Fishing Courtesy

[Hawg Fan]

So I was bed fishing today off the bank at a nearby lake and had been working this bass for about a half an hour. I was just getting him ticked off enough to where he would snap at my jig when a guy old enough to be my dad walked by me and asked if I had any luck. I told him not yet but the bass are spawning in the shallows and I have been working this one (pointing) for a long time. He then proceeded to raise his voice and yell (Wow!, Look at him). He then threw his plastic worm across my own fishing line, hitting the fish sitting on the bed and spooked him away. I walked off so frustrated searching for more beds as the guy pretty much just took my spot. He left after about five minutes. I walked back to the bass and started getting him mad again when the guy walked over to me AGAIN! and asked if he was biting my lure and started throwing his lure out right next to mine! Just when I had enough and was about to go off on the guy for not finding his own fish he decided he was going to try another lake. I soon caught the 2lb bass after he left but I am still upset over how some people just dont have any manners. Has this happened to any of you?

Thanks for letting me vent,

Hawg Fan  

[Gatorbassman]

It only takes one simple question that usually give the hint.

"Um, What are you doing?"

[Hawg Fan]

I was speechless, I couldnt think of anything to say except  :-/ explicit material..

[fishinfiend]

I am generally an EXTREMELY laid back person but when people do that it really makes my blood boil. If this happens while I am at a pier, my favorite thing to do is wait for our lines to tangle, reel in our tangled lines and tell the offender that it is too tangled to undo and then cut that SOBs line  8-)

A few weeks ago my uncle and I were fishing one of our favorite holes and catching some decent fish when another boat pulls up < 20' from us and starts casting only a few feet from our boat. On top of this they were using extremely heavy waits to bait fish causing a lot of disturbance in the water and were INCREDIBLEY noisy. Needless to say, my uncle throttled down with all he had and blew out the

hole   ;D

It never ceases to amaze me how inconsiderate some people are.

[gobig]

Just happend the other day. Had a guy pull in right on top of us(30ft away) and stopped leaving the boat idling while he tied up his poles. So I responded in a not so friendly manor. He didnt respond he just moved on and acted like I was the jerk. I dont let these kinda things go unspoken. Amazes me what people will do if you let them.

[Big Tom]

I was fishing one of my favorite bank spots on a local lake.  This spot is a long rock point that you can walk to the tip of and it pretty much holds fish from late spring to early fall.  I have had other fisherman pretty much cast over my line and have even had swimmers jump into the water DIRECTLY in front of where I am fishing and then proceed to tell me not to hook them.  I was fishing with an original Zara Spook at the time so I should have just let him have it.  I just kinda got really disgusted and left.

Stupid people.

[Alpster]

It's not just fishermen. I sometimes walk the banks of my lake, which is in a county park. I was picking up a few small ones along the bank last year when this woman brings her dog right to where I'm fishing and starts throwing sticks into the water for the dog to fetch. Right in front of me. Maybe a animal rights nut, I don't know. Frutsrating none the less.

Ronnie

[Wildbillb]

I am not so nice when other boats pull right up next to me.  I prefer a couple well placed casts within a foot or so of their boat.  If that doesnt work well than a nice little wack of the spinnerbait usually works.

[Brian_Reeves]

Thats why the proper answer to the question "Are you having any luck?" for me is always "Nope, never do."  

[Sam]

Alpster, I have had the exact same thing happen to me at a local pond when a lady started to throw a ball into the pond for her Golden Retriever to fetch where I was fishing.

I love dogs and I did not want to endanger the animal so I walked to another spot.

The lady knew what she was doing, too.

As for jackasses, we have a lot of them in the sport of fishing. You just have to be ready for them and move on.

A confrontation is not good and they probably can't catch any fish anyway so if you wait they will be gone.

I can't believe anyone would throw their lure next to yours.

I would have asked them if "they would jump in my grave that fast?"

I guess this subject is why my wife will not let me carry any weapon on my boat when I go fishing.

[Popeye]

A fish/fishing spot isn't worth fighting over for the most part. Now if I were landing some nice bass and someone tried to "muscle in", I might say something about that. I find that when someone approaches me and asks if I've had any luck, I just say something like "nothing all day" or "just caught some weeds/snags" and they usually meander off to somewhere else. Last Saturday AND Sunday I watched three float tubers drift directly in front of the area I was fishing from shore (about 25 feet further than I could cast) and they caught 3 - 2 pounders, 1 - 3 pounder, and a nice 4 pounder!! In fact, on Sunday I TOLD the float tuber to fish that area because of the 2 and 3 pounders that were caught the previous day and in LESS than 5 minutes he had caught that 4 pounder and a 2 pounder!!! Needless to say, I ordered me a float tube and waders when I got home (you have to either fish from the shore or use a float tube only on the lake I was fishing at). I was SO frustrated to see that happen and me standing there all day and only getting one decent hookup (the bass threw the Fat Ika I was using as he danced on the water - was quite a site since he was only about 5 feet from shore and 10 feet from me at the time).

Most of the time the bass fisherman at the lake I fish are very courteous of others and will not infringe on someone else's area.

[johnkook73]

People are so ignorant these days. I have had it happen to me as well. Most of the time I just bite my tongue and ignore them.

[ba7ss3in]

A couple of years ago fishing a club tourney, I had someone pull within inches of my boat. I was site fishing for a 3lber on a bed. It ticked me off but I composed myself and landed the fish after he said, " oh, he's to small", then pulled off. After that he pulled in front of me and finished fishing the bank that I was fishing. I left the area but didn't let it get to me.

[fishfordollars]

I have actually had people ease in and tie to the top I was fishing. I hit the TM and eased over next to his boat. We were touching. Did not get mad just started talking to him about anything I could think of. His partner finally realized what was going on and talked the idiot into leaving. Needless to say I did not catch any other fish out of that top that day. I was guiding a party when it happened and they both said they had never seen anything like that. Neither have I before or since.

[Wesley]

Last month fishing a Tournament on Rayburn I was fishing some shallow water willows that formed a point out in the lake, another boat pulled up on an island 30 or 40 yards off the point and was fishing thier way around the island.  As I am making my way up the point the guy gets on his TM and jumps off the island and starts fishing about 20 feet in front of my boat.  I shrug my shoulders and keep fishing.  We boated 3 bass behind them and they hadnt caught any so they whip thier boat around and go right behind my boat(less than 10 feet from me) and fish back through the area that we caught the 3 in.  We then caught another from where they turned thier boat around at and they cranked the big motor and left  ;D

The next week while prefishing I saw a nice looking wall I wanted to check to see if anything was holding off of.  We look around and see another boat about 200 yards up the bank fishing some trees on a point so I figured we had given them enough room and we idled in to fish this wall.  The guy in the other boat reels in his rod gets his TM on high and heads for us, so I know whats coming but im ignoring the guy untill I hear his lure splash down about 2 feet from the back of the boat.  

Then I look at him and say "You got a $%^ problem?"

he says "You have the whole $%^$ lake to fish go somewhere else!"

I say "you were 200 yards away you dont own the whole shoreline chill out"

He says "I am gonna kick your @#$"

I say "Then get Started you $%^$ $%^ $%^"

He left

[grimlin]

Thats why the proper answer to the question "Are you having any luck?" for me is always "Nope, never do."  

Learned the hard way....I now say that as well.I always say no.

[Bassnbrett101]

Thats why the proper answer to the question "Are you having any luck?" for me is always "Nope, never do."

Learned the hard way....I now say that as well.I always say no.

You have to anymore.  Some people saw me catching a bunch of fish in my tourny last weekend and almost instantly I turned around and there were 6-7 boats around me.  When I came in earlier I was the only boat around.  So I had to fire up the big motor and drove right past all of them.  Its sad what people will do to catch fish

[Davis]

Rule #1 that I always tell my son.........give your fellow fisherman space.

He is only nine years old so he always asks when people are fishing our favorite spots if we can go down and fish next to them. I always remind him to not crowd fellow anglers and that spot will be open another day. Than we move on to another area where no one is around. We still catch fish.

One thing that bugs me.....people crowding me and casting over me. Just don't understand it.

[Fisher of Men]

Two words:  WRIST ROCKET

Just kidding.  I remember when we were kids and one of us caught a blue gill when no one else was catching.  The rest of us automatically moved our bobbers to that spot.  It's like these people haven't grown up since then.  I'm afraid it's not just fishing.  It seems that everyone is "All about me!" everywhere you look (fishing, driving, restaurant lines, etc.). >

[Bassnbrett101]

Two words: WRIST ROCKET

Just kidding. I remember when we were kids and one of us caught a blue gill when no one else was catching. The rest of us automatically moved our bobbers to that spot. It's like these people haven't grown up since then. I'm afraid it's not just fishing. It seems that everyone is "All about me!" everywhere you look (fishing, driving, restaurant lines, etc.). >

Thats a very good point.  Sometimes I wish some of these fishermen would just grow up  :-/

[basser89]

I am lucky enough to get to fish during lunch. A week or so back, we had a beautiful day! I grabbed my gear and headed to one of my favorite spots. I walk down to my spot and have the entire cove all to myself! I thought this is going to be fun! Well, turns out I was only there maybe 5 minutes when I see a bass boat come into the cove on the other end. No big deal. As they work their way around to my side, I make sure they can see the area I'm covering. I turned away from them to work the upper side of the hole and the next thing I know, I hear a "plop". I look about 10 yards out from me and see line running past me. These two turkeys, no offense meant to the real birds, had pulled up well within my casting range and camped out there for a while and proceeded to work through the section I had been fishing. I told one of my buddies when I got back to work, "and so it begins". He asked what and I told him, "its moron season"!

Either from boat or from shore, I try to stay at least two of my longest casts away from someone else. If someone is camped in the hole I want to fish, I just move on to another spot. Why can't others do the same? I think Fisher of Men said it best, these people haven't grown up!

[fishbear]

Having lived in the Pacific Northwest, I have experienced rude fishermen first hand.  When the salmon are running up the tributaries.  Guys casting across 5 or 6 other lines...

I had one experience where I was fishing in a boat, for Spring Chinook.  The hole was not a big place, but had about 20 boats in it.  I hooked a nice fish, and was trying to fight it up to the boat, when a local guide with clients, slid alongside us, and dropped a weighted treble hook down ontop of my line and fish.  Hooked my line, pulled it to his boat, and then stole my fish.  He cut my lure off on top of it.

I flat told him, that I carried a 44 mag.  If he didnt leave immediately I would proceed to punch holes below the water line in his boat, and sink him right there.  He left, rather quickly.

Now I know it may not have been right.. but it was the nicest thing I could think to say at the moment.  

[southernyankee]

I am brutaly honest to a fault. I would have told the old coot to FO before i throw him in the drink.

[bigbill]

Lets call it ignorant people;

Me and my son are fishing a small body of water with no one around us. One guy shows up and pushes his way inbetween us and says i'll make one cast, then he leaves. Boy i was glad my older brother wasn't there, he could press a 175lb bar bell set with one arm. I'm sure words would of been said.

I fish every morning with two other retired guys. Me and one guy are very stealthy, were serious about catching fish. The other guy comes late all the time and talks very loud spooking the fish all the time. Me and the other guy get there before day break so we fish before he gets there. I try to fish other places but the loud guy always shows up.

My buddy is out in his dads new boat in longiland sound fishing.  A guy speeds up and shuts his boat down and fishes while his boat hits my buddy's boat.  My buddy moves and the guy follows him and does the samething again.  My buddy pulls out his 45acp and says he'll put rounds below the waterline and the guy left.

One time were circling a school of weakfish on the surface trolling in a big circle picking them off.  When a guy fly's up and shuts down in the middle of the school of fish driving them down.

I feel your pain too i have been there.

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

Lets call it ignorant people;

Me and my son are fishing a small body of water with no one around us.  One guy shows up and pushes his way inbetween us and says i'll make one cast, then he leaves.  Boy i was glad my older brother wasn't there, he could press a 175lb bar bell set with one arm.  I'm sure words would of been said.

I fish every morning with two other retired guys.  Me and one guy are very stealthy, were serious about catching fish.  The other guy comes late all the time and talks very loud spooking the fish all the time.  Me and the other guy get there before day break so we fish before he gets there.  I try to fish other places but the loud guy always shows up.

My buddy is out in his dads new boat in longiland sound fishing.  A guy speeds up and shuts his boat down and fishes while his boat hits my buddy's boat.  My buddy moves and the guy follows him and does the samething again.  My buddy pulls out his 45acp and says he'll put rounds below the waterline and the guy left.

One time were circling a school of weakfish on the surface trolling in a big circle picking them off.  When a guy fly's up and shuts down in the middle of the school of fish driving them down.

I feel your pain too i have been there.

BigBills comments are a serious reality that can get quite dangerous when people infringe on the wrong people.  Like guides, making  living or the wrong salty dog.

Many are carrying and many won't think twice about using it.  A warning shot,minimum.

salt water is different but the same courtesy applies.  I've seen some things.....some funny, some not so funny.

When it comes to freshwater, that's easy for us as we know just about everyone that fishes the lake.  

But for those that can't resist, if neither of you own the lake, I'm sure he wont mind if you do tight circles around his boat for the next 10 minutes It's true, neither of you own the lake but you need to own the responsibility of being a courteous member of society if you expect the same respect back.