Question about sportsman ethics

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Hey fellas I have a question about how close to the ramp its OK to start to fish. I fish in a small impoundment that only allows electric motors.Starting about 25 yards from the lauch ramp is a huge weed bed and at this time of the year it alway7s holds a lot of fish. Me and my buddis fish  it a lot a sundown but we had a few hours to kill midday and set up on the bed about 80 yards from the ramp om the edge of the deeper water. There were about a dozen boats on the whole dang lake. Some guy passed and said that it wasnt cool to block other boats I didnt reply but the Tianic could have gotten past us. There are no marker bouys there no signs that say do not fish where we were fishin and the booklet they give you when you keep your boat there says no fishing in front of the lauch arera or off the dock I think 80 yards away was a safe and reasonable distance and we werent even in the chanel Were we out of line or was this guy wrong?

[Grey Wolf]

From what you are saying , I would say the other boater was out of line.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

sounds like that guy either wasn't catchin' or was catchin' but got called home by the wife.

And you got the brunt of his frustrations.

[Minuteman]

If it is electric motors only, I would say the guy was way out of line.

[DDbasser]

Unfortuneatly,

every group has it's idiots!!!

I was fishing down a 100 yd stretch of  bank this morning.

Working every stump, rock, brush pile and catching a few smaller fish.

I heard another boat coming around the bend, this guy pulls up 75 yds in front of me and starts fishing the same bank in the same direction as I was.

Fortuneatly for me this guy was a speed fisherman and it didn't take him long to decide he needed to fish else where.

I finished working the bank and caught a couple more fish around 16"s long.  

[bass109]

Unfortuneatly,  

every group has it's idiots!!!

Not so sure about that, More like every town,city,and area has idiots. The will always be someone who has a bad life and tries to ruin other lives.

[Muddpuppy]

the booklet they give you when you keep your boat there says no fishing in front of the lauch arera or off the dock

 

 On a ramp around here they just added a sign to one like that to include 50 ft. from the ramp I think that it really is intended to be for bank fisherman, since it can only be seen from shore, but I am not sure.  As long as you are not blocking the the ramp, dock,channel or bank and not willing to move I don't see what you are hurtning.  Not being familiar with lakes in your region, 80 yrds. seems more then acceptable with what I am used to.  Sounds to me he wanted to fish where you were at or  Maybe his boat didn't come with an optional steering feature.

[Guest DavidGreen]

the_muddy_man,

I think 80 yards away was a safe and reasonable distance and we werent even in the chanel Were we out of line or was this guy wrong?

Yup he was, especially on a body of water that only allows electric motors.

Like L-B-H said

sounds like that guy either wasn't catchin' or was catchin' but got called home by the wife. And you got the brunt of his frustrations.

Tight lines!

[bassackwards]

again, if you're fishing in electric motors, and you really were 80 yards from the dock...  you handled him better than I.   because I would have replied, "bad day fishin, huh?  good luck next time, I got a book you can read on fishing.  it costs next to nothing, and you can even buy those expensive lures to maybe help you out."

hm.  or I would have just said, "the wife called, huh?"

ack, I'd think those things anyhow.  lol

[Chris]

"I fish in a small impoundment that only allows electric motors." I totally missed that part and I read the darn thing 3 times and still didn't catch it.  :-/

[bassackwards]

I won't tell if you don't.......    :

[Matt Fly]

I include hitting (public) ramps at certain times of the year as part of my pattern.  I Would check your local and state laws that apply.  A sign might have existed for a long time and been removed for some reason or another. (destroyed)  Sounds like you were on somebodies grassline and blocking no one.   Keep on Fishing!!!!!

[Rebbasser]

If you are fishing 80 yards from the ramp you are plenty far away.  For that matter, if no one is launching I don't see a problem fishing right next to the ramp-you are not interfering with launching or loading.  That guy must have had a bad day and took it out on you.

[squid]

Yep, he was wrong...just look at him...smile...and say "Thanks, will remember that the next time you need to get off the water and can't fit into small places, that is bigger than your boat really needs!!" :-X :

[utser]

i fish mostly two lakes in pa, electric only, both have weedbeds close to launch areas never had anybody say anything about fishing there including the park rangers. the way i see it some people just like to gripe about anything. i'd keep fishin them.

[northgabassfisher]

I fished this on lake a week or so ago and its idle only and i was in my 16 ft jon boat and just minding my self. I was casting in some standing  timber I was about 10yrds from the timber then these guys came up in a ranger and drove his boat between me and the timber and then stops cuting me off and starts fishing RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, I laid me air horn down for a good 10sec, I dont know if he didnt see me or if he was just being a jerk. I hate people like that.

[Guest the_muddy_man]

Hey utsr the lake I was talkin about is Mauch Chunk I keep a boat there you fish it to?

[pajlc]

A fellow Chunker.  I am usually up there once a week.  I also have a boat tied up ther at the B boat launch.  I have seen what you are talking about.  Last weekend I had the boys up there and a big bass boat launched out and cut into our drift.

I have become use to it and tend to find different areas then the main channel in the middle of the lake.  I have found that if you fish about in the middle of the A and B boat launch you have less traffic.  The bigger boats do not want to go that far with just using there trolling motors.

Good luck to you.

[bassdocktor]

I fish with alot of people that will hit the boat launches. In alot of the tournamnets I fish in some big fish are caught only 10-20 ft from the launch. Each one of these guys including myself will move if someone is trying to come in or out of the water.

[Rattlinrogue]

Sounds like you got to his honey hole before he did.I've never heaed of not fishing near a ramp.I mean ,I'm not gonna get right where they back in the boat ,but...

[Nicky Greece]

again, if you're fishing in electric motors, and you really were 80 yards from the dock... you handled him better than I. because I would have replied, "bad day fishin, huh? good luck next time, I got a book you can read on fishing. it costs next to nothing, and you can even buy those expensive lures to maybe help you out."

hm. or I would have just said, "the wife called, huh?"

ack, I'd think those things anyhow. lol

better man than me.  Id'a told him to go to hell.

[Reaction_Strike]

I checked your profile and noticed you live in PA...so I dug up some info on PA Fishing Regulations.

Line 1 reads:

- Boats have the right of way over fishing from boat launch areas or boat docks. It is unlawful for persons fishing from a boat launch area or boat dock to permit their fishing activity to interfere with boat traffic into and out of the boat launch area or boat dock.

There's no mention of specific distance, though this might not be a reliable source.  So...unless the lake you're referring to has some special regulations, I'd say that 80 yards is plenty of distance from the dock to be fishing.  

I'll have to agree with the others.  This guy either had a bad day, or is just one of those people who enjoys being a jerk.

[Michael H]

i fish from shore right at the boat launch and no body cares at all they just ask if i got any yet

that guy is just an a**hole

[ajjr]

Hey utsr the lake I was talkin about is Mauch Chunk I keep a boat there you fish it to?

My buddy and partner Barry fished Mauch Chunk with a nice fellow named Dominick.  I haven't been up there yet.  I heard the tourneys held there have the size limit at 15" and all you catch there are 12 inchers.  I heard its a very tough lake!

[utser]

was up there sat nite, on the weedbed not a word said to me. rangers motored up, checked for floatation, liscences, and lights, said good luck and left.