This past teal season i had a few fishing boats come fairly close while I was hunting. After we shot at a group of teal the fishers knew we were there now. The were very kind and they drove further up the bayou out of range of disturbing our duck hunt. As a hunter i do appreciate fishers that will do this. But as a hunter i do understand you have just as much land rights as a hunter does. So i do respect the fisher rights as well. I think as long as both try to find a happy medium all should be well.
This happened with multiple boats and all were very Curtis.
well my rule of thumb for fishing is stay double the farthest casting distance away from other boats so lines dont have a chance to cross but with someone hunting near you you should move out of sight distance or at least a mile away from them because otherwise the ducks will see you and change direction and you can ruin his hunt.
its tough to know what to do sometimes but if its a spot you always fish then try to avoid opening days and such but for the most part you have as much right as he does to the spot. the first person who gets to the spot can claim it for that time which usually is hunters who setup before dawn but i would say each situation is different so it depends.
more then once i found myself fishing along and i suddenly hear voices around then zeroing in on the voices i see hunters hidden in a very well hidden blind. (not everyone builds the standard obvious looking easy to see box blind)
well im there infringing on their hunt so now what? first i make damn sure im not in the direction they are looking to shoot and if im near enough to be heard i shout ''im sorry, i didnt see you'' (also to make sure they also see me) then i just stay very low in the boat (not sitting on the pedistal seat) to avoid spooking any birds more then i already am and i head out of the area in the straightest possible safe direction and i leave the area to the hunters. one or two gun shots from them will usually spook or chase off any fish in the area anyway so there is no sense in staying there anyhow.
now i am not a hunter but if you can figure out which direction the birds are flying then you should try to make your way out of the area in a safe direction that will avoid spooking any incoming birds.
i also use the same logic as driving, it doesnt matter who has the right of way because the biggest truck always wins in an accident. the same logic goes here, they have guns i have a fishing pole ... im not looking to start anything with those odds so i always yield to the hunters.
lets not forget its a easy for a fisherman to move but hunters are setup in one spot and cant just hope around like fishermen do.