Guilty by Bass Boat

[tim4081]

First i want to say I'm not trying to bash anyone with this post. I love our sport and want nothing more than to see it prosper.  I hope perhaps to generate some healthy self evaluation by this.  I've seen some posts on here using the term "guilty by bass boat" but I have to say I recently witnessed a good example of why this happens. My son and I were out fun fishing in a stretch of water that is clearly marked as no wake.  There were several kayaks in the area as well as an older couple who were in a smaller boat anchored when tournament launched nearby.


We heard the boats coming and turned to watch as at least 8 boats blew right through this area, several slowing down only enough to make a hard turn and throw up an even bigger wake.  Only two boats actually slowed and one of those went back to full throttle once past us even though he was still in the no wake zone.  My boat has no problem handling big waves but I felt so bad for the older couple who were litteraly hanging on to the side of their boat as the waves pulled their anchor free and bounced them around. 

Come on guys, this was not a big money tournament. It was a small week night one.  So if you're tired of being guilty by bass boat, maybe its time to look in the mirror.

[motocross269]

There are definetly times I have seen the Shoe fit......I was sitting 50 foot off a breakwall up in Algonac on the St clair river the other day and a bass boat ran between me and the shore......1 mile of river and the channel on the outside of me and he had to cut between me and the shore.....Makes no Sense...

On LSC I have way more issues with the Tuna boaters though....They scare the heck out of me sometimes...

[TimH]

Well said!  I get so frustrated when I am fishing a local Open or club tournament and some of the anglers are racing through an area heavy with boat traffic.  These guys have got to stop treating every tournament like they are running late heading back to final weigh in at the Bassmaster Classic.  Sure, certain people have issues with bass anglers for no reason other than they own property around the lake and think they own the water too, but a lot of heat we all take is brought on by our own brethren.
Other things I have witnessed fellow bass anglers do...
-while pitching docks, they stop and take a leak facing the shore while there are people in the yard
-toss an empty plastic bottle on a dock
-toss used soft plastics on the ground at the ramp
-openly drinking beer and using foul language in the parking of the launch area even though there are families having a picnic just 50 feet away
-toss dead bass back into the water after a weigh in
-use there net as a weigh in bag
-parking with their trailers well into the next spot
-yelling out the truck window and someone struggling to launch their boat by themselves
This type of behavior is why some people poorly view bass anglers and or bass tournaments.  We as bass anglers have to do our part to not only set a good example, but to not be afraid to point out issues other anglers are creating.
I want to give big props to Brian from Nemesis Baits.  On July 4th he held and open tournament at Kent Lake.  Besides him running a good event,  at one point throughout the day two younger guys (not in the tourney) came flying across Kent in their bass boat and stopped in an area close to where me and several other boats were fishing.  Brian motored over by the guys, reminded them it was a 10 MPH lake and asked them to follow the rules because it reflects all fisherman and could jeopardize future tournaments being held there.  That is a prime example of the "self policing" we all need to do.

[Grinny]

I too have had many instances where guys have done stuff I thought were unwritten rules. For instance my 6 year old son and I were out fishing, and working down a shoreline, and we had another bass boat motor up right in front of us, and start fishing in front of us down the same shoreline like we weren't even there. The same thing happened when I was out with my brother in laws just a few weekends ago as well. And then the guy misses a good fish, and yells to us that he just missed a hog! I couldn't believe the nerve of this guy....

I've had guys ask me if I am in the tournament that they are fishing and when I responded no, they also bumped in front of me and started working a shoreline of docks that I was fishing....more than once through out the day..


Just last night I was on the eastside of the state and fished LSC, I was in the middle of no where by myself, and a boat comes right up in front of me, 30 yards away, cuts his engine and starts fishing! I was so peeed I pull up and motored to fish somewhere else.

I think I must have a sign on my boat that says "it's cool, I'm not fishing, I'm just on a boat ride....please go ahead of me"

[Hollada]

I don't have a boat yet so I find this intriguing reading.   One question though, if you are fishing docks at what distance is it ok for another boat to jump in to the docks as well?  If it's an entire shoreline of docks, I would assume you can't lay claim to all of them in front of you?  What is considered a considerate distance?

[motocross269]

I would say a few hundred yards at least.....like you said though the guy can't lay claim to an entire shoreline.....I have ran right in behind guys and worked my way back where he has just came through if there is something close that I want to hit.....Good chance he may have missed something..

As far as guys fishing close to me on LSC....I really don't mind it as long as they maintain a fair distance...50 yards or so....Having other boats in the area actually lets me know if I am wasting my time in an area that much quicker.....I guess I have just come to expect it on LSC...

What cracks me up out on LSC is the guys that are obviously less experienced fisherman and they think if you have a Bass Boat you must have it figured out so they run right up on you.....I'm usually like..."Dude, you may want to find another Bass rig to cuddle up with because I am not catching crap.."....

[gmetime24]

I had something similar happen this week. We are staying in a cove on lake missaukee. The other night around 8pm this bass boat came blazing into the cove with 2 people in kayaks. I figured he wasn't from the lake but he actually ran into the back of the cove and parked his boat on his boat hoist. All I could think is what an idiot. Ohh ya, he appeared to be driving with a young boy maybe 10-12 years old. Great example for the little boy

[Grinny]

I would say a few hundred yards at least.....like you said though the guy can't lay claim to an entire shoreline.....I have ran right in behind guys and worked my way back where he has just came through if there is something close that I want to hit.....Good chance he may have missed something..

I agree with motocross on the distance, but it kind of depends on the lake, if it's a huge lake with tons of docks etc, and there aren't many people out fishing, I'm going to go find a different stretch to fish, and come back to the original spot later if I really had my heart set on fishing the previous area. I live on the Westside of the state and I run into these issues a lot less over here than when I fish the eastside....my in-laws live on Lake Orion, and it's really bad there...

[Waterfoul]

I would say a few hundred yards at least.....like you said though the guy can't lay claim to an entire shoreline.....I have ran right in behind guys and worked my way back where he has just came through if there is something close that I want to hit.....Good chance he may have missed something..

As far as guys fishing close to me on LSC....I really don't mind it as long as they maintain a fair distance...50 yards or so....Having other boats in the area actually lets me know if I am wasting my time in an area that much quicker.....I guess I have just come to expect it on LSC...

What cracks me up out on LSC is the guys that are obviously less experienced fisherman and they think if you have a Bass Boat you must have it figured out so they run right up on you.....I'm usually like..."Dude, you may want to find another Bass rig to cuddle up with because I am not catching crap.."....

Ah yes... the famous "bent rod pattern" on LSC.  Even if your rod isn't bent... just beign out there often brings others from miles around!

[djkimmel]

Everyone on the lake has the same rights and responsibilities. No more. No less (other than those provided by law or regulation).

If you see someone in a bass boat-type boat do something really boneheaded consider pointing it out. It's risky with some people (in any kind of boat, car, truck, etc. - you know... the 'special people' ) but peer pressure from within the same group is sometimes the most productive house-cleaning.

Also, keep setting the good example I know you all set. That makes a big difference. Many people just emulate what they see others do. Be vocal. I have apologized in my outdoor voice a few times to other people nearby for something someone they appear to feel is related to me (by boat maybe ) just did so the person who just pulled the bonehead move can hear it too... sometimes you get nothing in return. Sometimes you meet new people. Sometimes you 'save' a fellow boater from a future of being the 'bonehead' (I know for a fact this can happen. I've seent it!) Sometimes you're more popular with everyone except the boater in question (i.e. bonehead)...

In the old days, I used to lecture 'everyone' more. Somewhere along the line I realized I was preaching to the choir too much. I still do it sometimes. I get told I'm doing it sometimes (though it is true when you post on a public forum anyone can read it... I hope some of the more intended audience occasionally 'get's it' and some of the unintended understands they are the unintended - it doesn't always work that way and I'm sorry - but we should all know if the shoe fits or not). Oh... and I do lecture myself. A lot. I've had my own share of times when someone has made me aware of a character flaw, or an act I should have known better not to do. I say thanks, even to the persons I may not have thanked at the time.

It is a good thing to shine a light on bad behavior when you see it. Be careful, but it can be a little light, or a big light. Some bad behavior is backed by people that are unwilling to change, or accept that maybe they are holding themselves to a different set of rules than they expect from others - that always leads to trouble. I don't get why everyone 100% doesn't get that?? Kind of like the difference between right and wrong... you can't have your cake and eat it too... treat others how you want them to treat you... all those things most of us learn before we are 10.

I fully understand why some people don't like 'bass boat people' as much as I can understand that some people just don't like other 'kinds' of people. After all, I grew up in Flint through the riots and not on the right side of the tracks all the time... I spent time running for my life, hiding under porches and sometimes in trees, often just because I happened to be born with 'no tan' (let's just leave it at that). Heck, I even found out there is a wrong side of the tracks in Owosso after we moved there... hard to believe... but true.

There are some people who get 'upset' about just about anything you do or don't do, say if you happen to own a bass boat maybe...  (I can't begin to remember how many times I've waved at other boaters nearby only to have them stare at me or even turn their back to me... see ME please, the person, the individual... don't just see the 'bass boat') and there's not much you can do right by some people but the majority I believe are mostly good people most of the time. I definitely feel that way about anglers and hunters. So this should be easy...

I was not born apparently with the gene that lets me understand why some of us humans categorize each other too often (defined as more than once by me ) by less important differences than by more important similarities but there you have a real challenge of being human. We are all actually individuals after all not just 'bass boat people.' We are all anglers, not just 'tournament anglers.' We are all boaters not just hot-rod speed-crazy drivers. I've seen the same range of personalities and types of people within bass boat owners as I've seen in any other 'demographic' but the recognition that we tend to get lumped together was in my face the first weekend I went out on the water after I took ownership of my bass boat... add that to my Flint upbringing and I started out preaching to the choir a lot about how much everything one of us does reflects on all of us.

Sound familiar... it does to me since it appears to be a common thread throughout humanhood (I think I just made that word up). It seems like we all tend to think of OURSELVES as 'Dan' or 'Mike' or 'Sue' or 'Vince' but some people sometimes first think of OTHERS as 'bass boat guy' (sometimes fronted by additional words such as 'crazy' 'jerk' 'nut' and words my word censor won't let me even type on here...), 'jet ski' 'tuna boat' (yeah, I'm at the head of the class for that one... oh boy I'm going to have to take my own advice better aren't I?) 'selfish *DELETED*' 'speeder' 'slowpoke' etc. etc. etc. into every possibly way someone can categorize and de-person - (yup, I think I just made up another word) another human being. Instead of looking at the OTHER person as 'Dan' or 'Mike' or 'Sue' or 'Vince'... why do we do that...?? What would the world be like if we could always look at others how we look at ourselves (the good parts)?

In the end, I think we'd all be way better off if everyone cleans up their own act first, and then sometimes when it is real obvious we help a few others see their own act needs some additional tidying up - by example all of the time, and by 'hey, what you just did wasn't very thoughtful to others' sometimes. And if we all practice holding ourselves to the same set of rules we hold others, realizing that there will always be some differences of opinion, and expectations (but holding ourselves to the SAME rules we hold others makes a big difference...) it seems like the world would be a much better place to live in. And to fish in. I know I'm pretty tired of being 'bass boat guy' not Dan to some people.

[djkimmel]

So... if you are the person blowing the no wakes... CUT IT OUT!! Think of someone else besides yourself for a change. You're momma didn't raise you that way...

If you are the person yelling from shore 'bass season's closed' to me in the spring when I'm out crappie fishing just trying to enjoy a beautiful Michigan spring day! CUT IT OUT!! I only own a 'bass' boat. I don't own a 'crappie' boat. Look at what I'm using first. Ask me what I'm doing. I like to fish for all kinds of fish. Isn't that what is Great about living in Michigan in the first place?!?

Don't paint everyone with one brush how about. And don't help other people continue to do that too often (more than once ).

[Skulley]

So... if you are the person blowing the no wakes... CUT IT OUT!! Think of someone else besides yourself for a change. You're momma didn't raise you that way...

If you are the person yelling from shore 'bass season's closed' to me in the spring when I'm out crappie fishing just trying to enjoy a beautiful Michigan spring day! CUT IT OUT!! I only own a 'bass' boat. I don't own a 'crappie' boat. Look at what I'm using first. Ask me what I'm doing. I like to fish for all kinds of fish. Isn't that what is Great about living in Michigan in the first place?!?

Don't paint everyone with one brush how about. And don't help other people continue to do that too often (more than once ).

I couldn't agree with you more dk however we as bass guys always will be painted with a broad brush as long as we are in bass boats..................  "It's all the guys who own bass boats."  We are all lumped into one category and unfortunately a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.  All the bass boat owners are going to have to come full circle and be courteous or we will never overcome the reputation given to us by the few bad apples.  It's just the way it is..................unfortunately.


BD                              

[djkimmel]

Yes it will be helpful to figure out a way to get everyone in bass boats to remember this, and to use it to be courteous, an amBASSador on and off the water all the time.

It will probably also take figuring out how to get other people to stop seeing only bass boats when they're looking for someone to blame for things.

Some people 'do' bad. Some people 'see' bad. Both are part of the problem in just about any aspect of life.

I've had people yell at me for breaking wake when I had my bass boat motor only in gear (I have a hot foot so it I don't depress it I'm going as slow as it goes) including when other 'kinds' of boats were passing me in the channel.

I've had the sheriff station loud speaker at Harley blast out that I had to slow down while some 'captain' in his giant tun... () pleasure boat is looking down laughing from his flying bridge as he's about to run me over from behind. I remember my first weekend as a bass boat owner when a guy came out of his house in a canal on Saginaw Bay to yell at me and question my literacy for 'breaking' the no wake though I was doing 600 rpms, and he had offered me a pop and told me where to catch the bass in his canal the weekend before when I was fishing there in my 14 foot aluminum boat. Pretty sure he was seeing the boat, not the person on the second weekend.

It's important we set good examples all the time. It's important we work on our own house. And sometimes we have to call people on claims they make that come from bias and prejudice not reality. Because we're boaters and anglers too equal to anyone else on the water.

[Got Fish??]

I myself have not had much of a problem with other bassboats. I under stand how some people get up set, when they walk  out to the dock. Then find a big rip  in  the  canvas or hole in the seats of there boat. From a hook. One hundred yards is more than enough space. Pleasure boaters, tubing, skiers . Now some of these knuckle heads should not be aloud to opporate boats. They should be locked  in to a  portable toilet and set on fire.

[djkimmel]

Well... since we can't do much directly about bias and prejudice, but we can definitely do something about our own behavior... and maybe a little (or more than a little?) about other bass boaters' behavior - what suggestions do all of you have to be more proactive in cleaning up our own house?

One idea I have that might not be real popular - ask Michigan tournament directors to add a rule specifically stating a 55mph speed limit on inland waters - unless posted lower - since that is the inland boating speed limit for all Michigan waters? Rules already state we should all be following all state laws but this one is not being enforced and some boaters are not going by it. There are inland lakes where speed is a safety issue.