Boating etiquette

[Ben Miller]

4 minutes ago, Dirtyeggroll said:

Sure, I’ll upload the video. When you see it you will understand. I did contact the local authorities. The guy was a total tool. 

Cool!  And I may be wrong on this whole thread but to me it sounds like people getting mad because someone else doesn't live by the same rules as others and there for they should be warned because there a lot of dangerous "hot head killers on the lake now" Just not how we roll in SC

[OCdockskipper]

1 minute ago, Ben Miller said:

...Boarding my boat to fight me or try to hurt me would be different.  My point is: In the very first post this is a quote "not all guys out there are are as forgiving as me and you could end up having a really bad day if you know what i mean" however I would say a lot more are packing out there than most would think.  And so they would be suckers!!!

Your writing is a little difficult to read, but from I get of it, I think you may have misunderstood what the OP actually wrote.  He was in no way threatening other boaters, rather he was making the observation that there are folks within society who will take a breach of etiquette as an act of war and respond accordingly (and illegally).  He did not intimate that he was such a person.

 

Yes, it is just fishing and people shouldn't get irritated while out doing it.  On the same hand, people should be polite when out in society, whether it be fishing, on the freeway or in a grocery store. 

[Wurming67]

I was just curious what the boating ettiqutte in your area was had no idea this was gonna turn into this.....

3 minutes ago, Ben Miller said:

Cool!  And I may be wrong on this whole thread but to me it sounds like people getting mad because someone else doesn't live by the same rules as others and there for they should be warned because there a lot of dangerous "hot head killers on the lake now" Just not how we roll in SC

I wasn't mad it was disappointing to see from a fellow fishermen.

[Ben Miller]

Just now, Wurming67 said:

I was just curious what the boating ettiqutte in your area was had no idea this was gonna turn into this.....

I would guess about the same as yours, and I say that respectfully.  But it's kinda like driving cars ettiqutte.  Some are *****, some just have different opinions, and so on but it shouldn't ever get unlawfully or escalated.   Like I would never chase someone down to flip them off because that cut me off.

[Wurming67]

2 minutes ago, Ben Miller said:

I would guess about the same as yours, and I say that respectfully.  But it's kinda like driving cars ettiqutte.  Some are *****, some just have different opinions, and so on but it shouldn't ever get unlawfully or escalated.   Like I would never chase someone down to flip them off because that cut me off.

Neither would I too dangerous especially here in South Florida,I would expect that type of behavior at a mall or restaurant in this area that's part of the reason I enjoy going out in the glades getting away from that behavior.

[OCdockskipper]

2 minutes ago, Ben Miller said:

...to me it sounds like people getting mad because someone else doesn't live by the same rules as others...

This gets to the gist of your perspective.  Everyone is free to act in the legal, lawful manner they choose.  However, culture (not legal authority) also creates guidelines as to how people should interact in the presence of others, which is where etiquette comes from.  One is not bound to etiquette, but usually the parameters of it make a lot of sense.

 

For example, if I met you and your daughter, it would not be illegal for me to say "Ben, you better get that girl married off as soon as possible, with a face like that, she is not going to have many suitors".  That would be very rude, but perfectly legal for me to state.  Now etiquette dictates that your response would be to possibly tell me I'm out of line and to end it at that, but it would not be surprising if you instead popped me in the mouth.  In other words, breaches of etiquette can easily and understandably lead to escalation of non-lawful activity.

[Ben Miller]

1 minute ago, Wurming67 said:

Neither would I too dangerous especially here in South Florida,I would expect that type of behavior at a mall or restaurant in this area that's part of the reason I enjoy going out in the glades getting away from that behavior.

We have that same problem here in SC.  Wish we could get to the one wrong doesn't make a right to escalate into going further.

[Wurming67]

4 minutes ago, Ben Miller said:

We have that same problem here in SC.  Wish we could get to the one wrong doesn't make a right to escalate into going further.

And that's exactly what I did ,I didn't do what he did  I left found more fish 29 to be exact?

 

[Ben Miller]

11 minutes ago, OCdockskipper said:

This gets to the gist of your perspective.  Everyone is free to act in the legal, lawful manner they choose.  However, culture (not legal authority) also creates guidelines as to how people should interact in the presence of others, which is where etiquette comes from.  One is not bound to etiquette, but usually the parameters of it make a lot of sense.

 

For example, if I met you and your daughter, it would not be illegal for me to say "Ben, you better get that girl married off as soon as possible, with a face like that, she is not going to have many suitors".  That would be very rude, but perfectly legal for me to state.  Now etiquette dictates that your response would be to possibly tell me I'm out of line and to end it at that, but it would not be surprising if you instead popped me in the mouth.  In other words, breaches of etiquette can easily and understandably lead to escalation of non-lawful activity.

Very well said!  And yes you can say that and no I can not punch you in the mouth without repercussions, because then I broke the law.  We see it in the NFL all the time where the second guy who throws a punch or lashes back out gets caught and penalized.  In my experience, threats never work and it's the smarter one's that win.

 

[TnRiver46]

A lot of bass rigs will pull right up in front of you on the Tennessee river, especially chickamauga of course. It’s a bit sad and strange but it’s part of Fishing certain places. I do know of several other places close to my house where nobody fishes, and they can be pretty good at times 

[Ben Miller]

2 minutes ago, Wurming67 said:

And that's exactly what I did ,I didn't do what he did  I left found more fish 29 to be exact?

 

You did and well commended, but you read "sounded" close to me and sorry if I was wrong.  

[Wurming67]

2 minutes ago, Ben Miller said:

You did and well commended, but you read "sounded" close to me and sorry if I was wrong.  

No prob dude it's all good I was just curious if others were experiencing what I did ,I'm not that guy I will defend myself and family if threatened but never over a fishing spot I got too many better ones lol have a good night

[frosty]

My dad used to tell me, there’s A’holes everywhere, when you meet one, just move on with your life. 

 

 

[ww2farmer]

2 hours ago, Wurming67 said:

 and this guy literally pulled up in front of me 100 feet away from me 

On our small crowded lakes, 100 feet is sometime generous. I don't like it, I don't do it to anyone, but unless they get right on top of me, there's not much I can do about it. It's just how it goes on an 800 acre lake with 30 boats fishing a tournament on it.

 

I feel like I get less of this than most guys, because most of the tournaments I fish in....I also run, and it's not wise to tick off the tournament director. But I also have to be on eggshells too, I can't be accused of "doing whatever I want" because I am the tournament director.

 

My general rule of thumb is...........if I want to fish an area and someone else is in it I:

 

#1 go to another area, I can catch fish anywhere on the lakes I fish.

 

#2....if #1 is not an option, I will see what way the other boat is going, and get behind them a respectable distance.

 

#3  If I get behind them, and they whip the boat around....it's a sign they are keen on keeping me out. So I leave.

 

#4 if I see a guy working shallow in an area I want to go, I ask permission to fish deep, staying off their stuff, or vise versa, if they are fishing deep, I ask to slip by shallow, and won't bump out to deep water until I am well away from them and the area they are fishing.

 

99.9%  of the time this is how everyone behaves around here, we all get along, we all catch fish, and no fights or arguments break out. 

 

I tend to conduct myself the same way fun fishing too, and most of the time it works out fine. The biggest problem I have, is when I am out on my lake fun fishing, and another tournament that I am not in is there. I try my hardest to stay out of the way. But have had other organizations anglers show ZERO respect for a local or recreational fisherman. That really gets under my skin, as I also do my best when in a tournament to respect the space of the non-tournament anglers on the water as well.

 

Other fisherman acting like jerks on the water is my biggest pet peeve. They all should know better. I don't get to bent out of shape about the jet skiers, pontoon boating old farts, etc.....most of the time they are just ignorant of what we are doing, and a polite conversation addressing their behavior usually leads to an understanding of how what they are doing is discourtious to other people on the water.

[J.Vincent]

I think this happens everywhere to a certain extent, even here on the Great Lakes.... But how does one teach the Golden Rule 

[Wurming67]

I just don't get it,I would never do that to someone, I remember going out on my dad's boat when I was a kid and he would explain to me the unwritten rules of the water,boat ramp ettiqutte get your boat ready before you enter the ramp not on the ramp, ie help someone if they are having boat problems,slow down if someone is fishing don't cause them a wake,even waving to other boaters,how to handle the fish properly and especially don't stop and fish right on top of someone,guess times of have changed unfortunately.

[Catt]

Above my coffee pot!  ?

 

 

[LxVE Bassin]

I fished a tournament on Saturday and a guy pulled up 50 yards in front of us. They wouldn’t even look us in eye so they knew it was dirtball move. 

[frosty]

45 minutes ago, Catt said:

Above my coffee pot!  ?

 

 

I need to get one of these to put in my wife’s car 

 

 

[Hez]

8 hours ago, Ben Miller said:

 And I may be wrong on this whole thread 

um...I think so buddy

 

 

 

2 hours ago, Wurming67 said:

I just don't get it,I would never do that to someone, I remember going out on my dad's boat when I was a kid and he would explain to me the unwritten rules of the water,boat ramp ettiqutte get your boat ready before you enter the ramp not on the ramp, ie help someone if they are having boat problems,slow down if someone is fishing don't cause them a wake,even waving to other boaters,how to handle the fish properly and especially don't stop and fish right on top of someone,guess times of have changed unfortunately.

It hasn't completely changed.  I still take every opportunity to teach my kids etiquette every chance I get...not just on the boat...but in life....

 

I do see it all of the time here in Central FL...horrible fishing etiquette.  I just usually shake my head and move on.  

[jbmaine]

In my opinion,  no matter where you go or what you do, most people are polite, kind, courteous , do the right thing, others not so much. 

Unless there is a safety issue I let people do what their going to do. Some one crowds into my fishing spot, pushes at the boat launch, cuts me of in traffic, etc., so be it. Life is to short to let it ruin my day.

[TOXIC]

Well, this thread just proved the point.  Many different opinions.  I fish the Potomac River where rude and bad behavior is the norm.  As a rule, I choose not to escalate when it happens.  The first thing I consider is "intent" did they know what they were doing was wrong?  When I was guiding, I've had boats follow me all over the lake just to GPS spots I take clients to.  I will say something to those guys if they get close enough or if I see them at the ramp.  

[SWVABass]

Here it depends on when you can get on the water, week days usually great weekends not so much. But like @TOXIC talked about intent. I had a new boss introduce the idea of looking at everything with positive intent even when I shouldn’t. My reaction to the situations have changed. He challenged us to apply it not just at work but at everything in life. I have a much more positive reaction these days.

[Troy85]

I don't have trouble with other fishermen.  Where I fish, the air boat tour guides have the worst etiquette. 

[Choporoz]

 common courtesy is nearly as uncommon as common sense on some waters