How far do you set up to the next guy ice fishing?
I got to my honey hole sunday morning 7AM fishing was great until 9am when two teens 
pulled up oh I’d say 20feet from me and started drilling not 2 holes but 30. Scared all the fish out of the area, I saw them all my vexilar screen. I was so angry 
that i left the lake and locked my keys in my truck.
Maybe they will learn as they get older, at least they were out fishing and not running the streets.
I feel ya. I had the same thing happen on Lake Onalaska. We set up about 75 yards from the closest person… thinking no one would set up inbetween us. We even put up tipups around us. Didn’t matter. two other groups set up inside the two of us. Another drilled a hole 20 feet from one of our tip ups and countless others pulled their shacks, kids, and dog right next to our Frabill. It was rather funny. They had no issue with what they were doing. I wonder if they saw us? Tunnel vision. That’s why I try to fish up North as much as possible. Two weeks ago, we were on a 800 acre lake. We saw one other group! Awesome! That is my Cathedral!
That really sucks. You would think people would be more respectful around here because you know as well as I do that they wouldn’t want people drilling holes near them if they were sitting there. I believe the rule is that a person must be only 10 feet from another person.
Obviously if you guys wouldn’t set up on a ‘hot honey hole’ you wouldn’t have company.
I never seem to have that problem so I really don’t know what you are going through.
Just kidding.
Unless you want to be a butt there isn’t much you can do aside from drilling enough holes around them they eventually break loose and sink. 
I had this same problem once on the misissippi river back waters near wabasha. A person set up to fish panfish right between a group of nine of us who all had our 2 tip ups each out. When this clown who came out and drilled a hole not more than 5 feet from one of my tip ups. Shortly after this clown started to fish I had a flag and fish on and I acted like it was a huge pike and I said you better move dont want to get one all tangled and kind of steered this fish toward where he was fishing and he moved real quickly out of the area not bugging us the rest of the day.
Just bring police tape and rope off a perimeter.
I like to be away from the crowd. I will occasionally set up next to a permanent on my local lake if no one is in the permanent. If the owner comes out I will usually move out and give him some room.
The best is when a guy does this to you and you get to put on a clinic!!
Here is a couple of my favorites. The blue house was one of our old rentals that is no longer with us but that truck pulled up and started drilling just off the edge of the banking of the house, it was the only house for three miles.
The second one is a friends old house parked in the middle of nowhere as I dropped it on the road corner until I figured out a good place to put it while using it as a warming shack to meet customers at for check in, it couldnt haved been in a dumber spot. I actaully got the tape meusure out for that one and verified they where two inches to the legal side as they mentioned already taped it off to make sure…because they are good guys.
We have had groups of guys use our big shacks for wind breaks, we have had some anchor thier portables to the rentals, drill holes and set portables or wheel houses up in the middle of the road and Buddy even had a group use the skids and propane rack on his house for a grill and sandwich table. 
It always amazes me but never surpises me anymore.
And people think global warming is a problem??
Must be the “ME” generation, I’d be uncomfortable that close to anybody.
Summer isn’t quite so bad, easier to move and if they move up next to you, ya can start pitching that Musky bait toward them, a 2×4 with hooks usually makes people nervous enough to move..:)
Al
Hard water or summer I try to give people as much space as possible. Even if they are on one of “my” spots. It’s first come first serve in my book. In the summer, how much distance I give someone will vary depending on the spot’s structure and cover. I especially like the dopes who are casting the shoreline and I will set up on a spot 100 yards in front of them. A lot of these guys think they have a claim on the shoreline in front of them for miles. Sometimes they are complete butts when they get to you and will go between you and the shore or be very disrespectful. And no, not all of them are like that. The funny thing is I generally have not had the same issue with people trolling a shoreline. Ok, that’s not hard water.
Were you isolated? If you were, that was very disrespectful. When I am drilling around a shack city or where a lot of people are set up, I will use the distances already established by the groups there and drill on the outside edge.
A fishin hole is a fishin hole. WE play bumper boats on pool 4, WE anchor on top of each other on Mille Lacs slip bobbering and WE rub shacks when ice fishing. Doesnt matter open or hard water WE are going to fish where there is fish.
I know it sucks but almost 99% of US are guilty of doing it. I fish Pool 4 and the Croix there for I am 
Most of US know that there is fish in a certain area so we fish it wether theres a boat there or not. For others if they see a boat, shack or even someone shore fishing a spot they immediately think “OOHH there fish there”. I have been on the Croix in the open water just floating in absolutely dead water 40+’ and someone will see me there and pull up and fish or my favorite is when they do circles around you looking at there graph trying to figure out just exactly what it is you are fishing 
We see this post every year, so by now WE should learn that this is fishin either we deal with it or we move to an isolated area. I like to fish areas that are off the beaten path to try and avoid crowds but sometimes you have to fish amidst the crowds.
I cant imagine that those fish got scared off and wouldnt move back into that area, how did you know they were there? Didnt you use an auger to drill a hole and put your locater down? and if you marked fish rite away then I dont believe for 2 seconds that these guys that moved in next to you scared the fish away. In reallity a predator fish was more than likely in the area and those fish bailed. I had the smae thing happen to me friday on a little lake, I thought for sure as I was graphing gills that the guy that walked up and drilled a hole less than 15′ from my shack was going to spook these fish but to my suprise they didnt even flinch and I kept catching them.
Its kind of funny you got SO upset about something that happens to all of us, and most of us are guilty of doing it wether we sit here and preach hollier than thou or not you know you have done it. It’s funny that you left the lake completely and you locked your keys in the car. 
You showed them. I really dont think that it was the kids that spooked the fish for 1 and for 2 why not just move to a different spot instead of letting it ruin your entire day?
I am going to go the other way with this. What annoys me is that on a small lake that I fish often I showed up at my normal spot and see couple of guys fishing that had four small kids with them playing (5-10 years old). They had 12 tip ups spread along the weed line for about 300′ maybe more. Rather than setup in the area I went somewhere else. No one owns the lake, and it is open to everyone, but that is ridiculous. Now if it is a group 6 people that are indeed fishing and not kids brought along so they can fish more lines then I don’t have a problem with it.
Well looks like “jjkrooked” is guilty of doing this to everyone. The river is a diffrent story, this was a small lake. Well jjkrooked the fish did not come back for a long time.
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Now if it is a group 6 people that are indeed fishing and not kids brought along so they can fish more lines then I don’t have a problem with it.
Were they letting the kids haul the fish in that were caught on the tip-ups?
Fishin tip-ups isnt a re serious business where you have to sit there and constantly stare at them, heck if I was fishin tip-ups I’d be running around and playing to. I think it’s great that they were being parents and had their kids out on the ice with them (coming from someone who has no kids of my own) I couldnt be happier than to see people brining their kids fishing instead of leaving them at home. Thats great.
I’m sorry. I was looking at mojogunter’s avatar. What was everyone saying??
I couldn’t agree more with you. This year seemed worse than the past few years though for me in a boat anyway. One day this fall on pool #4 I was drifting with current, and a guy next to us said to the guy in the front of my boat “Not sure if you figured it out or not, but we are following you guys around”. Guy in my boat” You are?” Next boat”Yeah we look for a Ranger boat and follow them around”. If you are really concerned about people fishing too close to you, the brand of boat you have may something to do with the amount of people fishing close by. Looks like I will have to invest in a 1975 tri-hull. 
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A fishin hole is a fishin hole. WE play bumper boats on pool 4, WE anchor on top of each other on Mille Lacs slip bobbering and WE rub shacks when ice fishing. Doesnt matter open or hard water WE are going to fish where there is fish.
I know it sucks but almost 99% of US are guilty of doing it. I fish Pool 4 and the Croix there for I am
Most of US know that there is fish in a certain area so we fish it wether theres a boat there or not. For others if they see a boat, shack or even someone shore fishing a spot they immediately think “OOHH there fish there”. I have been on the Croix in the open water just floating in absolutely dead water 40+’ and someone will see me there and pull up and fish or my favorite is when they do circles around you looking at there graph trying to figure out just exactly what it is you are fishing
We see this post every year, so by now WE should learn that this is fishin either we deal with it or we move to an isolated area. I like to fish areas that are off the beaten path to try and avoid crowds but sometimes you have to fish amidst the crowds.
I cant imagine that those fish got scared off and wouldnt move back into that area, how did you know they were there? Didnt you use an auger to drill a hole and put your locater down? and if you marked fish rite away then I dont believe for 2 seconds that these guys that moved in next to you scared the fish away. In reallity a predator fish was more than likely in the area and those fish bailed. I had the smae thing happen to me friday on a little lake, I thought for sure as I was graphing gills that the guy that walked up and drilled a hole less than 15′ from my shack was going to spook these fish but to my suprise they didnt even flinch and I kept catching them.
Its kind of funny you got SO upset about something that happens to all of us, and most of us are guilty of doing it wether we sit here and preach hollier than thou or not you know you have done it. It’s funny that you left the lake completely and you locked your keys in the car.
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Well looks like “jjkrooked” is guilty of doing this to everyone. The river is a diffrent story, this was a small lake.
Yes I am guilty and I am not afraid to say I am not, if someone is fishing by the dam on Pool 4 and thats where I want fish even though there is already 100 boats up there, I am 100% guilty. If I am on the croix and there are 50 shacks set up and I want to fish that area, again I am 100% guilty. If there is an area on a lake that I want to fish and if there is somebody in that area, again 100% guilty.
It happens everywhere lakes, rivers, where ever. Point the finger at me for someone elses unfortunate ability to find fish thats cool I can handle it as I can only guess you have done it to others but it is only upsetting when it happens to you. We are all guilty of it, so what?
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Well jjkrooked the fish did not come back for a long time.
Ahhh but they did come back. That shows me there was more than likely a predator fish in the area. I dont believe fish “spook” as easily as people think.
I think it is good for others to see it from another perspective. It upsets me just as much as you but what can we do about it? I suppose we could get all up in a huff and lock our keys in our cars or we could not let it ruin our day and continue to fish. Thats fishing when you live in a state of fisherman.
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Now if it is a group 6 people that are indeed fishing and not kids brought along so they can fish more lines then I don’t have a problem with it.
Were they letting the kids haul the fish in that were caught on the tip-ups?
Fishin tip-ups isnt a re serious business where you have to sit there and constantly stare at them, heck if I was fishin tip-ups I’d be running around and playing to. I think it’s great that they were being parents and had their kids out on the ice with them (coming from someone who has no kids of my own) I couldnt be happier than to see people brining their kids fishing instead of leaving them at home. Thats great.
No the kids were there just for lines, I never noticed any of the kids pulling lines up. The kids were off running around playing. I bring my kids out when ever they want, but the difference between me and them if that I would never consider covering that much area. It would be different if I was on some remote lake where I would rarely see someone, but not on a small metro lake that gets plenty of pressure. Most of the time I will only have one line for each of my kids because that is all they could handle anyway.
Well I looks like your teaching your childern that its OK to do things like that 
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No the kids were there just for lines, I never noticed any of the kids pulling lines up. The kids were off running around playing. I bring my kids out when ever they want, but the difference between me and them if that I would never consider covering that much area. It would be different if I was on some remote lake where I would rarely see someone, but not on a small metro lake that gets plenty of pressure. Most of the time I will only have one line for each of my kids because that is all they could handle anyway.
I understand the situation I’ve seen it 100 times and to be honest I was 1 of them kids out running around and playing at 1 point in time of my life. Upsetting? sure for some. There reason why MN has 10,000 lakes, if something like this bothers you there are still 9,999 more lakes that have fish in them
I guess I’m with JJ on this one. I’m not sure where this lake is located. buy here in the twin cities this sort of thing is the norm. There are just so many good spots on any given lake and when you have the population of peole who fish like we do here its hard to find a good spot away from other fishermen. As far as spooking the fish unless it is really shallow water I don’t think that was the cause. I was fishing in 14 Ft of water on Sat. and was catching fish with 2 or three people drilling holes not more that 20 Ft from me at the time. As for the Tipup / Kids situation. I say as long as it gets a family out of the house and enjoying the great outdoors together – Great for them. i just hope they let the kids have a go at some of the fish if they had flags go up. Sometimes when someone is new to the sport they often go close to other fishermen because they believe that they must be catching fish and if so it gives them a much better chance to catch a few them selfs and hopefully learn to enjoy the sport. I for one see these situations as a chance to share some knowledge with someone as someone once shared theirs with me. Just my $.02 worth.
jjkrooked,
I don’t do it. I’d rather demonstrate collegiality than invade another outdoorsman’s space. You ask a good question “What do we do about it”. I prefer to act based on how I was raised to be an outdoorsman and in accordance to my own set of beliefs, values, and morals. I can only hope that this rubs off on others. I choose not to “do it because everyone else is.” I choose not to believe that “that’s fishing in a state of fishermen.” There is a better way, and many people abide by it.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
We all have to remember who owns the lake. We all do! We all have the same right to fish anywhere on the lake we want. Just because someone is already there, especially permanent houses, does not give them the exclusive right to that spot. I do not care if you make your living on the lake as a guide or are just a weekend warrior like me. The lake is everyones to enjoy. I try and set up at least 75-100 yards from anyone else but have had others move in closer to me. If they get to close I move on.
Every year someone whines about people fishing to close, it is only going to happen more often with more people getting into the sport along with the unemployed. Letting it ruin a day of fishing is your own fault, just move on people.
A couple things that might help keep a person out of the crowd is…….
1. Do your home work so you have more than one honey hole to rely on.
2. If you have more than just the one spot….don’t be first on the ice, new comers automatically head for the first people on the ice
3. Don’t get in the habit of heading to the same spot to fish, setting up on the same spot for even two days is a sure sign someone has found a bite and people are going to want in on it. These are just a couple things that have help get me out of the crowds on the days I’m not in the mood.
There is plenty of ice out there for everyone and everyone obeying the law has a right to it. And for everyone that thinks they have found a secret hole……that means only 200 others know about instead of 350 others 
Common since does go a long ways but keep in mind the numbers of new people getting into the sport that really don’t know any better. And for the ones that do know better, don’t even give them a second look. Be a teacher not a whiner people 
I have to agree with some posts here that spooking is exaggerated. A fish isn’t going to swim 100 yards from a spot because of noise. That is a lot of wasted energy. And even when fish are spooked they may retreat to a area they feel is more safe briefly, but will return in a short amount of time. I suppose fish may go away for a longer period of time if they are cruising, but they will work their way back for whatever made them cruise in the area in the first place. And those fish will come and go regardless.
No one owns the lake, but that isn’t an excuse to not exercise a little common sense and courtesy. And I don’t have problems with people stacking up in an area tightly if that is what everyone does and it is just kind of accepted. There are a lot of instances like that where there is an particular area that is well know and a lot of people will be fishing it at any given time. In those instances, to fish it, you have to expect that it is going to be tight quarters, even if you got out at 3am to stake your claim. I think in those instances it is equally rude to think that because you were there early, you some how have a right to not be crowded.
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jjkrooked,
I don’t do it. I’d rather demonstrate collegiality than invade another outdoorsman’s space. You ask a good question “What do we do about it”. I prefer to act based on how I was raised to be an outdoorsman and in accordance to my own set of beliefs, values, and morals. I can only hope that this rubs off on others. I choose not to “do it because everyone else is.” I choose not to believe that “that’s fishing in a state of fishermen.” There is a better way, and many people abide by it.Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I prefer not to do it but if thats where the fish are it happens.
I enjoy the snot out of going out fishing AWAY from the crowds and finding fish in spots that nobody fishes for 2 reasons 1) I really cant stand fishing in crowds(though I have and will) and 2) usually the fish I find away from the crowds are of much better quality.
I am not saying that it is rite to do it. I have spots marked on the GPS that I think “ok nobody ever fishes this spot” but when I go back to that spot 90% of the time someone is there, do I leave? typically not because I know there are fish there and I want to catch them just as bad as anybody else. Does that make me a bad person or a poor fisherman, I choose to think not. It’s all a matter (just like everything else) of opinion. Cpetey I dont always do this, I was using it as an example as how we can all find ourselves being the ones moving in on someone else. Cpetey do you ever fish pool 4 in the spring? If so you cant tell me that you are not fishing amid a crowd somewhere, and more than likely the crowd was there before you unless you got on the water before 5:30am thus making another guilty member in this party. This is just an example. Like I stated before it upsets me just as much as it would anyone but it happens, it’s not enough to ruin my day, I know the fish are there and they are just as much mine as they are the next guys.
I agree yes we as fisherman should have etiquette towards one another but on the other hand I am not going to sit and fish dead water when I know there is fish in that area that others are in.
Common courtesy, apparently has been lost somewhere.
Well said Bret, you make some great points.
I try to talk to everyone on the ice that is within a 100 yards of me. (If I’m not too busy catchin fish) I figure we could all learn from each other. They just might have a better way even if they are 10 feet from me.
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jjkrooked,
I don’t do it. I’d rather demonstrate collegiality than invade another outdoorsman’s space. You ask a good question “What do we do about it”. I prefer to act based on how I was raised to be an outdoorsman and in accordance to my own set of beliefs, values, and morals. I can only hope that this rubs off on others. I choose not to “do it because everyone else is.” I choose not to believe that “that’s fishing in a state of fishermen.” There is a better way, and many people abide by it.Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
I prefer not to do it but if thats where the fish are it happens.
I enjoy the snot out of going out fishing AWAY from the crowds and finding fish in spots that nobody fishes for 2 reasons 1) I really cant stand fishing in crowds(though I have and will) and 2) usually the fish I find away from the crowds are of much better quality.
I am not saying that it is rite to do it. I have spots marked on the GPS that I think “ok nobody ever fishes this spot” but when I go back to that spot 90% of the time someone is there, do I leave? typically not because I know there are fish there and I want to catch them just as bad as anybody else. Does that make me a bad person or a poor fisherman, I choose to think not. It’s all a matter (just like everything else) of opinion. Cpetey I dont always do this, I was using it as an example as how we can all find ourselves being the ones moving in on someone else. Cpetey do you ever fish pool 4 in the spring? If so you cant tell me that you are not fishing amid a crowd somewhere, and more than likely the crowd was there before you unless you got on the water before 5:30am thus making another guilty member in this party. This is just an example. Like I stated before it upsets me just as much as it would anyone but it happens, it’s not enough to ruin my day, I know the fish are there and they are just as much mine as they are the next guys.
I agree yes we as fisherman should have etiquette towards one another but on the other hand I am not going to sit and fish dead water when I know there is fish in that area that others are in.
I hear you, and I don’t judge you for doing it. I choose not to fish pool 4 very often just for that reason. All of my friends that are in my boat or in my shack have heard me say “I’d rather catch less/smaller fish off the beaten path than amongst the crowds.” That doesn’t make me better or more ‘pure’ of a sportsman. It is just what I prefer. Like chunky peanut butter…It’s my preference. At this point it is the process rather than the outcome that gets me on the water or in the woods. I love to harvest food, but that is slowly becoming secondary.
Cheers 
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