Fishing Etiquette

[dogrodder]

Another reason to never use marker floats. I call them boat magnets.

[fishinnut 3446]

Originally Posted by Obabikon

Personally, if I'm fishing a "high traffic area" (like our Rabbit Point here on LOTW's)... it's my fault I'm there. Go by me at full speed so it's the smallest wake possible. The only thing you SHOULD NOT do is slow down to 1/3rd throttle or 1/2 throttle.... that makes the biggest wake possible.

You hit that on the head!To many times people will do just that 1/3-1/2 throttle by me,it would not bother me if they were 100yards away,but when i'm fishing the river,I must be a boat magnet!they have to come 50'-75' away and then have the nerve to wave at me!

[RapShad]

It's funny this topic is going because my father and I experienced an event similar to this today, while fishing for Lakers on Big Vermillion near Sioux Lookout. There is one well-known spot in Big V near the boat launch so it is really common to see someone on it. When we arrived there were two boats on the spot one clearly had a guide, we moved on to a nearby spot and waited patiently for our crack at it. All the while there was a boat from a state that starts with M and ends in innestoa trolling around in between and around these boats at very close distances (it reminded me of a buzzard flying of a carcass). The trolling boat after having no luck moved on then the two other boats moved as well. Having had very good luck a few days before we moved on to the spot to try our hand, threw a marker out as a visual reference and a few minutes later the buzzard came back and started his routine. It was very windy today so it was difficult to stay around our marker with the electric motor but we did a good job of establishing a 100'x100' perimeter around our marker. Every time we would drift out of this perimeter we would notice the buzzard try and swoop in on it. Our retaliation was to catch 5 lakers all above 25 inches in the span of about 2 hours and not give up our spot. By the way we watched them the whole time and they did not catch a thing

[Curryale]

When people pull up next to me on a remote or semi-remote lake that is full of fish it used to boil my blood.

It still does to a certain degree - especially on a really big lake with a million different spots - but now most of the time I just feel sorry for those people.

They clearly do not know how to fish. Every lake in this thread is full of fish. Just go to a point on main lake drop off. Its not hard. But these people who pull up right next to you are so clueless that they have to follow other people around the lake.

They also lack any sense of manners which I would imagine would make their lives difficult outside of a boat too.

[bigwalleye1]

just don't understand the faster boat=smaller wake concept. Try running thru Loon Rapids on Lac Seul and there's invariably some knucklehead fishing in the middle of the channel. I start approaching heading in or out, and someone wants to wave me down. Mind you I'm running 40+ with an 1800 ProV and a 175. He wants me to slow down and willing to scream obscenities at me..., OK, but you be careful what you wish for...Drop throttle and settle that battleship into the water and you've got a lot of wake moving your way in a hurry. Silly folks. Throttle up again, give 'em a wave, and we're off. I don't try to do it intentionally, but if you're gonna play in the middle of the freeway, don't be surprised that there's traffic there....

[Bozotheclown]

This is a little off the subject but last year I was tailgated by a
guy from Chicago.I was traveling north on 502 and driving a ltttle
faster than the posted speed.I want to point out I'm from Illinois and
I see a lot of these drivers. For about 5 miles this guy was right on my tail.
When he passed I noticed the license from Hinsdale, Illinois. After getting off 502 I headed to Dryden and stopped at Tim Hortons.
I noticed the same car that was on my butt was parked. As I turned to park, this guy
got into that car. If I was'nt on a fun fishing trip I would have taught
that guy from Hinsdale a few lessons. Sorry for the rant.

[drew59]

Originally Posted by bigwalleye1

just don't understand the faster boat=smaller wake concept. Try running thru Loon Rapids on Lac Seul and there's invariably some knucklehead fishing in the middle of the channel. I start approaching heading in or out, and someone wants to wave me down. Mind you I'm running 40+ with an 1800 ProV and a 175. He wants me to slow down and willing to scream obscenities at me..., OK, but you be careful what you wish for...Drop throttle and settle that battleship into the water and you've got a lot of wake moving your way in a hurry. Silly folks. Throttle up again, give 'em a wave, and we're off. I don't try to do it intentionally, but if you're gonna play in the middle of the freeway, don't be surprised that there's traffic there....

Tony Dean did an underwater study ten years ago or so that showed fish react more to a change in noise rather than noise itself. His conclusion was that going by full speed caused less disturbance. I follow this rule and wish others did too. I also agree the wake is smaller when someone zips by.

[IA Nate]

As was stated stated earlier--it is the exception and not the rule....

But I echo the frustration with some of those "exceptions." There are a couple places on Lac Seul that I think somebody called "community holes" and I think that is true. The Big Sand Banks on McKenzie Bay, is one of those places that you should just expect to see other boats. But that's a petty big area and when the Banks are "on" there are enough fish for everybody. However if you get there and drop anchor in the middle of 8-9 boats who are all trolling, expect to get some flack.

My pet peeve is guys who drop anchor and fish in very narrow channels. We stay at Onaway Lodge at the far end of Scout Bay. Fisherman's Cove is also on the far end of Scout Bay. Last year at the end of the day somebody was anchored right in the narrowest channel to get back to camp. The channel isn't that big. It's bordered by stumps. Then you had an idiot parked in the middle of it for all the boats from two camps to go around.

[Manitou]

My pet peeve is boaters who drive between me and my weedline I'm obviously casting towards when there's tons of open water on my backside. And I'm talking about short casting distances here. So much for fishing that weedline for a while until the fish settle down.

I really feel encroached when others fishing "my" spots. I've enjoyed them with relatively good secrecy over the decades but the huge rise in the popularity of fishing means I now have to share these spots.
I saw three young guys land a 4' musky about 200 yds from my camp last week. Oh well...

[zman8701]

For those of us that fish all year long on both hard and soft water, this topic always seem to pop up thru out the season. I've concluded that some people just don't get it; and when it happens to me, I tell them in a curtious way and move on to a different spot. Hopefully I make them feel stupid and they get the message. If they don't, then you can't fix stupid