Almost "DeadOnTheWater" !!!

[BackOnTheWater]

We all (even us "rookies") should know by now how dangerous getting in or out of Dallas Bay can be. If you don't, you should.

Yesterday I dropped RamJackScott off at the CF ramp and headed out of the bay. Just as I hit the point and began my smooth right turn towards the river (I was doing about 30 mph), I see a 25-30 ft pleasure boat doing about 40 mph coming into the bay from the river, so I turned a bit harder to my right, hugging the bank as I rounded the point. It would not have been a problem except that, for some reason, he decides to turn HARD to his left, directly towards me and the bank 10 yards off to my right! I guess the fact that the front end of that thing sat so high in the water he might have only seen me once, he must have thought I was going to continue straight ahead and pass in front of him, so he banked left. I don't think he could see me after his initial turn, because I never again saw the side or back of his boat...just the big, monstrous front end. It kept coming and getting bigger and bigger, and I had nowhere to go. He had me pinned to the shore, never slowing down. Let me tell you, closure at even those speeds is surprisingly quick! I jammed the throttle forward and shot past him as he missed me by no less than 10 ft. I'm surprised that I did not hear him hit the bank and explode, but I was so pi**ed off I didn't even look back.

This is the 2nd time in 6 months I've almost been run over by a "mini-yacht". I was working the bank of Rabbit Isl. in WT Creek and had one speed BETWEEN me and the bank. This guy was letting his 10 yr old daughter drive the boat. I sat on the flats across from the entrance to Dallas bay one day and had big boat after big boat buzz me within casting distance. All that water in the channel and they gotta buzz me! I'm sad to say I thoroughly enjoyed watching 2 of them hit bottom hard...one on the shallow hump near that little island and the other on the other end of the flat at the channel marker.

Folks, it just ain't safe out there! Now I'm afraid I'll have to pull over to the curb whenever a big boat comes over the horizon!

 

[DoubleB]

I see boating and Boater's respect dropping lmost every year. You don't have to get a license to drive or own one of those monsters. You can literally go buy one and drive it with no experiance whatsoever. Scary thought..

I hate to admit it, but I see fishermen with no respect either. Used to, If you were in a boat, coming into a slew (Slough?) you cut your motor and drifted past any fisher man, including those on the banks. It was just a little jesture of respect for you fellow man... Now it seems if everyone or at least a big percentage, just gun it to their favorite hole with no thought of the others around. What happened? Is this just a sign that our society is changeing?

 

[Fishin Fool]

It IS a sign that our society and manners are changing. It's getting worse every year that goes by.

DoubleB - 4/5/2007 9:26 AM

I see boating and Boater's respect dropping lmost every year. You don't have to get a license to drive or own one of those monsters. You can literally go buy one and drive it with no experiance whatsoever. Scary thought..

I hate to admit it, but I see fishermen with no respect either. Used to, If you were in a boat, coming into a slew (Slough?) you cut your motor and drifted past any fisher man, including those on the banks. It was just a little jesture of respect for you fellow man... Now it seems if everyone or at least a big percentage, just gun it to their favorite hole with no thought of the others around. What happened? Is this just a sign that our society is changeing?

 

[drumking]

DoubleB - 4/5/2007 9:26 AM

I see boating and Boater's respect dropping lmost every year. You don't have to get a license to drive or own one of those monsters. You can literally go buy one and drive it with no experiance whatsoever. Scary thought..

I hate to admit it, but I see fishermen with no respect either. Used to, If you were in a boat, coming into a slew (Slough?) you cut your motor and drifted past any fisher man, including those on the banks. It was just a little jesture of respect for you fellow man... Now it seems if everyone or at least a big percentage, just gun it to their favorite hole with no thought of the others around. What happened? Is this just a sign that our society is changeing?

Hey, Double B, I have to agree with you about the fishermen too, although I "are" one. But I always respect other fishermen around me and actually prefer to abandon an area that I know holds good fish if I see someone else near the area that I want to fish. Most fishermen are really good though. But there are exceptions. Like the other Saturday when I was out in Waconda Bay, I was idlying down into the bay and just past the NO WAKE sign that is in the middle of the bay that is so big that even Ray Charles could see it, when this bass boat comes screaming in about 70 MPH and never slows down but continues on until he reaches the end of all the boat houses in that bay and sweeps in and starts to fish. Too bad that there wasn't a law enforcement officer there to give him a ticket. I'm sure that he had winning the TX on his mind and he wasn't about to obey the law no matter what. In some of the bigger Tx's people have been disqualified for boating in such manner. It's a shame that that rule isn't in every club's rules. emoGeezer

 

[DoubleB]

Before Dad's boat craped out on us We'd go every weekend. he taught me the rules. It is something I will pass on to my children one day. The first time I see them them disrespect another person on the water, boat driving privs will be revoke. If it is way in the future and it's their boat, then they'll get an ear full.

One thing that really upsets me more than most thought, last week while heavy on some crappie, a boater going for bass in the same slough spotted me catching 'em often. He switched poles trolled over towards me and started casting not 2 feet from where I was. No asking, not even a "you mind?". I don't think he even said hello... I was fuming. and decided to ask him If he minded...

I would have been fine with it if he just asked, I was by myself after all, but comeon, you don't just cast into someone's hole!

 

[drumking]

DoubleB - 4/5/2007 10:05 AM

Before Dad's boat craped out on us We'd go every weekend. he taught me the rules. It is something I will pass on to my children one day. The first time I see them them disrespect another person on the water, boat driving privs will be revoke. If it is way in the future and it's their boat, then they'll get an ear full.

One thing that really upsets me more than most thought, last week while heavy on some crappie, a boater going for bass in the same slough spotted me catching 'em often. He switched poles trolled over towards me and started casting not 2 feet from where I was. No asking, not even a "you mind?". I don't think he even said hello... I was fuming. and decided to ask him If he minded...

I would have been fine with it if he just asked, I was by myself after all, but comeon, you don't just cast into someone's hole!

That's when you crank your motor up and do a complete circle around him at half throttle. People usually get the message after that.

 

[Liveliner]

Yes and No - I agree! It depends on where you are as to the treatment you can expect. If you are in the back of a cove where there is no way out except where you came in, then there is no reason that anyone fisherman or pleasure boater should even get close to you. If you are fishing along the bank in an area like Wolftever Creek you can expect that many will fly by on the opposite side of the channel and a few will slow to an idle if they can not avoid coming too close due to the width of the area where you are. If you are fishing in the main river channel, you can not expect that boaters will slow down and paddle big boats by you going upstream. Out of respect for all other boaters each boater should do what is "Practical" to reduce the wake that will effect smaller craft. It is better for a boat like a streamline bass boat to stay on the throttle and pass you at the higher speed. There is almost no wake off a boat running on the pad. If they slow down then the wake drastically increases.. Some of the Monster boats out there at any speed will wash you onto the bank. But if they are pushing it "Watch Out".

There are way too many boat operators out there who either have zero respect or any common sense at all. They will run over you and laugh as you get dumped in the lake.. Because of that you as a small craft operator must watch out for yourself. If you are in the middle of the river channel in front of the Harrison Bluffs in a canoe on a summer Sunday afternoon, then you are the idiot.

 

[hl&s]

While I've never cut my engine off and coasted by a fisherman that was on a spot, I always slow, come off plane, and make a wide arc around him. That's the way I was taught.

Too many boaters today are not boater educated or frankly just don't care. Maybe the mandatory boating courses being employed today will help in the future. Let's all hope so.

 

[Liveliner]

Being crowded out of a good fishing spot by "Bass Fishermen" is way too common. Happens to me on occasion. I think I have the best method to counter. Crowd back. If you have a float handy pop it on and toss it as far toward the edge of the area you are fishing in the direction of the approaching trespassers on your hole without appearing to be rude... If they cross your line you can let them untangle the lines. Once they free your line, take forever in retrieving it from their waiting hands. Better yet you reel it in and struggle for a ridiculous amount of time in trying to figure out how to release their fishing line. Important: when you get their tangled bait to your boat toss out another rod in the same spot before starting to unravel the tangle so that they can not fish in your hole while waiting on you to free their first line. I promise you that they will get the H--- away from you as soon as they can.

 

[BackOnTheWater]

There is enough water out there for everyone, and none of us own one piece of it. I learned to respect PEOPLE from my parents, and hope that I passed it along to my son. I always give someone fishing in a boat or on the bank MORE than enough room to work with. I might drop in 100 yards ahead or behind someone working a bank or a slough, and will stop casting and troll wide if our paths cross. Wave, get around them, and move on.

And if I'm in or near a channel, boats of any kind buzzing by does not bother me in the least. If I am well off the channel working a flat, I expect ALL boaters travelling by to use the damn channel! That's what it's there for emoSmile . It's the "roadway". Stay the heck on the road unless you're walking!

And we most definately should be FORCED to have a license, and pass boater safety/ knowledge courses to get one. AND we NEED a traffic cop or two citing these idiots that make it dangerous to spend time on the water. Bet a nickle these people don't know where the blinkers are in their car either! Same kind of idiot, but there are no "laws" covering common courtesy and common sense.

Sorry...I'm still so mad I could spit...I'll stop rambling...emoMad

 

[BackOnTheWater]

AND I see someone headed towards an area I'm catching fish, I'll maneuver my boat between him and my spot before he gets there, and stay between him and my spot until he goes away...I've "blocked" guys off a hole back and forth or in circles several times. I don't see that as being a problem.

AND I have no problem working a bank behind someone else or them behind me. It's all good. The dance to keep a hot spot is not a problem for me either way. I don't cast anywhere neare another fisherman, and expect the same in return.

Fisherperson or pleasure-crafter, speed can kill...take care out there and when you go fast, stay as far away from other boats as safety will allow. BE SAFE! I'll shut the heck up now...

 

[Liveliner]

I hope you feel better now Mike. Getting it said and off my chest always makes me feel better. That is part of the reason we are here. Most always glad to listen to someone vent. emoThumbsup

 

[DoubleB]

LOL.. Back, That's how I feel..

Unfotunately, I was on he bank, and couldn't block him from my hole. Just asked him if he mided, that there were more fish in the lake than I was catching. I just felt disrespected. All he had to do was ask if I minded.

 

[Liveliner]

Accidently cast into their boat and remark, "I was trying to hit the spot I have been fishing before you set on top of it. Sorry, my bait stopped a little short".

 

[DoubleB]

Liveliner - 4/5/2007 7:09 PM

Accidently cast into their boat and remark, "I was trying to hit the spot I have been fishing before you set on top of it. Sorry, my bait stopped a little short".

LOL! Wish I thought of it at the time.

 

[Jack]

After making half a dozen or so trips to Lake Weiss......

I have coined a new name for rude dang folks blasting by you at high speed!

"We Have Been Swindled" as in aka Gearld Swindle. The Alabama Bass fellow that got DQ for blasting through a group of boats in the recent tournament on Lay Lake.

Last weekend at Weiss, in the back of a cove, we had a bass fisherman, obviously in a tournament, BLAST by us and stop 50 yards in front of us.

Yep, it made me mad, but I fish for fun, and just shake my head at the stupid folks with zero manners!

Dago and I left the cove after around ten minutes, and headed to another spot, thats when it happened.......

The SAME boat came flying by us at about 20 feet!!!!

Now I aint talking down folks that bass fish tournaments, but.......

95% of the folks with HORRIBLE boat manners are folks fishing bass tournaments!! They are just in way to big of a hurry in my humble opinion!!

Back to the story......

These two fellows dressed in all of the finest bass fishing gear that Bass Pro has to offer, blast by us less than 20 feet, motor another 200 yards and slide to a stop!

Dago, lets his temper flair, and heads straight for their boat!!

I ask him...."Tommy, Just what are you doing?" He answers..."I am gonna run about three circles around that rude suckers boat"

That is not the EXACT words he used....but the best I can do on this family forum!!

I was doing my best to talk him into stopping and fishing a good dock, But Dago was mad as a wet hen!!

I could not talk him out of a little payback, and could only think...... Here We Go!!

He BLASTED around the boat three of four times, as them fellows stood looking at us with wide eyes!!

He finally shut the boat down within about 15 feet of their boat, and BEFORE Dago could say a word.......(Figured it was best for me to talk at this time, because Dago was in the Zone!_

I shouted out to the folks in the boat......"DANG!!! Are you Gearld Swindle? I think we have seen you fishing on TV!!"

Still watching us with a deer in the headlight look, one of the fellows says...."No, I am not Gearld Swindle"

I look at Dago and say...."Your autograph chassin' has probably cost us a fish or two, crank the motor and let's go!"

We left, they still had "the look" on their faces!

I was raised to be VERY repectful of other folks fishing, and operate my boat to this day in the same manner as my GranDad taught me 40 years ago.

I am just happy Bass Pro does not sell an Easy Button.....

One I could just push and watch the motor EXPLODE on all of the rude folks on the water these days!!emoLaugh

Rant Over! Jack Out!emoToast

 

[Liveliner]

Thanks there Jack. I very much enjoyed your little story. emoThumbsup

 

[2jigs]

Jack I'll need to borrow that easy button when you get it.

 

[Chasin'bait]

I liked all the stories from you good folks and a few made me laugh. I got one other thing that has worked for me on occasion, I'd like to add.

A few years back, I won't say where, I was fishing in one of my favorite places and had been wearin' out the hybrids on my favorite hump since about 7:30 that mornin'. I guess about 2pm some pukes in a $40 or $50,000 ski boat came blasting by full speed at about 20 yards. The boat spray almost hit my boat and the wake caused me to lose every gizzard shad I had on my 4 rods, as they were in rods holders, and the boat rockin' from side to side snatched ' the hook outta their lips.

I don't even have to mention how @#$% mad I was, as I had spent two hours before daylight that morning throwing the net for shad in the back of creeks. Only to have these sorry, no good dingleburrs rip 4 of the few I was able to net right off their hooks.

Now I gotta tell y'all that it wasn't the first time this had happened at this particular place, as it was an underwater hump off a point at the mouth of a huge cove that wraps around the back of the lake and I usually keep a heavy action rod with a 12/0 treble hook with a 2oz lead weight wrapped around the shank that looks a friggin' grapple hook just for these special opportunities, but this day I just plum forgot the dern thing. I woulda wrapped it around their heads if I'da brung it. I also have an air horn that sounds like a train thats been known to get heads a turnin' and believe me, I ran outta compressed air with that thing on their next pass, hollerin' every cuss word my Daddy and Granddaddy ever taught me, which by the way is a lotta cuss words! A bunch of idiot rich kids tryin' to impress their girlfriends, just laugh and shoot the bird at that sorta ol' mess.

Well, on their 3rd pass, me bein' in a 15' john boat with a 25 Evinrude, I just was plum at a loss for words as to what to do to these idiots when they came back by besides shoot up their boat, which woulda got me put in prison, when alluva sudden the lightbulbs went off and I got the most magical idea!

I said "I know!" and so I snatched all my clothes off and got into my favorite birthday suit. Boy, you can sure bet, on that next pass, them smiles and laughs and middle fingers turned into bewildered looks of "Man, what's up this dudes hind end, he must be crazy!" Their girlfriends was all smiles and were lookin' for a buncha different reasons though, or at least that's what I'd like to believe.

I tell ya, it's a dang shame they don't require "fisherman etiquette" classes with them 100mph ski/bass boats, but I'd sure like to think I taught them morons a class or two on how not to come by somebody fishin'! Needless to say they passed by real slow on their next pass and didn't make any more. Still I stayed up on that front deck on that last pass, a castin' away and smilin' like that dude on them Enzyte commercials.

And that's a true story, I can't make this stuff up.

 

[Fishin Fool]

Excellent points and excellent stories guys. Most of you guys are new and don't really know the folks on CFF that well but I can tell you fishing in tournaments, these are some of the nicest guys around. Maybe it's because they read the comments here and are super aware of what the average person's gripes are about rude fishermen, TXers included, or maybe (I subscribe to this idea) most of them were raised right and are true sportsmen. Either way I'd be shocked to see a CFF member particapate in a TX and act the way some of the guys have in your stories.

Having said that I DO agree about some of the fishermen on the lake. Common respect is getting to be all too rare. I was at Harrison Bay Park when the crappie spawn was really going. I had fished a little earlier the day before and had located one spot that I KNEW would be full of crappie the next day as the water temps rose. I came back the next day, which happend to be a Saturday (stupid me) and headed to my spot. I was amazed to see NO ONE on it or even close to it. The closest boats were fishing the docks in the park. The water was calm so I eased in to fish my spot, which was at the end of a slough and barely big enough to have two boats pass side by side. I immediately began to catch crappie, big ones too. Almost as fast as my partner and I could cast our jigs they were getting slammed by big ole slabs. I was using the trolling motor very little to stay on spot but had to bump it from time to time to ease off the very narrow (20 feet wide) spot there were on around a couple of big stumps. I looked up to see a bass boat, with a fat guy and a fat blonde chick coming at me as fast as his trolling motor would take him. He'd been fishing the docks but had seen me in the action. I immediated manuvered to block him as I knew he had NO IDEA where the fish were and would run right over the stumps and spook them. It was AMAZING to see how determined this guy was to get into casting distance of this little tiny spot. There was no way two boats could fish it! He must have tried 30 to 35 times but each time I was able to bump the trolling motor and make him stay away. He finally left after an hour or so giving me dirty looks. During this time we had been catching wild acting black slab crappie so fast I was amazed. I could see a couple in a Triton anchored by a dock 100 yards away watching us intently but paid no attention to them. Finally I hung my jig in a stump and broke off the 4lb test line. I began to re-tie and the wind began to push the boat gently as I was looking down. Took me all of 90 seconds to tie on but when I looked up Triton boy and wifey were less than 10 feet away from me casting ACROSS me to get to the stumps. They continued to head toward this little spot, getting closer and closer but never once looking at me, and acting as though my boat was invisble. This is a trait I have noticed with they really rude ones! You become the INVISIBLE FISHERMAN! Finally I said "Buddy can't you see there is a boat sitting here?" as he was within 6 to 7 feet of me. The guy looked over and acted shocked (been watching me for 30 mins) and said, "Oh we didn't see you. We were just taking a break in the shade of the docks (right!) and decided to come back to this spot to fish some". While he was telling this lie he ran right over the stumps, actually hitting one with his trolling motor. I knew it was all over so I bit my lip and moved away to cast to some stumps farther away. This brain trust anchored OVER the stumps and proceeded to not catch one single fish and finally as night set in, pulled away and left. He managed to ruin it for BOTH of us by acting like an ass. Had he let me catch my limit (which we were close to) he could have marked the spot and came back the next day and racked up. Instead he hustled over only to get casting exercise, drink beer, and argue loudly with his fat wife about why he wasn't "catching fish like them other guys".

That is but ONE small example and I am sure we all have a million. I especially love the guys that come roaring into a 100 yard wide, 5 feet deep slough that I am fishing, cast 5 or 6 times around my boat, crank up a few yards away, and gun it to "impress" the common folk with how much power they have. I also like the tournament guys that come by you in the MIDDLE of the lake, not a channel, at 70 to 80, barely under control, and seem to try to get as close as possible. With a lot of those folks it's more about being seen in a fast and fancy boat than it is about fishing. It would be interesting to survey some of them and see how much time they spend riding versus actually fishing! My derogatory term for them is "Bassmasters"! I always say to my partner when one is bearing down on us; "heads up, here comes a BASSMASTER!" which they are anything but.

There are a lot of guys on CFF with nice boats, fast boats and fancy boats. I gotta say I envy them! But again, I'll reinterate, CFF members (not all) for the most part are true ladies and gentlemen on the water. Maybe that is one of the reasons we are all on CFF to begin with, we are about learning more about the sport and the manners that goes with it. When we do that we make a day on the water better for everyone. emoGeezer