Common courtesy

By Jim C. Arness

 ** If you’re anything like me, your time on the water is precious and all too short. Between work, chores, obligations, family and a myriad of other things, we never seem to get out on the water as often as we’d like. And also like me, the stress of some of these things can make that time on the water that much more needed and important. Yes there is nothing like a good day of fishing to help one relax and enjoy themselves.

Or is there? All too often lately I’m hearing of –and experiencing- some downright rude and inconsiderate situations out there. Now we all have had the bad experience with the occasional “non-fishermen.” Sunbathers, beach-goers, jet-skiers, the list goes on. Why just last week I was fishing a small pass of water at Ft. Desoto’s North beach. I had a guy walk down the beach towards me. It was obvious that he saw me and what I was doing, I was the only thing taller than a seagull standing on that beach for a thousand yards, not to mention that none of the seagulls remembered to bring their fishing poles. So after the 5 minute or so walk that it takes this guy to get to the opposite shore, a distance so short that I could cast my lure onto his foot, he stops for a moment and just looks over at me. I could tell he wanted to cross, so being helpful I told him that the water between us was fast moving and over his head, and if he walked down the beach about 100 feet he would find his crossing much easier. In response he gives me a look as if to say “Um.. I …uhh” and proceeds to cross right where I was fishing. Three steps in he’s over his head, so he starts to swim. Two strokes into that he notices the current pauses momentarily dumbfounded then continues to cross. I have heard quieter jet-skis than this man. The real gem to this little tidbit is that once on the other side –he emerged from the water five feet from me- he looks at me and asks,

“Any luck?”

“Not since you swam right through my spot.”

“ Oh …um..”

Little events like this are mildly annoying and often quickly dismissed, because well being non-fishermen, they don’t know any better. In five minutes they are forgotten and make for good jokes with the fishing buddies.

Now granted, this was a mild case, and we all have had far worse experiences with non-fishermen, from jet-skiers, and the like. As we may dislike it it’s a part of fishing.

But it would seem we fishermen can be just as rude and inconsiderate, even downright malicious when it comes to our fellow fishermen. What gives? We have all had dreams of getting even with those jet-skiers that come screaming through our area. (I hope it was just dreams and not dreams-come-true). Just remember the best thing to do is to just let it go and bite your lip. Not only is it illegal to take the law in your own hands, but you will be the one to get caught, not them. Not to mention lowering yourself to their standards and -this is a big one- just giving them the excuse to do it again. Fueling the fire.

So, given all this, the most disturbing trend I’ve seen lately is rudeness towards other fishermen. Yes fishermen being rude to other fishermen. I have been fishing in a spot and had other fishermen literally wade right through my spot within arm’s reach. Castnetting near fishermen, boating through a spot you name it. And countless other examples –and believe me they are countless- I will tell you the cause. It’s known as the “honey hole.” We all have them. Our absolute favorite spot to go fishing. The spot where we get fish every time. The thing is, and this is big, these spots aren’t ours. We don’t own them. We just fish there occasionally. Fishermen, myself included, are a bunch of freaky, superstitious, paranoid, people that have a bunch of weird unspoken “rules.” Gold spoons only on cloudy overcasts days with 70% relative humidity that end in “ay.” Or greenbacks hooked through the lips 1/64th of an inch above the nostril with the barb protruding enough to clear the greenback’s skin, but not so much to be readily apparent by a snook approaching the greenback from behind at thirty miles an hour. We all have these rules, why? It’s all about the fish. We all want to catch them so bad that we will try anything, do anything to give us the slightest advantage. It’s borderline obsession, but we love it. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, to a point. The trouble is, an obsession doesn’t know when to quit. It is like a fire consuming as it grows. Kept in check, it is a passion that motivates us and drives us to doing and making some incredible, fun things. But, let it get out of hand, and it can and will consume everything, leaving behind a charred waste. (Yes, I have had psychology classes. So there is truth to these words.)

This obsession permeates into everything every aspect of our fishing. Mix this with a bit of frustration and usually something wonderful will happen. This is how lures and tackle get developed.

And this brings us back to our “honey hole.” It is a trait of fishermen that once you find a “honey hole” that this information is top secret, more classified than Area 51. This is your spot and no one else can know about it, because if they do, they will catch all of your fish. This little thought is at the heart of many arguments I have seen, witnessed and heard about, many on this website’s forum. Now this next bit of information might come as a bit of a shock to you but, everyone knows about everyone’s “honey hole.” It is unavoidable. Mathematical fact. There are only a certain amount of spots around here that produce fish, and thousands of fishermen out there fishing. Odds are, your spot is also the spot for about 50 others. I have spots that I purposely only fish on weekdays, because they are so crowded on the weekends. Look at it like this, say the average “Joe” fishes an average of eight hours a week. That means “Joe” is not on his spot roughly 160 hours a week. Do you honestly think that “Joe’s spot” sits vacant, without one other fishermen fishing there at all while “Joe’s” gone? Now isn’t it remotely conceivable that “Joe” and this other fisherman might just decide to fishing in the same spot at the same time? Of course it is.

So when it comes time to go fishing many of us are so glad to be away from the rat race and looking forward to good time on the water, catching fish in our spot, time to relax, getting a re-match against that snook that broke us off the last time, or show our son family member neighbor or whoever a good time fishing that we get consumed by that fire. It is this mixture that provokes these flare-ups. Somebody else is in “the spot”. It’s a violation. They have invaded, raped and plundered the spot. Not to mention ruined the day because now we can’t fish. Well you know what? They were there FIRST. Plain and simple. End of story. First come first serve. Early bird gets the worm. Yes it stinks but, deal with it. I know how precious my time –and yours- is on the water. Yes, I said “and yours.” Which is why when I’m out fishing I always stay at least 2 casts away from any other fisherman, period. And this is a minimum. And I expect the same from the next guy. Yes I have had armies of people in “my spot”. But, they were there first. If your fishing skills are so poor that the only way for you to catch fish is by going to one spot, I have a suggestion, learn something. Move to a new location, try a new spot.

Now if someone is fishing your spot at Ft. DeSoto, your don’t need to move all the way down to Honeymoon island, but give the guy some room. Explore a little. Who knows what you’ll find. Some of my best spots to go I found because somebody was already in the spot that I planned to go to that day. This will only serve to make you a better fisherman, and a better person. Sure you might not catch anything. That is why it’s called fishing and not catching. But we all need to stop in situations like this and remember why we go fishing. To have fun. Relax and enjoy ourselves. Hey life has enough stress and strife already, do we really need to bring this into our past time? So the next time you find yourself in this situation, turn the other cheek and the next bend. You can always go back to your spot the next time. Besides, just because he’s fishing in your spot doesn’t mean he’s catching in your spot. And if he is, well there are plenty of fish in the sea.