Capt Fred Archer and SportFishermen

[Admin]

Last night I sat here and went back and read all the posts from Fred Archer and read some of the comments that were made.

First I would like to say something to everyone regarding what I read.

Yes Freds posts have a sales pitch but I also saw that he took a ton of time to teach people about fishing tactics and educate people from his perspective from some of his fishing exp.

Fact is this, what we have always asked from anyone who is pimpin a product to give quality educational information.

I have also found some great reads about products that Fred does not sell, endorse or get anything in return.

Fact is fred has taken a large amount of time to write his informative articles to help out alot of readers of this site. Freds writings educate alot of NEWBIES to the site and the fishing industry also I have learned alot of neat things from Fred that I now employ on my own boat.

Capt Fred has a ton of great info stored in his old brain and can be a benifit to alot of people. I do not think it is proper to sit back and crush a man when he has taken time to share a lifetime of knowledge.

Now I do understand that alot of you have pushed on Fred to purchase an ad. Hey that is awesome, Fred ended our talk last night with this. John I do not have a website at this point. When I woke up this morning Fred had purchased a banner on this site.


Fact is I am having trouble with this as his banner does not make much sense to a company who has no online website. Yes Fred promotes his products in alot of his posts but there is actually some very solid info that comes along with the promo.

Have you learned from Fred?

[Boston Whaler]

You forget to mention Fred Archer has a heart.

He touched mine, in my (I will never own another dog) Thread.

I have read many of Fred's posts since I joined just several weeks ago and they are very informative and well written. He comes across as an all around good guy.

[hrdcor32]

I think the amount of time he takes to answer questions and give advice in the great detail that he does is payment enough for him to sling a product here and there.

[Dave Sikorski]

I've learned a ton from Fred, and have nothing but respect for him. He's spent a lifetime to perfect his way of fishing and is now sharing it with us. What more could we ask for in a participant?

All of the BS that people throw his way is just that, BS. Get over yourselves people, and grow up, or just use that good old ignore button.

IMO Fred has definitely given much more than he has received from Sportfishermen.com

-D

[TheBigI]

I enjoy reading Fred's posts and they are always informative.

[lazyfatass247]

As I said before "I personally think anyone can promote them selfs, away where. The internet is a great tool, but it does allow for people to say things that they would otherwise not say in person. That being said in the long run who really cares? Who promoted them selfs or not. Lets keep this site positive, this is one of the reasons I like this site, I can read something on the site and I don't see other guys and gals putting each other down. I have seen guys stop using sites because people were just being rude to each other over some absolutely down right dumb post's."

The internet is great, let keep it to that.

[Ace1st]

Hell Yeah I've learned alot from his post. Amazes me that he can remember all the things he does. I'm half his age and cant remember that much. The way I see it, if somebodies got an issue with Freds post he needs to skip over it and move on to the next. They've got the power to do that, why bash the guy cause he's plugging his shiznit. IMO the experience that he brings to SF.com far outweighs any discomfort of him plugging his product. So dont whine about it, just skip over the post if it such a big deal to you.

[Sea Draggin]

Have you learned from Fred?

No. He is so long winded, that I can never get through enough of the dribble to pull out any pearl that may be in there.

Anyway the constant lead off of every post starting -- As found in my book the bible on how to kill all fish anywhere -- I'm already turned off at that point.

The bad illustrations support the fact that I need to clicky and move on.

[Purple Haze]

John,

This is what makes this site so great. Thank you for doing what a moderator should by posting this. It is so easy for people to loose some of our human feelings, hiding behind keyboards not probably thinking what is written may hurt or offend others.

Having Fred as a friend I have been so lucky to hear, see, and try some of the most innovative as well as some of the craziest things at times. Sharing deck space with him and all of his knowledge, I cannot even begin to write of what a sharing person he is. As John has done, search the archives and see for yourself.

The first spreaderbar I ever pulled was purchased from Fred's old shop in my hometown. It was more than a few trips before I even knew to change the chase baits. It was not until I met Fred, did I actually get to try a metal spreaderbar, there is NO comparison. It goes as a standing joke between us how I deploy a bar. I yell "GERONIMO!" as I toss a SuperBar over the stern as we both watch in awe that these bars dont tangle. They pop up and run true. That again is the way I did it before I met Fred when he saw me do this for the first time, I could not understand why he was laughing so hard. Try that with a metal bar....now I know.

As far as learning. Fred has never put me down for what or the way I was doing something. He only opened my eyes to some great ideas and techniques even quizzing me as to why I had done something a certain way . I can not believe how much he shares here at no charge that come from the books he sells. We are so lucky here at sportfishermen.

For me it is dont knock it until you have at least tried it. Thanks again John. Thank you Fred for being you.

[joeksr]

Amen Admin.
I've read some of Freds threads. Being fairly new I havent gotten to all of them. He definately shares info and is sometimes provacative. Makes for interesting reading and gets quite a bit of input from others. Thats great.
A perfect example is the wwb thread. Lots of comments and reasons pro and con. Promote a product ? Nothing wrong with that, as you said, he contributes a significant amout of info while doing it. To any one that can't take the time to read his "long posts" they do make drugs to help with ADD.
And speed reading and comprehension courses are available. I would rather read a thread with some personality than a pure "tech talk" article. Just my opinion.