# How close is to close?



## Swayze The Ghost (Sep 15, 2011)

Lets say youre your fishing at a spillway. You get to the spillway early and you get the prime real estate. After a little bit of time, more people show up to the spillway with high hopes of having one of the best fishing trips they have ever had. Slowly but surely, people will work their way into your prime real estate. Now, from a common courtesy stand point, how close is to close before it starts to frustrate you?


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## puregreen (May 23, 2009)

Its usually 5 ft here, what pisses me off is when they snag up and the moron in the waders walks out in front of everyone and un snags it and screws the hole up


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

if theyre casting actually interferes with my casting..then i think its kinda rude..BUT..its a public place l and i knew that when i got there.. i just move on...hes probly a scmuck with no confidence except to be a vulture when he sees someone catch a fish..i'll just go find the fish elsewhere..not worth the confrontation..the other side to this story is situations like the maumee..guys get close enough that they should probably introduce themselves first and buy you dinner! But armslength distance is usually acceptable in that situation


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## bountyhunter (Apr 28, 2004)

shoulder to shoulder on some days theres no curtisey on the rivers /spillways BUT green is right theres always one idiot out there.


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## Chubz (Apr 8, 2009)

I grew up to be very respectful so with that said if someone gets within casting distance of my boat im not the nicest guy ul meet. Rivers are alittle different. I feel 15ft above and below u should b mandatory. No one should b casting or drifting in front of u. The maumee well u get what u get there. U know going that its a jungle.


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## Dovans (Nov 15, 2011)

I usually ask the person to the left and right for permission if its close. Do not think anyone has ever said go away.

Once when I was Deer Creek spillway, I crossed another fishermans line without knowing it. He didnt know it either. We both thought we had a huge saugeye on. I thought it was funny, good thing he did too.


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## ironman172 (Apr 12, 2009)

fish elbow to elbow on the gulf coast piers all the time....so no big deal for me....with that being said, I like fishing in a boat up here....no problems and if it does become one, I just move on


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## britton1989 (Feb 14, 2010)

I feel wants you get within 5 or so feet and you have an opportunity to fish around you... It becomes a little rude... But end the end its public and they payed for their license just like i did so.... I just move on 

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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

Depends on where I am. I fished a dam at the chagrin for steelhead last year and some of those jerks didn't want me within 50 feet of them. A young guy I met up there said nose-to-nose confrontations aren't uncommon. If there are only a handful of guys around, I don't think there's any reason to fish close. Arrive earlier if u want the prime spot.

posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

Wow. In a kayak the criteria is so different. If I can even see you, it's because we came together. Otherwise I'm going keep floating on. And I don't fish when I'm floating by bank fishermen. I figure they only have so much water, and I've got miles in front of me.
I do not miss the spillways a bit.


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

Yeah, if I'm floating past a bank guy, I stop casting well outside his casting range and do a big horseshoe around him. With waders, I just try to float through behind their casting direction. On the other side of the coin, though, I've had dillhole bankers cast their half oz. of lead all the way across the river just to make a point as they see me approach. That's the exception though as most bankers and waders just exchange a few pleasantries and lies with me as I float by.


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## EnonEye (Apr 13, 2011)

It's just a little thing called common courtesy which is sometimes in very short supply, especially when you get into a situation where the fish are packed into a small area ie- Maumee River, spring steelhead or fall salmon near a river outlet, tailwater fishing, crappie spawn time - in those situations all bets are off. The older I get the less I frequent those kind of situations as it sometimes becomes whos the biggest and baddest.
Case in point a couple of decades ago I'm at the St Joeseph river fishing salmon at night. I'm in my spot for a couple of hours. Some dude comes down and stands behind me about 2AM and tells me I'm in his spot and if I don't move he's going to go get his brother and throw me in the river. No one else around. I called his bluff and told him to get away from me while wondering how many people will be at my funeral. He walked away. Not sure I'd do that nowdays, probably just move a few feet for the bully. More likely just not frequent that fishing opportunity nowadays. Like I said common courtesy... sometimes in very short supply and sometimes the hotter the fishing gets the stupider the people are who come out for it.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

I think 5 ft is about as close as I would want to be to someone- even if I was fishing with them. Gives some room for casting and what not. I always ask people if I am too close to them. Sometimes it is just so crowded that you have to be that close. The biggest thing that makes me mad is when someone casts up above you because you are catching fish. It makes it so you have to wait for them to bring their line in or you will tangle each others line. There are plenty of fish to go around and that is just rude.


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## Mr. A (Apr 23, 2012)

fishdealer04 said:


> I think 5 ft is about as close as I would want to be to someone- even if I was fishing with them. Gives some room for casting and what not. I always ask people if I am too close to them. Sometimes it is just so crowded that you have to be that close. The biggest thing that makes me mad is when someone casts up above you because you are catching fish. It makes it so you have to wait for them to bring their line in or you will tangle each others line. There are plenty of fish to go around and that is just rude.


I have to agree with a minimum of 5 feet, that's not too much to ask and personally I need at least that to ensure I don't mess with anyone else line.

I was fishing at a trib to the Thames in CT once with some buddies. We were with an old Greek fellow that knew the place. He would get hot when people would cast above us! The first time it happened he told the guy not to do it again, the second and third time he walked out a few more feet and cut the guys line with a cigar he was smoking. There wasn't a fourth time.

Nowadays I wonder what type of fight that would have caused? Sure was funny to see ol' Charlie get so pissed though.



Mr. A

(2013)
SMB: 0 LMB: 0 
Catfish: 0 Bluegill: 0 
Other: 0


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

One reason I've never been to the walleye run at maumee , I don't like to crowd others and I don't like to be crowded. I would rather walk a mile to get less populated area and catch fewer fish then fish in a crowd. To me it's not only catching fish but to enjoy some peaceful time out and maybe just some alone time.


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

I say 15 feet. Enough space to cast in a 10-15 degree fan of casts. Any closer than that is somebody being a jerk. If they want my spot, they should have gotten there before I did and I'd offer them at least that distance - probably more.
[/COLOR] 
Which, is probably why I switched to mainly fly fishing. Not all, but from what I have observed, the manners on the streams are much better.


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## sady dog (Feb 10, 2008)

Take a fly rod...they will learn when it is to close... Or I just cast over there line then reel it in and cut theirs and keep the lure or jig...they learn...Or fish with a 7 foot spinning rod and side arm cast.....

Lots of ways to assure your distance while shore fishing....


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

it just depends alot on where im fishing. if its a place where its not crowded then i like 10 to 15 ft. if its the maumee river just please dont hit my arm while im casting,LOL.
sherman


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## Snyd (May 5, 2004)

I used to fish the maumee a lot during the walleye run and finally I just got tired of people standing on my toes while casting. With that said I haven't been back up to the maumee in two years.


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## jshbuckeye (Feb 27, 2005)

If they infringe on my so called area I will get in there tackle or minnows, I figure at that point we have become fishing buddies and when they leave I try to follow them to keep the friendship going.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm astonished at all of the 5-15 feet responses.
Wow. Just wow. I think I'd rather just golf or something...


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> I'm astonished at all of the 5-15 feet responses.
> Wow. Just wow. I think I'd rather just golf or something...


Is that too close or not close enough? Golfing??!!!? That's just sad.

If we are bank fishing and you come in on my right side, you better stay an arm and pole's length away or it's your own fault that I keep smacking you with my pole every time I cast.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

I'm saying that if I was fishing, and I had guys on each side of me 5-15 feet away, I'd just go do something else. That sounds horrible.
That's just not how I want to spend my time. One of the main reasons, for me, to fish is to get away from cities, crowds, people (at least ones I don't CHOSE to be with), etc... So spending my fishing time getting all chest puffed about guys right next to me, crossing lines, competing for fish...ummmm, no thank you very much.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

I see. I'm with you 110%! That's why I don't do the Maumee or steelhead fishing in the normal, crowded places. 
I go fishing to decompress and get away from humans.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

Lewzer said:


> I go fishing to decompress and get away from humans.


Exactly. That's why all of the "5-15 feet" responses blew my mind.
If it was wall to wall guys every 5 feet, I'd go home and mow my yard. Heck, I'd mow the whole street.


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## fishdealer04 (Aug 27, 2006)

Bubbagon said:


> Exactly. That's why all of the "5-15 feet" responses blew my mind.
> If it was wall to wall guys every 5 feet, I'd go home and mow my yard. Heck, I'd mow the whole street.


I agree that it is too close but sometimes that is the way it is. Do I like it no but if I just drove an hour and a half to fish somewhere and it was crowded where I had to be 5-15 ft from someone I am still going to fish. Now if I was fishing the pond down the street and it was like that then yea I would go somewhere else. I spend 90% of my time fishing from my boat though so I dont have to worry about being that close to people.

And I would probably just mow my yard and then drink a couple beers...no point in mowing the whole street got to enjoy yourself a little haha


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## streamstalker (Jul 8, 2005)

Definitely too close:


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## sbreech (Jun 6, 2010)

streamstalker said:


> Definitely too close:
> Thousands of fishermen empty lake in minutes - Human Planet: Deserts, preview - BBC One - YouTube


I think that is Antrim when they "stock it with trout."


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## BigDub007 (Apr 1, 2010)

There was a few jimmy Houston's in the mix. That is awsome


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

chad24 said:


> Im gonna say about 20 yds away from me. Now years ago, while fishing at a small spillway, I had a guy wade out close to me because while he was on the bank watching me catch crappie left and right and got as close as 3 ft just to stay out of the faster water to stand. He being to my right.....his line would go out in front of me and I would have to reel in fast to get away from his line. At times he would get snagged and walk out in front ( out in the middle of the honey hole) to try and get his snag.Well the fish would stop and slooowly start hitting again . Now we had words and I told him he was not being a "true" fisherman if he had to come up on someone just to catch a fish. He told me F-you. I said ok....next time you pull a stupid I am cutting your line. Well he did. So I cut his line. He threatend me and told me he was going to kick my a$$ when I got to the bank and he walked off back to the bank and waited. Well it was close to time to stop and dumb a$$ was waiting on me on the bank. As I got to the bank I knew this was going to go bad and I worned him I was a self defense instructor ( work inside a prison) and I was not liable for what I do to defend myself. Well, he didnt listen. He swong at me and I stomped his gutts in  . Once he stopped trying to hit me due to the lumps on his face, I stopped. I got my stuff and walked away leaving him sitting on a rock with his t-shirt up to his bloody nose and mouth. Witnesses watched and stated they witnessed him trying to do harm to me as I called the police. Funny to say....he got in his truck and left. Who knows what happend to him but I am sure he had no idea he was going to catch a good ol a$$ whipping instead of crappie . Thats why I have my CCW and will be armed from here on out.


This is exactly why I don't fish in crowds. I may be called out on this but I would not have reacted the way you did. I would have waded off somewhere else when he first approached and fished somewhere else . No one will ever convince me that a fish is worth fighting over even if you think you are in the right. It becomes something other then someone moving in on a fishing spot then. It becomes personal and some people take that to serious and yes then some poor ignorant guy gets his brains beat out, over a cut fishing line. That had to make for real good fishing memories that day. I know it's been brought up before but an altercation like that could have ended so different had he had a gun , and a lot of fisherman are carrying them these days. It's just sad that to think of a peaceful day ending up like it did for both of you, no matter who started it.


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## Bubbagon (Mar 8, 2010)

So I was wading real close to this guy once....next thing I know, he's stomping my guts in.... LOL!!


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

there is just no fish or fishing hole worth giving or taking a life. in this day and age we dont usely fish to feed our family or starve to death. it takes much more of a man to just walk away. and you just never know when your going to run into a nut with a gun. 

now back when i was alittle younger and thought i was superman i,ve did some stupid things. i was fishing for salmon on manestee lake. i hooked a nice 20 lb fish. after fighting it for a few minutes i noticed this other boat had my fish hooked. i have no way of knowing for sure who hooked the fish 1st. but he started trying to pull the fish in and said thats my fish. well i guess my tackle was alittle heavier than his. i was able to bring the fish in. the guys in that boat was going to whomp our a## so we just said come on and do it. well i guess while fighting the fish and me it had pulled there anchor loose. they were drifting right towards our boat. so we start getting ready. one guy gets the paddle and the other guy gets a big gaff i had in my boat, and i just turn my big stiff rod around so i could hit them with the reel. we was ready to maby kill these guys. well lucky for everybody by the time they got within reach they changed there tunes. they said we could just keep that darn fish. they already had 2 limits in there van. its really a shame anyone would act like this over a fish. but for them with 15 fish in there van and willing to make such a stink over one fish.

now that i have gotten alittle older and got just alittle wisdom i would never do something like that again. what if just one of them had been packing. he could have shot us and probably got away with it. who knows which nut is carring a gun now days. and we ended up getting our limit of fish that night. but it could have been a tragedy over one fish and not ended up with anything. if i would have just gave him the fish we could have been back to fishing and still got our limits. after that night any time i got tangled with someone elce i just let them have the fish.
sherman


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

sherman51 said:


> there is just no fish or fishing hole worth giving or taking a life. in this day and age we dont usely fish to feed our family or starve to death. it takes much more of a man to just walk away. and you just never know when your going to run into a nut with a gun.
> 
> now back when i was alittle younger and thought i was superman i,ve did some stupid things. i was fishing for salmon on manestee lake. i hooked a nice 20 lb fish. after fighting it for a few minutes i noticed this other boat had my fish hooked. i have no way of knowing for sure who hooked the fish 1st. but he started trying to pull the fish in and said thats my fish. well i guess my tackle was alittle heavier than his. i was able to bring the fish in. the guys in that boat was going to whomp our a## so we just said come on and do it. well i guess while fighting the fish and me it had pulled there anchor loose. they were drifting right towards our boat. so we start getting ready. one guy gets the paddle and the other guy gets a big gaff i had in my boat, and i just turn my big stiff rod around so i could hit them with the reel. we was ready to maby kill these guys. well lucky for everybody by the time they got within reach they changed there tunes. they said we could just keep that darn fish. they already had 2 limits in there van. its really a shame anyone would act like this over a fish. but for them with 15 fish in there van and willing to make such a stink over one fish.
> 
> ...




Exactly, that is what I was getting at, I had been the same way when I was young, things change and you get more wisdom with age, most of the time.


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

I'm not judgeing you, I would have walked away before it came to you cutting his line. From that point on it seems like what would happen was going to happen. My point is that when someone feels they are right, then they have the right to let the situation go further then it has to. I don't think it matters about right or wrong . I probably would have done the same thing you did when I was a young man and felt like I needed to defend my area to fish since I was there 1st. But as I got much older I have learned that there are plenty of places to fish and as someone put it there is always going to be a jackwagon out there.
But now like it has been mentioned , if he had had a gun you may not be here discussing this issue now explaining on how good you are at self defense.


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## Deazl666 (Mar 30, 2012)

glasseyes said:


> This is exactly why I don't fish in crowds. I may be called out on this but I would not have reacted the way you did. I would have waded off somewhere else when he first approached and fished somewhere else . No one will ever convince me that a fish is worth fighting over even if you think you are in the right. It becomes something other then someone moving in on a fishing spot then. It becomes personal and some people take that to serious and yes then some poor ignorant guy gets his brains beat out, over a cut fishing line. That had to make for real good fishing memories that day. I know it's been brought up before but an altercation like that could have ended so different had he had a gun , and a lot of fisherman are carrying them these days. It's just sad that to think of a peaceful day ending up like it did for both of you, no matter who started it.


I would never cut someone's line, for fear of what might come next. I don't care how egregious the encroachment; the stakes in fishing simply aren't high enough to end up in a hospital, jail, prison, or civil court. There might be a time in life when a throwdown is inevitable, but fishing probably ain't it. I carry pepper-spray when I fish (and when I run, hike, etc.) as I would prefer a non-lethal solution to any sort of physical encounter; that way, the jerk's family doesn't sue the hell out of me for having shot him in "self-defense." Also, the guy who gets his brains beat out can still sue, even if criminal charges aren't filed because the officer's agreed it was in self-defense. Case-in-point: A good friend of mine (who's proficient in Tae Kwon Do and Kenmpo) was hit over the head by a beer bottle at a bar in Newark, and a fight ensued. He responded with a few punches to the face and a downward kick to the side of guys leg, which destroyed the knee. Guess who wasn't charged by the cops (after several "meetings" at Newark P.D.) but got sued and had to pay medical expenses?


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## chad24 (Aug 1, 2011)

I deleted my messages. Sorry if it offended anyone. I defended myself and hope that I never have to do what I did again. I do not take pride in placing hurt or pain on anyone and I do walk away when I can from trouble. I feel by deleting my messages it will be the best thing to do. I am a proud member of OGF and I do not want anyone to think or feel that I am a bad person or am I a person that is bragging . I respect everyones opinions. Thank you.


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## chad24 (Aug 1, 2011)

Thanks Teethyfish......I agree. I try to "turn the other cheeck" but the guy was not about to listen...and yes I WAS WRONG for cutting his line. BUT remember folks...with what I do for a living.....my mind frame is different than yours. These prisoners get released all the time. And I have to keep in mind my safety when I am out on the streets or where ever. I have and will continue to run into released inmates that may want to "settle" the score and I do get into a lot of incidents inside the prison walls that I have to defend myself.Well the same goes on the streets. Tax payers of Ohio.....I work for you but I also carry what I see and what I go through on my sleeve and I hope you all understand.


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## glasseyes (Jan 28, 2012)

I'll jump in one more time then I'm done. This subject matter comes up on this forum quite often and never ends with people agreeing but its ok to disagree if it's civil. Violence over fishing gains no one anything. We can all have a laugh and say the guy got what was coming to him just because of the way he acted and left you no choice. 
Well I disagree, you had a choice, you weren't being bullied , you knew you could defend yourself and you even told him that. He took a swing at you and you finished it, end of story. Like someone said it could have ended just the opposite also, I know it didn't and maybe he learned a lesson I doubt it. The point is it served no purpose to let the situation go as far as it did. Just to prtect a fishing hole, ya right I'm sure the judge would believ that when the guy pulled a 9mm and filled you full of holes. Heh, I had a gun pulled on me once on a creek bank and with no one around and you aren't armed , I was glad I was able to talk some sense into the guy. I had done nothing but walk down a trail along a creek and started fishing, I was young , next thing I know here comes and older man with what looked like a 38 revolver pointed directly at me. He was upset that I had stopped to fish in his favorite spot. Go figure. Yes it scared the crap out of me and by the time I left and contacted authorities of course he was gone without a trace. I went back many times to the area armed and was actually looking for this man, I'm glad I never seen him again. At that young age I really didn't care , I just wanted to get even. Now I've said my peace and still to this day when I see or here of someone getting into a spat over a fishing spot I can't help but remember what almost happened years ago. NOBODY WINS. I don't care how it ended even in this case. It takes more of a man to walk , period.


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## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

All of this is quite similar to Duck Hunting on public land.I had been Duck Hunting for 2 seasons at Killbuck Marsh. I arrived well before anyone else(the Plan),and set out my decoys.At dawn a few others showed up and kept their distance.I had on different occasions taken smaller Ducks,but not a Mallard.Well on this day about an hour after sun rise This crew of two old Nasty looking guys and a younger guy pulls up about 50 feet away and setup, knowing exactly how close they are to me.In comes a flight of Mallards I am the only that shoots, A fat Drake drops about half way between us,I go to retrieve my bird. At this point I am totally pumped about my first Mallard ever, I get there and then I see these three a##holes sneering and three guns pointed right at me!! One of the older guy's says thanks for picking up MY bird!!Man My heart was in my throat and I really believed they would shoot me! I left and went to the Wildlife Headquarters, They said there had been similar reports and told me by the time they get down there these Jokers would be long gone. [email protected]


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