2011 FALL MACK DAYS

Good Boating and Sportsmanship Rules

The Golden Rule is: “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”

Show respect for others if you expect others to respect you.  Don't crowd other anglers who are catching fish. This is the issue we hear the most about.  If someone is catching fish, others come in and will try to get right on that same spot.  It's a big lake out there, give yourself and others space. Keep away from anchor lines and fishing lines. Anglers may stand in a boat and cast out-don't park in their casting range. Some anglers will put out markers or buoys. Leave the markers or other equipment where you find them unless you are sure it was accidently lost.  The angler that put it out will be back to get it.  They may be using them as trolling markers or markers to identify an area.   Give other boats space. Pack your garbage off the water and dispose of it properly.  Take care of the resources like they were your own.

Trolling

When boats are in a trolling pattern watch and take the same pattern.  Don't come in and start trolling across other boat patterns and going across their lines.  Use common sense. Ask questions if you don't know how to come in on a pattern. Some anglers will drift over a hole and troll back over it.  Don't move in and set your anchor in that hole. They have a pattern going and will be irritated to find that someone moved in while they were moving back into position.

Jigging

Give each other space-when you set your anchor make sure you will not drift into or too close to other boats. If you are trolling don't come in too close. Remember the anchor line may be out there a long distance if it is rough water.  Have respect for each other, be helpful, and courteous. 

—Russell Gough, Author

Understand and appreciate the rules.

Good sportsmanship depends on conforming to the intent of the rules and to not be looking for loopholes. You may enter only the lake trout you have caught. How fair is it for someone to enter fish that others have caught?  Your count should be only the fish you yourself have caught. Fish entered daily are to be harvested on that day. When you take your lake trout home they will be fin clipped. Keep the fish on ice.  They are going to be processed for the food pantries.  We cannot accept fish that are not kept on ice.

Enjoy the event and encourage others to enjoy themselves.

Take responsibility for your actions.

Don’t blame others for your mistakes or find excuses for poor behavior.  Learn as much as you can about the rules, the lake trout and their behaviors.  It will make you a better angler and others will look on you as someone who is an expert. Please be careful out there.  No fish is worth the chance you may be taking by ignoring weather signs or warnings.  Keep informed of weather conditions and know your limits.  Have the proper safety equipment on board. Make sure someone knows when to expect you back.

Recognize and appreciate other angler’s hard work and results.

If someone needs help, lend a helping hand or offer useful advice. When going out or coming in have things ready so you can get off and on the ramp quickly.  Don't pull up to the ramp and then take the top off the boat and load your equipment.  Do that beforehand.  Promote the sport—take a kid fishing.  They are the future of the sport of fishing. Teach them what you know.

Exhibit respect for officials.

We will be and are impartial arbitrators. We will, to the best of our abilities, make sure that everyone is being fair and following the rules. 

Expect proper behavior from other anglers.

They may need to be reminded of the rules and proper fishing ethic by event officials. Assume the best: maybe they are not intentionally being poor sportsman, maybe they just don’t know how they should be behaving.

Remember, we are being watched every time we go out and fish, play ball, etc.  We may not realize it but someone possibly a young person is observing us and how we act.  Your behavior may have an impact, positive or negative, on them.  If we all perform to the best of our abilities within the concept of being good sportsmen, we should all have a great fishing event and possibly, just possibly, our lives may just be a little richer.

"One man practicing good sportsmanship is far better than 50 others preaching it."

 —Knute K. Rockne

Most waterways adjoin private lands or tribal homelands.  Many shoreline and rock structure areas hold sacred significance to tribal members.  Respect their privacy, customs, and ceremonies.  Do not remove or disturb cloth prayer ties, offerings, or other items that have been placed in these areas.  These are spiritual offerings, not souvenirs.  Irreplaceable information about the past is lost if artifacts are removed or cultural resource sites damaged.  Please report any pilfering or vandalism you may observe immediately to local authorities. 

                —US Army Corps of Engineers