish/hunt many more days than the average person, at what point does your taking of daily limits, turn into raping the resource for your own greed, under the letter of the law.
Just because something is legal, doesn’t always make it right.
Go ahead and flame away on me now, I’m not “sensitive” and can handle criticism….
Seen this topic on an NFL site. Think his name was TEBOW. Half the guys loved him, half guys hate him. Everybody had an opinion and none of them where correct, and like this post it went nowhere fast.
If we are keeping score chalk one up in the waste of time column for me.
Did someone say Tebow!?!?!
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The internet is just to powerful a tool and reaches to many people where images again and again of stringers full of dead fish
If you’re going to go that route I say posting anything about fishing a specific piece of water harms an area catch and release photo or not.
For selfish reasons, I admit, I won’t mention a lake on the internet because I don’t want to bring attention to it. Catch and release all you want, it won’t stop meat hounds from keeping the fish on your body of water.
I’ve been burned too many times on that. You want to wreck a good thing, post about it on a fishing site.
I’m guessing that’s why you don’t see as many fishing posts on these site anymore unless they are from guides trying to drum up business. Not a rip on guides, to each his own.
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