Fly-Fishing Etiquette

[3FOR3]

A group of us were out on the river fishing and got up nice and early to be first on the water. The trail to get down to where we were ends at the first pool on the river. As we were fishing my buddy looked upstream and saw two people jumped ahead of us. They had seen us fishing there and snuck through the bush to get ahead. When we were done with the pool we walked up to the next one where they were fishing and asked them why they had not stopped and talked to us. We thought it was common to talk to who was there first and see if it was ok to hike way ahead and fish, not just around the corner. The guy immediately got aggressive and asked us if we were the only people that could fish the river. Not wanting any confrontation we just walked away. Were we out of line in thinking the way we did or is it just an unwritten rule of etiquette? Thanks

[Weedy1]

You're correct. Common courtesy.

By his way of thinking it would have also been OK to skip rocks in any section that guy decided to fish in.

[diamonddave]

I wouldn't ask anybody's permission to hike ahead, I would just do it. I wouldn't fish the pool right beside you, but I would go up a couple and start my day. Just the way it is, not enough water and too many people fishing. If you turned around every time you saw someone on the river you would never wet a line.

[Brandon5555]

Lol its not golf. If your fishing a pool I'm definitely gonna walk around you and go to the next one.

Sent from my SM-G920W8 using Tapatalk

[Dr.Shortington]

Originally Posted by 3FOR3

A group of us were out on the river fishing and got up nice and early to be first on the water. The trail to get down to where we were ends at the first pool on the river. As we were fishing my buddy looked upstream and saw two people jumped ahead of us. They had seen us fishing there and snuck through the bush to get ahead. When we were done with the pool we walked up to the next one where they were fishing and asked them why they had not stopped and talked to us. We thought it was common to talk to who was there first and see if it was ok to hike way ahead and fish, not just around the corner. The guy immediately got aggressive and asked us if we were the only people that could fish the river. Not wanting any confrontation we just walked away. Were we out of line in thinking the way we did or is it just an unwritten rule of etiquette? Thanks

In my opinion what they did was OK. For all they know you could be at that pool all day, or maybe you're gonna work your way downstream? Besides that, where does it end? One pool up? Two pools up? On the weekend when there are lots of fishermen you can't expect them to clear the entire river upstream/downstream of you.

[slough shark]

You're right, I wasnout this weekend on the James river and I pulled up to the spot I wanted to start, there was a family there getting rigged up. I asked where they were planning on going, of course it was where I had planned to go, I said good luck and headed the other direction on the river. If you have the chance to not interfere with someone's day it only makes sense, otherwise it turns into at best hopscotching down the river or fishing for fish that have just been fished for, kinda ruins it for everyone.

[Okotokian]

"Good etiquette all boils down to several things:

- First, if you are second (or third, or 25th) to the river, that's your problem, not everyone else's. Find somewhere else to fish, or wait.

- Watch the direction where other anglers are fishing (are they going upstream or downstream, moving right or left along a shoreline?), and never block them. You should yield at least a couple runs in front of another angler, especially when that angler is on the move.

- When in doubt, ask. Talk to others. "Do you mind if I get up and fish that pool up there?"

- Tell others what your plans are. For example, leave a note on the windshield of your vehicle parked at a bridge. "I went upstream, 2 p.m." Unless the anglers who follow you are nuts, they'll head the other way.

- Your voice should only be heard by others when they want to hear it. It's great to get excited about fishing, but that doesn't mean whooping it up.

- Play by the rules and regulations. Don't leave trash. And if you're a catch-and-release angler, do your best to ensure the fish you catch will live.

- Don't camp in one run all day. It might be the most productive spot in the river, but courtesy dictates that you share with others.

- Keep your dog on a leash (or leave your dog at home) if it's not the kind of dog that will heel right next to you as you fish.

- And don't do things that will screw up the water someone else is fishing. For example, mind your shadows if you're walking next to a river. Don't splash around and stir up the water. Don't paddle your boat right through a run someone is casting into.

- Lastly, if you feel like somebody has done something wrong that negatively affected your fishing, don't yell at them, flip them off, or get into an argument. Odds are, they don't know what they did. If you can politely let them know, and then move on by saying "no worries," they'll be smarter, you'll feel better, and a future bad encounter will likely be avoided.

It all boils down to common sense. Just like most things that have to do with fishing."

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/...hing-etiquette

[Scott N]

Originally Posted by diamonddave

I wouldn't ask anybody's permission to hike ahead, I would just do it. I wouldn't fish the pool right beside you, but I would go up a couple and start my day. Just the way it is, not enough water and too many people fishing. If you turned around every time you saw someone on the river you would never wet a line.

I'm with Dave... as long as you're not jumping in right beside someone.

[Dr.Shortington]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

"Good etiquette all boils down to several things:

- First, if you are second (or third, or 25th) to the river, that's your problem, not everyone else's. Find somewhere else to fish, or wait.

- Watch the direction where other anglers are fishing (are they going upstream or downstream, moving right or left along a shoreline?), and never block them. You should yield at least a couple runs in front of another angler, especially when that angler is on the move.

- When in doubt, ask. Talk to others. "Do you mind if I get up and fish that pool up there?"

- Tell others what your plans are. For example, leave a note on the windshield of your vehicle parked at a bridge. "I went upstream, 2 p.m." Unless the anglers who follow you are nuts, they'll head the other way.

- Your voice should only be heard by others when they want to hear it. It's great to get excited about fishing, but that doesn't mean whooping it up.

- Play by the rules and regulations. Don't leave trash. And if you're a catch-and-release angler, do your best to ensure the fish you catch will live.

- Don't camp in one run all day. It might be the most productive spot in the river, but courtesy dictates that you share with others.

- Keep your dog on a leash (or leave your dog at home) if it's not the kind of dog that will heel right next to you as you fish.

- And don't do things that will screw up the water someone else is fishing. For example, mind your shadows if you're walking next to a river. Don't splash around and stir up the water. Don't paddle your boat right through a run someone is casting into.

- Lastly, if you feel like somebody has done something wrong that negatively affected your fishing, don't yell at them, flip them off, or get into an argument. Odds are, they don't know what they did. If you can politely let them know, and then move on by saying "no worries," they'll be smarter, you'll feel better, and a future bad encounter will likely be avoided.

It all boils down to common sense. Just like most things that have to do with fishing."

http://www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/...hing-etiquette

I think the best advice is just talk to people as you say. A lot of these issues can be resolved with a quick 1-2 minute convo, and hey, you might even meet a nice person heaven forbid!

[ÜberFly]

As noted above, many are not aware of proper etiquette...

It would have been nice for those others to have stopped and asked which direction you are going (up or down) and either go in the opposite direction OR move a couple of pools up/down (could certainly have asked if that was ok, but didn't necessarily need your permission, per se (but that is the courteous thing to do, as noted above). But could have also said, that they will jump ahead a couple of pools. Another benefit of stopping and having a quick chat would have been that you could let them know how the fishing is/was, what's working (or not) - personal discretion here, obviously, any bears or other anglers ahead or behind, etc. Either way, didn't really benefit anyone that they didn't stop to chat. Of course this is just my opinion... And you know what they say about opinions...

[RavYak]

Out of curiosity if they came and talked to you then what? You would let them fish the same hole? Tell them to get lost you were there first? Tell them you want the next 3 kms of river and they can fish anywhere after that?

Sharing spots is one of the reasons I am not a huge fan of mainstream rivers/streams or busy lakes. If you don't want to run into others you like me have to make the effort to get to spots others will not. You will still run into the odd person but at least when you do they will usually be pretty good guys and you will have more pools to share between you.

As far as I am concerned especially in busier places if I see you at one spot the next one is fair game. If it is where you really wanted to fish you probably should have tried it first. I also won't always talk to people because quite frankly I came to fish not walk around talking to people fishing near where I wanted to fish. Maybe that makes me inconsiderate in some of your eyes but when I am fishing a river I probably drove 3 hrs to get there and I am not going to just not fish a spot I know of because someone else beat me to the river and is fishing close by.

[petew]

You had your spot, and they were courteous enough to find another. Should be no problem.

Do you want to reserve the whole river ? If you wanted to fish where they went to that's where you should have gone in the first place.
Getting up early and being first there is great, but it doesn't entitle you to any more than where you are fishing .
I think you are confusing etiquette with entitlement.

[robson3954]

I always give people tons of space. On light pressured rivers/creeks I give up access to the first there and find somewhere else. Or if I'm desperate to fish that I'll head downstream assuming most fish up. If I see them at the access point I'll ask their intentions then go the opposite direction or play somewhere else.

On pressured rivers - crow, Stauffer, bow, livingstone etc you can't escape people so I'll either skip a pool past or let them move past. Or better walk up slowly and fish the pockets and stuff that always gets missed.

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by 3FOR3

A group of us were out on the river fishing and got up nice and early to be first on the water. The trail to get down to where we were ends at the first pool on the river. As we were fishing my buddy looked upstream and saw two people jumped ahead of us. They had seen us fishing there and snuck through the bush to get ahead. When we were done with the pool we walked up to the next one where they were fishing and asked them why they had not stopped and talked to us. We thought it was common to talk to who was there first and see if it was ok to hike way ahead and fish, not just around the corner. The guy immediately got aggressive and asked us if we were the only people that could fish the river. Not wanting any confrontation we just walked away. Were we out of line in thinking the way we did or is it just an unwritten rule of etiquette? Thanks

Howdy and welcome!
There is an introduction thread in the general discussion forum, you should maybe introduce yourself , you possibly might find some new fishing partners close to you
Cat

[wildbill]

Ya, I'd be chocked, but mind you where I go fishin the only thing I run into are cows, deer, elk, moose, bears and cougars, hahaha maybe that's why I'm the only one back there.

[Pikebreath]

Some good rules of thumb to live by

Always best to fish in opposite directions if it just two parties.

If hopscotching in the same direction try to leave the next party at least an hours worth of undisturbed fishing.

On a productive river with lots of good runs runs and pools that maybe 50 to a 100 meters. On a small freestone creek without many large pools that might be 500 meters or more.

Of course these distances can shrink or expand dependent on fishing pressure and productivity of stream.

[Robins36]

I was in the group of 3 that passed by you going downstream. We were friendly enough saying hello and got not much of a response. The 2 people with the dogs that you are talking about didn't have much good to say about the way you talked to them. We left you plenty of room to fish, but when there is that many people wanting to go the same direction on the river don't be upset if it's like a game of leap frog from one hole to the next. We did have a good chat with one in your group on the way out. Didn't seem like the others were very friendly.

[diamonddave]

Originally Posted by 3FOR3

A group of us were out on the river fishing and got up nice and early to be first on the water. The trail to get down to where we were ends at the first pool on the river. As we were fishing my buddy looked upstream and saw two people jumped ahead of us. They had seen us fishing there and snuck through the bush to get ahead. When we were done with the pool we walked up to the next one where they were fishing and asked them why they had not stopped and talked to us. We thought it was common to talk to who was there first and see if it was ok to hike way ahead and fish, not just around the corner. The guy immediately got aggressive and asked us if we were the only people that could fish the river. Not wanting any confrontation we just walked away. Were we out of line in thinking the way we did or is it just an unwritten rule of etiquette? Thanks

Originally Posted by Robins36

I was in the group of 3 that passed by you going downstream. We were friendly enough saying hello and got not much of a response. The 2 people with the dogs that you are talking about didn't have much good to say about the way you talked to them. We left you plenty of room to fish, but when there is that many people wanting to go the same direction on the river don't be upset if it's like a game of leap frog from one hole to the next. We did have a good chat with one in your group on the way out. Didn't seem like the others were very friendly.

I was waiting for this response, hence this is why my actions are to just avoid the other groups. Nowadays more and more people think they own the river because they got there first. Easier to just bypass them, give them some space, and carry on.

[Dr.Shortington]

Originally Posted by diamonddave

I was waiting for this response, hence this is why my actions are to just avoid the other groups. Nowadays more and more people think they own the river because they got there first. Easier to just bypass them, give them some space, and carry on.

Agreed!

[3FOR3]

I am not expecting the river to myself I was just taught a certain way to go about things by the guy who taught me how to fly-fish. I did not want to start anything on this thread just wanted to see what everyone else's take on this is

[3FOR3]

Originally Posted by Robins36

I was in the group of 3 that passed by you going downstream. We were friendly enough saying hello and got not much of a response. The 2 people with the dogs that you are talking about didn't have much good to say about the way you talked to them. We left you plenty of room to fish, but when there is that many people wanting to go the same direction on the river don't be upset if it's like a game of leap frog from one hole to the next. We did have a good chat with one in your group on the way out. Didn't seem like the others were very friendly.

It was me that talked to the guy and girl and it was me that talked to your group as well. First thing in the morning when I talked to them all I did was ask if he had fished here before and if he knew about fly-fishing etiquette. No sooner did those words leave my mouth that he told me where to go and how to get there. I was polite about it and never thought it would offend him. I walked away and did not want anymore confrontation when he started to yell at another guy in our group looking for a fight. You guys left tons of room between us and I am not upset about playing leap frog either. The other guys in out group probably seemed unfriendly because they are new to fly-fishing and were a little rattled after what had transpired with the fellow in the morning.

[Robins36]

In everyone's defence... There are 3 sides to every story.

[3FOR3]

Yeah fair enough

[denied access]

Originally Posted by 3FOR3

It was me that talked to the guy and girl and it was me that talked to your group as well. First thing in the morning when I talked to them all I did was ask if he had fished here before and if he knew about fly-fishing etiquette. No sooner did those words leave my mouth that he told me where to go and how to get there. I was polite about it and never thought it would offend him. I walked away and did not want anymore confrontation when he started to yell at another guy in our group looking for a fight. You guys left tons of room between us and I am not upset about playing leap frog either. The other guys in out group probably seemed unfriendly because they are new to fly-fishing and were a little rattled after what had transpired with the fellow in the morning.

If the second sentence out of your mouth was do I know about fly fishing etiquette the second sentence out of my mouth would be for you to have sex and travel. Do you know about etiquette? What a thing to say. Sense of entitlement much? You were polite about it? How do you insult someone politely? Sounds like you actually got a bit less than you deserved and got off lucky.

[Yaha Tinda]

Originally Posted by 3FOR3

Were we out of line in thinking the way we did or is it just an unwritten rule of etiquette?

Yes, way out of line.

[Chirka]

We're all after the same cause here guys.
It just sounds to me like there was a miscommunication between the two of you groups and you got off on the wrong foot.

I spoke to the group with the dogs and the group of four, each had a different story. Let's just let the past be behind us and not be angry.

Next time maybe approach the situation more delicately, and the dogs group maybe don't get bent out of shape so quickly.

That's a big section of river and we can all share.
No sense in getting angry.

[Chirka]

Besides, didn't we all get fish?

[ÜberFly]

No not out of line!

Originally Posted by Yaha Tinda

Yes, way out of line.

[smitty9]

The answer is..it depends. Was this the Bow river? It almost seems like that river should have its own "rule" book it can get so crowded. If it was somewhere esle, don't bother mentioning it, not trying to get a hotspot here.

Anyways, sounds like a popular river. I, like others, have learned just to go find new water. I do like to have a conversation, but I'm just not into trying to "correct" people on the water in regards to etiquette. There's no good way to have that type of conversation, you just come off looking like a know it all jerk, even if it is the other party causing an issue. And, as shown, there are 2 to 3 sides in the story. Often if I am the second guy and I am crashing through the bush, only to find out I've come upon another party, I initiate (I feel this is my responsibility but to each his own) the conversation and then usually find somewhere else. It's great if it's only 2 parties, it becomes an opposite direction thing.

However, I'd like to emphasize the "it depends" part. Not courtesy of course, courtesy is always called for, but where you are fishing plays a factor. So every situation is different; My rough rules of thumb are, and this is just arbitrary and based on 25 years of tramping around in the bush;
* north of hwy 11, with few exceptions of popular water, I would be shocked to see another person. So if I run into another person, I walk...alot. Or find a new spot. This is also due to my mentality...I like solitude and more importantly, I expect solitude cause I work for it on north-central AB.
* South of hwy 11, you're generally sharing water. This is where I have conversations, leave vehicle notes, etc. I strive hard to leave a party 2-3-4-5 bends in the river, but that doesn't always work out. I try to leave at least 1 solid hour's fishing between us, assuming the other guy knows how to work water fairly thoroughly. That doesn't always work out.
* South of Black Diamond, hwy 22, hwy 3, Crowsnest Pass; almost all bets are off. Southern AB is popular and crowded. We all know where great spots are; sometimes it's hard - and discouraging - not to find 3-4 vehicles at every single pulloff. As much as I try to leave water, sometimes hopscotch is all you have, as much as I hate it. I am the guy that sympathizes with others here; hey, I drove from Edmonton, paid my gas for to drive 5 hours, that's the place I want to fish today. I make a conscious choice to put up with crowds and those other parties should too, regardless if they are there first, 2nd, etc. Tis the nature of the beast.

And I suspect this will get worse, cause I know I am not the only one a little fed up with BC's new lottery system (and oh, almost all the non resident non guided days are gone anyways...). So I suspect there will be more Albertans fishing home waters.

I conclude with a story; fished Soda Butte creek last year in Yellowstone. It was insane. a creek the size of the Crow or smaller, and had 20 anglers on it. Got up early, tried to get there early, leave water for other guys, etc. Gave up, was forced to camp on one spot, nowhere to go. 2 guys up, 3 guys down. Just unreal. Don't know why they allow commercial guiding on a creek that small...anyways, after giving up, headed across the Park, looked in my guide, found an even smaller creek loaded with small brookies. Never saw a soul, fish almost every cast.

Read the situation; know where you're fishing. Check your expectations in terms of crowds and how people often behave (look in thy mirror too).

Be flexible, adjust, adapt, smile, and often, just move on.

[JReed]

You have every right to be choked 3for3. You got up early and made it to the stretch of river before everyone else, to have it infringed upon by ignorant anglers. A lot of anglers don't understand that some people go fishing to get away from people.

Before I go fishing, I devise a plan that includes multiple stretches/rivers in the area. If a vehicle is parked at the access of plan A, then I move on to different water. 99% of the time plan A doesn't get foiled because most fisherman are too lazy to get up early and hike multiple KM's into their first hole.

You should have thrown that late-comer into the river, maybe next time he'd think twice about infringing upon another man's peace. If he would have stopped and said he was hiking 2 or 3 km upstream from your spot, then it'd be all good, but to fish within sight of you, that's unreal. Who is he to think that he can sleep-in.....on opening weekend......and jack another anglers spot.

It's stories like this why I don't fish the bow, because with lots of anglers, the odds are good that there'll be at least one idiot that doesn't have etiquette.