Have you ever been out hunting or fishing and have another outdoorsman do something that ruins your outing? Unfortunately, as much time as I spend outdoors on public waterways, I have had several encounters over the years with people that have no respect for others or the outdoors.
Oftentimes, you can get hot under the collar at these people, but I have come to find that the offenders don’t always mean to be rude, they just aren’t thinking about their actions and its consequences. In this week’s article I am going to share with you what I consider to be rude or inconsiderate things to do while enjoying the outdoors. Things that you might want to avoid doing while on the water or in the woods to keep from upsetting others. Here is my list of the ten things I hate encountering while enjoying the outdoors:
Ten: Hunters or fishermen that disregard bag limits. These are people that catch and keep more fish or shoot more game than the law allows. In my opinion, these people are thieves because they are stealing from all Ohioans. Bag limits are set by the Ohio Division of Wildlife for a reason. These limits are there to ensure that a healthy number of animals are harvested but enough of the population is left to keep numbers in balance with the habitat’s carrying capacity. Constant over-harvesting can permanently damage a species population.
Nine: Those boaters who do not slow down when passing someone who is fishing. Be nice to your fellow fisherman and back off on the boat’s throttle when you approach another fisherman. Unfortunately, I see this a lot up on Lake Erie as pleasure boaters and fishermen interact.
Eight: Excessively noisy outdoorsmen. You know the kind. The ones that blast their radios, constantly talk loudly, or run their loud boats non-stop. Most people don’t realize that sound carries better on the water so whether you are sharing the water or woods with someone, keep your noise level to a minimum so everyone can enjoy their outdoor experience.
Seven: Hunters and fisherman that harvest game then doesn’t use it or give to someone that does. What is the purpose of taking life if you aren’t going to use it?
Six: Sky busting. These are hunters who shoot at game that is out of range for a clean kill. All sky busting does is cripple birds and puts them through an agonizing slow death. It also educates the game to become more difficult to harvest by other ethical hunters. It is our job as sportsmen to try and humanely kill our prey and to do so we must take shots that are in range. Many sky busters don’t even know their ammunition’s range limits. Take the time to find out.
Five. Trespassing. This is both illegal and extremely rude. If you don’t own the land or have the owner’s permission to be there, stay off! Period. This one violation causes more harm to hunters in the public’s eye than any other.
Four. Crowding with others on the water or in the field. If someone is already at the spot that you want, be respectful and give them some room to hunt or fish. I always love it when I get up very early to get to a spot that I want to hunt to have someone show up five minutes before shooting time and set up right next to me. This is just downright rude. Many years ago I was running later than usual to go hunt a public area for a turkey (my three-year-old son hid my wallet which had my license in it). When I got to the spot I wanted to hunt, another hunter was already setting up there. You know what I did? I left the area completely. It was the only right thing to do. He had beaten me to the spot and I needed to respect that.
Three: Boaters who are not prepared to unload their boat at the launch ramp. This can be one of the most frustrating experiences of the outdoors, waiting in long lines at the launch ramp. On some of the hotter weekends in the summer, the wait can be very lengthy. A lot of this wait can be eliminated if ALL boaters would be considerate of each other. First and most importantly, get your boat ready while you are in line. Don’t unhook the boat straps, get out the gear, take the cover off, etc. while you are on the ramp. Have it done before you back down the ramp. Also, don’t learn how to back a boat trailer while on the boat ramp. If you don’t have much experience at backing a trailer, practice at home, NOT at the ramp. Finally, don’t hog the ramp. Most of the area’s lakes have ramps that can handle more than one boat at a time. This only works, however, if you keep your trailer in your lane and not take up the entire ramp.
Two: Fisherman who do not retrieve fishing line that they break off! You see it all the time while you are fishing. Just about every tree or stump in the water is covered with fishing line. Usually, this line is left by fishermen that are too lazy to get as much of the line out of the water as possible. What they don’t realize is the number of birds and animals that get entangled in the line and slowly starve to death. Please, when you break off, take the time to retrieve the line.
And my number one outdoor pet peeve is littering! This is the most disrespectful and lazy act there is in the outdoors. Discarded shotgun hulls, pop and beer cans, candy wrappers, and bait containers cover our area’s lakes and wildlife areas. Unfortunately, I tend to see a lot of littering done by bank fishermen. They can easily carry in the stuff they need to fish, but they tend to not carry it out when they are done. It seems you can always tell where a bank fisherman has been by the discarded bait cans. Now, I am not saying that all bank fishermen litter. That is far from the truth. It just seems like there are a lot of them that do. Duck hunters can be just as bad leaving spent shotgun hulls and cigarette butts where they had their blind set up. Please show more respect for nature’s beauty and discard your waste properly so all of us can enjoy the great outdoors.
No one likes to be thought of poorly by others. If you can avoid committing some of my pet peeves, you will gain the respect of all that use the outdoors and you will make the experience more enjoyable for everyone!
Until next time, Good Hunting and Good Fishing!
Ken Parrott is a retired Northmor High School Agricultural Science teacher.
