Has The Internet Ruined Fishing?

Has the internet ruined the fishing? It's a subject that has riled up a lot of anglers here on Steelhead Alley and around the country. I started fishing for steelhead when I moved to Ohio. I started when cell phones made their debut and the internet was still in it's infancy. Back then, it was good old fashion learning by trial and error and walking off the beaten path. That's how I learned as an angler. Jumping 20 years later, me and the old timers often talked about the good old days when we could go to the lower Rocky and barely see anybody even on a weekend. Today, it's elbows and assholes and the influx of out of state licence plates in the parking lot. Even the far reaches of the Alley, I've seen more people out in recent years. 

That's why, there's a growing movement of people that absolutely hate what the internet has done to the favorite fishery. Here is a sampling of what I generally see whenever a thread gets blown up

"I'm sick and tired of these losers asking to be spoon fed, get off your lazy asses and do your own leg work"

"I can't find solitude anymore"

"More and more property will get posted"

"I hate people that give out specific locations"

"Our fishery will be ruined by out of towners"

Yes, the internet has made fishing a lot easier for today's angler. All the information is available with the click of the mouse - state fishery departments, USGS flow data, Youtube, Facebook, blogs, e-magazines, and even Uncle John's webcams at his camp on the lower Elk. The majority of anglers still use fishing websites to find out what the pulse of the Alley is like. I never post a report on the two most popular sites for Lake Erie steelheaders - steelheadsite.com and ohiogamefishing.com, because I've been banned from both. I'll admit for shits and giggles, I loved to stir the pot and rattle the moderator's cages. Both have declined in membership over the years because of the constant bickering and accusations. That biggest complaints are spoon feeding and naming locations on the rivers. The haters will attempt chase off any newbie or out of towner that dares to ask any questions.

If there's one thing the internet has created, it's the lazy inept steelheader. Instead of going out and learning from trail and error, they'll post question like "Are there any fish in the rivers?  or "Where are the best locations?" They'll start breaking out in a cold sweat Friday night and go into full panic mode when they get up Saturday morning and there are no reports. They come up with all of the excuses. They can't risk wasting gas because they live a couple hours away and there isn't enough time to figure out where the fish are. I call bullshit, because I live about 50 to 100 miles away from some of my favorite streams. I spend a lot of money on fuel and every angler knows that even the best conditions doesn't gaurantee you'll be hooking into fish. 

I tell newbies, the most reliable information is from the USGS website. They have stations on the Rocky, Vermilion, Chagrin, Grand, Conneaut, Walnut, and Elk. I have the flow data down pat as I know what is fishable on any given day. I also have several friends on speed dial and we're constantly chattering what river is producing and what river to avoid. More than often, I've bailed several friends out of a lousy outing and put them on fish. 

The internet isn't going away and I just see it as another tool to use. I've used it to gather information recently for a trip to the Catt in New York. I researched for any reports and I downloaded several maps of the Zoar Valley. Steelhead Alley has more steelhead per mile than any other streams in the lower 48 states, so word is bound to get out. Big numbers of fish equals big numbers of people. So don't panic when the latest person posts his latest outing and notice that 100 people viewed it because more than likely it's a bogus report to deflect pressure off his river. Because I know a lot of people who have done it.