I was out fishing this morning, stitching a worm when a guy walked up to me on the dock and started chatting. I'm okay with chatting and you can cast beside me, no problem. Then he offers me a 1/4 oz bullet weight and tells me to try it. I tell him I appreciate it but I'm going to keep fishing. He keeps chatting and catches a 3 lb fish and then tells me well try these worms maybe theyll work and hands me a bag of trick worms (decent color btw) and tells me I can have them. Again, I politely let him know I will keep throwing my same worm. Anyhow he left shortly after but I felt like a jerk ... I guess were fishing for different reasons and that's difficult to explain to someone lol. You're fishing for numbers and I'm trying to learn a technique to go after the big girls. Seemed like a nice guy and I'll return the favor and give him some lures sometime but still can't help but feel I was a jerk. WWYD (without John Quiñones)?

You should have taken the Trick Worms.

10 minutes ago, the reel ess said:

You should have taken the Trick Worms.

 

Oh I definitely did

Yes! it would not have taken a minute to explain to him what you were doing & thank him.

This is kind of funny cause one of the local radio stations up here has a bit called 'am i the jerk'.

 

In your case.... Idk, you mentioned being polite so you have that going for you. Unless you got any shady vibes the guy was probably just trying to help you catch fish.

 

I'm thinking about encounters I've had with people when out fishing or just in general and I know I've been short at times, maybe bordering on jerky, slightly rude. 

 

Been trying to change that up and be more social/engaging unless I get some bad vibes. Met a cool ass old river rat this winter. Really glad I took the time to talk to him and now we're fishing friends.

 

To answer you question, maybe a skosh...

 

 

2 minutes ago, scbassin said:

Yes! it would not have taken a minute to explain to him what you were doing & thank him.

Yeah totally agree with this. You weren’t rude necessarily and it’s all cool to tell somebody you are just trying something new. 
 

But, heck, a 3lber is nothing to sneeze at and a “big girl” as you say could slurp up a trick worm, absolutely. 

Nah. He sounds kinda pushy. It’s almost insulting when someone tells you you’re doing it all wrong and then won’t shut up about it , unless you had your reel upside down . Then it’s okay. 

I try to NEVER miss an opportunity to get a different perspective. Even if the other guy is fishing the same bait. He may have a unique retrieve, presentation, or other idiosyncrasy that I don't use. You can never know too much. This guy may have been the local big girl expert. JMHO

Did you intend to be a jerk? 
IMO, life is too short to waste time worrying about whether I “might” have come across as a jerk. He offered you a worm and you declined his offer. So what?

Odds are the guy that offered you the worm never gave it another thought.

Odds are the guy that offered you the worm never gave it another thought.

 

 

                                               

If he tried that up here in the Northeast he might have gotten tossed in the lake. So I would say you were actually a nice guy! 

Back when fishing was good on the Wisconsin chain of lakes I go to there was a certain lake that produced exceptionally well.  There was always a defined weed line that started about 10 feet out from the shore.  Fish were either on the frontside or backside of the weedline.  It was a rainy day as I worked my way down the bank and I was catching them good on weightless Senkos.  I came up to a cottage with a bass boat tied up and 4 guys sitting around a fire pit.  2 of them walked out on the dock and commented they had been there a week and caught 10 bass (they were obviously mainly walleye guys).  I told them that I had caught that many in the last 200 yards of bank.  They looked at me like I had 3 heads.  I told them as a matter of fact I was going to catch another one on the weedline in front of their dock.  They called my bluff and I proceeded to catch 3 bass back to back.  I then used my trolling motor to go over to the dock and grabbed a bag of Senkos and put in 3 or 4 ewg hooks and then showed them how to rig a weightless Texas rig.  I also showed them how to fish it.  Was I a jerk?  They sure didn’t think so. ? I saw them later in the week and they ran me down on the lake just to thank me.  They were having a blast.  Moral of the story, take them in the spirit they were given.  

it happens.  hell, people have been jerks to me here, and this is supposedly a "safe-Place".  haha.

 

OP, sometimes we are in our own headspace and another person can't read it.  I wouldn't worry about it, I bet he has long forgotten the encounter.  

 

I kinda LOVE talking to complete strangers while fishing.  I met "Ray" yesterday, and he actually invited me Halibut fishing.  we hit it off.  I joked that I want to be like him when I grow up.  

I remember a few weeks ago I was at my lake prepping my bass raider for an outing. It was tied to my dock and I was in it prepping gear etc. All of a sudden this dude was trolling along the bank in his fancy bass tracker shouted to me "hey kid, if you wanna catch em throw this, chartreuse spinnerbait" the conditions were absolutely horrible to throw a spinnerbait and I politely said back "I've been having luck on these jigs I think i'll stick to that" and he replied back "you're missing out man!" And continued to troll down the bank. 

 

Jokes on him I then proceeded to catch a bunch of 3 and 4lbers that day on the jigs. 

I wouldn't worry about it.  Most people who are outwardly friendly like that, and also outwardly confident in themselves, aren't easily offended.  He's probably unaffected by the whole thing.  Sensitive people don't usually throw themselves out there like that.  And the kind of people who do, aren't usually very sensitive.  

2 minutes ago, Bankc said:

I wouldn't worry about it.  Most people who are outwardly friendly like that, and also outwardly confident in themselves, aren't easily offended.  He's probably unaffected by the whole thing.  Sensitive people don't usually throw themselves out there like that.  And the kind of people who do, aren't usually very sensitive.  

Well said.

I'm thick skin and not sensitive at all so nobody comes across as a jerk.

On the flip side, I may at times offend others unbeknownst to me simply because I would not have been offended.......ha ha deep right.

I'm takin this free bag of Trick Worms and that's all I need. ?

2 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

and this is supposedly a "safe-Place".  haha.

 

 

Safe place reminded me of this scene and I started cracking up haha

 

35 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Safe place reminded me of this scene and I started cracking up haha

 

This place was safe until TnRiver was given moderator powers 

5 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

This place was safe until TnRiver was given moderator powers 

Queue evil laughter 

9 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Queue evil laughter 

You’re going to delete all spinnerbait posts aren’t you? 

34 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

You’re going to delete all spinnerbait posts aren’t you? 

Tread lightly, you don't wanna end up with a skunk in your mail box.

56 minutes ago, LrgmouthShad said:

This place was safe until TnRiver was given moderator powers 

Well...it was nice knowing you @LrgmouthShad! We'll miss you. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

23 minutes ago, Fishlegs said:

Well...it was nice knowing you @LrgmouthShad! We'll miss you. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

Nah. It's nothin a pack of crappie jigs and a bag of worms won't fix. He'll be OK.

42 minutes ago, T-Billy said:

Nah. It's nothin a pack of crappie jigs and a bag of worms won't fix. He'll be OK.

Bribe a moderator!?!  You speaking from experience?  Do tell!!