Sharing LBDN

Fished LBDN Monday night for the first time this Winter. Got on the ice later than I wanted, left Kipling and crossed a pressure ridge and set up several hundred yards from anyone else. I was honestly a bit overwhelmed at the number of permanent shacks on the ice and the activity. It was a bustling, busy, fishing community.
I did not mark any fish where I set up, but it was too late to go hunting marks before I drilled. I had just one fish move and look at a Chubby darter, no other action.
Thought a lot about such a crowded community of fishermen and the potential for conflicts. I have seen recent posts that reflect that conflict. We buy a license in order to exercise our PRIVILEGE to fish on PUBLIC water.
Fishing on ice means you are limited to places with adequate ice to support you, this year in particular that is not a big space.
I don't feel that putting out a permanent shacks gives a person exclusive rights to fishing within a certain distance of their shack. In particular, if I go out and mark fish through the ice near and unoccupied shack I would not hesitate to set up there. If it was occupied I would attempt to communicate with the people in the shack and make a decision about whether or not to set up there.
If I am set up and someone decides to set up near my I will help as best I can. Drill holes, whatever to limit the noise and so on to a shorter time. I figure they just want to fish.
When I want a less crowded environment, I will choose an inland lake. There are several that I can have to myself here in the U.P.
Think about sharing folks! I know my 2 year old Grand Kids don't generally like that. I hear a lot of THAT'S MINE! By the time they get to be 4 or 5 they are a little better at sharing.
We are lucky in the U.P. If it's uncrowded fishing you want that's available. Fishing LBDN is not that choice. But it can most certainly be a fun one given the right attitude.
Have fun, share the water (ice).

Everybody has there own opinion

Well said rambler! It ALL has to do with "respect" and unfortunately today that word is not understood by many people. If it were-- more people would "get along" out on the ice!!!

Hi Guy's, This story happens all the time. We had fished an area that had a permanent shack on it and it was right on the structure that we wanted to fish, out of so called respect? we backed off and fished off the structure and for three days never saw anybody fish from that shack, why and how is this right... so I have to ask, should no one fish that point, edge, drop off, inside corner etc. all year because some guy puts his shack there, even though he only fish's it once a week or maybe even less? or how about you guy's that put up more than one shack, you can't fish two shacks at once? or here's a better one, how about the rental shacks and the guy's not fully book this week, so they sit empty.....i guess no one should fish around them either? the only sane way to make this work for everybody is who ever gets to that spot first that day should be able to fish it and if your not first (permanent or portable shack)then you should at the vary least ask the ones who are there first that day if they mind you fishing in that area? permanent or portable, its just flat out rude to show up last and get mad that someone is fishing there? we now try and stay away from the normal so called hot spots the north end, Kipling etc. we may not catch as many doing this, but we are not made to feel like we are the jerks for getting out of bed earlier than someone else or fishing a spot for hours or days on end, only to have a guy show up hours or days later and bitch that we are in his spot???.....WTF....Really!.... theres lots of fish out there and lots of spots, so if your not first that day than ask if its ok to fish there or just be a jerk and not ask, either way this war will never end, but my post on this subject will. so this is my last one....I think...lol

Little bay de noc is a big place, and any one who spends enough time on it knows that for whatever reason, none of the targeted spieces tend to stick to any one place for very long, much to the frusteration of us anglers. However, there r several hot spots that tend to produce and thus get very crowded. We all have to deal with this like adults. Trust me when I say that no one gets as pissed off as me when I show up to find tip ups stretched all along my favorite break line. However, all we can do is move off and thank god that we have a beutiful place as this to enjoy the out doors. Personally id rather see tipups and overcrowding than, gillnet stakes. Ne one who spends enough time in the narrows will become all too familiar with those soon enough.. good luck out there