Trolling Etiquette

[Mistress]

To my fellow fishermen,
We all know that when word spreads there is a hot bite happening boats tend to congregate in that area which I call the seagull effect. Such an occasion happened yesterday and there were 4 boats plying the waters in a 114 ACRE area which should be more than enough room for four of us but it only takes a few boneheads to booger things up during the spring bite when many run inline planers and or boards. If you see a boat coming at you in a straight line from a 1/4 mile away running Otter Boats off a 6’ mast 100’ off the shore there is a good chance you will not have room if you decide to turn in to squeeze in between if you too are running a planer spread and there is a very good chance two of your lines will get caught in the Otter Boat and your rods will get spooled or worse and you should just keep the course you were on to begin with. There is one boat that learned this yesterday and once I spooled two of their rods before I shut down and retrieved my Otter Boat to untangle the bloody mess they made and set their gear back intact. I am getting softer in my older years because not long ago I would have had my knife out.
I know the regulars on this forum would NEVER crowd each other, I’m just hoping any newcomers will take heed and spread the word.
Rant over!
Pat

[Jump]

Right you are Mssr. Wright. It doesn't take a genius to observe the same rotation as the rest of the fleet. Hence no opposing traffic. And the first boat on the scene usually establishes that. I usually also shorten up the stops on the planer reels when "Fishing in the city".
That's an interesting measuring tool you used to illustrate, Pat. Is it available on Google Earth?
One other thing I sometimes resort to, in avoidance of the maddening crowd and during the Spring temperature sensitive period is look around for a similar fetch. One place that jumps out when looking at the map is over there in front of Stone Bridge Brook on the Georgia Shore. Maybe it is a place as Yogi Berra would say "Nobody goes there because it's too crowded". Sure looks promising from here in NH!
Wadaya think?

Jump

[Jump]

PS
Was it a good cleansing rant? I so enjoy them!

Jump

[Mistress]

Unfortunately Jump common sense ain’t so common and combine that with an individual’s insatiable desire to catch a fish and you end up with situations such as yesterday and is the main reason I am known to be a bit of a nomad, and I refuse to fish derbies anymore. The ONLY reason I was in the Keelers area was to duck out of the 20+mph southerly blow and knew I would have company given the chatter about a few salmon being caught there recently, the chance I took and such is life.
There are indeed a few spots in the southern part of the Inland Sea outside of Keelers that produce very well in the spring and I’ll not expound upon that Hint:you are close.
Regarding the screenshot of Google Earth there is a measuring tool on the app, if you look for a little icon of a ruler you can click on it and follow the prompts to measure away…… It is scary accurate and I have checked it against my garage which is 36’x36’ just to verify.
And yes, the rant was sufficient to quell my frustration with boneheads!
Let me know when you are headed north and we’ll fish together ,
Pat

[dry net]

Has anyone else run into the guy fishing with livescope and casting to fish in with the trollers? He's pretty much staying out of the way but changing directions quickly, It's really hard to figure out where he's headed . Makes for a kinda nerve racking situation. Good luck out there fellas

[Speedy]

Pat,
They will someday get their “Come-to-ems”

Your report reminded me of a funny fishing event back in AZ. My wife and I loved to fish in a quiet lake in Southern Arizona, Parker Canyon Lake, elevation 5,375 ft. and hardly used. Lake was stocked several times a season with 11”-12” Rainbows, (fisherman’s limit 6 per day). We enjoyed watching the eagles and deer while having a blast catching 10 or more each, only keeping the one or two that was badly hooked. Using our little 12 ft. boat with an electric motor and old HumminBird we would have a great time on the water. Then one day the “Navy” showed up, 8 or more. I’m guessing there was going to be a Bass Event elsewhere the next weekend and the “Guys” wanted to practice showing off their metal flake bass boats loaded with tons of electronic toys and lettered shirts and sponsors on the side...even their trailers had chrome mag wheels. LOL
They started covering all the shore lines, while standing only whipping their rods like fly-fishermen. All the while my wife and I were landing trout and releasing them back, while anchored about 75ft. off shore. Then a few started coming over towards us. I said to my wife, “let’s have some fun with these guys. Sound travels far and easy over still water. Next one you hook, stand up and I’ll shout aloud,” “Wow” “That’s a monster, keep your tip up and I’ll help you with the net”. The term “Horning-In” came to mind. Within minutes I hooked one also then her fish jumped twice between the closest two boats. Within minutes all of them were loading on the ramp. We followed shortly after and I asked one of the guys “What does a full rig like yours cost? “ 50K? No…Said he had over $150,000 in boat with equipment and trailer and another $100,000 + in the new truck with cap. I said “You got me...,I have no more than $5,000 in all my set-up. He asked us how many trout did you catch today? Told him 30-35, stopped counting because I was laughing too much…How about you?...Reply ZERO.
That was better than a trip to Disneyland!
“Tight Lines”
Speedy

[Jump]

Well Speedy, with tongue firmly in cheek, let me add in the fishing world everybody knows "Him who dies with the most toys wins!"
Ha ha ha!
I truly thank my lucky stars the bass guys target something other than I do. It gets crowded enough out there in the cold water fishery at times. But the derby mania will be the death of it. And I can't help but think of that old song whenever I see all the associated sponsor bling..."I owe my soul to the company store"

"Lance Bourjoulaise had risen to the pinnacle of the fishing experience. No trout was worth his mettle unless it rose to the fly of his own creation. The baby finger held delicately off to one side when casting. And his finery had not a wrinkle in it, right down to the Meerschaum pipe. But then one day upon return to his dock empty handed he was met by a young boy who proudly displayed a huge bass he'd caught casting a night crawler under a bobber.
The man felt no inclination other than to break the little ____kers rod...And then his own too."

"Before I was born I was water
Now I'm just a leaky container for it where fish do not reside
How could evolution have gone so wrong!?"

rage on men!
And don't get me wrong. I just ordered two more reels last night, myself
Jump

[Crayfish]

Well said, Pat! There are some who seem to think they always deserve the "inside line". If they are around, it can make things challenging. Like you, I will usually leave to find my own fish rather than do battle with them on every pass.