20 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

The thing with my incident was that I was bream fishing out in front of his dock not under it. I had my best friends teenage son with me. We had already caught several ( and released them) . Talk about defensive. I nearly told him” I have 3 grandaughters that fish at my dock, and it wouldn’t bother me if you were fishing at my  dock like I am at your dock.”

I fished past his dock literally hundreds of times, and never saw a child , or anyone else, fishing at his dock.

In my state, one can fish around or even under private docks is legal and allowed in public waters. Now, public waters is the rub. If the dock is in private or exclusive waters such as a private community of homes on a lake, can't fish it if that neighbor says no. You did the right thing. No upside to confrontation.

Good Fishing

“Ironically, her house is the newest house on the pond. She's only been there for two years and seems to have already claimed the water.“

 

This is what I had guessed before I saw your reply.
 

If one were to post a pond name and how great the fishing there is, she would likely get many more visitors. Of course that would be the end of the great fishing.

22 hours ago, Rucksack said:

Maybe they should try fishing 😂

     THAT will give them a hair-trigger for sure! I used to be calm, imperturbable, then one day I took up fishing!

     True story! One day a builder friend of mine and I were walking the bank of Lake Logan in Tennessee. There are homes surrounding this small lake, and as we walked across this one property to get to the next, this woman comes running down her stairs and gives us a real blessing. Well we scooted away fast as we could when my buddy turns to me and say, (Dang! And to think I built her house!)   😁

27 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

There are homes surrounding this small lake, and as we walked across this one property to get to the next, this woman comes running down her stairs and gives us a real blessing. Well we scooted away fast as we could when my buddy turns to me and say, (Dang! And to think I built her house!) 

 

 

"Dang!" is right! If the men who built my house ever walked across my lawn, I'd pull them inside for coffee because I'll be forever grateful for their skill and dedication. FWIW, in the nine months they worked on it, I delivered coffee every morning. There was always pastries and beef jerky available and I tipped each one $500 at the end. In return, I have a home so beautiful that it looks like it was built by Bob.

 

 

18 hours ago, N Florida Mike said:

Karen’s gotta Karen.

A male version of that told me I couldn’t fish his dock ( from my boat ) because his grandaughter fished there. I didn’t say anything because I thought  I couldn’t possibly have heard him right. I just looked at him and he said it again.

I was getting angry so when that happens I will leave because I have had a terrible temper and will take it too far. 
He was still running his mouth and I never said a word.

Thought seriously about coming back and trying to catch all the fish I could there. But I decided that wasn’t the Christian thing to do. 😇

 

See I'm the guy that would have fished that sucker until dark.

 

Put my limit in the livewell and then release them around the corner.  LOL

 

ZERO chance I'm going to let him "win".

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

Here, Mainers share ownership of all bodies of water over ten acres.

We are lucky. In Maine the definition includes natural or manmade. I grew up in New Hampshire and in that state the definition only applies to natural bodies of water ten acres or larger. Seems like a fine point but it matters. I got warned by N.H. fish and game once for following the fishing rules for public waters on a fifty acre pond that was the result of a dam down stream from that pond that was built in the 1930's. Turns out that pond was considered private. 

1 hour ago, jbmaine said:

We are lucky.

 

Agree, however too many rich people buy the shoreline and post "No trespassing" signs, keeping us from our water. 

50 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

Agree, however too many rich people buy the shoreline and post "No trespassing" signs, keeping us from our water. 

Unfortunately that happens all to often. Fish and game has a list of waters they  would like to put a launch on ( and the public has a right to) but can't get anyone to grant them an easement.

4 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 

"Dang!" is right! If the men who built my house ever walked across my lawn, I'd pull them inside for coffee because I'll be forever grateful for their skill and dedication. FWIW, in the nine months they worked on it, I delivered coffee every morning. There was always pastries and beef jerky available and I tipped each one $500 at the end. In return, I have a home so beautiful that it looks like it was built by Bob.

 

 

Thanks for the kind words but I could not have built your house. It is filled with beautiful, natural woods, such as Cherry, Maple, Walnut, Oak. No way I could have coped all those fine joints together the way your guys did. Hat's off to finish carpenters that don't rely on caulk like I do!

@Blue Raider Bob, “do your best and caulk the rest” 😂 

5 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

 

"Dang!" is right! If the men who built my house ever walked across my lawn, I'd pull them inside for coffee because I'll be forever grateful for their skill and dedication. FWIW, in the nine months they worked on it, I delivered coffee every morning. There was always pastries and beef jerky available and I tipped each one $500 at the end. In return, I have a home so beautiful that it looks like it was built by Bob.

 

 

     One other thing .......I just love how you treated your builder and sub-contractors with daily coffee, pastries, and beef jerky. I can tell you from experience that your investment was returned ten-fold. Those guys took a little extra time making SURE it was right. Nothing like working for someone that you really want to please! Been there/done that! Had a woman bring us popsicles every day while framing her house one July way back in the day. She knew what she was doing and she got a real good house! When I went to selling instead of framing, I would take (still do) framing crews water, cokes, pizza, ect. Those guys would kill for me. This one framers name is Zoro. (No kidding). Took him and his crew a case of cerveza fria on Friday afternoons. He told me one day, (Senior Bob....if de lumber mans from nother lumber company comes to my job, I tell heems to go way rapido. If heems don't go, I shoot him so full of de holes that he looks like de swiss cheese!)   I think he was kidding?  Point being, an investment in kindness goes a long, long way!

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

  Point being, an investment in kindness goes a long, long way!

Although I edited your post @Blue Raider Bob I too was in that position as a carpenter and you absolutely summed it up with those words above. And @Swamp Girl good on you for being the bigger person. Many years ago ironically when I was a carpenter a coworker and I decided to fish a retention pond after framing a house on it at the end of the day and one of the home owners called the police on us even though we never stepped foot on her lot😡 Turns out it worked in our favor as the officer gave us a tip on a different pond and how to get there and when we did my coworker caught what was easily a fat 3-4 pounder in our first handful of casts. I only had an ultralight at the time fishing for panfish but I was definitely happy for him.

When I was younger I had a loud mouth, and a quick temper to go with it.  Looking back I can't think of a single time, that my attitude improved my life or the life of any one else.  It took me years to learn, that if I treat others with kindness and respect, they will mostly likely treat me the same, and if they don't, it is their problem not mine.

 

That lady could have easily told you she was enjoying a quite peaceful morning with nothing but nature to look at, and if you would mind fishing somewhere else for a while  while she let her coffee start to relieve the pain of her hang over it would be much appreciated.  With just a little politeness, she might have got her privacy for the morning and made a new friend.  Instead she made herself appear to be an grumpy idiot, and made your day a little less peaceful.

 

A few years ago I had a client fishing and we were crushing big king salmon on a small hole on the Togiak river.  I was drifting down through the hole, catching a big salmon on every drift, than motoring up and doing the drift again.  The drift was only a couple hundred yards long, and it would only take a minuet to drive back up and hook another fish.  A guide from another lodge, pulled up to the shore with his kid while I was setting up for another drift.  When I came around the corner and saw the other angler, fishing from the shore effectively blocking me from drifting by, my blood instantly reached a boiling point.  The guides son was hooked into a big king and I had to change course in order not to cut his line.  While doing this my anglers line snagged and I had to quickly break off or get in a big tangle.  By the time I had retied my lines, and motored back up the river, the boy had landed a real giant.  

 

My angler new me well for many years and was certain I was going to explode.  I started heading for the shore they were on, but before I could say a word, my friend  complimented the boy for catching such a nice king and told the dad he must be a proud father.   I had always considered this particular guide an enemy, simply because he worked for a new lodge, and the river had become way more crowded than when I had first started guiding there.

 

After my client had congratulated the two, the guide apologized for fishing from the bank in front of me.  He told me he had been very busy and only had a half hour to get his visiting son a king salmon.  He new I was drifting through the hole but hadn't brought a rod set up for drifting with him, so he wasn't able to put in above me and drift through like I was.  He had hoped to hook and land a salmon before I came around the corner, but the fish was to big and he was sorry he got in the way.  They both got in their boat and drove off with his boy holding on to one of the biggest salmon of the year.

 

My client who is still a very good friend looked at me and said it doesn't ever hurt to be nice.  He pointed out that starting a fight over a fishing whole would not just have been bad example for the child, but would have been a complete embarrassment for me.

 

I wish I could say after that I changed my ways, but it took many more years and many more life experiences, before I learned that being a bad ass, was only being an ass.  I look back at that day, and remind myself of those wise words.  I never hurts to be nice.

 

Hopefully the lady that yelled at you was just having a bad day, and regrets her attitude.  You should be proud, you handled the situation with civility and respect.  A shouting match  across a lake on a peaceful morning in Main does nobody any good.  If that lady wants to act like a child, let her, someone has to be the grown up on the lake.

I owned a flooring business for 37 years.  I convinced a good drywaller to convert and train as a flooring installer.  He told me of all the builders who instructed him to "put tape over it" whenever he discovered flaws in construction.

5 hours ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I can tell you from experience that your investment was returned ten-fold.

 

Yep, their craftsmanship is old world quality and there isn't a day that I'm not grateful.

14 hours ago, king fisher said:

When I was younger I had a loud mouth, and a quick temper to go with it. 

You've described most guys and ALL GIRLS!!!    🙂

20 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

You've described most guys and ALL GIRLS!!!    🙂

 

I can't resent your remark because I resemble it. Whereas I'm soft and sweet 99.5% of the time, I can be cutting. 

On 6/18/2025 at 9:47 AM, Swamp Girl said:

If the men who built my house ever walked across my lawn, I'd pull them inside for coffee because I'll be forever grateful for their skill and dedication. FWIW, in the nine months they worked on it, I delivered coffee every morning. There was always pastries and beef jerky available and I tipped each one $500 at the end.

This nicely sums up the difference in how a respectful person like you treats people vs how an entitled Karen like the one you encountered treats people. You keep being you, and don’t let her being her get you down.

2 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I can't resent your remark because I resemble it. Whereas I'm soft and sweet 99.5% of the time, I can be cutting. 

king fisher was describing himself as younger, not at our age. You may be sweet 99.5 now, but growing up with brothers, I bet that percentage was not nearly as high back in the day!  😁

 

I know I would jump right into the fray before i gave much thought about how i was gettin' out!

41 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

You may be sweet 99.5 now, but growing up with brothers, I bet that percentage was not nearly as high back in the day!  😁

 

Ha!

 

41 minutes ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

I know I would jump right into the fray before i gave much thought about how i was gettin' out!

 

Ha again!

I just thought of this but the one who told me to leave doesn’t live there anymore. His wife died 3 years ago or so and he sold the house. 
Havent met the new couple yet, but hopefully they won’t be like “ Dave “.

Excuse me, I bought one of the 20 homes here so I now own the lake.  Ridiculous.🙄

 

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, The Baron said:

Excuse me, I bought one of the 20 homes here so I now own the lake.  Ridiculous.🙄

 

 

 

 

 

Exactly.

If she needed all of that privacy, then maybe she shouldn't have been on the porch in the first place.

On 6/17/2025 at 11:01 AM, Swamp Girl said:

Then I heard, "Excuse me, may I have some privacy here?"

Reading this thread I've learned you are all much better people than I am. My response would have been "Of course, just go back inside and you can have all the privacy you want in there".