louis
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Posts posted by louis
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If a baiting strategy was so great and realy worked why would it matter what anyone else did baitwise to the swim. The more the carp eat, the more they want to eat. To even entertain the thought of a baiting strategy that would produce big fish is a total waist of time. JMHO... Catch them all and your doing the best you can do. Its always easy to blame things that really matter not when the big fish don't show. Its the fish talking to you, all you have to do is listen, and it aint what anyone else it putting in the swim. jmho.
Tom.
cuz if there is a gaggle of dudes in the location you spent baiting up and no room left for you, then your efforts have been wasted. There are a lot of great fishing spots out in the wild that can only fit a couple of people you know...
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uhh Matt,
I am not behind this change.
I have a totally different idea for the forum and that will not be acted upon for a while once it is all complete.
Thanks again for your assumptions
Yeah, it has been talked about for years and came up in a discussion sparked by Andy and Mario... not from their mouths. I decided to give it a try. I think it's great, and I think there is still plenty more for non members. Honestly I was surprised so many people found it worth discussing at this length. It's nice to hear all the ideas though..
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Pa, some vendors still give a discount, it's listed on the home page.
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That's a great post. I agree 100% with your concept. I do think the regional reports sections should be members only but not what is left in the public area now. The rest should be left in public to allow non members to participate. To me their contributions are a gift. I really just support privacy in those areas as a member benefit. I am not into the idea of boxing guests out. I think giving new people and long term guests a chance to share is good for us in many ways.
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I just had something similar to say
Can't we compromise and make a Public/Private Regional section, give us the old public one back with threads that belong to guests that can no longer read them, and make a new fresh regional section for the guys who have stuff to hide. Some of us are here to meet other Carp fishers, so we can fish with people we actually more relate to, the regional section is the best place for this, and I believe guests have just as much right to meet other Carp anglers as the fee paying guys, I really believe this is the most unfair part about the change.
What do you think Louis? The regional section back to the public, and give the other guys what they asked for, A fresh Regional board that doesn't have all the posts from the past that we used to be able to enjoy, you know, the stuff others were not trying to hide.
I think a compromise is in order, and I appreciate that you are making suggestions now. I think it would be best to make a new reports forum in the free area though. A more general place with less or no regional sub categories.
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There is one trick to viewing a few threads in the Members only section. I'll have to give Mr. Bigs recipes a try, since he only swears by them. It seems like the Bait section has more recipes than the Top Secret bait section.
Why hold a secret from just a few people, seriously, why even post a report if you only want a few eyes to see it, $25 doesn't make you more trustworthy, so any one of those people can share the members only info with anyone else on the outside world, I know I would.
And post one of my rigs on a UK Forum and see what kind of response I get, I think outside of the box, I don't stick to one rig the rest of my life, nowadays, I am running 50lb tuffline leader with a longshank (not a nailer), I use lead clips nowadays as well, so what would the Euro guys have to say about me? What do you think they would have to say about you and your ways?
I have learned a few things on this site, but I learn the more complex stuff on Google and Yahoo, search engines don't need a membership and $25, and you get all the info you want and then some.
People who are thinking about getting a membership, don't, it's overrated, the people who post in the members only section are not Scientists, they are regular people who are still learning as they go, your not going to learn some new breakthrough in the Carp world by just paying a fee, if there is a breakthrough, CAG will probably be the only place keeping it a secret so they can convince a few more guests.
I think the people on UK forums would have similar things to say about both of us.
And yes, the regular bait section does have more than the secret section. Pictures, Stories, and Video are a great place to read and post reports too. There's tons of stuff here. I realize that you think this is all about trying to get people to pay, but that is not what I think is good about it at all. If you fished in some other parts of the country, and if you were in this scene a bit longer, you would understand why many members would enjoy adding a layer of privacy to their reports. I am not even sure why you want to read the reports section so much, because as far as I can tell, you don't fish with other people on CAG... And you can still post all you like in the pictures and stories thread.
You'd never know if a membership is over rated if you never had one. And google won't ever talk back to you and tell you how to improve your rigs like I spent a good amount of time doing.
I even scanned a drawing for you. I guess, to you CAG is a forum only, and that is probably why you don't get it. -
Louis,
Hi, I was an experienced Carp angler moving from the UK to NC when I came across this site, so really all I was looking for was fishing contacts and to get a few questions answered on licenses and what to expect in this area before I arrived, but mainly I was just looking for fishing contacts. As you state most people are looking for friendship and/or fishing buddies, strikes me as you'd want to do that locally and therefore the regional forums would be the logical place? Perhaps I was a little unusual in what I was looking for, I don't know what your average new visitors expectations or requirements are.
The forum has some pretty good information on it with regards rigs, methods and bait etc and I have since read a lot of it but that was not what I was originally looking for and I needed the advise of people off the forum first to guide me as regards what I should be looking at and learning about. There are 101 Carp sites and blogs out there that just list information (and believe me I looked at a lot of them), what made CAG stand out for me though was that I could get in contact with and interact with other Carp anglers locally and they seemed like a pretty friendly bunch. Even if the "how to" information was what I was looking for first though, once I'd read it or saved it to a favorite for future reference I would have no other reason to come back.
I enjoy reading the stories and looking at some of the pictures and videos but again on their own they wouldn't have kept me here over any other site.
I wouldn't have been willing to pay a membership on the off chance of finding some contacts locally.
You're right, totally open sites can be a nightmare to moderate. The only thing we have found that helps on open sites is to require an email address for people to register and insist that they post under their real name. You're doing well I think to only require one moderator with so many members even if members only sites are usually easier to moderate.
As you say it's just something you will have to try.
Regards
Paul
Thanks,
Do you think there may be some happy medium, such as a new forum for meeting carpers in your area. without having to make all of those local sections? The thing about CAG is, if you had originally posted, "hey I am looking for other carpers and advice about xx area," I am sure people would respond. That is how our members are.
again I appreciate your thoughtful reply.
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there may be specimen carp there...
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There's alot of people here I rub the wrong way, I know that.
I think you might be wrong about that... You post a lot of good stuff. It just doesn't make sense how much you participate here and say you hate it and I think it confuses people.
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The Fish-ins ideally would be for all guests of the forum...a hub for communication for newbies.
I'd like to see EVERYTHING moved to the members only and then start a whole NEW section catered for forum guests.
Fish-Ins
Carp angling 101
Fish Safety
Teasers for Naca
Teasers for bait making
Teasers for Big CAG events
Teasers for Discovery/FFF/Carper Exchange program
Greeters section
Help section
This forum is a marketing tool and a hub for communication. Members pay for this along with our Business Supporters and forum guests get to enjoy what others have created and keep afloat. You don't want to support what your expressing your opinion about then don't.
If I'm elected the above is the route I will push for and will be one of the first Committee Topics for CAG Members to partake in and help with designing the new layout.
BTW...the fishing is hot right now, I'll be posting a Discovery Adventure soon with a couple new..ahh well soon enough I'll have it up....hope others have some Discovery stories to share too
You are the boss now, but I would like to be on the committee and I would like to suggest thinking very hard about going so far. People join for a lot of reasons and stay for a lot of reasons but, one of the biggest is friendship. It's going to be tough to make friends in a marketing area. Also, I feel very strongly that the entire events section should be in the public and I have very good logic behind that feeling. That is part of a strategy that is just starting to take hold and it would mean a lot to me if you would consider continuing it. I would love to talk to you more about it. It goes back to something I said in my last PM to you. If you want to get the ball rolling, call me up and let me know how you envision the above and I can start building it
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I agree with your ideas on strategy as far as engaging non members. I feel very strongly about it actually. And I can tell you are really thinking for the best of the club.
But I look at this regional move as a benefit to members more than something to entice non members. I think the regional reports are something that would grow and members would appreciate more with added privacy. I was surprised to hear that the regional section was the first place you went. It seems to me most beginners look to basics in rigs, bait etc. Carp are everywhere and beginners usually don't seek trophies as much as they want to learn how to catch consistently.
Don't you think maybe if the regional forums were not visible when you found this site, that you might have also been engaged by pictures, stories and video? There are a million awesome reports in there. Or what about the bait/methods forums? Or the tutorials?
As far as what we would find if we had a completely open forum... That is another thoughtful point.
We used to. And the forum was much less friendly. There were many more arguments, more secrets and more bad feelings over secrets. There were so many disagreements that we had an army of moderators and even a secret password protected area for mods to discuss their strategy where the directors could not see. One of the most popular forum topics was how to run the forum, who should be punished and how. Today we have one moderator who rarely has to do anything, and far fewer arguments. What changed? Brian created the members only area when he was president. In my administration, we moved some of the more volatile topics in there. We again allowed bow fishing, religion and politics, which were such heated topics they were banned for discussion altogether in Brian's day. Members discuss these things freely now, and cordially for the most part. Regional reports are different, and time will tell how it pans out. I trust Andy and Mario to make the right decision if this turns out to be a failure. Sometimes you have to try something and see if it works or not
As a member and moderator of several private and public boards I'm kinda disappointed to see the regional boards move and think it is a big mistake.I'm not a member of CAG at the moment but have been considering it, not because I particularly want to see the members area but more because I feel that I should put something back to support the board if I'm going to use it. However I don't like to feel that I'm being coerced into it and currently if the board remains as it is I think it's more likely that I'll just drift away.
When I first found this board the regional board was the first I read and the first I posted on, it helped me make some good friends here and I thank CAG for that. However if I was to stumble across this board now for the first time I don't now see anything that would convince me that it was worth joining or even visiting again.
What you display on the public boards is what convinces new prospects that it's worth joining or investigating further. Few people will pay for something without sampling first.
A lot of the big Barbel and club boards in the UK have found similar things to be true, private boards actually discourage new members, you need to display content to encourage people to join or investigate further. Private boards are okay if you already have a stable membership and are happy at that level, existing members like the idea of private boards. However in practice unless all the members know each other you still rarely get any better information posted than you would on a public board. You get a flurry of new posts at the start and then it dies back to where it was so you end up back where you started but you've missed the new members in the meantime. Add to that a natural wastage of membership and it can be difficult to recover.
You might argue that your private section has better information posted than the public section and that is probably true because people have a choice of where to post, but if you had no private section you'd probably find that information would have ended up being posted on the public section anyway. All things considered, I'm strongly of the opinion that it's better to have an open board and if you need to raise funds than do it through advertising, selling merchandise or a shop. Large private boards don't work, with a large membership they're still not private enough in the long run to encourage openness.
Regards
Paul
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I dont care either way , I think its kind of funny, I know too many anglers in my State to keep up with events.....BUT to me sounds as if Louis is trying a power move before the elections when he gets kicked out, lets just hope the next Pres. takes control of the tight buddy group that runs this place like its thier own sand box and only let those in who kiss thier butts and do what they say.
Some day you in positions will be gone , and then CAG will come back to its grass roots and become great again.
Hope most of you that dont get keep your titles , do like the ones before you who also didnt do a good job and just fade into the bakground and go away.
Way to keep the conspiracy theories alive. If you only knew how corny all that stuff sounds from the other side. I am just trying to help put in motion the ideas Andy and Mario have sparked. I don't need to make a power move. I resigned, I did not run against them, and I don't need credit for their ideas. The voting stuff is just a formality in my opinion, to squelch bs conspiracies like yours. I don't want them to have to put up with all the bs I did when I stayed on as president when no one else ran. As far as I am concerned, they are already in office, and I could not be more happy about it.
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Nah Pat,
A new section solely for posting CAG fish-ins and fish-in results.
That is a great idea. I made all of those sub categores in events so we would be able to see events from years past in the same place easily- like atc, big 4, etc. But I never thought of fish ins. Nice one
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Looks like anyone can do a personal attack on here but I can't even ask a question. Really great mod work, NOT!
There's only one mod here and he can't read the whole forum every day. Usually he only makes a move if you report a post. So try that instead of attacking him
Also, I didn't realize he was talking about you
Laugh, I'm kidding Ed! They banned me over there when I had not even logged on in 3 months!
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You've got to be kidding. USCarp Pro bans people just for a minor criticism of their behavior. While I totally disagree with the way Louis is treating the guests on this board, USCP is not the answer
Hi Ed,
It wasn't actually my idea to move the regional sections. It has been suggested many times over the years and most recently got a lot of support in the members section. It's not a strategy trying to treat guests in a worse way, just treat the members in a better way. It may end up not being so great... if so we'll change it back. It doesn't hurt to try, right?
If lots of members think it's a bad idea then that is what matters. The site is for them after all. In this thread we have 2 guys hating on the idea who seem like they'll probably never join anyway. Why would we cater to them more so than the members? I recently learned that the MI50 muskies site charges something crazy like $20 a month to see the reports section. And honestly, of all the sportsmens groups in the country I think they are the most like us.
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any idea how deep it is? How soon will you fish it?
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nice one. Next warm spell you oughta microjig some gills and freeze em.
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Here's one I had this weekend too
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It's always about the extra bucks, I am from Oregon, most of the guys from my area contribute reports to a few other forums (local and worldwide) and have blogs. So I am not really missing out on anything.
But I understand when it's about trying to make an extra buck, and it probably will work. I though the member only section had a section for secret catch reports, but now, everything is turning into a secret. Maybe I would believe I am missing out on a lot if Scientists and Ichthyologists were contributing to the member only section, I think google and Yahoo will eventually lead me to the same info I can find in that section, and then some.
• Most of all: go fishing, share with others, and have fun!
• Most of all: hide your favorite methods from the beginners, pay your membership fee, and enjoy what you could've learned on a UK forum or Google
I understand your feelings but there is still a section for beginners, several. The secret section in the members area did not have local sub forums, and many members appreciata the idea of only sharing those kind of details in a secret place. We are not trying to make an extra buck, just any bucks. It's a non profit group you know... very few of us get paid. You could use google to learn, but this is a club, the #1 benefit is the people you meet and the things you share with them. Also, I would love to see the discussion unfold on a UK forum after you posted some of your rigs...
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best quote ever.
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Alright! Congrats
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As some of you know, the Salmon river is the biggest sport fishery in the North East. Well mother nature through its furry at it and Anglers are at it's mercy.
For pics of my home town waters. see the link below.
There is a wall in town that my son would fish from. Brings new meaning to the term tear down this wall.
Oh 15000 is the water level in CFS. the mean levels like 450 this time of year.
This weekend is the busiest weekend of the year.
http://www.salmoncrazy.com/vforums/showthr...945-15-000-pics
Wow, Shoudl make for some interesting changes in the layout of the river.
Hey, i forgot to post about it, but I slayed it a couple weeks ago. I even caught an atlantic
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LOL right back into the fire......why not pick a place that doesnt have potential restrictions for next year ...less grief angst etc for everyone.
Great idea, lets go somewhere most of the members willing to travel won't be.
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Does Dave have the authority to keep the public off public lands/waters? Sure, he can ask participants in his tournament not to prefish but keeping everyone out seems a little extreme. And I don't know if there is any good reason for it.
Oh it's not like that. We could probably do it, but some of our participants would be fishing the CAWC, and they'd be disqualified if they fished in pegged areas.
CAG
in Pictures, Stories & Video
Posted
I have to say I agree with you almost completely.
I liked moving the regional sections because it will encourage members to share more in some instances... or maybe not. Many have suggested it and it seemed worth a try. I don't think we should lock up anything else, and I think it would be a great idea to build a place for guests and non members that was similar to the regional area but based more on meeting people than reports. There has been a lot of discussion in the last few days behind the scenes about how to do that.
Lots of sites keep locations secret in one way or another because it is a famous for anglers to get into arguments about it. The biggest striped bass forum on the internet will BAN you if you post a location at all because there have been so many personal arguments about it. MI50 (muskies) charges a MONTHLY fee similar to our yearly fee to see reports with location just to keep non serious angler out.
I never saw this as a way to box people out, rather to give another option to members.
Also, Andy and Mario can change anything as soon as they step in, and I'll support them too. It wouldn't matter if I created something today or two years ago. I can plea with them, but it's their ship and their decision come Thursday. If you wanna bust my balls for putting in effort until the bell rings, well... great job cutting down a hard working volunteer for doing what he thought was best... again.