Why Bass Fisherman Get a Bad Rap

[Scott Smith]

Went out yesterday to one of our many local lakes. It was very hot and very sunny, the fishing was'nt so great but it was nice to be on the water. About midway through the trip, I observed something that greatly disturbed me. There was a fella fishing out of a Nitro NX750, he appeared to have his teen son and daughter with him too. He had his cooler set up right at his feet and was consuming beers at an alarming rate, so much so that he appeared to be having a little trouble keeping his balance on the front deck of his boat (it was relatively calm on the water). The three of them were fishing docks in relatively shallow water, while I had positioned myself a little further out in about 12 feet of water. Just by coincidence, I shadowed them for a considerable amount of time because we were moving in the same direction at relatively the same pace. On 5 separate occasions, I witnessed the "father" snag homeowners boatdocks, boats or hoists and each time purposely break himself off and move on down the shoreline, making no attempt to get his lure back. I have fished these same docks in the past, and the water is plenty deep enough to ease your way in and retrieve your lure, however he made no attempt to do this. Finally, he snagged himself on another hoist, on this occasion, he did go after the lure, why this time..? I have no idea. While attempting to free the lure from the hoist, the idiot lost his balance and fell out of the boat, he banged his head on the hoist and apparently cut his hand up because after he got in the boat, he wrapped the hand in a towel and they immediately drove to the launch and left. I called the local P.D. in fear that he may be drunk, unfortunately he left the launch prior the there arrival. After this was all said and done, I eased my boat into the docks he had fished and retrieved all 5 of his snagged tubes relatively easily. On one occasion getting caught by one of the homeowners who asked me what I was doing. I explained my presence and then sat there while he told me that "you bass fisherman are a nuisance." I advised him that some of us are, but that I was not one of them. He never thanked me for removing the hooks from his dock.

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

It doesn't take too many jerks to give any group of people a bad name Smitty. That man might never have thanked you nut believe me, he knows what you did.



Bill

 

[Michael S]

Well I will say this that was a bad situation for sure, and guys like that give Bass Fisherman a bad name.



But I am also tired of the lake house owners that think they own the water around there docks and bulk heads. There you are trying to make a bad situation better and the guy has to make a smart a$$ remark.....you should have just left the lure snagged on whatever it was on.

 

[Rich Stern]

I see both sides of the argument, since I fish and I own a dock.



I always try to be respectful of other people's property. I won't try to make some of the ridiculous casts I see on TV...Roland Martin casting through a steel latticework support beam to get his lure under a dock. To me, that's simply wrong. Even if you don't get hung up, there's a good chance you'll tear up any fish you catch.



I also see and hear docked boat hulls getting whacked with lures and sinkers. You probably wouldn't like it if I went out to the parking lot and started whacking your truck with a 1 oz jighead. You should assume I feel the same about my docked boat.



Need to come on my dock to get your lure? No problem. But leave everything else alone. Don't tear up my $200 boat cover to save your $5 lure's 25 cent hooks. You'd be surprised how much stuff gets damaged or goes missing.



As for the idiot in question...the evil here is abuse of alcohol. I like a beer or two as much as the next person, but I separate my drinking from my other activities.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I always retrieve my lures ESPECIALLY off of somone else's property.



TOXIC

 

[Larry Harp]

I got hung up on a homeowners dock one time. While I was attempting to retrive the lure I noticed the lady, who owned the dock, giving me the evil eye. As soon as I made the recovery I held it up to show her what I was doing....she smiled and nodded a thank you. Good times.



Harpo

 

[Mark Jaworski]

I make it a point to have a friendly conversation with anyone outside near the water or their dock. Just a few good people (Bass fishermen)can mak a difference also. 99% ofthe people I start a conversation with are happy that I took the time to say hello and ask how they were dooing.



Just my 2 cents



Jaws

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Now for the other side of the story, I had a jerk come down to a dock I was fishing, I was not then or ever was hung up on any of his deck or nice new party barge parked there. I smiled and gave him a greeting, he proceeded to take an oar and started slapping the water!!! His comment was..."you still want to fish here"? My answer was "No"...I stowed my rod, put on my jacket (it was the fall), sat down, cranked over my motor, trimmed up and let him have about 300 gallons of that precious water around his dock he was so interested in. I would venture a guess that 200 went in his boats (he had a runabout also) and about 100 went on him.



I have since been back to that dock and we now get along just fine. He actually makes it a point to come out and talk.



TOXIC

 

[David Munaretto]

OMG Toxic, you are an A88-hole! I love it man...

 

[Gene B]

You did the right thing Smitty, even if the guy was a jerk. I would hate to see some kid get a hook in them just because his dad/grandpa was an idiot. I've had people make comments about fishing around their stuff too. Being calm and friendly goes a long way.



Gene

 

[C C]

Glad to hear no one got hurt too bad and it's unfortunate a few ruin it for others, however, it seems to me at least where I live here in the Northeast that more and more people's attitude is "it's all about me" and whatever I do is not my fault it's someone else's fault. I realize that there are far more caring and respectful people but sadly the negative ones seem to stand out the most.



I too fish and am a dock owner, I semi understand both sides and also realize that this has been discussed over and over again but I would not be the least bit surprised to read or see on the news a killing over the issue, we have "Road Rage" next will be "Dock Rage". Chuckle you may, but think about the world we live in, sadly not everyone values others or their own life the same.



Not everyone is accurate with their casts and sometimes lures get snagged on the dock, a motor, even worse someone seats or cover. How many people would stop and leave a note or try to find the owner and let them know they have hooked into their seat and would offer to pay to have it repaired? I don't think too many people would do this.



Why not be respectful and not cast towards someone's personal property in the first place? It's not much different then Rich's comment above but allow me to elaborate... I am driving down the road practicing my casting technique flipping under pickup trucks and I clunk someone's nice new shiny $35K pickup truck (windows open) with a 1oz weight, Oops, Sorry I hit your truck. Oops, I am sorry I got my lure snagged in your seat. Oops, I got my lure stuck in your Tire I better get it off there and I go to retrieve it. I suspect no one would like it or appreciate this very much, I think it would most certainly cause quite a few major arguments/fights. Think about how you would react to this scenario... based on how this makes you feel why would anyone expect people with boats moored on the water and/or have boat docks to react any differently?



So my point is, why do it at all? I doubt that under someone's boat or boat dock is the only place fish are holding on the whole lake/river.



Just my .02 cents



Cass

 

[Michael S]

I will say this I hardly ever flip around a boat......99% of my time I will fish the dock or the bulk head and there are times that my bait will hit the dock but its only wood, and on the rare occasion that I might get hung on the dock I will make every effort possible to retrieve this lure.



I agree that it is wrong for fisherman to come by and flip 1 oz jigs off your shinny new boat, and I can understand getting upset if you see somebody do that. Where I have the problem is when dock owners are pissed off at the bass fisherman before he even throws his first cast. Instead of a friendly good morning you get a pissy attitude and stared down like a hawk. Just because some a-hole messed up and damaged some of your property in the past does not mean I am that same person or that I am going to do the same thing. (this statement does not reflect all dock oweners because I have meet quite a lot of nice ones)



And as you say yes there are other places to fish, and there are also other places to live. If it bothers you that much maybe lake front is not for you.

 

[Dan J.]

I live on the lake and own a dock where I keep my boats. I respect other people's property and expect no less with mine. I will occasionally fish docks (I prefer open water fishing) and watch mine get fished regularly. I think about it as having a place right on the interstate. You can't do much about the traffic. All you can do is try and protect yourself as best as possible. I have a gate and a posted alarm system, yet still have people getting on and off my dock for whatever reason. Most of the time, I believe/see it's for lure retrieval of which I endorse. Sometimes people are just too curious for their own good. I realize that I own the dock, not the water it's on, but fully expect all to adhere to the reg.'s that impact my property. (i.e. boat wake) If more people would just abide by the rules and reg.'s that are already established, we'd all have it better. IMHO

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Cass,



The easy answer.........because the fish are under the docks...........I have caught some of my biggest fish from under docks.



With that being said, know your own abilities, if you aren't accurate enough to get under the dock and are bad enough to put one in a boat....don't fish there, go home and practice.



TOXIC

 

[JD Johnson]

Cass,



The easy answer.........because the fish are under the docks...........I have caught some of my biggest fish from under docks.



With that being said, know your own abilities, if you aren't accurate enough to get under the dock and are bad enough to put one in a boat....don't fish there, go home and practice.



TOXIC

Amen to that

 

[C C]

Tox, I agree with you 100% but we all know this is not what happens, but hey man spread the word. I am very lucky where I live the lake has no public access and so far my observation is that everyone is respectful of others personal property and have not encountered a hook on my boat or dock.



And I disagree with JimBob.

If it bothers you that much maybe lake front is not for you.

:lol: I don't know of anyone fortunate enough to own waterfront property that would pack up and move but would do whatever it takes to protect their personal property from a few arrogant individuals. Also, I did not say that it bothered me. What I did was give a scenario in a futile attempt to get folks to see the flip side. I now realize that something's are hard to put into prospective unless you encounter the situation first hand.



Cass

 

[Michael S]

When you tell people not to fish docks because there are other places on the lake to fish, you are saying that because you don't like the idea of people fishing around your stuff. The problem is the person that steals from you and tears your stuff up is not the same person that will come by and say hello.



And my family has water front property back home in La so I know all about personal property being stolen and things like that. The said part is its more of the locals coming by at night or during the week when nobody is there to steal stuff, its not the guy flipping a jig in a bass rig....

 

[William H. (Bill) Barham]

One of the places I used to fish quite often, and where I took Toxic to fish, has a fairly large dock jutting out into the water with a sign on it, "No Fishing Around This Pier".. Well, it's his property so he can post whatever he wants but absolutely can't enforce it. He also has ropes stretched from the end of the pier to posts on the shore so you can't get near it. That's illegal but he does it. He is just asking for trouble by doing that. While I would fish it anyway and just shake my head I know there are plenty of others that would raise as much hassle and heck as they could just to "show him". It's a shame that things have to get that far.



Bill

 

[Greg J.]

The last time we had the boat out we were probably 60-70 yds away (out in the middle of a cove) of a private dock. The dock had two jet skis and the people there would intentionally get on the jet skis and run a few circles in and around the fishing boats which were well away from their property, then go back to their dock. Then they would stand there on the dock and look at the fishing boats and just smile, then repeat their wake-making scenario a few more times. These were middle-aged adults, nots kids doing it. Just plain jerks.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

You ever seen the wake that a 929 can put out spinnin cookies in a cove. Easy 3 footers that magnify the more you do it. Those two yahoos would be beggin me to stop after their jetskis either got cranked sideways on their hoists or smashed into the docks enough times. It'd be even funnier if they were on em, you can actually roll them over!!



I am not normally an a-hole but I most definately will return the favor in kind. You have the bigger boat and can ruin their day a lot easier than they can ruin yours. It's never personal but I am pretty smart and will never get into a direct confrontation but in the game of being annoying.......I will win........just ask my wife.



TOXIC

 

[Rich Stern]

Tox, remember: If you use your wake to put a scratch in a boat that someone has docked, all they need is your hull number. You'll be cited for improper/unsafe operation, and they'll easily win the claim against you. Let's not even get into the potential cost if an injury occurred...they'd own you. You are responsible for any damage caused by your wake; their rudeness has nothing to do with anything when it comes to the rules of the road on the water.



Not worth it.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Only in a no wake zone.



TOXIC

 

[C C]

Rich is right on this.



"No wake" is defined as the slowest possible speed required to maintain steerage and headway. It shall be unlawful to operate any motorboat greater than no wake speed when within 50 feet or less of docks, piers, boathouses, boat ramps and people in the water.



Slacken Speed



Operators shall reduce speed to avoid endangering persons or property by the effect of the motorboat's wake when approaching or passing vessels under way, lying to, at anchor, or made fast to the shore; or, when approaching or passing piers, docks, or boathouses; or when approaching or passing persons in the water or using water skis or surfboards.


http://www.dgif.state.va.us/boating/wog/speed_laws.asp

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

That's an unenforcable reg. I have seen cruisers 100ft. from docks put waves over them. Nonetheless, my point being I wouldn't sit in the water like a sap, I'd dish them a little of their own medicine. Try looking up the regs on how far other watrercraft have to stay away from someone fishing. These Yahoo's broke the first law.



TOXIC