Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
A few weeks ago a couple good friends of mine were sea bass fishing over a wreck 30-some miles offshore. Their game plan was to fish the wreck long enough to grab just enough fish for a couple meals and then drift off the structure and fish for sharks the rest of the day. Since it was sort of a “loner” wreck without much else in the area, they were happy that no one else was fishing there when they arrived. But their carefree morning was about to become a bit more complicated when they saw another vessel approaching from the northwest and realized that the boat wasn’t just passing through, but was indeed planning to fish the same wreck.
Wreck fishing etiquette dictates that if someone is already on a structure they have the right to fish it by themselves and without intrusion or pressure from other fishermen. Even if the wreck is large enough for more than one boat, and the 1st boat is anchored on one end of it, it’s not right for another boat to come along and anchor on the other end because the first guy might have plans to adjust his anchor and work other parts of the wreck as the day plays out. Once a second boat sets up on the same structure, that option is off the table. Of course, if boat #1 invites boat #2 to share the structure, then it fine for #2 to do so at a reasonable distance from #1.
It’s all common sense and common courtesy, and the way it usually plays out. Unfortunately, as my two friends found out that day, there are times when things don’t quite go the way they should. In their case, instead of #2 asking #1 if it would be OK to share the wreck, #2 pulled up to within 10-yards of #1 and started fishing. To add insult to injury, the only communication that came from #2 was a comment about how “GPS and outboards are going to be the death of this fishery”.
Amazing! Not only did the guy wrongfully horn-in and crowd a couple of anglers who should have been left alone to fish the wreck as they pleased, but he also went so far as to insult them by suggesting that they were doing something wrong because HE had more right to fish the wreck because HE had a bigger boat.
Such squabbles among fishermen have always gone on, and I expect they always will. Every one of us can come up with plenty of reasons why we are more deserving to be the one who has best access to the fish. The local-yocal might look with distain upon the never-ending stream of “weekend warriors” who pop in and out of his hometown waters as unwelcome competition for the fish he catches in his own backyard and a reason why he should be allowed special privileges. In the same respect, the visiting angler might figure that he deserves extra consideration because he only fishes a day or two a year and, therefore, makes very little impact on the fishery compared to that of the local fishermen.
While both camps can make pretty good arguments on their own behalf, the fact is, no single angler or group of anglers deserves more access or rights to our fisheries than any other. Of course, the unique nature of each fishery is such that some anglers will naturally be precluded from access - if you don’t have a boat to fish from you’re not going to be doing any marlin fishing! But big boat or little boat, it doesn’t matter what someone fishes from, our nations resources belong to all citizens. Those of us who live along the coast have no more right to them than some fellow from Iowa, Ohio or any other part of the country. If you can get to the fish – you have equal rights to fish for them.
On those same lines, there has been a longstanding misconception held by some that the for-hire industry (that would be charter and head boat captains) have more rights to, or should be granted more access to, our fisheries than those who engage in it purely for fun and recreation. But just because someone chooses to try and crank out a living by taking people out fishing is no reason they should be given privileges above and beyond what John Q. Public has when he’s fishing the same waters in his 23-foot center console. Running a business at the expense of a public resource is a privilege not a right, and with that privilege comes a basket full of responsibilities that sets a captain “apart” from but “not above” other fishermen.
Unfortunately, the manor in which some captains handle those extra responsibilities sometimes foster conflict among other fishermen. As a charter boat captain myself, I know well the stress and strain involved with day after day trying to make clients happy by putting them on the fish while working around issues with weather, time constrains, trip expenses and their own abilities and attitudes. There are a lot variables for a captain to consider each morning as they choose a destination and formulate a game-plan that they hope will make for a successful day and satisfied angers. We know that as the day unfolds, any number variables could pop up that might force us to shift gears and depart from our original plan, and through experience we learn how to adjust as necessary to make the best of each curveball that’s pitched to us. Showing up at a wreck that you planned to fish and finding someone else is already there is just one of those things we have to deal with now and again. It’s “how” we deal with such problems that can demonstrate our experience, abilities and professionalism, traits that the guy who bullied my friends on the wreck must have elected to keep locked up in his cabin that day.
Whether they’re fishing a wreck, trolling an offshore weedline, drifting a back-bay channel or fishing the inlet’s South Jetty, common courtesy and proper etiquette allow both access and fairness to all anglers regardless of the size of their boat or the nature of their trip. Not even those who go the extra mile to donate time and money to restore or protect our fisheries deserve extra privileges. The folks who manage the Ocean City Reef Foundation have probably done more to enhance our offshore fisheries than anyone else on the planet and yet I’ve never once caught wind of any of them suggesting that they have more right to fish the very structures that they’ve created than anyone else does. “That’s” what it’s all about!
It doesn’t matter if you drive a 12-foot jon boat, do all your fishing from the shoreline, are a full time charter captain or only fish one day a year, even after 30-years of making my living doing the “captain thing” I don’t expect you to give me any special privileges just because I’m running charters or drive a 40-foot boat. I do expect that folks will show myself and every other fisherman common courtesy and exercise proper fishing etiquette without regard to the size of the boat or level of experience. But no one, NO ONE, has more rights on the water than anyone else!
Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat, “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
