thats my flag

[pike44]

anyone run into this? I was sitting in my shack, had a flag go up in the middle of lunch. Some guy runs about 60 yards over to my tip up and starts yelling flag, flag. So I step out with coffee in hand, waive and yell, "I know, it's mine". Being a trophy pike fisherman for 35 years, I take my time heading to a flag(it's not like I'm trout fishng). So I step back in the shack to finish the last half of my lunch, when I look out the window, I see this clown lift up my tip up and start pulling line. Well the rest of lunch was put on hold, it did'nt take me long to cover some ice and yank my herritage laker out of his hands, and I was at "NO" loss of words. Fortuately he did'nt have any words for me. I did finish pulling the fish in, 33"northern. 

[SPADED]

lol thats hilarious! and no i have never seen or heard of someone grabbing someone elses flag ... im dieing to know what you said to this guy

[oletimer]

So now we have to stand guard over our tip ups? This world never seems to amaze me.

[AtlBraves12]

haha that's funny... have never heard of it happening before. I agree... I would like to hear what you had to say to him. 

[Trapst]

Ive never had that happen either crazy world though now. I think its just about as bad. When your sitting there in your little single man tent or under the tarp (catching them or not) and someone starts drilling a hole like right beside you. Massive lake and you got to come fish right next me...Different if you know the person maybe, but really...

[pfscott]

You gotta be kidding me? You just don't touch another guys flag!! Unreal.

[Fatfish]

I hope you told this guy that no one touches anyones stuff unless he is told to. He is an armature. Some people just don't understand.   Jerry

[DasRottweiler]

If any of you guys touch my flag, I`LL KILL YA...
(Stripes)

[DasRottweiler]

I`m so glad that I have most of the spots I fish all to myself! I tend to fish on weekdays and stay away from the circus on weekends, and that goes for softwater too. J.Q.Public is a Moron. I feel for those of you that are forced to deal with him.

[jibbs]

i take my time as well

[da.mike]

wow...can't say that i'm surprised though. although it's never happened to me i've heard of it happening to others. and i myself would never ever run up to someone else's flag. maybe if it was a buddy i would but i would most certainly never start to pull line....i would just stand there and stare...kinda like what i do with my own.  you know ice fishin ain't really what it used to be...buddies don't even tell ya that you have flags anymore...people start to pull up your fish...good to know it's not just my group of ice buddies that are real jerks! i'd really like to know your choice words to that guy too! Happy trails!

[MattR]

The guy probably figured it was fine to pull it in since you decided to go and finish eating. In Wisconsin, if that guy would have happened to be a DNR warden and you went back inside to eat, you would have gotten a ticket for an unattended line. You are supposed to tend to that fish on the line ASAP, no exceptions for a half eaten lunch either that you feel you had to finish first...lol.

That same guy you yelled at is probably on some other forum asking if anybody ever seen somebody ignore their flag and finish eating lunch. Then when he thought he was being nice and helping out, the guy had a b***h fit about it.

Now personally you asked if I seen anything like that before. NOPE, I never seen anybody ignore their tipup when there was a fish on and finish eating first. Most people will slowly walk over by the tipup and wait there till it starts spinning again. I have fished for northern pike over 30 years and never seen the need to give the fish more time before retrieving it, walleye pike YES, but not northern.


Matt

[teamlund]

The guy probably figured it was fine to pull it in since you decided to go and finish eating. In Wisconsin, if that guy would have happened to be a DNR warden and you went back inside to eat, you would have gotten a ticket for an unattended line. You are supposed to tend to that fish on the line ASAP, no exceptions for a half eaten lunch either that you feel you had to finish first...lol.

That same guy you yelled at is probably on some other forum asking if anybody ever seen somebody ignore their flag and finish eating lunch. Then when he thought he was being nice and helping out, the guy had a b***h fit about it.

Now personally you asked if I seen anything like that before. NOPE, I never seen anybody ignore their tipup when there was a fish on and finish eating first. Most people will slowly walk over by the tipup and wait there till it starts spinning again. I have fished for northern pike over 30 years and never seen the need to give the fish more time before retrieving it, walleye pike YES, but not northern.

exactly...Maybe next time he can just let the fish digest the bait before going over to take care of it..... That waiting thing is joke... Waiting alittle while standing over the tip up is fine, finishing your lunch when the fish is on the line is just plain stupid.

[eriksat1]

Almost along the same line, last year one of my friends had some guy who was fishing near by, the guy pulls his tip up's to go home, and pulled one of my friends tip up's and went home with it. **censored** he even had his name on it. I don't know if the guy lost count of how many he pulled or what. He never did get it back.

[beerbellybob106]

ill let guys know if they have a flag but never would i run over to it and catch the fish. i would be pretty po'ed if someone caught a fish on my tip up

[GCD]

I dunno. Maybe the guy was just a little too excited for you and thought he was doing you a favor, no real need to get bent out of shape about it.

A lot of novice and some veteran fishermen see a fish pulling line or drag and think "he's getting away!!!". I have a buddy that's a veteran fisherman and he always starts hollering the fish is "GETTING AWAY" when he hooks one that pulls line and drag . I always laugh and holler REEL REEL!!! GET HIM IN HERE BEFORE HE GETS AWAY!!!

As far as leaving the fish on the line, if you're keeping them or using a circle hook... I don't see any problem, but if you're practicing C&R and using a treble or "J" hook you should answer your flag in a timely manner.

[vtpike]

Never had it happen to me...but I believe it may of happened to fishnmachine...he might have a reply!

[Nor Easter]

finishing your lunch when the fish is on the line is just plain stupid.

Easy there fella! Down Boy!! Don't get shook! It was Pike44's trap and if he wants to eat first, let him eat! Some people just don't get all shook up about things. Especially after they've been doing it for 30+ years... Calling him stupid just puts it right back in your face. 

He is an armature.

  Oh, one of those guys aye?!?!  Spell check suggesting the wrong words again? 

When I'm with friends we all go to each others flags, mostly to see if the spool is turning so we can tell the owner. About the only thing we do besides that is chip the ice in the hole for them if needed so they won't have to once they get to their trap. Other times someone will say 'go ahead and take it'. Esp. if we are just perch (WP) fishing.
I went fishing recently with a few friends and one of the guys brought along someone in his 30's who obviously hadn't ice fished much if at all before. He was given some traps to use but after we all got set up, he seemed to think all the traps were to be tended by anyone in the party. I still don't think to this day he could tell one type of trap from another. At least after awhile he learned to ask 'is this one mine'?

He was definitely one of those 'armatures'! 

[DasRottweiler]

Perhaps a tightly wound armature? (electrical humor)

[IceKing4]

If any of you guys touch my flag, I`LL KILL YA...
(Stripes)

                                                                                                                                                             Settle down Francis!

[smontague]

If it was me, I'd call it out to the other guy for sure, but never, ever, ever, would I touch another man's set up.

There are some things you just don't do, even on ice! 

hahaha.

[TheDL]

that's ridiculous.  I would never leave a running spool on a tipup alone for more than a few seconds...but it's his flag, he can fish it how he wants (can't understand finishing lunch tho)

as for touching another man's flag...that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard!  I've never seen that, nor do I think I ever will...that's a special kind of stupid.

[silvah]

Easy there fella! Down Boy!! Don't get shook! It was Pike44's trap and if he wants to eat first, let him eat! Some people just don't get all shook up about things. Especially after they've been doing it for 30+ years... Calling him stupid just puts it right back in your face. 

For real? He doesnt even know what is on the line and it is acceptable to sit down and eat lunch first? How are you supposed to release an illegal fish after it takes 2 treble hooks in the stomach or has it's gills destroyed?

Respect the fish and go get it when your tipup pops. Leaving a line unattended is illegal where I'm from, hopefully it is where you are too.

[hardh2ofish]

I took a dud out fishin a couple years ago.  He had never been out so I told him after things were set up that the pike had been in the habit for the last couple weeks of grabbing the bait and stopping a few short yards away and just holding onto the bait.  I said "You gotta give em a few minutes".  Didnt matter, every flag that went up he would go on a dead sprint stompng up to the hole and jerk the bait out of their mouths or the fish would just drop it and leave.  Time and again I would yell at him to slow down.  Some armatures just cant help it.  I touched another mans flag ONE time.  I was tending a flag on the end of my spread and this dude was down the line and had a flag up near me and he was tending to a nice fish about 50 yards from this one.  The flag I grabbed had been up and I could tell it was almost out of line and  I hollered at him that his line was getting real thin so he told me to please grab it for him.  But NEVER       EVER   grab someone elses line univited 

[burtbomberz]

If I had a flag up have to say I would put my lunch down too....If i saw someone else ignoring it so be it but does seem like it might mess up a fish pretty good if its swallowed....then again what do I know...I never have that much luck with tip ups...always do better jigging

[jammer icecube]

I have seen this more than once.My boys and i have a rule someone can look but NOT touch.If a stranger does this the screaming begins and warnings shouted and they may have confused it for there own,no harm.Just to grab anothers flag game on.I do tend to eat lunch between flags.Dont touch another mans flag unless he asks you to.

[GDominy12]

He was just trying to do you a favor and save you the hassle of pulling in that fish..

[pike44]

For real? He doesnt even know what is on the line and it is acceptable to sit down and eat lunch first? How are you supposed to release an illegal fish after it takes 2 treble hooks in the stomach or has it's gills destroyed?

Respect the fish and go get it when your tipup pops. Leaving a line unattended is illegal where I'm from, hopefully it is where you are too.

Well, it doesn't matter whats on the line, it's mine, hands off! And if you have to be told twice, I'm not above giving you an old fashioned lesson in manors. As for lunch, you missed the point. Lunch was not important, giving the fish a couple minutes was. through countless hours of pike fishing over many years, I have learned that grabbing the line to quick results in pulling the hook out of the bait, more often than not (little tip for the rookie professionals). I don't know what your smok'in "silva", but where did you come up with 2 treble hooks? I have never used trebles for pike, I use gamakatsu circle. I do practice catch and release, but do like to eat pike if in the mood or it's necessary. And where I'm from, if you can see your tip up, you are attending it, nothing in the rule book about dashing to a flag. Bottom line, I'll fish my way, you fish yours.

[Nor Easter]

How are you supposed to release an illegal fish after it takes 2 treble hooks in the stomach or has it's gills destroyed?

You are probably assuming he was using trebles because that is what you are used to just as I am assuming he was using singles as that is what I use. When we catch a sub-legal game fish here, it is common (and recommended by our F&G dept) just to cut the line rather than risk hurting the fish any further. We even leave the fish in the water/hole taking the snell off a swivel or cutting the line with a knife.

But as mentioned above, sometimes if you want to catch some finicky fish, you have to let them go for a second run before they take the bait in their mouth enough to set the hook.

Just because he didn't drop his food all over the ice and immediately started to run to the flag screaming and flailing his arms does not mean his traps were unattended. Maybe he only had a couple bites left to his sandwich or maybe it was falling apart and he had nowhere to set it down.. We can micro analyze this if you like but if he was within the law, no foul.

Once again as happens all too often on this site, people are complaining about someone's method which is not illegal. You fish your way, I'll fish mine, and please, let the guy fish his way too.  

[Santo180]

Somebody messing with my stuff would piss me off too.  This scenario wouldn't have happened to me as I'm on a flag like flies on ****.