First off I would like to say that I am a long time reader, and first time “poster” on IDA. This issue peaked my interest because I have had similar experiences to that of Utah and popper. I have been reading posts on this website for a couple of years now and while many of the posts are educational, one of the reasons that I check out this website is to find out where I should avoid due to the crowds associated with these postings. I too have had several experiences where I was fishing an area with IDA members in close proximity and they gave out information about the location and the fish caught. Before you knew it the place was crawling with people. It really left me with a sour taste in my mouth.

I, too, am perturbed by the glorification of catching a bunch of 8.5-10″ “slabs”, but I guess it is really up to each fisherman to decide what a “slab” is.

The reason that this is such a problem in the river system is that the fish are schooled up in very small areas in the winter not only making them vulnerable just by sheer numbers but also through the fact that they are all crammed into bodies of water that are often times no bigger than ponds/small lakes. This obviously makes the fish populations here more easily exploited than those in a lake situation. I believe that increased information access via IDA has exacerbated the problem.

I have read the replies where people compare the information here to that of the info found at a baitshop. This is incorrect. People can log on and find out all they need to know in less that five minutes, and as often as they want to. Many times this information includes pictures of exactly where to fish (pictures with the horizon in the background are an easy give away, even if it is supposedly a secret location), what lures to use, how deep to fish, how deep that water is, structure present, vegetation present, etc. I challenge you to find a bait shop with that kind of info.

I am sorry that my first post here is a negative one, but I think that it is important for the members to know that there are a lot more people out there “viewing” than you realize.