Tournament Etiquette - should I have said something?

Happy Monday fellow Bass lovers! I am proposing this question to the forum because I just do not know where to stand on this. Here was the situation. I was fishing my usual spot on Lake Lewisville yesterday. I was with my Girlfriend whom is learning the love for Bassin'. With the tournament and a strong North Wind, I knew there would be more boats than usual. Here's the rub...This guy in a (ok, I will keep him anonymous, because I will give him the benefit of the doubt), not once, but THREE TIMES motored up to where I was fishing and started fishing right next to me. Ok, it may have been a little bit further away, but it was the stretch of water I was about to fish. Now, I understand that I do not own this spot, and I do not own the water, but I was taught by my Father and my Father's Father, to RESPECT a fisherman's spot, no matter what. My girlfriend even asked, "Why is that guy doing that?" She is just learning and noticed it seemed a little intrusive. We have all scene the animation with the two boats and the one guy throwing his lure at the other. Well, I really wanted to do that!! But I refrained and moved off to another spot. The thing that makes me so mad is I was motoring to a spot, and he fired up his boat on and followed me to it. So I just turned around and went to the opposite bank. Not but five minutes later, here he comes. I even saw him do it to other boats. Ok, long enough gripe and I am prepared for the backlash I am about to get, but was this guy in the right? Like my beautiful girlfriend said, people will do anything for money. That is the reason I quit fishing tournaments. Anywho, I am eager to see what ya'll think. Have a great Monday and good luck on you Fishing excursions this week!!

There's a guy like this on Fork I've seen many times. His favorite place to fish is on top of the person he saw catch one last. Does it over and over. Funny thing is I don't know if he has ever caught a fish.

maybe he liked your girlfriend.

If he's not violating the tourn. distance rules from another boat then I guess he's legal. Would I have said something to him? Absolutely.

I would have asked him why he was so close in the first place, and when he followed me, I would have been more forceful with my questions to him.

My thoughts exactly!

Follow him to his next spot

Any newcomer who gets nervous when I throw a 1 oz Bomber slab in his direction is too close....

When people do this to me, I never say a word. I simply move and start start fishing as close to them as can get never uttering a word. Most of the time they get mad, say something utterly stupid and move off while I am laughing out loud at them.

I understand some of you have rocket launchers bolted to the transom...

I go ape chit.

Yep, if you would post some pics of girlfriend we can give you a difinative answer.

^^^^^^This.

And if he continued to follow you peeing off the back of the boat usually drives them off.

I do exactly what I was planning to do. If that means I wind up on top of them in 30 seconds so be it. I stay cordial though, which often drives home the message better than saying something. I've calmed down quite a bit as I get older. When I was younger I may have fired up the big motor and done a couple laps around them with the peddle down.

How was the fishing out there?

Lets talk about fishing on Lville.

I was out there Sat. morning and caught a BIG hybird on a senko and my buddy got a catfish on a swimbait that was it.

No bass action at all.

Sounds like an aggressive fisherman trying to push people out. I have seen it happen and have seen it work. I don't like it either, but unless I'm fishing a tournament I usually just don't care and move on. No reason to ruin a day on the water.

The Bass fishing is getting better. I am finding some big mammas in the brush. I have caught a 7,5, and some nice chunks flipping in the flooded brush. When there is some clouds, there is some brush about 3 foot from the brush you can see in about 4-5 ft. If that makes sense...I have been getting bit in there as well. My best was on spinner, but a flat bodied craw or creature bait has been doing the best. I really like the Z Hog in pumpkin or black blue. Thanks for keeping it about fishing brotha!!

That man just doesn't get it, alot of them these days don't! I wouldn't let it ruin my day but after 5 times I'd of atleast let him know with some boat wash and a LARGE wake!

My wife was fishing with me when a couple of guys rolled up on us, I said "Hey fellows, I know she's attractive, but she belongs to me, so would ya'll mind looking at her from a distance" they laughed, nodded their heads and turned around. Embarrassed my wife a little, course she's use to it.

Tough situation at times and hard to be nice, especially when shes with you, cause if you tell'em what you wanna say, then shes upset with you.

How do you know he was fishing a tournament?

Was he wearing white sunglasses. a flat bill ball cap and a tournament jersey ?

Everyone's definition of 'too close' is different. If I can cast over your line, you're too close. Annoying but it happens. Now the dude following me woulda pissed me off. I would have drove in a circle until I was behind him or he left.

I absolutely say something to guys when they get too close, but I'm really polite at first. You'll be surprised at how many people have never been taught to keep a wide birth. Most people either apologize or don't say anything and leave. But there's always going to be a few turds in the punchbowl. That's when you either have to be the bigger man or sink to their level. I'm not saying either is right or wrong - but one of those choices usually has no consequences and the other one almost always does.

Really depends on who is with me, who is in their boat, and the situation. I've grown up some over the years... 10 years ago the slab I threw on his front deck would've either made him leave or nose up to my boat... Either would've been okay. Now I try and be polite and avoid confrontation if possible... Some people just don't know any better and need to be corrected politely... This day in age though it's not worth the consequences of someone pulling a gun or putting myself in a situation I could've avoided and having to pull my own pistol to protect myself from an idiot I had an option to avoid. Most of the time though I keep fishing, catch fish, and watch them wonder how the hell I'm catching fish and they're not..

This has never been a problem up until the past couple of years. I think we are all having develop a little defense against "that guy". My general rule of thumb is anything closer than a long cast with a Carolina Rig is too close. What usually works is to make a point to face the guy as he's headed to you and cast towards him to kinda claim your area. Show him you're not afraid to stand your ground. Nowadays most people's attitude change drastically when you're back is to them versus when you're facing them.

If the guy still impedes on your space, speak up and voice your opinion. You don't have to be a dick. Just let him know he's too close. As said above, some guys don't know fishing etiquette. Maybe they are bank fishermen that have just bought a boat and think fishing shoulder to shoulder like on the bank is okay. Now if the dude has the white Oakleys, flat brim cap and a cool jersey, then he knows better. He's just being a turd, but again, that long cast in his direction before he ever kills his big motor usually does the trick to guys that dress like a clown.

Was it LunkersTV?

+1

Seriously, we couldn't resist the smell of your GF's cologne!!! J/K!!

Yes, it was us. Let me explain a little further into detail. Firstly, all my fishing buddies say I give too much room and respect to people. Apparently, you do not feel the same way. Our first encounter we were slowly idling to the back of a pocket. You were stopped, fishing a point in the back. We were 40 yards away from you as we slowly idled by and proceeded to the last set of bushes on that same bank, approx 70 yards from you. We had planned to fish toward the point, the opposite way your boat was pointed. You will need to realize that there are times that us bankbeaters meet one another, smile, ask if they're catchin' any, and ask what side they would like to pass on. You didn't give us that opportunity to meet. You left mad, I guess. Oh, and no....we talked with that other boat that you said we cut off, too. They wanted us to pass in front of them because they knew we were in the tourney. I said no, politely, and we went around them, joked, talked about how our day was going, etc, etc.

2nd encounter went like this. We were already idling to a small cut and just so happen you were coming up from the back of the cut on the other side of the creek. We never even noticed you until we were half-way across the main creek. My partner noticed you first and said he waved at you before you veered off. I didn't see that. We idled toward cut and it appeared that you were going in to the cut, too. You then veered off like you had just changed your mind about going in there. I wave at you and you all of a sudden gave us the "shoo-off" hand gesture. We stayed in that cut for approx 25 minutes, and just so happen those guys that you said we cut off....they were in there, too. Believe it or not, another friendly encounter happened with them. They heard my partner swearing a little loud after losing a big momma, and they wanted to know what all our loud commotion was about.

Third time we were coming toward a point on the main creek with TM down flipping bushes. We rounded the point and noticed you were sitting in there retying, or whatever. We decided to TM across the whole cut and fish the other side, so that's what we did, staying at least 40 yards away from you while passing. We stopped and started fishing 60-70 yards away from where your boat sat, and was fishing in the opposite direction.

That's how it all went down, verbatum. If you are so sensitive about someone else fishing close to or by you, you may need to start bank fishing more. It's gonna happen in a boat. The only reason I am wasting my time defending our actions, is that this is the first time I've ever been called out by someone saying I cut them off, and I've been fishing in a boat for over 35 years. I try to avoid these situations if possible. We were going to fish that point we first seen you at and felt like that was the best way to do it and not make anyone mad. Evidently, we failed on our decision making, at least in your eyes. After carefully assessing our actions OTW yesterday, I wouldn't have done anything different if I were just out fun fishing. We will apologize to you for our actions, whether it's necessary or not....but, in the future, expect it to happen again by someone else.

Okie

This is one reason I always (almost) have a digital camera onboard and take a shot to present the TD with. You will be AMAZED at how apologetic they get when you start taking pictures. LOL. Hope this helps. Tight lines, keep safe and good luck.

Thad Rains

Metalruch1,

You were correct in your assessment. I would take his explanation and apology (although not really an apology) and move on.

doesn't sound like he did anything to apologize for to me

Okie you didn't tell us about his girl

Okie Pokie - While I appreciate the explanation, I and my girlfriend saw it differently. That being said, It takes a stand up person to give some sort of apology even when they have a difference of opinion. I give you credit for that. As far as being sensitive to someone fishing close to me, and I should stay on the bank, well let's just say that I don't appreciate your comment. I am on the water trying to relax and enjoy my free time just like everyone else. So I will continue to get in my boat and fish hard. As far the girlfriend comments, let's just stop. I am doing what a sportsman should do...introduce others to the greatest sport there is...BASS Fishing! While I don't agree with you, I do thank you for the explanation and will take that into account next time I'm on the water.

You gotta excuse Okie.....he's an old guy from, well, Oklahoma. Lol.

Just kidding Okie.

I have fished with Okie...he's a nice guy. Im sure whatever happened on Lewisville was simply one mans idea of too close and another mans idea of close...but not TOO close. Haha

I would have turned towards them, not knowing it was okie, and started talking [censored]. When I saw it was OKIE!....I would have REALLY started talking [censored] then. Lol. Would have cast a senko at him too.


That said, all fun aside, I wouldn't have said a thing. I would have kept fishing. If I was really there first, I would have ignored them and went along fishing in whatever direction I was before that came in. No problem. I would have tried several times harder to catch a fish in front of them.

It is what it is.

For the record...I am from Oklahoma too. But yes, I like his posts and I am sure we could get along, well until it's Bedlam. That's why proposed the question. I see it from both sides. I try to have a level head. In my first post, I did not bad mouth him or say anything negative other than what I perceived the situation was. I am going to focus on Fishing and and how to catch them from now on...just worry about what I am doing.

But we still haven't seen pics of the chic!

This poor guy takes a beating on here. I've seen him on Rayburn and Athens and have never seen anything out of line.

Sounds like you should stay away from tourney fishing period. On days when the wind blows hard, some lakes fish VERY small and boats tend to stack up. It happens. From his POV sounds like he gave you enough room. Most tourney rules require 25yds. End of the day it's fishing and supposed to be fun. Just because someone is fishing 40-50yds from you doesn't mean you can't catch fish.

if he was in fact never closer than 40 yards, which you have not disputed, then I'd say it's an open and shut case.

Lol

Like you I would have just moved, when he showed up the second time I would have moved again,BUT,before I left I would have told him if you pull up on me again I'm not gonna say a word I'm just gonna ease over to your boat and get in and one of us is gonna leave there battered and bruised

Respect to other fishermen went out the window when everyone became a super awesome pro.

25 yards is BS period also it is not necessary to pile up on top of someone already fishing a spot.

tell everyone who it is so everyone will know to look out for this rude dude........

Okie's been fishing Ts a loooong time and knows well the "rules of engagement" and his write up reflects that he acted/reacted reasonably to me.

His choice of Oklahoma schools to root for is highly questionable, but his tournament conduct - not so much.

I bet you wouldn't. Lol

And I'll second that!

Had a group of guys fishing for catfish see me slaying sandies... They pulled out rods and started fishing right over me... Frog rod time, threw a deep diver with big Boy braid and snagged those fools! I have A slip and they paid to enter the marina sooooo I call up the office once things get heated and watch them be told to leave and never come back!

All these people saying they'd go ish

Why do you have a deep divers on a frog rod? That's weird

Now that's funny right there!!

Well that darn Okie again starting trouble. All I can say is I have fished more times than I can remember with that fool from Oklahoma and I have never witnessed anything but courtesy to a fellow angler so I have a very hard time believing he was on top of you or followed you around. Back in the day fishing a McDonalds tournament he even idled around a fellow competitor without the kill switch connected costing us a cool $1200.00 when he took the polygraph (yes I forgave him for being nice). He is a little on the redneck side but always respectful. The proper response to him would be to ask "hey do you have any tickets for sale". Carry on fellow fisherman.

I too have fished with that old fool. Cranky yes! Crotchety Yes. Anal Hell yes. But rude and intrusive of a fellow fisherman Hell no.

Okie Poke is as good as they come (and he makes a mean stuffed mushroom too!)

You guys need to meet for lunch and have a beer together.

Whatever you do......DONT! And I mean DONT!!!!!! Call him out and fish against him one on one. Lol. Been there and done it.

Someone must be a bad judge of distance on one side or the other, not sure who. Some of the numbers quoted don't seem to be par with crowding, so that maintains the uncertainty.

I was raised not to do that.... I won't come within 50 trailing yards of another boat..... But I see it all the time on Fork..... The only time I won't tell you it's a cork sucking move is if you have a child with you.....

On the flip side, if someone trolled up to hearing distance and said I'm having trouble sir, could you show me what I'm doing wrong or can I get some advice.... I'd let them tie up to my boat to help...

I had this happen to me yesterday on Lake fork in the Mega Bass tournament. I was fishing a shoreline and a guy pulled in right in front of me. I just cranked up my big motor and move right around him and cut him off.

"Don't like rudeness in a man, won't tolerate it"

HA!!

Kudo's to okie for recognizing the OP's issue was with him and coming on here and explaining his position on the matter. This sounds like nothing more than two boats that by coincidence found themselves fishing in the general location of one another on a fairly busy day, it happens.

Even though Lewisville is a decent sized lake IMO it fishes small. Even smaller when the wind is blowing. My advice would be to confront the person respectfully and talk about it on the water vs coming on here and calling a person out. I've never really understood that. At the end of the day it's just fishing whether in a tourney or not. I can't say that I haven't ever been cut off before and sometimes especially Ina tourney it has ticked me off. Only once has it made me mad enough to confront someone and an hour later I felt bad haha. Because it's just fishing and I'll be danger if I am gonna allow someone else to ruin my day. I'd say the majority of the time a respectful conversation with a fellow angler goes well.... Oh and lastly if I were you, never EVER fish Fork, tourney or not! Ok back to watching Day 3 of the Classic...

What happens on the water stays on the water................

Part of the issue here is that we all have such different perceptions of how much space should be "ours" on the water. I don't mind someone driving and fishing within 40-50 yards like Okie said he did. I'd probably wave and hope to see them catch a few. My dad doesn't want to see anybody within 200-300 yards of his boat. Any less than that and he thinks it's just rude kids that don't know anything about etiquette. You see the same differences of opinion here on the TFF all the time.

Just enjoy fishing and being outdoors and forget about the guys around you. That's the best possible outcome for you, and that's all you should really care about.

OK....I have no beef with metalrush, whatsoever. I hope he has none with me, either. I have put myself in his place, again, and the only thing that I did that was sorta outta line was the first stop we made. I know he was fishing the point in the back and his boat was pointed in the direction as he was prob gonna fish the remainder 70 yards of bushes to the very back. I should have started behind his already fished water to get to the point instead of passing him and going to the very back. The 2nd occurrence was a non-issue because he didn't stop and the 3rd occurrence was a non-issue because we went completely away from him 70 yards and started fishing in the opposite direction. So, there it is. I was within any tournament rules and was prob scratching the surface on "fishing etiquette", at least in the first scenario only. Remember, I'm an Okie. I'm not perfect but strive to be as good as Texans!

My comments about your GF's perfume and you being too sensitive, I take back. As certain posts state in this thread, I'm still redneck, even though I've been considered a nice guy at times. Not everybody knows me like they think they do, ha! Metalrush....if you ever want a beer, I'll be the first to buy ya one......

Good Lew fishin..... Okie

I am the lowest of the low on the totem pole - I fish from the bank. When I fish on Ray Roberts, guys will pull in on the point I'm fishing fairly often. They pull right in, not trolling down the bank, and get close enough to have a conversation at a normal voice level - way closer than casting distance. I learned a long time ago that I can't control what these jackwagons do and, if I do let myself worry about them, it ruins my day at the lake. It's a public lake and I don't own the water or the land and some people are just going to do what they want. I usually talk to them about the lake conditions and whether they've had any luck etc. They usually fish a while and then move on. I get there around sunrise so I've already covered a lot of the water they fish so it's not a big deal to me. I just shake my head and wonder if they'd do the same if a guy in a boat was on the spot.

One of the more memorable times, it was before sunup so completely dark and a boat with a couple of guys pulled up and got ready to fish. I said "good morning" and it probably shocked them to hear a voice in the darkness. We talked a little and they apologized and moved on to their next spot. Good guys.

Life's too short and I don't go fishing to get mad.

Just for a reference on the time frame, I'm currently 36 and, before last summer, hadn't fished since I was 16. Since I began last summer, I've seen a LOT of people, on boats and bank, do things I was always taught as a kid not to do. It seems like the general decline of etiquette and courtesy extends to fishing as well as other life situations.

Generally when a situation like this occurs, the best way to handle it is to politely inform the other person that what they are doing is rude. "Hey man, I don't know if you realize or not, but it's not very polite to follow people around and fish this close to them." "Excuse me sir, but it's not polite to stand so close to other people that your hips are touching."

If they respond with anything other than an apology and moving away, slap them in the face with a crankbait.

Last week I took my sons on a spring break fishing trip to visit my parents .They live on Toledo bend in a private subdivision. My Dad is disabled and has really bad balance and can't walk well on uneven ground, therefore he is scared to get in a boat for fear of falling down. I found some good fish stacked up the private shoreline and had been priming dad to go catch a few But he wasn't confident enough to go.So one of my boys stays with the grandparents while me and the other go fishing...we are on the water about thirty minutes when my dad and son come pulling up in the golf cart,with fishing poles sticking out of the bag rack. Dad pulls up to the bank sets up his chair and goes to fishing. He catches a bass really quick( he always could kick my but). He was probably there 10 minutes when a boat with two guys in it idles up about 15 or 20 yards of him and starts trolling back and forth and looking at a graph, then drop an anchor and start fishing right in front of him. I've never had a conflict on the water,and am a very easy going person but this wasn't gonna fly. I'm about 80 yards away and trolling in to take care of business and as I get closer I see dad make a cast and that big one ounce Carolina rig plops right I front of their boat. I didn't even get to them before they pulled anchor and were gone. I'll never understand some folks thinking. We had a great trip tho.

I didn't realize when I was at a weigh in or registration that I was around such a mass number of tough guys....throwing slabs into people's boats, snagging their lines, slapping people with crankbaits, running at them with the trolling motor....tough guys.

No lie, I bet chuck Norris is scared of these guys lol.

You're not....you're at a weigh in. Where the bad asses caught em good in practice. But the "_________"(insert weather related change) caused them to move off their spots. Haha.

Fishing dudes are what we are.... The younger we are, the more bad [censored] we are at a keyboard turd slingin' contest.

I like BEER!!

I like fishing for fun and kinda wish tournaments would go away! People aren't nearly as rude when money isn't on the line!

Seems like just a misunderstanding.

You guys need to screen shot a map and diagram out where your respective boats where when these encounters went down.

Also, just for reference so we may judge who was right, we need an "X" on each spot yall caught a fish and also details on how it was caught.

That is truly the only way to settle this.

Oh and I met Okie . Hes a good dude.

Bought me a beer and even gave me a ride home since I had might have had more than the one beer that night haha.

I am sure he meant no harm and this is just you know... a learning experience is all.

Tight lines fellas.

Louie, you should really be more of an ambassador for Lake Fork, than a hater.

Looks like a few OT guys here trying to work it out. You do realize you need a permit to be in the bass fishing section

I've got my Super Combo.

I go to tell ya , I honestly think a lot of fisherman do not understand about being too close , I used to believe it was rudeness , tournament fishing Is another direction , not all but they are always a boat or two in tournaments who trying to get one up on everybody else .

Amen..... Nothing wrong with a good healthy discussion!

I just proposed the question...As far as I am concerned, Okie gave his view and I gave mine. I am good and honestly did not think it would be a big discussion. That being said, he seems like a good dude and maybe I should be more understanding. But, yes, having a good discussion about certain topics is healthy. Now I know what to expect and know what my limitations are. Like I said before, I am just going to stick to fishing and how to catch em better.

You guys know what we really need right? A TFF MMA tourney. Like the old UFCs. We'll all pay, oh I dunno, say $100 to enter, winner take all. You'll find out real quickly who will put their money where their mouth is and who won't. Plus we'll get to watch a bunch of guys beat each other half to death. Who doesn't love that. . .

Man EVERYTHING has to be a big discussion on here. You get a bunch of frustrated old guys in one place at the same time. . .it's like a room full of yentas.

It's an online fishing forum created so that people can have discussions

Is this the fool that had a picture of his courageous Iraq war mission on his avatar?

I'm very polite if I think I'm encroaching on another's area. If I'm going down the bank and another is coming at me I will swing out. 99% do,the same, always asking what your intention is. If a guy comes running in on pad and cuts me off, when it's evident where I'm heading, then I would say something. Fortunately it's never happened. I've seen a few animated discussions after tournaments between a few guys but it's usually one guy being aggressive and the other not liking it.