Good article. I have some of my own opinions, however:

The personal space distance needs to vary with the water. Some waters, even in the west, are pretty crowded and distances between anglers can get very low. On the San Juan in New Mexico, for instance, your personal space is likely to be the water between you and the trout you are trying to catch, with people just above and below and across from you in the same run. On the other hand, if I am fishing a mountain stream here in Colorado, and get within a quarter mile of another angler, I might feel I am too close. And if I am on a big river, and no one else is fishing within sight of me, I feel that a hundred yards is too close if it is, say, two miles to the next angler. Split the difference between anglers not obviously fishing together and you will generally not be crowding someone. Don't fish in the same run as another angler unless there is no way that you are going to interfere with his fishing in the near future (for instance, if the river is 300 feet wide and you are on the other shore). Don't go into the river in front of someone who is obviously fishing in a specific direction.

I have a pet peeve about cigars and pipes on the water, as well. I do not smoke, and my father is chairbound and on oxygen because he smoked most of his life. I do not enjoy, AT ALL, the smell of tobacco smoke. So when the next guy on the water lights up his stogie and starts puffing clouds downwind at me, I get offended, and almost always leave. Basically, it ruins the pleasure I get by being out on the water in the (formerly) fresh air. Respect the feelings (and health) of the other people on the water.

As for offering advice, if I am fishing on a river and someone comes up and tells me "you ought to be...", or whips out a fly and says something like "This is the fly to use here!" I get really annoyed. If I want to know what fly you are using, I will ask, as politely as I can. If someone doesn't directly ASK for advice, I do not offer it, and I wish all others would show me the same courtesy. And I believe that any angler has the right to NOT tell what fly he is catching fish on, if he so desires.

And pick up your trash! Someday I am going to make someone EAT a beer can. *S*

Tight lines, and peaceful days on the water.

Dennis

Rant over