Cardinal Sins of Fishing Partners

[thtsarumr]

This discussion came up on another forum that I am a member of. I know that we have a ton of characters on this one so I am interested to see what the Local Locos have experienced. I'll kick it off...

My pet peeve when I am fishing with someone is not being on time and not being prepared for the day/days/week or however long you planned your trip. It irritates me mainly due to my being in the military. If you aren't where you are supposed to be when you say your are going to be there, I will leave your *. If you know that you are going to be fishing and you don't have your gear you need, prepare to be joshed about not having your crap together for at least the first day, just so you learn.

When I was back east I had a guy who want to go fishing with me so I told him to be ready to get in the truck at 0400 to be on the river by 06. Mind you I love taking people wishing with me but at least take it half as serious as I do. We get on the water at a quarter past eight, get rigged up, waders on and I hear those haunting words. "darnit, I forgot my flies." Remember this guy claims to be a fly fisherman. I asked him if he was serious and he was. So I gave him 4 flies. Two dries and two nymphs and I said make them last. Since I hadn't started tying yet I had just enough flys for me to loose them all let alone having someone else loose them for me. I have since learned to be a little more pacient and tollerate a bit more but not much.

Now lets hear it from the rest of the class.

[anacrime]

wanting to leave early, constantly complaining about being hot/cold/tired/hungry/going too far/etc

man up!

[Benny]

For the most part all of the guys I fly fish with are always on time and they have all there gear together. If one of them was missing there flys or tippet or whatever and I had some extra stuff sure I will give it to them. I'm the type of guy that would give a stranger a fly or indicator if they needed one, no big deal for me. I look at things this way, there's going to be a time that I might forget something and one of my fishing buddies/friends is going to hook it up.

As far as waiting, if I were waiting for a long time for some one to show up I might say *, but for the most part it's not to big of a deal. A few minutes is not going to make to much of a difference to me. Some of my buddies travel a long way to come to my house and I think I should give them a little bit of a cushion as far as being on time.

I think if I was strapped for time I would be more impatient or restless about being on time...

[rayfound]

wanting to leave early, constantly complaining about being hot/cold/tired/hungry/going too far/etc

man up!

That's my list. complaining about anything period. wanting to quit before its too dangerous (dark, flood, lightning, etc...) to continue.

I don't like to hear anything negative on the water - don't bring my spirits down - just getting out makes it perfect.

being overtly late is a frustration, but i'll put up with 15-30 minutes without much complaining. I usually try to be early.

[gabe]

I'm a pretty patient person. must be the islander lifestyle. way too laid back sometimes.

[midger]

I'm a mix--more like Benny and Gabe in that I don't sweat the small stuff. I have many flies and giving flies to somebody who forgets theirs is no big deal. Same with tippet, weights, indicators, etc--even loaned rods and reels to folks before.

I do see anacrime's point on the whining though. That's really about the only thing that bothers me. I USED to have a fishing partner that would chomp at the bit to get on the water, but then want to know when we were going home. Mind you this was on destination trips to the San Juan, the Green, Yellowstone, etc. Now that's just plain wrong.

As for being late, if they are meeting me to fish my locals, I don't sweat it. They are coming through traffic etc to get here, and I'm, well, already here. These local fish don't wear watches.

[fflutterffly]

Being prepared. If you know it's winter, bring extra under-warmies. If you'll be out more then one day... Bring extra flies. Pack your own gear. Don't complain. Be ready to fish when you arrive. My biggest cardinal sin of fishing partners, greed. There is so much water and so many fish on a planted waterway that one area or spot doesn't belong to anyone. GET OVER YOURSELF!

[Sasha]

Hmmm I have not fished with anyone who has commited any "sins" except once. We were hiking up high in the sierras to go fish a lake. The two guys I went with were *!ng about the hike the whole way. I told them before the trip that it was going to be a bit of a hike.

[briansII]

IF I have one pet peeve, it's having to leave before the evening rise/bite.

When fishing with a friend, I make a mental note, not to expect anything. While most of the guys I fish with are just as fanatical as I am, I also realize, not everyone wants to fish from dark, to dark. I share whatever, and always offer them first water. Almost always, my fishin partners are of like mind, and we have a discussion about who gets the best spots. I fish alone enough, that I have a different set of expectations, when fishing with a buddy.

briansII

[Rollincast]

I agree with Brians, DARK TO DARK is always the plan. If that doesn't work for you then PLEASE say something BEFORE we hit the water. I pretty much have the "What's Mine Is Yours" attitude about flies, rods and hot spots. So, feel free.
My biggest pet peeve is.........EATING. If you must eat 3 meals while fishing, then PLEASE bring it with you. You shouldn't expect your fishing partner to stop and break down gear to run you to the store so you can grab something to eat. If we are driving by a store as we are moving to another spot, fine. Otherwise, as an alternative, bring what you will need to be happy.


Randy

[Benny]

That's right I remember, when you mention no food, or pack it with you. Good rules to fish by

[Sasha]

I agree with Brians, DARK TO DARK is always the plan. If that doesn't work for you then PLEASE say something BEFORE we hit the water. I pretty much have the "What's Mine Is Yours" attitude about flies, rods and hot spots. So, feel free.
My biggest pet peeve is.........EATING. If you must eat 3 meals while fishing, then PLEASE bring it with you. You shouldn't expect your fishing partner to stop and break down gear to run you to the store so you can grab something to eat. If we are driving by a store as we are moving to another spot, fine. Otherwise, as an alternative, bring what you will need to be happy.


Randy

+1 on that.

I usually go with the starve fishing method on day trips. I wake up head out and grab something on the drive up (usually Jack or McDs if I am leaving later). I pack a few bags of * to hold me over till I leave when it gets dark. I will then grab a bite on the way home. Now if it longer than a day trip I will actually bring food. I guess I have been lucky in the fact that everyone I have fished with so far has about the same mentality of not leaving once we get there.

[castaway]

yea, the take me to the store thing could get frustrating...

other then that... If i am supposed to meet someone AT the water....and they are late - I dont care - Im out fishing. I dont need someone else there. I understand life gets in the way of fishing.

I am a dark to dark guy as well... but mainly because I dont get a chance to fish as much as I would like (4-6 times a month).

Like Sasha I am a minamalist... on a recent pack trip... I had three meals a day packed - a bag of peanuts and a bag of beef * - good to go.

I usually dont eat much while fishing - I forget Im hungry - I actually have to pry myself off the water to go eat.

Pet peve..... Well in Golf - a lot of guys have 1000 dollar clubs and a 2 dollar swing... I think fly fishing is thee same way.... However, I am a gear junkie ( two 2wts, one 3wt, one 5wt, one fiberglass 7wt (6wt modern) one 8wt - and 14 old reels) My most expensive rod I purchased was the 3wt - I built it - st. Croix - about 140 for the rod... But I would have never owned a Sage if not for the Poker tournament.

I guess the 600 dollar rods for a guy who doesnt catch many fish - seems like playing nike golf clubs, hitting from the blue tees - when your score is 105.

invest in a guide for a day at 300 bucks - and you will get a lot more... (easier said then done) - I have never used a guide...self taught rod builder, fly fisherman...

As some people have shown us - using a steel rod, fiberglass, 1970's reels, will not make you catch less fish...nice gear only makes you look like you catch more fish.

[Sasha]

Pet peve..... Well in Golf - a lot of guys have 1000 dollar clubs and a 2 dollar swing... I think fly fishing is thee same way.... However, I am a gear junkie ( two 2wts, one 3wt, one 5wt, one fiberglass 7wt (6wt modern) one 8wt - and 14 old reels) My most expensive rod I purchased was the 3wt - I built it - st. Croix - about 140 for the rod... But I would have never owned a Sage if not for the Poker tournament.

I guess the 600 dollar rods for a guy who doesnt catch many fish - seems like playing nike golf clubs, hitting from the blue tees - when your score is 105.

invest in a guide for a day at 300 bucks - and you will get a lot more... (easier said then done) - I have never used a guide...self taught rod builder, fly fisherman...

As some people have shown us - using a steel rod, fiberglass, 1970's reels, will not make you catch less fish...nice gear only makes you look like you catch more fish.

Hmmmm I don’t know if I would agree with that assessment. For example when I first started seriously fly fishing (I am not counting when I had the eagle claw rod/reel as a kid) I used a rod and reel that was given to me for quite some time. As I got more into it I got another rod that I paid just under 200 dollars for. My wife got me an even more expensive rod for Father’s day. And just recently I purchased an even more expensive rod. Did I but them just because they were expensive? nope. I bought them because enjoyed how they fish and for the specific type of fishing I was going to do with them. Do I think owing X brand rod will make me catch more fish nope. But the statement that 600 dollar rods are only for guys that do not catch much fish is baseless. Although I have not paid 600.00 for any of the rods I own.

[1mocast]

Oh man, say it 'aint so! You're saying that all Sage owners who own the "higher end" rods only bought those 600$ sticks in order to "look good" and to make up for the fact that they are really just poor flyfisherman that "don't catch many fish?" I had no idea that was the case for every high-end Sage rod owner! If that's the case, I guess there's alot of us out there that must really suck at this flyfishing thing!

Hey wait a second, I don't own anything close to a $600 rod and I suck at flyfishing!