What is it with these specimens?
While paddling along Perth's favourite beachside on sunrise, every fisherman who was otherwise idly staring out to sea with hands in pockets, would, as I paddle past, wind in their tackle with gusto and have pot shots at me.
Paranoid or target?
Discuss.
In the boat ill just about throw the anchor at you if your closer than 10 ft - jet skier's get closer than 20 ft at speed and ill throw sinkers at the hull and get everyone to cast at them. Although only 1 sup in a 40mt wide channel and me 30ft out from the bank and he hit the boat with his paddle - accident but not the point - I yelled - he apologized - we laughed, talked for ten gave him a water and he moved on.
you're a target. There are no fish in Perth....from the beach. They are bored so looking for cheap entertainment. I fish, well i used to, and i've seen these dicks. After they've completed their neanderthal task because of boredom they go home and neck a skin full of emu export and beat their wives, girlfriends and kids. Because their problems are everybody elses fault.
I'm not stereo typing fishermen just those who use other people for their own cheap entertainment.
Used to be an middle aged Italian bloke who delighted in casting out just as we would launch in the shore break at Collaroy many years ago. He would cast down wind towards us. Once I ran over his line and it came up and snagged my ankle. Had to fall off and disentangle. Had some choice words to say but he didn't care. By the time we had come in he was gone.
Then one day he pissed off a big bloke on a mal. The guy walked up to his car, got a fishing knife, walked over to the bloke and calmy cut his line right at the rod's tip. Told him to leave and don't come back, never saw the guy again. sweet.
Given alot of guys can repeatedly cast within a dinner plate sized target, that we might be using $1200 reels on $700 fragile carbon rods with $200 line & $80 lures if they wanted to hit you they would & it's hardly worth it.
Alot of guys will cast near you showing their displeasure given that you have the whole ocean to paddle in & choose to paddle through the spot they were settled, the whole beach isnt a fishing spot just the gutter etc. Sometimes they would be adjusting the position so you dont run over their lines.
I feel sorry for fishermen at one of our sailing spots when we all turn up there & take over, it's a creek & running over line is unavoidable & the boards are so noisy running across the ripples.
I hear you buster, just cause your paranoid doesn't mean their not out to get you. I've had it before and it's not cool. If someone flicks a sinker at me I view it like throwing a punch..... A 10 ounce sinker in the face is no laughing matter. swimmers surfers have right of way. sure if I'm down south somewhere I'm not going to paddle out where people are fishing but I've had crew flicking into a lineup before too.
Been rock fishing down south over the last 15 years. Still amazes me with an ocean so huge, some knob in a huge boat still has to cruise past us within our tiny amount of space that we are casting.Maybe its the fact that with todays high spec graphite rods and braid lines, they are unaware of just how fast a decent angler can cast. I'm not a a$$ about it though. I'll just stand there waiting to cast staring at them, while they stare at me. And just as the pass directly in front of me, I'll let rip straight out, and watch the surprise on their faces as my lure lands 15mts the far side of their wake where they were 3 seconds ago.They generally go wider on the way back.
Saw a couple blokes fishing on Perth's most crowded beachie the other day among the midst of the swarming surf schools, tourists and early morning risers going for a dip. Amusingly there was a 20m area (of where they'd cast their line out) that everyone avoided. Great way to prompt the crowds away. Might have to get a few mates to do that a morning when there's a perfect bank and pumping surf.
I had this happen a month or two back. Busy river boats, sups, kayaks, you name it coming past. No fish. Ole mate could have waited 10 more seconds but chose to land his sinker 1-2m from my sup. I turned to stare and he gave me a slight wave with one hand. Eyes widened a bit as the sup did a sharp 90 degree turn and headed straight in to him, and it turns out I've got 10cm & 20kgs on him.
"What was that about champ?"
- "I knew exactly where it was landing"
"Well in that case why didn't you land it exactly not right the fk on top of me?"
- "It would only have hit your ankle"
"Eh? "
- "I gave you a wave"
"not good enough. try Sorry next time. Or using your brain and save us all the aggro"
Backed off at that point, sat back on the sand 50m away and stared to see if he'd to it and the next sup coming past.
I'm not sure why but he packed up a minute or two later and scarpered.
I wholeheartedly agree with Dave and his post above. At no time did Dave threaten this person, he simply questioned the guy and was perhaps taken back by such a person potentially instigating trouble. In my belief, this happens all the time and you need to understand that if you are instigating trouble in life, then you may have to look someone in the eye and deal with the consequence.
I've seen it wake boarding or waterskiing numerous times; the wake setter boats and rich kids think they own the show. Once they went very, very close to a kayak. Of course, when they return to the shore, said kayaker happens to roll up, unzips his seal and he is built like a man mountain! That was funny to watch.
One group of my family friends are very good swimmers and play water polo. Not my thing personally. The young girl was swimming at smiths and accidentally got in a surfers way. I completely understand the surfer's point of view here, but the verbal abuse was thick and fast to the girl. She came in and my family friends just waited it out and when said surfer came in, he was politely told that speaking this way to his young daughter is not on. This guy is huge. Simple consequence. Would you tear strips off an eight year old girl normally?
A bit of common sense needs to prevail. When I was young you wouldn't pipe up to people who were bigger and more physical. In the old days groms wouldn't even get a wave, despite their ability. Not saying that is the way to go but when the 60kg pencil neck ripper starts behaving poorly I just hope he can back it up on dry land.
Common sense comes in several forms, like giving the guy on the beach space & paddling around where his line likely lies- like ive always done on kayaks, sups & even my boat, not a fan of pulling line from around prop. Spot i launch boat from, supped & sail at regularly has people fishing from jetty, do i just mow down their lines like it's only my right to be there.
I wonder if dave would have done the same if the guy looked had 10cm & 20kg of muscle on him, im guessing not. As said the guy couldve hit you with cast but didnt, he then wave, he didnt give you the finger then tell you to f*** off. I realise some people dont like paddling out of their depth though.
There is no accounting for poor form anywhere be it surfers telling off kids or whatever, ive always been a fan of "life experience", if you've got the mouth or actions to get yourself into trouble good luck getting out of it. But seriously what's with all the self righteousness, the ocean is a big space, there is room for all of us with a little thought.
Im not saying fisher people arent completely not of fault either, have seen some particularly teenagers try to hit anything between them & the horizon & have seen some bad injuries of guys that got caught up in line.
After reading the anglers companion in the good old usa it was illegal to fish on Sunday's in the 1700hundreds so in nantuckit anglers would go beach fishing on sundays with no hooks just to try to hit sup paddelers to improve there casting .
So it just goes to show its not a new problem & efforts have been made to cull sup's in the past before they became a protected species