how close is too close?

[mike rousseau]

so i was wondering how close you guys let a boat get before the old 1 finger sign language comes out and you exercise your "outdoor voice"

 

the other night i was trolling a "community" spot that usually has other boats... i can deal with that... but this guy wasnt catching... and we were pounding... he obviously thought it was the area we were in... he kept coming closer and closer and closer... until i could literally touch his boat with my rod tip ... i wish i was kidding...lol

 

so me being the bigger man... i move 2-3 hundred feet upriver... cause i knew it wasnt location... it was technique... 20 minutes later... there he is again... closer and closer and closer...

 

it took everything i had in me not to flip my lid on this guy...

 

so i was wondering where you would draw the line...?

 

was this a situation were i should have educated this fellow and told him he was in the wrong?

 

or am i overreacting?

 

i know who the guy is... he isnt a nooby... he is a good fisherman that knows better... thats what got me fuming...

 

mike

[manitoubass2]

so i was wondering how close you guys let a boat get before the old 1 finger sign language comes out and you exercise your "outdoor voice"

 

the other night i was trolling a "community" spot that usually has other boats... i can deal with that... but this guy wasnt catching... and we were pounding... he obviously thought it was the area we were in... he kept coming closer and closer and closer... until i could literally touch his boat with my rod tip ... i wish i was kidding...lol

 

so me being the bigger man... i move 2-3 hundred feet upriver... cause i knew it wasnt location... it was technique... 20 minutes later... there he is again... closer and closer and closer...

 

it took everything i had in me not to flip my lid on this guy...

 

so i was wondering where you would draw the line...?

 

was this a situation were i should have educated this fellow and told him he was in the wrong?

 

or am i overreacting?

 

i know who the guy is... he isnt a nooby... he is a good fisherman that knows better... thats what got me fuming...

 

mike

 

I just talk to the guys in the other boat and let them know whats up. Usually, if your polite they will be the same and relocate.

 

That being said, I've seen others pitch jigs at the approaching boat, and they left promptly

 

When I was younger this situation would have really peeved me, but like you said, its the technique thats catching the fish and relocating sometimes doesn't really hurt your success, unless were talking crappie of course, lol

 

 

 

[mercman]

Thats not the dude that turned his 2million lumen spot light in your eyes while you were landing my fish the other nite, was it

 

He was a real work of art for sure. Personally, i try not to get within 200 feet.Leaves casting room for both of us.

 

Let him know what your guide rates are if he wants to fish with you like that

Edited October 27, 2011 by mercman

[lookinforwalleye]

you should have slowed down and let him pass and followed him around!

or if that didn`t work jump in his boat and pound the snot out of him!!!

[manitoubass2]

you should have slowed down and let him pass and followed him around!

or if that didn`t work jump in his boat and pound the snot out of him!!!

 

lol, that works, I speak from experience. Me, the girlfriend and my kids were travelling the 502 back up to Ear Falls, and I was following another vehicle. Eventually the truck pulled over and stopped. I wasn't thinking anything of it until he tailgaited me for the next few KM, that I had my brights on him the whole time.

 

He returned the favor, and with two babies in the back seat they screamed cried that entire time, being blinded by his lights.

 

It worked, and after getting home and restoring the kids to sleep, I chuckled to myself and thought "good on him, served me right"

 

 

 

[smally21]

i get the same problem in the perch pack. i never go near it cause quite frankly i like the solitude of being out in the lake. but then the pack starts building around you. i really want to be the bigger man and shut it, but the ignorant behaviour was theirs, not mine.

 

i like to think there is an imaginary radius around you equivalent to your anchor line. its yours.

 

its difficult because i dont own the lake, but its a really big lake, i dont see why boats need to get jammed up in the middle of lake erie.

 

just an idea, stand up on the casting deck, drop your pants and take a 5 minute, 2 large coffees, 8 beers the night before piss(sorry if i can't say that) facing them.

 

if they came out on the lake for some privacy they will likely take that moment to find it...

[vance]

If you were anchored I would be telling him to please move off to a safer distance.If you were BOTH drifting around at the mercy of wind and current I would MAKE a point of moving slightly out of the way the first time and then after that tell him it was HIS turn to move so that lines don't get crossed.You would be surprised how quickly people move off if you casually start talking to them about how they are doing when they are too close to your boat.

 

vance

[mike rousseau]

i get the same problem in the perch pack. i never go near it cause quite frankly i like the solitude of being out in the lake. but then the pack starts building around you. i really want to be the bigger man and shut it, but the ignorant behaviour was theirs, not mine.

 

i like to think there is an imaginary radius around you equivalent to your anchor line. its yours.

 

its difficult because i dont own the lake, but its a really big lake, i dont see why boats need to get jammed up in the middle of lake erie.

 

just an idea, stand up on the casting deck, drop your pants and take a 5 minute, 2 large coffees, 8 beers the night before piss(sorry if i can't say that) facing them.

 

if they came out on the lake for some privacy they will likely take that moment to find it...

 

 

thats just it... i was staying away from the area that most fish... and he migrated towards me... then i moved... and the cat came back...lol

[mike rousseau]

If you were anchored I would be telling him to please move off to a safer distance.If you were BOTH drifting around at the mercy of wind and current I would MAKE a point of moving slightly out of the way the first time and then after that tell him it was HIS turn to move so that lines don't get crossed.You would be surprised how quickly people move off if you casually start talking to them about how they are doing when they are too close to your boat.

 

vance

 

 

i was trolling... if you can call it that... 0-0.5 mph...

 

when he was ir rod length i though he was gunna hit me...

[cram]

Sometimes more effective to make fun of him and make him feel silly than to go barnstorming mad, and inciting an argument/fight.

 

Or, pull out one of your heavier musky baits and start casting!

Edited October 27, 2011 by cram

[BillM]

I wouldn't have been so nice, I would have told him to (insert nasty word here)

[Harrison]

I used to get mad and frustrated Mike but I learned it will do nothing but change my mood.

 

So now I just continue on or move. Not worth my anger. I have kids I need to save that for.

Edited October 27, 2011 by Harrison

[Spiel]

Occasionally I've been known to pull anchor if someone crowds me, then I toss it back out at their boat as close as I can, then say, "ooops, sorry, I was just trying to reposition myself a little further from you!".....

[woodenboater]

I'd be tempted to park beside a particularly nasty piece of rock/shoal and fish off the deep side. Wait a few minutes till he crunches up on said piece of rock and then flash a nice eff u smirk. and leave him behind

Edited October 29, 2011 by woodenboater

[manitoubass2]

use some braid and a lifejacket and make a prop fouler like they have on Whale Wars

[bubbles]

At minimum I stay a cast away, not afraid to let people know I think they should do the same if they are within casting distance of me.......

[bigbuck]

Start tossing some big baits his way or lead him to a nice shoal to ground on. He will have no one to blame but himself. What a jerk. At least stay casting distance away, bare minimum.

[jimmer]

i get the same problem in the perch pack. i never go near it cause quite frankly i like the solitude of being out in the lake. but then the pack starts building around you. i really want to be the bigger man and shut it, but the ignorant behaviour was theirs, not mine.

 

i like to think there is an imaginary radius around you equivalent to your anchor line. its yours.

 

its difficult because i dont own the lake, but its a really big lake, i dont see why boats need to get jammed up in the middle of lake erie.

 

just an idea, stand up on the casting deck, drop your pants and take a 5 minute, 2 large coffees, 8 beers the night before piss(sorry if i can't say that) facing them.

 

if they came out on the lake for some privacy they will likely take that moment to find it...

LOL This reminded me of a story one of my buddies told me. He kept getting these guys anchoring right off his dock and they would stay for extended periods of time and were loud. He finally got sick of it, strolled down to the dock, dropped his drawers and went for a chunky dunk. Needless to say, he never saw them again.

This topic continues to come up on all the forums and will never be settled as long as there are brain dead anglers out their that just don't get it. Geez, maybe they just want to be your friend and don't know how to go about introducing themselves.

I personally move on, while being as noisy as possible.

[smally21]

the other idea that came up is, if you have a mean stereo in yer boat, start playing the loudest, most obnoxious,offensive lyriced tunes you've got.

 

haven't done it, don't particularly agree with loud music coming from boats but, im pretty sure the old farts that parked 6 feet from our boat would move when they here what some foul mouthed rapper likes doing to his ladies....

 

 

 

sorry got a little carried away - should have been kept to the garage!

Edited October 27, 2011 by smally21
last statement erased not even close to being acceptable

[aplumma]

I stay a casting distance away and if I am catching and they move in close for crappie, perch or schooling fish I will point out the area I am fishing and ask them not to spook the fish. I then tell them what I am fishing with and offer them one if they don't have any. Most of the time they move on when the bite slows down and if they get on a school they will motion me over to fish their spot. Now if you are bass fishing or other non schooling fish then a casting distance is a fair distance to keep from each other.

 

Art

[adolson]

I know this isn't the same thing, but I was fishing with two other people on an unnamed river bank, and some idiot comes along on his parents' Seadoo and starts ripping past us as fast as he can, over and over, and waves are splashing onto our feet, etc. He had the entire river, and this moron comes over to us, where there are signs up that state he shouldn't even be there! He had a smug look on his face, and I wanted to rip it off...

 

Unfortunately he was just out of casting distance, and even my heaviest Williams spoon fell just short of hooking into his PFD.

 

Eventually the kid's dad, who was standing on the opposite side of the river, watching, tells him to not go near us anymore because "there are people fishing there." Gee, REALLY?

 

As for your situation, that's a tough one. I don't think I'd ever have to worry about it, heh. It's rare I see others fishing even close to where I am, and I'm not pulling much up anyhow (maybe that's why there's nobody else around).

[lew]

When I'm fishing I prefer not to be near anyone else. I usually won't stop within 1000 feet of another boat and like to be treated the same, but obviously that doesn't usually happen in my favor.

 

Buddy and I were out a few years ago on a nice quiet Sunday evening drifting with the current along a line of pencil reeds. Along comes a big fancy bass boat with a couple guys dressed in their finest sponsor shirts and actually stopped no more than 20' down stream of us.

 

I said scuse me, but you just parked your boat exactly where we were casting, and he casually told me that I didn't own the spot.

 

Not a problem though, I just used my troll motor and squeezed between him and the reeds and stopped my boat 10' downstream from HIM. So close infact, I could feel the glare from his eyes.

 

He told me I was being childish now but I guess he got the hint as he fired up his big fancy boat and headed off to harrass other parts of the lake.

 

Never could figure why some folks need to act like that sometimes. Maybe they don't realise that fish'n is sposed to be fun

Edited October 27, 2011 by lew

[Tybo]

If he's not making me work my boat to avoid him.Don't care.

If he making me work the boat.I'd just move on.

 

The law of the water is about avoidance.Not confrontation.

[Old Man]

I myself, also don't like to fish with in a mile of another boat. We live on a huge lake in NW Ontario that isn't heavily fished and it still happens a couple of times a summer to us. Early one morning the wife and I were working the south shoreline of a remote bay on the lake. Not another boat in sight on our 30 minute trip down. We were pitching crankbaits towards shore while slow trolling along the shoreline. We were hitting a number of smallmouth, northerns, walleye and even the odd perch. After about 15 minutes of this, a boat comes into the bay and sits in the centre of the bay and starts to troll across. No bother, their far enough away. Well, after another 15 minutes of fishing and several fish later, I hear the motor of the other boat start up and turn around to see them heading almost straight for us. They proceed to pull in front of us by about 30 feet and started to troll up the shoreline just ahead of us. I maintained course and didn't let it bother me. The funny thing was, they never hooked a fish while we kept pulling them in in the water they had just trolled over. The only thing I may have done was to be a little more vocal everytime we hooked one, just to rub it in. After about 1/2 an hour, they had enough and took off. The lake is 18,000 hectares and there's more good spots to fish then there are ever boats on the lake. I just don't understand people who behave like this.

[OutdoorDan]

I see little point in yelling/giving the finger because even though that is a rightful reaction it won't accomplish much with people that do that, so if they are really a nuisance then moving on is best. Having said that, if he is following you around like that, then I don't know, there isn't really a good solution. Your best bet in terms of providing the best outcome is still probably to try to calmly reason with him, although I would be pretty furious in your situation.