“Secret” fishing spots are funny to me. Almost all anglers have a few locations they try not to tell others about. This could be an alpine lake that takes effort to get to or just a specific boulder on the Madison River. Whatever it is, anglers TRY to keep these spots hidden from other anglers for fear others will find out for themselves how special they are. If the word gets to the wrong person, those special spots may never feel the same to the anglers that kept the spot secret for so many years.
This is a topic I have been pondering in my fishing. What locations should I keep to myself and which should I share? If others know about the river or lake why should I feel pressure to keep secret where I am fishing? Why is it a bad thing other anglers know where I like to fish? These are just a few of the intriguing questions I’ve been asking myself as of late and do not have the answers for you today. It may take many more articles for me to fully understand my viewpoints on this topic.
It does seem though that each season there are fewer and fewer secrets here in the Greater Yellowstone Region. The question I will attempt to tackle is why. Why is it so easy for lesser-known locations to spread in your fishing circles? In this article, I will go over why I believe it is so hard to keep a fishery under the radar and my general opinion on secret fishing spots.
What is a Secret Fishing Spot?
Each angler has a few “secret” fishing spots that they believe the majority of other anglers do not fish or know about. The first problem we come across when discussing this subject is the fact that each angler has their own definition of secret.
Does this mean you’re the only angler that fishes it every season? I highly doubt that. Or it gets some pressure but the majority of local anglers do not know about it? Maybe it’s known by local anglers but goes under the radar to many traveling anglers. Lastly, it’s a spot that everyone knows about but you think is a secret spot as you fished it a few times lucky enough to not see a car parked there.
Our secret fishing spots and locations are relative based on the fishing community we surround ourselves with. If the anglers you fish with and talk to on a somewhat regular basis know of a spot, you may think of it as well-known. Even if the majority of anglers do not know of that fishery. The same goes the other way. You know of a fishery that your fishing circle does not. You may think of it as a secret location even if the majority of anglers know of that location. This is because the conversations you are having aren’t representative of the bigger picture, and it’s hard to realize that.
Overall we all have water we cherish and hold close to our hearts. Whether it be a bank on the Madison where we caught our biggest brown trout or the little stream your Grandpa used to take you as a kid. Each piece of water is special to someone and we should all have the utmost respect for others favorite water and fishing spots. I’m talking about all the water types and fishing locations that each of us anglers keep close to our hearts, no matter the popularity of the location.
But why are these fishing locations so hard to keep to yourself?
The Abundance of Information
Let’s start with the wealth of information that is available to us in present times. You talk to experienced anglers that have been fishing for 30+ years and they describe how hard it used to be to find information on the sport. From learning to tie flies to finding a place to fish, it was much more difficult back then. They learned through trial and error, relationships with local fly shops, and a few books that highlighted water bodies and techniques.
Today, all we need is a quick Google search and a plethora of rivers and lakes will pop up with detailed reports on species, techniques, and flies specific to that fishery. An angler can pull up a summary of the Madison River and know the best time to fish it, the best flies, and a breakdown of each section without ever seeing the river for him or herself.
Social media doesn’t help with many anglers looking to share their recent fish pictures at the expense of highlighting the location they caught the fish. When any of us anglers look at another’s fish picture, we spend more time looking at the background than admiring the catch. We analyze the background looking for key features that could give away the location the fish was caught. This inevitably draws more pressure to the locations getting shared frequently.
All this information available to us through books, the internet, social media, and podcasts is great for the sport. It flattens the learning curve for new anglers and allows for lifelong learning opportunities for anglers looking to have more fun on the water.
The problem with this information being readily available online is what it takes away from the sport. With abundant information available on so many fisheries, it takes away from the fun of exploring that goes along with fly fishing. I often find myself Google searching a place I am interested in fishing. I look at where to park, what species are present, how big are the fish surveyed, the best time to go, etc. By the time I’m done, I’ve got a full picture of what the day will look like and how the fishing will be. Doesn’t this take the fun out of the unknown?
For me, it does. My favorite days of fishing are often the ones I had the least expectations for. One of my favorite aspects of fishing is exploring a new stream and finding out for myself what the stream holds. With the internet and social media, this is getting harder to do.
More Anglers, Fewer Options
In the Greater Yellowstone Region, we are blessed with many amazing trout fisheries to choose from. With many famous fisheries in the area, it is a hotspot for anglers worldwide to travel to and fish these renowned waters.
Many of these watersheds are still healthy fisheries but have a few problems that make it difficult or unethical for us to fish at certain times of the year. The big one is rising water temperatures. We have fewer fishing options throughout the year due to increasing water temperatures in these fisheries. This leads to stressful conditions for trout and statewide fishing closures. With fewer options to choose from, specifically in the warmer months, anglers spread out to find other new fisheries that are open to fish.
The warming of our waters combined with a drastic increase in people getting into the sport is another reason many of our lesser-known locations are seeing more pressure. More anglers and volatile fishing options cause anglers to seek out new locations that may have been on your do not share list.
Dealing With Our Ego
The last reason why I believe secret spots struggle to stay secret is due to our ego. Fear and what other anglers think of you to be exact. We have a fear of being seen as weak or inadequate. We all experience feelings of self-doubt or not feeling enough. Our ego looks to soothe these feelings in many ways. We feel the need to prove to others our worth and skills.
This may not apply to you as you have worked through these emotions and are a naturally humble person. If so, I’d love to hear how you do it as I have struggled with this and know many others as well. I’m sure you have dealt with these feelings at some point in your life, even if you have moved on from them now.
How does this show in the fishing community? We anglers feel the need to show others our big fish and tell others about our secret fishing spots to calm our insecurities and doubts regarding the sport.
I see it not only in myself but in fellow anglers as well. Spots and locations we swore to never talk about slowly come up in conversations. There is always a point when you make a decision to share the location or keep it to yourself, depending on who you are talking to and how the conversation goes. In many situations, it is hard not to share.
Our desire to be seen as competent and a good angler comes through. Knowing lesser-known locations perceives to other anglers you know what you are talking about. So, you let the location slip and tell other anglers to not spill the beans, even though you probably already swore to the person that shared the location with you.
It is a lot harder to be quiet and humble. To be curious rather than right. I am often one of the shyest in the room but still find myself struggling with this dilemma. It’s difficult to have conversations about fishing and not want to bring up the stream where you fooled a 20-inch cutthroat. You at least share the pictures of the fish with other anglers and that inevitably leads to the question being asked. Where was that fish caught?
I have a funny story on exactly how not to do it. At a local fly fishing event, one of the fellow anglers started a conversation by bringing up an alpine lake that he knew held big cutthroat and how he was planning to fish it this summer. Naturally, other anglers were interested and asked where the lake was located. His response “Wouldn’t you like to know.” A classic example here of the ego leading the conversation.
This angler felt the need to share with others he found a lake where he can catch big fish. It pads our ego and our insecurities when we can tell other anglers about a secret lake that holds big fish that they don’t know about.
Why would you bring up a lake you want to keep secret in the first place? This scenario plays out in many conversations throughout the fishing community. How often do you meet a fellow angler and it only takes them a few minutes to bring up some secret location they fished last summer that held big fish? They may not tell you the name but the act of mentioning it and showing you pictures is not the best way to keep it a place of solitude.
This story is a premiere example of how our ego encourages us fishermen to share our secret fishing locations. I’ve made similar comments in the past and don’t blame any anglers for doing the same. We are all doing the best we can with the information we have.
You Are Not The First
The last point I would like to bring up on this topic is a perspective that is new to me. The realization that many of the waters I fish in the Greater Yellowstone region have been fished for decades by more talented anglers than I am. They had more information and knowledge on all of the creeks and lakes in the area than I ever will. Thinking that you are one of a few anglers to have ever fished a location on public land is an outlandish belief to me. It’s a relieving perspective change when you respect the many anglers that have come before you in this great sport.
My General Opinion
I respect each angler’s secret location, as every piece of water is special to someone. My general opinion on secret fishing locations is ever-changing. I have many locations that may not be secret in the grand scheme of things, but I would rather not share those locations because of the special memories I have fishing these spots. Don’t get me wrong, I have been the guy that spilled the beans on a location or two. From hot-spotting to sharing a spot that another angler was kind enough to share with me. I’ve made those mistakes and learned from them just like many of us.
My current opinion on the situation is this. If you truly want to keep a location under the radar, don’t share anything on the location. No photos, no conversations, no stories. Keep the location to yourself and the few anglers you shared the experience with. This is very hard as I’ve talked about, especially when you bring other anglers into the mix.
It’s important to realize the reason you are out there fishing in the first place. To have fun, whatever that looks like to you. Letting a little pressure on a trout stream ruin your day is just as much your fault as it is theirs. Understand that other anglers will eventually fish the same waters as you do, and that is okay. Letting other anglers take away from your day of fishing is a recipe for many unhappy days on the water.
There they are, my few theories on why there are no secret fishing spots. My vow when starting The Curious Angler is to not share any locations I deem special to my heart. No photos or stories will be shared from select locations. Not because they are secret and I don’t want anyone else fishing them, but because they are special to me and I would rather keep those experiences to myself. I encourage you to reflect on your favorite fishing spots and decide for yourself what you do with them.
All I ask is you don’t share them with me. They are more valuable to me when I am the one that discovered them for myself.
