Stolen Fish: Poor Etiquette

[jr231]

1 acre isn't much to work with. There isn't much room for an abundance of hogs. Realistically only one impressive bass in the pond. Maybe 2-3 . 

 

It's ur buddy.. idk about you but if a friend of mine ever crossed a line I wasn't to pleased about I'd say something to him about it ? Otherwise just sore lip em all! 

 

 

[MassYak85]

I draw a line. If it's someone I don't know well I would definitely say that's poor etiquette. But if I'm fishing with my dad or a friend and he or I get bit and miss the fish we usually tell the other to give it a try with whatever they have tied on. But in that situation it's more about the companionship so really if either of us are catching fish both of us feel good so it doesn't matter that much if we "steal" each others fish. What we usually do though is if one isn't catching anything and one is we'll leave a prime piece of cover for them to get some exclusive casts at. 

[Bluebasser86]

I don't know, I'd rather my buddy get a bait back to the fish and get it caught personally. I'll usually even tell them to cast to the spot if I just missed one. Only exception would be if I know it's a large fish that I'd like to catch myself. Even then, I'd rather them catch it than neither of us.

 

It'd be different if we were strangers in other boats or on the shoreline, but I'm about as happy seeing the other person in my boat catching a fish as I am catching it myself.

[TOXIC]

Being a guide with a distinctive boat, I have had fishermen follow me all day or immediately pull in on me if they saw me fishing with a client.  

[BassGirl71]

10 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

I don't know, I'd rather my buddy get a bait back to the fish and get it caught personally. I'll usually even tell them to cast to the spot if I just missed one. Only exception would be if I know it's a large fish that I'd like to catch myself. Even then, I'd rather them catch it than neither of us.

 

It'd be different if we were strangers in other boats or on the shoreline, but I'm about as happy seeing the other person in my boat catching a fish as I am catching it myself.

I agree.  It's great to see someone else in your boat (or a buddy on shore) catch a fish that you might not be able to catch.  Sometimes you can even learn something by it - maybe a pattern or a subtle detail that you were missing.

My pet peeve, though, is having guys mark the spots I'm sitting on.  In a recent tournament I was fishing a spot I found that I had never seen anyone fish.  Because my partner and I had done really well at a previous tournament on that body of water, a few other teams were keeping a close eye on where we went. Anyway, we were fishing this spot and a guy was driving by on pad.  He actually shut down, hit a waypoint on his electronics (I heard the beep from where I was), and got up and took off again.  That kind of stuff kills me.... it's so blatant!

[stk44]

I went out Sunday morning. I fished for about an hour and caught ONE descent bass on a drop-shot and slowly, delayed harvest trout fisherman started appearing next to me and side-arm-lobbing their panther martins in the general area... When my wife and daughter came back, it was time for me to leave and I told my wife," Watch how fast this spot is taken over" and 20 steps later, it was gone. 

 

This is why I like cold fronts and rain...

 

[Munkin]

Bent pole is the primary pattern on the Potomac River.

 

The best was the 3 boats that pulled up and started fishing around me in the middle of nowhere. I stopped there just to make some long casts to get rid of some small backlashes.

 

Allen

[flechero]

If I were in your shoes I would have called the buddy over before he came on his own...  when I see a primo shot in my boat- I call whoever I'm fishing with up front to take it.  Heck, if I just miss a fish I call whoever is with me to take a shot.  These days I truly get more enjoyment from turning someone else onto a good fish. 

 

In my younger days - not so much.  

 

Now the answer to the question you actually asked- yes it is poor etiquette to jump in on a spot... friend or stranger, unless you are invited.

 

 

[roadwarrior]

If I were in your shoes I would have called the buddy over before he came on his own... 

 

[Largemouth21]

I don't think its an issue. He's your friend... If it was a stranger it would be different. Fishing Spot Vultures get me frustrated sometimes too although sometimes i will give my spot to a young kid if they aren't catching anything.

[soflabasser]

The "bent rod pattern" is very prevalent in South Florida,especially when saltwater fishing.Another pattern I see is a bunch of boats driving fast to group of boats because they assume that people must be catching fish since there are so many people fishing that spot.The funny thing is that many times nobody in those boat clusters is catching anything of decent size while a experienced boater will avoid that boat cluster and go to spot far away where he knows he will catch quality fish.

[bonzai22]

Me and my friend always work together when we go to ponds. If one of us finds them stacked up or something we always tell the other person to come over. If it were a stranger that did that though then that would be poor etiquette.

[blckshirt98]

If I'm fishing with a buddy I have no problem with them fishing the same spot as me.  If there's a big fish as long as one of us catches it, I consider it a win.  If some random walks over and starts fishing in the same spot, that's poor etiquette.

[WRB]

If you have concerns sharing your fish, fish alone. When fishing with a partner be a good partner and help your friend catch fish.

Tom

[sully420]

I feel like it's good karma to help people catch fish and to give other anglers plenty of space. I never fish community holes I like the feeling of finding my own spots. When it comes to fishing a stretch of any kind of edge I always try to give other anglers there fair share of that water if I fish ahead of them, life and time on the water is too short to be a a$$ to other anglers.

[Quarry Man]

3 hours ago, bonzai22 said:

Me and my friend always work together when we go to ponds. If one of us finds them stacked up or something we always tell the other person to come over. If it were a stranger that did that though then that would be poor etiquette.

 

Thats what we were doing. Only bproblem was he casted across my line in the small section of water i was fishing.

[Hawkeye21]

If he's really your buddy them tell him what you expect from him.  I'd have no issues fishing the same hole but if he casts over you I'd let him know it bothers you.  If it was one of my buddies I'd give him some crap in good fun.

[CDMeyer]

I never do if I see someone working on a fish they found it and I do not want to scare it away.  That being said sometimes in a tourney if my partner misses or I do we will tell eachother to take a crak at it.  My dad and I do the same out fishing just for fun too.

[bonzai22]

On 4/6/2017 at 2:11 PM, Quarry Man said:

 

Thats what we were doing. Only bproblem was he casted across my line in the small section of water i was fishing.

Yeah I guess that's kind of bogus we never cast over each other to catch fish. 

[Ratherbfishing]

I have mixed feelings and, therefore, will probably have a mixed response to this thread.  If I had someone CONSTANTLY crowding me when the fishing gets good, I'd probably ask them (nicely) to give me some space and find some of their own water.  But the appropriate space distance between friends will (or should) be smaller than that of strangers.  And it MAY be that he has no idea that what he is doing even offends you.

 

But it's just a fish, after all.  There will be other occasions and other fish.  But finding a good, reliable fishing buddy can be harder than finding a girlfriend (or boyfriend).  Do you REALLY want to muck it up by getting petty?  If it bothers you, let him know (politely).  If he respects your wishes, problem solved.  If he doesn't respect them, he probably has boundary issues anyway and do you really want to be around such a person?  On the OTHER hand, there are people who can commit all kinds of atrocities and I'm able to overlook them while OTHERS can simply sneeze and it'll drive me bat guano crazy.  Is he one of these kind of people?

[Bucky205]

Just part of it.  If you and a buddy are fishing from the bank and you start getting bit, he is going to end up throwing at the same stump.  It happens in a boat as well.  The guy in the front ends up getting first shot at likely spots, guy in the back will hit the same spot if the guy in the front got bit.