So did he cheat if you told him the location of a fish?

Maybe I'm biased because I'm a fisherman, but I love seeing other fishing boats trolling by my dock and I enjoy talking with them. I got a place on Eagle Mountain a few months ago with a dock in the smaller cove east of the Fort Worth Boat Club point. I'm usually sitting by my fishing boat organizing things. I always tell them where in the cove I've had luck recently and on what bait. I'm installing a little fridge on the dock soon so I'll probably start offering cold beverages.

It doesn't bother me when people fish our docks. Our deck is less than 20 feet from the water. We sit out there and watch and occasionally chat with them if they're willing. We've only had one impolite fisherman and we just chalked his attitude to the time of day and how long he'd been on the water. If they are pros, we don't bother them; they're working.

I do not like the fact that fish get removed from our area during tournaments and released elsewhere but until tourneys go with technology like MLF, it is what it is.

If someone fishing from a dock I just pass an move on to tha nxt thts just respect it's kinda like fishing a brush pile and a dude pull right up on ya

I've caught a few nice fish under the dock on Lake Arlington you're referring to... he can't stop us all!

Don't feel too bad about the fish relocations. They usually make their way back, or if it is good structure/cover, they are replaced with others.

Most of us have had this happen once in our fishing career.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure this is the crotchety old dock owner syndrome. Guy fishing a dock is no different than guy fishing the bank. You have the whole lake to fish. Why are you fishing casting distance from a man on a dock? Give him his space to fish. Fish his dock another time when he isn't fishing.

People are always talking about the boat that blew in and fished right on top of them. People don't like another boat fishing casting distance from them. What's the difference here? Does a dock owner fishing his own dock deserve less respect than a boater?

I've never run into a mad dock owner. Heard about them plenty of times. I can't imagine leaving one because an owner didn't want me around. Seems like doing that would just empower them to continue the antics.

If someone was fishing when I pulled up, I usually strike up a conversation and stick the rod on the deck while I take the trolling motor around the dock. Just as disrespectful to encroach a bank fisherman as a boat fisherman. I'll strike up a conversation with anybody who's close enough to hear me though!

It's definately a 2 way street. I bank fish alot. For 5 yrs in the 90's I worked in grapevine and would fish grapevine alot. Same place 3-4 evenings a wk. Every tues and thurs the France brothers would come in to fish the drop off I was sitting on and they would just go around me respectfully and say hi and ask if I'd caught any. Then I found out on about wk 2 or 3 they were fishing a tournament. So the next Tuesday they came in and I said hey matt, yall come fish this if yall want, I know it's a good spot and yall are in a tournement. It led to a very respectful appreciation of each other and honestly eventually we would all just fish it after a few wks without ever getting in there way. I reaped rewards from it too. Those guys where good sticks out there aND they would tell me some spots and baits that were working and we all just got along. One time I remember I caught a 7 lber right after they moved on didn't have a scale, Matt let me use his and took a pic for me after making sure I was gonna let her go (I don't keep bass). The next week he told me I would've won big bass with that one. The point of this story is to have respect for boaters when bank fishing and they will respect u and vise versa. Matt France and his brother where good dudes, Man I had some good evenings out there.

I live on Fork and just had a dock built... I don't mind people fishing around it but it can make me nervous due to the potential of thieves... I keep everything locked up but if people want in bad enough, it's hard to stop them. So I will go down to dock just to let them know I'm around

I don't usually fish docks but when I do....I prefer Dos Equis XX. Makes dealing with irate dock owners easier!

That's because the France brothers are cool.

Fork-Legend211 : PM Sent

got a dock fishing story with a happy ending...several years ago was fishing a redman tourney on Sinclair(Ga.)..was flipping docks and came up on one with couple little boys bream fishing off it..one was probably 6 years old and other one couple years older........did the usual "catching anything" greeting and both of them started telling me about a giant catfish had pulled it out of the holder and swam off the night before with the older boys brand new rod and reel....we told them we were sorry and continued fishing down the bank...probably about two docks down,I saw a bobber at edge of a boat house with no rods on nearby docks...just on a hunch,I snagged the bobber with my rod tip and pulled the bobber to the boat and pulled on the line....no giant catfish but there was a brand new rod and push button reel....I turned around and headed back where the boys were on the dock....as I got with within earshot I told them I had found a rod and reel that I might sell cheap...the older boy asked how much and I replied probably a dollar would be enough....older boy tell the younger one to run up to the house and get a "dollar from Daddy"...and younger started to the house and I told him to hold on a minute til they saw the rod because it might not be worth a dollar....I can you,it was worth a hundred dollars to see the look on their faces when they saw the rod lying on my deck and both of them trying to tell me that was the rod the catfish had swam away with...I told them that if that was their rod,I just couldn't charge them anything......and it was worth another hundred dollars to have seen them running up to the cabin hollering out to their Dad they had got their rod back.......

Great story Beartrap. Are you the same Beartrap from the Home Page? (I suspect you are...lol)