Fishing in your marina

So just to clarify I am pro fishing big time. Fished all my life

But there is this group of people that like to drive slow in the fast lane. I am sure they are the same people that fish off your dock or in a bass boat in the marina next to your boat in the slip.....Casting under your swim platform, catching fish and putting them on the dock and hitting your boat with sinkers and lures ... All of this has happened to me over the years... multiple times.

So I am in a new marina this year and unknown to me the stars aligned and the moon I guess and I am on the fishing dock...who would have thought.... The marina has a no fishing policy but that doesn't seem to be enforced.

At anytime 2 to 8 stranger adults are fishing off the bridge to the dock or on shore and always a bass boat floating near me.

So ...am I just a grumpy SOB or does this drive you crazy as well?... And do I have to be "that guy" and complain?

No you're not. While you can't do anything about the basshole that drives his boat through the marina fishing, you can complain and the marina can enforce the no fishing from the dock. At my marina last weekend, the marina owner was having to wash fish blood off of the new floating docks. We all have received a communication reminding that fishing from the docks is not permitted. If I were you, I would stand on my swim platform and slap the water with a paddle or a pole just to make the fishing shi$$y. Yes, I'm that guy. I pay a ton of money to park my boat there. Fish somewhere else.

Jaybeaux

The only people who fish off our docks are the kids. My kid started with small blue gill and graduate to some nice bass. One year a small boy caught a carp that was bigger than him. We're talking probably 3 feet and 30 lbs. [Edited this am to add the pic]

When I slip in N. WI, I fish, but so do other slip owners (we're talking like 3 of us) We have a little contest to see who can get the 1st Northern. It's nothing intense. The marina is small and a dead end with boats on each side about 30 yards across. No one's parking to fish in there unless you're in a dinghy. Most of the boat owners and sailboat owners know & hang out with one another, especially when there's libations involved. It's N. Wisconsin!

On the other hand, if I owned my slip, at a place like where you Captains are, I believe this would be a different story. I'd be pretty upset, waking up in the morning having a cup of joe and some ding-dong stranger, non-slip owner, is either cleaning fish on my dock or staring at me, while bouncing lures off of my swim platform.

Our slip is known locally as a place where large bass lurk. Every weekend it gets fished heavily. Last weekend there was a bass boat hanging out in our slip.

That’s bull sh*t. In your slip?

My marina is teaming with massive carp that thump off the bottom of the boat at night.

They attract those “fishermen” who shoot them with arrows and throw them back to die.

Pisses me off.

We are in Florida......the "right to fish anywhere I damn well please "state. Our marina has lost a battle with the state DEP guys and have installed a fish cleaning station at a central place so we have a strict no fish cleaning rule and an even stricter no fishing from the docks policy, but that doesn't stop anyone from fishing in front of out boats and casting under the hull to catch big redfish enjoying the shade under the boats.

After repairing 2 gouged spots in my otherwise pristine gelcoat where lazy fishermen cast into the hull to let their sinkers/lures fall right under the boat, I put a stop to it by typing a 1/2" yellow poly line between the 2 forward pilings. Poly floats and it is tied to my dock lines so I don't forget it and wind it up in my props.

I guess I have a different perspective...I take a deep breath and ask them how the fishing is. When they respond I ask them if they want a beer. They typically decline. I begin giggling like a mad man and begin to take my shirt off. I scream the word MEDICATION! I find they move on fairly quickly.....maybe it’s me?

My thoughts...

Are you saying boats come into your fairway to fish? No, that doesn't happen here....I'd say we're move of a boating town than fishing town. Personally I wouldn't like it. Also, I don't think it's legal here, but not sure.

Re fishing from dock or fingers, I usually speak up if it's a non-slip holder...If a slip-holder is fishing, I don't care as much. Simply, because slip-holders are more responsive if a vessel is coming in to dock or leave a slip...The typical fishing "guy" doesn't seem to care...BTW- It is posted no fishing and there is a specific fishing dock...Yes, I have reminded several fisherman that the marina isn't for fishing.

Lastly, I think I'm doing them a public service anyway as I wouldn't recommend eating what's around these docks anyway...

Boat Guy said:

Lastly, I think I'm doing them a public service anyway as I wouldn't recommend eating what's around these docks anyway...

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Exactly.

The most I usually see around here are guys snapper fishing off of docks or off their boats at the dock later in the summer and they don’t get in the way at all. Lots of people do it with their kids.
I kind of like doing it myself.
These guys are usually boaters themselves and are pretty courteous.
We also get guys in small boats coming up and down the canals crabbing at night late summer but they aren’t a bother either.
I usually have one or two crab traps hanging off my bulkhead too that time of year.
A bigger issue around here is guys fishing in the narrow channels. Lots of recreational boaters complain about it. Especially the guys with the bigger boats.
They don’t bother me at all. Especially since I sometimes fish in those places too.
Channels are narrow and very unforgiving with shallow water on either side.
The channel may be 8 to 12 feet deep and outside of it could be anywhere from shin deep to a few feet.
The fish tend to feed off the slopes on the sides of the channels making the channels the best place to drift.
Never killed anyone to slow down a bit to avoid swamping a guy fishing in a small boat with his kid.
I’m usually not in that much of a rush, but some guys think coming off plane for a few minutes is the end of the world.
We do have some shallower channels where you wouldn’t want to chance coming off plane but I’ve Never really encountered anyone fishing in those spots.

Golfman25 said:

The only people who fish off our docks are the kids. My kid started with small blue gill and graduate to some nice bass. One year a small boy caught a carp that was bigger than him. We're talking probably 3 feet and 30 lbs. [Edited this am to add the pic]

Click to expand...

That’s pretty cool!