Well if I'm trolling 100ft baybe I try to stay more like 100yds away. But if some guy is fishing between 2 points and their is less then that much room I will try to stay as much out of his casting area as I can.

LeMay OUT

well put Will..

When i fish with Ron, he seems to be a magnate for people who likes to do fly bys or cruise within feet of us while casting , or drive 15 feet infront of us and drive through the weed bed we were working. By all the @#$%^&*$%^&* i can hear from the back of my boat ….yes it definetly plays a role in ruining Ron's pleasant day of fishing. but I agree, just a fish, life goes on, some people are A-holes and there is no point to argue….they always will be….just move on. next time they are flying through in front of me on a weed bed, they may smack a stump, and as they ask for help, i will gladly hole shot away from them vrrrooooooooom..haha….

I have been pretty close to several other boats in tight places. We got pretty close to Will on the detroit river a couple weeks ago. But we were just trolling by to say hello. also there wasnt 100 feet between any of the 40 boats packed in the area. I will leap frog around guys fishing a shore line especially if I was there first. I have guys come in and cut off my drift all the time. Jon Bondy is famous for that. we were trolling on the detroit river trying to make a run at the rock edge and Bondy passed us in a no wake zone and pulled up in front of us and started casting to the rocks. We trolled within 10 feet of his boat. He nodded to Bob as we went by. If Im trolling a breakline in 10 feet and I come up on a guy casting the same shore line I will pull out a long cast away from his boat and resume a long cast away on the other side. Now if I pulled out went around him and pulled up and started casting that would be a little crummy you think? If I troll past some guy Im not even fishing the same water as a guy tossing lures up to shore. Common sense should be the rule. I dont know very many guys who dont give others some room to fish. Most every one I know chases the same 5 fish around and around Michigan. I know where a certain 53 lives that a couple of club members have caught. I want to catch her to. Bryan knows where a big fish I have had up a couple of times this year lives. He might catch her before I do. That would be cool. I guess Im saying it may have been rude but maybe just the excitment of the chase, Mike and Michelle

"Kingfisher" said:
I have been pretty close to several other boats in tight places. We got pretty close to Will on the detroit river a couple weeks ago. But we were just trolling by to say hello. also there wasnt 100 feet between any of the 40 boats packed in the area. I will leap frog around guys fishing a shore line especially if I was there first. I have guys come in and cut off my drift all the time. Jon Bondy is famous for that.

Jon and I will have words eventually… Did you happen to notice how close he came to us after you guys passed? There couldn't have been ten inches between our boats. If he hadn't been with clients I would have stepped right on his boat and had a discussion. That he did it with clients on board is even more amazing. There's no room for a bass fishing mentality in muskie fishing.

Then there was Bushwhacker. I forgot I need to call him and let him know how much I appreciate him trolling in fromt of me across the area I was casting with his board less than 25 feet from my boat. I can understand when non-fishemen types do stuff like that, they just don't know any better. They think fishing = worm and bobber. But a charter captain or a guide, especially with clients on board just amazes me.

Two charters I would never use or advise anyone to use on St Clair – Jon Bondy and Bushwhacker charters.

I come over to say HI and about get 14 inches of Ol'Rubber lips upside my mellon.Thats Hardcore Muskie fishing.

As we were approaching the rocks we were looking for a lane to troll thru when Bondy passed us and moved to the inside cutting us off. Bob said watch what he does. He will move right in on Will and take a spot blocking anyone else from hitting the point. I watched as Bondy did exactly what Bob said he would do. He effectivly kept us off the structure and hogged that spot all day. We eventully went out into the lake where there was more room. I was getting nervous on Bobs first pass as we came about 10 feet from Bondys boat. He turned and looked at Bob and nodded. Bob would not back down from being cut off. It was an uncomfortable spot to be in though as there were too many boats in that little spot. When I was a guide I used to give the Duck and geese hunters a lot of room trolling a good shotgun distance away . Ill bet Bondy would cast into the decoys and then complain when the bird shot is falling around him. I dont much like the guy after that encounter. Mike and Michelle

Im of the mind that if you are on an open water you should not get within about 300 feet of someone and you should never get in front of someone drifting. If someone cut within ten feet of me they had better have a stout boat cause there is gonna be some contact. Im slow to go and I will let one infraction slide but if it happens twice someone is gonna pay. I have been known to toss anchor on prime real estate and eat lunch just to be a d**k to someone who deserves it. If that doesnt do it its time for some "just below plane" trolling. In extreme conditions they may get introduced to mister shark rod casting something real heavy over their line and removing it from their possesion. If its somebody you know and your GOOD friends you should still give them a hundred feet even if they wave you into the spot. If its Will then screw him hes caught too many fish already 😈 😈 😈
Kevin

When we fished Webster a few years ago I was amazed at the different ettiquette on that lake. Guys were stacking up at the yellow banks and waiting for their shot— no thanks!! But there were some real aholes ther too- unfortunate.
KK

Will, you hit it on the head. I see both extremes every year. On a particular river on the opener its all out combat fishing extraordinaire. Guys wait in line to fish particular runs and we all have to shorten up casts in order to be civil. I not only deal with it, I use it to my advantage when I can by fishing differently and in less likely holding areas and it pays off…….sometimes. I've actually been toe to toe with guys at the launch who just don't get it. Those cheese heads hit hard! At the other end of the spectrum….. I was fishing Munuscong (got skunked and blown off the water by a 45 kt gale) last weekend. We were the only boat on the bay and here comes this guy right at us. He drops down within a cast length of us, checks his hand held GPS and starts pitchin' baits. At the risk of giving the wrong impression of my personality to you guys all I'll say is this……….the guy left. Its all about where you're fishing. I know they're just friggin' fish but there is a line that can be crossed and its crossed all to often.