dock fishing etiquette question

[Dave M]

Recently at angle lake the dock became very crowded. We were pushed down to the end of the El portion of the doc. The guy that ended up next to us wanted to cast straight out beyond where the folks on the longer portion of the dock were fishing. he actually yelled over for someone to pull their bobber in so he didnt cast over it. In my mind, if that person was there before you, shouldnt you be the one to find a place to cast that doesn't disrupt someone else? Nobody got heated or upset over this, it just struck me as rude. As much as we were pushed to the corner as more people showed up I felt real bad for the 2 guys that were the first ones there that soon had 15 people around them all within the last 10 feet of the dock. I have heard of combat fishing on the rivers, but this was crazy. At 1 point there were at least 3 lines tangled.

[jonb]

My advise on the matter: Try fishing green lake instead , way more shore to fish. And thus no need for combat dock fishing ettiquitte.
But if some how it was your only option and you had to deal with that. The guy casting should work around the guys that are plunking/bobber fishing. The bait set ups should stay static right where they are.
I would advise avoiding this situation altogether, by choosing a back up plan. Hit angle if its too crowded go with plan b. There's way too many incredibly awesome places to fish to subject yourself to combat dock fishing for stockers at angle lake. Maybe try a secluded sub-Alpine lake . I've found excellent fishing and complete solitude every time I've been out in the last month.
Good luck.

[Bodofish]

Some people, what are ya gonna do. People who were born and raised here have a different expectation of personal space than people from other parts of the world. Your personal space just doesn't work anymore. Welcome to the world, it's not very polite place.

[Dave M]

Jon B, thanks. We only tried angle for something different and still close to home, usually go to Fenwick where it is peaceful and relaxing. I plan on hitting some of the hike in lakes next spring and summer, need to get into better shape so the knees will hold up. I have read the reports of yours and is it WHORDE? Sounds like fun. Except for the leaking rafts.

Bodofish, no it is not a very polite place, not too many have common courtesy anymore, wheter they were born and raised here or elsewhere. But that is why we have choices, mine is to not go back to angle unless in a boat.

Semper Fi!

[Bodofish]

Jon B, thanks. We only tried angle for something different and still close to home, usually go to Fenwick where it is peaceful and relaxing. I plan on hitting some of the hike in lakes next spring and summer, need to get into better shape so the knees will hold up. I have read the reports of yours and is it WHORDE? Sounds like fun. Except for the leaking rafts.

Bodofish, no it is not a very polite place, not too many have common courtesy anymore, wheter they were born and raised here or elsewhere. But that is why we have choices, mine is to not go back to angle unless in a boat.

Semper Fi!

That's a good plan. It used to have a little bit of straight pier sticking out into the lake and it was only crowded on opening day. Sounds like it's a real hot spot with the new docks. Sorry about that. Come around spring and summer the crowding and rude people stories will be on the rise as we're heading into a Pink year. Good Luck and Welcome! I see your kinda new here. =)

[Ball_Gawd]

I've run into that once (related anyway) at Island Lake in Kitsap County. Island Lake is on the outskirts of Silverdale and has a large migrant population with the Navy base. The dock is on the small side and one couple had 30% of it covered with chairs, coolers and other "stuff". I was able to fish around them, but they were very rude when asked to share the real estate. I don't even go there anymore (another reason I bought a cheap little boat). I prefer my lakes a little more secluded.

[jonb]

Hoorah leatherneck . (3rd mlg Okinawa Japan, camp kinser) yes I've been teaching whorde the ways of trout angling, and I have a hiking partner as to appease the boss(wife) in return. she doesn't want me to get eaten by Sasquatch lol. I highly recomend hiking sub Alpine and Alpine lakes. Immense beauty, seclusion (sometimes depending on the lake) and very beautiful trout.

[whorde]

funny I randomly stumble into this thread.

my advice to you, other than to leave the municipal stocker lakes in the dust, is to roll down to big 5 and drop $40 on a crappy rubber raft. sure, it looks like a kid's toy. sure, it's bright orange like a pumpkin. and yes, it takes 475 pumps to really fully inflate with the crappy little pump that comes in the box. you'll have to train to pump it up without stopping. but you know what? as soon as you have one, your dock days are over.

if you're a real fisherman, you have a boat. even if it's a super crappy kid's toy that looks like it will sink at any moment hoho!

in all seriousness, it's rated to 410 pounds. it holds myself and the force of nature (340 pounds total) plus any misc gear I bring along, no problem.

[Dave M]

Yes pretty new, and other than throwing out a bobber or maybe dropping down to the bottom for trout, pretty new to fishing. Spent most of the last 20 years raising kids and running them around to all their sporting events. Now its time to fish.
Jon B Was 3rd MAW MALS-11, mostly at El Toro with a short stay in Iwakuni. My BOSS will hike with me, just doesnt want to fish.
Fenwick for being right in the middle of kent auburn and federal way is pretty secluded, a busy day is maybe 5-6 boats/floats and maybe 8-10 folks strung out along the shore from the park to the boat launch. But I am looking forward to some hike in lakes next year.
Been looking for a raft, was going to mostly be myself and 1 of my boys, but now both boys are home again. both around 200, so we will need something a little bigger.
Thanks for all the input guys.
Other than that day at angle, almost everyone I meet at the lake is friendly and helpfull with info.
Semper Fi!!

[The Quadfather]

http://www.amazon.com/Outcast-Super-Fat ... B002HP8UBC" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It may be a little steep on the $$, but oh so nice.
Many other cheaper versions. Just stay away from the "Sling seat"
Go with pointed shaped tube, and elevated seat above water.
Most of them come with backpack style fitted straps... Say goodbye to the chumps who are being rude on shoreline real estate.

[Bodofish]

http://www.amazon.com/Outcast-Super-Fat ... B002HP8UBC

It may be a little steep on the $$, but oh so nice.
Many other cheaper versions. Just stay away from the "Sling seat"
Go with pointed shaped tube, and elevated seat above water.
Most of them come with backpack style fitted straps... Say goodbye to the chumps who are being rude on shoreline real estate.

I'm with Chris, Just about any kind of float tube is better than a cheapo raft. I've spent many a blissful hour floating, casting, drifting, napping........ Hard to beat! I have two boats and I still like to tube. There's one for $169 on the same page with fins pump and the whole shot. Get some waders and you're off to the lake.

[TBear_fishin]

Yeah...I'm gonna add to this topic. As I live close to Angle Lake and therefore fish it primarily, I experience this "contact" fishing. I have no problem with informing the offending angler and in a firm voice to give me room. I never get any arguments and other anglers seem to say good for you speaking out.

[tnj8222]

Fenwick is always dead because it's hard to fish. There's really big bass in that lake that eat lots of trout. Fishing deep in the sunken logs can produce awesome results. You have to use light line though.

[ptfletcher]

funny I randomly stumble into this thread.

my advice to you, other than to leave the municipal stocker lakes in the dust, is to roll down to big 5 and drop $40 on a crappy rubber raft. sure, it looks like a kid's toy. sure, it's bright orange like a pumpkin. and yes, it takes 475 pumps to really fully inflate with the crappy little pump that comes in the box. you'll have to train to pump it up without stopping. but you know what? as soon as you have one, your dock days are over.

if you're a real fisherman, you have a boat. even if it's a super crappy kid's toy that looks like it will sink at any moment hoho!

in all seriousness, it's rated to 410 pounds. it holds myself and the force of nature (340 pounds total) plus any misc gear I bring along, no problem.

In reference to this post, please read this post. It concerns the author of this post.

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/vi ... =2&t=21180" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

A sobering reminder about safety on the water and knowing what to do in emergencies.

Tight lines and stay safe.

[zen leecher]

funny I randomly stumble into this thread.

my advice to you, other than to leave the municipal stocker lakes in the dust, is to roll down to big 5 and drop $40 on a crappy rubber raft. sure, it looks like a kid's toy. sure, it's bright orange like a pumpkin. and yes, it takes 475 pumps to really fully inflate with the crappy little pump that comes in the box. you'll have to train to pump it up without stopping. but you know what? as soon as you have one, your dock days are over.

if you're a real fisherman, you have a boat. even if it's a super crappy kid's toy that looks like it will sink at any moment hoho!

in all seriousness, it's rated to 410 pounds. it holds myself and the force of nature (340 pounds total) plus any misc gear I bring along, no problem.

I sure hope this isn't the reason for the drowning. I was fishing Silver Lake up in Whatcom county on the opener about 15 years ago. We watched boats bang into each other and things like that. One thing was three cheap rafts out fishing one part of the lake. One popped a seam and went down right there. The owner seemed to have about a 1 second notice. The other two fishing dragged the person to shore.

[tnj8222]

Those cheap 20 dollar rafts can be a death trap if your not wearing a life jacket. I'd rather be on shore or dock than in a rubber raft. I don't like float tubes either. Lol I'm totally safety first.

[jd39]

There are used 8-10' Livingstons or Sorensens for sale on Craigslist for $150-$400. A little steeper then those little rafts but well worth it in my opinion for the comfort/safety/stability gain. If someone's determined to get off the dock I'd start with one of these if your funds and vehicle allow.
The port-a-boats are kinda expensive but nice if you only have a small car but still want to launch a watercraft that's more stable then an inflatable raft.
One of my first forays back into fishing I used an inflatable "4 man" raft (barely fit me and I'm an averaged sized man, 5'10" 175lbs) on angle lake, even on that little lake with an 8mph speed limit it in the middle of summer it was an uncomfortable experience.

Am very sorry to hear about whorde, may he rest in peace and best wishes for his family and friends as they recover from the tragedy of his loss. Lost somebody close to me a few years ago, it's a hard thing they're going through, truly wish them the best.