WOW people just don't get it...

[Pelican King]

How you doing boys! First post here, hopefully not my last, we'll see how the response goes.

I've been lurking here for the short while that makes up my fly fishing experience (all of about 2 months). I've learned a lot here but I've never had anything to contribute hence the reason for never posting. However, this is a topic that we can all likely chime in on, and that I'll do.

I'll preface these comments with the fact that while I've spent my entire life in California, I was brought up fishing, hunting and enjoying the outdoors since before I can remember.

As a whole, not individuals, I believe the population of fly fisherman are largely perceived as D!cks. Maybe that's not the best description, lets go with elitist instead and I'll rephrase it. I believe that the majority of the non-flyfishing fishing population perceives the majority of those in the flyfishing subcategory of the fishing population as elitists. That's better. I don't think that's an unreasonable statement or unjustified in any way. Now we've all heard comments from flyfisherman (before and after taking up the sport) that were meant to lead us to believe that flyfishing is a more honorable, skillful, brilliant, magical way of catching fish in an effort to seemingly discount all other methods of take and which may or may not be an attempt to elevate the individual to a higher rank of outdoorsman/manhood than those around him. That may or may not be the intention of those making such comments but the perception of those hearing them has little effect from good or bad intentions.

Now with this in mind, and with the fact that those on this forum are far more clue'd in to the world of stream fishing than most of those fishing the Bishop Creek drainage, I'm going to suggest that your handling of the situation simply increased their bad perception of fly fisherman and did little to teaching any of them proper etiquette. Again, whether your intentions were good or bad, the story that kid and his dad will likely tell is of an elitist fly fisherman that chased them out of their favorite hole that they drove a minimum of 5 hours to get to. Right or wrong, their idea of stream fishing may center around that one hole, where as you clearly have a much wider and clearer view of the fishing possibilities located in the vicinity.

I'm not suggesting you're an elitist in any way. In fact I was fishing just down the creek from you in Aspendell this very weekend, and while fishing a nice little hole (that we later found out had a nice Alper in it), a teenager who had likely never fished in his life, jumped up on a rock on the other side of the creek from me and while putting more salmon eggs on his treble hook shouted, "catch anything!"

I wasn't happy either, but it's a long creek and I just asked him if he wanted to fish there and walked up the creek to where my brother was and laughed about the kid that doesn't have a clue. It was wide open fishing for me that evening and I never saw the kid catch a thing but he was having a dang good time enjoying his new experience and may have been having more fun than me.

I'll say this, every time I escalate a situation, whether I'm right or wrong, I always end up feeling like the D!ck. And whether or not any of us are attempting to be an ambassador of the sport, we're always representing ourselves and you never know when you'll come across someone again.

[WanderingBlues]

You handled it as well as it could go. They left and no one got hurt. Had to do the same with a Dad and his teen boy throwing bait up in the National Park, and with treble hooks. They told me 'no one cares' and I proceeded to chew a bit of butt on the regs, their attitude, etc. The finally split.

[BBH]

First of all Welcome Pelican King! Second Nice post. I think taking the high road is definitely the right way to handle such situations. We need to remember that it's not our call to educate everyone. Even though the intention may be to help a fellow fisherman understand the Etiquette of fishing it almost never comes across like this to the student. People will do what they do..And when someone doesn't feel as adequate in the fishing realm as a guy in full waders and $1000 fly gear..well it can make someone respond in defense even if confrontation was not intended.

Iv'e been fly fishing for a very long time..I don't nearly know as much as Id like. That's the beauty of the sport. Its constant learning. I still on the other hand enjoy hand painting lures and going after big fish in some of the very same waters ill throw tiny size 22 nymps..I've been looked at funny by some fly guys and I just laugh. Because at the end of the day. I catch big fish, handle them correctly and release everything to fight another day. What someone else thinks I should be doing is there deal not mine. If I saw someone dragging a 22 inch brown in the dirt on a stringer from the EW..I would be absolutely sick..But! its withing their right to keep that fish..And I'm not gonna be the guy to tell em what they should be doing.

As for the "this is my water" thing..its a tough deal..when your working water it just sucks when someone stands next to you or moves down right into your drift..This happens all the time on the MM section of the EW by the way..By fly fisherman too.Sometimes with guides as well..There is only so much water and by the road side spots there are always more fisherman that holes. I usually look at a guy and nod in acknowledgment and hope he understands that I'm fishing where he is standing. If not I reel up and move and Hope the guy gets the point.

At the end of the day fishing is fishing as long as we share the resource, don't take it for granted and play by the rules life is good. When someone else doesn't..I just do my thing..life is good fellas..were fishing!

Ok rant over..Again Welcome PK..

[stanbery]

Pelican King very nice post and thatnks for sharing.

Jon

[WanderingBlues]

PK, welcome aboard and for reminding most of us where we came from. I had the same thoughts about fly tossers til I met some on the water and became deeply impressed with the ethos. Their attitude was a turning point and put me on a path that Ill walk til I'm in the grave.

Look forward to hearing from you on the forum.

[Devinpreston]

This has happened to more times than I can count and I usually don't say anything because I am trying to enjoy myself and the times I have confronted people it never made me feel any better!

[8NoFish]

You know, I think I'm more tolerant of questionable behavior by bait & hardware chuckers than misbehavior by fly fishermen. Especially when they invade my personal space on the water...I don't like it, but in some ways you expect that from conventional tackle fishermen. You have to remember that, with them, fishing is a much more social thing, often in big groups, in crowded situations, accompanied by loud talk, beach chairs and coolers full of food and beer.

I expect other fly fishers to know better streamside etiquette. I, like everyone else, have had people come up and start to cast to the same fish I was going for. I think the worst time was when I was fishing Hot Creek Gorge, right up near the fence between the public section and the ranch. There's a bit of a ledge and a dropoff on the far bank just downstream of the fence. I was working on a big rainbow that was down below the ledge when I noticed a fisherman coming upstream on that side of the creek - which immediately made me dislike him because that meant that he had waded across Hot Creek...a no-no. I was hoping he would stop and fish, but he kept walking upstream until he was on the ledge, looking straight down at the fish I was casting to. As he stood there, he dislodged some loose rocks, which splashed into the water, putting down that whole section. I gave him the evil eye until he noticed my glare and then I moved downstream away from him.