Bass Club BS...

So I go to my favorite lake yesterday (Saturday) an hour before sunrise and find a line to launch. After waiting 30 minutes I finally launch only to find that there are no available spaces at any of the numerous docks slips to tie off on while parking. Then I realize that there are Bass Club tournament fisherman blocking all of the slips while they gather in the parking lot picking their a**es and waiting for sunrise (which is still 30 minutes away). So I guess if you are not part of their "precious" little tournament you have to tie off at the launch and go park, which off course blocks the ramp and slows down everyone else from launching. And bonus points for the jerks that were running full speed in zero visibility fog and not even using running lights. You know who you are. At least I hope they enjoyed watching me hammer 3 to 5 pounders right in front of them all day, because of course once I caught a fish I was immediately surrounded. At one point I had 10 boats around me.

Did you try asking them there at the ramp to share some tie up space? I doubt coming on here and making a vague post about a bass club fishing an unnamed lake in Texas is probably gonna do much but cause a lot of needless drama and such.

Maybe next time get some TX numbers and find the TD at the ramp when you see someone you suspect in a tournament operating a boat in an unsafe manner. You could have also addressed the ramp issues and the sportsmanship issues in person as well.

Pull up to the bank and get off, pull up to the ramp, bunch of different options unless you’re the dainty type that has to have a dock to get off their boat.

It is not about being "dainty" it is about common courtesy. Every available spot on the docks and the bank were taken for over an hour, thus requiring blocking the ramp while parking. And I am purposely being vague because maybe this happens a lot at other lakes and all Clubs and members seeing this might think about changing their take off policies. But then again they might just write it off like you do because I am being "dainty".

I’m trying to be nice. It’s a public lake they have just as much as a right as you do. If you don’t like it let your state representative know you want to ban bass clubs, pick a different lake, go back home, Join the club, anything besides complain on a forum rather than talking to them.

Wow, you are trying to be nice by calling me "dainty". And now your over reaction to my "complaining" tells me you might be the type that would stand around and watch the ramp being blocked over and over for over an hour with no concern for any one else. I think this forum is a perfect way to broach the subjects and get people thinking about it instead of taking it personally and reacting with name calling and such.

courtesy docks are first came first serve at my lake. I have watched ski boats tie up and drink beer for hours, while waiting for someone else to come and park in the trailer only spots with no trailer. Part of the public use. I hate to inform you, much of the public sucks. Even some bass club members

What is the purpose of these type of posts? If you just want to rant on the internet....cool.

Id be willing to bet you said nothing to the anglers that "crowded" you too.

If you have a problem with someone on the water, man up and say something to them on the water instead of whining about it on a public forum

cold days on the TFF...

That situation is when I go in to "bumper boat" mode. I own an '07 for a reason. Excuse me while I slide in between these shiny new rigs. I knew I could squeeze it in. It's called being considerate. Not drawing attention to just tourney folks, but I would guess that 50% of the bass boaters out there possess none of consideration and common sense. Yes, I'm getting old but not very grumpy.

That's definitely annoying. But, it's an inconvenient side-effect of public property. Maybe shift leisure trips to Sundays to avoid the bulk of the tournament crowd?

Yeah, I can see by some of the over reactions and creative interpretations of my post that I was right in not "confronting" people at the dock or being explicit in the details of my experience. Who knows what kind of idiocy I would be exposed to if I engaged these type of people face to face.

You can easily "confront" people when you have an issue with some respect and calmness. You don't have to acta fool or anything. Simply ask if they would mind moving over a bit to make room for others. The rest in regards to unsafe boaters is simply common sense. Hard to argue as a TD when someone hands you boat numbers and a phone video showing the situation. Most people have smart phones and a quick pix or video goes a long way.

Week day fisher here, too much stupid at the public ramps on the weekends. That's just the start... as you observed, once you get past the ramp circus you get to deal with boats, jet skis, pontoon boats hauling [censored] in all directions oblivious of surroundings, rude morons fishing up on you or cutting you off... if I wasn't self employed and not able to fish weekdays I wouldn't fish. I do it for the peace and quite and relaxation.

I'm assuming ( and I'm always wrong when I do that ) you were at Squaw Creek otherwise you could have launched somewhere else. I would in the future check this forum throughout the week to see where the tournaments are and go somewhere else or at least a lake with more than one launch area. As far as yesterday, it's over, move on.

Good thing this wasn’t bbc because he would have been kicking azz and taking names!

I have found in a situation like this starting my request with “hey brother, could I ask for your help please?” usually gets me what I need and a helping hand. Smile and be friendly. It usually works every time.

I am a member of a small club and was prefishing Palestine Saturday, I’m saying this because I knew there were several tournaments, so I adjusted my schedule accordingly by getting there earlier. One can avoid a lot of issues by planning for a few problems in advance. Try being proactive instead of reactive and it solves a lot of things. Not trying to be critical.

Yeah, I normally only fish the weekdays, but with the weather like it is I have to take every little window of opportunity. I guess I have learned my lesson, do not "whine" on the Forum about the idiocy that pervades the fabric of our society and accept the fact that weekend fishing means adapting to the "storm" of inconsiderate behavior displayed by the general public as well as my bass fishing brethren. On the plus side I did catch 26 fish up to 6 lbs so at least I have that going for me.

and one heck of a long sentence...

If you are that good don’t complain about them, join them and take their money. Jacking 3-5lb fish all day with a kicker 6 pounder will get you paid almost every day.

Jason

Im still trying to figure out how someone is an idiot for taking up the space at the dock

Pics or it didn't happen

....and if you beat enough times, they will launch your boat and park your truck for you.

Leaving their boat sitting there unattended for 30min, dude. Were you at Squaw fishing a tourney this weekend, too? Did you scratch your azz before the sunrise?

Heck,,,,,
Don't come to Athens unless you come real early.
The bank, the docks ,,,, they have all been taken lately.
But what do you expect if the tourney doesn't go off until safe light and there are 100 boats around the area
Get to your ramp an hour early, grab some coffee and donuts, and just wait until your ready or just ease out on your lake and go slow to that first spit and cast a couple in the dark and just wait for that first bite.
Lots of ways to beat a crowded ramp area

They are dummies driving and dummies on the water , I don’t let it mess up my day . I fish during the week , my wife does all the driving .

In general, bass fishermen are much easier to deal with at the ramp than your average boater. I'm sure they were aware they had the area blocked and would have made room for you had you asked. But, I don't see a problem with you venting your frustration. The tournament anglers have a right to the area, but so do you. If the tournament is impeding other boaters from launching and parking their vehicles, then they could do something like offer to park your truck and trailer for you.

This is probably the most reasonable response to the situation.

Bass fisherman have a bad rep for a reason...

I have always been a bass fisherman in a bass boat and in my opinion it seems if you get 3 or more guys together in boats with their bass boat buddies they seem to feel the whole launch area is theirs they dont discriminate they are [censored] in a pack.

I try and pay attention when Im with my local clubs to ensure if someone else not in the group pulls up we ALL give them the space and help they need.

The 4 others were dinks.

Which ones got the fillet knife?

next time just launch your boat and let it float while you go park your truck...ask one of the guys at the dock to give you a ride out to your boat.....I've done this many times and never had a problem.....

Which ones got the fillet knife?

Only the ones on your boat.

That is actually a great idea, thanks. Although in this case they were all in the parking lot but I will try that next time to see if if works.

Courtesy docks are for launching and loading. Anybody that camps out on them other than the above mentioned purposes is a dumb arse and should be shamed

Nice job.Looks like you had a good day of fishing

Man you stay on fish like that I'll drop you in the water and swim to you. Problem solved.

Looks like you had a dang good day after you were finally able to unload.

this

Amen. And this is another good reason we are a trailering Club

We fun fished Lake Athens yesterday and there was a bass club tourney there. There were probably 20 boats in the water when we got there 30 min before daylight, all were beached or tied up. If you have been to Athens it's pretty crowded around that ramp and parking lot.

We launched the boat, BS'ed with the other anglers, took our time and even had to wait in line at the porta-pooper. But, it wasn't a huge deal. Enjoyed our day, caught a few fish and froze our butts off after the front came through.

We even waved in a guy that was obviously fishing the tournament, into a area of pad stems we were catching fish. He caught a few, we caught a few. Not a huge deal.


The fog was bad until the front hit, but we got into an area and decided for our own safety to just stay in the area where we could idle from spot to spot and not be where others might chose to run.


This is totally my opinion, but what we did was adapted to the situation, were responsible for our own safety and made the most out of our day.


By the way do you have a "KEEP OF THE LAWN" sign in your yard

What a bad idea, except maybe in the best of weather conditions. I don't know where you fish, but at most of my ramps the wind would haul my boat away or the waves would crash it on the shore.

Just lasso around their Mercury....I've done this many times and never had a problem....

No because it would not last 5 minutes before some idiot drove over it after they already plowed my mailbox down as well as my fence. Happens at least 4 times a year, but that is a whole different story.

What lake did this happen???

I normally do not fish weekends, unless in a tournament. My friend works a 9-5 and he can only fish the weekends.
But if I am in a tournament and see a guy just fishing, I will offer my assistance if he looks like he needs help or asks.

Sometimes a simple friendly greeting will resolve these issues. But then again usually the people who seem to have these "issues" with others are not the friendly or social types.

Good Luck and nice mess of fish you caught!

obviously you couldn't launch and let float if there were adverse weather conditions such as wind or current but most launch ramps where tournaments are held are in protected water.....

I hope your rant solves all your problems but I doubt it will. Your title is bass club bs, and you’re using language like “precious” tournament. Sounds like you have a bias against bass clubs or something. Also the gloating at the end will leave the readers with a bad taste in their mouth.

If you can’t tell he’s one of the guys that hates the world. Seems pretty miserable. Everyone is an idiot to him (which is understandable since he lives in Austin), his mail box gets run over daily because of idiots, people are idiots for posting their bass boats for sale for too much money (I️ remember laughing at that post by him a while back) blah blah blah. Probly voted for Hillary too

You are the best I have ever seen.

Why would I have a bias against bass clubs when the ones I encountered yesterday were so inconsiderate as to block the entire tie off area for everyone else for over an hour and then drive unsafe around the lake in the fog and also swarm around me when they saw me catch a fish. And others report the very same things happening to them at other lakes. Yeah I can see how that all of these things are issues of my own doing and my "gloating" is just a misplaced passive aggressive attempt to elevate myself to their lofty level. Is that it?

Markson,
There are a few local lakes where this is a problem because there is only one set of ramps. The two mentioned in these posts can be the worst. Unfortunantly this is not a new issue, simply tie up to their boats and walk across their decks when they blocked access.
You have to remember, its cool for these "early" guys to be seen in their jerseys. They should move away and float in the back of the cove, until their tournament starts.

...and good day on the water. your photos shut some of the SA's up.

But I will never be as good as that boat of yours.

Just do what I do when the boat dock is busy. Drop the trolling motor in hop off the boat and send it 20ft out w/ ipilot and put on spot lock. park the truck or back the trailer down the ramp. when your done bring it back with the remote and hop back in.

You are the representational example of why it is so easy to catch fish while trolling.

That is a great idea!!! Thank you very much I had never thought of that, another great use for my Ultrex. Maybe enduring all the abuse was the price I had to pay for your idea. Thanks again

Alright homie.....

You were fishing on a power plant lake. A busy place this time of year. Quit the....

I did that one time....only once. And wouldn't ya know, a TFFer was present to give me [censored] about it drifting away when it lost spot lock. I kicked the strap just right and it went under the pedal. I'd hit the anchor and get the ol beep beep beep.

It will make you look like a fool.....kinda like crying about boat ramps.

Another one caught trolling; hook, line and sinker. LOL!!!

Tell them you purposefully dumped it in the water and you were hoping they would drive you out to your boat!

If that' bothers you be prepared to be bothered at any ramp you launch where a tournament is going out of unless they have a specific sign on the courtesy dock in regards to time or there are less boats in the tournament than there are docks.

If I know a tournament is going out of where I launch I either get there early or launch after.

It's best not to concentrate on things that bother you and just go fishing.

I pulled up to the dock and stepped off the boat. It then proceeded to drift into several families and kids swimming nearby. Lol.

I see this type of post often enough to realize it’s not an isolated issue. I don’t have a trolling motor that’d allow me to do what has been suggested and I’ve seen someone go totally ape over someone tying off to their boat then traversing across it to get to the dock. “Your shoes are dirty, you stepped on something you shouldn’t have...:”. I wouldn’t allow someone to park my truck as it’s typically “loaded” with a high caliber lead delivery device and what if they damaged my vehicle or someone else’s? My solution is I refuse to fish weekends period. I put someone else’s priorities above mine and I don’t get to fish. I lose out because I let myself believe someone else thinks their hobby is more important than mine. Not everything or everyone in this world is perfect but IMO a dock is to be used long enough to allow someone to tie off and go safely park then move off of and allow the next guy to do the same. It’s called decency and being considerate of your fellow man.

Yes, I would politely ask for some assistance if the need should arise. No, I wouldn’t come on here and vent my frustrations as I’ve seen the outcome. My flame suit is all charred up and I’m sure I’d be opening myself up to yet more needless abuse as there seem to be a lot of keyboard warriors out there who clam up otherwise.

Just be considerate and remember this is a hobby. Very few are lucky enough to be able to do this for a living. My hat goes off to them as they’re brave enough to go for it. Yet I’m sure those pros never forget where they started out and hopefully strive to set a good example for us all to follow in this sport.

I think the outcome has been outstanding. Exposure of like minded inconsiderate posters that fit the profile of what I experienced exactly as well as reasonable responses for all to see. And a couple of great ideas and related feedback to help me (and hopefully others) along. Now it is just like trolling, after catching so many pretty soon you get sick of taking the hooks out.

So what happened to the deal about squaw only allowing charity tournaments out there, that lake gets pounded with club tourneys all winter now and its going to get worse with Fairfield and Monti power plants closing.

Foot Pedal?????

LOL My Terrova is 100% electric, so nothing will interfere with my not attached foot pedal. Hell I haven't even used the foot pedal yet, it's stored in a compartment.

I've heard of those antiquated terrovas. You know the new ones have cable operated power steering AND a remote?

Just kidding.

I agree but it seems that the last few events I fished guys tied up to them then disappeared just like themOP said. I sucks when there isn’t even room for your partner to pick you up on the dock after parking.
Hint Media west guys.

Nice load of fish

I'm pretty new to boat fishing and have run into this before. Most launches just aren't set up for a tournament's worth of boats. I have a 25 year old tin can so I don't mind running it up on the rocks to park my truck. With that said I've seen plenty of courtesy docks covered by boats early in the AM and no one around to ask if they could move a bit. It's frustrating sometimes but I fish to relax so try not to get too upset about it. I have had several with really nice boats show up out of nowhere when I tie up next to them because they probably think I'm going to love tap their sweet ride.

There will always be tournaments and usually there won't be enough room for everyone. Just the way it is. It's a public lake and not much you can do about it. you can't make people be nice.


I've had the same issues at Allen skate park. I take my daughter out there to skate a lot and the resident bad arses won't get off of a line long enough to let my kid make a run. Now I usually go out without my board when I take her so I look like the rest of the parents. I'll grab her board to snake the line and when the kids see that I can skate better than they can they will give me and my kid some room from then on. It's always been that way in my 30 years of skating. I look at the lake just the same except I suck at fishing. I'm the low man on the totem pole out there. A lot of people have blinders on in life. They may not even realize they are being jerks. and if they know they are then there's no use in trying to change them.

There you go .....
all this ranting does NO GOOD unless you identify the folks you are complaining about. Otherwise everyone says that was not me.
Call em out,,,,what Bass Club was it that hogged the courtesy docks ?
also remember,,,,the bank is for PARKING. Not the courtesy dock, but the bank yes.
If there is no dock & you get there too late for a bank spot then you got to find another way. That's on you, not them.

Cant think of the last time I used a courtesy dock. I usually just put it on the ramp or dirt and PP down. Its what keel guards are for.

^this......or just get there earlier.

In this case, I would have just tied up at the ramp and people would have had to wait on me to park before they could unload. If someone wanted to make a comment about that, then I would tell them to go talk to all the parked boat owners. No reason to get wound up about it.

There is a local tv celebrity who I will not name that does this all the time. Lengthwise down the docks at squaw. It's shameful and he should know better. And your exactly right you can't even pick someone up when they block it like that. I recommend walking right over their boat with muddy shoes preferably.

You have to remember that "every spot taken" is taken by an individual. One spot taken by one boat. Does not matter if they are all in the same tournament or not. Each individual has a right to the single spot he took up on the dock. Sounds like it's first come first served and you showed up way behind a lot of others guys. But at least they were treated to the show put on by a stick like you as you hammered 3-5 pounders. Ya, I do agree with you though: the TFF can sometimes be rough when you back up to the fence.

There is always going to be some inconveniences during tournaments and holidays especially holidays during the summer. For the most part I try not to fish those days. If I do fish a very busy day I exercise a lot of patients.

Thread of the year

Nothing like pulling up at 5a and see two boats backed down and parked on a two lane ramp. Tourney ramrods told us the tourney would be leaving at safe light. Safe light was 630a. We politely asked if one could either launch or pull up and out of the way. They wouldn't move until we started to take pictures.

Rock and roll.

Step 1- take pictures
Step 2- post them
Step 3- report them to TD

I've fished 5-6 different tournament organizations, none would tolerate this kind of behavior.

That is nothing/fish a Sealy Tournament on Fork if you want to talk dock blocking.

I'm just curious what the OP thinks the solution to the problem should be?

If they waited a little later to launch, there would be people complaining that it took them an hour to get on the water.

Sounds like they got out there pretty early and freed up the launch. Was there other areas they should have parked their boat, or beached their boat?

Not familiar with the lake in question, so honestly don't know.

If its a tiny dock similar to what O.H. Ivie has, yes I'm not tying up to that Doc and waiting on sunrise, I will go beach my boat somewhere.

If it is a Doc the size of Alan Henry, I'm going tie up in a slip somewhere and wait until daylight.

Those docks at ramps are for temporary mooring while someone loads and unloads his boat. Period. Once you have done this and picked up your partner go park on the bank or drift around out of the way.

Unfortunately, one was the TD.

Exactly

Here are a couple of ideas:
1) Launch your boat and park, then leave the dock and float around out of the way until take off. That is what I have always seen tournaments do in my previous years of bass fishing. Maybe things have changed that much for the worse since 13 years ago.
2) Appoint a launch director to help the TD, assist in directing the club members to parking and offer help to the public fisherman at the launch to navigate the crowd instead of just standing around watching the cluster f*ck get worse. That would go a long way to improving relations.

what lake, what club?

Even more reason to post the pictures and what tournament it was. Are you saying the TD was fishing the tournament ?

I don't see a need to post pictures. You can name them though.
What I do see is this happening at every single event I fish.

Wow, I guess things really have changed for the worse that much in the 13 years I took off from fishing. I should have known since I fished a couple of local money tournaments last year and watched as the tournament director guzzled beer before the tournament, fished the tournament and then dropped multiple bags of fish to the ground while trying to weigh them. Sign of the times.

It was a small 6-8 boat club out of Houston.

Common regard and respect for your fellow man is all it takes... but folks that actually understand that are few and far between these days.

He won't say, seems like he should have sicked that pooch on them.

Best I can tell Hook'em and Marksom were at two different lakes. Pretty sure Marksom was at Squaw Creek. I wouldn't think a Houston club would drive all the way to Squaw Creek so Hook'em was somewhere else.

Funny, I fish club tournaments, Skeeter owners, Sealy, and then fun fish about every weekend. I have fished over 100 lakes in Texas and Oklahoma and found most all other tournament and fun anglers to be as nice as they could be. I’ve had my boat float off,turned the boat backward in high winds on the trailer at RR, fallen overboard,run out of gas, dead batteries, on and on I’ve only had a couple slightly negative experiences in 50 years of fishing. Maybe it’s not the tournament guys,but...shockingly, it might be you. Maybe you should be polite and ease up on whining about all the mean people and how mistreated you are. As my 2 year old says, MAN UP!

OK this works every time...walk over and drop your droors and squeeze out one of them personal senkos right where they are parked....and watch em scatter!

Sorry this happened to you, and I am sorry for the lack of consideration you are taking from some here. But by the looks of it, you had an amazing day! Hope you come to Canyon one day and let me pick up some pointers! Great dog, btw!

Hey now, i’m out on weekdays AND weekends fishing off my pontoon. I say the same thing about the ski and wake boat crowd....

you have been fishing 50 years and have a 2 yr old 😳

The Texas Fishing Forum, where complaining about people being inconsiderate gets you bashed by people not nearly as good as they think they are.

Little blue pill has changed everything

You should've just backed in, walked over to them, slapped your money down and take all their money in the tournament. That's what I would've done!

Maybe he has a HOT 20 year old wife.. That's why the ramp was blocked. They were looking at her.. I have been fishing since I was 3 and I am 53 and have a 4 year old who is staring to fish. I just don't have the hot 20 year. She is a little older.