Etiquette towards trollers

My wife and I were fishing last Saturday. We were spot locked on structure and were hauling the white bass in as fast as we could get them released and get our hooks back in the water. A grandpa had two teenage grandkids out with him in an old boat, no trolling motor trying to catch a fish. He saw us catching fish so started trolling right by us, I mean so close I could see the whites of his eyes and the embarrassed looks on one of the grandkids faces. He made multiple careless passes within 20 feet of us so I moved to another spot so he wouldn’t run into us when/if they got a bite. I held my tongue as he had kids with him and didn’t say a word.

Normally I have waved over people who are struggling to catch fish and tie them to the back of my boat so the kids can catch fish but this guy gave me a bad vibe so I didn’t.

How do y’all handle these situations?

You mean like donothin?

For kids I would likely be a bit more patient, like you were. But that grandpa just shows you how either stupid or impolite adults are

I would have jumped onto his boat and thrashed him to within an inch of his life in front of his grandkids. I would have taken a flat head screwdriver and a hammer and removed every on of his teeth and taken those home with me as a trophy. I would then strap him to an inner tube, and take him for a little trolling trip through stumps and trot lines. After that, I would stake him down into a fire ant pile, and have a talk with him about what he did wrong.

Or, I would have just moved to another spot. Not sure.

You handle it perfectly

Your a class act you can only control your actions

I probably would not have done anything but glare at him and not say a word. In my mind though, I’d be rigging up about 50 feet of rope through 2-3 sections of a swim noodle and set it out in a way that the rope would get in his prop the next time he came through.

that's funny right there

They'll do some crazy stuff. Once in AR I was reeling in the redears from a spot up in some buckbrush. A guy actually came in next to me and threw across front of my boat to take part. By then I knew I was close to a limit so started the motor and went across the bed in order to cut his water off.

What movie did I see them do something like that in?

Thats a good call BTW.

I enjoy fishing but I would much rather see his grandkids catch fish than catch them myself. I would let go as you did.

If my previous suggestion is too extreme for you, then at the very least shoot him in the nuts with a potato gun while screaming wolverines. That’s kind of a trademark deal of mine. But, I don’t ever fish in Waco.

I would have told him nice job on teaching chitty fishing etiquette to youngsters. All he did was teach them that kind of behavior is acceptable.

They do the same thing to fellow trollers. My daddy taught me better.

Nothing worse than tournament bass fishermen as a whole. Not all, but a bunch of them are rude and inconsiderate.

Sometimes yes. I have had them cut me off fishing down a bank many times. But its not often.

BUT there wake boats and boats with 5 12 inch subs are MUCH worse than the vast majority of bass fisherman.

We were out in East Texas kayaking fishing for several days recently and EVERY bass boat that got near us was extremely courteous, gave us lots of room. Wakeboats in the metroplex will literally give you no space, its like you are not there. Or that their 5 foot wakes might be a problem for a dude in a little kayak.

Tourney bass guys are not the biggest issue... not even close.

I would hold my finger up and yell "PEW, PEW, PEW" a few times and see if they left. if not the rattle traps come out. or a sacrificial lure on braid cast so he runs over the braid (keep sharp knife at the ready).

or as said just go all nuts with talkin to yourself in a loud voice while you pull up and leave.

yeah, seems intrusive and sometimes your just not in the mood, but due to the kids, just think of the satisfaction you would have gotten if you would have started the conversation, invited them over, and showed them how and what you were catching them on. i mean what's the big deal, it's just sandbass. and maybe you could have taught a little etiquette in a polite conversation too. seems it could have been a teaching moment

I would kindly, but with some volume explain that for general boating safety (especially considering the two yutes on board), he should troll at least 50 yards away from your boat.

I do like Spanky’s reply. Seems like he wasn’t the type to slow down and listen to a conversation; but a nice bit of friendly chit chat does go a long way.

Maybe grandpa just really wanted to put his grandkids on some fish. Help out an old man.

I have a dock on an east texas lake that is brushed out for crappie. One morning my son and I walked down to fish the dock to fish, there was an eldery man fishing my dock with his grandson. He right away said he was going to leave us alone. I told him to tie his boat up and fish with us. He did. Had a couple cups of coffee and kids caught alot of slabs. Still friends with him today. This was 10 years ago. Thats the way it works peeps.

Like I stated in my original post, I have tied up my fair share of people to my boat and put them on the fish over the years. There was just something off about this situation that made me not offer. If he would have pulled up and asked what we were fishing with etc I would have been happy to help out. He was aggressively trolling around us, that made me not offer.

OMG, how mature and clever you two appear to be. Almost genius. Probably totin a six shooter on your hip also. You contribute so much.

People fishing the bent rod pattern had better be courteous when they come rolling up. If not, they typically get asked to leave in the most courteous Texas fashion.

3/4 once rattle trap to the noggin.

This

I personally would never intrude on someone like that (unless it is a gtg then RATZ is fair game).

grandad always told me, ask, all they can say is no.

I would have nicely ask him not to troll so close.

That's the way I am.

But those Red ears are valuable. It's the only fish I will scale and fry whole.

This is false

Tough situation, if you fish much you’ll encounter those types. IMO each situation is different and I’ve handled some great and lost my temper on a few. If you lose your temper the day is shot, at least mine is.

I agree though with a slight modification that included a 3/4oz Rattletrap.

I usually fish real close and above trees, when this happens I creep in a little closer to them and enjoy the show when they get hung up. I usually offer them a beer, and let them know that since were fishing together, we may as well drink together. They normally cut their line and drive off about that time.

Two choices and both are right under the right circumstances


1) Kick his butt

2) Ignore him

best post of 2021 --- Amen brother !!!!!!

For the most part the folks around here are a nice bunch.

Different species has different etiquette.
Sandbass fishing, you can surround a school and have a boat show and everyone can have a good time.
Striper and hybrid is usually the same.
These are trolling fish, but trolling requires some space.
LMB fishing does not usually allow for multiple boats fishing the same area.
Bass fisherman are less forgiving when you encroach.

They'll swarm you here on the coast. I'll typically let it go if they potlick with respect. Cut in front of me on a drift though and I become a instant biggest jerk on the bay.

It's usually at least four in the boat, look like the spanish armada with all the rods and popping corks ready to do battle.

But, be a idiot and I'll run you up on a oyster reef in two minutes. Or the few times they want to follow, you'll get run up on a sand bar in a heatbeat. I hate potlickers.

Well I've never heard of such. I guess I should give this a try. Anyone know where I can purchase a dock on an East Texas lake? Preferably brushed out for crappie and cheap!

Catfish Dave on YouTube was a bank fisherman before he bought a boat. 9' surf rods backed up with 80 braid. If a ditch pickle boat snagged one of his lines, he would grab his rod and run with it. The goal was to yank the rod out of their hands.

Striper fishermen on Texoma are ten times worse than any bass fisherman I have ever seen.

I would've burned down the closest Walgreens for that kind of transgression. Straight up.

If I can hit you with a DD22 your too close.

If your motor conks out on the lake and help is needed, act like you are catching fish. Someone will show up quickly.

Now that's thinking outside the box!

You have to consider the source.

You never know his situation. He may not have long on this earth and knows it, and he just wanted to see the kids catch a few fish one more time.

If we're going to assume everyone that crowds in on a fishing spot is headed to their grave there's going to be a surplus of boats for sale on the open market.