Dock fishing and crazy home owners

[Stephen B]

10 hours ago, WRB said:

It may have been a technique performed by a few skilled bass anglers 15-25 years ago where you all fish, it wasn't out west where I fished and owned docks. Today every boater that comes by a dock tries to skip a jig or worm under the dock and most weekend anglers miss badly.

Tom

 

I've been skipping docks for a LONG time and it's by no means new. Hard to imagine no one was skipping docks in California. It's been super popular in my area for as long as I've been fishing. The ones skipping in California must have been winning all the tournaments and keeping it on the down low haha. 

[WRB]

10 minutes ago, Stephen B said:

I've been skipping docks for a LONG time and it's by no means new. Hard to imagine no one was skipping docks in California. It's been super popular in my area for as long as I've been fishing. The ones skipping in California must have been winning all the tournaments and keeping it on the down low haha. 

5 years ago was 2013 and few BR site members knew anything about skipping docks, most suggested using spinning tackle a few were talking about state of the reels like Chronarch 50 bait casting reels.

I recall 1 article where Basil Bacon used a Zebo 808 reel to skip worms under docks, it wasn't a mainstream presentation.

Tom

[islandbass]

On 9/12/2018 at 9:57 AM, Logan S said:

There's a dock I know of on the Potomac where the owners setup a lawn sprinkler on a motion sensor...Get too close and you get sprayed.  It might be intended for birds...But if it's intended to keep fisherman away the joke's on them because nothing feels better on one of those swampy 100+ degree Potomac days than a quick water spray .  

Unless they mix in sewer water or urine. ? I don’t want to imagine how refreshing that would be, lol. ?

[J Francho]

9 hours ago, WRB said:

5 years ago was 2013 and few BR site members knew anything about skipping docks

???

 

Uh, skipping jigs under docks has been a staple for two decades.  I remember an article with one of the Hibdons, back in the late 80s or early 90s talking about using an 808 for skipping.  I know my personal favorite reel for skipping is a special TD-X HSDL pitching reel, with a relocated thumb bar.  I've had that reel since it was new, maybe around early 2000s.  That has to be around 15 years old, now, and I bought mine used.  I'm not disagreeing that you didn't see it in CA, I'm just saying, it's an ingrained technique from my perspective.  So ingrained, many look down on it, preferring to look for offshore structure.  Sort like, it's too easy to skip docks.

[Sam]

I must be lucky as I have had only one "episode" with a dock owner and it wasn't even a dock.

 

On the "Hot Side of Lake Anna" there is a beautiful property with a bulkhead that runs along the bank for 200 feet.

 

When you start to fish the area the owner runs his two labs out of the house and the dogs head right to and jump into the lake.  The property owner then starts to throw balls or sticks to the dogs and they bring them back to a place where they can get out of the water and return them to the owner who throws them again.

 

This definitely stirs up the water and the bass and other fish leave.

 

Other than for this property owner, I usually speak to the dock owners. Many suggest places to fish by their docks or other places. I even met a lady who is an LSU alumni and we talked about the Fighting Tigers football and baseball while she enjoyed the sun. She saw my gold LSU drinking cup on the boat which started the conversation.

 

If you are nice to others they will be nice to you. However, we all know this is not the rule and we can always run into some dummies who think they own the water. If we are kind and avoid any problems we will have more fun than the dock owners.

 

P.S.  A friend had a property owner come out of his house carrying a shot gun and threatened my friend. My friend called the local sheriff's office after the tournament and made a complaint. A few days later he was told that a deputy visited the property owner and set him straight on the issue.

[WRB]

12 hours ago, Stephen B said:

I've been skipping docks for a LONG time and it's by no means new. Hard to imagine no one was skipping docks in California. It's been super popular in my area for as long as I've been fishing. The ones skipping in California must have been winning all the tournaments and keeping it on the down low haha. 

Try skipping floating docks that we have in California do to extreme water level fluctuations. The only space is under photon boats and a few lift docks, those usually have added skirts to discourage angler casting under the boats.

This thread started out anglers being upset with dock owners, Intrying to give the dock owners perspective. 

MLF may have popularized skipping the past 5 years, Siebert Outdoors added a skipping jig to the line last year, so it's difinately popular today. Anglers try to skip under floating docks and can't do it, just get snagged in boat lines etc.

Younall have been skipping for decades, I never experienced it when fishing lakes outside of California until recently.

Tom

[J Francho]

I'm thinking the local physical design probably influences that.  This is the dock from where I grew up.  Pretty easy to skip.

 

[NYWayfarer]

A whole lot of "perspective" has been shared here. That goes to show no one really knows what a fisherman or property owner has experienced to make them react the way they do.

 

Following the platinum rule of treat others the way they want to be treated would go a long way towards clearing up these confrontations.

 

 

[IndyQ]

For me, I tend to respond in kind. They want to get nasty with me and I'm down to play that game--fact of the matter is in my state, if you are on a public freshwater lake, everything beneath the ordinary high watermark is held in the public trust for the benefit of the public. A riparian owner's right to exclusively use their riparian zone is subject to the public trust doctrine which provides for a number of activities--certainly, fishing (as noted in common law precedent time and time again). So if they're gonna be a.....mean person about it...they're getting the full legal spiel. Now if a person comes out and politely asks me to not flip around the dock/boat and is cool about it, no problem man, totally understand. To me its about respect more than "rights." 

[OCdockskipper]

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Try skipping floating docks that we have in California do to extreme water level fluctuations...

Tom

About 10% of the docks on my lake are floating because we don't have those water level fluctuations.  The floating docks usually have gaps, skipping into them is like hitting the 5 hole against a hockey goalie.  Once your skill level gets to a certain point, it is tough but not impossible.

[Fishingmickey]

1 hour ago, OCdockskipper said:

About 10% of the docks on my lake are floating because we don't have those water level fluctuations.  The floating docks usually have gaps, skipping into them is like hitting the 5 hole against a hockey goalie.  Once your skill level gets to a certain point, it is tough but not impossible.

I like your analogy!

[gim]

I will admit that I've clanged a few lures off docks/lifts more than once in my life, especially before my accuracy was dialed in.  My accuracy is pretty good now but the rule I follow is to avoid fishing around a dock that has a person present either on the dock, deck, or in the yard.  If I was an lake shore owner I'd probably bark at anyone I saw skipping balls of lead or treble hooks off my equipment too.

[haggard]

I get both sides but when it comes down to it, I give the property owners the right of way, even if fishing under their dock is technically legal. They pay premium for their waterfront property, boats and docks, and even if 99% of fishers don't whack their boat, all it takes is that 1% who hit the boat or snag on the dock to sour the relationship. From a property/boat owner's point of view, I can see it seems invasive.

 

If I had my truck/trailer/boat parked in a public lot and someone started poking around it or getting too close, while technically legal, I'd probably start to notice and get a little edgy.

 

When I come upon a dock where the owners are present (on the dock or in the water), if I really want to fish near it I wave and cast a little ways off the dock, and find the bass often still come out and strike, without the owners feeling crowded.

 

A friendly wave while approaching the area (before the first cast) goes a long way.

 

[Crappiebasser]

I have lived waterfront most of my life and experienced tons of bad behavior from fishermen.

I have had countless lures bounced off my boats.

I have had hooks everywhere including boat seats, decking, cables, ropes and one my wife kneeled on by a flower bed 30' from the water.

I had a guy decide my underwater light wasn't deep enough and took it upon himself to pull it out of the water and move it for me.

Another guy put his kids on my dock to play at 1am so he and his buddy could back away and fish the light. 

Had a guy cast a crankbait within 5' of my nephew while he was swimming. The kid was in the water 30+ minutes before the guy showed up. (This one really fired me up)

 

While I know it's a few bad apples causing the problems but has caused me to stop promoting fish near my dock. I have stopped putting out brush piles, stopped leaving my underwater light on, and put rubber flaps between my dock floats to stop skipping.

 

 

 

[sfpalatka]

I have fished docks up and down the St. Johns River for years and have been fortunate with dock owners. I have had pleasant conversation with them while fishing their dock and given good information by fellow bass fisherman on where the bites have been lately. I remember being told one time by a nice elderly women to watch out for the manatees that she saw a little earlier in the morning. Most of the time I do pass the dock if there are people on it. But even then they ask" if I have done any good yet".  I am glad that my encounters with dock owners have so far been positive.

 

[soflabasser]

On 9/13/2018 at 12:01 PM, WRB said:

It may have been a technique performed by a few skilled bass anglers 15-25 years ago where you all fish, it wasn't out west where I fished and owned docks. Today every boater that comes by a dock tries to skip a jig or worm under the dock and most weekend anglers miss badly.

Tom

 

Really? Guess I was a ''skilled bass angler'' when I was a boy since I was skipping docks by the age of 10-12 years, which was +2 decades ago.I am in South Florida and I am sure there where plenty of other bass fishermen skipping docks before me.

22 hours ago, Stephen B said:

I've been skipping docks for a LONG time and it's by no means new. Hard to imagine no one was skipping docks in California. It's been super popular in my area for as long as I've been fishing. The ones skipping in California must have been winning all the tournaments and keeping it on the down low haha. 

 I agree with you that skipping docks is nothing new and I am sure people have been doing it for several decades.

[schplurg]

Be nice to me and I'll be nice to you. Some people drive dangerously on the road but I don't scream at every driver. Why are anglers an okay target?

 

My Dad lives on a lake. I was fishing from his dock a few months ago. There is a weekly bass tourney every Wednesday evening. I was tossing a popper and a bass boat trolled by. The guys clearly saw me cast and then one proceeded to cast within five feet of my lure. I was ticked but didn't say a word. The result?.....

 

I caught a fish, he did not. THAT was SWEET f'n revenge! This guy ticked me off because I usually stop and let them fish the docks just because I'm cool like that. I want to do the tournament as soon as I get a boat. I like to watch and see how they fish. 

 

I also find garbage from anglers all over the shores on the CA Delta. I understand both sides of this. A lot of anglers are inconsiderate.

 

Brandishing a weapon can get you in a lot of trouble. So can murder. Shotgun - give me a break. 

 

As I said, be nice to me and I'll be nice to you. Plus, now I know where you live.

[haggard]

5 hours ago, Mindhunter said:

Sure is easy to tell who the democrats are here. In the great state of Texas we also have a law that it is illegal to harass sportsmen. I try to be respectful as possible but that’s a two way street.

Being respectful doesn't necessarily make one a lib if that's where you're headed  In the great state of Maine a two way street is paved with respect.

 

One way: "Get the * away from my dock"

One way: "I'll fish anywhere I * well please"

Two way: "Mind if I fish your dock?" "Sure, just watch the boat." "Thanks."

Two way: "Mind if I fish your dock?" "Not here, move on." "Ok" (comes back on a weekday and fishes it when they're not home  )

 

 

[roadwarrior]

This thread has drifted WAY OFF topic, has been edited and is now closed.

 

-Kent  a.k.a. roadwarrior

Global Moderator