Thief on the lake

Was catching crappie yesterday so I called the wife for her to meet me at the ramp. Since she works at night, she doesn't get to fish much. I had my buoy marker out where they were stacked. She called and said she was at the ramp, so I decided to leave my marker where it was and make the quick trip back to the ramp. There was a boat coming into the cove as I was leaving so I thought they would leave it alone. I was wrong they picked up that sucker and was gone. I was gone for about 4 minutes. Why can't people leave things alone. If it doesn't belong to you, leave it alone! Gee whiz!!

Yea, and it doesn't make any sense...

A friend and I were fishing Lake Pinkston and I had a buoy setting on a drop off where we were catching some bass. We decided to idle up the creek a little and check out the bite. My friend asked me about picking up the buoy and I said it would be fine as we were coming right back. We were gone five minutes max and returned to no buoy. My buddy just laughed and laughed and says "Man, this is Shelby County, you don't leave anything out in Shelby County." We still get a laugh out of it but I don't go off and leave them anymore either. I guess we'll have to start using a piece of driftwood for a marker.

Sorry to hear about that, I will remember to pick mine up from now on. I have left them like that also and never had a problem.

That stinks. I hate a thief.

I was on Lake Bonham last summer. I dropped a couple of markers at dusk I wanted to come back and use after dark. There was this guy that had about 20 noodles out and was working his noodles. My markers were a good 200 yards from his noodle line. I went up to the dam to mark another spot. Then we just drifted and had some beverages until well after dark. We returned to where I dropped my markers and they were gone. He was the only boat in the area. Went to find him and he gone. Sorry arse.

Back in the day when I had a place on Cypress I would mark my brush piles with markers before dark and return after dark to fish them. Not one time did they get stolen. Back then fishermen left things alone that wasn't theirs. You could park your boat on a beach, dock, or marina all night with all your rods on the deck and not have to worry. Especially in East Texas. Now days it seems there are more arses on the water that feel if its there its only fair they take it before someone else does. I hate a dam thief.

People don't care anymore

Maybe he built the brush pile, your marker was on....lol.

I have a pile close to my house that someone keeps marking with a bleach bottle. I grab it and cut the rope everytime I come by. Have cut it 4 times now. I know it doesn't belong to me, and I encourage people to fish it, but theres no reason to keep marking it and leaving the marker. Next time I see the guys fishing it that I know are the ones marking it, I'm going to tell them if they don't stop, I am going to post the coords on here so they will have to take a number to get to fish it again.

But as for the OP, that sucks, they had to know it was yours.

I had the spare tire stolen from my trailer at Jordan park on Ray Roberts. It just grated my nerves

Did you have your name/info written on it?

Personally, I wouldnt right off call this person a thief. It was a marker buoy they came across that someone left in the water. Maybe they thought it had been forgotten.

This pisses me off to Pissdom!(if there's such a place) people are stealing at docks, boat ramp parking lots even at tournaments! I swear if I catch one stealing from me it will not be good! I truly would get Medieval with them!

No I didn't have any info on it, but I have a good idea who has it. He lives on the lake. He left his dock while I was fishing and he was returning as I went to pick up the wife. All I need to do is to go buy his dock and look in his boat and see if a green buoy is in it. But then again is it really worth it!

I was fishing on Pines down the edge of a creek channel. I threw a marker as I went past the edge drop. I ended up about 100 yards down the creek and noticed someone over by my buoy. Next thing I know, they've picked it up and started wrapping the line around it.

I had to yell that they were taking my buoy. :-) They dropped it back in the water and went on their way.

If something isn't mine, I don't mess with it.

If I see a unmanned bouy (especially at night) I'm picking it up.
I don't want anyone running into it. I picked up several at Fork with no-one and no boats in sight.
If I see one and no one is around sorry dude...I ve even picked up a green one that I floated over,..
I'm not stealing you bouy marker, geez, I have plenty,..I just dont want your cord and lead sinker in my $500 prop..!

How much trouble would it have been to pick up said bouy before leaving the area ?

MO

Make sure your spare tire on your trailer is locked tight. They lifted mine.

I know some people will think cruel things about me for my opinion on this subject but....I HATE A THIEF!! I wish there was a judgment that if caught their thumbs were taken so that everyone they came across in the future would know.I`m sorry but I`m jus sayin

I hate a Thief also but I agree with Jim Jr. I have run over one not seeing it and the line wrapped in my prop! its not hard to pick them up. Set a way point to go back to. I have seen the same buoy in the same spot for days. People do leave them I have not found mine before and have left it after a search.

This is how I see it

My comment was directed towards A THIEF.If you are not a THIEF then my comment doesn't apply to you.

To me, If it was forgotten it would have grime on the string and the buoy. The best rule of thumb in my opinion is.... " If it's not yours don't take it! Or touch it for that matter" Common Sense.

Agreed just as bad as jug lines at night... now those can really cause issues in a hurry

Y'all need to learn how to watch in front of the boat and avoid them. No different than a jug line. You have no right to pick up either one and you are stealing if you do. Leave peoples things alone. If it ain't yours don't mess with it.

I don't agree with people leaving markers out for extended periods of time but it ain't my place to police it. If you have a lake house and a bp in front of your dock and someone keeps marking it and leaving the marker then I understand. But to pull up to a random fish marker and just steal it with the justification of "i didn't want to run over it and damage my super prop" you are a thief. Leave other peoples things alone! It ain't that hard.

Don't litter! I don't take them , I wad them up and throw them in the trash! I don't want an unmarked navigational hazard trashing my $4000 lower unit! Pick up after yourself!

I've picked up buoys before....I've also forgotten numerous ones and drove off, sure hope somebody got some use out of them....

I only pick up Tbox's when he aint looking

LOL. I bet he appreciates that!

Gman

Sorry but it is only the fisherman's fault if he leaves any gear on the lake unattended. I never do. Too many people fish and want or need a buoy or other gear.
It's like the old saying, locks make people honest. Without the locks (or put away) it is fair game in a lot of people's minds. Only you can make people honest by keeping your gear close by at all times. Don't givve them an excuse to be a thief.

Next time, I'll put a flag on it that says I'll be back in 5. Leave alone please!

While in basic Military training,my drill SGT once told me,"Locks only keep honest people honest".

I hear ya man. I can't believe some of these responses.

Y'all have all gotten off light. I had someone back into my truck with their boat trailer at Ray Roberts last summer. That was quick a surprise to walk up to. Of course they didn't leave a note or their insurance card either.

Times have changed so much brothers, hell the only thing constant in life is change,(and its not always good)these days cant let your kids walk to school in certain places, churches cant leave their doors unlocked, cant have the old shotgun in the pickup window rack anymore. use to be able to take a nap in a public park, I remember leaving the windows down in the car at the store when it was hot growing up, before everyone got AC you could leave you windows up at home all night now we have our seniors dying in record summer heat because their too scared to open a window. This is why I fight hard to continue the right to bare arms. I think if I can protect folks and their property in another country who wouldn't [censored] on me if I was on fire I Damn sure should have the right to protect my own family and property. Ok I'm off my soap box now lol for whatever reason if its not yours don't touch it its that simple. Every person every time they launch a boat takes risk of something happening man made or mother nature I have drove around jug lines more times than I can count they have a right to have their lines where they put them no different than a guy has the right to leave his buoy for a minute or two without having it taken by someone with some it will hurt my prop excuse. Hell of a lot more out there that will hurt a prop than a 2 dollar buoy so if your that concern about water hazards get out the chain saw and start the never ending task of stump cutting.imho

if you find a buoy on the lake first look at the depth finder and see why its there, then move it 40 or 50 feet away

I agreed with your statement sir! I've picked up many bouys where there were no boat in sight. I'm more concerned about damaging my motor. Sorry if some disagree.

Im with jim

Pack it in .. pack it out.. If you cant see it , its gone. Good story is I have left them for days and returned and still there! I put my name on with sharpie cause often there are a few around plus drift and I forgot which. Forgive and move on .. but get the buoy!

I've left a couple behind on accident! I was too busy packing up all of little mans baits and getting things put away and drove right off with the buoy still in the water. Lost 2 on the same pile that I can recall. Neither were there on the next trip. No worries...

quote=Jacob]Make sure your spare tire on your trailer is locked tight. They lifted mine. [/quote]
Had a lock on my spare, so they stole one off the axle.They were kind enough to leave the lug nuts so I could use my spare to get home.

Last year at Granger there was a rash of vehicle break ins. A fiend of mine had his rear glass broken on his Suburban and a bunch of tackle stolen. Think 2 or 3 others were broken into that same day. This went on for about a week. Don't know if it is true, I heard a trailer was even stolen.

Don't most people have digital markers now? Waypoints on my Lowrance are simple, easy and clear to return to. They don't give my hard-earned marked structure away and I can return to my spot time after time. I have long given up on allowing people to be honest. It's sad I know and I wish the world was different but I can onlu help reform those in my direct influence. If everyone considered that their job--what a wonderful world it would be right? Sorry for the loss though!

When I was a kid, Dad and I would leave all our gear in the boat, beach it and walk up to the concession to eat lunch. Usually an hour break, and we could walk back down and everything was there, intact.
I don't know what happened. I guess the wrong kind of people took up fishing for the wrong reason.
For my two cents worth, I hope that kind all choke on a fish bone.
Our kids shouldn't need to grow up having to look over their shoulder everywhere they go.

Have you ever picked up a bobber at the lake? Ever found a lure stuck on a tree that a shore fisherman lost? If so, are you a thief?

Not the same thing.

Back before gps and before most boats had GPS capabilities fishermen used drop in buoys to mark their spots. A lot still do. It was common practice to use the "depth finder" to locate the BP's, Humps, ledges....whatever structure they wanted to mark, drop the marker, and come back to it a little later . The ones that knew what they were doing would ease in to the marker quietly with their trolling motor as low as possible or even drift in, slip the anchor down quietly, and fish the structure out quietly. Guys that caught a lot of big bass used this practice a lot at night. The buoy gives a visible target on the surface and allowed them to focus on fishing rather than trying to hold over it with the trolling motor making noise and watching the screen etc. A lot of these older style fishermen would laugh at the thought of holding over a brush pile in 12'-15' of water with the trolling motor because of the noise it makes and because it is so much easier and relaxing to just drop an anchor. They would all agree the bigger fish would likely move on with all that noise. Big bass fishermen of yesteryear approached bass fishing structure like hunting.

My long drawn out point is fish markers are still used in this way by many fishermen. Most of them pick them up when they fish that spot out when they leave. Very few leave them for more than a few hours. And most are dropped in areas that are not in boat traffic areas where boats would be running on plane. So for you knuckleheads that think it is your right or duty to remove fish markers that are not yours I ask you to reconsider. There is a chance a fishermen placed it there for a reason, he had a legal right to place it there, and chances are he will be returning soon to fish that spot and then retrieve his marker. Just because he is not in sight at the time doesn't mean he isn't returning soon. Not all fishermen have GPS. And some of the ones that do have GPS may still prefer to use a surface marker and actually focus on fishing rather than staring at a screen while trying to hold over a spot with a trolling motor making noise.

I don't take too kindly to thieves no matter what they are taking. And if it were my marker that I placed and caught someone stealing it we would have problems. So why even go there? Why not just leave it alone? It ain't yours so just don't mess with it.

I agree we should be able to enjoy the lake without constantly worrying about thieves and being victimized by them. Instead of fishermen stealing from fishermen we should be watching out for each other and helping each other out.....Always. The subject here is a $5 fish marker. But it isn't the value of it that matters. Someone who steals a $5 marker is no less of a thief than someone stealing a tackle box or rod and reel out of another mans boat. It still isn't yours and it is taking something that isn't yours.....stealing. So in my view yes you are a thief if you take someone's fish marker that isn't yours.

I'm really shocked at the number of you who think taking a fish marker that isn't yours is your right and the proper thing to do. Steer around it like you would a stump or trot line marker or any other hazard on the lake you would leave alone. In my 25 years of being a boat owner I have never, or seen a fish marker cause damage to a lower unit. Not once. With a V hull they get pushed to one side and if a prop contacted the small nylon cord it would shred it immediately. It would be a freak thing for such a light weight nylon cord to survive a prop of any size engine, even the $4000 lower units.

Had one wrapped up on my prop once ...took a good 15-20 minutes to finally got it unravel from the shaft.

I don't understand why you guys are still debating this cause you are not going change anyone mind here. Everyone is firmly held on to their own beliefs. Leave it alone if you want, take it if you want ...no one is wrong in my opinion.

I remember that my friend has his goose neck bolt and trailer light stolen at that time, I started using a game cam to watch my truck and trailer at lease I will see who it is and possibly get a plate number, its usually local folks according to the law.

Well said and so true! spot on!

Exactly...maybe I should go throw out markers everywhere and then leave to go take a nap and hope the dozens of other boats don't run them over. My $2 buoys are worth more than someone's motor!!! I don't take it but I'll sure pull it up and throw it on the shoreline

I won't touch it. I will idle by & see what it's marking( if anything at all) Hmmmm... New GPS waypoint maybe? Just don't touch it is my opinion. Say thanks to whomever marked it for me perhaps.