Marker Buoy Etiquette?

Just wondering what common marker buoy etiquette is? I was fishing the dam on Fayette yesterday and had marked a spot with an orange buoy. I moved off the spot about 150 yds away to fish the intake a bit and let the marked spot rest. I could still see my buoy from where I was fishing farther away. I noticed a skeeter pull up on my marked spot and fish it for awhile and after he left my buoy had also "left". When I came back my buoy was nowhere to be found! Did I do something wrong? Or do people just feel that if you aren't on top of your marked spot then your property is free for the taking?

Let us just hope that was a brain fart on his behave. That's almost as bad as running another mans trot line.

Not sure of his thoughts, but I had this happen before and found the person that picked up the buoy. He swore he picked it up so Noone would have ran it over as he thought someone had forgotten it. I believed what this guy said and usually pick mine up now if I'm not within casting distance.

you didn't do anything wrong, but not sure he did either. marker buoys are for your reference, not to mark your territory to others. if he didn't know the spot and just wanted to see what you marked, then that's not cool. if he knew the spot already and wanted to fish it, then that is their right. once you move 150 yards off, it is open for others to fish (that is one and half football fields!). not a big deal, if I knew the spot, I would still fish it, but once you came back over I would probably nicely ask if you wanted to get back on it, because obvious to me you started there. a bunch of grey area.

I would have assumed it was left too. If it was there for over an hour I prolly would have rolled it up. People leave things all over the lake with no intent on picking it up. It becomes trash at some point. If you marked a good spot I like to fish and left, you may have come back to that marker moving off 100 yards too. No need showing everybody where you found fish.

So, I didn't mark the spot as "territory" and I didn't care that he was fishing it either. The only part that bothered me was taking my buoy. It was unattended by me for maybe 20-30 min before it was taken. So I guess consensus is.... Don't leave a buoy anywhere if you aren't fishing it.

150 yards is a little far to mark and expect exclusivity to a specific spot. By using that logic you could theoretically quarantine off huge areas of a lake with 3-4 markers with no expectation of any interference, markers should be utilized to identify an area your fishing now not in an hour from now. My rule is that if a guy has a marker out and is on top of it fishing its his until he moves out or waves me in(I rarely want that close a proximity to another mans spot unless I know them) and I will honor his marker by at least a 2 cast distance if not more.

As far as anyone taking your marker that's low class and unfortunately has become more common these days. Don't leave a marker 150 yards away, it only tempts the bottom feeders by leaving a marker that your not in control of.

Ive forgotten buoys before and left them and have found buoys left by others. If I saw the buoy unattended, I would have picked it up before someone ran over it.

As far as the spot, nowadays they'll come right in even if you are there if they think that you found fish. 150 ydd away, I wouldn't assume that it was yours and the buoy would attract me to see what some found

ohh, you don't take someone elses buoy if there is a boat anywhere within the ballpark. that is wrong, I've seen others forget a buoy and might have forgot one myself, but it would have been obvious to someone as I was already gone.

Paint the buoy black, it's hard for others boaters to see when passing by.

Yeah, 150 yards is way too far, put a buoy out and fish it then pick it up when you leave. I bet you would not appreciate it if you were running and sucked up a bunch of cord from one in your prop would you? And one more point, why leave a marker on a spot for all to see?

Far enough away to not see it get picked up is too far

Him fishing the area you left your buoy on is his right. You can't take ownership in area you are not sitting on. Now, if he knew you still in the area and picked up your buoy he is guilty of theft. Bet he didn't place you fishing 150 yards away with that buoy.

Don't leave [censored] in the lake! Pick up your belongings when you leave! A marker buoy gives no ownership to a particular spot. What if everyone on the lake thought your way? Would we all be pulling twine out of lower units? Would there be any "open" water to fish? Learn to use your gps better and you won't need markers

.............................................................................................

That's a long way from a buoy,...

You know ,this is my opinion , if you leave an area where you dropped a marker , why would you not take it with you , if you forgot it that's understandable , your question sir is a tad bit confusing .

On fork it is a call to come fish here. At least it was for me the last time I was there in june.

People still use buoys? Haha.

I use a graph a press a button as I pass over the spot. Then I simply look at the graph to get back to the spot.

.....and yeh...id be pissed if I twisted some fools rope up in my prop because he thought it would help his stupid [censored] remember to fish a spot.

Gotta agree with the last half dozen replies. Pick it up.

Leave everyone else stuff alone.
Heck if you are at a dock and someone has their boat pulled up there and not around do you take a rod of two?
Fish the bouy if you want but leave it alone. It is not yours. Do you pick up every jug line you see floating in the lake? The reasons people give that they are afraid they will get wound up in their props are full of it. If that were so then you need to wind up every jug line floating.

I moved a boat tied to a dock just yesterday, thank you. Haha. A hole tied it to the dock right in front of the boat ramp. I had to un tie the POS and walk it down the dock so I could back in my trailer. The f in hillbilly just stood there and watched. I told him I'd hate to scratch it all to hell when I back my trailer into it. Haha.

This world is a BIG place. Yet, stupid people sure make it seem small sometimes. Just sayin

When I said pick it up that was directed toward the owner. Pick up your buoy if you are moving on. Don't wind up every jug line, or cut them off, just the ones that are not marked per TPWD guidelines.

So if I put my name and address on my bouy you won't take it
If you pick up unmarked jug lines when you see them, your boat is full of jugs every time you go out.

Put your TFF screen name on it....so we can CALL YA OUT on it. Lol

Nope, won't "pick them up" marked or not. If a trot line or jug line isn't labeled though and I get hung up on it, it will be hard to find.

Don't touch stuff that isn't yours....... Not that hard

When you move off a buoy, pick it up. Simple. The guy probably thought someone forgot it.

Usually if I put a buoy out its to bait up the fisherman.. it's funny to watch people swarm a buoy and fish it while your a safe distance away catching em... My granddady taught me to never let the left hand know what the right hands doing.

Imagine that. Folks not touching [censored] that isn't theirs. And then after they touch [censored] that isn't theirs, it's the guys fault who left/forgot it. LOL

That's what the guy is asking about, someone taking something that isn't theirs. Not whether or not it's appropriate to fish the spot.



And the guy thought the best idea in that situation was to take it? Never dawned on him that they might come back for it after they realized they left it? Like a cell phone, credit card or wallet that someone may inadvertently leave at a restaurant? Is it OK to take that kind of stuff?

I left a cinder block in the road...I use it as a wheel chock. Is it ok? I was gonna come back and get it after I went to the gas station?

Leaving something behind that can cause damage to another persons valuables is different than a cell phone or credit card left at a restaurant table.

Get one of those markers caught up in your prop or snag a good lure on one....see if your mind doesn't change. I personally don't see the point in using them. That's all. Kinda dumb.

You compare a cinder block in the middle of a 10' lane to a 6" bouy in a 2500 acre lake? That's as bad as my cell phone analogy.

The principles taught to me were if it doesn't belong to me then don't touch it.

Just my .02.

Carry on.

My guess is since you weren't close enough to see the marker that he figured someone had accidentally left it there. I don't blame him for picking it up, mainly because it could easily get wrapped in someone's prop. How many times have you seen a fairly new lure hanging in a tree that someone just left but you can go get it pretty easy? I go get those.

The other part is if you left the spot, then I don't see anything wrong with someone else fishing it, I use marker buoys myself and I also use my electronics, if I leave then I take my buoy with me. The only time it would make me mad if it was real windy and I was drifting the area, caught a fish and it took me awhile to get everything situated so by the time I did, I had blown pretty far off the spot, I think a situation like that is different than just leaving it there, planning to come back in a few hours.

I'll say this again. If you are worried about wrapping something up in your prop you will have a boat load orf stuff by the end of the day. Jug lines trot lines. That is probably the lamest excuse there is.
I say that most buoys are picked up because they are marking a "secret" spot and the picker upper doesn't want it there.
If you go to the lake for three days in a row and the bouy is there then yes it is probably lost or forgotten. If it is there and you just went by, just because the owner isn't in sight leave it alone. The owner is not breaking any laws and even though it is only a $5 marker bouy you are stealing it.

+1


When you choose to leave your "spot" take the buoy with you.

Why can't we all just get along!

[quote=9094]
If you go to the lake for three days in a row and the bouy is there then yes it is probably lost or forgotten.

So now I guess it should become part of the lake just the same as if it were a piece of standing timber there on that spot, is that right according to your logic?
Only the owner should remove that buoy if and when he chooses to.

Littering in Texas is punishable by up to a $500 fine for trash equal to or under 5lbs. Repeat offenders can face a $2,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail. I'll pick it up all day long, the same way I will pick up other people's beer cans, Wal-Mart sacks and soft plastics bags.

If the buoy line has a little algae growing on it, pick it up. If it has a clean white line, leave it be. I run the coast all the time and have to avoid crab trap markers. To make a safety issue out of a marker buoy is a stretch in my opinion.

I'm a little concerned about folks saying if it's not yours do not pick it up.

If your guiding principle is never pick up something that's not yours, what happens when a couple beer cans appear in your front yard? Or a Blizzard cup? They aren't yours so you leave them hoping the owner will come back and get them? You'd be a lot of fun at the abandoned crab trap cleanups TPWD sponsors at the coast.

It's completely reasonable that the buoy was left behind accidentally when the owner is 150+ yards away. An unattended marker buoy is basically trash. If no one has made a move toward it for 15-20 minutes, then it's trash. Thank you to whomever was helping keep our lakes clean.

Do folks regularly use buoy markers in the middle of a boat lane?

Not sure but it seems pretty common to run the damn

This is what I meant.

My guess would be there are way to many young bucks on here that think their way of thinking is the right way. I will do as I choose when and how I choose. Entitlements galore.
Dang I'm getting old, this forum along with the ways of the water are not what they used to be.

I've had times where I've forgotten my marker buoys and found them 2-3 days later in the same place. On the other hand, I've had times where I drifted off the buoy while fighting a big fish, and come back to find the buoy gone after only ten minutes.

My rule of thumb - if I see a marker buoy while I'm out fishing, and it's still in the same spot several hours later, it's probably lost/abandoned. But 10-15 minutes ain't enough.

As to the OP's point, if you're a fair distance away and not fishing on the buoy, there's no reason another fisherman can't try fishing there. But there's no excuse for the guy to take it.

See alot of buoys that get left on lakes. But I usually leave them for all others to bask in the glory of finding a secret spot.

I've picked them up and I've seen some in the water that I didn't pick up. It's kind of a common sense type of deal. At the end of the day, if you can't afford to lose a $4 buoy, then you better pick it up. As most people said above, 150 yards is way too far away to expect someone to not fish that spot. I wouldn't pick up a buoy if there was someone that close. I would fish that area if I was headed in that direction. I can't say I would go out of my way to fish a buoy that I didn't throw.

You can tell today is a slow "whining, griping" day...several of y'all have your panties in a wad over this!

I like this "Common Sense" thing you refer to...........haven't seen it in a while.
Not everything is BLACK or WHITE.

I dont touch them. Not mine to touch.

That said; I fish a lake that has strict rules about no limb lines and no jug lines allowed. Posted on a sign clear as day at the only ramp the lake has...

I cut everyone I come across. Does not bother me at all. They are poachers.

Marker bouys? meh who cares. Not mine I dont mess with it.

+1

I don't think people always drive down the middle of a boat lane all the time. I know I don't and would hate to get a buoy rope tangled up in my prop and I would guess that most people would feel the same.

Huoy Phuoy! Before you move off please pick up your dang buoy.

I guess I posted a pretty good topic with all the responses. Thanks for the feedback. I like how some people hate me, some people were indifferent, and some people took my side. Either way it seems that I should go turn myself in to the authorities for littering and and give up boating because I threatened the lower unit seals on every boat that was out on the water that day. Sorry for asking an honest question. Just thought it wasn't right that somebody took my buoy home.

Did I care that they fished the spot, no. Was I trying to claim the spot, no. Was it some secret spot, no. Was it a "boat lane", no. Can I afford to buy another $5 buoy, yes. Anyways, tastefully noted that marker buoys should not be left unattended.

And that's the perfect way to end this thread.