On the water angler ethics

[50inchpig]

Can't disagree with any of that, really. Only boats that ever get the bird from me are usually musky fishermen.

On another note, it can't POSSIBLY be legal to wakeboard after dark, even if you have a light bank on the back of your boat, it just can't.

[DeBo101]

Be nice if people would turn their lights on as well. Wanted to go after some fish spotted earlier get a little ways away and see the sillouhette of a boat with no lights in the vicinity of the way point. Awesome! Didn't care all that much they were on the spot but after driving over there thinking I could fish it and having to turn around will get a guy a bit fired up.

Maybe when we see other musky fisherman without their lights on we should just plow right in and start fishing. "What the heck are you doing?" "I didn't see any lights and its dark out so there must not be a boat here on this spot I drove across the lake to fish."

Jet skiers are pretty low on the annoying scale these days. Small wakes and they don't drive in circles much these days. Wake boarders they are just looking for the glassy water sux when its right on top of a good spot. Other species fisherman just out doing their thing. Although its annoying when they drive from across the lake and anchor 20 yards in front of you in the direction you were casting but that hasn't happened since yesterday .

The best is calm days on smaller lakes when it is very obvious when people have follows are figure 8ing etc. See a fish then 2 minutes later somebody moves in 30 or 40 yards behind you and now you can no longer turn around and try that fish with a different bait etc cause oh thats right a MUSKY fisherman who works his butt off to catch fish but thought that was a better idea than finding their own fish is in the way.

Fishing the crowded lakes of minnesota you pretty much gotta roll with the punches cause there just ain't enough water here in the metro area. Guess thats why I enjoy the time on the shield, in the home state, and on the little bass puddles around here.

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

somebody moves in 30 or 40 yards behind you and now you can no longer turn around and try that fish with a different bait etc cause oh thats right a MUSKY fisherman who works his butt off to catch fish but thought that was a better id

i mean c'mon at least let'em leave first, sheesh.

honestly, i can't believe it's really gotten as bad as everyone says out there. this has to be embelished right? when i fished lakes it was here or there a goof showed up sure, but the way it's sounding in here you can't even go out anymore without getting this stuff. that's too bad. fishing for me is to relax. i'm not so sure i would enjoy it as much as then if this is really the case. sounds like the only times it would be fun is in the rain or 25 mph winds. that really is too bad. ... maybe more lakes is the only answer. by the sounds of it this state is going to lose some money from muskie fishers quitting if they don't fix this before it's too late. lol, that's when they'll come with the stamp... when it's too late.

[PostFrontal]

I really wanted to stay out of this one, but here we go.

First I personally don't care. We're out fishing, why do we have to make all of this like the rest of our lives that every little thing has to be an issue. Punt.

Dirty water. Either you never fish out of the back of the boat or you will only fish alone. My fishing partner and I consistently catch the same amount of fish out of the front and back of the boat year in and year out. When there is a hot lure, we even use the same lure, same color, and have even cast the same spot and the second guy catches them. Who knows why? Have you ever seen the line of boats on the north shore of Mille Lacs during a tournament? Five boats will go over the same 2-7 feet of water in sand and the 6th will catch a fish. Same with out on the rocks. Seen the same thing on weedlines on Vermillion.

We fish Tonka the majority of the time. This last week, we were working the outside weedline and there was a guy anchored panfishing with a bobber up in the weeds about 2 cast lengths away, and a skier decided to part the waters between us. Whatever.

This week we were fishing the middle of a weedline and a walleye fisherman decided to start way off at the point and troll the weedline right past us. Whatever.

Two weeks ago we were fishing a weedline off a point and another muskie boat came around the other side of the point and up the other side of the weedline. I had a follow on a low 40 inch fish that I gave a few figure eights and we moved on looking for his Mom. The boat cut across the weeds and went right to where I did my figure 8. Whatever, I was hoping he caught him.

I was out fishing with Mr Kellet and he had 2 follows in 1 spot. We left and were going to come back in 15 mintues and when we did there was a cabin cruiser parked right on the spot. Whatever. (And those fish are still there today)

This morning we had a guide stop 100 yards from us on a spot we have seen multiple fish and were working our way towards. His client hooked one and lost it on the spot. It started raining and we hung out with them under the bridge. Super nice guys. We went to a different spot and caught one. I hope they went back and caught that one and are now muskie fisherman...

I have also had people I know say we cut them off. Which blew me away, and I felt bad even though I had no clue. For example, we came up on an Island and saw a boat on the east side of it. We stopped on the far west side and fished that side. He came all the way around the outside weedline on the north side of the island half way out to the westside point where we were, and I found out later we cut him off?? We usually only work the westside motor up and work the eastside. So his perception of how he fishes the island and our persception was different. So was either of us wrong? Same thing from another friend when they were working an outside weedline on a bay that would take 4-5 hours to fish. So we went really shallow 400 yards from him. Thought it was fine, guess it wasn't.

Squee-the Metro Tourney is a free for all. No holds barred, and everything is out the window when you have 100 boats on a small body of water. Instead of expecting to be able to work a whole weedline, go to the spot that you saw the fish when you were prefishing and start there. 1 fish and you usually place. We've learned that from making the same mistake.

There aren't 5,000 muskie lakes in MN. We have to deal with the increase of the amount of muskie anglers and small number of lakes, with other types of fisherman, recreational boats, etc. Yea, it sucks when you are on what you thinks is a good spot and someone comes by, but maybe they just saved you from wasting your time where there were no fish. If you want to give those other people all the power by them making you quit muskie, walleye, bass fishing. Then do it. But don't blame anyone else but yourself for giving them that power and for your choice. You can always take up golf. Won't have any problems there...

[bronzeback]

I find it funny when someone trolls the edge of a bay in a circle over and over, running over water you're already casting into, cutting inside and outside of you, and not having a care in the world. Happened to me last night, didn't bother me much other than the fact that it was a completely inconsiderate thing to do, and even more inconsiderate considering the size of the area. Maybe he figured we weren't fishing seriously because i had an 11 year old out throwing a Harrasser with blades comparable to a super model. oh well, you know it's bad when the 11 year old in your boat says, "what the heck are these guys doing?"

Trolling could be a good application in that area...as long as there aren't any boats, or you stick to one side.

[Myrt]

I'M WITH YOU POSTFRONTAL. I'VE BEEN CUT OFF ON THE FREEWAY, I HAVEN'T QUIT DRIVING...HA!

[MN Shutterbug]

Maybe when we see other musky fisherman without their lights on we should just plow right in and start fishing.

Or, call TIP.

[MN Shutterbug]

You can always take up golf. Won't have any problems there...

Bull. The reason I quit the game of golf was the courses getting too crowded and five somes not letting a lone golfer play thru.

[Shawn Kellett]

Don, this spring it was that bad. In one day alone I had 3 people cut me off on one spot and then get cut off another 2x. The next time out I was cut off a couple more times and had 2 different boats start following me from spot to spot. It hasn't been as bad lately, but I think it's more because there have seemed to be fewer people on the lake. Once the fall rush starts again I think it'll probably get bad again. Hopefully this thread will get some to start thinking about it more.

[JRedig]

Originally Posted By: DeBo101

Maybe when we see other musky fisherman without their lights on we should just plow right in and start fishing.

Or, call TIP.

That has nothing to do with TIP, that's a law with the DNR, nothing to do with poaching.

[b1gf1sh1]

Quote:

Don, this spring it was that bad. In one day alone I had 3 people cut me off on one spot and then get cut off another 2x.

are you well known on the lake? or is your boat the one with stickers everywhere? just asking because it sounds like your marked for death man. how about that big lakeland or two in plain view? ranger with a 250 says serious, add anything else on this list, not limited too, and your marked. clothes can be a give away too if they look tournement like.

personally i own a '92 allumacraft phantom f/s. pretty unassuming to look at really. but the name says it all. ''phantom''.. dual casting decks, nice sized. 7 foot wide interior. it moves out decent with the 135, i get to 52 mph in the right conditions but generally i go no more than about 35 or 40 anyway. i enjoy the ride. i only open it up to avoid the wake makers trying to pass me. it's different on a river, it's all straght away like a road, and passing pretty close is common and needed sometimes. i wear catfisherman clothes mostly, a couple stickers that's it. the lakeland's stays home with what i won't use for that day. but like i've said i don't fish lakes much. when i do it's durring the week.

i'm no professional muskie guy but i do ok and some people know it. people know me on the rivers but it's, no joke, about 100 to 1 walleye or catman to every muskie guy i know. add a few for the sturg. there's so much water to cover on a river i almost never see one. really on a river you can go through a 25 gallon tank pretty fast if your not carefull. normally your not going to drive 30 miles to get to a spot. put in where you want to cover and cover that stretch. about 2 or 3 miles is where i try to stay, that's 4 to 6 miles or more of shoreline structure to cover. then add semi to midriver structure and there's enough for three days easy if you want to get to all of it. i think that's why it's so barren of muskie boats, there's just too much water. when i do see a muskie boat and go by i'll see them later and not once in all these years has any ever came to where i'm at fishing. they just keep going. anyway, that's why i'm lost on this. i guess i just don't see 50 boats competing for 10 spots. more like 2 boats competeing for a couple hundred in that 2 to 3 miles. heck i could give GPS co-ordinates and the river might change and there's no fish for a month in that area. so i don't mind telling this stuff in the least.

my advice hasn't changed Shawn. find a river before you quit. you know as well as anyone they are self populating and won't be on a stocking list... some small areas are.... but overall not. if peace and quiet is what you want you won't find it on a river, there's plenty of activity, but water skiers and jet skies are minimal at most. and the area you see you like won't have a boat in it 100 to 1 times you go to it. and if there is a boat that one time it's got a hottie sunning herself on the deck. plenty of reason to see if there is a fish there somewhere. i've also heard and seen that if you catch a muskie in a lake it's mouth usually looks all beat up from multiple releases? i get virgin fish all the time on rivers. some probably never even been hooked before, or at least a few years since it saw a lure.

again, i ponder.... why?

[scsavre]

unfortunatley geting cut off is something we are just going to have to deal with. Some fisherman either dont get it or dont care. Its always going to happen. Just try to blow it off. Dont let it ruin your day.

In the metro it happens all the time and i could care less now. Up north on trips it can be frustrating because of the time and money and effort to get up there. You just want everything to go as planned. Just blow it off, and create some good Karma for yourself. As i posted this year. A boat with 3 guys in it, cut me off (1 cast length) a few times in the same morning. I gave them my warning cast behind their boat and got a 52incher.

I dont know what else to do, dont get crabby and dont become one of them. Why fish if you arent gonna have fun.

And BronzeB i agree on the trollers,i'll never figure these guys out. But i have said enough about those guys who only troll.

[NCLaker]

PostFrontal/Nate, Great post!! Couldn't agree with your post more. Wish eveyone roled with your great same attitude

With area lakes being relatively small/crowded for muskie, I am suprised that anyone would realistically expect not to have other boats pressuring the same structure (muskie or other).

[Muskiefool]

Fish low density natural lakes Shawn, no one is there, no one wants to put in the work and hours to catch the fish in those systems; no one wants a 1-5 fish year, its a instantaneous gratification society we live in and everyone is chasing a ghost on every lake or bay a 50+ inch fish comes from, first thing anyone wants is GPS quadrant's to the fish.

Problem solved fish natural.

99.9% of the problem is as Walleye and Bass anglers we don't mind a guy right next to us, 5 docks ahead or 100 feet across a weed bed.

Now we are dealing with like anglers casting 100 feet with a stupid rubber donger so we have overlap.

Give the guys a break and they'll probably figure it out as soon as they get sick of a boat parking 100 feet away on a weedbed.

I had a pontoon run 50 feet in front of where I was casting so when I cast it went right over the lines they were pulling, he thought we were bass fishing and I had no idea he was fishing at all, we both apologized I got his bait back in the water and we went away a bit more educated than the morning of.

Some people just don't get it and never will; the others will learn.

[RumRiverRat]

RRR, you seem to be one of the people we're p!ssed about. If a guy's fishing a spot let him fish it. All you're doing by pulling in is budding in line like a 3 year old.

As you said they don't own the water, neither do you. In that case it's FIRST COME FIRST SERVE; the first guy has the right of way.

Maybe you should post your rig so we all can know who you are. This way the rest of us can "not own the water" 75 yards in front of you all day long.

First come first serve?

So if there is a guy working the shoreline, no one is allowed to fish in front of him?

He has first rights to that entire shoreline?

Seriously give me a break.

Many of you muskie anglers posting in this thread need to look in the mirror.

I really like when you musky anglers make casts really close to other boats to intimidate the other anglers.

I take pride in recording your Registration Number and reporting you for angler harassment.

[TBone1]

I have been reading a few of these posts in the last week or so and have been reluctant to post my opinion.

Being cutoff, unfortunately thats the way it is, especially in the metro. There is not a thing one can do about it,other than go boat rage, I have been there and feel worse after b*(# about it. And I still catch myself going down that road on occasion.Me bad

Enjoy your time on the water, enjoy the company you have, whether they are in your boat, in the boat next to you or at the access. Life is too short to get p/o'd over a situation you have no control over, especially when it's doing something you enjoy!

[bronzeback]

It's an etiquette thing, RRR. Sometimes that kind of thing is hard to understand.

I don't own the line at Subway but I definitely don't jump in front of the guy that got there before me.

[RumRiverRat]

It's an etiquette thing, RRR. Sometimes that kind of thing is hard to understand.

I don't own the line at Subway but I definitely don't jump in front of the guy that got there before me.

So a guy is fishing a 1000 yard stretch of shoreline, no one is allowed to fish in front of that person?

That guy has first rights to the entire stretch of shoreline?

[muskydeceiver]

In all reality it doesn't matter, but it is nice if you are going to fish an area that someone else doesn't jump in front of you. If you are at the start of the "1000 yard shoreline" and the guy jumps to the end of said shoreline it will be roughly 1/2 hour before you reach that spot. No big deal. If he jumps 100 yards in front of you that kind of sucks.

Quick story for everyone. 2 buddies and I were fishing one night and we had only been moving fish on DCGs. By 9:30 all 3 of us were throwing them. Over the next hour we boated 4 fish between 41" and 45.5". The guy up front caught 1, I caught 2 in the middle and the guy in the back of the boat caught 1. These fish were all hot and absolutely devouring these baits, yet they were obviously not eating the first one through all the time. Kind of makes you wonder what the heck they are doing sometimes......

[TBone1]

Quote:

We had a similar situation -sort of.

We fished a spot on Tonka 2 weeks ago, the morning after a cold front. We had a short fish on one spot and then hopped over to where I had spotted a good fish a couple days earlier. I thought we covered it well and moved to an adjacent reef.

I lone fisherman moved onto the spot we fished 10 minutes earlier-and nailed what appeared to be about a 50".

[PostFrontal]

I think it is time we all just have to change with the times. It was great 7 years ago when we were on a 20 acre reef and it was all ours. We have to accept there are more muskie fisherman and that we are not going to have those (not our) spots to ourselves.

What do you think Hammernick does to win all those tournaments in the same spot as 30 other boats...the same stuff as us?

I think the other part, because of the increase of fisherman and lack of alot of lakes, is either we can complain which isn't going to change anything or look differently on what is acceptable etiquitte in the changing times.

That same 20 acre reef is now going to have 3 boats on it. That is the way it is going to be and isn't going to change. Going to have to accept it, or keep getting angry and hate the thing that is supposed to be fun and relaxing for you.

When I pass someone I ask them how the fishing is and have they had any luck. Met alot of good people, got alot of good tips, and gave out alot of good information that way. Alot of times we stop fishing and talk for 5-10 minutes. Not saying that is right or wrong, but is alot better than everyone getting po'd at each other.

Oh, and quit throwing lures at each other. That's like tailgaiting someone for going to slow. I've done both myself, it is stupid, and it accomplishes nothing. I'm an [PoorWordUsage] for doing it.

I guess the other option is buy your own lake and stock it with muskies...

[thrax]

I tried really hard to stay out of this, but can't anymore. There was a recent outing on the West End of Vermilion where many of the participants were respectful of other anglers. There were also a bunch who were not. The group included a number of experienced anglers and many newer ones also. I would have thought with the number of dockside demo's and instruction at such an event this topic would have come up, and that this is the type of thing that should be talked about at this kind of event. New and newer people to muskie fishing need to be taught lots of things, baits, techniques, proper fish handling, why would etiquete not be a part of it? Was it but some people just disregarded it because many of them traveled a long way and spent a bunch of money - so they get to do whatever they want? It leaves a poor taste in many peoples mouths.

I am not talking about "misunderstandings" of how another boat was fishing a spot or anything like that. Talking more about guys pulling up within distance of a cast lure going right into their boat. And there were some doing this in the dark no less. Vermilion is a huge lake, there are almost an infinite number of spots with its over 1200 miles of shoreline. Why behave this way? If you really "must" fish a particular spot, fish one within sight (and 99% of spots have one nearby) and go hit the "hot" spot after the boat leaves. Many people will know about this outing and how a few (or more) bad apples ruin it for people.

No one can stop these kinds of outings and no one should, they are great. Educational, comraderie with other muskie people, story telling on a muskie size scale they are great. Maybe this recent experience isn't the best, although its been the same for multiple years for this particular one now. I hope others have had more positive experiences when lakes they frequent host outings. Those hosting/putting on outings anywhere, can you make sure to focus some additional time on educating people on what amounts to basic common courtesy? Maybe then us muskie guys will not get pounded on like this topic clearly shows we are. The best way to stop this kind of behavior is to have leadership start amongst the top muskie promotion organizations. Muskie fisherman have learned so much over the years and shared and developed an awesome sport, why can't etiquette be a part of it?

[john skarie]

Leaders can't teach what they don't practice themselves.

That's the problem.

JS

[DHanson]

I know what outing you are referring to. I would take those words to that certain HSOforum. May get deleted, but if you word it right they may listen and try to do something about it in future outings. Nothing to lose.

[thrax]

John - you should look me up. Check the name? Not too tough for you to figure out. Still mainly in the Bemidji area but obviously fishing a lot, and on Vermilion also. And your reply hits it right on John.

I am thinking about putting a similar post up elsewhere, but my point is not to bash on any group or organization. Simply to encourage the people with the power to make changes to exert a little effort to teach these "other" things that will complement us and our sport. I do it whenever possible and know lots of others who do also. But we are just the little people.