This is a rant about "spot burn"...

[Ken]

If you don't like to read a rant...just move on...I need to vent...

What is "spot burn" you ask? It is when someone finds a hot bite, spread the word to the world...and everyone and their family and friends fished the heck out of it until nothing is left...

That's what happened to my micro carp pond...

I found this pond a couple of months back. At the time, I was the ONLY one fishing there. Heck, people didn't even know there was fish there. But I guess a few people saw me fishing...and they "spot burned" it.

I was back to check on the pond today. There was absolutely nothing left...no hits, no mud...absolutely no signs of carp. A couple of months back, I was the only one fishing there...today, there were 10 people. People who caught catfish kept every SINGLE ONE!!! They said the carp fishing was good before but not anymore. DUH!!! It's a frigging small pond about an acre in size!!! No frigging shat!!!

I was so pissed off.

I spoke to one person and asked what he's fishing for, and he said carp.

I said "This place used to be good...but now people have kept all the carp and nothing is left. I really don't know why people keep carp there because it is a stormwater pond...meaning all the nasty stuff on the roads gets settled in there...including road salt, antifreeze, motor oil, car wash detergent, household pesticides...etc."

The guys said "Well, if it is that bad, it should be in the news, but I don't hear anything said about this."

I said "It's not in the news. Check the consumption guide posted by the MNR. There are more important things to report in the news anyways."

Then I said "Oh well, there are better places to fish anyways."

He said "Yeah, I was once at this campground and there were so many rock bass! We put on 5 hooks on the line and you wait 30 seconds and you would have 5 of them on your line. You see this bucket here, we filled it up within 1 hour!" (For you information, legally, you can only have 4 hooks on the line in Ontario).

I said "Yeah, there are much better places to fish. If I want to sit and wait all day, I would rather wait for a 15-20lb carp instead. Here's I'll show you what I mean."

So I showed him some of my past carp catches on the camera.

He said "Where it that?"

Really? He has the audacity to ask me???

I quickly said "Sorry...can't tell you."

Then he said "What isn't that posted on the internet?"

I said "Oh, it's posted...you likely just won't find it...plus, I don't mention where I fish anyways."

And so my friends...this is how people "spot burn". They find one the hot bite, fished the heck out of it and leave absolutely NOTHING.

It actually turned me off from posting more reports...but I guess you guys here are pretty safe...and most of my local anglers won't be searching here for reports and locations...so for now, you can still expect to see me bring you the latest and greatest in my local fishing.

Whew...I feel a little better now...I just gotta get that out.

[Ahnkochee]

Happens to the 'Oama, and Halalu schools here all the time but usually with illegal mesh size nets, and usually in broad daylight since these criminals know DLNR/DOn'tCARE will never show.

[Ken]

I know Ahnko...it's so very sad.

Often, people will say "Oh, I'm sharing my catch with family and friends." when you comment on their big catch.

That may be fine in Hawaii, but in Ontario, you need a fishing license to possess sportfish (even in the freezer)...and I can bet that 90% of the time, these family and friends do not have their recreation fishing license.

Just like in Hawaii...not enough enforcement...very sad.

It also sucks for me that carp is considered an invasive species and there is no season or limits...so you cannot even complain that people are over-possessing...but then again, people are greedy and cannot self-regulate.

[OO7:BASSINASSASSIN]

I feel your pain Ken. Unfortunately, for those of us who fish lake wilson, access is limited and the lake is small. That is why I do not post hot spots. I basically fish where everybody else fishes so if I post a spot, I will not be able to fish it and a lot of times I do not have time to find fish. It is not like fishing from a boat where I can just move easily around to another spot.

In addition, some fisherman trash a hot spot. Live bait fisherman ( I'm not saying all of them ) leave a lot of dead line on the bank and in the water. I drag up a lot of line with my lures. Some fisherman leave their trash like cans, bottles, bags, etc. They even set fires. Some novices drag up or move cover because it gets in there way, but that is where some of the fish are hiding.