We have all encountered and reacted to different types of on the water rudeness or lack of etiquette. I had an extreme example at the start of this holiday weekend and figured I'd share it to get feedback on my reaction as well as other ideas on how to deal with it.
As I have mentioned before, I fish a small, electric only 100 acre private lake. It is about a 1/2 mile long with 6 small coves on each side. The only portions of shoreline without a house & dock on them are a few green belt areas and a long docking area by the clubhouse & ramp. Most boats are left on the water year long, the boat ramp is used maybe once or twice a month when folks who live in the community but not on the water launch their boat for the day.
So on Saturday morning about 2 hours past sunrise, I found myself near the boat ramp, fishing away from it, moving down the bank fishing docks. A couple of guys between 40-50 years old back into the launch area with a Pond Prowler like mine, run up to the clubhouse to get the gate key and then return to launch their boat. I didn't recognize them from being on the lake before, but they had their boat set up in an experienced manner (trolling motor in the front, rear rudder) so I knew they weren't newbies to bass fishing. I was moving down the bank, about 30 yards from exiting the cove as they got underway. They promptly drove to where the cove ended in front of me, slowed down and began fishing, moving down the bank in the same direction I was headed. I thought they had seen me and should have known I was moving that way, but then again maybe they were excited about getting started and hadn't paid attention.
I get out of the cove, to the point they had begun, and they are still 30 yards or so ahead of me, starting to curl around into the next cove. I was curious how they were fishing the docks, so I fished the area they had just covered, catching a 3 lb bass in the process. As they went further into that cove, I skipped past them and motored down to the next cove, giving them the entire cove they were in and the main lake area after it to fish. As I was finishing up the cove I was in, I motored down to the other end of the lake to my house for a quick bathroom stop. Coming back to the boat, I saw they were still on the upper end of the lake, so I instead began fishing a pair of coves at the bottom end of the lake.
About an hour later as I exited the 2nd cove towards the main lake, still fishing along the bank, I was surprised to see that they had come down down to the bottom of the lake as well. They had lines in the water, but as I came into view, they reeled in, turned up their motor and again jumped about 30 yards ahead of me. Now I knew their behavior was intentional, so I fished behind them for the short stretch of the main lake. I caught a pair of fish, which I made sure to play out and allow to jump on the side of the boat they could see (and they did indeed look back & notice). They soon came to a very large cove which they entered, so I again bypassed it, letting them fish the entire cove. This time however, the lake had a 90 degree turn, so I fished the main lake area out of the cove (new water) where they could see me. I hooked up 4 times, again making sure to play all fish to the side of the boat that they could see. Kind of a jerk move on my part, but very vindicating to show them what they passed up.
My path led me into another cove and as I exited it a short while later, they were about 25 yards behind me. i continued fishing the main lake shore as I approached the next cove, only to see them turn the trolling motor on high, scoot pass me (I waved & smiled) and pull in front of me at the entrance to the cove I was approaching. I rolled the options available through my mind. Doing the same thing to them that they did to me didn't appeal to me, nor did cursing them out at the top of my lungs. I considered motoring up to them and talking with them, mentioning how those who fish the lake regularly share the water, but I decided that would be like trying to reason with an unreasonable person, that they would just consider me some blowhard and tell me to go F myself. So since what they were doing was disrespectful, I decided that the appropriate action was to show them a lack of respect and fish behind them the entire cove. I made this decision partially based on seeing how they were fishing and fully confident that I could catch multiple fish behind them.
So as I enter the cove, with them a scant 25 yards in front of me, I hook up on my first cast, another nice 3 lb fish. My mouth got the better of me as I landed the fish when I said in a conversational tone & level "Looks like you missed something". I glanced up from the fish and they were both looking my way. Halfway down the cove, I catch a second fish behind them and then repeat it a 3rd time as they are getting close to exiting the cove, all the while they hadn't gotten a single bite. Whether or not I made a point I don't know, but it sure felt self satisfying.
I really don't know how else to deal with their kind of behavior. My lake is way too small to try and avoid people and to be blunt, I find avoidance to be a weak and ineffective response to behavior that is akin to bullying. Talking with them may help, but it will need to be during a conversation initiated by them. If I approach them, I am the guy yelling at them to get off my lawn. If they come to me, whether it be to chat about fishing or anything else, they have opened the door to be more receptive to a suggestion from me, at least I think so. The perfect solution would be that they are lurkers here on Bass Resource and read about themselves in this post, but that may be asking for too much...
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