# Sharks out and about



## nodakoutdoors.com

This is kind of a friendly rant...so don't take me for being dead serious on the issue.

I'm one of those fishermen that cannot stand crowds. We've all done it, we all fish in the crowds at some point no matter who we are. Sometimes the fish are concentrated and the word is out...

What I'm getting at is a situation that happened on Sunday. Me and Deltaboy were fishing off the crowd on the Van Hook in the early afternoon. We were only a few fish shy of going home, and we made a drift that was about as close as I wanted to be to the crowd, about 200-250 yards.

I picked up a fish and did everything in my power to land it on the opposite side of the boat from the crowd, but a guy with eagle eyes in the crowd spotted the ONE fish come up. I'm not kidding, this guy put on the overdrive...even with the drift sock in the water. He cruised about 250 yards in about 30 seconds, brushed about 15 feet off our boat and hovered over the spot we just caught the fish.

That took [email protected] to say the least, but we just laughed at them and went the other way. I know that nobody owns the lake and I find those who think they do annoying...but sometimes it's just so blatent and rude that you just have to stop and watch.

What do you do when people do this? I've heard some pretty funny stories, but I'm sure there's gotta be a better one...


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## dblkluk

Bounce 3/8 oz. jigs off the side of their boat and then apologize for THEM being so close!!!!
Or my favorite I've used, ask if they want to just get in with me and fish out of my boat.
Another good one is, just be too pleasant, and insist on visiting with them the entire time they are next to you. Do it to the point its obnoxious. Most people will give you space, it can actually be pretty funny!!

All above the above have been used but only when my buttons have been pushed way too much. 
Most of the time I reel up and head the other way to find more fish. I hate crowds too!


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## djleye

Had that happen to me on Sunday on a large lake near Pelican Rapids this weekend. A "group" (about 7 boats) of guys from Fargo showed up at 8:00 am and ran to the same hump I was at and really got up close and personal. Good thing the fish shut down because I went to another hump and hit a 5 pounder and three 2-2.5 pounders. Good thing I moved!!!


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## Shu

Same thing happened once but the boat actually bumped into mine since the guy couldn't even control his boat he was fumbling around so bad trying to get a line in the water. I started the motor, raised the motor so the prop was half in the water, and rained a fountain of water all over the guy. Several of the boats around me were laughing and clapping as I drove away.


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## muskat

This part of fishing used to get me really ticked off, but its just easier to leave. 
I like dblkluk's idea of talking to them constantly.......would drive people crazy. 

I heard a story, and I am emphasizing story, that a gentleman once witnessed a fist fight between two boats over a fishing spot. That would be something :box:


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## qwakwhaker883

I usually try to bounce a jig off the side of their boat. After a few times they usually get the point and leave you alone.


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## mallard

One friend of mine had a musky suick for times when people were fishing to close.Another guy I used to fish with shot bottle rockets at a boat once(last time I fished with him).


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## njsimonson

The lakes/rivers I fish are not hit too hard for walleye, or anything else for that matter. Plus, I am too damn impatient to sit around in a spot for long. I like to be actively trolling, or actively casting, so you won't see me anchored up for very long.

I'd talk a sumbich's ear off if a person let me. I probably ramble so much as it is, they're annoyed when I'm making FRIENDLY conversation. 

I've never had it happen with a "spot jumper" so I guess I can't comment on my tactics. But I know there are lots of places to fish, and lots of species to fish for. Walleye my be king, but bass kick @$$. You'd be surprised how little pressure there is for smallmouth and largemouth in our state! And they're waaaay more fun to fight. Try targeting other species, or less-known waters...chances are, you'll find less competition and a much more peaceful fishing experience.


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## Goosepride

What really gets me is when you are the only boat in sight and then someone comes right in on you so you have two boats in the same spot when there's all that blue water out there. That really bugs me. I understand pressure and all but common courtesy goes a long way. You wouldn't just walk into someone's field where they already have decoys and set yours up right next to them...to me it's the same thing and totally uncalled for!


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## zogman

Answer: Ontario waters, Northwest Angle Lake of the Woods. Been there for 7 summers. Half the time I can't see another boat. Can only take 2 walleyes each which is enough for a nice meal for me and the wife. Oh and great smallmouth fishing. Wisconsin folks drive 7 plus hours just to fish muskie.

PS Don't tell a soul


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## southdakbearfan

Have had the same thing happen many times. One time that really sticks in my mind, I was out in the middle on Waubay Lake, use a bouy marker to mark the hump I was drifting by, my first mistake, and here comes a guy pulling plugs and of course, he hooks it. Dragged it about 500yds. So, I go and get it, reset it where I want it, and 15 min. later, here he comes again and you guessed it, there goes the marker. Needless to say I was upset, but at least he stopped this time. I would have let him have it, but there were kids in his boat, so I just got it back and went back to fishing, not putting the buoy marker out. Well after about an hour the same guy came back and had the nerve to ask me why I didn't put my bouy marker out. Go Figure.


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## mallard

Another trick is to toss a couple of bouys a 1/2 mile away or farther.We have done that many times when the binocular fisherman are out in force.Reeling in fish with the rod tip in the water,and avoiding using the net also helps.


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## jacks

I usually just strip all my clothes off and fish naked. I make sure to bend over the side of the boat to wash my hands numerous times. I am also friendly, I ask if I have any visible tan lines or if my a$$ is getting to burned. If it is I ask if they would apply some lotion to my back side. LOL


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## MossyMO

jacks

Hillarious !!! :beer:


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## duckslayer

It happens all of the time on DL. You can catch 3 small fish during prefish for a tourney and here comes mr. 35000 ranger boat within 15 yards. Or when you pitch cranks, you have the onlookers with names on the motors(BIG SHOTS) drive real slow about 20 yards from the boat watching everything you do and if you catch a fish you dont want to even set the hook. Thats why when this happens we have back up cranks........cranks with NO trebles on them. You can feel bites, and see follows still but the "big shot" who watches doesnt see anything....it happens anywhere you go but theres not much you can do about it, its not your lake and anybody can fish wherever they want to.


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## nodakoutdoors.com

jacks, I'll remember not to fish too close to you in the future!

duckslayer, with so much water on DL and so much structure, it's amazing that a small strip is so important to some to waste their time watching.



> use a bouy marker to mark the hump I was drifting by, my first mistake, and here comes a guy pulling plugs and of course, he hooks it.


This happened to me on opener in MN about 4 years ago. The crowd was on the usual point and flats, so we fished across the lake on a spot where a mud flat met the sand. We started pulling out fish and it was really a spot on the spot, and we didn't have GPS at the time so we threw out the buoy. A guy driving by spotted the buoy and came right up to the boat, dropped a line next to the buoy....hooked it, then continued to yell at me for having a buoy out. :huh: I have not used a buoy since except to do what mallard mentioned....to throw out dummy buoys. :lol:


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## Field Hunter

Put the moter way down in the water ad then make fairly close circles around the idiot as a slow speed....they get the point! The problem is most people don't get out much and they just don't get it anymore.


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## Burly1

I have an old aluminum boat, that has seen better days. A few scratches don't concern me much. When Mr. In-fisherman gets too close, I like to get really friendly. Greet them like a long lost relative! Snuggle right up to his gel coat and ask him how it's going. They get the hint pretty fast. Another good one is to get out the 20 lb Fireline and the heavy rod, start trolling a 3 oz bottom bouncer in, over and around his pattern. After you have snagged his rigs and cut them off a couple times, they'll head for bluer waters. I always thought that getting out the shotgun, and shooting some hand-thrown clays would work well too, but haven't tried that one... yet. :lol: On a positive note, I once had a guy approach me out in the middle of nowhere. He shut down at about 100 yards, and came in with his electric. He asked how it was going, and would I mind if he started about fifty yards upwind, and worked the same drift? I was so flabbergasted at his polite behavior, that I was nearly speechless. Good fishing, Burl


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## Dave Owens

Happens alot in the spring on the Missouri near Bismarck. The local term is Bumper Boats. Been hit a few times.


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## DeltaBoy

What I get a kick out of is when your fishing and enjoying the day catching some fish and a fishing tourney is taking place on the lake/river. We were catching fish one day left and right and then this boat just decided it was his spot since he was trying to win some money.

I almost had to take my shirt off and wrap it around my hands and pound this guy. I am not a angry person, but this guy was a complet A-Hole. 
F-bombs, etc...etc...

The Miz river can be crazy during the spring! I don't like going out and having people watch you fish and then you come back the next day you see the guy who was watching you all day in your spot... Could call it fishing for spot.

Good times! :wink:


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## Ithaca1

My advice Chris to keep your sanity don't fish Van Hook on weekends. I try to stay away from the Arm, even though I grew up 20 miles away from it, during any major Holiday or nice day. I go when the wind is blowing 20-25 mph. You don't have to worry about the traffic then. There are so may idiots that fish that place because it is easy for them find the BOAT SHOW and lack of boat control still catchs fish on the massive flats in the area. Overexploitation from magazines, internet sites, books, and TV shows have ruined the quality experience of that area of being able to fish alone in peace without hundreds of Gary Roach fish finders(Binoculars) looking at you waiting for you to catch a fish so they can spoil your day.

HELPFUL HINTS WHILE FISHING THE VAN HOOK(DON"T TRY THIS AT HOME FOLKS OR ON POLITE PEOPLE)
1. When I am not catching fish in the arm and I am getting closely approached by other boats I usually take the net out and dip it in the water every 2 minutes or so on the out of site side of the boat. This usually gets people frothed up and they will stay there for awhile. I go somewhere else and fish in peace.

2. If I am hammering fish by myself and other boats approach and get rude and push me out of a piece of tight structure. I will then proceed to start up the big motor and make some sharp turns at high RPM's on top of that structure and blow the fish out. Which usually causes the fish to leave for a couple of hours and return when the idiots are not present and the eyes are.

3. Method #3 is when fishing tight structure if you get pushed out lindying or pulling spinners you can always pull cranks. Put those cranks on that you never catch anything on such as a reef runner that won't tune and start your engines, run those deep cranks through their lindy lines with 30 pound Fireline. If it doesn't snag their lines it is always good for a lower unit seal or 2.

Remember keep your stick on the ice and LOOSE LIPS LEAD TO SUNKEN SHIPS


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## atec

Back East when I was young and full of piss & vinegar , me & buddy George would cast over their line , then reel it in and cut their bait off . Another time we casted Hulla-poppers in their boat n'they moved . 
Since I've been back in the Midwest before my Dad- in- Law died we would just verbalize them like , " Why don't you throw a rope 'n we'll tie you on " , and " Hey , d'you pull up here to give us some fish ? " . 
But truly with my mentality and short tollerance for that kind of crap , no matter how old I get , I'm still ready to take an oar in two hands'n -------- :sniper:


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## Norm70

when you put bouy markers out, that kinda crap happens. Did the same thing on devils lake last august. Had 3 people drifting our same line within a matter of minutes.

That doen't make me as mad as when someone setsup decoys 200-100 yds from a person. Its one thing to set up in the next field, but in the same one sheeesh have some respect. :eyeroll:


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## northdakotakid

Yeah, it sure is tough to enjoy fishing when you have to constantly be looking over your shoulder... we fish a great lake but we will only hit a sopt for about 3 passes then move out for about an hour to try somewhere else so that anyone watching will not catch on.

It is a game fo chess, that is for sure. It helps us find new areas and also keeps the old ones fresh. By the mid-season we generally have about 4-5 areas within reasonable travel time to hit-and-leave.

I guess a guy just has to out fox the fox at times, because they sure as heck are not going to change at all.

We have had people cruise by and literally not say boo beause all they were focused on was seeing what we had on the end of line... now that's low.


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## T Shot

Don't know about you guys, but I think ice fishing is 10 times worse. You don't need as much equipment to get out to the fish. About five years ago my dad and I were on a certain NE SD lake far away from the crowd. It wasn't long before the walleyes were hitting. Needless to say, everytime a fish came out of the hole, it seemed as though the crowd got just a little closer until they were within feet of our holes. This wouldnt have been so bad, but it was hard to catch a couple of fish to take home because every one was well over the 20 inch mark, not what I like to take home. It finally got to the point where I lost a minnow and walked over to where my dad was fishing to get another. After getting some bait, I turn around to discover somebody fishing out of my hole! Needless to say I was a bit suprised. I wish I could say this is the only time this happened, but I would be lying. There have been a few experiences summer fishing too. It never ceases to amaze me what people will do to catch a few fish. Heres an idea, read a few books or magazines and figure out what the fish are doing instead of using your binocs. If you don't have the attention span, go buy a video.


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## 94NDTA

I have a REALLY good story to contribute.

I got a couple fishing buds of mine who make the long trip up to Devils lake from Fargo to shore fish for some 'eyes and northerns.

We get PLENTY of the big boats on the water scoping us to see what we are pulling in. THEN we get the boats that see us catching fish and troll back and forth RIGHT where are lindy rigs are set out.

They have this GIANT friggen lake, complete with a multi-thousands dollar rig, and you have to fish RIGHT above us fishing from shore.

We had a couple guys troll back and forth about 20 times along this stretch of road.

Finally, the dip...head, catchs MY line. So I decide to play with his head. I give it some taps....couple more taps, then a bigger pull and I see him furiously set his rod. Next thing I know, my rod is bent over. I set the drag kind tight, so I have more pull then he does.

After him fighting for about 10-15 minutes with this "MONSTER", his buddy with a giant net, his other buddy with a camera, I finnally, let the line go in so they can see it. Each one of the was VERY ****** and my buddies and I were rolling on the ground laughin our butts off. I told them "Maybe you should find another place to fish!", so he flicked me off and promptly left.

This has happened a couple ties on DL. No one has love for the shore fisherman!


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## njsimonson

94 - too funny.

We just start slinging heavy daredevils at intrusive shore-cruising anglers.

I will ALWAYS defer to a shore angler. Its amazing how people change when they have control of a boat.


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## 94NDTA

njsimonson said:


> 94 - too funny.
> 
> We just start slinging heavy daredevils at intrusive shore-cruising anglers.
> 
> I will ALWAYS defer to a shore angler. Its amazing how people change when they have control of a boat.


You are a good person then.


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## Chuck Smith

One time on Rainy lake....About the same thing happened. We boated a fish and another boat about 200 yards away came flying in. That was fine....then he got on the radio....next thing there were 15 boats in this small inlet. It was like going through a mine feild to miss other boats on your troll...well It was our 3 day on a camping trip and I needed a bath....Yep....I stripped down and jumped in. ( I looked around so no children were in any of the boats) My fishing buddy threw me the shampoo.


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## gooseboy

Or what really ticks me off is when your anchored fishing and all the sudden mister big shot comes blazing through 15 feet away from you sending a nice wake. If someone fishes next to me i usually dont do anything but i think im gonna try talking to them alot or snagging there lines.


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## pineislandguide

Last summer on LOW fishing was hot around Elm Pt. for a few weeks. Well one weekend the lake was about dead, but "word" was still out that you had to be @ Elm.

We were at S. tip of buffao, raking the sand with some jigs, and I decided to go check out a spot right north of Tommys bay, which is about 1/2 to 3/4 mile from the "floatilla" that is at Elm. We made our first pass and picked up 2 and had lost another one, so i threw out a small bouy... THINKING (my first mistake) that nobody would be able to see it from 1/2 mile away... WRONG before we went up to make a 2nd drift there was already a guy trolling cranks who had swun right past the marker and hooked his line in his motor (quite a hoot!). our 2nd drift brought 1 fish and 1 bite I think.

Then the boats started rolling in, by our 3rd drift there was over 12 boats there and more on their way. It got so that we couldnt even drift any more, so i grabbed the marker when we went up to make a drift, dropped it off about 2-300 yds away from the group... and they followed!

So I resulted to BLAIRING "Rob Zombie" and "kid Rock"

by the time we were done there wasn't one boat at Elm Pt. and we had caught our limit of 30+ tourists.

HOWEVER- an idea for a "tourist proof marker" take an old duck decoy, paint it white like a seagull, just as long as you dont get too close to it many people wont think twice.


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