The subject of fishing other folk’s brushpiles and having other folks fish “our brushpiles” has been raised here several times in the past.
Our solution to having folks fish our brushpiles is to have plenty of brushpiles to fish and keep them in good shape by adding cover to them when needed. We don’t mind a bit if someone is fishing on or near one of “our” spots – we just move on to another one. We have around 200 in Lake Hamilton and about 250 in Lake Greeson.
However, we’ve run across a few brushpiles that other folks have put in that we fish on occasion. They are in such good locations - because they are out of the wind or boat traffic or because of the perfect structure they are on like points and drop-offs - that they sometimes produce when “our” regular spots don’t.
I never move into the area if anyone is fishing anywhere close to it but there are a few cranky old men that come by in their boats or walk out on their docks to hassle us and complain that we “catch all their crappie”. They seem to be under the impression that since they put the brushpiles in, no one else should fish them – especially a fishing guide apparently. I always try to be friendly and considerate and not let on that it irks me. I’ve even offered to show them some of the condos we put in and offered to help rebuild “theirs” when needed but the just go right on being cranky.
One day earlier this summer I was “hovering” over a brushpile on Lake Hamilton about 50-yards from the dock of a cranky old man that claims to have put all the brush down in that area and has let us know on several occasions that he doesn’t appreciate us fishing there.
I heard a boat approaching and turned to see the raised bow of a boat coming right at us us head-on. The operator obviously had the motor trimmed up and was maintaining just the right speed – probably about 10-mph – to keep the bow so high that we couldn’t see him or ascertain whether he had seen us.
My crew consisting of two women and two young girls saw the boat coming and became quite alarmed as I tried to move out of its path. I was up front operating the trolling motor with no time to move to the console and fire up the big motor so cranking my 70-pound thrust trolling motor on high and yanking the boat to one side was my only option.
Fortunately before the boat reached us he turned sharply in plenty of time to avoid a collision. By this time my clients were all waving and screaming but the operator never turned his head, obviously pretending he never saw us. Of course the huge wake he was making rocked us pretty good and it was then I realized it was the cranky old man and he was trying to scare us off his spot since his derogatory remarks in the past hadn’t deterred us.
I came very close to following the man to his dock and letting him know I didn’t appreciate his stunt but thought things might get ugly, which wouldn’t be a good thing in the presence of my crew. I thought seriously about going back after I finished my trip and knock on his door so we could work out our differences man to man. I also considered slipping by there one night and pulling the plug out of his boat or adding a little something special to his gas tank but decided none of those things were likely to resolve the situation or make me feel any better about it so I just let it ride.
When Ray Phillips with Fishing Hot Spots called me a while back asking if I would be interested in helping them make a new map of Lake Hamilton I was more than happy to do so. Of course he offered to put a small advertisement for my guide service on the map in return for my help, which I appreciate.
The very first “Hot Spots” I thought to give them were the brushpiles of the cranky old men that have been hassling us. I can’t think of a better way to return their sentiments than to share their brushpiles with the world. And, if I get a few complimentary copies of the printed map I think I’ll drop a copy off to each of them just to show there are no hard feelings. I might even circle my add with a red marker just so they’ll remember me every time another boat comes right up and starts fishing “their” brushpile.
I feel better now. :)