What are your thoughts on how close should a boat be to your lines? Mind you I was fishing in a narrow cove not 30 yards wide. How should I handle someone crossing my lines in a boat when they have the rest of the lake to utilize but instead want to be on top of my lines. To add insult to injury they didn't even fish the cove longer than 10 min and had to cross my line again to leave!! SMH!!

Maybe a 4-5 oz weight should do the trick?

Any boat guys want to chime in. I was pretty heated!!

Such is life. Been on both sides of the spectrum. I have had a guy bump a marina almost broke my pole & then spoiled my 60# power pro on my big cat rod....his boat stalled a lot as he left from the marina. Such is life.

I've both bank and now boat fish. It doesn't take more than 20 seconds to pull in your line so the boat can pass. When I'm in a boat I will take a wide berth so as not to disturb a bank fisherman and I'll say hello. If there is no way to avoid going over someone's line and the area is big enough for all to fish, I'll ask for them to move their line for a minute. Never had any problem. Every now and then I've even asked them if they want to join me on the boat to fish.

Some people are just plain ignorant! I’ve been on both sides of the issue. When fishing from my boat I give Bank fishermen a wide birth when possible. In a narrow cove that could be hard to do depending on the depth on the opposite side. I certainly wouldn’t fish through someone’s lines but I’ve also encountered fishermen that try to fish narrow channels that are the only water deep enough to navigate your boat.

I could understand the narrow waterways such as the Trinity River that I fish quite regularly and deal with kayakers all the time. No issue there because I understand the situation. But I am talking about the lake. Boaters have much more access to the water than my measly 20 yards of bank access. So why impede my area? SMH.

I will say I respect any fisherman who also shows respect. If asked to move my line I would more than likely oblige. But to simply start crossing my lines with no regard to me is disturbing. Tight lines all.

Lack of respect, it's what they teach in school nowadays along with a lot of other backward stuff.

I've had it happen to me, and the more you fish, if it hasn't happened to you it will!
Reel in your lines, let them pass, and then resume your fishing, as life is too short to have someone ruin your day!

For the most part I do not let boats bother me even if they do come a little close. It's not worth my time to get mad or say something that might develop into something more. "Life is to short". I also have plenty of places to fish where I will never see a boat much less another person!

Respect goes both ways.
If the boat isn't respect full then he will get his at some point.
I mean if your using 80lb braid and have used a large lead weight to get it out there as far as possible and it gets it gets in his trolling motor or big motor it's not really your job to worry about his equipment.
He should of been looking and asked about your line locations.

As far as moving down the bank, I'm in a wheel chair and let me say finding bank access is very difficult, so when I get to a place to fish I don't plan on moving until I'm going home. FYI
I will be keeping an old rod/reel with xtra heavy braid just in case.

If you truly know what it is like to be a banker then when you get a boat you will give respect to them. This is my opinion.

I tend to agree with this, but if you're a multi rod bank angler who has taken the time to set up camp for an extended campaign, reeling that line in may not be that easy or if it's been getting some action you may not want to. In these cases I always flag the boater down and ask them with respect to not boat over my lines. 99% of the time it's no problem. The other 1%, unfortunately in today's world you have to be prepared.

I try to swing wide of bank fisherman but when they have multiple lines out, in a narrow cove, or by a boat ramp, they should know the risks of those activities. I don’t set out multiple lines when I’m on a boat or bank fishing.

It goes both ways, most of us try to avoid lines, some bank fisherman will always think you’re too close and some boat fisherman will always think they’re far enough when they aren’t. I’ve been looking for a brush pile in 20’ of water 200 yards or more from shore and had guys on the bank waving and screaming at me. I’m not sure there is any “set” standard.

Kinda like wake boats. The whole point of them is to make waves. So, where do they all go? Anywhere on the lake that is calm. Usually right next to people fishing.

man i'm confused. I'm a boat guy and I have some questions that determine who was being the jerk. Did he pull in and fish on top of you? If he pulled in and fished where you were fishing then that's a di@& move. Or did he just drive by to get to the back of the cove? If it's the later then maybe he should have asked you to move your lines so he could get through. But I don't think him going past you to the back of the cove is being a jerk in any way. I think it's a bit much to expect to block off the entire cove so you can fish all the way across it.

As for throwing a heavy weight at him - Maybe you're just venting but i'd be careful with that. You might end up the recipient of a much smaller weight moving a whole lot faster.

Just my $.02