I was fishing a tournament Saturday morning. About 10:00am I was sitting on one of my best brush tops that I've had out since last May. It sits just off a point loaded with grass and sits in 15-20' just off a point. It always produces. I pulled on it and caught three in three cast. I noticed this boat running around out in the middle of Ayish Bayou acting strange. I watched as he made a turn out about 600 yards and headed straight for me. He ran up on plane and shut it down about 40 yards from me and continued to idle up to within 30' of me. I at first thought it was someone I knew, but that was not the case. He just wanted to talk. He shut it down and drifted within 10' ft of me. We talked a minute and I just chalked it up to someone that saw my wrapped boat and wanted to get a closer look at it. He stated that his front depth finder went out and proceeded to fire  his boat up and turned it around and idled right up on the spot I was fishing and looked at the drop. This is 20' from my boat, I still said nothing. He then idled a circle over the spot I was fishing and then made a circle around me no further than 20' looking at his depth finder. After he completed his circle he idles right up over my brush top shut it off and dropped a worm over the side of his boat. He did this twice, then fired it up and idled back around to the rear of me and started fishing the drop behind my boat. Never more than 20' from my boat. This went on for about 10 minutes. When he got ready to leave he fired it up, said good bye and ran right over the brush pile as he was getting up on plane.

I was so shocked that I never said a word. Just pulled up and left.

I guess I should have handled it a little different, but when you have company names on the boat I just figure you have to watch how you handle yourself. would y'all have handled it differently? I've never been moved in on in 35 years like this and not sure if it was deliberate or just a young guy that did not know any better.

I had another incident when a ski boat idled between my boat and the point I was fishing an hour earlier, but I'll save that for another day.

Sorry for the long post.

Jack

Jack,

That was a great vent.  From my experience though, you could have put Fill-in-the-Blank Lake in the title. 

Those folks are everywhere.  Up here, we call them seagulls.  Whether on water or ice, there are a certain number of folks that just can't get over the urge to move in on you.  I like to think they are just slightly clueless and don't intentionally try to be rude.  What's even worse are the tournament anglers that should know better.

All I can suggest is a calm statement about you being in a tournament, and that you would appreciate a little space. 

Hope you rounded out a winning limit though.

You can thump on my bald head only so long before my blood pressure goes up and this would have been one of them.

I'm quite sure the Cajun would have came out 

Oh sure, you wrapped boat guys must think you're special. I guess it's only us non-wrapped guys that deserve to have the idiot boaters nearly run over us while we're fishing or follow us around and waypoint all of our good spots because they're too incompetent to find their own.

;D

Well after he left I did call the TD to see if I had broken the rule about fishing within a set number of yards from another boat. After I explained it there was no problem, but I sure wanted to know.

Oh sure, you wrapped boat guys must think you're special. I guess it's only us non-wrapped guys that deserve to have the idiot boaters nearly run over us while we're fishing or follow us around and waypoint all of our good spots because they're too incompetent to find their own.

;D

I guess I need to buy up a bunch of cans of spray paint, paint the boat pink, get one of my wife's feathered boas from years past, wear a pair of pink spandex, and run a rainbow flag instead of a tournament flag. I bet they will steer clear then. LOL.

Oh sure, you wrapped boat guys must think you're special. I guess it's only us non-wrapped guys that deserve to have the idiot boaters nearly run over us while we're fishing or follow us around and waypoint all of our good spots because they're too incompetent to find their own.

;D

I guess I need to buy up a bunch of cans of spray paint, paint the boat pink, get one of my wife's feathered boas from years past, wear a pair of pink spandex, and run a rainbow flag instead of a tournament flag. I bet they will steer clear then. LOL.

Well now, if I remember correctly....

Only two things come out of Texas and you dont have horns.    ;D

j/k obviously...

Oh sure, you wrapped boat guys must think you're special. I guess it's only us non-wrapped guys that deserve to have the idiot boaters nearly run over us while we're fishing or follow us around and waypoint all of our good spots because they're too incompetent to find their own.

;D

I guess I need to buy up a bunch of cans of spray paint, paint the boat pink, get one of my wife's feathered boas from years past, wear a pair of pink spandex, and run a rainbow flag instead of a tournament flag. I bet they will steer clear then. LOL.

Sounds like you're onto something Jack.

They'll forget all about Ike if you show up like that. Heck, you might even get onto ESPN in that get up. Maybe even a NEW wrapped Skeeter with Maybelline as your sponsor!!   

Oh sure, you wrapped boat guys must think you're special. I guess it's only us non-wrapped guys that deserve to have the idiot boaters nearly run over us while we're fishing or follow us around and waypoint all of our good spots because they're too incompetent to find their own.

;D

I guess I need to buy up a bunch of cans of spray paint, paint the boat pink, get one of my wife's feathered boas from years past, wear a pair of pink spandex, and run a rainbow flag instead of a tournament flag. I bet they will steer clear then. LOL.

Sounds like you're onto something Jack.

They'll forget all about Ike if you show up like that. Heck, you might even get onto ESPN in that get up. Maybe even a NEW wrapped Skeeter with Maybelline as your sponsor!!

Now that is sick...Might just consider it!

I'm am already off on the wrong foot with Long Mike's wife. The first time we met he told his wife that we were going to Fork fishing and he told her I was having botox injections(They are done for my neck issues). The first thing she asked him was if I was gay.

He didn't bother to explain the situation to her, but she still let him come to the lake.

This thread has taken a wrong turn somewhere. LOL.

To pull a stunt like that out of ignorance would require that the guy be a complete neophyte at fishing.  If he had just pulled up near you, spoke for a minute, and then left I probably would have let it go.  But he pulled up and scoped out your spot with his fishfinder while you were fishing.  I definitely would have communicated to him he was disturbing my fishing.

Well Jack, I've got you beat. About three years ago, I was out fishing one of my favorite Spring spots, when I saw a wrapped boat fishing about 150 yards away. After about a half hour, he came up to my boat, and grabbed the gunwale. He said he'd been watching me "really hauling them in",  and wanted to know what I was using. He said he was in a tournament, and really needed the win. I just looked at him and said "since you have all those sponsors, I'm sure one of them makes something you can catch fish with, and if you scratch my boat, I'll beat you with my boat hook"............. He left without another word.

I guess it doesn't matter what lake you're on, they all have a few boneheads.

Falcon

A very similar event happened to me Farmers flats. This guy didnt fish though, he just was doing circles and churning up water. Some people are just drunk and stupid.

A very similar event happened to me Farmers flats. This guy didnt fish though, he just was doing circles and churning up water. Some people are just drunk and stupid.

If it was Saturday I bet it was that white Wakeboard boat. He's the one that ran between me and the point I was fishing Saturday morning. That is the other issue I have not even discussed yet.

That's about all you could have done since you do have sponsors on your boat. I was on Barkley earlier this year fishing about 100 yards from an FLW pro when a couple of idiots came by between me and the bank and then the pro's boat no less than 20 yards from each of us.

The pro just shook his head because he knew it wouldn't be wise to say anything, they got a special treat from me.

If you aren't actually under a sponsorship and just have the wrap, you should have lit his ... up, no questions asked.

If you are under a sponsorship, you still should have said something....in a friendly way. Some people are truly stupid. Obviously he didn't think he was doing anything wrong.

Yeah, there are ways to "educate" the people around you.  I've had numerous occasions when I've been fishing deep structure, and another boat will pull into exactly where I'm fishing.  I let them know what I'm doing, and they are interfering with that.  99% of the time they are apologetic, and figured I was casting towards shore, which is what they were going to do.  I tell them they can come right inside of where I'm fishing, and have all the shore they want.

That is such a common experience out west it just another day on the water. Getting angry only upsets your day and can lead to an ugly argument.

It gets so bad during weekends, you need a run about aluminum boat to fish good areas, as a bass boat attract a lot of attention and a wrapped boat is like a neon sign saying come over here.

Can't tell you how many times other bass boaters have circled me when fishing deeper structure. I had them toss out markers within a few feet of my boat and anchor on top of my spot while I'm fishing.

Just another day on the water with the lake lice.

WRB

Yeah, there are ways to "educate" the people around you. I've had numerous occasions when I've been fishing deep structure, and another boat will pull into exactly where I'm fishing. I let them know what I'm doing, and they are interfering with that. 99% of the time they are apologetic, and figured I was casting towards shore, which is what they were going to do. I tell them they can come right inside of where I'm fishing, and have all the shore they want.

Agree, We should aways have creative ways to say something.

I have never pulled up on anyone, even as a newbie boater-deep down I knew it wasn't right, this is why I didn't do it, then again I try to treat others like I want to be treated.

I know i would have had to say a few things to him,,,softly at first,,,

Yeah, there are ways to "educate" the people around you. I've had numerous occasions when I've been fishing deep structure, and another boat will pull into exactly where I'm fishing. I let them know what I'm doing, and they are interfering with that. 99% of the time they are apologetic, and figured I was casting towards shore, which is what they were going to do. I tell them they can come right inside of where I'm fishing, and have all the shore they want.

Agree, We should aways have creative ways to say something.

I have never pulled up on anyone, even as a newbie boater-deep down I knew it wasn't right, this is why I didn't do it, then again I try to treat others like I want to be treated.

Even that is a tough call. 

This time of year, we bass chasers seem to intersect the with the perch jerkers up here.  I know I've been guilty of screwing up, thinking they were doing one thing, when they were really doing another.  I do what the guy that cuts me off, and apologize, and try to keep the peace.  I now know to stay wayyyyy clear if I think they are perch jerking.  Those guys are very fussy, and they will blame anyone around them for turning the bite off, including my electronics, paddling, or my bright kayak itself, LOL.

I know in a tournament, that may be a tough thing to do, but really, structure fishing is usually about timing and agitation, so it may be easier to wait, or fish another spot.

Whatever works....its just fishing.  Keep it cool.