Boat Ramp Etiquette

[tikkalover]

Fishing the tailrace one time a guy pulls up beside us and anchors like 40 feet away, on like his second cast he snags our anchor rope, asked us to pull up anchor and get his jig. ;:;rofl ;:;rofl ;:;rofl Looked at him, and asked if he was serious, and said thanks for the jig!!:;:thumbsup Another time a guy pulls up right where we are casting, after about the 10 jig bounced off his boat he moved. :;:duel

 

[KDM]

I haven't had to resort to boat bouncing jigs in quite a few years, but if the verbal prompting doesn't do the trick and I have to, I usually upsize my jig a couple notches and aim for the motor cover. It makes such a nice "Thunk" when a jig hits it and it's out of the way enough to keep from hooking human flesh. If jig bouncing doesn't work, then I cast past the boat and aim for the trolling motor with a light drag. A spoolful of braid in the trolling motor prop will buy you at least an hour of peace and quiet whilst said ignoramuses demessify their motor. Assuming they have the tools and know how to do so.

 

[Pinecone]

So am I supposed to reel in my poles if someone is loading or unloading their boat? And how am I supposed to train my dock dog?

 

[KDM]

I'd reel in the poles and train your dock dog to jump in boats, get into the livewell, retrieve fish and take them to a secluded bucket of ice out of view from the boat ramp. (Grin)

Yikes am I in an EVIL mood today. Time to go muddin' and get this crap outta my system. Later Fellas!!!

 

[FishReaper]

Fishing the tailrace one time a guy pulls up beside us and anchors like 40 feet away, on like his second cast he snags our anchor rope, asked us to pull up anchor and get his jig. ;:;rofl ;:;rofl ;:;rofl Looked at him, and asked if he was serious, and said thanks for the jig!!:;:thumbsup Another time a guy pulls up right where we are casting, after about the 10 jig bounced off his boat he moved. :;:duel

I was shore fishing the tailrace and a guy in a boat shot across my lines.
Im sure he had fun pulling a full spool of fireline out of his outboard. it was a new spool when he caught it. and he took it down to the backing

 

[westwolfone]

Yep, the biggest dicks in general are the "look at me I got an $80,000 boat guys". The biggest dick in particular is the guy at Devil's with CRESTLINER in 2 foot high letters on the side of his boat (probably not $80,000 dollars, but still an asshole).

Usually people are pretty nice, can't forget that. The only other complaint I have is boats snagging lines when we're shore fishing.

 

[Sub_Elect]

I've made enough mistakes on the river that, I try to not be a complete asshat when others do it. I usually just try to tell them they are number one when they screw up really bad!

 

[SDMF]

The Mo. river, especially in the spring when folks are antsy to get out is sort of it's own beast and IMO a person's gotta be a lot more tolerant of boats being in close proximity. Both fishing by you as well as running from spot to spot. Much of that has to do with a sometimes very narrow channel in which to run. I'm not going to go smoking buy someone @ WOT, but if I can reasonably avoid the hoard and stay up on plane I will, especially in narrow channel areas.

Case in Point, last Sunday you'd have to be a complete and utter idjut to run on plane within ~1/2Mi up or down stream of Hazleton. There were people fishing, people loading/unloading, and too many boats to try and keep track of to run through the hoard up on plane. But, I have no problem with folks running on plane past the next group between H and Ft. Rice landing.

 

[JayKay]

makin' me crazy. Going from south Bismarck to North Mandan - on the Expressway. People drive in the passing lane, because they're going to need to be in that lane, 7 MILES DOWN THE ROAD. Nuts.

 

[Fishmission]

This is the time year where I have good images in my head and try to forget the tomfoolery at the ramps last year. I either help them out to get things straightened out, or just backed away from the ramp let them do their thing when they refuse help. I will wait and then load or unload when the smoke has cleared. I don't get all bent out of shape pissed off at the world. I'm not going to let somebody else rain on a good day of fishing. What I didn't see was a majority of baby boomers with the infractions. Age and rig don't seem to matter in my observations. I saw some crazy crap last year, it can be entertaining if you're not in such a hurry. , I unload and load fast even by myself. Been doing it so long it's second nature . Some folks are new to boating or don't get out much and are rusty. some are Jackwagons.

 

[MurphysLAW]

100' on the river is like running a 1000' away on a lake. For every jack wagon out there Ranger bashing they sure don't seem to have a problem following mine up and down the river until we find 2-3FOW then they shut down and sit in the only shot thru that area for the rest of the day and complain when I come full WOT past them well us Ranger guys gotta keep that big boat up on an running or you find sand. So get the middle fingers out cuz I'm coming full WOT by the fair weather fishing, weekend warriors from afar fishing within spitting distance from the ramp or in the middle of the channel or were ever they followed a local. As other posters have said have some common sense at the boat ramps in the morning when ice up is an issue drain your trailer help out take your turn yada, yada.

 

[Bacon]

I would rather have you come by me flying on plane than 15 mph creating a huge wake. Less wave from the guy hauling ass.

 

[johnr]

The cost of a persons boat or the brand, or style, or how big his locator screen is has zero bearing on his ability to operate his machine, or his niceness with it.

I am an average ND'r and fish out of a mid level boat, my millionaire buddy does too, a spendy boat sure does not signify wealth, or ability to fish/boat/and otherwise knowledge of ramp etiquette

Its when a guy gets an expensive boat and thinks that makes him better than the rest is when the problems start.

I have tried to live my life by the motto: its nice to be important, but more important to be nice.

I forgot another pet peeve that I am sure some of you guys have encountered, the asshole at the cleaning station that has a table full of eaters and thinks he is suddenly a pro fisherman and acts like a tool with the small talk. Guess what jackass they are just fish, and you are still a douche.

 

[crashboombang]

Ramp stories, they are entertaining. My Dad and I were at the Spirit Lake Marina a few years ago. As we are coming down the channel at idle speed a couple of young guns were behind us; also coming off at the same time. I'm sure they saw "old codger and son" motoring towards the ramp and thought they didn't want to be held up waiting for us. So they kicked up the speed and motored past us to get to the dock first. The young guy in the bow made the leap to the dock, however the floating dock acted like a spring board when he landed on it and catapulted him into the lake, it was hilarious!
Patients at the ramp has its own rewards.

 

[Account Deleted]

Watched some doofuses in MN unhook the strap and safety chain at the top of the ramp and then back it down once. Good thing the motor was down or that boat would have slipped all the way off the trailer onto the concrete. :;:smokin

 

[SDMF]

I forgot another pet peeve that I am sure some of you guys have encountered, the asshole at the cleaning station that has a table full of eaters and thinks he is suddenly a pro fisherman and acts like a tool with the small talk. Guess what jackass they are just fish, and you are still a douche.

UGH!!

No I'm not trying to hide my fishing spot/technique or be anti-social with one word answers as I clean fish, I'm trying to get fish cleaned and get out of the way so the next group can clean their fish. If the fish cleaning station is busy, pull somewhere else out of the way to tarp your boat too.

 

[DirtyMike]

The cleaning station is always a fun one. I usually will wait to unload fish out of the boat until I check the cleaning station. Last summer, my dad and I walked over and started talking with a couple other guys and we got the silent treatment about where they were/how the fishing was, etc. Since there was a table open, we collected our 15 fish and walked back to the station. As soon as they saw what we had, they became very chatty. I engaged them the same way they did me.

I've never understood the attitude some people get while fishing or post-fishing. If I'm in a busy spot with a lot of boats, I have a great time talking to other guys as we make a drift. What the hell is the point of being angry while on a boat?!

That being said, you make your experience what you want. If you want to get to the one of 4 or 5 ramps open in the entire state at 9 am and expect to roll right in, you might want to check your attitude. I expected a line at 7 a.m. so when I was boat number 3, I was pretty happy. Even spent time helping a guys stow his pickup, and he was behind me in line. I'm probably as guilty as anyone for bashing the sparkly boat brigade. Now that I have one, albeit used, I don't want to further that feeling for others out there. I see people catching fish in other brands of boats with "lesser" quality rods/tackle. If we would all figure out that were there for the same thing, the process would be much more enjoyable.

 

[Wild and Free]

Suck my wake boys!!!!!!!!!!!!#$%^&>

 

[Account Deleted]

I challenged a guy with a Ranger and a 250hp Evinrude to a race last weekend against the blue bath tub. He laughed.

 

[tikkalover]

I bet when he cracks that baby wide open, you can hear the gas being sucked out of the tank!!;:;boozer