Thanks again for all of the nice comments. It puts a big smile on my face and means a lot.
I got off the water today to find the attached image on my truck, which, I dunno... Comes of vaguely threatening....
Especially since I've heard stories about people getting their tires slashed where I fish, *and* I've been hassled for posting reports in the past.
Since whichever lurker did this thought it would be the most appropriate way to get my attention, and I clearly have your attention here, I had some time to think about my response to this on my way home from fishing today....
Maybe this is an overreaction. Maybe I don't like people putting their hands on my dirty ass truck.
I'm not sure if this is a common sentiment but I was raised to use my words, and I have the damn conch.... So... uhhh... here... Have some words I guess.
(*cracks knuckles*)
Look, I get the whole culture of discretion around fishing... It takes a lot of work to scout spots and figure out what works for any given area.
When I first joined this forum, I had to have a few things explained to me. I get it.
I've relied on people more experienced than me to share their knowledge, and in discretion to boot. You know who you are.
I've had spots that I researched, found, then shared with friends only to have them take everyone they know when I wasn't around...
And I don't share spots with those people anymore.
I get it. I get the discretion thing.
But this is silly.
But can we all agree on a few things here?
1) Fishing is in decline. Just look at the numbers. 55% decline trend in annual license sales since 1980.
2) There's literally a hackneyed expression "there are plenty of other fish in the sea". Nobody's going to come out to (*redacted secret 49 mile stretch of coast*) and catch all of the fish.
3) Kayak fishermen are not going to overfish a spot. Every time I'm out fishing the area, I see at least 3-4 private boats, and that's to say nothing of the party boats.
4) Fishing this stretch of coast is *hard* and prohibitive. There's not a single easy-access launch, the waves can be downright brutal, and the fishing isn't *that* great. There's better rockfishing up north. There's better YT/WSB down south. What good fishing there is takes a lot of work to dial in, and it's not like the unwashed masses are going to be experts on day one. If I had my pick, I'd live closer to La Jolla.
5) It's not like it's some secret location that nobody knows about. It's been popular for fat pasty midwesterners on vacation and valley dwellers alike since the *freakin' Beach Boys*.... California Geography aside, I FOUND THE REEFS I FISH ON A DAMN FISH-N-MAP
I could keep this list going all afternoon, but I think you take my point.
All of this is to say, you may think you're protecting some great big secret, but I can assure you the hoards of kayak fishermen are not coming for your unfettered waters.
And on that note, anyone who does manage to get 100+ pounds of their glorified tupperware
and fishing gear through the surf without a yard sale/injury has my respect and my blessing.
Shoot me a DM even. I probably won't take you fishing, but I'll probably at least offer some support.
Anyway....
That video I made was a lot of work. A good bit of the work was convincing myself I'm not an asshole for making it, and just getting started on it feels like going out on a limb.
So yeah.... Shit like this pisses me off a bit.
I went out of my way not to utter the words of the beach community that shall not be named. Yeah, there are a couple of blips of some stairs with graffiti on them and a beach that thousands of people drive by every day.
I get annoyed by kooks as much as the next person, and I'm not looking to fish near or with assholes.
I get it. But FFS, I get bummed out by people who find something they *really* love, and their instinctive reaction is "we have to make sure nobody else knows about it" I wish half of my good non-fishing friends had the grit to drag ass out of bed at the crack of dawn and expose themselves to that much salt, stink, and harsh elements.... But most people don't. So I try to find fishermen to be friends with, and jesus christ people with this attitude make it hard.
Anyway, whoever did this, I'll make you a deal-
I'm not going to stop making videos. It's a hobby for me and a fun one.
BUT- I'll be sure to blur/edit out any precious defining features of your clandestine enclave like so many private parts in so many japanese pornography films.
What I don't like is worrying about whether my truck is ok while I'm out fishing.
This is one of my favorite ways to unwind, and I have enough shit to think about when I'm getting out as it is.
My deal for you is this-
Don't touch my truck again, and I won't make it my single-minded goal to get internet famous with these videos and publish an exhaustive guide to every launch site in the area with all of my reef coordinates and species specific instructions for noobs *just* to prove a point.... All because I'm just that big of an asshole.
