Fisherman vs. Wakeboarder- you make the call

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

Here's one, and you guys tell me if I did something wrong.

Last night I have to stop at the dock to let some passengers off. There are 3 ramps, and off to the side there is a pumping station that has a dock that runs parallel to the shore. It's about 45 feet long. People are not supposed to fish off there.

I start coming in slowly, and make eye contact with the people fishing there. I come in slow, and they make a fuss about having to reel in their lines, you know, eye rolling and crap like that. So I pull up, and this one guy says something like "you know you should have said something!"
So I answer "said what? You couldn't see me coming in until I was in earshot? You needed a verbal cue to tell that I intended to dock here?"

The guy's like "you think you can just pull up in here"

So I answer "look, you saw me coming, I came in slow, and you aren't even supposed to be fishing off here"

So he says if I open my mouth up again, I'm going to be wearing his fishing pole across my face. So I say "oh, you're going to threaten me with physical violence?"
and the guy backs down, but says that next time he's going to kick my ass.

Ok, what's the deal here? Should I have yelled from across the water? What was this guy's problem? He's not allowed to fish off of there, the DEC removes them all the time, it's a dock at a boat launch, what the F? Is a verbal "please let me dock" necessary when you make eye contact and come in very slowly from several hundred yards away?

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

cameraboy, you were in the right, and you should have just run over their lines. F them.

Next time tell him he is going to be sh*tting oar for a month if he comes near you with the fishing pole.

Leggester · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 7:36 am Post subject:

Well, there are always contentions at the docks.

I'd say you did what proper ettiquette called for.

just 'cause someone else is a J.A. doesn't mean you have to stoop to their level.

But, you already know that.

Jim M · Wakeboarder.com Freak Joined: 17 Jan 2003 Posts: 2933

You were dealing with a remedial blue collar fisherman that cant stand his job, cant stand his wife, and is generally p#ssed off at the world. Confrontation with a stranger is the only chance he has to flex his balls, so he will act on it any chance he gets. Am I getting warm??

The best advice I could give is next time that happens, dont even acknowledge that he exists.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Jim M, I'm pretty sure those are the same ones that flip us all off from their 12' aluminum fishing boats. You know who I am talking about....

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

I think you were right. He happened to be black, and I got the impression that he got mad because the white man in his shiny fancy boat came into the BOAT dock and didn't ask his permission to dock.

It was stupid. I mean, from 100 yards away, at idle speed, this jackass needed me to tell him I was docking? The bumpers, people ready to catch, and direct approach weren't enough of a clue? I think he just was mad that he had to reel in his line for the "rich white boy."

Now I have to worry about my ride being F'd with every time that jackass is back there fishing. I should put the DEC on speed dial and get them kicked off the dock every time they are out there.

colefooter · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 7:45 am Post subject:

cameraboy, i think you did the right thing, im just suprised you didn't go off on them. They are sitting there fishing off of a dock where they arn't allowed to fish? Then they get mad at you for pulling up to a dock where boats go? dumb fisherman

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

jt09 · Ladies Man Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 22083 City: Austin

You were totally in the right, but:

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

jt09,

I stand by my "sh*tting oar" comeback. Far less "wuss" factor there!

Swass · Guest

Hmmmm....I'd say his reply was the ADULT thing to say. We don't know the particulars, but if I have my kids with me, you can say just about anything you want to me and I will just walk away. A confrontation is not worth the potential consequences. My opponent may not mind spending the night in jail, but I want to go home to my family at the end of the day. If the other guy walks away feeling like a big man, so what?

Defending yourself is one thing, but to fight over who has rights to a dock? That's so highschool.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Swass, I agree about the kids part... definitely not a confrontation you want to be in when the familia is in the boat.

But... In my case I would have just talked a lot of sh*t and bailed out (no kids around). Talking sh*t is so much fun sometimes! Twisted Evil

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

Erik · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 8:25 am Post subject:

Cameraboy you did the right thing my man. I would have done the same thing. You scared him off it sounds like. I had a similar thing happen a few weeks ago when I was pulling into my dock. The bass boat was 20 ft off my dock and I chugged right in there. I used to be a lot more tolerant of bass fishermen and even jetskiiers. But now I have seen so much bad behaviour from them that I just sort of don't try. I guess I am part of the problem. Last weekend we had a set of young girls on Jet Skis trailing us. I think it was cool in a way and scary in a way. Becuase they were clearly trying to get attention from us old farts but it was a mess- destroyed the lines and ruined the water for us. Damn.

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

Yea, I had to stand up to him without provoking a fight, and I tried to find the right medium. If I said "yea, you want to hit me, bring it on MF'er" than he would have no choice but to fight me or lose face. I tried to stand up to him but give him an out at the same time. Luck for everybody, he took it.

rydordye2006 · Outlaw Joined: 19 Feb 2004 Posts: 169 City: Fort Myers

i have ha a similar problem, but not with fishermen. i am always wakeboarding on my favoret lake. but the problem is these skiers that think they own the lake. we had made a deal with them. they let one rider go then we let one rider go. but one day he had his whole "skier crew" out and they where being complet a** holes out there. when our rider was out they would cut us off and say that they had the right of way and all this sh*t. so this happened the whole day. we said nothing.

the next day on my first run, the water was like glass and it was all comming togeather for me, i was throwing down my best tricks. then comes the skiers. they totally f-ed up my run. they cut in front of our boat causing us to come to a complet stop. i was pissed. so i get back in to the boat and wait for them to start there run on there littel sloam course. and i started to send these big a** rollers out and they get soo mad. they call the cops. and of course the cops told us that we where the ones causing the problem and wouldent lisiten to what we had to say. i was soo mad. so in the middel of the night we got out my friends paddel boat and we went and cut the lines holding there sloam course togeather. and they never said anything to us again. Laughing

any ideas of what to do next if they start acting like pricks again. Question

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster

Did you hum the mission impossible theme as you cut their lines?

*chris* · Addict Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 982

twitch88 · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:11 am Post subject:

kick his ass sea bass

Mike.H · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:18 am Post subject:

talk in a different language and f*** with his head

twitch88 · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:19 am Post subject:

my vote is still for an ass whoopin for the fisherman. no head games just old school ass whoopin.

salmon_tacos · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:37 am Post subject:

Dees · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:40 am Post subject:

I had some Bubb Rubb last night yell at me and he was fishing from the shore, I was like 60 feet away.

itch · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 11:48 am Post subject:

whooooooo marge hit the brakes CB did you say out with your ex girl?
Itch looking at Cb funny. Shocked

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

Tbonez · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 3:05 pm Post subject:

Perfect time for a powerslide...

ohsix · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 3:20 pm Post subject:

I have the same problem at Lake Bryan. The only dock is a small floating dock big enough to tie up 3 boats. For some reason people think that is the best fishing spot on the lake. Right next to the launch ramp, I might add. I don't think I've pulled up there once without getting stared down by a pissed off fisherman. Sometimes there will be people fishing off all three sides so I have to wait for one of them to pull their line in before I can dock.

flukdfilms · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 3:58 pm Post subject:

At my lake, some guy was in an aluminum fishing boat about 50 feet off our shore (where there really arent any fish). Anyways, we were out on the water out in the bay in front of our place when he decided to park his tin can and fish there. Every single time we pulled in to drop someone off at the beach, or swing a rider in to switch, you could see he was getting more pissed off. Eventually he decided to yell at us asking, "What the hell we thought we were doing.. and did we own the lake?". I said in quite the polite voice, "no, but neither do you." That ended his rudeness fairly quickly. He pulled up the anchor and took off to the other side of the bay.

People like that who come to a lake and act like that are confusing. What gives them priority over everyone else? A lake is for everyone. Not just them.

What Cameraboy did was exactly what needs to be done, but i also agree that some of these dicks need a swift kick in the ass. then another, and another...........

jbelson · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 4:23 pm Post subject:

My first instinct would be to be an ass to the guy, but I realize that fishermen have a lot of power at local lakes. there are a lot more fishing assoc. than boarding ones, especially around here. Boarders get a bad rap. We blare our music, throw huge wakes, cut too close to fishing boats. So we gotta protect our rep on the water before regulations are passed against wake enhancements, noise, and are given tiny areas that we are allowed to ride in.

It sucks. But it beats the hell out of fishing all day..

Phil · Addict Joined: 14 Jan 2003 Posts: 636 City: Chattanooga

We were riding on the river one afternoon and we had to drop somebody off at the dock. So we pull up and theres this redneck fishing off the boat ramp . He claims that we ran over his fishing line and that its our fault .Then he gets mad at us cause our rollers and said that we were to close to the dock when were 200 yards away. So when were leaving he walks up to my brother and starts getting all mad and starts righting down our registration.

Nor*Cal · Ladies Man Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 9479 City: Sac

Let people be angry. If you know you are in the right and obeying the laws then they are just angry and irrational. Yelling and fighting will not help the situation.

Chad H · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 8:16 pm Post subject:

Fisherman are cool to me but this case is just crazy. I like to fish and we do that in spring, But this ugy was an idiot next time just call the police and get him out of there he will find another spot to fish

MX21 · Outlaw Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 143 City: Austin

savage3221 · Posted: Jul 22, 2004 10:34 pm Post subject:

our dock is right next to a bunch of reeds which is always infested with fishermen...whenever one of them is a jerk off we just pull up to our dock as if to get something doing about ten MPH. those pretty little rollers just play hell with their boats and often they ehd up in the reeds and their lines caught in them too, but all the while we are . hehehe Twisted Evil

but there have only been like 2 bad fishermen in the past 6 years, and they never came back

Neognosis · Ladies Man Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 17617 City: Webster