rules to live by

[the reel ess]

10 hours ago, soflabasser said:

Well said @the reel ess. It is very rude to interfere with a bank fisherman, especially if you are on a boat and you are purposely throwing where the bank fisherman is fishing and the boater also causes a big boat wake( It is actually illegal here to interfere with a fisherman, a little known law to many in my state). You have more opportunities as a boater than a bank fishermen, so be a honorable man and give the bank fisherman some space. Also do not underestimate and look down on a bank fisherman with less expensive gear than yourself, he might be catching trophy bass from land often with his trusty beat up Ugly Stik while many with top of the line boats, rods,etc might be lucky to catch a 5 pounder once in a while. We can all learn from each other, regardless what experience we have.

Well, I actually meant to give a wide berth to someone who's beating the bank from a boat. I've experienced that treatment by the bassboat crowd several times. I did not have a bassboat with the latest bells and whistles to locate fish in 20+ ft of water. I'd really hit the bass hard in the spring, when they were within reach. I would already be well off the beaten path to avoid the competition. They see you key in on a spot and they can't bring themselves to give you some space, especially when you catch one. You're trying to not be right on top of the fish so you stay back a little and cast to it. They see you casting and just can't help but go right through it, checking their electronics. The etiquette there is to make a mental note of the spot, mark your map and come back later when no one's on it. I've done that many times. But when you see the guy with a different state's numbers on the boat, he's not coming back soon and might be in a tournament that same day. That's the very reason I started kayak fishing and why I usually don't look for others to fish with like, say, a kayak club.

 

But you're absolutely right about the bank fisherman. And I've caught more bass over 5 lbs in the last few years pond fishing than I ever did in the big lakes. Dinks up to 2 lbs were the norm on the local hydro lake. A 3 pounder was big there.

[tholmes]

Life is easier when you're nice to people, even the ones who aren't nice to you.

 

Tom

[JustJames]

You know what just happened?

i was bank fishing along the crossways, the nice beautiful bass boat pulled in 5 feet from shore about 40-50 ft away from me in the direction in front of me (I was at small dock casting toward rip rap).

 

All I can say is "RALLY? Thank you and hope you catch a big one" and left since he already ruin that spot from big engine anyway (he drives all the way in with big engine).

 

Doesnt matter how many rules there are, for me is just not to do anything to others that you don't want them to do the same to you.