How close is to close?

[NCLaker]

Originally Posted By: NCLaker

I like this approach. IMO Some of the smaller lakes don't have much good structure. Does it really make sense, or is it fair to expect no one to fish in an area staked out by a permanent(s) that is only occupied say on the weekend. If that person is that concerned about issues then they should tow it off the lake when not in use for more than a day+.

Key is to be considerate of others especially during peak hours.

I typically don't fish directly in the crowds, but there are times when my key spots draw lots of traffic by permanents.

I agree with your comments, my post was refering to perms that are camped on a spot extended periods of time or most of the season.

I don't leave my house on the lake unless I am using it, unless of course we are just running to shore. I think it's very obvious that my house is "in use" as we will typically take the atv's to shore and leave the truck or have coolers and a garbage outside the house. We will also leave the generator running as it is secured to the house.

In my opinion it would not be right to snuggle up close to a house that is obviously in use, but to your point I also agree that people that leave there house on the lake all season and only use it sparingly should expect people to some what encroach on their area.

Regardless I don't think it's too much to ask for a 20ft perimeter around my house under most circumstances. At no time should holes be drilled within 10 ft around someones permanent house.

Also if you choose to move in on the spot that I am setup on DO NOT complain about my generator, not that it's loud anyways as it is a Honda . I set and secure it just off of the v-front so if it doesn't bother me in my house it shouldn't bother you at your camp.

These are just my opinions, I hope most other would agree as I don't feel out of line with my requests.

[Northlander]

NEVER set your catch outside your house! If you dont want company thats the worst thing to do. I carry a 5 gallon pail and put some snow in it and put my fish in there.

If anyone askes fishing is always SLOW.

[walleye08]

ha ya nothing attracts people like a nice pile of fish on the ice...i picked up one of those ice wells this year works pretty good only had to use it once but they were still flopping when i got home

[eyebjim]

yea that's about the equivilent of waving the net in the air.

[andrew chadwick]

100 feet.

stay away from me unless I tell you that you can fish near me!

I have had too many times when I am on a good shallow water bite and some one comes around and starts to make a racket with their augers, setting up their houses etc. and have the bite totaly turn off.

[niterydr]

100 feet.

stay away from me unless I tell you that you can fish near me!

I have had too many times when I am on a good shallow water bite and some one comes around and starts to make a racket with their augers, setting up their houses etc. and have the bite totaly turn off.

I hate that when that happens!

[Drewski]

NEVER set your catch outside your house! If you dont want company thats the worst thing to do. I carry a 5 gallon pail and put some snow in it and put my fish in there.

If anyone askes fishing is always SLOW.

Exactly! I got a buddy who throws his fish on the ice and I can't stand it, especially when he's fishing one of my spots! When people see fish on the ice they key right in on ya, so use a pail and hide the fish!

[mngirl]

I've had it happen when we were fishing for some crappies/sunnies and someone came up in the same little bay ( they were about 50 ft away) and put up some tip ups. Fish bites died after that . So if you see someone fishing for pan fish, don't invite the big boys in there if you are that close, it wrecks it for the people who were there first! Or at least ask, that is always the best bet.

[tunrevir]

I can relate to this and I follow the stealth rules with my fish, keep them inside, keep them low so others don't see you catching them. I fish out of the way spots. I did set up my permanent shack on a particularly good spot last winter that I found in my prospecting adventures. The problem with a permanent shack is that people always assume you are catching fish and come over and fish by it just to investigate. I came out one night and had a portable and a truck 15' off the front of the house and another one setup twenty feet to the door side. I found it hard to get my truck next to the house and was a bit irritated. If I had wanted to move the house I couldn't without disrupting the portable and the truck 15 feet away but I also would have had a heck of a time getting backed up to hitch it up to move it. IMO that is too close! The best part of the night was that I landed three walleyes outside on the side of my truck, slipped them in the bucket and went on like nothing ever happened. These guys didn't have a clue. The kicker was when the sun started to go down they packed up and left and I proceeded to have my spot to myself again and catch a couple more fish. My perm is a bit heavy and I don't care to have people fishing and driling right next to it besides the fact that it is illegal I believe, to be that close to a permanent shack. 50 feet is comfortable and anything over that is better in my book. I have run into someone who was using my shack as a windbreak and fishing and knew from the equipment that they didn't get out much. He offered to leave but since I was fishing alone and had a nice warm house to myself I invited him in. Older fella, we chatted and I got to know him a bit and turned out to be a pretty decent guy but hadn't fished in years and just decided to head out and try for the day. He went home with fresh fish for dinner and I had someone on the shore that watched over my shack for the winter. This time of year on early ice and shallow water quiet and secluded is key but it doesn't always work out that way especially in the metro. The guys that know me know that I often fish off the beaten path just to go out of my way to avoid the crowds which sometimes ends up drawing crowds anyways. Like the sage Northlander said, it is ALWAYS slow where I fish. I'd encourage people to go out and get off the beaten path and find a few fish in areas where there aren't people and you'll typically find that you are less crowded. Yes you have many nights where there aren't fish in the bucket but when you hit that spot that produces day in and day out it is all worth it.

Tunrevir~

[walleyewild]

Guy's I read the reg's this afternoon and it states that you can not set up within 10 feet of another house! We would all like more space on the ice as we would all like more space on open water.

I for one do not set up that close to anyone unless I know them, I too have had someone pull to with 10-15' of my portable and start drilling holes at sundown, but with the stress level within our society I don't say much and they might just be packing something more then fishing rods.

If it were upto most of us sportsmen and women the distance would be greater and people would be nicer, but times are not the same as when I started ice fishing.

Let it go, life is too short to stress out over some one crowding you out, who knows if you talk with them you might just make a new friend.

WW

[L_Cappo]

ya i know the regs say 10ft.but to me thats to close to perm shacks.most ppl use some common sense others dont give a hoot.ppl putting all there stuff in front of another persons shack so the shack owner has to move it to get into his shack.thats down right wrong.i know on low ppl wouldnt go for that.im sure most ppl wouldnt go for that.some ppl just dont understand being that close can harm the perm shack.i seen it many times where ppl spend most of the day tring to get there shack unfroze.but any ways to me 10ft is to close 20 to 30 yrds sounds much better for me in my oppion.

[FL SNIPER]

"Let it go, life is too short to stress out over some one crowding you out, who knows if you talk with them you might just make a new friend."

I think you nailed it on the head there walleyewild. And this is coming from a guy who has a hard time dealing with the mall or supermarket crowds but once or twice a year (Gander & Fleet Farm are the exceptions of course!).

[slipperybob]

We ain't fish'n buddies yet...If I can see what lure you're using, then you're too close...or the other way around, if you can see the lure I'm using, then you're too close.

Besides, I like to hole hop and I don't like to circle around somebody...who thens decides to settle and fish one of the holes I hope around.

[walleyewild]

FL,

I work in Customer service and retail, I have learned a long time ago that if you let people get to you they will!!!!!

I don't set up that close to a permanent shack unless I know who it is, but people will because the reg's say that they only need to be 10' away. I have several buddies I fish with and a couple are members here, some times we fish together sometimes I'm in one spot and a buddy is 1/2 a mile away, if one of us starts getting fish we 2-way the other and let each other know.

I like to fish alone sometimes just checking new spots, never know what you might find.

There are too many lakes to fish to stress out over if someone is too close, I don't have a problem moving if someone is being a PITA or an ID10T, ( one of my fav's for stoopid people).

WW

[Maverick]

I agree with walleyewild on this. You can't control idiots, so you might as well chill out when they show up. By the way, the laws state: "No person may erect a dark house, fish house, or shelter within 10 feet of an existing dark house, fish house, or shelter." So, it doesn't regulate the dope that is not in a house or shelter. Technically, he can drill/fish anywhere outside of a shelter he wants. He could even drop his line down your hole and he would be legal. Very stupid, but legal.

[FL SNIPER]

"He could even drop his line down your hole and he would be legal."

hmmmm...i wonder if tunrevir will get upset next time we're out and i do this when he starts dingin the crappies!?!

[frazwood]

I try to use common sense and to be courteous. Unfortunately, I think this makes me in the minority some of the time. Sadly, it's a simple fact that a few bad actors can ruin the experience for everyone.

For me, "How close is too close?" depends on the lake and what everyone else is doing. That is, I look around and see how close everyone else is on the lake... and then I try to keep a similar distance from anyone.

I would never get within 10 ft of anyone. That's only 3-4 steps... that's frighteningly close.

[shorefisher]

Just one question on the house flooding. If someone drills a hole next to your house and it floods how do you fish in it? I have had people use my perm as a wind break but it has never caused me any harm so why get up-set. I put my perm on public water and everyone has the right to fish on it. I have gone out when people are next to me and if I think it will be a line tangle deal I have ask them to move over a bit and offer to help them not a big deal to me. I move my perm away from people most of the time and some will follow they always do but I do not think they are parasites or scum they are just not as good of a fisher man as me I like to tell myself. If we all keep so far away from each other we will never meet any one.

[walleyewild]

I move my perm away from people most of the time and some will follow they always do but I do not think they are parasites or scum they are just not as good of a fisher man as me I like to tell myself. If we all keep so far away from each other we will never meet any one.

I love it!!!!!

WW

[Walterwontfalter]

Quote:

I keep it simple...I ask if it is OK to fish near. If I'm close enough to talk, asking is only polite and reasonable. If they say no...OK then...they may not be too good of company anyway.

I couldn't have said it better.

You'd be amazed at how easily you can turn around the attitude of some (not all) of the crabbiest, most territorial, ornery, "I was here first" type of fishermen...by approaching them and asking permission to set up near them and wording it the right way.

I always think, If i were to happen upon a good spot and the bite was pretty good, how close would someone have to set up by me to irritate me...and then i double that distance.

[bassphish2005]

If I can hear a person talk....that's too close in my book,spread out people plenty of lake to go around.I hate the lazy fisherman[sic] who circles the lake and see's your maybe? on too something and gets in so close you think he he knows ya?This happens far too often and it sickens me.I normally fish with my one close buddy and we comment on people moving in too close all the time.It's the lazy people who do not do their homework and are looking for a quick /easy catch instead of looking for fish,they look for fishermen.You can tell me I am wrong,35 years on the water/ice and it gets worse every year,even with all the advancements on products to help anymone find fish,people are lazy and don't want too do the work.

[bassphish2005]

ok...I feel better now................sorry about that!!! NOT!!!

[Pleasant]

Was thinking about this thread over the weekend. And I must say on the small lake I fish on where I have my lot trailer (home base) us guys sure crowd each other LOL this is the way it should be all over in my opinion.

[stumper]

Well it has began. Sunday I got a new neighbor.

Mine is the one on the left.

[broman]

You gotta be kidding!!!