COLREGS vs. bank fishing

[Jammer]

Something new for you all to ponder.

The Bayfront Festival Park fronts on the Duluth Harbor Basin. The harbor frontage is a mooring pier, 22' deep, previously used for commercial freight traffic. Portions of the pier are still used to moor large passenger vessels and, on special occasions, other craft. The pier extends beyond the park where it joins the entrance of two marinas: "Pier B marina" to the southwest, and a city marina to the northeast that is mostly used by charter boats (referred to as the Minnesota slip on some charts; a museum ship is also anchored there). The mouth of both the city marina and pier B have operable pedestrian bridges so that the considerable foot traffic can cross.

The harbor basin sees daily commercial traffic, mostly freighters, the occasional cruise ship, and a couple of excursion boats. There are also several additional small craft marinas beyond those adjacent to the park with a total of around 500 slips among them. It's a busy place.

Last night there was a band playing and a large (1000ish) crowd ashore. There was a light wind was blowing towards the harbor from the pier. I came through fairly early in the evening and we sailed slowly along the pier on a reach with reefed sails. We were about a boatlength or two away from the pier, taking in the crowd and the music. Boaters tend to cruise past the bandshell as we were doing, and some anchor there and enjoy the music. Last night there were three boats in the area besides us, another sailboat (also under sail), a small runabout, and a kayak.

In the midst of all this there was some guy fishing with surf gear. He started waving his fishing pole and trying to shout over the music as we approached. He wasn't using a bobber or anything else that would provide a visual indication of how far out his line was, but it was clear he expected us to stop or turn so we would pass further away from the pier.

Among people who are serious about fishing there is a fairly strong ethos of "whoever is there first gets to fish." People who engage in bank fishing, in my experience, take this farther than people who fish from boats. There are stories out there of conflicts with restaurant patrons (being hooked at a nearby patio table by a badly executed cast), scuba divers, etc.

This is the first time I've seen one of them try to shoo boats out of such a large space, in an area where there is usually heavy boat traffic.

I'm curious how our forum participants view the obligations of boats and anglers in these situations.

[Jammer]

Here's the chart of the area, with the arrow showing where the individual was bank fishing.

[SaylorMade]

I don't know about rules, not sure there are any, but I would say that the smartest thing to do, is to give anglers a sufficiently wide berth.

Firstly it is polite, since he was there first, secondly I don't want to have any of his "stuff" entangled with any of my underwater extremeties

[AKA-None]

I know the place and there isn’t much you can do except swing wide and make a police complaint

[JPA Cate]

Maybe SaylorMade has the right of it.

However, I've been in a similar situation, once, except that where you were sailing was the edge of SF Bay in light night air, it was the finish of an all day ocean race, and the whole fleet was tucked over to the edge, to stay out of the building ebb, so as to finish sooner.

Suddenly a curse impugning my grandmother's supposed sexual activities rang out over the still night air. I'd never heard that insult before. I infer that he was afraid for his fishing line.

But I don't think they should be allowed to cast after dark where people and their kids are going to be sailing. The area should be clearly posted as such, and the police to enforce it till the fishermen get the word. Don't want to lose any children's vision over their fishing privileges. The boats are a well known phenomenon in both cases, and a public relations scheme encouraging fishermen to not fish there after dark or when there are entertainments scheduled might help.

Where we are located now, near Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, the yacht clubs inform the Vessel Traffic Service of their events, and there are routine closures of area to various activities to protect other activities. Everyone seems to cooperate quite well.

Ann

[thomm225]

So back a few years ago I was cutting it close as I headed out to the Atlantic Ocean over the Southern Tunnel of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

I was concerned about the current through that area and the direction of the wind.

So I was headed NE close to the Southern Tunnel Island. When I got close, this fisherman started waving his arms in the air.

As a bank fisherman many times myself, I would reel in my line or lines rather than depend on the boater to do something.

Anyway, I finally saw the lines and ducked up under my dodger so as not to get hooked in the ear, eye, arm, or head etc. and sailed on through as the lines fell away or were cut off by my keel, mast, or rigging.

I had an experience when I was sailing one of my Beach Cats in Pensacola where some jackass was trolling a tiny spinner bait lure like 400 yards behind his Jon Boat in a very crowded area.

We sailed thru it having no idea there was even a line there and the lure just miss my head and my girlfriend's head as it went around the mast and zinged away.

[chrisr]

i believe this is much more a matter for courtesy and common sense, than colregs

cheers,

[Adelie]

What do you mean by bank fishing?
Fishing done the bank of the waterway?

That chunk of water is not going to be subject to COLREGS. Great Lakes or Inland rules more likely.

Anglers with lines on small boats don’t even count as fishing vessels under COLREGS. The rules in effect there would be similar.

Anglers on shore have even less status casting lines into navigable waters.

An analogy would be walking your dog along a roadway. You are walking on the sidewalk. Should you allow your dog to walk in a traffic lane. I will admit the analogy is not that great.

The expected courtesy of the matter is a while different can of worms than the legalities of it and I express no opinion on the etiquette.

[thomm225]

On another occasion, I was fishing below the Dam at Pickwick Lake (early 1990's) on the Tennessee River.

Someone did a cast that went right over a boater fishing right near the dam.

We were all catching Striper which is a saltwater fish that adapted to fresh water after being trapped there.

The boater then cut the fisherman's line because the weight just missed his head.

The fisherman then processed to tie spark plugs to his line and casting out trying to hit the fisherman.

Video is below the Dam at Pickwick fishing by boat.

So we on the bank fish from this little catwalk which usually is above the water level but not always. First video.

Boaters are usually out close to the dam.

Last video Pickwick Lake Side which is where the sailboat racing happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voFVl6L7QIo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTB5lE3vOA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwyb29vdZYs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcSOtoYHl_0

[glenn.225]

Hahaha, when I read the title, I was expecting something else. To me, bank fishing = grand banks as in off Newfoundland.

[Wotname]

One guy is peacefully using the environment to go about their legitimate recreational travels. Another guy is peacefully using the environment to hunt their legitimate quarry.

It seems to me both guys should be aware of each other and each take their own action to limit their impact on the other's activities. Some folk play nice, other's not so much.

However if injury results from the interaction between the two, then I suspect the angler would be (and should be) held responsible.

[requiem]

For me it's a matter of courtesy; if fishing your casts shouldn't interfere with navigation, and if sailing it's polite to give space to fisherfolk. If someone can't pull in a line, or decides to cast in a hazardous manner, that's at a minimum creating a nuisance.

Sometimes circumstances bring the two into conflict and for large events I'd likely defer to the event. People often congregate in boats and kayaks near the baseball stadium here, and there'd be little sympathy for someone trying to cast into that crowd. Similarly, a fishing tournament might be reasonably justified to ask people to keep clear.

[Scorpius]

Originally Posted by glenn.225

Hahaha, when I read the title, I was expecting something else. To me, bank fishing = grand banks as in off Newfoundland.

Me too!

[NorthCoastJoe]

Working as a beach lifeguard, a long time ago, I had a kid get hooked right between the eyes by a fisherman casting. Another 1/4 inch left or right and that hook would have been in an eye.

[Montanan]

Classic Row v Wade