Fishing Etiquette and Manners

[bunkerjoe4]

OK folks, this has been discussed over and over on every outdoors website. Nothing new under the sun, then why bother ranting and raving about it?

--Waste of time.
--Waste of bandwidth.
--Waste of effort.

I agree with all the above, there doesn't seem to be a point in preaching to the choir. Just like the guys who get involved and go to all the meetings, join the clubs, and do the cleanups feel. They/you folks are not part of the problem because they have a vested interest in continuing to fish at their fishing sites.

However, we are losing access all over. Every year more sites are closed or restricted so that it no longer becomes fun to try to fish there.

It's frequently convenient to point the finger at immigrant groups and those who can't speak English.

Sometimes, these specific groups have contributed to the problem, yes.

In the overall scheme of things, we all bear responsibility how we are perceived as sportsmen.

We didn't cause the problem, but we are all lumped together by the general public when issues come up.

To this end, I thought I would create (for the 1,000th time) a fishing etiquette thread.

I don't expect this will really change the way things are out there. However, more and more people are discovering salt water fishing each year. I thought as a website owner, I could sit passively by, agree that it is not my problem, and let things continue to deteriorate, with more access lost.

Or I could at least try to do something about it, with the help of you folks out there.

Some of you seasoned anglers have reached the point in your fishing careers that you can tell the difference between someone who could use a little extra help, and someone who has no use for any helpful advice. I'm sure many of you already go out of your way to help newbie anglers who are respectful, considerate, and ask the right questions at the right time.

All I'm suggesting is that we continue to do that, without causing any confrontations or putting ourselves at risk. Again, some out there just don't care who they are inconveniencing, and are generally selfish people. There's no point in trying to reach someone like that.

But if we can reach some of the others, and maybe teach someone else the beauty of the outdoors, I think it's worth a shot.

[bunkerjoe4]

I'll start. These are all common sense, basic ideas, folks. Nothing we haven't heard or seen before.

--When fishing an area, you should always bring home any trash with you.

--Don't clean your fish where you caught them unless there is a fish cleaning station there. Do NOT throw fish parts or carcasses away where you were fishing unless permitted.

--When you get to an area and there are many people fishing, try not to crowd other people. Ask them if they mind if you fish next to them if there is no room to fish somewhere else.

[DarkSkies]

--When you get to an area and there are many people fishing, try not to crowd other people. Ask them if they mind if you fish next to them if there is no room to fish somewhere else.

When someone does this to me without a word, I look over and say, Hey what's up, you might say hi the next time you come close enough to eff me. Get a lot of wierd looks from people that way, but they move over a few feet and give me some space. And a few have apologized, it's usually ok after that.

[voyager35]

If there is a line of people casting when you get somewhere, they were there first. Do not try to cast over peoples heads if you can't manage to fit in.

[clamchucker]

Appreciate what you're trying to do here Joe. I think one of the worst problems in society today is lack of respect. Younger people seem to have lost that sense of respect for others. Maybe their parents were too busy to teach them proper manners.

I try to help the new guys whenever I can, it's nice to see the few who do appreciate the advice.

[stormchaser]

Do NOT attempt to fish any sets of rocks if you're not wearing korkers. It puts those around you at risk if you fall in.

[dogfish]

If you are fishing with many others around and you hook a fish, it's your job to haul that fish in as quickly as possible and try not to cross their lines.

[BassBuddah]

If someone is respectful enough of your knowledge to ask a question, wanting to learn, answer it as well as you can, or keep your negative comments to yourself.

[stripercrazy]

If you are lucly enough to get permission to fish or hunt private lands, don't make the permission-givers regret they allowed you access. Try to bring as much trash as you can home with you, even if you didn't put it there.

[storminsteve]

I trace it back to parents being too easy on the kids. How hard is it to teach your kids a few phrases of respect for others?

[plugcrazy]

The problem is that some parents are too busy to teach their kids anything. They think it is the school's job.

[gjb1969]

sometimes i will just fish in a place that is not the best just so i can getaway from the crowds of people this summer i have had more than i could take so next summer i will take no bs u tangle my lines try to fish right upunder me i will snap at them

[rockhopper]

Bass Hole - The guy that horns in on the spot you are fishing

[DarkSkies]

Who was there first?
If I get to a spot I want to fish, I try to have at least 2 others in mind for that night, time and tide. They were there first, so they get first choice. That's the way I would want things to go down if I were there first, so I should be a good example and offer them that courtesy.

If it's unavoidable that I need to fish where they are, such as the cast with a strong localized rip current that holds fish, I will at least introduce myself, ask "Hey what's up, mind if I set up to your left/right, I want to make sure you have enough room?"

Courtesy goes a long way. Being prepared with alternate spots goes even longer.

And..... if a complete goog comes along and mugs me, even after I patiently explain that one of us will end up getting hung up, I will do my best not to throw them in the water.

[DarkSkies]

Don't be a lighthouse
If I'm fishin near anyone else, I will try to keep the use of my headlamp down to a minimum, or try to focus on using the red beam.

[BassBuddah]

Do unto others what you would have them do to you.

[DarkSkies]

Fishin etiquette and manners is doing the right thing even if you think no one can see you. You never know when someone will be watching. This weekend Pebbles and I were scouting some back bay areas. We were near an inlet, and saw a guy come in with some fluke. He cleaned them, then fired up the motor again to bring his boat out into the inlet channel, 50' outside the inlet, to dump the carcasses.

I assumed that was because the marina had regs where they didn't want boaters dumping those carcasses inside, which is exactly what that guy did, albeit 50' "outside" of the marina.

A 7 year old kid was sitting with his Grandpa where we were, and even he knew what you did was wrong. He pointed that out to us, said his Mom worked at the marina. Great way to set the example for the future generation, dude.

Hey, at least the 7 year old knew the regs, we were impressed by that alone.

[DarkSkies]

With all the insanity in jetty country lately, I thought I would bump this thread, and see if anyone had anything else to add.

[seamonkey]

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cast across your line.When they have the whole beach why do they need to do this?

[jigfreak]

seamonkey, cut their line and they wont do it again. Once is ok, but if they keep doing it they need some religion.