Bad Bull Shoals experience

[Brandon Knight]

Fished a small club tournament (8 boats) out of Sugarloaf this weekend and i guess there was a big bass tournament going on as well. I've only been fishing from my own boat for 2 years but I have to say it was pretty eye opening to why people talk so bad about bass fisherman. The most unfriendly lake I have visited so far. I got cussed up and down by a guy who said I was moving in too close to his spot, yet when we entered the area and was fishing down the bank, he was on the other side, farther back up the creek. Watched him shoot across and hold his spot on a foundation that was about 40 yards or so from the bank. I just kept fishing the bank and told him he was across the cut when we entered, but he just started cussin us and telling us were supposed to give him 50 yards and that he'd report us to the officials. I told him go ahead, were not in your tournament, were just a small bass club and I planned on fishing this area first thing and i'm staying away from "your" foundation (as i emphasized YOUR) and fishing the bank. He said a few more obscenities and name calling but i just kept going. Then later on in the day I had boats cut me off at points, blow by me in the creeks, and one just plain out cut me off running out of east sugarloaf.

[gramps50]

Maybe he thought he had the whole cove reserved for his dumb a**.

[rps]

For 25 years, until I grew tired, I made my living as a trial lawyer. I represented people who felt wronged and put upon - whether it was car wreck victims or banks holding bad paper. Based upon this experience, let me assure you, on the scales that measure stupid, entitled, and self centered, there are no maximums.

[mixermarkb]

I'm sorry for your experience.

I hope you give Bull Shoals another try, as I've found it to be the least pressured, most relaxed fishing of any lake I've fished in the Ozarks.

Most of the the fishermen I've met on Bull Shoals keep very much to themselves. It's hard to meet and make friends, as everyone seems to play their info close to the vest, but I've never had anyone on the water be less than courteous.

Sorry you ran into a douchebag. Us bass guys should do better, folks already think we have screws loose for what we spend to catch and release a little green fish. We should all work better at PR and treating the resource and folks using it with respect, wether or not they are in a tournement.

[Col Ron]

Let me say that it is not the Lake, it is the tournament participants. With a good size tournament, people participating come from a long way to fish Bull. I don't know who or where the jerk you ran into, resides. He could be from anywhere. Not the lakes fault.

[Quillback]

Unfortunately this stuff will happen and it can be on any lake and it's not just bass fishermen.

[edyer]

I had a better experience. I caught a fish off a point and had two guys that were in a tournament pull in ahead of me on the point at first, but then decided it wasn't cool and went around behind me and let me fish the whole point first. These guys ended up being with a group of around 25 teams from St. Louis and actually won their tournament that went out of the Lakewoods Resort we also were staying at. Sometimes good guys finish first. They even shared their deep jerk bait pattern I used to catch two nice smallmouths the last day.

[Walleye Jenkins]

I think your gonna have that more so at some of these amateur tournaments. Never have a problem with any fisherman on Bull Shoals. If anything met more nice guys pointing me in the right direction if the fish are not biting than anything. Bull Shoals is a very challenging lake but I've managed pretty good results when I arrive there. A great multi species lake. Table rock is another story. Nightmare on that lake in the summer.

[jolicious]

During our employee tournament every year,the entire town of Bull Shoals opens their hearts and hands (when needed) to all of us.

Last year, at 4:30 morning of tourney, I discovered my motor mount was broken. Mr. Steve (Owner Bull Shoals Boat Dock) and his son hurried me into a loaner boat for the first half of the day while they fixed my boat. Then called me back to the shop to finish the day in my boat. The whole town is like that

[Riverwhy]

Your experience has nothing to do with Bull Shoals but you just happen to run into a couple of inconsiderate fellows. I was fishing Norfork last week and we were on a fantastic top water bite. Jumping shad with various bass species lunging out of the water. We were just a little over a cast away from the shore and catching fish with nearly every cast. A large white boat similiar to the guide boats from a couple hundred yards away sees the action and begins to come down the bank. They do not stop or go around but simply continue to fish through our top water bite. Fate was a least a little bit funny because they were too silly to catch any of the bass that were surfacing all around their boat. We simply trolled over to the other shore and waited for them to pass. After they left the top water turned on again and we again began catching them like tunas. To top off the experience they started their outboard motor and powered once again through our top water bite. They waved as they passed.

We looked at each other and had to laugh. I actually believe they were too stupid to understand. We just made up our mind to not let it get under our skin.