They seem harmless at first glance...
The Internet world of fishing forums is a pretty interesting, and occasionally, highly entertaining place. You never know exactly what topic might go ‘viral’, and sometimes it’s the little things that seem to trip the trigger of anglers.
This past week I witnessed just such an explosion of opinion over those little red, yellow and orange floaty things we call marker buoys. In 48 hours, a single seemingly harmless post ballooned into 10 pages and nearly 100 responses on the subject. A brief surf of the Internet found another example from a couple years back on the same subject that went on for 6 pages and nearly 75 responses.
What’s all the huffin’ and puffin’ about?
So here’s the basic story line. Angler is out fishing and has a spot marked with a bouy. Bite slows down on the hole so he leaves and runs around the corner to another area, out of sight of his first buoy which he leaves in place on the lake. Some 45 minutes to an hour later, he returns to see if the bite has picked back up on his first spot, only to find that someone has picked up his marker buoy and “confiscated” it.
Buoy didn’t have his name or phone # on it, but did have a 2 word descriptor of his boat, like “Red Ranger”. This is when the opinions started flying and the post got very entertaining.
Depending on your point of view, whoever picked up that buoy could be a low life, belly dragging, snake of a thief, the kind of guy who would steal your wife and kids if you left them alone in a public place for too long (honest, someone referenced a similar argument), or your boat from the dock when you weren’t looking.
Then there were others that said you leave a bouy on a public lake, out of your sight for an hour, and you deserve to lose it.
Of course, the discussion had to go nuanced into things like being able to tell that the buoy wasn’t left a long time ago because it was freshly colored with no algae growing on it or the string, and so whoever picked it up must have known it was being “used” at the time and not accidently left.
Then there was the ‘devolution of discourse’ into comments over who owns the water, what kind of arrogance does it take to assume you can mark a public spot as your own and leave it and return at your will, etc., etc. Like I said, highly entertaining.
So anyway, who has had their buoy lifted while out on the water, or what are your guidelines or thoughts on buoy use? Do you simply use GPS now instead of a marker? How far should one be able to drift away from a placed buoy without someone moving in on the spot? Do you give a guy common courtesy, or is the entire lake fair game and you go nose to nose on a spot, ala Martens-Velvick? Is a buoy out of your sight asking too much?
Let’s hear your thoughts on this one.
14 Comments
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Rich
October 6, 2011 at 9:28 am
I am on the side of, if you leave a buoy out of site, how is the next person supposed to know if it was accidental or intentional and how long it has been there?
I always pick up buoys that are stray, they are a hazard for props and lower units when unattended
Don’t be lazy, wind up your buoys and place it again when you come back
admin (mostly Jay)
October 6, 2011 at 1:14 pm
+1, and I don’t get why anyone would leave a spot marked….
Dwain
October 7, 2011 at 11:50 pm
I agree, don’t leave it in public water, and out of sight, if you want it back. That’s like leaving a newspaper on a seat at the airport to save your spot then going to the counter, when you get back someones going to have your newspaper and your seat.
Jeff
October 6, 2011 at 9:42 am
I agree with Rich, don’t leave buoy’s unattended if your out of sight or leaving an area.
Not no mention I dont like to pinpoint my hotspot for the world to see!
5bites
October 6, 2011 at 9:57 am
Rich and Jeff are exactly right. Recently I picked up a gatoraid bottle with a horseshoe attached to it for a buoy. I didn’t hear any gunshots so I guess I was ok.
Depending on location I can see leaving a buoy but if it came up missing I wouldn’t be surprised either.
Avidbasser
October 6, 2011 at 10:02 am
If you go out of sight of your marker buoy, don’t expect it to be there when you return. I also pick up buoys if no other boat is in sight. I figure they must be lost!
Dean Jones
October 6, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Who said it was pick up, it could of been snag by someone trolling or caught up in a prop. In either case that guy was mad and propably just threw it away or kept it for damage done.
aaronb
October 6, 2011 at 3:24 pm
Leaving a marker behind is no better than chucking trash in the lake…With the added bonus that someone could pick the string up with their prop, screw up the seals, and potentially cost a guy a few grand for a new lu. A lot of guys paint them black, so they’d be easy to miss while running. I’d pick it up for sure, and when the guy came back I’d show it to him, smile, and put it right back in one of my compartments.
Champion202
October 6, 2011 at 6:31 pm
Just picked up a buoy late in the day around 5:00pm, two hours after tournament was over. Saw it on driveby at 2:30, no boats around. On return trip toward ramp there it was all alone and brand new. Thanks!!!!
Chad Keogh
October 6, 2011 at 7:33 pm
I had a buoy taken while fishing. Same scenario as the guy you mentioned. Now I don’t leave them. I just re-mark the spot when I return.
Recklessbasser
October 6, 2011 at 11:00 pm
I’ve intentionally left markers for others when I know I’m being watched from a distance. In these instances I wasn’t using a buoy while fishing. As I’m idling away, I toss one out on the opposite side from the potential poacher about 50 to 100 yards away from where I was fishing. It’s a great way to identify those on the bent rod pattern. Especially when the buoy is nowhere near any cover or structure, and is in 45 feet of water when the thermocline is at 23 feet. One guy fired away at the marker for almost an hour.
BTW, I do go back and pick’em up (if they don’t). But not until I’ve had a few laughs.
admin (mostly Jay)
October 7, 2011 at 12:39 pm
That’s pretty funny!
Alex Voog
October 7, 2011 at 1:03 pm
If you are leaving, take your garbage with you! If not, finders keepers. Both mechanics and boat owners both LOVE replacing seals….
Duke
October 9, 2011 at 10:01 am
Had a buoy on the point of a ledge at KY Lake. jet-skier rolls by , spins around, runs back to buoy and stops to inspect, then starts to pick it up. I’m in plain sight, 75 yards away. When I hollered “hey that’s mine” they looked at me like I was the knuclehead…I laughed off and on for hours over that one.