Let me preface this by the fact that I mostly bass fish, but why are bass fisherman the absolute worse about respecting other fisherman's space, particularly bank anglers and anglers not fishing for bass?

As a bass fisherman who kayaks and bank fishes a lot as well, I must apologize for us chasers of the bucketmouth.

I had a guy float right over the bream beds I was fishing today and he even threw his wacky rigged worm right at where I was on the dock...

This is most definately going stir things up..My view on it is that guys see the pros doing it on tv and they think its acceptable.And its not just bass fishermen.

I think it's because many bass fishermen assume that if you're not fishing for bass, then you are fishing in one static spot, where your line is at the time.

If someone is standing on their dock without lines out, I will fish it. If they have lines out I'll usually go around wide. I might fish the backside if they are fishing the front.

If you're crappie fishing, I'll get closer to you than if you were bass fishing. But I won't pitch into the same tree you are fishing.

When a bass fisherman picks a bank or whatever to fish he thinks that he owns it. And then when they turn a corner and someone is sitting there fishing they automatically believe that other person cut them off. I have heard stories from both sides about who cut who off. Just yesterday for example I met a guy that fished a tournament at AH the same day we did. I remember one of the guys from the team complaining about a guy cutting 15 feet in front of a bank that he was fishing. Yesterday I heard him say that the guy on our team cut HIM off.

IMO the biggest thing is just that guys get greedy and don't want anyone fishing a bank or structure that they consider "theirs". Even while me and my partner get ready and gameplan for the tournament we talk about "our" spots, banks, etc. At the end of the day its all public water. I had a problem with getting pissed about people fishing a bank that we were on first or whatever it was and I am learning quickly from my partner that it doesn't really matter. He usually runs the trolling motor and what he does is smile, greet them, and go right around them. Much better way to go about it than letting it ruin your day. Heck we came in behind two different teams from our own tournament one day fishing a certain spot that everyone knew about and both times we caught a 5 pound fish right behind them. They were fishing it very slow as well.

I was a bank beater for years before I bought my boat. I will go around the bank fisherman everytime. I know how little water they get to fish. If I am fishing for fun and not in a tournament I will let the boat in the tournament have the bank. If I am in a tournament the 25 yard rule applies. I was fishing a bank and another boater comes in and starts fishing the same bank and was so close his lure went over my head. The next cast my lure hit his boat with a thud. He look at me but did not say a thing . He got the message. Treat people the way you want to be treated..

oh and I can take the rude bass fisherman over the jackhole jet skier everytime..

Have you ever fished schooling white bass???? now that is a wow experience.

Easy answer: Money

When fishing for fun becomes fishing for a paycheck, just like at your job, rules and ethics get overlooked for profit.

And they aren't the absolute worst. The non-English speaking Asians will sit under your rods if you are bank fishing and fish just below you. In a boat, they will tie up to you if you let them. They also keep everything and rarely if ever have a license.

That is no lie!!!

Yeah, it's an "Experience" ... until some jackhole trolls right through the school, or worse fires up his outboard in the middle of them and then bye-bye schoolies.

You need to try Saltwater or even maybe the worst of all Northeast Striper Fishing.

Bass anglers are practically angels.

I like fishing up in the creeks where other people have a hard time getting to.

the boat show begins, then you have one troll right thru the middle.

I agree. There very few or no ethics when it comes to saltwater fishing from a pier, jetty, or surf. Often I see people with 4-5 rods all tossed in and taking up the whole area. Thats why I wade fish 100% in saltwater.

Bass fisherman that I run into just walk by and say, "Morning, catch anything?". I would say, "Morning, yes a few bass" or "Morning, nothing yet.". After that, the other guy would just reply "okay, good luck to you" and head off in the distance to his/her own spot.

[quote=Fishspanker]You need to try Saltwater or even maybe the worst of all Northeast Striper Fishing.

Bass anglers are practically angels. [/quote

saw that yesterday, lots of people and many bringing 2-6 rods and most clueless on what to do.