Fishermen!

[bruce smith]

Generally speaking, it is more polite to pass astern of a vessel than in front of.
Especially a slow sailing vessel.
Maybe the locals do not imagine that a sailing boat is fishing. Do you think they intentionally cut your lines?
Perhaps some "dummy" bamboo outriggers, to gives folks a heads up?

[Unbalanced]

How about five blasts on the horn anda radio call.?

[blueayes]

IT IS A REQUIREMENT THAT POWERBOATERS UNDERGO A LABOTOMY PRIOR TO BOAT PURCHASE.

[sailorboy1]

Some of you don't seem to understand that boats are magnetic to each other and tend to be attracted each other. This is why even if only 2 boats are the only ones for miles they will head to the same spot.

Same goes for the attraction of boats and lobster pot floats.

And boats at anchor!

[tamicatana]

Originally Posted by Target9000

The thing that burns my ass are the guys that drop crab pots in navigation channels like the ICW over here. Or right in front of a bridge.

I can't remember how it goes in Loose Banana, but in Miz'sippi you can call the DMR and have the traps pulled as it's not legal to run traps in navigation channels.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by NCountry

So.... we take off for a week of cruising in the Gulf off the coast of Texas.... I know, not the ideal time just all that work will currently allow. OF COURSE we always troll some lines in the water because if you don't have a line in the water you definately won't catch anything. Man, did we catch something.
First some jerk in a center console RIB comes flying up behind us withing 100 feet. You guessed it. He caught and broke our line! DANG IT.... that was an 8 dollar lure. THEN while he's untangling the line from his motor he has the NERVE to holler at us! Something about you can't catch fish trolling. AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHH..... REALLY! (Actual comment withheld as there were children on board)
So, 3 days later we're 4 miles offshore and about 10 miles south west of the entrance to Galveston Bay... and here's comes a jerk in a Center Console fishing boat (tan top sides) with 2 big outboards. As if we're occupying the only place in the entire gulf of mexico for his boat to motor he crosses our line and snags BOTH of them. Before we can get a knife back to cut the lines he strips both reels. &((*^%$#@!..... 2 more lures and 600 yards of line gone! This moron heads on out into the gulf. As we watch him all the sudden he stops..... about 2 miles on out from us. Then after a couple of minutes he turns and starts slowly motoring back into Galveston. Serves the #@@ right. There wasn't another boat within several miles of us but he decides to shoot right across our stern at full throttle only missing us by 100 feet if that.
Am I missing something? I was under the impression that when my sails are up the motor powered small boats are supposed to stay some minimum distance away from my boat. It's no wonder people on sailboats want to carry guns.

No, there's no minimum distance rule. For me, seeing a fishing pole would be a clue that I didn't want YOUR line around MY propeller. But that's just me ...

[Greg S]

Originally Posted by Target9000

The thing that burns my ass are the guys that drop crab pots in navigation channels like the ICW over here. Or right in front of a bridge.

It's the same on east coast.

[Nicholson58]

I used to get really steamed at the dumb & dumber things power boaters (mostly) do around us. I now consider it entertainment, like watching America's Funniest Home Videos corssed with My Big Fat Redneck Wedding. Last weekend, a very large power yacht insisted on cutting in front of my bow while we were were rotating into our narrow slip from a narrow waterway in fron of a restaurant with valet parking (so the waterway further narrowed). It became clear after the second 5-blast warning of my dual air horns that I was attempting to communicate in a language foreign to the driver. We are 58 feet LOA and 16 beam, 80 feet main mast and 55000 disp. He re-defined stupid. By the time it was over, there were abut 15 boaters on my dock and another 10 at the restaurant hurling the insults for me. I was a bit busy backing down and trying to avoid the 50 Hatteras close off my stern. Missed the moron with my anchors by about a foot. It would have been a wonderful turn if the sheriff had cruised through about then. Found out today that the FED is considering a mess of really silly rules to do with driving golf carts but any idiot with a bank book can drive any size yacht he can afford without so much as an IQ test.

[Lagoon4us]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

I always run 15 to 20 ft of steel leader on my trolling lines !! LOL That way Im sure of makeing a impression on the folks who do those kind of things !! With our new boat they would be pretty dumb to stop in front of us LOL 51 ft Huge LOL only problem with her Is ya need a 8 ft gaff to land the fish !!LOL but shes a Hoss for strong !! We hope to get a Good Surveryer in Clear Lake Texas, to look her over soon !! We are getting real antsy to be sailing !!

Well done good luck, 'tis good to get back afloat!!!!!! Cheers Frank & Vivien

[Cheechako]

maybe we should all start trailing 1/8 cable for a couple years until these A**'s understand! Those outdrives and SS props are pretty expensive....

[ShaunJ]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

I always run 15 to 20 ft of steel leader on my trolling lines !! LOL That way Im sure of makeing a impression on the folks who do those kind of things !! With our new boat they would be pretty dumb to stop in front of us LOL 51 ft Huge LOL only problem with her Is ya need a 8 ft gaff to land the fish !!LOL but shes a Hoss for strong !! We hope to get a Good Surveryer in Clear Lake Texas, to look her over soon !! We are getting real antsy to be sailing !!

Bobconnie
Congrats on the new boat

[Geoduck]

You have no complaint - try it with a 45' troller dragging 6 lines on both sides of the boat, floating 4 lines on float bags with about $3000 worth of wire, flashers, hoochies, spoons, leaders, snubbers, line snaps, lead weights, shear boards, not to mention hooks. I'm in a fleet of fishing boats who are all trolling in the same direction when some idiot roars through with a twin screw mega yacht and wipes out the whole shitterie!!!
I was back to work in an hour or so but he had to be towed in by the CG.
Should have sunk the dumb s.o.b.
So- dont cuss out the poor fisherman - he spends his life working on the water and knows more about boating than 99% of the yacht crowd!!
IT'S THE WEEKEND WARRIOR THAT NEEDS THE CUSSING!!!!

[bstreep]

And this is why we carry a paintball gun onboard.

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Geoduck

You have no complaint - try it with a 45' troller dragging 6 lines on both sides of the boat, floating 4 lines on float bags with about $3000 worth of wire, flashers, hoochies, spoons, leaders, snubbers, line snaps, lead weights, shear boards, not to mention hooks. I'm in a fleet of fishing boats who are all trolling in the same direction when some idiot roars through with a twin screw mega yacht and wipes out the whole shitterie!!!
I was back to work in an hour or so but he had to be towed in by the CG.
Should have sunk the dumb s.o.b.
So- dont cuss out the poor fisherman - he spends his life working on the water and knows more about boating than 99% of the yacht crowd!!
IT'S THE WEEKEND WARRIOR THAT NEEDS THE CUSSING!!!!

There's a lot of truth in that.

I troll a good amount during rockfish season, mostly under sail. The commercial charter guys NEVER get too close and work in predictable patterns. They're looking for other peoples lines and respect the problem.

On the Chesapeake it's the express cruisers you watch out for.

[David M]

Consider using a downrigger.