Public waters,

[brownbass]

Today I was lucky enough to get on a stream, one of the more popular in Missouri. Today it wasn't badly crowded for a change. As I stand in the stream I look upstrem and there is a guy fishing about 100 yards away and downstream is about the same. I am happy to have that much stream to myself and the fish are biting. At least enough to keep me happy. Then I hear a car on the road on the bluff above and cardoors slaming. Then I hear a couple of guys coming down the path and they step out onto the Gravel bar. The older guy says what a pretty stream it is, must be a new comer. The second guy says :You don't want to see it on the weekend it gets crowded. It's pretty empty today". He then proceeds to wade out and plant his ass 20 feet from me. hwell:

Bill

 

[silver creek]

In 2006, I was catching quite a few trout out of this run on the Madison River and this fisher came in about 20 feet below me. This photo shows how close he was to me.

You can see in wide angle photo 2 that the river is empty of fly fishers as far as you can see.

I was a bit peeved at getting crowded by this guy. After I hooked another fish, he started to come toward me with his net to "help" me land the fish, but it was really to see how I was fishing. I told him to stop but he kept coming so I moved away from him and then grabbed my leader and broke off the fish. I then left the river to see if Jim Greenlee was back and to grab a cold Pepsi from the cooler. When Jim did not come, I returned and he had moved into my position (naturally!) and so I moved into his and caught two more trout before leaving for the day. :^))

 

[Ard]

I'm sure that individually we could all fill a book with stories like these, I've had a couple but only came unglued twice in all these years. Pretty good when I consider some of the transgressions.

Ard

 

[karstopo]

I’ve had “words” with people that move well inside my casting range. It almost got physical once. I finally realized the nitwits are just too thick to educate nine times out of ten. So I nowadays move somewhere else and let them have the spot. Makes for a more peaceful experience.

 

[corn fed fins]

Seems like the fishing is always best right where we're at. Lol. I got holed on the Taylor the other day. Typical tourist looking for a picture. Usually won't fish it this time of year but had a few hours to burn.

Sent from my VS988 using Tapatalk

 

[k_e_v]

I have a pretty good nature about this but 3 years ago on the Lamar I had a guy jump my spot 3 times in about an hour. I would move and he would follow, over and over he did this. After the fourth move I had enough and walked back to my 3 rd spot he was occupying and said "I am heading down the road to the 4th turnout, look for the dead tree straight south and where the river bends I will be fishing the riffles below the cut out bank. See ya in a bit" He looked really confused Saw him later at the campground and he still didn't quite get it but gave me a wide berth

kev

 

[dillon]

As I age, I find it best to take the high road...

 

[brownbass]

I should have added that he was fishing Marabou jigs under an indicator. I am used to having a good number of people on the rivers I fish but most try to give you some room. Others though, well not so mush.

Bill

 

[CheeseburgerFly]

My home base is the most densely populated state so I deal with people all the time. An old timer I used to hunt with said it best: "you live in NJ, if you want the place to yourself go move off the grid" and he was right. It still bothers me when people do not show the same courtesy that you would have shown them.

In my limited experience of fishing and traveling, I have learned that if you are respectful, most of the locals have been incredible people with their guidance. They could tell that I am a passionate beginner and would invite me to the holes they were fishing, offer up a fly, and actually cared more about the one fish they helped me land than the many they had already caught.

Long story short - don't crowd people, be respectful, and the same will be shown to you in return.

 

[ia_trouter]

Bait fisherman are the problem here. It is completely normal to fish 20ft from your neighbor. They have no idea a fly fisherman desires considerable space. I usually don't let it upset me because I know they are not intentionally being rude. If I bother to educate them then I will be perceived as the rude guy trying to hog the public water. Time to move unfortunately. Here is my favorite rude guy story and it didn't even happen to me.

A friend of mine is fly fishing a Driftless creek.

An older man approaches and in a gruff voice says, "You're in my spot".

My friend is confused and replies "what, I was the first one on the stream today. You're aware this is public water right?"

"Don't matter, I've been fishing this stream 40 years and you're in my spot, you need to move"

Old guy starts fishing in his hip pocket, probably because he knew he would get his way eventually. There is no arguing with somebody that ignorant and rude.

 

[karstopo]

Bait fisherman are the problem here. It is completely normal to fish 20ft from your neighbor. They have no idea a fly fisherman desires considerable space. I usually don't let it upset me because I know they are not intentionally being rude. If I bother to educate them then I will be perceived as the rude guy trying to hog the public water. Time to move unfortunately. Here is my favorite rude guy story and it didn't even happen to me.

A friend of mine is fly fishing a Driftless creek.

An older man approaches and in a gruff voice says, "You're in my spot".

My friend is confused and replies "what, I was the first one on the stream today. You're aware this is public water right?"

"Don't matter, I've been fishing this stream 40 years and you're in my spot, you need to move"

Old guy starts fishing in his hip pocket, probably because he knew he would get his way eventually. There is no arguing with somebody that ignorant and rude.

Okay, that might have been the hill I die on...

 

[wjlapier]

Steelhead season I fish with a bunch of guys from a nearby town. We all have our spot and respect that. Its kinda comical actually. 20ft? I wish I had that much room sometimes with these guys.

 

[ia_trouter]

Okay, that might have been the hill I die on...

My friend is too mellow and just moved on. I can't know for sure what I would have done but I assure you it would have been a memorable day for this idiot. Probably would have accidentally stomped his worm cup and kicked his 5G bucket into the stream as I was wading through the small hole on my way downstream.

 

[darkshadow]

I've ran into nothing but courteous anglers while fly fishing, both in California and during my times in Yellowstone.

Where I have run into a problem with is while bass fishing. And while I understand that our bodies of water in Southern California are tiny compared to other water across the country, our lakes are still big enough to be able to give people space. Yet, I've had tournament fishermen who have literally pulled up to the stretch of water that we had been fishing, and told us to "move, because we're trying to make some money here."

So, naturally, we gave them this look:

and kept fishing.

There was another time where we had managed to be in the back of a cove, throwing topwater to shoals of largemouth that had corralled shad, when another bass boat hauls into the cove, ignoring the no wake buoys, and literally moved up against us, to the point where I could stick out my rod and hit one of them. In doing this, their outboard scared the shad out of the cove, and the fish followed.

All we could do is give each other this look:

We met them at the launch ramp later in the day, and my buddy had some choice words for them.

 

[dillon]

Sometimes people that get too close, just don't know. When the guy was fishing there before maybe it was crowded and people were fishing twenty feet apart, so he thought it was ok to do anytime. I have an urban steelhead run about 20 minutes from my home in Portland. I dont fish there much because it's usually crowded. However, If I just want to fish for a short time on a nice winter day without driving an hour to better places, I will check it out. It's a long run and if I can see there is a section of it open where I can swing a fly and step cast i will do it. If I get hemmed in by spin fisherman who stay in one spot cast after cast, I just reel up and head out. Or, if one guy just moves in right below me, I will just ask if he'd mind going in above me and tell him I'm working my way down stream and will be quickly gone and he can have the water to himself. A little friendly educating can go a long way. When you get right down to it, it's public water and anyone can fish anywhere they want. Not that it's right, but, just sayin'...

 

[Frank Whiton]

I have been lucky to only had to endure other fishermen one time while fly fishing. That was steelhead fishing in northern California.

My earlier years fishing for Trout was in streams and lakes in the high Sierras. A little hiking and I was completely alone. One large lake I fished was very popular but a short hike across country and I ended up at my own cove with no one in sight. The same for Oregon, Washington and Michigan. When I moved to Alaska I had a riverboat and airplane so was always fishing alone or with my fishing partner. From the stories I hear from Ard, I was lucky to be fishing Alaska in the 70's and 80's.

I was fishing the San Juan and the Green River in the 80's and while the San Juan was busy it was not hard to find a spot with no or few people. Back then you could fish the upper river below the dam and that helped to spread everyone out a bit. The San Juan may be the busiest spot I fished back them. I use to have the Green all to my self most days below Fontenelle dam. I could drift my pontoon boat all the way to the bridge and never see anyone else. There was one guide fishing the river but I never met him on the river. I would see his trailer at a certain take out but only saw him in town.

I realize how lucky I have been with the places I have fly fished in my lifetime. Sometimes I regret coming to the forum and reading about these wonderful spots I remember so well.

Frank

 

[Ard]

Words from the senior ambassador of the forum : Hi Frank,

I enjoy the stories about Alaska in the 1970's when I could have came here instead of getting caught in the drift nets of the Steel Industry...………. But here I am and my comments about things are a stark polar opposite of your experiences here.

You my friend have lived the dream. I on the other hand am trying to scrape the bones. I always light up when I see a post from you.

Ard

 

[JoJer]

Years ago, I took my 4-5 y.o. daughter (spin) fishing on a local public pond. The pond is about 400 yds long and 70 yds wide at it's widest point. Mid week, early season. I'd taken my son the day before and had this pretty well dialed. I passed on the spot where I'd fished the day before. We were there about half an hour, had the place completely to ourselves. A fella with a young daughter showed up, sat RIGHT NEXT to us. So I clipped the dogs leash to a tree, and tried to ignore him. Soon, he was casting across both our lines and snagging us. I suggested that I'd had pretty good luck on the opposite bank, and asked him to stop snagging our lines. He got angry, suggested I was fishing with my daughter so I wouldn't have to buy a license, and asked if I wanted the whole d*mn pond.
So, OK, reality has taken a hike. I reeled in both our lines and unhooked the 100lb GWP from the tree and let her walk back and forth and all around us, shaking all the while, 'til he got the idea that neither of us where going to get any fishing done 'til there was a change and he moved.
I probably wouldn't do that these days.

 

[Idahoflyfishmn]

Sorry to report: I have been fly fishing only 3 years (ok, 2 years 8 months) but have had several 'bad' experiences. The latest, on a local heavily pressured Tail-water fishery (about 1 1/2 hours drive from Boise), I got to my spot about 7 AM. I brought a friend of mine, a new Fly-fisher physician, who I wanted to introduce to dry fly fishing. There was no one on the river, as far as the eye could see. About 9 AM, a young man and his partner, came pulling into our small parking area, and with some maneuvering, he managed to park about 15 feet from my car. He was approximately feet from our Cabela's directors chairs, and set-up. I saw him, was shocked! Maneuvered to the shore, stepped out of the water and said...'So...you can't find any other place to fish in these open waters than right on top of us".....big mistake...the young man blew up. Started throwing chairs, equipment, etc... into the nearby bushes and trees. Calling me names, threatening us, etc... My 'newbie' friend asked if I have a gun carry license. I said, "Yes, but I never carry when fly fishing"...he suggested I start....A sad commentary on what can occur at the river. In 3 years I have been chased off the water, harassed by guides, (who wanted the water), and insulted by other fishermen who felt that the water was rightfully theirs. In truth, if that is there portion, they can have it. I am retired. I can always drive home, and come back again another day. Which I have done on several occasions.

JTH

 

[denver1911]

My best one was when I was fishing a gravel bar and was out about knee deep. A truckload of folk came down .. BACKED OUT ONTO THE BAR .. to just about even with me and about 30 feet away. They climbed out the windows and set up in lawn chairs in the truck bed and fished away. Parked almost right where I had been successfully fishing.