[SlySimon]

Okay, so me and the wife set up early on Eastney beach for a nice long session. Fishing that is!
An hour later a family decide they are going to set up on top of the shingle just behind us. Nothing wrong with that.
Their two young lads, maybe 6/7 years old, then start splashing about in the water next to us. Still okay, not too close. They then went back to Mummy and Daddy.
The wife and I are now spinning as there doesn't seem to be anything happening on the bottom.
Half an hour later, the two young boys are back in the water and are joined by three other family members, probably late teens early twenties, who start winding them up..... The area they are now swimming in is getting dangerously close to where we are retrieving our lures with triples on.
A few yells of 'Careful guys' go unheaded. The group are oblivious to anything other than the fun they are having, including the huge seal that swam right in front of where we were fishing, about 10 feet from the beach and ten feet from them.
So when the youngest of the lads swims right in front of me while I was halfway through winding in I yelled at the oldest of the lads to 'Stop being a plonka and watch where they were swimming as we were trying to fish'.
This he heard and made a feeble attempt to holler back. However it had the desired effect and they calmed down and stayed out of the way.

So how do others handle situations like this?
Do you just find the parents and ask them if they know where the nearest A&E is 'just in case'?

I know we all have to share the beach, but with so much of it, why swim right by anglers?

Winds me up!

 

[wswan]

I absolutely agree, i had the exact same thing at Deal in Kent on Saturday. Now anyone who knows Deal beach knows it is a bloody long beach, miles long so why is it swimmers and people messing around on kayaks chose to go directly infront of you, it is so frustrating!

As you rightfully say the beach is of course anyones to use but when theres miles of beach unused to your left and right, why do they chose to go swimming right next to or infront of you??? Its rediculous and quite honestly senseless, if i had a child i would not for a second allow them to swim infront of people casting and retriving 'hooks', the clue is in the name, its a h-o-o-k..... even if you have never been fishing before you would surely have the sense and awareness to realise that is quite frankly a stupid idea.

I would never arrive to go fishing, look up and down the beach and think yes theres a group of people swimming and inclose on kayaks and inflatables, out of all the available spots on the beach, i think thats the one i'm going to choose...

Sorry...rant over....it just makes me angry. In answer to your question, personally, if i was there first i wont move and i wont stop fishing, why should i? We have the same rights to use the beach, if they get hurt its their thought for being inconsiderate and not using their god-given senses....

 

[SlySimon]

Huzzah!

Glad it's not just me.

 

[gulp me drug]

I would move - though I should not have to. Mainly because of the noise, and partially because I would feel like shyte if I hooked a child.

 

[le pecheur]

mmmmmmmmmm..........wonder what they taste like though :dry:

 

[weepete]

Had it a few times on holiday, I was on the beach from early bells, no one else about but the herons and set up in my wee spot. Around 9 the beach starts filling up a bit but still 300 yards either side of me was clear untill this bloomin family dump their stuff 10 feet to my left and get in the water right in front of me. Not the best of ideas as I had been chucking bloody shad about in the water for the last 3 hrs in hope of a shark. I was furious, it wasn't hard to fugure out where I was fishing and I know they saw me, I thought about saying something but just had to walk away 'cos I wouldn't have been polite. Second time the same thing happened with another family with small kids, I mashed up some groundbait and chucked it in the water and they seemed to get the message. It wasn't hard to see where I was fishing the second time either, there was a great big float in the water! I put it down to complete ignorance...

 

[bens1247]

Common sense says that if you approach them calmly and explain the dangers most decent people would move away, the problem is, if I'm anything to go by, you give it a few minutes, then a few more in the hope the disturbance will subside, move away, drown, by this time you are so wound up it is futile to speak to anybody as your temper is fraying and will probably end up in a slanging match.

I think one of the reasons people do this is that they know you are the one that is stationary, i.e. it is you that will need to make the greater effort, moving your kit etc to find a new, quieter place to fish whereas they can just pi** off on their jetskis, speedboats etc without any of the hassle and it is actually part of the enjoyment of their day out to pi** us off.

Occasionally it is an innocent mistake but all to often I fear that people just don't give a toss!!!

No help I know, just my understanding of this.

 

[Rouge Moullet]

When they arrive reel in bait up and do a mock dodgy cast before they get settled a few "LOOKOUTS" followed by "oops sorry" will soon have em moving along mate.:thumbs:

 

[weepete]

oops, double post. I hope it's just ignonance by people who don't fish but you'd probably get the same thing if you were pointing a gun at the water ......

 

[scotwitch]

I have teeth marks in my tongue from Saturday at Hythe, we set up with a nice big gap away from others.. then, first 3 teenage girls plonked themselves on the ridge above and about 10 foot over, thats fine but when they started throwing stones down the beach that were splitting on contact and flying in all directions including back up at me, I shot them a filthy look so they got up and moved... straight down in front of my rods and were throwing stones out into sea.... then a group of 3 adults with 5/6 kids walked down right next to rods and started throwing stones out...gggrrrrr:wallbash: all that spare space. Then a chinese family with 2 kids walk down to the right of rods and start lobbing... after half an hour they walked back up and sat right behind me on the top ridge with the boy 'still' throwing stones down that were now hitting my spare rod stand/tackle box etc... my hubby started getting a worried look as my temper is a bit er... like a firework, if you light that blue fuse start running fast:boxing: They all finally start to disappear and some wally then decides to swim out to a buoy and back right in front of hubby and another chap who were chucking feathers, and man could that fella cast they were going a good 10/20 foot past the buoy... what a total plonker!! It put a serious damper on what should have been a lovely day and evening.

 

[wolfgang]

I would move - though I should not have to. Mainly because of the noise, and partially because I would feel like shyte if I hooked a child.

you should try it on a freshwater rod they put up a really good scrap :spiteful:

 

[fishfearme]

hi iv had this lods in matches and i just take the old bate of the hooks and chuck it at them and when thay come over i just say oh srooy i dident see you there then that walk of then if thay dont move do it agane and agane and after about half hour of this thay tend to go

 

[SlySimon]

I do like the idea of throwing a dodgy cast and throwing old bait in their direction. I think I'll save a some old squid bits and dead worm in a plastic tub until they really reek and throw that out next time.

I was also thinking, as I print my own tee shirts, that I could print a big warning on one... something like.... Warning - Shark fishing with very large hooks. But somehow I doubt it would be noticed.

Maybe a huge grappling hook on the end of a coil of rope on the ground next to me that I could pick up and start swinging round my head as if about to cast. :idea:

 

[finnmaccool]

You're lucky you can onto a beach after 10am. Where I live they're packed with swimmers, body boarders and the lilo crowd. They have the priority and as such anglers are expected to pack up and head for the rocks, so as not to 'endanger' bathers. Even then you get the odd spearfisherman pop his head up where you're trying to get black bream feeding. the only alternative is to night fish, then you get the prats who party on the beach and go skinny dipping after which they retire to the sunbeds for a shag. In the winter, it's not so bad, but there have been confrontations with surfers.

 

[SlySimon]

You're lucky you can onto a beach after 10am. Where I live they're packed with swimmers, body boarders and the lilo crowd. They have the priority and as such anglers are expected to pack up and head for the rocks, so as not to 'endanger' bathers. Even then you get the odd spearfisherman pop his head up where you're trying to get black bream feeding. the only alternative is to night fish, then you get the prats who party on the beach and go skinny dipping after which they retire to the sunbeds for a shag. In the winter, it's not so bad, but there have been confrontations with surfers.

I must admit, that sounds terrible. I was starting to feel very sorry for you until I noticed that you live in Spain

 

[Vicfisher]

This is one of the reasons why I never fish my local beaches during the day during the Summer. I always fish them at last light and into night.

Having said that, you still occasionally get some d1ckheads that have too many beers/doobies on the beach and then decide to do a night swim right next to you. A polite farq off usually does the trick

 

[finnmaccool]

Doobies. Haven't seen that word for a long time.

 

[palmer3977]

i was fishing off nabb rock in the mumbles the other day, a walkway on the shore front with cycle path, railings ect, then in came a small speed boat close in buzzing back & fore 30 ft in front of where i was casting with a 12ft beachcaster & 4oz lead, when he stopped i shouted out come on mate stay behind the buys, im trying 2 fish here, next thing he started his engine & power back & fore left 2 right again then stops right in front of me 30 yards out close in front of the buys where they r not supposed to, so i thought right arsehole & casted a baited trace & 4 oz lead directly at his boat, not thinking it would be that accurate, 2 or 3 seconds after i had taken my thumb off the spool, i thought, oh ****, im not a bad caster after all & promptly put my thumb back on the spool to slow it down, or by now i would be in the dock myself, facing charges, then i had 2 pack up & go home, needless 2 say there were no more bites as his engine had seen all the fish off but b4 he came i had missed 2 nice bites & landed a nice size gurnard, selfish [email protected]#&£ds

 

[fiskman6666]

As has been already said we are all entitled to use the beach,and generally it all goes on with little or no real disagreement.On the occasions when you do get the numpties set up a base of operations near to where you are fishing it is as well to imagine in your own mind what the local press headlines ,never mind the bbc newswhen a child/swimmer/jet skier/moron or whatever impales himself on your hook.
We are NOT selfish mindless people who deliberately set out to injure other people "innocently" enjoying a day at the "seaside" ,but believe me that is how we will be portrayed by the press.
We each of us are ambassadors of our sport and it really is best to either politely inform them of the dangers of being in close proximity to an angler or pack up your gear and go find a nice quiet spot far from the madding crowd.
The problem does indeed abate somewhat during the cooler months but there is still the person who thinks the tide line is the best place to exercise fido,who then decides he likes the lump of squid hanging on your prebaited trace hanging on your rod rest ,or fancies your lunch or even nicer decides to p**s everywhere .Shucks we have to be the most patient souls on the planet at times.
Dave

 

[cfish]

Another good reason to go fishing on a very rainy horrible day,insomnia time of night or before the lazy numptys roll out of there pits and head beachwards. Ive not got the self control to put up with the numptys,as i try too hard to ignore them then when my patience fails i am like a lanky firework swearing,shouting and pulling my hair out LOL It seems to me that jetskis and speedboats must be restricted to within 500yrds of the shore round here,all that water where they could really have some fun yet they have to annoy people by whizzing around by the shore,praps theyve got little d1cks and need to make themselves feel better by showing off????