kayak/canoe fishing spot. Recently, Brent posted a concern that we often refer folk wanting information of canoe/kayak fishing to other forums. I responded that one of the problems with paddling.net’s fishing forum is that its not always very active, that some of the questions asked were specific to a certain area of the country and this was a more general site, and the other sites were more specific to what the person was asking. Overall, I like paddling.net’s fishing forum. Most, if not all, of those who post here are genuinely interested in assisting others and sharing their experiences. No one gets flamed for asking what some may consider a silly question like on the Advice forum. I’d love to see the paddling.net fishing forum grow into a site that was as active as some of the other sites. What can we do to make that happen?
where’s the post where Brent…
said not to mention other forums?
Here
http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=fishing&tid=457350#457551
I’m not sure how to build it better. Most of the sites I can think of that are real active, (TKF,Paddle-Fishing, KFS) are specific to a region. They also tend to be very saltwater oriented. Another paddling site that I hit frequently deals with freshwater fishing in the BWCA quite a bit. Canoe Country is a BB that is predominantly about, as you would think, canoeing in the BWCA. It seems to me that most freshwater anglers that paddle use a canoe. Lots of kayak type folks here. I like using both, but a canoe dominates right now. I think this site handles general fishing quite well, I too wish that the fishing board was more active. I imagine that most folks who post on this site are not into fishing. For me that is why I paddle, I could not imagine paddling and not bringing a rod along. One dealer of very fine canoes told me that he would not paddle a canoe just to paddle, just as he would not take a walk in 3 feet of fresh powder on snowshoes just to walk.
It is tough for a national site to deal with region specific fishing topics. It’s hard to hold the interest of those that fish exclusively for trout and salmon when the predominant messages are geared toward bass and redfish, or vice versa. Perhaps sub categories within the fishing forum, i.e., Northeast, Gulf Coast, Mid-West, etc? Don’t know what would trigger more strikes here. (Pardon the pun).
Area
I go on the TKF and the KFS sites and while they are area specific there is a lot of information there on how to rig and use a fishing kayak. The sport of kayak fishing is growing rapidly and a lot of people are not aware of how rapidly. WS, Ocean and Huricane are a few companies that recognized the trend and make boats that are designed specificly for fishing not modified existing boats. CD, while seeing a market for better SOTs, has not gotten the picture and is still in the touring mode.
While this is a great site, it has not garnered the support of the fishing community. Neither has Topkayakers.net which is a SOT specific site. KFS and TKF are fishing specific and that is about all they talk about. They are also tied to stores with fishing supplies and items for rigging fishing kayaks. The store of information on those sites took a long time to build and there are some very nice features on the sites like avatars and picture downloads that are easy and dont require a web host. Fishermen like pictures. You can try explaining something until both parties get frustrated or you can show a picture and everyone understands.
What to do? Maybe a series of kayak fishing articles. Some good articles on how to rig, gear, bait trip, where and when. If you want the readership, you need to give them something to read.
I got into kayaking when I bought an AquaTerra Keowee to throw in the back of my truck and go fishing after work. The power boat was too much trouble and I found out the kayak was more fun. That was a long time and many kayaks ago. A lot of would be kayak fishermen are learning about the paddling end by starting out fishing.
I like this site because
it is much more open and friendly than the others.
There is sometimes more info and more responses in less time on the other sites but the sites are generally locked in a close minded, superior clique attitude compared to people who post here. Paddling.net has the basis for a better fishing site IMO. On the other sites, there is a total assumption that kayak fishing equals SOT. That is always implied and usually expressed with some contempt for any poster who hint he might fish from a SINK. They also assume that everyone is fishing warm water. In short, reasonable questions on topics outside of the expereinece of the majority are often put down, with razor words.
This seems to be a more rounded site with folks from many places and styles. That dilutes info but the ambience is good if we can keep it.
I hit TKF, KFS, and several speciec
specific sites for either localized information or that which is specific to a species (mainly catfish and crappie). But, as has been said, there is a certain contempt for those of us who don’t fish from a SOT. That said, one of the most prolific fishermen and posters on TKF, Capt. Jack, fishes from a rigged tandem Pamlico, doesn’t seem to hurt his catch rates. The only problem with this site has been the infrequency of postings, not the quality or friendliness of those posting. Hey, any fishing platform is better than none, most of the time. Its not always the type of kayak, but the fisherman that matters most.
Sometimes, I see inklings of how this can become a bigger forum, especially when people from particular regions begin to kibbitz back and forth about fishing certain areas, like the Yough river stuff (don’t know where it is and wasn’t toointerested, but there was dialogue) and when we help out with rigging questions and kayak suggestions for certain areas. Don’t know if I 'd want the site to become as popular as tkf or kfs, but more frequent posting would be helpful.
forum format
P.net’s forum format doesn’t allow for posting pictures and is not as easy to follow and search as the phpBB style forum pages that the other sites use.
Rigging and fish caught pictures are key to a good canoe/kayak fishing site.
IMHO,
Absolutely no disrespect intended… just trying to “speak straight”.
I doubt that Brent would find it cost effective to try to make P-Net a “premier” kayak fishing site. It’s like someone else said… too much specific stuff, no pics etc…
I think of P-net as being kinda like Walmart. Lot’s of different stuff but very few specialty items. My sites for kayak fishing are more like a specialty shop.
To be fair… sometimes kayak fishing people ask specific questions about paddling techniques etc… I refer them to P-Net.
Pictures
There have been many times on the other threads and topics I would liked to post a picture but ended up emailing the info and pictures. Items like carts, racks, seats, rigging etc would be more interesting with pictures. This is not just a fishing issue.
Best way to make it more active is to
use it more often. It takes just a little incentive to create a post, and there are a lot of topics - fishing tactics, equipment for fishing and the canoes and kayaks used, places to fish, and plain talk about catching fish. I would like to see more reviews about all aspects of canoes and kayaks posted more often on pnet, as I think that the ratio of reviews to readers is very low. Product reviews posted do include fishing related products, and it would be beneficial to see many more. Having been in a fishing club for a few years, there is often an element of secrecy about your own methods and spots to catch fish, but on pnet that does not need to be. Happy paddling, fishing, and posting!
Well, this all started because Brent
asked why we always refer people out to other sites, rather than make paddling.net a bigger fishing forum. Certainly, pictures would help, probably also in the Advice and Paddling forums, as well as the trip and Boundary Waters forums. But, please, no pictures for B&B…love that forum, but don’t need no stinking pictures there.
Some ideas …
One thing I've noticed as I browse a number of forums is that this appears to be the only site that caters to paddlers that fish, as opposed to fishermen that paddle - huge difference. As a result, there's a lot more discussion from those that paddle sit-inside boats, which is a refreshing change. Also, this site has members from all over the country and a lot of info about freshwater fishing. I'm based out of west central Florida, and it's important to ME to know that other fishing spots exist. It's real easy for me to think that Florida is the angling universe - nothing exists outside of it. :)
"kfsrmn" asked about showing articles about kayak fishing. This has been going on for over a year - you need to subscribe to the newsletter anyway (they're published monthly) or you can go to http://www.paddling.net/guidelines/ and then scroll down to "Kayak Fishing".
Good question…
My experience is that the majority of people on P-Net are kayakers and Canoers first and foremost. The subset that post on the Kayak Fishing Forums are a smaller subset.
Brent has built this whole site around the paddlers, recreational and racers predominantly…Fishing seems to be an afterthought.
When other sites are recommended to people interested in Kayak Fishing, it is because of several factors:
1: The other sites SPECIALIZE in Kayak Fishing, to include having on-line stores to make kayak fishing specific purchases, and get suggestions from experts in the field.
2: The other sites have photos of rigging solutions, as well as bragging right photo’s of catches. Something Fishermen REALLY appreciate.
One other thing, is that when a kayak fisherman meets another on the water, we often recommend the kayak fishing specific sites when they ask about where we got item A or how we set up the rigging.
When I meet another paddle enthusiast that is not a fisherman, I recommend this site to get knowledge about strokes, PFD’s, places to paddle and most importantly get togethers.
So in closing, what would it take to make this site more active?
1: The ability to post photos in the threads.
2: The ability to purchase specific kayak fishing equipment.
3: The ability to talk to a person about specific kayak fishing matters, when determining what to purchase for your kayak and its rigging.
4: Kayak fishing SPECIFIC promotions.
YotF
Good post, Yak, we agree. The two
positives here are that there are plenty of us who fish from canoes and sit-ins, and the prejudices for one type of kayak over another aren’t solid battle lines like on some kayak fishing sites.
Good point
I fish from canoe,touring sik and an sot and prefer to call it paddle fishing. Lot's of folks on the strictly kayak fishing sites are pretty closed minded about all the options available to get to fish. They believe the SOT is the only way to fish out of a paddle craft. That is one of the reasons I check this site so often.
wonder if Brent has looked at these
posts yet. Of course, he may be very busy, think he’s a new father.
So true…and a Hobie Outback
"Kayak" Fisherman would likely get eviscerated here…Unlike KFS which is pretty accepting of all models of paddle craft as fishing platforms…even canoes.
YotF
How about the sweepstakes…
Instead of giving away a SINK a canoe and a 11’ SOT include some top of the line fishing gear…
How many folks are lusting after an 11’ SOT anyway? Now some nice Daiwas or Shimanos…
Also some weekly articles that include fishing.
I fish from my expedition SINK, especially when I’m expeditioning…
yeh, I could dig a shimano stradic 2500
or 4000, maybe a Daiwa 153 H. Lets get high rent and maybe a Shimano Calcutta. Still would be a lot less than a kayak or canoe, so maybe a Wilderness Tarpon 140 with the fishing gear and a good carbon fiber paddle.
Or such accessories as fishfinders,
fish storage bags, drift chutes, lure and fly selections, and even guided kayak fishing trips.
Lots of potential.
YotF