Our Forum is Growing to Fast...

I prefer to be able to keep anonymity due to the previously stated fact that there are some complete losers out there that have mental illnesses and will do stupid things like contact employers with malicious intent or try and find your residence.
I call myself gillflare because about 12 years ago on Halloween I dressed up as walleyeman for a social with green tights and shirt, flippers, goggles that had a kids fish theme, a home made cardboard fin on my back painted green and a duct tape "W" across the front of my chest and big gut. That night after some bevys I would clamp my mouth shut with my chin up, tuck my hands to my armpits with my elbows pointed up and out pretending to flare my gills.
Buddy's that saw the outfit sometimes still ask me to do a gillflare pose for laughs when we're getting goofy. I thought it fit well when joining Manitoba Anglers a number of years ago and have kept it since.

 

Great site here Ernie.What ever direction you decide to go with is good with us.Our name is what it is because thats my wife and I.We get out fishing and hunting as much as we can which is great that she does all this with me as it makes it easier to get out.As far as posting messages I some times don't know how to say things or put things by typing if that makes any sense I'm not that good with computers as I have been a welder/mechanic and outdoors guy for 25 years and computers were never really in my radar,my cell phone is only a talk and text one because I don't want all that fancy crap the new ones have.We don't know to many members on here,may have met you's through minnow sales but it was never known who they were.I probably talked your ear off when your here asking where your fishing and how the bite has been,and giving reports of where we have been and how we've done.I find it easier to talk face to face rather than a computer.Once again great job Ernie

 

I guess first off, I don't post as often as I would like to, mostly because I haven't been fishing as much as I would like to in the last year (things have been busy). Also, when it comes offering knowledge, I am passionate about fishing, but as far as experience goes, I've got more questions than answers. Then there are the habits that were established at the other forum (rightly or wrongly)

I do like the format here. There is a lot of good information, very knowledgeable people, and most of all mutual respect for each other.

If I am going to offer advice on how to move forward, the one thing I hated about the other forum is every time there was a s**t storm, the rules changed. It seemed like the mods were re-writing the rulebook on a regular basis to appease probably a half dozen loudmouths, despite the 10000ish other members who had no issues. If I am going to suggest anything, establish a set of base principles to run the site by, chisel them into stone tablets, make sure those principles are well known, and implement a like it or leave it policy. I wouldn't worry so much about the lurkers. I find that if a group of people have something good to say, a larger group of people tend to gather around to hear what they have to say. The question that needs to be asked is, are they lurking or listening?

Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

 

My name is Craig, and I have a lurking problem, and I'm going to try and be better.

This is a wonderful forum, and Ernie has done a wonderful job with it, and I'm sure will make the appropriate changes where necessary to the membership rules to keep it that way.

I have enjoyed the information and discussion for a few months now without adding anything. I will quit being a lazy lurker, and start posting some results of my fishing outings, and work on contributing more in general.

 

Haha that's great. I always thought you had a cool name. My favourite fishing memory of the summer was watching my first big blonde gill flare in front of the boat. Just a big flash of red.

 

Another reason I don't post much is where I fish. I live on Netley Creek and have easy access to the Red. I know people don't really want to see posts about the Red. I have only been really interested in fishing since my move out here. In the spring before I drop my boat in I do try to fish other areas. But I have a walleye honey hole on Lake Winnipeg and I tend to head there. I read allot and learn allot and do plan on hitting up other lakes (after a deep cleaning of my hull of course) when my daughter is a little older. I have never really had the opportunity or knowledge to target other species, but I feel this forum will feed that. If invites are the way to go I am fine, I do know a couple upstanding people on here that can vouch for me. Keep up the great work Ernie!! And I hope to meet up with more of you in the future.

 

Your biased. Lol!

 

@Cam i may be biased, but like you, I recognize a good thing when I see it

 

I am ok if this becomes an invite only forum.
That being said I will say that I am one of those members that probably lurkers more than I actually contribute. I'll check in here once in awhile to see what's going on. If I see something we here I can add a constructive opinion to the conservation I will post. If I don't think I have something to add I will usually keep quiet. I'm not one to just make small talk just to say something.

 

Personally I love the invite only idea. The intelligence and exclusiveness that this forum provides keeps me balanced with the chaos we deal with on IFMB on an everyday basis.

My page on FB is an open group with the admins doing all the membership approval. We do a damn good job at keeping the spam out but I'll be the first to admit that you can't keep the BS out by admitting in every Tom, Dick & Harry. Last night was a first for me where for the first time in 6 years I had to lock down my group because it turned into a complete shit show. When we re-open it up things will be different... that's a promise.
Cam has his boots all polished up and has lent me his spare pair to clean some house.

 

Yeah, things sure escalated quickly lol. Other than the racial stuff it was pretty funny. You've got some 'wannabe prostaff' who sure think they rule the roost so to speak.
I didn't realize there were so many fish biologist in Manitoba...

 

I gotta join FB... I'm missing all the fun.

 

There are far too many guys in this province that make completely irresponsible and over-the-top selfish decisions, in order to "be a somebody" in fishing.....

There's some real pathetic stuff going on in the local fishing scene lately where some guys will completely disregard sensitive fish stocks by exploiting trophy fisheries just to make a name for themselves, or even worse--try to get a Pro Staff deal.... some free tackle or a day's pay isnt worth --- A) making yourself look like a fool and B) being the leading contributor to one or more gem-of-a-fishery lakes or rivers taking a drastic nose-dive in quality. I really don't think many of the guys doing this stuff even realize there's really no money in "making it big in fishing" in Manitoba.......if that's what you want, you need to follow Gussy's example: Go fish the FLW or B.A.S.S. in the southern States. Otherwise, the typical angler with a GoPro in Manitoba is a cold booger on a hot plate....don't kid yourself, you aint no Aaron Wiebe

Some guys really do have to have a huge plate of humble pie.....even then, many still won't get it.

Like my buddy mentioned the other day-- "Guys just don't get it. They always kill the goose that lays the golden egg."

Just my opinion, many may disagree, and the offenders have a huge list of bullshit excuses about why they do things....I wont change anything by bitching, butit feels good to vent.

Sometimes I'd just love to disconnect my internet connection and live a happy life

 

GoPros, digital cameras, and the internet are as bad as winterkill for some lakes. I loved fishing long before any of those things were invented. Every so often we read comments on how advanced sonars and gps systems make it an "unfair advantage" for the fisherman. Sonar and gps do not equate to fishing pressure and time out of water for a fish, all for the sake of an action shot to be splurged on Instagram and Facebook. A great fishing trip is great with or without a camera and online pictures. We seem to have forgotten that it's about fishing, not spewing on social media where we were and what an awesome time we had with the requisite videos and pictures.

 

Disagree. Other than the naming of lakes part, I think a lot of fish have been saved because of the digital camera era. The era before that was most likely keeping that fish for dinner or the wall. Now a simple picture will suffice.

 

I don't think that cameras have any effect on whether or not someone choses to eat a fish or not. There are a lot of pictures of full stringers of fish and filleting shacks too. Too many fish spend far too much time out of water for the sake of action shots. I guarantee that number exceeds the amount of wall-mounted fish. Catch and release fishing is due to anglers being educated on the subject. One geotag from a photo uploaded can do a lot more damage to a lake than one wall-mount.

 

I use my name because it's my name. Lots of good ideas here and I agree with most. Will try to post more often but I haven't been out yet and usually don't jump in unless I know what I'm talking about. Keep up the good work Ernie! It's appreciated!

 

Don't get me wrong. GpPros are awesome, and I'd be a total hypocrite for critisizing people for taking video and photos while fishing. Quite the opposite! I love a good fish photo and some entertaining video, amateur or not.

What I'm talking about is---the folks that claim to be professionals, but conduct themselves in an irresponsible and classless manner....

If you claim to be a professional, you're expected to conduct yourself as one. There's a degree of responsibility and there's an expectation that professional Anglers that are "in the business" or trying to break thru to be "in the business", should not do certain things.

I'm far from perfect, but at least i know better than to screw things up for a number of fisherman in order to further my own selfish agenda.

My wife laughs about "fishing drama", and she's right to, but some things can just be down right frustrating when it comes to "the local fishing scene". There's times I miss the era before the internet when I knew sweet pissall about fishing and a Jim's Jig Head and a double tail Mr. Twister was all I need to catch whatever bit.....simpler times.

 

Sounds like @Mike B. Has been reading posts on FB the last couple days....

 

Fishing 'pros', 'semi-pros' and 'pro staffers' in training remind me of this scene from 'Good Will Hunting'. This is what I learned today and I'm going to cram it down your throat, whether you ask my opinion or not. Tomorrow it's going to be something else and I'll do the same. Then one day when I'm 50, I'll wake up and realize the reason I fish alone is because I'm an asshole and no one likes me or my opinions