How would of you handled this?

[Sandmannd]

I dont think this had anything to do with drilling a hole for the guy. Say a guy comes out with a sled with gear, and his auger doesnt work-anyone would drill him a hole. But if a guy comes out, with really no gear, and doesnt care where he fishes(depth, structure, etc.) and doesnt seem to know the lake(driving onto it is illegal from the post), that would just freak me out. Dont know what i would have said, but probably no to the using a hole.

Here's the thing with that, the guy could have been a total green horn. Maybe he got excited when he saw someone out there and could maybe get some info off of ya. I'm always willing to chat with the folks, drill some extra holes and I'll give ya some bait. Heck if I'm catching fish and you aren't, I'll give ya a jig if it means you catch some. It doesn't bother me. Most of my friends I have have been made through the outdoors. Don't cut them short because they are novice or don't seem like they have it together. Maybe he knew the lake better than you but had all his gear stolen (seems common this time of year) and was looking for a hand. I agree about not letting him use your auger and tearing it up, but it takes me 30 seconds to drill a hole, I'm out nothing and maybe gained a friend.

[Surface Tension]

I think I'm going to get a hold of a couple old Mora hand augers. I'll sharpen them up and put it in my truck for a situation just like this.

I'd love to give one away to someone in need. Giving/helping is a selfish sort of deal for me because I like the way I feel when I help.

I'm putting myself in this augerless angelrs shoes. While he may have been a total newb, it would have been better to help him out rather then stomp on his enthusiasm and hurting his feelings. I won't lend out a power auger to a beginner but I'll gladly drill some holes and give out some tips.

[TUMBLEWEED]

Lets look at it from the other guy's side...

From what it sounds, he probably had an auger in his

truck, but when he had to get the vehicle off, he was

gonna be stuck trying to haul one by hand back out there.

With no sled, he thinks he may get some help from fellow

fisherman. So out he goes and asks for some help from

them. Gets the boot instead.

Now what do you think he was thinking when he walked back

to his truck?? Maybe just kicking himself, or maybe

cussing the other guy. Who knows?

This is a great post... What would I have done??

Drilled em a hole, and see what gives.

The original poster had some doubt as to the deed,

so maybe next time they would have acted in favor

of the foolish individual. The story shows

what a little thing like a drilled hole, could

do to make something good happen in people's lives.

[Carl Bjorgen]

You really can't have a blanket response to this situation because you weren't in his shoes. He may have read this individual as someone he didn't want to have hanging around him. You know in this day and age you can't be too careful.

Every situation is different, and that will affect your reaction to it.

[NyQuiLlama]

...something snaped 4 of my lines.

What are you using for line?

The guy sounds like an one-who-thinks-I-am-silly... he should have asked before bringing the gear down for sure. But in his very weak defense, there are a lot of people who grew up fishing with their parents who just looked for old holes or someone that would drill for them. I grew up using a chipper and later a hand auger. But a friend that grew up to the east of me said that growing up they couldn't fish some days because they couldn't find any old holes. He said that they would sit in the parked car on shore and wait for people to leave. Personally, I'd go to that hardware store and buy a chipper. Different strokes for different folks.

Depending on his creepiness factor, I'd probably drill a couple holes for him on the other side of the structure... consider him a scout. If he asked me for bait, shelter, or anything else I would ask him for $5. I would explain that I hadn't planned for a third fisherman joining us.

[thatoneguy]

I would have drilled him a couple holes, anywhere he liked. He's one guy - it's not like he's going to steal all the fish. He sounds like he's either new to the sport or maybe not too bright - either way, it would have been a good people thing to do to help the guy out.

And I do believe that what goes around tends to come around.

[jimmyjames76]

I'd drill him a couple of holes, and see where it went from there. It would take such a tiny amount of effort, and what’s the worst that could happen? There are so many possible reasons why the guy didn’t haul gear onto the ice (didn’t have it, wasn’t physically able, too lazy, etc). Obviously too lazy isn’t a good reason, but you really can’t know what the reason is unless you talk to the guy. There are so few people out there willing to give anyone a hand anymore, and I try very hard not to perpetuate that idea.

[MnShooter]

Oh two of the lines were spiderline, 8lb and one was a braided tip -up line, and the other was a mono-8lb in the shack, ......totally snapped it when we got it close to the hole.

I have many a times let many people hunt or fish with me, but never had anyone just come up and expect something to be handed to him.

This whole thing, would of been different if he would of asked, before he left if we cared to drill him a hole or two, or attempted to bring out more than just a pole, heck an ice bar i would of said sure to drillin him a hole. Or if he had a hand auger, or his gas auger had broke. It was the whole thing where he did something illegal to come find us in the first place by driving on the ice, and then coming out after EXPECTING to have us cater to him. The other part is i am sure we were all tired from pullin our gear that far only to see someone walk up and ask to use our equipment.

[JeffB]

I would probably have drilled him some holes and regretted it the rest of the day. My guess is he would have assumed you were best buds after that and been annoying all day. I usually help people out when I can and most of them are great people, but I think 70% chance you made the right call with this guy.

[Jari Razskazoff]

I agree with the people who would have drilled him holes. Heck, I would have drilled holes next to mine if I wanted to... i mean, come on, its only fishing. He didn't ask to have his leper child give yours a hug. Maybe he had some good tips... maybe he had some good stories. He was probably lonely, without gear, and just needed a friend... People shack up ten feet away from people on busy days, so whats the big deal if he had a line or two ten feet from ya, or not? Some people are just mean, and don't know how to share. I do understand the serenity of being away from people, and fishing ethics... but really, what could it hurt, right?

Maybe it was Jebus reincarnated comin' to check from the heavens on ya... you know like those touchy-feely emails people receive from their mom, or grandma, or aunt... you know, the inspirational ones, that end in going to heaven, or catching the biggest fish of our lives...

just sayin'

... or i guess it could have been some mooch, who just got finished beating his wife, and children, just after doing meth off the bible in his bathroom...

You probably made the right decision to not help the guy, you work hard for your toys, and he very well could have bothered the group... and the lake is big, and people are responsible form themselves.

[MnShooter]

not picking on your post because others have stated, however where would it stop?

Next he will want some food from us, some beer, some bait, sit in the shack i worked hard to pay for?

I have in the past been "mooched" off of plenty when i was in high school, or college. I work hard for my toys and money. I was just recently taken for 2500$ from a guy trying to rent out my house. Took me three months to get him out legally. The day he moved in i let him pay 500$ for rent and told him since he was having a hard time getting on his feet i would let him pay the next week for the deposit. Never saw another dime and i paid most of the bills.

Maybe just sour grapes in all this but i was just with the way the economy is lately, some people try to get everything for nothing or most are just lazy!

[NyQuiLlama]

Yeah, it sounds to me like (understandably) like the problem was how presumptuous this fella was.

[MILLELACMANIAC]

I would have told him to run to the nearest liquor store.Pick up 4 cases of beer then come back and fis with me and as long as he pulls the portable back.Oh yea and i get to keep what ever beer is left.LOL

[Jari Razskazoff]

I would have told him to run to the nearest liquor store.Pick up 4 cases of beer then come back and fis with me and as long as he pulls the portable back.Oh yea and i get to keep what ever beer is left.LOL

That is a fair trade... well maybe not 4 cases, but at least a twelve pack.

[MnShooter]

we actually thought about it, we should of let him leave his truck there play dumb and if the DNR came out, let him get hosed or if not make him pulls us back.......we also said we should of told him to get more beer

[The_Duckslayer]

Even after reading all the responses I do not know what I would have done. I was not there to see what type of person the guy was. May have been a professional mooch. Then again he may have been a great guy without an auger or one that is broke. Nothing in the original story about him saying that his was broken. However, I would not go out onto a lake without a way to be self sufficient. I guess I can't say what I would have done as I was not there. MnShooter was and it was his decesion and I can not find fault with that. Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[loc8or]

Why do people assume they can use your stuff?They go ice fishing w/o bait,or an auger?These people have no common sense.I dont mind lending a hand/equipment to somebody,but when they go out there thinking they can just use someone elses hard earned equipment,thats rude!Do they ask if they can use your boat in the summer?Are they in a boat but have no rods or bait?Doubt it!When your stuff breaks down/fails you,I'll go out of my way to help you.It shows that you at least made an effort.If you dont have the right stuff,DONT GO!

[fishersofmen]

I would have drilled him some holes, gave him some bait with a seat in the house, orderded him a pizza and made a couple mortgage payments for him.

[jimmyjames76]

This is kind of a weird situation because most of the people you help out have a problem with their equipment rather than no equipment at all. It doesn’t sound like the guy was being rude, or acting like he was entitled to fish the holes you drilled; it sounds like he politely asked, you said no, and he left. It’s weird that he’d come out without gear, but maybe he didn’t have the gear, or maybe he had some health problem that prohibited from pulling a loaded sled. Some health problems are not always obvious on the surface (heart conditions, back injuries), but really limit what a person can physically do. Or maybe he was just lazy…who knows. That’s why I would have drilled him a few holes, and waited to see what happened. If the guy takes advantage of your hospitality you can always tell him to shove off.

[Pickelfarmer]

Maybe it was Jebus reincarnated comin' to check from the heavens on ya... you know like those touchy-feely emails people receive from their mom, or grandma, or aunt... you know, the inspirational ones, that end in going to heaven, or catching the biggest fish of our lives...

just sayin'

... or i guess it could have been some mooch, who just got finished beating his wife, and children, just after doing meth off the bible in his bathroom...

That is just priceless. I love it.You hit the nail square on the head with that one Jari. Point is no one will ever know, now that the chance to find out has passed. I don't blame the poster for not drilling holes for the guy. I guess for me to say I would drill holes for the guy is easy from where I'm sitting. On a couple outings, I have drilled holes for others. I guess we could all learn a little from this, Maybe we all need to think a little more about each other and help out when we can???? I beleave what goes around comes around but I don't think that the original poster is a bad guy or did anything wrong. Maybe next time he'll do it differently. I'd like to think I would have helped the guy but who knows???

I do know one thing for sure, I'll think about it alot more and be more apt to help out after reading this post and all the replys.

[croixflats]

There have been many times I have been driving down the road and saw a lake and thought to myself that looks like a nice lake to try. Lots of times I will leave my fishing gear in my truck for days except for the auger and the flasher. A bucket and rods beside you in a truck does make you do weird things.

I have not had the trust to pull up to a lake on the spur of the moment and fished just for the fact of if I ask someone for help I may be sent off with my tail between my legs.

After reading some of these post I feel better if I decide to pull over and give a lake a try. Cudoes for this guy to give it a try, to bad he was sent off.

But hey, if you dont feel right about the situation dont put yourself in harms way but it would be nice if one didnt say no just for spite of it.

[PiedmontAngler]

My reply might have been something like...

... "Tell you what buddy, you go back to your truck and head into town and pick us up lunch at (insert you favorite restaurant here) and then stop at the store and pick us up (insert your favorite drink here) and bring it back out to us and we'll drill you a few holes where ever you think you'd like to fish out here."

I agree with most on the hole drilling and bait sharing to an extent.

[brahambaseball]

I would have probably drilled a few holes 30 or 40 yards from my shack... and while doing so, ask him if he's new to the sport, or if he had gear but just didn't have it with him, or it was broken.. I like meeting people out on the ice, but sometimes it can be hard, because you never know who's house you're walking up to, or how the person is going to react to you asking for help.

Obviously it would have been better when the guy drove by to ask if they minded to drill him some holes.

The bait thing is a little weird though. If someone ran out of bait, I'd be more than willing to give up some of my extra.

It is a judgment call that everyone would have to feel out when/if they are the situation.

[TiNK3R]

we actually thought about it, we should of let him leave his truck there play dumb and if the DNR came out, let him get hosed or if not make him pulls us back.......we also said we should of told him to get more beer

wow - I hope I don't ever run into you. I'd expect this from teenagers...

[MnShooter]

I said this sarcasticlly by the way, was not serious. Thats why we told him he better get off before someone reports him........and the beer joke came later when we were outta beer....