Streamside Etiquette

Ladyfishers Article from wayback.... Sept 1, 1997 should be required reading just to get a fishing license....anywhere. In many ways, it seems rudeness is rampant these days.

Last week, while on a camping trip with my family at Burney Falls, CA, I was fishing Burney Creek just a bit above the falls. One of my six favorite places on earth. It is a small stream that issues forth from the lava in a series of voluminous springs starting less than a mile above the falls. Never is it more than about 30 feet wide untill the last 100 feet above the falls. For the most part it is less than 20 feet wide. Cold and crystal clear, it is a pocket water brook at its finest. Deep pools the size of a bushel basket with wily rainbows and browns the order of the day. The banks are accessable on foot, though rocky, uneven, and brushy. Cool and shady even on the hottest days. I had gotten up at the crack of dawn and walked about a mile and a half from our campsite to the farthest upstream point where there was water this late in the year. I met nary a soul on my little hike, and there was no one fishing but me. The campground was nearly empty and I wasn't surprised to find myself alone on the creek, as reports indicated fishing was slow.
I was only there about a half hour, and working on my second stop downstream when a woman showed up and plunked down within 10 feet of me and started slinging a lure. My thoughts were " Hey !!! Hello !!! Fishing Here !!! What The %#@!!'s the matter with you ?!?! Now, I'm no midget, I go about 280 and just a smidge under 6 ft. With a 9 ft. rod in my hands and yellow floating line out in the stream, so I was quite visible. Peeved, and verging on angry, I gathered up my line and fly, and moved about 80 yards downstream.
Second cast there, second attempt to interest what looked to be a very nice trout holding in the slack water just below a clump of grass, and here comes Miss Panther Martin again, crashing through the brush right behind me, saying, nearly at a shout "Ya catchin' anything?" :shock: Well, Mr. Trout split the scene, and with a tight lipped "no" so did I. My better judgment kept me from saying anything more than that one word. I walked over a mile to get to a footbridge and cross the creek to the less accessible side, and then fished my way back up to nearly where I was before. I saw her again about 40 yards below where I last encountered her, and assume she fished her way down a ways before she gave it up for the day. Now to me, fishin' is fishin' and I don't much care what folks fish with. I just happen to choose flies and fly rods, for my own reasons. As long as they're legal, folks can fish however they want, and I don't care, nor judge....it's all fishin' far's I'm concerned. However, the plunk of a lure in such a small brook don't do much for the fishin' right close, and lack of respect has no place on the stream. To further hamper my mood, I gathered up no less than 100 yards of tangled line strung up in various trees and bushes, and attached to everything from bobber and worm rigs to little rubber crappie jigs. I tell you....... sometimes it seems people are nearly the bane of my existence... :-x
.............................................Modoc Dan

Dan....She was totally hitting on you, buddy! :p

Thanks Dave..............:roll:

What Dave said, for sure.

There are more horses asses than horses. Sorry for your experience.

I feel for ya having run into the same situation to many times. Unfortunately I am not a nice guy. I do not tolerate such things but I do not say anything either. Here is a example: I am fishing on a lake that is about 150 acres. Found a honey hole and catching some nice browns and bows. Another fly fisherman in a float tube comes over right next to me so our tubes are touching and starts fishing. Now I am more then mad and want to kick start the harley on his face but I be quiet. Next cast I get "Hey your flyline hit me in the head and is tangled on my tube" I say oops sorry I never was good at casting would you mind untangling it for me" "Here I will bring the line in so it is easier" Oops sorry again didn't mean to hit you with my rod. being old and all I sometimes have a hard time with the rod as well" "Yes that is a number 6 hook on that fly." "Oh sorry again did not mean to jerk it just then being old I have tremors at times, it didn't hook ya did it?" Funny but after that he kicked off about 100 yards from me. Whole darn lake and he wanted my spot. We as a camping group go throuogh the whole camp ground and pick up trash and cover the shore as well. Hope your next trip goes better

Modoc

God gives us people like that to make measure of ourselves.

Bob

Sorry to hear that. I was fishing alone one sunny day and looked behind me on the backcast to see I was sadwiched between two guys. They kinda ambushed me and seemed to get a kick out of it. I had to break my fly off because I would have hooked one of them in the face. Started casting over me and laughing. I just left quietly..I'm not one to get physical over fishing. I was going to stop and ask them how the felt when they first read Pychon's Gravity's Rainbow and if the overturning of the Pulitzer was a blessing or a curse. But, they seemed too busy ripping the faces of of some bluegills Ugly Stick style whilst slamming Pabts.
Janus

A number of years ago my son and I were the only two fishing in sight when a guy comes out of the brush and jumps up on a rock between my son and I. The whole pool was full of salmon for at least a couple hundred yards. Riley was 7 or 8 and this clown wants to fish between us. I suggested I would normally move, but his rudeness precluded that and perhaps moving would be a good plan for him.

WIth a string of profanity he flung a huge salmon lure right over Riley's head in an obvious attempt to get my goat. He did.

I am 6'4", 220 or so. I threw him off the rock and into the river. When he came up gasping I opened his tackle box and dropped it upside down on his chest suggesting he had forgotten something while leaving in such haste.

It was obvious from a number of thiings he was not a civilian. I told him my plan was to find his vehicle and through that, his commander. I did. His boss did not approve of his charge's actions and straightened the lad out...
art

Hap:

Was that you? ;)

I have had my share of confrontations. I actually relish them. Some of these morons need a dunking!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hap

The whole pool was full of salmon

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Ahhhh Salmon. Enough said! For some reason that dying hunk of swimming flesh brings out the absolute worst class of anglers I have ever seen. I like fly fishing for salmon, but the crowds it attracts often takes the fun away. Being an aging female, usually fishing alone...it can be down right dangerous.

I hit one stream a couple of years ago...near Toronto. STUPID MISTAKE!! It was chuck full of the 20 gal white bucket crowd who conveniently "no speak english" if you make a comment about how they just pushed you into the river while they illeagally snagged the fish you were working. They have an interesting method of covering water. You'll be quietly working a fish when three anglers will quickly walk up right next to you. One will stand right behind you so you can't safely make a back cast or even a roll cast. One will walk right in front of you so you can't forward cast to the fish and the other fellow will fish across you so your lines will tangle if you try to lay one down. They are all chucking those huge heavy Mepps spinners that look like they can take down a 25 ft shark. All on one fish. You give up, move to another part of a river and as soon as they see you casting, they assume there must be another fish there, so they come and do the same thing all over again or you get a new gang...who ever can run the fastest. If you should hook the fish, they accidently bump into you, in the hopes that you'll fall in and shake it off. If you manage to keep it, they are following you with there buckets or stingers and asking in very good english..."Can I have your fish?" "I help you get fish off hook!" as they grab your line. Needless to say, that was the first and last time I fished anywhere near there. I've also seen heated threats, fist fights, dunkings and knives pulled on the rivers during that time of year. All for a near dead hunk of rotting flesh. I just don't get it. I'm there for the fun of the odd tug and that's all. It's actually more fun to just take a lawn chair and watch the loogans go at it. (from a safe distance).

Unfortunatly this sort of thing has gone on for some time and fed up locals in that area are showing there frustration now, to the point where there has been a hate crimes task force assigned to this particular ethnic group of anglers in the Toronto area. I completely understand the locals frustration, but the vigilantly methods they are employing just make everybody look bad.

Me?.... I don't head in that direction to fish anymore. I don't fish for salmon very much anymore either.

Salmon do indeed bring out the worst in people... My wife is tiny and for some reason she seems to attract more of the pushy crowd than I... Hmmm...

I should add to the story above that I left out quite a bit and do not want it to sound like it did to me this morning on a reread... The fellow I tossed into the river threatened my son both verbally and physically, saying he intended to harm him "If I didn't move him" though he stated it far more graphically.

There was Trooper involvement and they gave me the option of pressing assault charges, even after tossing him into the river.

I saw a vdeo after the incicdent on dwarf-hurling and have to admit it made me laugh. But timing was everything as the idiot was off-balance from casting a ridiculously heavy rod and my shove just added to his speed and direction. His altitude was just about perfect for maximum range, too.

An inducement to not press charges was a promise from his commander that he would give up his fishing and hunting licenses for a year. I saw a lot of value getting him off the salmon streams...
art

Good evening,
Salmon I know not of, but just dream about.

With Trout,
Myself, I don't mind in fact I don't care if a wormie or lure chucker make all the fuss, in front of me.

Because I learnt long ago.
The easiest way to catch a Trout was TO FISH when he was in hiding.

Wormies and lure chuckers frighten the biggest fish in the pool/stream or what ever.
AND 99% of fly casters do ALSO !
Thats why they are the biggest the biggest fish on station in that location.

When a Trout is frightened, he or she looks for, goes for cover, somewhere to hide.
And in almost all cases it will be the banks edge or under over hanging grass or bush.

Now, all of a sudden my possible fish catching area has been reduced to about 2% of the stream/creek or what ever.

Then the next step, is I must cast perfectly, to within 100mm/4inches of the selected location my victim is hiding under.

The cast is the super hard part, however this to me is all apart of my Trout fishing. With a giant plus bonus, the art of landing my fly to within my target area is a plus when a fish rises out some where in the pool/stream.

At all times I would suggest you practice the oldest Rule of Far and Fine, if you wish to win the game of tricking a frightened Trout hiding under cover.

So next time a boof head comes crashing in, just sit back, grab a bit to eat from your pack and watch, watch and look for cover where Mr Trout would run away to.

(Or you could tell him/they about the snakes you saw just up the stream abit and how big they were....... smiling here. )

And then a sly smile on your behalf is all thats requires to have a fantastic afternoon.

And if you don't trick a fish, you sure have improved your casting skills and had a wonderful time at peace with nature and the World around you.

Kind regards,
UB

Hey now,

Let's not forget the great folk we meet onstream as well...a bait dunkin', lure chuckin, spin fishin' son of a gun recently pointed out some really hot "micro" spots I had overlooked in a local flow.

BUT I do admit, what I hate the most is the soccer moms that feel obligated to call out "look he's fishing" to their toddlers at the local ponds and lakes and then cannot understand why casting stops when the tots start piling up behind me...while trying to cast a fly rod...duhhh!

My "best" revenge onstream to jerks...outfish 'em!

I have met some wonderful spin fishers and consider us all just people trying to trick fish in different ways. I rarely have problems on the water. Dog swimming in the hole you are fishing can be a bit frustrating because it's hard to wrestle a dog with wading boots on.
Janus

Uncle Barry
Last fall, actually on the exact pool where the "other incident" occurred there were two of us flyfishing from one side when a couple guys came down to the pool from the opposite side and proceeded to bomb us with monster Pixies on spinning rods. It is a narrow river.

I was just down from them and on the outside of a bend. There were lots of bears working the stream and when I pretended to talk to a bear they vanished! ;)
art

I've never had a problem with people crowding me when I'm salmon fishing. I suppose swinging a 14 foot two handed rod with 60 feet of line hanging off the end carrying a nice big salmon iron does account for the lack of crowding.

I did have one gent toss his heavily weighted lure, from across the river, so it dropped almost at my feet. When that same large salmon iron whizzed past his head and I laughingly apologized for my lack of accuracy, it never happened again. I suppose he didn't think a fly fisherman with a 14 foot two handed rod could cast that far. Wrong!

I think it's a natural disposition in humans all over the world: give an inch, and they'll take a mile. I think we all are programmed to go for the loophole to make the greatest dividends using the least amount of effort. Now if you're like me who has this thing called a conscience, you'll take the 'long way', the 'right way' even if it means ending up last in the line. Heaven knows it's the place reserved for me. Heaven also knows that if the scientists come up with a way to surgically remeove a conscience, I just MIGHT sign up.( I also hope that scientists instead of searching outer space, take the time to figure out the space between SOME PEOPLE'S EARS!!)

However the thing I find most amazing, is what happens when you 'draw a line in the sand' ,so to speak. It is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, what happens when you 'call someone's bluff' the minute they try to take advantage of a situation. All of a sudden, it's as if they haven't considered WHAT EXACTLY they've been doing. Now if you're like me, you shouldn't HAVE to resort to a confrontation in whatever way. But sometimes -unfortunately- it's all some folks understand.
IN the end (and it's happened loads of times) they walk away having learned something profound. WHO WOULD'VE THUNK?! ha!

So, dont' be afraid to confront someone. Be nice about it....

Even while fishing, one can learn something.

To quote Patrick Swayze from "Roadhouse": 'Be nice.....until it's time, NOT, to be nice."

last fall fishing for LL salmon on a small river not far from the house. I was about 100 yards up stream from the bridge fishing a nice hole. Quiet morning not many fisherman for a change when some guy stops right in the middle of the bridge. gets out of his truck with his surf caster and throws this spoon the size of a small surfboard from the bridge over my head and starts cranking on the reel with the spoon swimming past me about a foot away. after 6 or 8 more cast he yells (fishin s#*%'s today) and drives off.

This spring, fishing a different river a little further down the road. i was hitting some Bows out of this nice hole when a guy walks past me with no response to my good morning. With a tree down and the water high and steep banks behind us. he could not make it to much further down stream so he starts fishing right where i was swinging my streamer. he never did look my way to see the smoke rolling out of my ears before he tried to hop out onto the rock i was swinging my fly behind. All of a sudden his arms start doing the wind mill and he falls backwards into the river jambing his fly rod into the rocks and busting it in half. After a few minutes of me laughing out loud, the guy trudges past me and calls me an a$$.

after both incidents i just sat on the bank, enjoyed a cigar, and went back to fishing.:cool:

Don

When I saw this I just needed to write something about some of the many times that I have been pushed out of a fishing hole. I fish mostly stillwaters which for some like me can be difficult at times. Guaranteed that if I start catching, people start getting closer and closer until they are sitting in my pontoon boat with me. I actually asked one guy if he wanted me to cast for the both of us so he wouldn't have to wear out his arm. Another time, same place, I was fishing for a good hour and a less than courteous man shows up and proceeds to cast his spoon across my line dragging the line and all to him, where he picked up my fly and yelled at his buddy, that was piecing together a fly rod, and told him what fly I was using. (I was catching fish consistently when they showed up) I asked if I was bothering him by being there and he answered that I was okay liked I just moved in on him!

I am always willing to help someone else be successful and find fish. I don't own the lake or its fish, but come on, I am not good enough to find the only fish in the whole lake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FishnDave

Dan....She was totally hitting on you, buddy! :p

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No, really she was hitting on you. Scary that she followed you that far but flattering in a way.

This past July, my son and I were fishing the meadow section of the Gibbon River. Were were in the Elk Park area. We had walked about 3/4 of a mile back to get away from the other tourists who were jumping out of their cars to take pictures and wade in the cool stream.

We came upon a riffle leading into a nice pool and it was just full of trout. I had noticed the Japanese family with their cameras behind us (No sterotyping here,). They were walking along the stream and staying a polite distance behind. I believe they were taking pictures of my son and I fly fishing.

No problem, they were at least 100 yards back and very polite. Well, we stopped moving and decided to hit that riffle hard. I had one very nice trout break off my 6X tippet so I tied on 5X and went back at them again. I had a couple really nice rises but missed the hook up. Then I caught and landed a nice 12" brown. Right about then, the oldest boy from the family came tromping through the middle of the pool with a huge smile on his face. In the best English he could muster, "You catch a fish!".

I was so mad, I wanted to use the kid for bait. My son thought the whole thing was pretty funny. I guess I would have too but I had been skunked all day and my 13 year old son was working on about 10 fish to my zero. That brown was the first one I had caught that day and there were more in that riffle rising to caddis that were about the same size as the EHC I had on my line.

I guess it was kind of funny, the kid and his parents probably didn't know a person could catch more than one fish from such a small stream.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I fly fish to relax, not have a stroke because someone has invaded my personal fishing space. I have two important rules when it comes to staying calm.

Rule 1. Children and even teens must be accorded a lot of slack when they cross your path, wade in your pool or even throw a stone to show you where the fish is (was). They are curious, excitable and really don't know any better. Your kindness, patience, and even encouragement may be all that is needed to produce a future fly fishing enthusiast.

Rule 2. Apply rule one to everyone you encounter regardless of age. Most adults don't know any better than the kids when it comes to fly fishing.

To be honest, I've never had a really bad experience with fellow fishermen while fly fishing, other than being crowded a bit during prime times. Most of the time, I end up exchanging pleasantries, some advice and sometimes a fly or two. BTW, I have never fished for salmon so I don't know that ball game. Also, jet skis and water skiers are another matter altogether. 8T :)

Hey ET, Salmon fishing is simple here's video to help get you started..:D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOpKFPEah3E

Hi Steve,

Very funny video. Thank you for the laugh. I'm sorry that the sneaky, winning maneuver didn't work for Tim Treadwell. I believe that Chocolate Drop must have shared that video with the other Kodiak bears around Tim's camp. 8T :)