Dock lights and respecting the owners property

[ghadarits]

I truly hate to post negative stuff but after the text I just received I have to say something. Dock lights are no secrete but you guys that respect other peoples property and fish dock lights need to help us light owners out, if you want us to keep investing in, maintaining these and paying the power bill for you guys to fish also.
Now that its getting warm the night fishermen are out and some of them are breaking lights, leaving messes tangled around the lights and leaving holes in peoples boats interiors, none of which is acceptable.

I've had three different people on Hartwell send me pictures of their broken lights this week. Here's the one from last night.

The cheapest of these type of lights is over $300.00 at least the good ones that seem to work the best.

Please help the not so respectful understand how they're not just costing us light owners money they're going to end it for everyone because I can promise when I have to replace mine because of someone I don't know, that will end it for everyone but family and friend at my dock. Two dock light owners I know have already stopped keeping theirs on and now only turn them on when they plan on fishing.

I don't want to be like this but would you shell out over $300 for someone you don't know to break it because they wanted their $5 -$10 bait back?

 

[GTMODawg]

I truly hate to post negative stuff but after the text I just received I have to say something. Dock lights are no secrete but you guys that respect other peoples property and fish dock lights need to help us light owners out, if you want us to keep investing in, maintaining these and paying the power bill for you guys to fish also.
Now that its getting warm the night fishermen are out and some of them are breaking lights, leaving messes tangled around the lights and leaving holes in peoples boats interiors, none of which is acceptable.

I've had three different people on Hartwell send me pictures of their broken lights this week. Here's the one from last night.

The cheapest of these type of lights is over $300.00 at least the good ones that seem to work the best.

Please help the not so respectful understand how they're not just costing us light owners money they're going to end it for everyone because I can promise when I have to replace mine because of someone I don't know, that will end it for everyone but family and friend at my dock. Two dock light owners I know have already stopped keeping theirs on and now only turn them on when they plan on fishing.

I don't want to be like this but would you shell out over $300 for someone you don't know to break it because they wanted their $5 -$10 bait back?

I feel for you and wish folks would be more considerate but I don't know why folks leave them on to begin with. I appreciate that they do because I'll fish it if the owner ain't but normally keeping a fishing spot a secret is steeped in a fisherman's DNA...having a light on at night is an open invitation to fish and fisherman. They will work just about as well turning them on when you are using them as they will when they come on and stay on all night. Again, I appreciate dock owners who do it but I wouldn't do it for love nor money. It is REALLY bad on the coast in some areas....there are so many dock lights that few if any produce very well...meanwhile when one is turned on a few hours a few times a week???? That sucker is like a MAGNET because the fish in those that are turned on all the time are under an enormous amount of pressure while the one that comes on and off sporadically is a buffet that is a thing of opportunity and fish are far less pressured in those lights even when they are being caught like crazy because the light ain't there tomorrow and a fish ain't got much memory....but if it gets caught several times a week it'll be way more cautious.....

 

[ghadarits]

I feel for you and wish folks would be more considerate but I don't know why folks leave them on to begin with. I appreciate that they do because I'll fish it if the owner ain't but normally keeping a fishing spot a secret is steeped in a fisherman's DNA...having a light on at night is an open invitation to fish and fisherman. They will work just about as well turning them on when you are using them as they will when they come on and stay on all night. Again, I appreciate dock owners who do it but I wouldn't do it for love nor money. It is REALLY bad on the coast in some areas....there are so many dock lights that few if any produce very well...meanwhile when one is turned on a few hours a few times a week???? That sucker is like a MAGNET because the fish in those that are turned on all the time are under an enormous amount of pressure while the one that comes on and off sporadically is a buffet that is a thing of opportunity and fish are far less pressured in those lights even when they are being caught like crazy because the light ain't there tomorrow and a fish ain't got much memory....but if it gets caught several times a week it'll be way more cautious.....

I grew up fishing dock lights on Lanier so wanted to pay that forward but ….. but apparently as a teenager I was a lot smarter than some of the folks fishing lights now days. I always felt that I had to do everything possible to not do any damage while fishing someone else’s light because I understood that the owner could end my good time with the flip of a switch and just like that my good time would be over.

 

[Batjack]

I grew up fishing dock lights on Lanier so wanted to pay that forward but ….. but apparently as a teenager I was a lot smarter than some of the folks fishing lights now days. I always felt that I had to do everything possible to not do any damage while fishing someone else’s light because I understood that the owner could end my good time with the flip of a switch and just like that my good time would be over.

I was pretty much raised that way. In my Dad's "rules" #4 was "If you break it.. you bought it." Even if you couldn't get in touch with the owner of what ever got broken at the time, you either left a note with your name and phone number there or you went to their front door the next day and offered to replace or pay for the replacement of what ever you broke. I spent a lot of weekends working off my "indescretions" in my younger days.

 

[Josh B]

I turn mine off just because I'm too cheap to pay for the power but I've been considering using some of the solar spot lights.

 

[Burton]

Hate to see that. I truly appreciate the people who put lights on Hartwell. We caught some really nice fish this season. We enjoyed it so much, I bought a light for my dad to put on his dock on a nearby lake.

I kind of felt guilty, like I needed to drop $5 in a bucket every time I fished it.

There's an idea, huh?

A sign that reads: "If you enjoyed your time fishing this light, Venmo @ghadarits"

I don't know how you prevent people from being dumb....or certainly accidents can happen.

 

[JustUs4All]

Folks must be raised right to start with. See post #4. @Batjack was raised right.