Selling Spots

In light of recent posts, it makes me wonder how most crappie guys feel about selling gps coordinates to spots. I can maybe see it for spots you built, but how about for piles that others have built?? Seems like a way to make a quick buck from someone else's hard work.

Crappie Fishing 101 No No's???? Lol

I am okay with selling the information you have accumulated over years of fishing. I know a guy that put GPS spots on a lake map with information on catching bass. He was a Guide and Tournament fisherman, I think he sold that map for $300 or more, he didn't create any of those spots, he just knows they are good. I have a friend that bought a map from him.

I think it is splitting hairs, and hairs on the rear of a flea at that.

You can tell if you are a leader if anyone is following you. You can also tell if your information has value when people will pay you money to have it.

So if you built brush piles, and someone sold the coordinates to those spots you built, you would be OK with that?

you will learn that information is power and money $$$$$

what is google all about? selling information and gathering from what you type everyday on your computer and cellphones.

If you don't want people to find/ fish/ sell your brushpile or whatever. Keep it in the boat. Once you kick it overboard it's outta your control

Yes. People will or have set a GPS coordinate of them, they are in a public lake. I gave away any ownership when I sunk them in the lake.

A brush pile becomes public domain once placed in a lake.

There are no secrets anymore, I went fishing with a friend in his boat , we had never crappie fished before together.
First three stops were on " my " spots.

Mo.

I agree if it's legal and you can make money at it then do it. This is America right?

I agree with the public domain, no questions there. If you find it you can fish it, but to sell it and profit from someone else's work? Come on, have a little respect.

HEY PAYING THE PRICE FOR A LIFTIME OF FISHING SPOTS THAT CAN HELP YOU BE A BETTER FISHERMAN AND TO CUT COUNTLESS YEARS OF LEARNING LAKES IS WELL WORTH IT... HE IS NOT SELLING THE PILES HE IS SELLING THE SPOTS.....COOL OFF ITLL BE ALRIGHT!!!

PLUS BUYING FROM A LOCAL LEGEND...IF I HAD THE MONEY I'D BE ALL OVER IT!!
WHAT DO YHOU THING A GUIDE DOES CHARGES PEOPLE TO FISH HIS SPOTS ALSO TO SHOW A GREAT TIME BUT ALSO YOU ARE FISHING HIS SPOTS!!

HOW MANY PEOPLE AFTER TAKING A GUIDED TRIP GO BACK A WEEK OR TWO LATER AND MARK THOSE SPOTS AND THEN CLAIM THEM AS THEIRS AFTER THE FACT....YOU ARE COMPARING APPLES HERE!!!

Sorry bout that. We will leave those spots alone from now on

I will sell all of my spots marked on my graph and very few are brush piles.

Not!

Might as well go ahead and take free hand outs!!!!!!!

Put in the hard work, that's what America used to be about.

Anyone want Stubby's spots ?

I’ve watched this forum for quite some time and usually keep my opinions to myself (as you can see this is my first post) but I thought this topic was interesting enough to give a response. I think there are a couple different parts of this debate to consider. Depending on how you were raised, personal beliefs, occupation in life, etc… it will probably determine what side of the fence you fall on. Call me an “old fuddy duddy” or “traditionalist” but I learned throughout life there are typically “makers or takers” out there and in this case potentially “sellers” too. I guess I fall into the “maker” category.

My home lake happens to be one with not a lot of natural structure, so I decided long ago to “build it and they will come”. Yes, I do agree 100% with those that say once you sink the condo/structure it’s public property. No debate about that at all. And I know and accept that - even after having put in tons of time, energy, and money building my stuff. I built my condos/structure alongside my children and I hope they and my grandkids can fish that same structure for years to come. But that doesn’t make it “right” for someone else to sell that spot that I made or furthermore actually make money off my structure and the time and the resources that I put into building it. Again, I accept that people will find my structure and they can go ahead and fish my piles, but just don’t sell them to 10 more people and make a profit off them.

I have no problem with someone being generous and giving out free waypoints when they personally created the structure for that spot. It is “bad” enough if someone wants to give away for free the condo locations I made, (again it’s in a public lake, so I accept it) but it goes to a whole other level when someone would actually try to sell (for profit) a condo location that I’ve made. It just goes back to common decency and respecting other sportsman in my book. You just don’t profit off something that is not yours to begin with in the first place.

Someone posted earlier something to the extent “if it’s legal and you can make money, do it – this is America”. There is a big difference between being legal and being right and wrong. For example – It is perfectly legal to abort/kill an unborn child in America also. Does that make it “right” to do? A step further is a group trying to sell the body parts of those dead babies for a profit. Which some folks have no problem with. Sadly that is the mentality of many Americans today. Our great nation is still the greatest on earth, but it doesn’t have the morals, ethics, and values it did 50 years ago!

Just an ole man's observation. I can not help but see a correlation between entrepreneurs and patents and those fish condos. In the world of business, not reinventing the wheel over and over is what creates progress. Henry Ford did all the work to invent the first automobile but look how many different manufactures copied his work. I completely understand the "I did all the work and if you want to use it, then go find it yourself" thing, but that is just not the way it works. That is why Lowrance and Hummingbird have created graphs with sidescan so I can "EASILY" find your condo as much as 100' to either side of the boat. Someone driving around and collecting the location data is nothing short of entrepreneurship and that too I understand. It is only a matter of time that all these hot maps that I pay out the nose for will have all those condos marked as well and published in a public map. Why, because they can. And not to stir any feathers, I am glad that they can. I don't get to fish but 5 or 6 times a year and when I get on the water, I want to maximized my catch ability the best I can. JMHO

Did you even read the initial post?

yes i did and i game my opinion to this remark

To those opposed to someone selling their spots for money I'd like to ask. Do you run up to a boat you see fishing "your" spot and ask if they are a guide? They are making money off "your" spot? You relinquish ownership the second you let go of it into the water. Paying for a product is not the same as a free handout. I guess y'all always build everything from scratch and never buy any product that is not raw materials? Otherwise you have let somebody else do the hard work of building that product for you. You guys are amazing! Call your momma and cry to her, then pull your big girl panties up and get back to having fun fishing.

C Worthy - I think you are on to something. I am an entrepreneur and own my own business, and it sounds like you get the "makers vs takers" mentality. Yes, I've also made some pretty neat condos over the years that I've thought about putting a patent on also As I stated a couple times before I have no problem with you or anyone else finding my structure and accept it will happen in time. What I do have a problem with is someone else profiting from my work and selling a location that I created. I think you'd agree that when you take your kids or grandkids out crappie fishing and you head to your favorite spot (that the two of you actually made together) and there are 3 other boats sitting on it - because someone sold that waypoint on a forum like this in order to make a dollar - I'm quite certain you'd have a problem with that also. Again, I have no problem with people finding and fishing my spots, and them having fun catching crappie with friends and family (that's what it's all about), just don't sell them for a profit. That's where I draw the line!

Just for clarification in your first line when you say "selling (their) spots" do you mean spots that the person has actually built? If so, and they actually built it, then sell away. I'm not against people selling their own waypoints if they actually built the structure. But if they simply "found" it, then go ahead and fish it, catch lots of crappie on it, be generous and share it with others, but just don't sell that waypoint for a profit. That's all... No one should be crying, we should be out having fun fishing and using a little old fashioned common sense and decency toward our fellow fishermen.

To each his own. I would never buy coordinates. But if someone else don't know how to get out there and enjoy the adventure of trying to find them and catch them with their own techniques then go for it.

Have you ever bought a lake map? How about a road atlas? GPS?
Ponder that for a moment.

The technological revolution in fishing will not stop today. This discussion may seem silly in 10 or 20 years when we have crappie "drones" scanning the water and powerful artificial intelligence telling us how and where to fish along with telling us everything else in life.

I suspect GPS technology and high end electronics has hurt fishing guides all in all if you think about it. Back in the day, a guide's knowledge and experience would be more valuable. We all must adapt and make honest money where we can. Selling coords that someone finds in a pubic lake built with public tax dollars seems fair enough to me.

I don't have a dog in this fight so I don't care either way, but ummm how do you know if someone's on your BP weather they found it, or bought it? Also how do you know weather the person who sold the location may just thought he discovered a spot holding fish and years later sold the spot(everyone doesn't have down scan lol)? It also takes work and money finding structure weather their natural or someone puts them there. I have spider rigged on a lake without electronics and found a honey hold am I suppose to think it belongs to someone so I shouldn't publish it in a lake map or if I was a guide NOT MAKE MONEY off it catching fish with a client? Guys there is a lot of ways to look at this but I think the brightest road to travel is once its in the lake its everyone's to do what they will with it. If you don't agree with it its simple, don't support it. We all pay taxes, gate fees and for license but have very little say so when it comes to the waters we fish so practice your beliefs and standards and let others practice theirs no ones really wrong here... IMHO RUFF

Name your favorite local lake and I will spend several days scanning your lake and sell you and 500 others all the cords that I find on that lake.

Been too much going on round here. Amazing how quickly this thread grew!

more like several years those maps include all local lakes for most part. lol

There are many views to this question and I'm not condemning any of them. Here's a couple other considerations.

Let's say I hunt deer in one of the national forests in east TX. While scouting I find two tree stands with food plots. When I get home, I go on a hunting forum and advertise to sell those coordinates. Any difference here than BPs?

I post on the forum to sell coordinates to the brush piles I built.
Then I post to sell coordinates to all the brush piles Bill Muntz and Max Jordan put in Lake Belton. Does associating a name with those BPs make you feel any different?

Sportsmanship: an aspiration or ethos that a sport or activity will be enjoyed for its own sake, with proper consideration for fairness, ethics, respect, and a sense of fellowship with one's competitors.

I spent 10 years in TN and this reminds me of one of my favorite place to go if I wanted a few rainbows to eat. It's a pay to fish place called Nutt Cave Trout farm. I loved it when someone brought little kids to fish there. They would supply the poles and bait, and all the kids had to do was catch fish. So much fun to watch 20 kids get their poles already baited and then spread out around the big pond. What was funny was when the first kid caught a fish. All the sudden all of them would clump in the same location fighting to get where the first fish was caught. This reminds me of the parents that tried to get the kids spread out again. It never worked because the kids would always go to the spot where the next fish was caught. Just my .02 but if the guy wants to sell his knowledge then it's up to him and the person that's buying it. Others may have that knowledge but this guy spent the time finding these locations so his clients could have a good time, rather than spending the time to go out to the lake and do the same thing. If he's found places that he can catch fish fairly easily then it's his time and knowledge he's selling, not real-estate after all.

Let's quick dancing around it. This is all about Ernest Paty selling his waypoints on his main 4-5 lakes.
Let me point out a couple of things:
#1 - There are few people, if any, who have put out as much man made structure as Ernest over the years.
#2 - There are few people, if any, who have given out more FREE and useful crappie fishing advice as Ernest.
#3 - As stated before, ALL structure in the lake is public domain and knowledge. You may not like it when someone finds and/or shares "your" pile, but it's not "yours" to dictate any more.
#4 - If you don't think a guy like Ernest "worked" to get those waypoints, you're delusional. Whether he built them, found them, or someone else shared them with him, he put in the time to gather them. Once a WP is in someone's graph, it's their's, like it or not.
#5 - Speculating here, but do you really think he sold "all" of his waypoints? lol! I doubt it. I'm sure the ones that were lesser known that maybe friends had shown him were left off.

Bottom line... There his waypoints to do with what he wishes. Let's move on and go fishin!

Oh, by the way...
I would personally NEVER sell any waypoints. That doesn't mean I can't appreciate some else's right to do so if he chooses.

I'm not a fan. In fact, I'm concerned that with the constant onset of new technology, especially side imaging, people are starting to get lazy and find new structure, instead of building new habitat.

I'm finding new spots are a must for two reasons.

1. Many spots deteriorated and need to be brushed back up.

2. With the lakes levels being so low for so long the spots that were good are not now due to depth changes.

If anglers are not putting in the work and plan on fishing the old spots I wish them the best of luck.

Nothing has changed. Mother nature will always dictate the movement of fish and spots will continue to change.

I really liked what Ken Gaby wrote. I always like what he writes though. He is very knowledgeable and very thoughtful before he pushes submit post.

Good point and agreed. In my twisted way I was trying to say, put in the hard work it's more rewarding and you just might learn something!

Ken, I can't believe you found my food plots. Grin.

Completely understand Ken's perspective, and that deer spot analogy does make you pause. Nonetheless, I still believe that a guy has a right to do what he pleases with his waypoints.

I also agree with Lane that people seem to be getting lazy about "building their own" spots. With the newer technology, it will get harder and harder to keep your spots private too. Not sure what long term affects that will have, but it's a good topic to debate and consider.
I personally put out about as many BPs & Condos as I find. I just built and sank about 30 new spots just this summer, but I don't think that's the norm.

Ken's post also got me thinking...
What if one of the guys who "bought" all of those waypoints turned around and sold them to someone else. Would I feel differently, considering who sold them? I think the answer is yes, it would bother me more. So I can see both sides.

So do you agree or disagree with my post, Tommy? I can't really tell from what you wrote.

Also reminds me of when we used to duck hunt the west end of RC back in the early-mid 90s. Guys started seeing where we were killing all our birds and found our blinds, so they started hunting the same spots. We had to start getting up at 3 instead of 4 to beat folks to what we considered "our" spot. It's just one of many headaches when hunting & fishing "Public" land and water.

I abide by the law of the land or water in this case. Once it's in the water it's public property. I however think some laws need to be changed when they conflict with ones moral compass. Generally speaking of coarse.

DI and SI certainly changed the game but it's still tons of work and money to do a proper scan. New piles as conditions change will always be needed and from my experience many have and will continue to be lazy when it comes to new cover.

This discussion has given me an idea. YES REALLY I do not have the resource (place to do it, time to do it, etc) but like any other hobby, I would be willing to donate to an "trustworthy" individual on the lakes that I fish to build and place habitat. In return for that donation, I would get the coordinates of all the habitat that he put out. While I actually did no work to put those habitats out, I would benefit from it. If say 25 people paid this same guy for the same lakes, he would have himself a business and the benefit of several new habitat coordinates. Hmmmm, if some really good folks would consider that. Wouldn't this be the same as paying a lease landowner to fertilize his grass or plant something for dove or deer or whatever and you pay him for the effort.

Hell, I know what lake you fish. Let's just go fish and I will show you the "how to", it's cheaper than buying them and the cover we will fish will have crappie on it, no need to check someone else's way points all day long to see if they even holding fish. Could be the wrong time of the year for paid for way points.

You might want to take Kirk up on that offer C Worthy.

I LIKE IT I was actually addressing the point that Lane said about the diminishing habitat. That really is something to think about. BUT with that said, I like Kirk's suggestion better.

I will take Kirk up on his offer I will supply everything anytime - any day lets findem on my lake he needs to makea trip to gods country anyhow. Ha.I have fished with probably 25 or 30 guys on the forum most are not on here anymore.All gave me cords on dozens of lakes .I would never ever give much less SELL any of those waypoints to anyone .Thats just me I know the work involved and the dissipointment it is to get on the lake to make your milk run and someone is on your spot then the next time you hit the lake and someone else is on your spot etc.Lakes that are great fishing lakes you might be satisfied to just move on but if your home lake is mediocre or small then it's a different ball game.From what I have read there's a few I would not rob a bank withHa Ok I'm through Darrell

Get over it guys !! With today's technology and the amount of fishermen and women on the lake, there are no true "secret" spots anymore. The guides that make a living fishing , I am sure are fishing some spots that they happened to stumble across and did not put them there themselves. Are they supposed to pass that spot up and not fish it because someone else put it there ? They , or you did not have any blood , sweat , or tears making that structure. Whats the difference ?

I don't know exactly what is being sold. If it's one's personal spots or all accumulated locations.

I'm not judging anyone.

I will say the rule of thumb is " you find it and you fish it".

Never have I heard of "you find it you sale it". Many could easily scan some lakes and sale the info but there is obviously a reason this isn't done. Just saying.

Bottom line: folks bought way points because they have produced many fish for many years for Ernest....

I don't see anyone gawking over the rods, reels an tackle he is selling and they to produced many fish for many years.

My guess is it was a decision he made not to let those spots go to waste and put the funds towards a good cause for his grand daughters education to college. Kudos to him...

Yes folks will pay for said information coming from such a person that gave so much for the love and joy of the sport.....

Think of it like this. The information they purchased was a good find for them just as if they drove across it in their boat and hit mark.

How many times has a buddy shared a way point or two with you. I know several here talking in this thread that have shared with me and visa versa.

No harm No foul here.

I'm going back to fishing now....

Kirk give him the Senior Citizens discount and also throw in the handicap discount too since he only has one thumb. Heck he can really only backreel with one hand....

I'm not sure why you'd like to purchase GPS coordinates that just got sold to 20 or 30 other people. Let's say it's 20 people that purchased the coordinates. Each one of those 20 people usually has a fishing partner. Coordinates immediately are in the hands of 40 people. Most fisherman aren't exclusive to 1 partner. So 40 are now 80 if each of the original 2 have 1 other fishing partner.

They tell two friends and they tell two friends and well, you get the idea.

It's the same thing as you getting the smarter/more energetic kid in school to do your homework or give you the answers to the upcoming test.

Maybe some one will gather all the spots, put them on a map and post it every time some one asks a question about a lake and where to catch fish.

At least crappie fishermen don't bust in on you if you catch a fish or troll around you endlessly.

If ya paid good money fer some spots and ya got skunked, would ya be pissed about it and want your money back?

My two cents.

I am one of those that started crappie fishing two years ago and decided to go all in. There is a local lake that I have personally put in over 100 various brush piles to increase the habitat and give me a better chance of catching a couple fish from. I have also helped friends put out theirs on a shared agreement. I know Ernest has found some because I have seen him fishing them and we have even talked about a few while on the water. I am sure that I have found piles that he has made and have caught fish off them. I appreciate the effort he made in building them and feel fortunate that I was able to find them and share in the bounty. Every time I seen him on one I built I would feel the same way for him and would hope he was catching fish off them (and yes I understand that they are no longer 'mine' but public domain). He put in a lot of work, time and money in our lake and so have I. I feel we both put in the effort and money to improve the lake and I personally wore that as a badge of honor.

Now to have a guy that spent $50 that will take advantage of all my hard work without adding to anything of value to the lake or reciprocating with any effort doesn't sit well with me. If they were just the piles that he built than fine. If it included my spots and I show up tomorrow and see guys who merely spent $50 going from one of 'my condos' (and yes I understand that they are no longer 'mine' but public domain) to another than I feel like I have been screwed in the situation. Let me explain, I have a son in college and just finished putting my daughter through four and half years of college so money is always a concern with me but I would have never even considered selling anything of value from others (his spots) to give me a few extra bucks. I guess I just have to hope that none of 'my condos' (and yes I understand that they are no longer 'mine' but public domain) or my friend’s were included in these sold waypoints.

I also wonder how the guy that bought the ‘Fish Finder’ at a premium price because he thought he was getting exclusive way points feels about all of ‘his’ (he paid a premium for them) way points are now available for $50.00?

And yes I am being slightly hypocritical because I have received way points from others which I greatly appreciated and guarded as best as I could (I have left piles when I feel someone was a pot-licker and it wasn’t my piles). I have also given out way points to friends and others but they were 'my condos' (and yes I understand that they are no longer 'mine' but public domain) and I generally received some token in return. I just would have never sold them to anyone but this is just me.

And please do not take my post as any disrespect for Ernest because he has earned the reputation where people would want to buy his waypoints. He has helped me indirectly at times and we have always had very pleasant conversations on the water or at CAT meetings. I just hope that those who bought them and the other pot-lickers out there would contribute to the well-being of the lakes and other fishermen by adding their own brush piles.

This just strikes close to home because I'm assuming that Lewisville is included in the lakes which is my home lake. Again, no disrespect to anyone - this is just the way I see it and I would have handled it a lot differently.

David, I agree with all you said. I bought the way points to help me have more productive trips when i'm home and do get to fish. It will hopefully benefit my grandkids because they are the reason I bought them to get them on fish and make fisherman out of them.
Junior

Bottom line is they still have to have the skills to catch fish off the said public brush piles.

It will be interesting to see if they can figure out what brush piles to fish in each season.

I'll toss a couple cents worth to this subject, most folks only try to catch crappie, most will go to a brush pile toss out a minner, may catch one or three crappie then they start getting hung up in the pile, most of'em prolly won't fish those piles long due to their minner tangling up in the structure.....LOL
I've had lots of folk follow me around marking "spots" I fish shoot at one time there was this guy on my tail so I doubled back & started fishing a pile I had already fished that he followed me to, I caught fish my 1st stop there he didn't catch anything but when I doubled back I put more fish in the boat.....
Moral of the story is "most" of the folks that are hungry for spots only catch crappie by accident, if you're to lazy to put the time in & find spots yourself more than likely you're to lazy to put the time & research in to learn how to catch crappie....other than chasin I minner in aahhh bucket then watchn a cork.....
Not try'n to step on any toes here but if I do get yo feet out tha Ile....
Most of us that can put fish in the boat could come up with ways of selling things that may help folks to catch crappie, some that pay may benefit but most won't.....
I fish some stuff that others have put the work in to put out but would never advertise them on the net nor would I sell them.....Not that it would be wrong but that's just me.....

To add my 2 cents, not that anyone cares but I didn't see anyone complain when Ernest offered cords for the COE piles on Ray Roberts. And I think a lot of the numbers come from those locations anyway. A lot of positions are from tree tops and docks on those lakes. Ernest has created a lot of brush piles as well. With are the work that Ernest has contributed within the community as well, I don't think we should be pounding him so much on this issue. He's giving this all up for the most part so he can ride off into the sunset. Let it be and let's move on to more crappie fishing. No more crying over spilled milk!!!

Interesting subject. but it all comes down to supply and demand in capitalism within the boundary of law.

Now, if you throw virtue, mortality, value in it, then it's different story cuz everyone has different perception. Can you judge that person and choose to dislike him? Yes, should you raise your kids based on the virtue and value you believe in? Yes. But, should you judge that person in public forum based on your own belief? Most likely NO. Because there's no right or wrong according to the law and this post can potentially put the subject in very awkward position.

In my opinion, this shouldn't have been posted due to the negative impact on subject's reputation and character by strangers who never had met the subject nor known him at all regardless of verdict from here. He doesn't deserve that.

At the same time, this is not something i would encourage my kid to do it because the value i believe.

Just my opinion..

My first reaction was to ignore this post and not respond. My intention is not to start further argument on the subject, only to offer an explanation as to my thinking. I respect everyone’s opinion on this subject. This will be my only comment on the post.

When I offered these files I explained that this was a copy of my GPS that I used whenever I fished. Many years worth of data was enclosed. Many were brush piles I made, many were wood cover I found , some are docks, rock piles and I don’t know what. I’m sure a lot are no longer there due to age, floods, low water etc.

Several years ago after finding that the Corp’s log piles on Ray Roberts were inaccurately marked on maps I took the time (a lot of time and fuel) to locate and mark the exact location of them. I then offered the file free to anyone that wanted them. I still receive requests and send them. The result of this is I sent out the files over 700 times. That takes a lot of time but I’m sure a lot of fish were caught and hopefully a lot of fishermen learned to better use their equipment.

When I (due to age) decided to sell my boat and reduce my fishing time I didn’t want all the effort I had spent over the years to be wasted. I also didn’t want to have 700 requests again. I felt that something someone has to pay for (less than the cost of one fishing trip) will be treated with value and not shared with to many others. I know some will share but even if 50 or even 80 boats end up with the data there are over 1170 waypoints spread over 6 lakes. Odds are not many spots will get hit to often.

Over the years while giving free seminars and clinics I have given away many good spots
Yet I still manage to catch my share of Crappie. I have amply demonstrated that my main goal was in educating and helping other fishermen learn from my experience. I bet there’s not many reading the forum that haven’t learned something from my experiences.

I will continue to share my knowledge with the hope that everything I do will make someone else more confident and able to use my experiences to become better fishermen themselves.

I will be 78 years old in three weeks and hope to share with you for many more years.

Good fishing.

Mr.Paty was doing the crappie thing before most of us crapped our first diaper. He gave so much of his most valuable earthly comodity, (his time), help anyone who asked, made videos and gave many away to veterans and service members, ect.. I find it quite disrespectful to even question his actions and cast any negative light upon such a giving man..
I vote we delete the entire thread. and bury it in the deep 6 pile.

TY Mr. Paty...well said.


Gman

Back in 2011 I was new to crappie fishing. I didn't know what to look for or how to catch them. I have a boat and electronic. I came on here and requested for help with an offer of 6 or 12 packs beer. Many offered to help and Mr Paty invited me on his boat with Guy Skinner. Keep in mind I had never met these gentlemen and they taught and shared their knowledge with me. I didn't even fished that day cause I was so excited to learn. I watched and listened the entire trip. Now because of them I am a better crappie fisherman. Yes I did hit those spots they showed me and guess what? We would meet at the lake and they would drop by to chat with me before they headed in or out. Many would do anything to hop on the boat with them. Mr Paty enjoyed sharing his knowledge with us and teaching us. Now that is special and I will do the same to pass it on to the next fisherman/woman. Thank you Mr Paty and Mr Guy Skinner. And I agreed this post should be deleted and not bashing negatively on him.

I believe this post was not intended to bash Mr Patty.

I took the question about selling GPS cords on any given lake.

Let's say I go to Lake Benbrook or Lake Waco and spend several days scanning the lake and marking cords to all of the brush piles that I can find and then offering the found GPS cords for sale.

I have not sank one pile in Benbrook or Waco but I could gain off others hard work.

Turning Pot Licking into cash.

I agree with the last post. If I go to a BP I built and someone is fishing it I can only hope they don't fish it out or drag an anchor through it. Not telling every sob on the lake where it is would be nice too..

C'mon people. You see people fishing "spots" all the time. You see the spot. You now know the spot. You mark it. You share it. You sell it. Someone else fishes that spot that didn't see people there before. What difference does it make?!?!
All these people with "spots" do not fish them ALL the time. People get old and tired too and stop fishing after they they learn of these spots. Others find the spots and fish them. It is a never ending cylcle and you cannot stop it.
IT DOES NOT GUARANTEE THERE WILL BE FISH THERE!!!!!!!!! You people act as thought the spots someone gives you are the only places to fish in a lake! The fish do not SIT on a pile for days on end usually. They MOVE!!!
The piles are just structure he has found over his years of fishing or ones he put out himself. And he has put out PLENTY!!! He is only showing people where structure is. NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE!!!!
Use common sense and don't bash the people that are doing something for others by sharing those structures by way of selling them and especially for their kids college fund!!!!

Hey Kicking, it's not about Mr Patty selling his GPS cords.

It is about me or someone else coming to your home lake and finding and selling all the GPS cords that can be found on your home lake.

This is just a hypothetical question, "Pot Licking for Cash".

What is your home lake? Please share.

PS

I guess lied about not responding.
Just for clarification Note that Lake fork is not on the list because most of the spots I fish there were shown me by guides I hired. Not giving their stuff away. Also not included are several small lakes that couldn’t stand the additional fishing pressure.

Lake Lewisville has the most waypoints of all. Almost all are brush piles I built or helped build or underwater stumps, timber, rock piles humps, dropoffs or other natural structure that I found to hold fish. Any bush piles that I know of that someone else showed me
Were left off. With over 600 spots remaining a few may have been missed when I edited the file. If so I’m sorry but you shouldn’t worry too much. The best place to hide a straw is in a haystack.

By using these waypoints the user should learn what to look for and be able to find or hopefully build his own in the future.

I disagree with the suggestion to remove the posts. I don’t think bashing me was the intent , just an expression of different opinions. I am totally in favor of that freedom.

Also anyone who thinks spending the time and money on any lake to just locate and sell waypoints is fooling himself. You would spend more money for gas than it’s worth. Kind of like fishing tournaments for the money.

Cedar Creek: The only Brushpiles on this file are ones I built. Others may have put some in the area, I don’t know about, Most waypoints are either docks that I have found holding fish or logs, stumps or dropoffs that are natural. Nothing that was shown me by guides on the lake.\\

Ray Roberts: Corps of engineers piles.\

Tawakoni: Trees or natural log piles.

Texoma: Many piles I built, a few I found, natural structure. Texoma has more brush in it than anyplace I have ever fished. If you can’t find any there you should give up fishing. Maybe having these spots to start on and learn what to look for will help.

Mr Paty,
I'm extending am open invitation for you to come fishing here on Fork, Cypress Springs and a couple of other lake that I'm becoming familiar with for crappie.
My boat is extremely comfortable
And I get lucky on occasion
But think the TOW with you would far outweigh what I'm offering you.
Just reply or send me a PM if your interested.

I don't see anything wrong with this at all! Unless you own the lake your building structure on you have to know someone else is going to find or be told by someone else where some good structure exist. When I build structure I do it for several reasons. The most important one is make the lake I fish better..... for me and everyone else.

Ernest has amassed a lifetime of knowledge with regard to crappie fishing. Why should I expect to get any information for free.

Even professional's who fish for money are buying chips from local folks....

Thanks Ernest!!

Hey hey hey....watch it now.....kb feesh "my" lake sometimes.....lol....don't even think about it.....Hehehehahahahaaaaaa Hehehehahahahaaaaaa.....

I'll add this also selling WP's ain't nothin compared to posting particular "spots" on the "open web".
There was this one instance that folks in my area know of that just that happened & you could actually step boat to boat all the way across this particular bridge.
I haven't seen any get out of line here just telling different opinions & views...
As far as going to a lake just to scan for WP's to sell I agree with Mr Paty to an extent, it would be a close margin between money spent & profit.
There is a market for sure anything dealing with "offering help" catchn crappie.
I just don't see it really helping folks because "spots“ don't put fish in the boat....for the most part......

Who you trying to fool SK?

10 hours on your lake scanning could produce enough waypoints to sell at $50 each times 10 buyers, well that's pretty good money in my books.

Now all you have to do is grab a bucket full of minnows and drop straight down on top of the Crappie and it's fish on. Then keep moving spot to spot it won't be long and you will have a limit of fish easily.

15 brush piles should produce two crappie each, it won't take long to get to 25 like that.

What's your home lake?

Just a thought!

My home lake is which ever one one wet the bottom side of my boat.....LOL
"Aahhh bucket full of minnow".....That's funny....
Tell ya the truth stuff like this has been happening for years just not as specific as you are talkin about here. All lake maps do offer a few spots not that they are accurate, down here in the salt it's been happening more so now than ever some have even written books with what works best at each spot.....
Stay away from "my" lake SCK....LOL
I have right at 700 WP's saved to my units & sometimes I struggle to get good fish in the boat...."spots" is only part of putting fish in the boat....

Well said Ernest and thank you very much! My reasoning for buying them was for productive trips with my grandchildren. Looking forward to fishing with you on Texoma when we get the chance and maybe we can add to the spots! Junior

Thank you Ernest for all that you have done and doing for this sport called fishing not catching!!!!

No issues here...money went to college fund.

yeap.. no point of persistent debating. Ernest already said, most of the spots are natural structures and a lot of them are what he built himself over the years or with help of his long time friends. And main intent was not to go waste of what he built and put so much effort and time into and help out other fishermen.

I don't think anyone can argue against that.

Understood the OP wasn't meant to be character assassination and it's good thing that Mr Paty didn't take it that way. However, it is common courtesy not to pick one specific in public forum. OP clearly stated and referred to the recent specific situation. It wasn't a general question or doubt. We can't just do that in the name of freedom of speech. then, anyone can say whatever they want without thinking that can actual hurt other's feeling.

I just want people to respect each other. simple!

So if you want to understand how a class human being, outstanding fisherman and outdoorsman and all around good guy lives his life and help those around him, go spend some time with Mr. Paty.

Ernest, I've got a spot for you in my boat anytime your ready.....

Mr. Paty sold his fishing knowledge of the lakes he fished, just as he does each time somebody buys his video on crappie fishing or electronics. He spent the time and effort is finding this structure to create this body of knowledge. He has just as much right to sell this knowledge as a fishing guide does who takes clients to structure that the guide did not create.

And guides take a lot more than ten people to those spots every year. So should we be upset with the fishing guides who are taking way more people to fish "our" spots each month than the total number of spots Mr. Paty sold?

I have a few "home" lakes down south. I have spots marked from the lakes I fish. I scanned most of them myself. Others, some fishing buddies shared or I got from maps and the internet. I have seen others fish spots and I mark or take note of them when I see them and fish them later. Anyone that says they have never done this is a liar.
I could care less if anyone has bought spots from someone else. I can bet you that about 1/4 of them are not that good anymore as they disintegrate over time. I can always put my own structure out. Do it all the time.
These spots are structure that game fish might hold on. Unfortunately, the last flood has washed away or moved LOTS of the structure piles I had marked or placed in the water myself. The spots I marked now may be worthless. Good news is there are now NEW piles to find! Oh Boy!
The spots given to you by others may not have been fished for a long time or the piles may have disintegrated by itself in the water. Either way you don't know if there are fish there or not. You just have to try and see. If there are no fish, do you complain to the person you bought the spot from? If you do you are fool.
Ernest is only providing people a chance to find some structure to find some fish. He is NOT providing guaranteed fish in the boat.
And as for letting others know about "hot spots" like bridges that everyone knows holds fish, I do my best to let others have a fun time fishing and will let you know where to find them. Funny how you can post about a particular bridge holding fish and others will read about it and come out and fish it and catch a bunch of fish and someone gets mad. Post about that same bridge and you catching fish and then the bite stops after you leave and others go there and do not find any fish. What do you do? Get mad at the poster? NO. You don't even mention it becasue the fish were not there. Kinda pathetic in my opinion to be two faced about an issue. If there are fish and you post you are bad. If you post and there are no fish no one mentions it. Weird huh?!
If you get mad that someone is fishing where you wanted to fish but there are too many people then just go find another spot. You were a bit too late to the party! That spot will not hold fish ALL the time so let others know if you want so they too can have fun and catch fish. If someone bashes you for letting others know where to have fun just ignore them. They have issues with other people fishing "THEIR" spots.

I think the perception of once a habitat is dropped it's public domain needs to be revisited. I think outdoorsmen have to understand that someone put in the work and need to "Respect" that. That doesn't mean dont fish it or take your fishing buddy but for god sake respect the find. Share with good Ole boys that you know through experience are outdoorsmen. I don't understand why this is so hard. Comments on posts like this make myself and others wonder why we share.

I lost two big girls on brush pile yesterday that I noticed broken up by what I figured was a pontoon anchoring. I'd seen them marking and leaving unmarked jugs on spots. Well yup I caught the 20' rope they'd cut and left in a pile they drug and ruined.

In all reality if you didn't put it there it's not yours. It is the publics. Now we all know what happens to "Public Property" by the public. Are we as outdoorsman the public?

My comments have nothing to do with Ernest. I have not even read his spot sales post. Just talking about once it's dropped it's public. Got a tight grip on my wallet.

Y'all better stop or I'm going to start "Waypoint" Exchange and charge you $50 a year membership to buy & sell waypoints!

I guarantee you that if anyone else listed a sale on there way points folks would be lining up to purchase them as long as the seller had the same integrity and respect that Ernest has.

+1

Couldn't have been said any better....