Yea I did , idle up to them and asked if they were ready to go , person on trolling motor said why , I answered You guys can follow me around rest of the day , I can show how to fish ,

New Skeeter occupied 2 times watches

Yea I did , idle up to them and asked if they were ready to go , person on trolling motor said why , I answered You guys can follow me around rest of the day , I can show how to fish ,

Are you an LEO?

Okay...reel up the slack and get ready to set the hook, I'll bite:

Several things here...The waters I fish don't have anything near the pressure that the North Texas lakes get, I believe a lot of the "problem" is simple supply and demand for y'all. Too many boats for too few spots, so, there is going to be more of these types of situations than I deal with here in La.

With that said, I LOVE fishing and spend about 4 days a week on the water, so I've obviously run into these situations. I choose NOT to fish on weekends unless I'm fishing a tournament just to avoid these types of situations, which I realize I'm blessed to be able to fish during the week when most people aren't. With that said, I would NEVER pull in on top of someone while they're fishing a spot, whether I'm in a tournament or not. The only exception would be a perch jerker, I might approach and ask them if they mind if I fish around them since we are going after different species. But, my simple logic is that the other person was there first. Now if it's a bankline with a boat on it, I may go a few hundred yards down the bank and fish back towards the boat that is on it already, and when I get close to the other boat I'll put my rod down and swing wide and go around the boat that was fishing there first and then continue down the bank.

Now, I DON'T subscribe to the theory that some of you do of "You don't own the water, so If I want to fish where you're fishing I'm coming in on top of you".
Like Capt. Woodrow F. Call said, "I can't stand rude behavior in a man, Won't tolerate it." So, if you attempt this with me, there WILL be a problem. I'm not saying I'm right, and I'm not trying to be a keyboard tough guy, I'm just being honest. To me, it has more to do with common courtesy and respect than a territorial dispute. However, if someone pulls in on me and says something like, "hey man, we're in a tournament and found some fish here, do you mind us fishing next to you?" That's a totally different ball game. I'm probably going to give them the spot, or suggest that we work together and fish that spot. It just goes to show that communication is key. In my opinion there is way too much "Alpha dogging" in fishing now.

The other factor that I see more and more of is just pure cluelessness. And, I try to discern and factor this in situations like this. A lot of times the person has no idea that they are doing something that is offensive to the other party. I see this more and more at the boat ramp as well. If I think this is the case, I'll try and explain to them a better way to do whatever they're doing. Now, if I'm met with that "screw you" attitude, I will go in a different direction as well, which will probably lead to a nasty conversation in the least (once again, not condoning my own actions, just being honest).

I drove over to Fork to pick up a replica while the Skeeter Owners Tourney was going on and remember thinking you couldn't melt me and pour me on the lake with that many boats. I own a Skeeter, but to me that is not fun at all, it is the opposite of fun. But, to those seveal thousand people it is fun to them, so it's just different strokes, and that's fine.

I guess I'm turning into the "get off my lawn" guy, but I just feel like fishermen have a responsibility to be courteous and take into account OTHERS feelings and perspectives, not just their own, and when this doesn't happen, that's where there are conflicts.

Bottom line is, BE NICE! this sounds simple, but with just a little bit of positive communication, most people will embrace the stranger and give more of an effort to understand the other's perspective.

Ok, fire away, I'm holding the target up for y'all.

Fishing around a Dock , swinging in 3rd fish , New Skeeter occupied 2 times watches , I ease off to ledge near dock , est 75 ft , New Skeeter pulls in same exact spot , Buzzards, bother me more .