Fishing reports have always ranked high in reader interest whenever we have conducted reader surveys, and we are always looking for ways to improve those reports by making them more timely and providing more details. Reports from some party and charter boats, and tackle shops often lack information like where and what fish were caught on. Most tackle shops rely only on what the customer tells them, and boat captains avoid being specific because they don’t want a fleet of private boats following them around. Unquestionably, some of the best reports come from readers who are out on the water and willing to share information with other anglers.
All the talk of spot burning hasn’t helped either, with tackle shop owners afraid of upsetting customers by revealing where a catch was made. Unfortunately, the whole spot burning thing is way out of control. I’ve had guys complain when I mention Robert Moses in my surf report. Really??? There are so many different areas to fish within Robert Moses State Park from Demo to the Lighthouse, on the ocean side and the bay side, that it would take you a good chunk of the season to fish them all. My philosophy has always been to put people in the ballpark so that if they are willing to put in the time, they can search out an area and find fish on their own. For surfcasters, certain areas may have access limitations and access could be jeopardized by too many people showing up to a spot. Boat anglers know full well that too much boat traffic in an area can shut down a bite, especially in the case of striped bass and weakfish. The worst sin is sending other anglers on a wild goose chase – saying you caught fish somewhere 50 miles from where you actually caught them.
One of the great challenges of fishing is the hunt – figuring out what combination of tides, wind and intel will help put you into fish. Some anglers want info that will put them in the exact location of a hot bite so that they can go to that spot the next time they head out, which could be the next day or four days since the action occurred. First of all, conditions change from one day to the next and there is rarely any guarantee that a really good bite will repeat itself, even the next day. The real value in fishing reports is picking up on patterns that develop over the course of a fishing season and that’s where a detailed report becomes a valuable asset. Also, there is a certain amount of satisfaction in helping other anglers catch fish.
