Inconsiderate Fisherman

[Andy C]

Yesterday I was fishing in between thunderstorms so I didn't take the boat out and hiked about a quarter mile to a good creek inlet dumping water into a local lake. The creek arm in this spot is only about a cast across and I started about 30 yards down from the inlet and started to work my way back to the inflowing water. I hadn't been there 10 minutes before a boat cruises it's way back to where I am and starts fishing directly in front of me and then poaches my spot at the creek inlet, bumping into stumps and rocks the whole length of the inlet. I have never in my life had someone do this to me and it ticked me off. I let him know I was mad, and I hope he realizes how stupid of a move that is. He had the whole lake to fish, and numerous other creek inlets that don't have bank access and he chose to fish directly where I am. Why do some people think they are above bank fisherman? I always give people space, bank or boat fisherman.

[ksboy]

Only one in a long list of how inconsiderate people can be. It's a shame the guy couldn't have allowed you to fish your "spot" and gone somewhere else when he realized you were there.

[Avalonjohn44]

'Creatively filled' water balloons launched at inconsiderate boaters will solve this problem on jerk at a time...

[clayton86]

I run into this all the time as I only bank fish I hate it but it makes it better some times when I watch the boater strike out then I pull a 5lb smallie outta the same spot he's poaching on me then he packs up and leaves ahhhh it was nice happend last year bout this time same thing between tstorms

[00 mod]

crank bait to the side of a boat or treble hooks into his carpet and I guarantee you he wont do it again!!

I know I know thats harsh.....

[TheLastRodBender]

Unfortunately its not only boaters...i've had bank fisherman do this, where they walk up next to me and just start fishing. A few weeks ago i was fishing a lake here in Nova, positioned myself to the side of a brush pile and was casting over to it, so i could work it from the outside in.

A kid walks up, and asks if i caught anything, then proceeds to cast RIGHT where i had been casting, AND HE SAW IT THE WHOLE TIME! i was fuming, but i kept my mouth shut since he didnt know what he was doing and i KNEW he wasnt going to catch anything. Let him fish for about 10 min, spacing my casts out so i would hit the SAME SPOT he was hitting during his retrieve, and let him go about his business.. then pulled one out as he rounded the bend

[Getfished]

It definitely sucks. Seems the only thing you can do is get their attention, look them in the eye and ask them not to fish your area while you are fishing it. If they don't cooperate then I'd probably leave. After communicating in that clear, simple, affirmative manner there is no need for further conversation.Removing them from the gene pool could backfire so I'd probably protect my own genes and split.

[Jigfishn10]

Unfortunately, dealing with ignorant people is like dealing with drunks. I think Getfished is dead on, look them in the eye and state your displeasure. It probably won't get them to move, but at least you'll feel somewhat satisfied by letting them know your position in the matter.

[kms399]

I find that a lot of people don't even realize they are doing something wrong. many people have no problem if another guy gets close to them they just don't care. it is the hard core fisherman who gets upset, I think we look at a spot as virgin and we are trying to dissect it and really work it and when someone moves in, it ruins what we were trying to do. I think most people just aimlessly cast then move on.

[clayton86]

Ill admit ill do it to people I'm fishing with on the bank and by people I mean my nephew or best friend one of them 2 are with me 99.9% of the time and I do it as a joke when they go " oooo got a hit" I joke and fire one in right where they cast and they do it right back but its only them 2 I do it to when on the bank with strangers I stay as far away as possible when fishing ill stop and ask how there bitting and move on. A lot of my spots are kinda a hike and not many people will trek as far threw the woods as me to hit some of my spots. Some times I don't mind people crowding me there's this one handicapped kid that fishes a spot I do and when he comes up to me and starts to fish I try to help him and talk to him last year I gave him a spro frog after catching 2 5lbers in conseqitive casts and he thought I was god after that. So people ane times like that I don't mind one bit

[Difrano]

At this time I'm a bank fisherman, still dont have a boat... I dont mind people that approach you asking if you got something or interested in a good chat but if I'm there before you, don't cast close to me i will get very mad, I don't do that to other fishermen and as I respect other I expect others respect me...

Regarding your situation for sure i would load my bigger crankbait and then cast it on his boat and the put a big smile and say OOPPPS SORRY I'M NEW ON THIS (MORE SMILE AND MORE OPPS)........

my 2 ¢

[ROCbass]

crank bait to the side of a boat or treble hooks into his carpet and I guarantee you he wont do it again!!

I know I know thats harsh.....

I've seen lots of people advocate this approach and every time I wonder how many of them have actually done it or actually would if the opportunity presented itself, and how much of it is just their internet muscles talking. At any rate, it seems like a bad idea that would only escalate the situation.

[00 mod]

I've seen lots of people advocate this approach and every time I wonder how many of them have actually done it or actually would if the opportunity presented itself, and how much of it is just their internet muscles talking. At any rate, it seems like a bad idea that would only escalate the situation.

Your right! It would escalate the situation dramatically. I myself have never done it, my father on the other hand, would do it in an instant while tournament fishing! He always said if he can hit you with a cast you are too close, and deserve whatever happens! He was also known to throw over others lines to break them off in situations! Thanks goodness he doesn't tournament fish anymore!!! :D

Saturday while fishing Pickwick, a pontoon fisherman drives straight between us and the bank while fishing a point! My fishing partner proceeds to pick up a jig and launch it within feet of hitting the pontoon. Would have been a wakeup call to the old fart that never looked up from his graph to see how ticked we were!

Jeff

[ctf58]

I was fishing a very small bay from a boat. I could literally cast in 3 directions to the shore. In comes a big boat on plane with a couple of, I guess semi-pro fisherman, prefishing for a tournament that was scheduled in the next 2 days. The boat dropped off of plane about 100 yards away and they started to fish the bank in my direction. I was fuming mad, and as my boat rocked from their wake I remembered that my dad had left a cheap Zebco 404 with 25 pound catfishing line in my rod locker. I pulled it out and luckly it had about 1 ounce of lead on it. While they were getting there gear set up I cast it the Zebco to the bank and reeled it up just a little just ahead of their boat. I then kept on fishing and here they came. I had pressed the button on the Zebco so it could free spool and it did in short order. As soon as it started to pay out line I counted to about 5 and cut the line. I continued to fish like nothing was wrong. These guys were shooting me dirty looks like I was in their fishing spot and their boat registration was from 2 states away. About 5 minutes went by and the front boater said that the trolling motor was not working right to the back boater. I watched him pull up his trolling motor and it looked like a robin had built a nest on his prop. I said something to the effect of "Karma's a b***ch ain't it" and continued to fish. They were still cutting in it when I left.

[grimlin]

It happens every year to me. Gotten to the point I just blow it off now.Before I used to raise my arms and shout "Dude,are serious?" They get the message pretty quickly.Sometimes words get exchange other times just hand gestures get tossed around.

Best thing to do is leave sometimes. No point in actually getting into it with a weirdo who just might have a gun on him and won't think twice about taking a life.I still keep having to remind myself that too.

[Hammer 4]

These types of idiots are in abundance at city park lakes around here..everyone from kids to older ladies that can see your fishing a spot, and fan casting, yet they will start fishing 5' from you, when there's a 100' of shoreline to fish. And the sad part is, they are catfishing i.e. bait&wait. Being I'm now in my early 60's, I've reached the point where I don't care, and I will say something to the adults, to the kids, I try to inform them that it's Not polite to move in on someones spot..

OTH, I've had the best experiences with tourney fisherperson's..they are usually very polite, and Ask, if they can fish through, as always, we will even move a bit for them, once they are done, most will say thanks, then I wish them good luck.

[SirSnookalot]

Just forget about it, most boaters don't hang around too long anyway. Getting upset only bothers you, not them.

[Grey Wolf]

A jerk is a jerk , you find them in all aspects of life. Don't let them get under your skin.

[Lund Explorer]

I had one of these encounters on the first day of the road trip. We were fishing a point less than a cast and a half from the bank when two guys in a gel-coated beast cut right between us and the shore.

"How's the crappie fishing?" the guy (who hopefully was having a really bad tournament day) asked.

Duh.... Without a minnow bucket hanging over the side of the boat, nor a bobber or ten foot pole in sight the guy knew he had crashed in on a pair of bass anglers. I didn't see any reason to say much, guys like this have a bigger handicap than anything I could have given him.

My advice when this happens?

Tell the guy that you saw he didn't catch much. Then explain how you caught a limit there the other day, and how good they tasted. Make sure you add a little about the hawg you put the filet knife to last week. Ask him if he has any extra nightcrawlers you can borrow. Rest assured that he'll seriously think about dropping this spot from his milk run!

[pa mountain man]

It happens to everybody once in a while. I usually act as if every dink is the next world record, complete with whooping, hollarig, and jumping...I really love it when its a 3" bluegill.

[clayton86]

if there realy close to you on the bank just pray for the stinky hang over farts they'll clear out lol you know the nasty rotton egg ones

[J Francho]

I've seen lots of people advocate this approach and every time I wonder how many of them have actually done it or actually would if the opportunity presented itself, and how much of it is just their internet muscles talking. At any rate, it seems like a bad idea that would only escalate the situation.

I watched a guy on shore intentionally snag a guys planer board and cut all his gear off after the second time his planer banged against the pier on a trolling pass. Clearly, the boater was wrong, but that was extreme. I've seen fist fights erupt over spots during the salmon run in late summer. It's kind of sad. Other times, I've had guys scream at me for coming within 100 yards of them. One even started an "internet battle" over a main lake point that usually has 20 boats fishing it anyway.

Bottom line is communication and avoiding any escalating emotions. It isn't worth it - it's just fishing. Tell the other guy what you are doing, and that you'd rather he not be so close. If he continues, leave. If he harasses you, call the authorities. Flinging a bait at someone may have consequences you aren't prepared to deal with.

[B A S S E R]

I remember bank fishing in alaska last summer and some guy came in and waded about 5 feet away from me. After a while I just realized this is how it goes up there. Now fishing here is completely different. If a stranger comes within casting distance i get pretty ticked off. Ill usually just throw really close to them to make sure they know im mad and that i was here first.

[B A S S E R]

oh and someone told the story about a kid... I'm 18 so I still kind of consider myself a kid but if a younger kid comes close to me I assume they are trying to learn a thing or two. I used to do it when I was younger so if they come over to me now I will always try and help them and give them some pointers.

[basser89]

It happens to me from time to time shore fishing. The last time it happened to me was back in the winter. A buddy and I were fishing a stretch of the Potomac where a warm water discharge comes in. We had the whole area to ourselves when this boat comes running up the river. Now the channel of the discharge is about 1 decent cast wide, the boat stops about 20 yards below me, puts the trolling motor down and starts coming my way. The moron can clearly see where I'm fishing but continues to head my way. The goofball gets straight out in front of me and gives me a very quick glance and that's all. The bad part is, if he knew that area at all, he would've realized that he ran straight through the middle of the hole I was trying to fish. They're everywhere.

My rule of thumb is, to stay 2 of my longest casts away from someone else unless its a buddy and we're fun fishing and talking while we fish.

When I'm on the boat, it doesn't bother me as much if someone else comes up and tries fishing the same area I'm fishing. I'm still going to fish it the same way I want to fish it no matter what. When I feel I've covered the area, I'll move on but it'll be when I'm ready, not some goofball that invades the spot that I was on first.