he called the tournament director told him what had happened

Fishing Etiquette



I am an avid fisherman that grew up on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi fishing rivers, bayous, and bays. My father always took time to take my brother and me fishing and showed us everything he knew and instilled the passion that he had for fishing into us and it took hold at a young age. One thing that he was adamant about was being courteous and polite on the water. About 4 years ago I had the opportunity to move to southeast Texas and take a job as an engineer. My first thought was Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend would be my back yard, so I took the job. I have lived in the Sam Rayburn area for 2 years and it is the greatest thing I have ever done. I work 14 days/month and the rest of the days I am usually on Sam Rayburn. I have countless days learning the lake, putting brush piles out, and trying to figure things out on my own and in most cases can catch fish and compete in most tournaments on the lake. My father and brother visit me more than they ever have and have spent many days on the lake with me or in their boat.



My brother came up last weekend to compete in the Bassmaster Weekend series as a boater. I spent two days pre-fishing with him and showed him a few brush piles that I had been catching fish on that would help him in the tournament. My brother started off at an area that is between two humps and has scattered piles and had a good morning. He left this area and went to a brush pile that we have been catching solid keepers on, when he pulled up another boat was there circling an area about 100yards away. When he got about 50yards from the waypoint he had he realized the other boat was on it or within the area so he turned around and started idling away. About the time he started idling away, the guy in the other boat yelled � CAN I FUC$#% HELP YOU?� my brothers first thought was did he just say that. He yelled back to him that he was going to fish a brush pile but he seemed to be on it or in the area of it. The other guy started yelling back to my brother that (HE DID NOT HAVE ANY FUC#%$^^ BRUSH ON THE LAKE and THAT HE NEEDED TO CARRY HIS AS$). My brother was amazed how belligerent this guy was and also my brothers co-angler. My brothers co-angler who works as a correctional officer wanted to call his bluff, but my brother done the right thing and left, he called the tournament director told him what had happened and also what kind of boat it was (the boat had a sponsor wrap) so it was fairly easy to notice. He found me and told me that he had just got cursed out and he was pretty upset about it. My co-angler could not believe that somebody would do that and he was from the Lufkin area and fished the lake his whole life. We both finished the tournament and it still bothered my brother and the more I thought about it the more pissed I got. I have not lived on Sam Rayburn long but I have spent as much time as anybody these last three years, this particular area I have put my own brush on back in Jan., and last nobody owns the lake or anything in it. If you guide on the lake great that would be a great way to make a living or if you are a weekend fisherman, but nobody has the right to threaten, curse, and or assume they own anything on the water. In today�s world people are starting to have less common courtesy and do not worry about others but just themselves.





Bill Burns

Call the sponsor who wrapped the boat and explain why you will never use their products because of their choice of spokesmen. There are countless threads on what it takes to actually GET a sponsor and I am pretty certain that that is not the kind of impression that they would like to give to prospective customers.