I keep it simple...I ask if it is OK to fish near. If I'm close enough to talk, asking is only polite and reasonable. If they say no...OK then...they may not be too good of company anyway.

I absolutely hate it when I get fallowed around, like some stray dog looking for scraps. Any guys that make a practice of doing this to other anglers or guides that are actively guiding clients are really trespassing on that clients trip and being very rude and disrespectful. On some lakes with active guides this is comical at times..they move...the buzzards fallow.

I have had guys actually fallow and use the holes I just drilled...before I could get my own line wet...guys I had no clue who they were...Like COME ON!! What's up with that?



Like all things, common cents and respect go a long ways in this world.

I stay 40-50 yards at the least.Because I dont like people gettin much closer than that to me.I find it much more enjoyable when I dont have to listen to the people around me yappin.

From my experiences, close in Minn is 30 feet, in the UP of Michigan 300 feet.

I like this approach. IMO Some of the smaller lakes don't have much good structure. Does it really make sense, or is it fair to expect no one to fish in an area staked out by a permanent(s) that is only occupied say on the weekend. If that person is that concerned about issues then they should tow it off the lake when not in use for more than a day+.

Key is to be considerate of others especially during peak hours.

I typically don't fish directly in the crowds, but there are times when my key spots draw lots of traffic by permanents.

I don't leave my house on the lake unless I am using it, unless of course we are just running to shore. I think it's very obvious that my house is "in use" as we will typically take the atv's to shore and leave the truck or have coolers and a garbage outside the house. We will also leave the generator running as it is secured to the house.

In my opinion it would not be right to snuggle up close to a house that is obviously in use, but to your point I also agree that people that leave there house on the lake all season and only use it sparingly should expect people to some what encroach on their area.

Regardless I don't think it's too much to ask for a 20ft perimeter around my house under most circumstances. At no time should holes be drilled within 10 ft around someones permanent house.

Also if you choose to move in on the spot that I am setup on DO NOT complain about my generator, not that it's loud anyways as it is a Honda . I set and secure it just off of the v-front so if it doesn't bother me in my house it shouldn't bother you at your camp.

These are just my opinions, I hope most other would agree as I don't feel out of line with my requests.

NEVER set your catch outside your house! If you dont want company thats the worst thing to do. I carry a 5 gallon pail and put some snow in it and put my fish in there.
If anyone askes fishing is always SLOW.

ha ya nothing attracts people like a nice pile of fish on the ice...i picked up one of those ice wells this year works pretty good only had to use it once but they were still flopping when i got home

yea that's about the equivilent of waving the net in the air.

100 feet.
stay away from me unless I tell you that you can fish near me!

I have had too many times when I am on a good shallow water bite and some one comes around and starts to make a racket with their augers, setting up their houses etc. and have the bite totaly turn off.

I hate that when that happens!

Exactly! I got a buddy who throws his fish on the ice and I can't stand it, especially when he's fishing one of my spots! When people see fish on the ice they key right in on ya, so use a pail and hide the fish!

I've had it happen when we were fishing for some crappies/sunnies and someone came up in the same little bay ( they were about 50 ft away) and put up some tip ups. Fish bites died after that . So if you see someone fishing for pan fish, don't invite the big boys in there if you are that close, it wrecks it for the people who were there first! Or at least ask, that is always the best bet.

I can relate to this and I follow the stealth rules with my fish, keep them inside, keep them low so others don't see you catching them. I fish out of the way spots. I did set up my permanent shack on a particularly good spot last winter that I found in my prospecting adventures. The problem with a permanent shack is that people always assume you are catching fish and come over and fish by it just to investigate. I came out one night and had a portable and a truck 15' off the front of the house and another one setup twenty feet to the door side. I found it hard to get my truck next to the house and was a bit irritated. If I had wanted to move the house I couldn't without disrupting the portable and the truck 15 feet away but I also would have had a heck of a time getting backed up to hitch it up to move it. IMO that is too close! The best part of the night was that I landed three walleyes outside on the side of my truck, slipped them in the bucket and went on like nothing ever happened. These guys didn't have a clue. The kicker was when the sun started to go down they packed up and left and I proceeded to have my spot to myself again and catch a couple more fish. My perm is a bit heavy and I don't care to have people fishing and driling right next to it besides the fact that it is illegal I believe, to be that close to a permanent shack. 50 feet is comfortable and anything over that is better in my book. I have run into someone who was using my shack as a windbreak and fishing and knew from the equipment that they didn't get out much. He offered to leave but since I was fishing alone and had a nice warm house to myself I invited him in. Older fella, we chatted and I got to know him a bit and turned out to be a pretty decent guy but hadn't fished in years and just decided to head out and try for the day. He went home with fresh fish for dinner and I had someone on the shore that watched over my shack for the winter. This time of year on early ice and shallow water quiet and secluded is key but it doesn't always work out that way especially in the metro. The guys that know me know that I often fish off the beaten path just to go out of my way to avoid the crowds which sometimes ends up drawing crowds anyways. Like the sage Northlander said, it is ALWAYS slow where I fish. I'd encourage people to go out and get off the beaten path and find a few fish in areas where there aren't people and you'll typically find that you are less crowded. Yes you have many nights where there aren't fish in the bucket but when you hit that spot that produces day in and day out it is all worth it.
Tunrevir~

Guy's I read the reg's this afternoon and it states that you can not set up within 10 feet of another house! We would all like more space on the ice as we would all like more space on open water.
I for one do not set up that close to anyone unless I know them, I too have had someone pull to with 10-15' of my portable and start drilling holes at sundown, but with the stress level within our society I don't say much and they might just be packing something more then fishing rods.
If it were upto most of us sportsmen and women the distance would be greater and people would be nicer, but times are not the same as when I started ice fishing.
Let it go, life is too short to stress out over some one crowding you out, who knows if you talk with them you might just make a new friend.
WW