Tournament angler threatening to shoot me on Palestine Saturday

Saturday I creeped in to a large pocket down by the dam that was easily big enough for two boats to fish opposite bank's. Two guys in a red Triton I believe started mumbling at eachother and then I heard "I'm gonna have to pull out the 12 gauge apparently because we fishing for a something thousand dollars"

I was by myself so I kept fishing with a red face but it took every ounce of self control I had to not drive around them with my outboard trimmed up spraying water all over. What makes anglers that miserable out on the water? If you are going to act like that then you are doing it for the wrong reasons.

Guess they weren't catchin much.

should have told them the fish were 8 miles North of there, different county and part of the lake

People like that, take ALL the fun out of fishing. What a sad life that must be.

Extremely rare

Sorry that happened...some guys like this give ALL tournament guys a bad rep and it shouldn't be like that.

True enough. I have fished a lot of tourneys in my 30 years from BASS & FLW opens to clubs and most everything inbetween. I see more and more poor sportsmanship and outright &ss holes than ever before. Whether it's for a few hundred or a few thousand people just don't seem to f?cking care about common courtesy or sportsmanship anymore. I have to believe there are still a great number of competitors that still hold high values and maintain a true moral compass because otherwise what's the point? Who wants to compete with poachers and cheats? I love tournament fishing it's the greatest rush I have - racing across the lake at dawn at 70mph high on coffee, anticipating fishing success. If that don't get your blood going your in a coma.

Not really. Almost every tournament you fish there is always someone eyeballing you if you are fishing the same general area. I think a lot of tournament trails would benefit from promoting a friendlier atmosphere.

JP- I think he was being sarcastic

Sucks we've made hugs unacceptable in our society. A good hug cures a lot of issues

My bad.

Just put it back on them, by you having a good time. Stick a fish & whoop it up, sing, whistle, laugh out loud while you fish along. You're letting them accomplish their goal of getting in your head. Life's too short & fishing apportunities too few to let some jerkweeds get you worked up. If all else fails, beat 'em to the draw! Lol

I am on your side here SnK, but it always amazes me which direction these threads are going to go. The funny thing is that a thread could have been started by the guys in the Triton complaining about you and there would have 3 pages of parroting how you have no courtesy.

Just the other day someone was the person fishing and someone else came in on them. Everyone was up in arms about that for several pages. So what is it...if your there first you get to fish all the water you think you have claim to OR if you come into the same general area as someone who is already fishing and they cuss/threaten you for it they are the bad guy? Just trying to get my etiquette straight here...

Which pocket down by the dam is so good that you continued to fish even after someone threatened to shoot you?

Like InTheClear said above...none of them were that good, most action was up north Saturday in the Jungle

Wow they pulled a gun on you and threatened you? Did you notify the local authorities or the TPWD?

I would have gotten a little closer , then asked them which tourney they are fishing ---- then contacted law enforcement and advised them your life has been threatened . I would have written down the their boat numbers , then also advised the tourney director that one of their participants is threatening other boaters with a weapon . I 100% guarantee that guy NEVER does that again .
THe only thing that changes the behavior of guys like these , are consequences . If you actually caught them on video threatening you with a gun ----- he goes to jail !!!!

Yeah, tournament fishermen are really serious. That's taking it to an extreme. But in a way it does not surprise me. I was at Toledo Bend fishing a tournament and a guy wanted to beat me up cause I was fishing in the same medium sized arm of a cove.

I often wonder where the line can is drawn on distance people expect. It seems like when fishing a bridge its ok to just be 1 set of pilings away, but if its a cove its like you shouldn't even enter if another boat is in there.

And I will just add, that I dont get within 100 yards of other boats unless we are headed in opposite directions towards each other and start off much further away (or I am fishing a bridge). At which point I am almost always the one that swings wide to go around and give them the shore/docks/etc. But I just think people get to crazy over closeness, especially when most of them are just beating the banks all across the lake anyways. This is actually another reason why I prefer fishing deep structure on spot lock so I dont have to worry about other people coming or going. If our baits arent touching or lines crossing I dont have a problem. There have been a number of times when I am on a school out deep and invited another boat to cast in from the other direction.

I agree JP. But as long as they keep the 25 foot to 50 foot boat rule these guys will keep pushing the limit.
There is a trail I have fished for years and we are just now getting these guys that will pull on top of you not look at you and cut you off. I had never worried about the distance rules because rarely if ever would the guys we fished with pull withing 300 yards less feet. I found out the distance rule was 25 foot! I said heck that is one boat length! That is way to close.

Stay in your lane bro......

getting told you are going to get a gun is different than pulling one out an pointing it at the op if I can cast an hit your boat with a lure you are too close not much common courtesy on the water anymore or on the land with the look at me society we have now.

Was shot at during a tournament on Palestine in 2010 in flat creek. Some idiot racked off a full clip from an AR over our heads. We were the only boat back there and out in the middle clearly visible. Game wardens never did anything. Some sketchy humans live around that lake...

Should have taken a picture and posted it for everyone to shame them....I always lie and say I am too..even if I'm not...

I had some friends of mine shot at with a shotgun while fishing a dock on Palestine a few years ago. They just when on. I do not have that much control. I would have pulled out of range of the shotgun and called the law. They just moved on .

If you are talking about that very small C-shaped cut right by the Ramp by the dam then there is not enough room for 2 if you don't know each other. You can easily pitch a bait across that area. However, that does not excuse them from threatening to shoot you or pulling a gun. But if you fished that cove with them then you were crowding them.

Jody

Was the Triton aluminum or fiberglass? Did it have a white stripe?

Dang Palestine sounds scary with all these people getting shot at. Why does anybody fish this lake. Sounds like it would be safer to go somewhere else. I know I won’t ever fish it again. I value my life.

Over there by the horse farm. The orange was my path starting where I put my trolling motor down by the dock and went through the cut. and the red dot is them when I can around the corner. The trees are pretty thick back there so I didn't see them until I was coming around the corner. But there was no reason I couldn't slip past them and keep on fishing.

Triton was an older glass model with an early 2000s Merc 200HP. Super faded and dingey

well I would've moved closer to call their bluff or turn the place into oak cliff... these tournament anglers are wild some need to be boat ramped...

This is so true. Its funny how these kinda of threads turn out. I just laugh.

If you can hear two people mumbling on their boat, you’re probably too close. If you can hear them, and comprehend the mumblings, you are too close. Just my opinion. You should have took the initiative with the conversation and said , “sorry...didn’t see you guys...I’m just cutting through.” Something along those lines.

Very common sense !

Sounds like both on TM's and came around the small point to face each other. No intentional crowding it seems but a few courteous words can diffuse attitudes. I'll stay away from the all too common but true "public waters " comment.

They were probably in a 70 thousand dollar boat, living from payday to payday, and behind on their apt. rent and boat payment, if a thousand dollars meant that much to them.

When the lake is up that area is very hard to see around each corner and the trees (most of which are 1-2ft in the water) are thick so you can't see through them. Easy to bump into someone else coming around a corner because it's narrower than it looks on the picture. Kind of spooky back there at times and you can hear other boats talking without seeing them. Doesn't justify what they said but close calls in that area have to happen often enough. That said, as fishy as it looks, I have very rarely caught fish in there...and I'm dumb enough to fall for it every time I'm down around the horsefarm. Did you catch anything in there?????

Whenever I get into a situation as described, I really try to keep a cool head and focus on defensive measures. Most effective tactics start with pulling off my shirt. If that doesn't work, I then drop my pants. I then yell, you want some more of this??? The threat laughs and retreats from the area.

SnK1993 that clears it up a lot LOL thanks for the image. I fish that area a bit also and have run into folks as well. I always say hello. Like rkd said there are few big fish in there this time of year and not worth lingering.

Jody

That boat was fishing Media, it had an older 3.0 EFI 200

You at have been there first.

Very common spot to have 2 boats, especially if approaching from different directions. There is absolutely no reason for you to apologize or even comment to the other boat, they encroached on you as much as you on them. From you picture, they were on the main lake and you were in the cut first anyways.

If they were fishing that area during a tournament last weekend, then they werent doing any good anyways. The bass moved out a few weeks ago, but I did catch a big bowfin in there last Thursday, it was the first bowfin I have caught on Palestine and was surprised it was that far south.

look.....I hate this behavior, and I don't generally let it go....but threatening to get a gun is a 911 call. Put it on speaker, describe the boat and men, and ask for a Game Warden, because that is a criminal offense. I actually always have a pistol and spare magazine with me at all times, but I don't want to shoot someone's dad because he is an idiot.

People and money. It’s all about money.

next time take your daddy an have him beat them up for talking down to you.

are you talking about the OP? Someone threatening to shoot someone is NOT getting talked down to

That is true!

You guys are on crack if someone is to close you can move. Grow up you don’t own water rights .
J D

How close was the nearest boat ramp? I'd a BR'd 'em in a hurry.

Jarret-
I know exactly where that was...that same guy shot at a buddy of mine back there same way, but he called the GW and reported the guy

If they pulled a gun they were wrong instantly and you call the law. If they just complained amongst themselves about someone coming right in on them and fishing that Is different.

Hard to judge either but if you were 2nd into the pocket, and close enough to Clearly hear them “mumbling” amongst themselves, maybe you were in the wrong and were too close. Not sure why you got angry that they were bothered by your encroachment. And by your own story they didn’t engage you. You simply overheard them mumbling to each other.

This is the problem with “growing” the sport. We’re packed in like Sardines. The people who want to grow the sport are the ones with financial ties to it.

Mentioning anything about a weapon is a receipt for disaster even if they had good reason to be annoyed. I error on the side of caution if any doubt in my mind about space. Don't see any reason to push it. If I see other fisherman on the boat ramp I hope they view me as a good dude. I launch and load by myself and that slows the process when ramps are busy. One run through a cove isn't worth creating tension. Just my way, doesn't mean you didn't have the right to be there. I would have left as soon as I realized they were annoyed and I would not have enjoyed fishing knowing they were annoyed by me.

See Ken A., someone else gets it!!

So nobody ever pulled a gun on OP? He just overheard them say something about a gun? I asked earlier if he had a gun pulled on him why he did not notify the proper authorities.

Interesting if he overheard them talking amongst themselves, yet he is so spun out and convinced they are after him.
Possible case of snowflakiiness

Holy cr*p. So sorry to hear that.

I bet skeet shooting is a safer activity....

I live on a small lake. Really too small for tournaments. But there's one every Thursday evening. Many times I have been down on my dock fishing and a tournament boat will pull up and start fishing like I'm not even there. Many times they have crossed right over my line. They run right next to the dock to get to the creek. Both of the lights on my dock have been broken off. I have fished hundreds of tournaments in my lifetime, and always treated people with respect. I think the difference is that many of today's tournament anglers don't know some of the unwritten rules of etiquette, or just plain old common sense. We definitely do live in a ME ME ME society.

You sure they weren't talking about this?

https://beentherecaughtthat.com/products/fishing-armory-12-gauge-popper