BLOG: Secret spots revealed

The cloak and dagger exchange of landmarks passed down from experienced old salts to trustworthy sources has become a thing of the past.

There's nowhere to hide these days. Case in point was when I was out off Sydney recently photographing a hefty 6kg snapper and I saw a boat moving in the distance. Old eagle eyes behind the wheel had spotted the trophy red and made a beeline for us. The smile and hand gestures conveyed a friendly pat on the back but I knew he hadn't come over to offer congratulations. His shifty little fingers had already captured our location, a swift waypoint grab on the GPS and the secret spot was no longer.

If old mate gave that spot to another person, who then gives it to another then the word secret is taken out of the equation. While old mate was sneaking off thinking he'd found the holy grail of fishing spots, reality is that I'd motored away a couple of k's so that I could take my time photographing the fish in a benign location. I'd given him a bum steer - I hope he catches a trophy there, I never have!

The transmission of information electronically can be more virulent than the spread of disease. Many smart phones, watches and cameras come equipped with GPS - if a location isn't captured by the GPS module directly then an image taken will likely contain a geotag with co-ordinates built in.
The technology is more prevalent than you might think, social networking sites can lock into your phone's GPS and display your whereabouts to your buddies; don't be fooled into thinking it difficult to capture location specific information these days. Imagine taking someone to your secret jewie hole, capturing a fish then having your new best buddy taking a happy snap on their phone and emailing it off, GPS co-ords and all.

Others are more brazen. I had this guy bring a portable GPS on board one time and switched it on as we were motoring to the first spot, he must have assumed that I would be fine with having all of my spots captured and milked so didn't bother asking what I thought - suffice to say we didn't catch a great deal that day and the spots we visited were  the same "hot spots" spruiked in the local newspaper. That guy hasn't been on board since.

There's a certain betrayal that dedicated fishos feel when someone misuses their trust and secretly records their faithful fishing locations. If people ask nicely then I'll guide them and give them advice on how to fish a certain location to optimise success - a short sighted grab for "spot x" will yield nowhere near the amount of useful information as a trusting conversation recounting how and why a particular region or location is worth fishing, even if the exact location remains undisclosed I’ll put them pretty close to the mark.

I guess this is why many successful anglers are cagey and fish alone or with a trusted crew - over the years the trust builds and those within the inner circle share information freely while outsiders are kept at a distance.
A close fishing buddy of mine catches more kingfish than anyone I know and has built considerable knowledge on his chosen grounds through years of hard work, trial and error. I've never fished his spots out of my boat and will only ever fish them with him; I have no desire to betray his trust and confidence - why would I when we often catch plenty while sharing some great trips together?

Newcomers to the sport want all the hot spots immediately and can become frustrated when no one shares. If you liken fishing to other spots such as soccer or tennis, then surely the first time you kick a soccer ball or serve a tennis ball you will struggle. After months and years of perseverance the skill will come, as will the spots.

Part of the satisfaction for me is in figuring out the pieces of the puzzle that lead to success. There's a certain pleasure I derive from thinking through the variables and coming up trumps with a prized catch. After spending the time and effort i'm happy to share the thought process with others and find the benefit lies in the thinking rather than the actual location.

I'm not here to scaremonger and promote clandestine behaviour, but with modern day technology the world seems to be a smaller place and there really are fewer and fewer genuine secret spots. There really is nowhere to hide.