Tournament Ettiquette?

[DonBo]

There was a big bass tourney on my home water this weekend. What is it about these tournaments that make people throw away all on-the-water ettiquette they (hopefully) employ while fishing outside of the tourney circuit.

Aparently every fish was on the far side of the lake from the starting point. These boats buzzed past and between three of us that were fishing one spot at 60-70 mph with no reguard for those of us already on the water. Later in the day we were at a restaurant on the lake for lunch and watched several of these same boats blowing through a narrow no-wake zone/marina area totally ignoring the warning signs clearly posted.

I hope these fisherman show better respect for the law and other anglers when not fishing for the big bucks. I for one will vote against any other tourneys on this water unless the organizers insist on proper ettiquette and respect from all fisherman involved.

[bassNspear]

There should be a line of respect when it comes to tournament fishing, you shouldnt be driving right by people that fast in the first place. Thats just common sence! People need to have respect on the water!

They do that to people all the time, but get mad at people when there tubing around them or jet skiing around them while fishing. I tournament fish, and i dont like that when people are doing that around me, but have the respect to not blow by everyone on the water!

[JimBuck]

It's funny how a little money/competition can really turn people into total schmucks. I've also noticed on many of the local tournies/league nights that people feel compelled to rip across the lake at WOT at the sound of the horn. Without proper regulations, some of the tournaments/leagues can be a real circus.

[Neighbor_guy]

Like it or not, $Cash money talks$$$, if you are in the way, you best move out of it. Be it Bass, Walleye's, or Muskies, the guys who fish for $Cash, dont care about you. Heaven forbid you are fishing a spot they want to be on.

[NTW]

Sorry to hear about your day being hampered by those guys not being courteous.

I have fished while tournies are underway in my area without noticing that sort of behavior, maybe I've just been lucky. That being said, I have noticed many non-tourney anglers doing similar things.

[muskyhunter57]

Tournament fishing is a mad dash to wherever that angler believes the hot bite is at. On smaller lakes it's nuts. If your your near a channel or a neck down... get out of the way. I own a quick boat and do not want to associate myself with some these

"Holeshot" fisherman. There is another thread going right now about etiquette and it should be self policing but during tournament time the sheriff's office should step in.

[PerchJerker]

A lot of it comes down to the tournament organizers. I've been in several tournaments where there were rule meetings each day before launching, with lots of emphasis placed on courteous behavior and obeying no-wake zones, etc. Some tournaments have also had on-the-water observers and even on-the-water boat inspections. It goes a long ways to making sure everyone is on their best behavior.

I see plenty of discourteous behavior from non-touranment anglers too, some people just aren't willing (or able) to relax and enjoy themselves without fishing "their" spot at any cost.

[Muddog]

I think tournament tends to have a huge draw to the narcissists in the fishing world. You are just an obstacle in there way to fame and glory. Don’t expect them to think of you, you should be thinking of them! THEY ARE.

I don’t think they are all that way but tournaments fishing has more then its share.

[Northlander]

I see far more poor boat drivers that arent tourney/contest/league fisherman than are. Its just not the tourney guys that can be idiots at times. At least I know they arent drunk while driving!

[Wanderer]

DonBo,

Find out who the Director was and call him. If he has any intentions of getting permits in years down the road, he will listen to what you tell him.

[lovebigbluegills]

The tournaments I've fished have been pretty darn good as far as people not flying past you at 60-70mph. However, the one thing that really gets my goat is after having a good first day, boats seeking you out and pulling in 25-30 yards in front of your drift/troll and staying with you all day the second day.

[Team Otter]

There was a big bass tourney on my home water this weekend. What is it about these tournaments that make people throw away all on-the-water ettiquette they (hopefully) employ while fishing outside of the tourney circuit.

Aparently every fish was on the far side of the lake from the starting point. These boats buzzed past and between three of us that were fishing one spot at 60-70 mph with no reguard for those of us already on the water. Later in the day we were at a restaurant on the lake for lunch and watched several of these same boats blowing through a narrow no-wake zone/marina area totally ignoring the warning signs clearly posted.

I hope these fisherman show better respect for the law and other anglers when not fishing for the big bucks. I for one will vote against any other tourneys on this water unless the organizers insist on proper ettiquette and respect from all fisherman involved.

I see this all the time, tournament or not. Bass, walleye, crappie, northern fishing - it doesn't matter.

[DonBo]

DonBo,

Find out who the Director was and call him. If he has any intentions of getting permits in years down the road, he will listen to what you tell him.

How would I find out who that was? Do they need to register with someone local to hold the tourney?

[Dave S]

The MNDNR will have a list of all of the tournaments registered through them and who applied for the permit.

[Nick Kuhn]

I'd rather have those boats fly by at 60-70 MPH (almost no wake) than those big mastercrafts pulling a couple tubes at about half throttle (like a 3-4 foot wake). Discourteous boaters are everywhere, but if possible I avoid fishing on tourney days, or avoid fishing large lakes on clear blue sky weekends.

[WyoChris]

I hate to be the devil's advocate, but i've seen a lot of posts about this kind of stuff the past week or two.....

Although there are obviously morons out on the lakes, does anyone think that some fisherman are too paranoid or selfish on the lakes?

For example, on some small metro lakes on a saturday afternoon there just aren't enough good fishing spots for every weekend fisherman out there. Therefore, some good spots may have several boats on them... it's gonna happen. however, some people are just paranoid and think anyone getting within 200 meters is encroaching on their spot.

In regards to fisherman going too fast on the lake...... at the same time I would rather have a boat staying on plane instead of slowing down to be "nice" and created a huge wake. Sometimes the fast boaters are the nice ones and the slow ones are clueless rookie boaters.

I agree that there a moron boaters out there, but some fisherman spend so much time cursing the other boats on the lake that they don't realize that other boats may be saying the same thing about them

[TR21]

Nick and WyoChris,

Thanks for making that point about driving by faster versus slower. I've run into so many fisherman that believe if you slow down when passing someone that you create a smaller wake when exactly the opposite is true. A faster boat causes less wake than a slowed down boat. Of course its the distance away from the anchored boat as well. Give people plenty of room and show some courtesy out there and everybody will enjoy thae day that much better.

[DonBo]

I hate to be the devil's advocate, but i've seen a lot of posts about this kind of stuff the past week or two.....

Although there are obviously morons out on the lakes, does anyone think that some fisherman are too paranoid or selfish on the lakes?

For example, on some small metro lakes on a saturday afternoon there just aren't enough good fishing spots for every weekend fisherman out there. Therefore, some good spots may have several boats on them... it's gonna happen. however, some people are just paranoid and think anyone getting within 200 meters is encroaching on their spot.

In regards to fisherman going too fast on the lake...... at the same time I would rather have a boat staying on plane instead of slowing down to be "nice" and created a huge wake. Sometimes the fast boaters are the nice ones and the slow ones are clueless rookie boaters.

I agree that there a moron boaters out there, but some fisherman spend so much time cursing the other boats on the lake that they don't realize that other boats may be saying the same thing about them

These guys did not want to fish "my" spot. They were headed towards some distant promised land. The boats they were driving were plenty fast enough that it would have taken them about 3 extra seconds to veer around us at a safe distance. I have no problem with anyone using their big motors as intended but they did NOT need to be inside 100' of us at 70 mph.

[TR21]

I agree Don, totally uncalled for. Too many of these guys driving high performance boats really haven't taken the time to understand them. I see so many guys driving these fast boats that don't know what they're doing. I, myself drive one of these boats but I took a coast guard boating course and learned from some very good fisherman as to how to drive these boats. I also learned from some very good pros regarding not only how to drive but being responsible on the water. I still can't believe they don't require a license and test to drive a boat.

[JimBuck]

I still can't believe they don't require a license and test to drive a boat.

This is exactly how I feel. 15 yr. old's stacked 8 deep on the folks wakeboard boat makes me queasy.

[Northlander]

The tournaments I've fished have been pretty darn good as far as people not flying past you at 60-70mph. However, the one thing that really gets my goat is after having a good first day, boats seeking you out and pulling in 25-30 yards in front of your drift/troll and staying with you all day the second day.

Or sitting and anchoring on the very small spot you have been trolling all day.

[OnAFly]

JimBuck hit my feelings about this on the head - I have had more problems with kids on their parents wake board boats than anyone else on the water.

Is it really necessary, when there are two people on a lake, to make repeated passes within 50' of them going at 3/4 throttle in a giant wake board boat. The best part is when you say something about it, they tell you all about how they live on the lake, so they can do whatever they want.

[Matt C]

Originally Posted By: lovebigbluegills

The tournaments I've fished have been pretty darn good as far as people not flying past you at 60-70mph. However, the one thing that really gets my goat is after having a good first day, boats seeking you out and pulling in 25-30 yards in front of your drift/troll and staying with you all day the second day.

Or sitting and anchoring on the very small spot you have been trolling all day.

Ha. Happened to me again last-night! "Oh hes trolling this spot in a nice boat, must be fish" plop. Uggg.

I see plenty of touney/non tourney guys blowing past at high speeds at a close range(unsafe) with 1000 acres they could have run through.

I think it just ppl saying, look at my 'fancy boat'. They want ppl to notice them. Oh well, smoke a cig, have a chew, catch a fish. Life moves on. Just like Rush Hour in the cities, no need to get frustrated. Thats just ppl being ppl. Like your kids, when they [PoorWordUsage] ya off, pick your battles.

[MuskieJunkie]

This is exactly how I feel. 15 yr. old's stacked 8 deep on the folks wakeboard boat makes me queasy.

Or the teenagers with no guidence on the 150 HP Personal Water Craft. I can't believe there's not more collisions on Minnetonka.

[Wanderer]

Since this is morphing into another recreational boater thread, I wanna add a revelation I had a couple weeks ago.

I have always disliked( aka ) the recreators disrupting a quiet, calm fishing experience. Why here, why now?

Well, after the pleadings of our kids to have some water sport action I bought a cheap knee board and 1 person tube to pull around.

Well, dang it, it wound up being fun. I even got on the knee board.

That's when I realized you need calmer water to do these things in. We tried going out to the main part of the lake but even the small chop made it nearly impossible to stay up.

Even though we stayed as far from people as we could in the calmer areas I know we were [PoorWordUsage] people off.

I felt bad for them but it comes down to when and where can people practice muliple uses for our waters? We chose to do this at mid-day to cut down on being obnoxious but there were still people trying to fish and canoe because it was calmer there.

You can't win.