Me and Dad went to Henry Neely yesterday evening and caught several 13 inch crappie (25 total). Trying to make a long story short we pulled up to a pier and nobody was there and we had been fishing about 20 minutes and this man comes home gets out of his car and comes straight to pier with fishing pole and bucket of minnows. He ask if we were doing any good I told him catching a few but not much. Then he says he had a guy last year that sat here for 6 days strait and he said he told him that he had watched him for 6 days that it was his time to fish the boater was going to have to move on and get out of his way. Thats when I said so you are telling me to get the hell outta your way then right. He said that it is a common courtesy to move cause he owned that place and that if he wanted to fish for us boaters to find somewhere else. And it went on from there and he was getting pretty upset so I just decided to leave but believe you and me I was smoking mad. Also to tell you how far away from pier I was, I was atleast 30 yards in front of his pier and throwing no closer than 20 foot in front of pier. When he walked out and throwed his minnow and cork he dang near put it in the boat with me. I understand that is his place but I was the one that sunk 35 christmas trees there one night about midnight. I have thought very seriously about taking a anchor and half inch rope and dragging all the cover out from in front his pier. What should I do? What would the Game Warden or Water Patrol think about this?

I would move on and next year find a new spot to set up a Crappie honey hole.

Just wondering why you would throw out 35 trees in front of another person's pier? There is an entire lake out there.

Just wondering why you would throw out 35 trees in front of another person's pier? There is an entire lake out there.

Good question...I've been on both ends of that scenerio. If he nicely told yall to get lost so he could fish off his own pier then you should move on. If he was an obnoxious asshole, raising hell because you were catching all HIS fish, then I'de still be setting there.

When one of my grand daughters was 3 or 4 years old, and she is about 25 now, if a fisherman came by my pier she would holler, "hey man, you better get out of my Paw Paws fish." I have videos of her doing it. Most of the time they would just wave at her and keep on fishing but occasionally one would pack in his stuff and leave. I always figured they were fixing to leave anyhow.

About this same time there was a fellow just up the lake from the Stemly Bridge that put out a string of jugs from the bank and about 30 or so yards around his pier and he would raise holy hell if you threw a bait inside them. I was told that he pulled a rifle on some folks to run them off. Don't know what ever became of that.

I agree with that one.

I would just move on... Enjoy yourself you old coot! I'll be one someday and I cant wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My dad has the best dock on Logan Martin. I made it that way. People wear it out all the time. Courtesy demands that you move.

PS: Post some GPS co-ordinates for that brush pile! I got a tourney up there next month....

The next time Im there I will get coordinates for it. If he is going to be such a azzhole he can bet on it I am going to tell everyone about that hole and if he wants to come out and fish everytime someone stops by he is about to wear his shoes walking from house to pier. I will be posting and advertising gps coordinates everywhere.

Only reason I put them there is because it is a small slough and there is tons of brush in the back of it and I just wanted a place to get crappie and bass to have some where to group up a little bit deeper before they get ready to spawn as well as a place for them to stop on their way back to river channel.

He has no legal right to tell you to leave anywhere on public water.

He does not own the water nor anything in it. You have a constitutional right guaranteed by Alabama approved by the voters of the state via ballot to fish and hunt without harassment as long as you are following the laws and regulations of the state.

Go back and fish, and when he comes back out, tell him YOU will call the game warden and have him arrested for harassing you.

And get those GPS coordinates.

A fisherman has a right to fish the public water. If you don't want people fishing around your Dad's dock, then take it out of the water and put it up on dry land that belongs to you where you'll actually have a valid argument.

GPS?

Good Phishing Spot?

Your brushpiles in public water become public property. Period. There is no discussion about it.

Anyone ever tells me to quit fishing "their" dock or "their" brushpiles or "their" little area will get a pretty nasty earful from me unless I'm standing on their private property.

A friend of mine sunk a hundred or so (he said) christmas trees around his pier at Gantt lake.

The first time he went there to fish, he said the boats were so thick around his dock, he couldn't fish any of them (I suspect he was exaggerating slightly). He said nobody would move at all to let him fish from the pier.

What's the proper etiquette (sp?) here?

I understand the lake is public, but shouldn't he have been able to enjoy his own place? I don't mean that they should all have left, but how much room should they have given him?

And where exactly is that on Gantt, might need to try that one out tonight!

This is the deal that I couldnt understand he had more than enough room to have sat on his pier and fished right along with us. We had plenty of distance between us and his pier. I am going back in the morning and I am going to fish there and if he dont like it, well I hate it but I will leave enough room that if he wants to fish fine with me. He is not going to run me off unless he has a gun. Then he will really be up **** creek.

P.S. I will have someone on the law enforcement in my boat.