In some ways, I think the Internet is the worst thing ever invented because it's ruined a lot of good fishing waters. How? Well, consider the case of the Lower Yuba River, which has been overrun with anglers since the World Wide Web came along.

With the internet came thousands of postings on countless message boards about how to get to the river, where to go and what to use. Guides and fly shops got in on the action and now run daily fishing reports about the Yuba on their Web sites.

The result has been a dramatic increase of fishing pressure on the river. Luckily, the stream is governed by catch-and-release regulations, so the fishery should hang in there. However, it's not the quiet and lonely experience it used to be.

The Upside

On the other hand, the Web has done wonders for some fishing-related retailers. For example, now small mom and pop tackle shops can post catalogs online and reach a global market instead of a limited local one. As for my guiding business, the Internet has been both a boon and a bust.

It is, without a doubt, my greatest source of new customers and has really helped me expand. I get over 14,000 visitors a month at my Web site - a ton more than I ever had when I advertised in other mediums.

Then again...

The downside, however, is people can now get up-to-the minute fishing reports and, if the action hasn't been all that hot for a few days, they don't book a trip until the fishing gets better.

Of course with fishing, things can and do change in a hurry, so a lot of people miss out on good bites because they wait too long to book trips. By the time they read that the action is picking up and get booked, the fishing can swing the other direction again.

I recently talked with a guide in Canada who said he used to always have the month of April booked solid with steelhead clients. At that time, the fishing's usually very good and most of his people would hook six to eight steelhead a day - excellent fishing by anyone's standards.

However, when the Internet became popular and people were able to do more research on that particular river system, they found that April was one of the slowest months of the year - and they stopped booking him during the month. These people had been quite content catching eight steelies a day until they read that you can catch 15 a day in August.

I'm excited - and more than a little apprehensive - to see what the future holds as the technology gets even more advanced.
http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/11/30/sports/local_sports/07richey.txt

Fish Lake Manitoba Narrows
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