Vultures...what is the popular opinion?

[TigerBlood]

It (crowding in) is poor form in my book, and the mark of an inept fisherperson who can't find their own fish. I have had sport in the summer by dropping markers in choice spots, and laughing as the fools lost tackle and even ran props onto rocks.

Wow. Not sure that you should be patting yourself on the back for being such a great sportsman. You drop markers into rocks hoping people will run their props into them? Awesome. You might do that to the wrong guy someday and learn a little lesson yourself - ha!

[panfishpounder00]

tiger i love it!! wow, this has become quite the conversation maker!! keep the opinions coming folks!!

[slipperybob]

I get annoyed by it, and I get amused by it. Keep following me, I have no idea of where the fish are at. What really gets on my nerve is after all of that, they come out and ask, "Have you any auger gas to borrow?"

Yes, I do, I run a Strikelite. Got a siphon?

[reinhard1]

does't bother me at all around the cities. it realy doesn't happen that much anyway, to me anyway. when i'm up north i fish areas where hardly anyone goes and when someone does show up, i feel that person took the extra effort as i did and welcome that person to fish near me. i have never had a person fish literaly right next to me. that would be rude. i keep a distance for a reason, so not to interfear with anyone else. but as long as someone isn't a complete moron i dont have a problem with someone fishing near me. so far, so good. good luck.

[fishinfey8]

If I know that there is a chance of crowding (fishing in community holes or a "hot-spot"), it doesn't bother me one bit. I don't really fish the metro besides the river so I never have a problem finding a place to be all by myself. On my home lake, all summer long, I never see another boat fishing my spots (unless its someone I told about the spot). Fishing is about enjoying my surroundings and to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Sometimes this means fishing where nobody else is. It just so happens that this is how I found all my best fishing spots!

[Getanet]

While I'm someone that ice fishes to "get away" and prefers a little solitude, I've learned over the years that not everyone feels the same way. I see the term Common Sense used a lot in these types of post, but as we've seen nearly everyone has a different definition of what is common sense or ethical behavior.

When I see someone doing something I think is dumb or upsets me, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're just inexperienced. After all, even anglers with the most common sense when it comes to ice fishing have surely done (or do) something in other avenues of their life that make people shake their head and wonder how many paint chips they've eaten.

[JakeJ_Mn]

I don't like to be crowded either on ice or open water, but it's a fact of life that more people with less time are fishing and hunting. I have had people drill holes nearly on the flaps of my portable or close enough to borrow the salt through the wheelhouse window or read my depth finder on my boat without reading glasses or use my deer stand and skid house for a bathroom.

We all want to have fun, but there are some inconsiderate or lazy people who don't really care about others. To me the public water/land debate is pure buck shot even though I understand it.

60 holes over 2 acres even with 4 people is a stretch to not expect others who may or may not have been planning on fishing the same area. BUT, they should have at least asked - it's not like the holes drilled themselves. If I plan to fish an area already occupied when I get there, I will keep my distance and drill my own holes.

I always try to fish a few new lakes every winter. And yes I have come across old holes close to "hot" spots where no one at the time was in sight - drilled new holes and fished.

Since I am rambling along - to the person who would mark a spot for others to have bad luck is just as much to blame as the person who "forgot on purpose" to mark the spear hole my truck fell into last winter.

Thanks for that.

[folke2000]

Jackpine,

I started to type a response to your deplorable post, but then remembered what my dad taught me....If you don't have anything nice to say, don't.

In regards to the original post. Fishing is supposed to be enjoyable, and if we let all the little things eat us up, it isn't enjoyable anymore. If you are guiding, and someone moves in on you, I would think that it would be a good chance to "showcase" your abilities and possibly gain a customer in the future. Just a thought.

Folke

[wahoo]

anyone who IS NOT a guide ever have a guide pull up and fish next to them? I have a few times and all were most courteous. Way back when (25 years ago) my very young son ended up on a fishing show pulling pan fish through the ice as the guide had actually asked if we minded them fishing near us.

Courtesy is the key--whether anyone is in your shack or not.

[bobbymalone]

I have seen a metro guide drop anchor at the confluence of minnehaha creek and the mississippi directly where about 20 shore fishing anglers are casting. Paying customers in the boat too.

Why anyone would pay for that is unbelievable.

Most the folks on the shore went home because after a boat anchors 25 feet in front of you and you're already sharing limited shorefishing ground there isn't much point.

he left after I told the people on the boat that they could pay me half and I would walk them down the park trail so they can fish the exact same spot.

[wahoo]

never had a guide do that--but boats would do it all the time close to where shore anglers were fishing. That is discourteous--and, yep, why pay a guide in that situation.

[reinhard1]

yes it can be a different story on open water. i had a couple of "famous" fisherman cut my line i was drifting during a walley tournament years ago. he crossed my line and instead of both of us lifting our lines and one of us reeling in our lines to take them apart he just cut them. later back at the resort at the weigh in i went up to him to let him know what kind of sportsman he wasn't. he said time is money. i said it was my time to re-rig not his. never apologized.

but in general, i fish where i dont have to worry about this sittuation. learn a lake, get comfortable with it, find your spots and have a good time. life is too short to worry about irrisponsible people who are rude. the tournament example i was going to let it go. but when i saw him and his other "famouse" "expert" buddy i had to let him know he is no different than anyone else. good luck.

[Fisherman45]

If we really counted the actual sportsman that are out there you would be surprised that it is about 5%. Just because someone has a boat/Ice house and a fishing pole don't make them a sportsman. From my personal experience on public waters it is 5% Sportsman 95% rude arrogant bass-terds. I have stopped counting the number of times that idiots have moved in so close that they have tangled my lines, cut my lines while trolling and actually hit my boat with their casts.

The only way to avoid this is to own you own lake and then you will still have to post it and patrol it as that 95% is still looking for the easy score.

I have quit going to Rush lake altogether as it has one of the highest populations of rude idiots I have ever seen and most of them are the tournament guys who you think would get it but add $$ and they become some of the biggest A-Holes you have ever seen thinking they own the lake because they are in a tournament.

Sorry this is a sore spot for me just delete the post if you find it offensive.

[Ray Esboldt]

OK, I was fishing a tournament on Rush last year and had a guy pitch a bucktail within 10 feet of us 5 casts in a row until we said something. We had not moved for more than 20 minutes, he was drifting. Who was the rude guy that day? Anxiously awaiting your response.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

fisherman45,

I have to disagree that 95% of the fishermen out there are rude and inconsiderate. Probably more like 5%, but that 5% can seem like 95% when they are out there!

I agree that some of us "pros" ?? may be in that 5% also at times.

Cliff

[reinhard1]

tournaments are a differnt animal. some guys think certain spots are exclusive only to them. well i dont do tournaments anymore and wont anytime soon. but i have to agree the 5% are the bad arses and the rest are decent folk. i have fished a lot in my life and very seldom see the bad. the more popular the lake the percentage goes higher for sure. not everyone can go during the week like i can since i'm retired now. i stay away from opener walley rat races and go for something else instead. no way i'm standing in line for an hour anywhere for anything. i did enough of that in the army. some of your best panfishing is going on at this time and inland trout season begins also. i have time for walleys during the rest of the year. good luck.

[hawgchaser]

I'm in my 60's and have been fishing since I could hold my own pole. I can only think of 4 times in all those years something was worth getting mad about, and I've got a fair share of hot Irish blood in me. Seems to me, if you're frequently disgusted by others, you might want to take a look at the one getting disgusted rather that all those idiots going out of their way make you mad. If you don't want people getting your goat, don't stake it out where everyone can see it.

[Northlander]

OK, I was fishing a tournament on Rush last year and had a guy pitch a bucktail within 10 feet of us 5 casts in a row until we said something. We had not moved for more than 20 minutes, he was drifting. Who was the rude guy that day? Anxiously awaiting your response.

Ray I think you know the answer to that one already.

[Stick in Mud]

I think a lot of my attitude towards this conflict has to do with the time of year and the "special-ness" of the spot I'm fishing. If I'm out on a reef on Mille Lacs early in the year, and everyone and his mother-in-law knows the walleyes are up on the reefs feeding, then I can't get too bothered if someone "moves in" on me.

So what exactly is a "safe" distance away? Two cast-lengths? That's about what I try to stay away from people, but again, it all depends on the body of water and the time of year....If I'm ice fishing over the one deep hole in a small lake and someone "moves in" on me, I can't complain. I guess there's just so much subjectivity to this debate, i.e. what counts as "too close," what counts as "moving in," what it means to be a "sportsman," that it's tough to say without some real specifics. Just my measly .02.

[LittleLloyd]

I have to say, as a guy who is new to this sport, and who 9 out of 10 times ice fishing this winter showed up with my 4 year old son, our gear and a hand auger, you bet I dropped a line in abandoned holes. Now, here in the metro I figure folks are coming and going on the lake all the time and if everyone is sitting in their portable with the door shut I never once thought about knocking on doors to ask if anyone minded if we setup over an abandoned hole.

That said, if we were on a more remote lake, and could clearly tell that a group were working thier way up and down a line of holes, then I think even I would be able deduce that they were working a line of holes and had not just tried a spot, given up on it and moved on. If I thought they were near where I wanted to be then I would setup a respectful distance and drill my own set of holes.

Anyway, my point is that as a newcomer what you might consider "obvious" is not always so. I think all the post taking the approach of not making a deal of it are great to hear.

[curtistodd]

Here's another thing i find funny:

Early ice I fish a certain spot on a certain lake for 2 or 3 weekends in a row and do pretty well on gills and crappies. As soon as there is a foot of ice a guy puts his permy right where i have been fishing. No big deal. He has every right to fish there. So, I go 20 or 30 feet away and start fishing, and then he pulls up in his four wheeler and says "You have the whole lake to fish, and you choose to fish right by my house????" Then I have to tell him my side of the story. Guys with permanent shacks seem to think that since they have the bigger more expensive house that they are the owner of the lake, and that the guys in portables are copying them, or stealing their spots, when guys that walk out with portables may have been there for weeks before they were there! I didnt measure how far away i was from his house, but i was out past his tip-up holes. I usually like to drill a line of holes from 9 to 20 feet and hole-hop to find the fish. When people come and fish right next to me, I think that maybe they have been there before and we just both share a common urge to fish the same spot.

Best thing to do is take a vacation day on a monday, tuesday, or wednesday morning, you usually have plenty of space then. And if its late ice, Monday morning you can troll thru all the holes that havent froze!

[Chef]

Looks like this thread is Minnesota "Nice" defined...

Anyone for Church?

[TooTallTom]

Looks like this thread is Minnesota "Nice" defined...

Anyone for Church?

I'm in "church" any time I'm out in the woods or on the lake, and I have a well-thougt-out set of morals that go with those pursuits. Thanks for asking.

When I'm in "church" I always try to keep in mind that I really don't know if the guy who's "moving in on me" was fishing where I am now last week, yesterday, or a couple of hours ago. I also don't know if this is spot four on the list of three spots he was going to check this morning, but they were all occupied so he kept moving. All I can do is strike up a conversation. Maybe the fishing hasn't been spectacular on this spot, but he's got the presentation locked in. Sometimes company is great that way.

Also, there are very, very few spots in this state (MN, and probably WI for that matter) that haven't been passed through, fished, or hunted within the last year. My point is, "my" spot is probably someone else's spot too. Even if I've never seen them (or evidence of them) there, that doesn't mean that they only learned about the spot when they happend to see me on/ in it.

[Grum]

I go to the same "Church" as Tom. When I'm there I know I can't control anyones behavior but my own. All are welcome to join in. I like to see and meet new people with same interest. I don't expect that everyone has the same methods or point of views as me. If in doubt, I try to talk it out (just like we do here). If I ever feel uncomfortable with a situation, I know I can move, after all it's a big "Church".

[meatfish]

Every lake that I fish is a public lake.I know this by the use of the public landing I use to get on the lake.From what I understand apparently any one is free to use them,I guess both the lake and landing.

Two years ago a buddy and I were in my fish house on a pile of sunnies and catching a few nice ones, an old timmer drove up and put down in two holes we had drilled about 40 ft away(we were the only house within 1/2 mile).He had no vexilar and had no way of knowing that we marked no fish there.It was very windy and we did not think it looked like that much fun for him.I walked over and introduced myself.I offered to drill a couple holes right next to my house so he had some wind break.He accepted,we gave him some hot coffee and some fresh fish we had just fried up.After some chit chat he proceeded to take us to school,and shared his bait with us.

Without us he would not have caught much and without him we would not have caught much,together we had a blast,and I learned some new tricks and gained a friend.So my point is be nice and respectful and you just may learn something new and catch more fish.

A little less my spot,my fish attitude goes a long way