A couple of recents posts here have caused me to revisit the question: I have fished with spinning gear for almost 20 years before switching to the fly rod six years ago. Why is it that spin/bait guys can literally stand shoulder to shoulder fishing a spot and everyone seems to be having a good time, but if you get within 50 yards of a guy waving a fly rod you get dirty looks and snotty comments about how you are invading his "personal" space? To me, this just reinforces the snob stereotype of the fly fisherman. I mean, it's a hobby for god's sake. It's not YOUR water and they are not YOUR fish. Gimme a break. Don't need to take it so seriously. Now I'm not defending the behavior of all the crowders, but when a guy plods through the rising fish you were just working, it's not like he just put down the only fish on the entire river.

In the past I have had a few confrontations-mostly with rafters who had too much to drink and too little brains, but as time has passed I realized three things: One, this is supposed to be fun, and getting upset at someone no matter how rude you think they are will take away from the fun. Two the water (in most cases) is public property and others have just as much right to be there, And three, you need to adjust your expectations to be realistic. If you make the choice to fish during the canoe hatch and then get mad when some drunken teenagers float right over your fish, you are partly to blame. If you go to the most well known pool on your favorite river during a big hatch, don't expect to have a lot of personal space.

Now I fish to get away from people, but I realize that this means putting in some extra effort since most people are lazy fair weather folks. Most of my trout fishing is done on the Farmington River. The catch and release area can get very crowded. I rarely fish there because of the crowds. Most of my honey holes are outside of the TMA and see few if any anglers at all. I also avoid fishing during the daytime in the warm weahter when not only are anglers about, but also rafters and other folks generally intruding on my personal space. Instead I spend my summers pursuing other fish species or fishing at night. If you really want solitude and "personal space" take up night fishing, you will have all the solitude you want. I also fish in the rain. That really keeps people away. Another thing that usually shakes the crowds is a little hiking. Since most people are lazy, the crowds will generally be found in the pools where the parking lot is right next to the water. Sometimes just a few short steps around the bend is enough to get you away from the crowds.