Here’s a question for you. If I came to your house and emptied my bin on your doorstep, what would you say?
‘*^+”*&^”%@%*#*@*’! or something similar! Yesterday, as with most Sundays, there were fishermen on the small piece of land at the back of our boat. Usually they just ignore you when you emerge from the hatch, although sometimes they do grudgingly say ‘Morning’. When I came back from the elsan I discovered one of them was actually using the back of our boat as a rod rest! I decided to go in the back way so he had to move his rod. He was a bit more talkative than the usual ones, making half jokey, but nevertheless, pointed remarks about the fact that I had my washing machine going, disturbing the fish. I said I may have to run the engine as well, but of course I didn’t! I wish I had because after they left we found the whole of our back deck (essentially our doorstep) covered in maggots! Lovely!
There is a lot of animosity between boaters and fishermen (most of it unnecessary and petty) and this sort of behaviour is part of the reason why! For example you do find that when you cruise past them on the canal they mostly ignore you, because they are jarred off that they have to get their rods out of the way, but they know that before they start fishing there surely! There is obviously a likelihood that if you fish a river or canal a boat will come past sometime!
Apart from the rudeness of ignoring you, sometimes they fish in locks and on lock approaches too which is particularly irritating to us boaters. We usually need to moor up to get locks ready which is difficult if the lock approach moorings are occupied by fishermen. The temptation is to just plough through their tackle and moor anyway but we usually try to avoid a confrontation by doing more difficult manouvres. I could go on but I won’t bore you!
Ken is a fisherman and a boater and we try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt but I can assure you the local Sunday fishing mob will be getting short shrift next weekend if they turn up here!
