Dangerous casting practice

[DerekD]

Hi all,

Just wanted other people's thoughts on how to deal with dangerous casting practices...

Last few days I have been fishing a shared use area with broad age range (12-60+) of people. As there were a few bust ups in the area (no, I won't be saying where) it got a little exciting at times. As a group we tried to keep our gear as closely packed as possible and be as considerate as we could of the pedestrians passing by. When I teach people I keep hammering home to watch and be careful with the back cast. I have only ever hooked one person and that was myself with a fly rod - I never ever want to see a bystander hooked (or myself again).

Someone not part of the group moved into the area with big wide brimmed hat and sunglasses on (limited peripheral vision) and started casting plastics. His casting technique was to face straight forward and square to the water and without looking behind him put the rod straight back over his right shoulder to the horizontal and then punch overhead and forwards. Essentially it meant that anyone passing two metres behind him was at risk of being hooked and pretty viciously. When seeing him doing this multiple times and being concerned about other people passing by I had a polite word with him about what I consider to be a dangerous practice. He noted the comment and then went straight back to doing it. Moving along the walkway he continued to do so regardless of when people were walking by. I'd put him in the 50 to 60 age bracket and the probably too old to listen or care category (fortunately don't come across those too often). He came back to our area and started doing it again so I had some more words with him about it and his response was that he did look back. Not that any of us could see him turning his head or he had better peripheral vision and hearing than a kindergarten teacher.

Turns out one of my friends had come across him before when he almost hit my mate's young son with the back cast and when confronted about it he argued that the son should not have been passing behind him. As someone that is fishing I believe I need to take responsibility for the sharp hooks and knives that are the tools of my pastime.

I suspect I'll run across this rather nasty piece of work again and would like a viable suggestion of how to effectively deal with this which doesn't involve an AVO or damage of property fine. Yes I can turn a blind eye to it and walk away but I would never forgive myself if a young kid walking past lost an eye or ended up with a serious enough injury to end up in hospital because of my inaction. I really hope he wasn't a Fishraider and if he is and sees this that he modifies his technique.

Please note that I work in an industry in which a lack of attention could end up killing someone. The duty of care I feel in the workplace carries over into personal time and it is one of the reasons this has fired me up so much.

Your thoughts,

Derek

PS. The thought had crossed my mind that he is someone that is not playing with a full deck.

Edited December 9, 2018 by DerekD

[masterfisho7]

Sounds like to me you are right not a full deck 

[BuckWild]

1 hour ago, DerekD said:

Your thoughts,

Unfortunately there will always be selfish, inconsiderate people in this world. Nothing much more you can do other than have a word with him and hope he modifies behaviour. Sadly, the lesson sometimes doesn't hammer home until some innocent party pays the price for their selfish actions e.g drink drivers

 

[big Neil]

G'day Derek. You've done all you can to alert this character to a potential problem. Quite natural that you would feel some responsibility for trying to have him "change his ways", most of us would. Being a realist, as I am, I have always believed that we can change our own behaviour, but we can't change the behaviour of others, unless they are willing. I reckon you should continue being conscientious, but (sadly) lower your expectations regarding some "fellow humans".

You can take the horse to the trough, but you can't make it drink. Cheers, bn

[kingie chaser]

Hi Derek, it sounds like you have acted in your & the publics best interest & handle it quite well but my question in where does this persons behaviour come in the realm of the law??

Can his action affect public safety?

Sounds like it.

 

Can harm or injury to the public be caused by his actions?

It sounds like it.

 

I would be inclined to inform the local police who may think it is trivial BUT they are there to protect the public & may at least be able to give him a warning he will actually listen to & if not adhered to then shut him down all together.

 

Plenty of similar situations like this around where someone is doing the wrong thing & when approached that person ends up either a victim or a statistic so let the police handle it.

I'd be discreetly taking a picture of this guy to show the police as well!!

 

 

[Green Hornet]

An old fella across the road always had a saying, "you can't put a wise head on dumb shoulders".

Hopefully one day he'll backcast and hook a bus. That'll learn him.

[anthman]

Just thinking of the social situation, perhaps if the collective group shared their concern next time he goes at it - I imagine 1 on 1 is one thing, angering the mob is another.

Maybe get those you are fishing with to back you up in a very gentle discussion. Surrounding fishos would understand, non-fishos would be appreciative of the concern for public safety.

And if that fails, chuck on a 1oz jighead on 80lb fluoro and catch yourself a 50year old wide-brim fisho 🤣

Edited December 9, 2018 by anthman

[mrsswordfisherman]

It is not ever a good idea to use “pack mentality”

Derek you have done the best you can. Leave this to the authorities. Police and fisheries are our friends in many cases.

There are so many instances out there that fire me up too, don’t start me on the Jetski people!!

 

[Scratchie]

You can’t teach stupid. 

You did the right thing by bringing it to his attention. If unfortunately, the situation you described happens, then that is something HE will have to deal with. 

We warn our kids about the many dangers in life, yet somehow they still get some things wrong! 

Life is one big lesson! 

I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. 

Cheers scratchie!!! 

[browncrab]

As a self proclaimed number 1 d@#khead magnet i have learnt a great technique to deal with these people using my gift to annoy people. All i do is stand inappropriately close next to the perpetrator and start talking their ear off. I ask about their family, what they had for dinner and even what colour their undies are. Always ends up with that wtf look on their face then they tend to move on and stay away. If they don't move far enough i follow them till they get the message that if they are going to fish near me they have to put up with me.

[PaddyT]

Ultimately if he whacked anyone he would liable-however small kids need to watched very carefully around water or fishing activities, I never let my kids when they were small stand behind me in a crowded situation- i always had "eyes front" on them. Having said that when i was a teenager i saw the aftermath of when a guy throwing lures off the front ledge at Avoca leant into a big cast with a heavy metal lure and drove the 4/0 treble into the  guy walking behind right under his nose, the force tore his face open, broke teeth and cheekbone. I met up with the victim a year or two later and he fully blamed the caster but Avoca was full of guys throwing heavy metal back then and you needed to be "situationally aware" when walking around the waters edge (as in any rockfishing situation really) so yes- the caster was at fault but as in any accident - id rather be unhurt than right. Derek you are best off walking away from someone like that and simply keeping your self and your kids safe!You spoke to him and in this day and age that is as far as you can go without involving the law.

[wazatherfisherman]

G'day Derek you could also film this and put it on facebook as an example of "dangerous casting" with an example of "safe" or "responsible casting"- he may not see it but someone may alert him to the danger he poses- he may be ignorant of the danger regardless of your suggestion to him, or as you have indicated "not the full quid". 

Perhaps offering a few pointers on safer casting might be in order, but that might not go down too well either. Forget the suggestions we talked about on the phone, they'll only bring you trouble! As others have said you have done the right thing, it's better to educate those around him instead of his unsafe practices

[Nolongeramember]

I hardly ever fish land based but whenever I go to have a look I see this practice happening a lot. Casters having no care at all about what is behind them on a packed out wharf. Kids walking around. 

I call it common sense to check behind you before casting. Especially when it is crowded or people around.

I haven’t witnessed any accidents, but judging from what I see people doing I reckon it must happen. Scary to think about what can happen. 

[anthman]

7 hours ago, mrsswordfisherman said:

It is not ever a good idea to use “pack mentality”

Derek you have done the best you can. Leave this to the authorities. Police and fisheries are our friends in many cases.

There are so many instances out there that fire me up too, don’t start me on the Jetski people!!

 

You're right, definitely not suggesting a pack mentality, the "gentle discussion" was for a collective sharing of concern - in the genuinely most objective, non-confrontational and balanced way possible. In all honesty, there would be an element of peer pressure, we all know that public fishing places are fair game and that we have to be respectful, these spots are privileges that often means fishing amongst the general public - these people don't know any better, they don't know the "danger radius" that fishos have around them, and the ramifications down the track are just not worth not civilly trying to educate.

The absolute best approach would be if the fisheries caught the guy dangerously casting - though the chances of that would be super slim, I imagine.

Reading the horror story above, I wouldn't wish that upon anyone - a very legitimate concern. 

[Oz98]

I am like you too mate it's extremely frustrating seeing this type of behaviour, best chance might be to report him to fisheries, especially if he keeps doing it.

whats grinds my gears also is when parents don't call their kids in.

was fishing a few back and this blokes kids were coming right up to me to check out my lure.

i said yes dear that is a fake fishy, and had two kids right my back side and was so scared I was gonna hook em. The parent couldn't care less. 

I was very patient but ended up walking away. 

Edited December 10, 2018 by Oz98

[Kevwing]

This is why i hate fishing in busy areas.

I hate shoulder to shoulder because people are so careless when they cast.

90% of the time i always look behind me before i cast but its just so uncomfortable when it is busy.

Majority of those busy spots have a huge amount of inconsiderate people and think they are so clever.

I'm quite the vengeance sort of person but  in this scenario its easier to just let it go. You can't teach those people a lesson.. They are the type that think only think of themselves. 

If it was me, i'd make his fishing experience the worst. So he spends more time untangling and re-rigging.

I was in Avoca one day(there was stacks  of people shoulder to shoulder next to each other) and this guy took out 4 rods spaces 4-5 metres apart using float rigs. Trying to mark his territory and being snarky to people about "stealing his fish"

I was spinning and decided to spin in between the widely spaced rods.
This guy got mad and was acting like it was his territory and his spot.
He gave me a death stare and said you better not tangle lines or im going to cut yours. 
P.S I have no issues casting in between people i was just floating around the ledges to see if i could tempt anything

So me being the person i am was like.

Alright you wanna be a wise crack, i purposely threw my lure and pulled his float into the bommies. Shook my line and went around his. Untangled my lure and walked away. 

Few minutes later i see him getting mad that he lost his rig. 

Sometimes you need to bring karma to them.

 

[GoingFishing]

The world is full of inconsiderate people derek.

One thing that to this day happens to me quite regularly blows my mind.

Id be fishing a good 3km offshore with thousands of meters of space around me,  sometimes the only boat for a good km or so...then a passing boat will go by and come within 20m at full throttle...WTF..??? 

I usually let it go but one time i packed up the sea anchor and chased that bastard down and gave him a good ear bashing.

 

[Nolongeramember]

3 hours ago, GoingFishing said:

The world is full of inconsiderate people derek.

One thing that to this day happens to me quite regularly blows my mind.

Id be fishing a good 3km offshore with thousands of meters of space around me,  sometimes the only boat for a good km or so...then a passing boat will go by and come within 20m at full throttle...WTF..??? 

I usually let it go but one time i packed up the sea anchor and chased that bastard down and gave him a good ear bashing.

 

Haha. Funny you chased him down and gave him a serve.

This sort of thing happens everywhere. I don’t get it either. Stupid people, no consideration. 

[DerekD]

On 12/14/2018 at 10:02 PM, GoingFishing said:

Id be fishing a good 3km offshore with thousands of meters of space around me,  sometimes the only boat for a good km or so...then a passing boat will go by and come within 20m at full throttle...WTF..??? 

Thanks for making me laugh.

Yep... Seen that too. There is a sail boat out there called "Occasional bad language" that owes me a trolling lure.

Years ago was trolling a line behind the boat I was on and still a fair way outside the Sydney heads coming back in and with plenty of room and bugger all boats around us. The skipper of the above mentioned sailing boat for some reason felt the need to come within about 30m of our stern. Wonder if they found my lure when they did their annual slipping.

Was fishing the breakwall at Port Stephens and a kayaker felt the need to follow the shoreline at a distance of  about 15 - 20 odd meters off the wall. There were about 30 people fishing that morning and many of us had to pull in our line till he was clear. I genuinely wanted to have a chat with that kayaker to find out if he was clueless, inconsiderate or had a fear of straying too far from the shore. If he hadn't felt the need to follow the shoreline and kept his kayak another 30m or so further out everyone would have had a more pleasant morning.

Come to think of it there are many times I have really wanted to understand people's way of thinking without getting into a fight. I know people don't always get my way of thinking till I explain it. I'm an engineer, odd goes with the job description. 😊