pot�lick�er [pot-lik-er]

noun

See also: piscatorum ignavum

1. Midland and Southern U.S. A person too lazy to go find fish on their own. Shows up whenever someone gives them a favorable fishing report. Waits until the boat has launched and truck is parked to hitch a ride without doing any of the work. Needs to be told what bait, what depth, what color, what size and what body of water in order to find fish.


2. Dialect . A worthless angler waiting for someone else to show them where and how to fish.

I'm a potlicker too!

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.

Colin Powell

This is my Potlicker...
She's a good one!!!!

As a kid I was a potlicker. Every time Mom made a cake I licked the electric mixer beaters, spoon and the mixing bowl. I still practice that today as you can tell by my rotund shape.

I believe the below is what they may be referencing.....


"A potlicker in fishing is a man who is too lazy to go find fish on his own, so he looks for someone who is already on fish and then he moves into that man's spot. He potlicks, he depends on what others find or leave him."

Last weekend I was fishing a spot that i fish frequently. It's within easy sight of the boat ramp. I was pulling in crappie at a pretty good pace. I had caught about 15 in less than an hour. So a guy launching his boat sees this and motors straight over to the where i'm fishing and says "I saw you where having pretty good luck so I thought I'd come over and get in on it." THAT is a potlicker. If he'd made note of where I was at and waited until I left then I don't necessarily think that's pot licking. I don't own that brush pile. Heck for all I know he's found that brush pile on his own and was just waiting to get on it. But seeing me catch fish and pulling up right beside me....well....that's potlicking.

If I see a boat anchored and fishing a spot I'll make a mental note "Hey, next time I need to cruise by there with the sonar and see what's there" I would never motor over to them to mark the spot. I'd never even get close to them. I wouldn't even watch to see if they catch fish. Just take note that there might be something there worth checking out. That's one way to find new spots. I don't think that's potlicking. I'll also burn up some gas just idling around with the sonar looking for new stuff so I don't rely solely on seeing other boats to find new spots.

Now if I see someone out on the lake dropping brush piles am I going to fish them. You better believe I am. Much as I expect someone who sees me drop structure to come back and fish it. But again i'm not going to run right over to them and mark the spot. I'll wait until a later time and find them with the sonar. Is that potlicking? I wasn't following them. I wasn't trying to be sneaky. Should that structure be forever off limits to me since I happened to see them place it and didn't actually discover it on my own? I don't think so.

By some of the definitions above every fisherman is a potlicker.