Fishing With Your Dog

[HenHackle]

In another thread Lynn mentioned that she goes fishing with her labrador. I'm interested in knowing who here fishes with their dog.

 

Where do you take the dog fishing?

 

Have you found it difficult to control/train the animal to behave properly?

 

It sounds like a great way to get the dog out of doors but is it generally practical?

[DonAndersen]

Folks,

 

Please do not take your dog on private land especially if there is livestock around. Just what fisherman need is another pissed off landowner. Leave your dogs @ home.

I recall a stunned outdoor newspaper reporters who let his Fing city dog run around and around a bunch of cows c/w fresh calves. Damn lucky it wasn't shot!!

 

Don

[HenHackle]

Interesting anecdote.

 

Anyone with other experiences fishing with their own dogs?

[Guest bigbadbrent]

I don't mind bringing my dog along, depending on the river. I wont take him to the oldman (as it's far too busy for the happy little guy) but he loves the highwood, for a short amount of time anyway. He gets a little bored, but if i have a stick to throw for him, he's fine.

[Taco]

Don's point about the cows is a very good one but also remember just where a scared dog wants to be when pursued by a pissed off bear, moose, elk or whatever. ???? Happened to me once when a buddy's german shepperd thought it great fun to chase a moose calf and he couldn't call him off........ Let's just say it was a little bit interesting. That said.. I used to camp and fish with my stockdogs all the time but I had full control of them and trusted them or they stayed at home.

[bigalcal]

I have been fishing/camping with my friends dog every weekend since June 1. It has been an amazing summer as Kudra has been an awesome companion and fishing dog. At first she was a little hesitant to cross but now has a lot of confidence. We fished the Upper Elk last week and she had to do some pretty tough crossings and she was amazing. The water was a lot faster and deeper there than what she has been used to and she passed with flying colours. Fortunately there have been no incidents with wildlife besides a few birds. We shared a pool on the Crow last week with a large heron/cormorant? and she just sat there and watched. She has never gone in to the water where I fish and just snoozes on the bank until I move on. I have been blessed.

Unfortunately her owner has decided to move to Victoria in a few weeks and next weekend in Elkford will be my last weekend with her. Friends say" Get your own dog" but no dog could ever meet Kudra's standards so I will just have the memories of a fantastic summer experience with a great, grat companion. I will really miss her but I thank her for the great summer and the memories we shared.

[Brownstone]

Bring my little Jack Russell-cross fishing sometimes, she's pretty good now, but was'nt at first, always barking at me casing the line thinking its for her to play with, but after a few outings and a bit of yellin' she calmed down..at first I use to bring her to really open place like below Dickson dam or by the Weir in Carseland to get he use to things..now I can pretty much take her anywhere..I have her on her leash until I know there is nobody around for her to bother (she loves new people)..then I let he off and she never wanders far...

[ladystrange]

when i did have a dog, i only took him out once. great dane shepard x. great dog, short attention span. i was carburn park, ended tying him to a bench because he wouldnt sit still and kept getting under foot.

 

on the other hand, i fish regularly (except this year due to the fire ban) in the carbondale, lynx, castle river area with a friend of mine.

 

he has a beautiful dog and has been taking her fishing at least 150 days a year for the last 5 years. last year she was still a bit annoying as she would wander off. he still keeps her on a leash and sometimes he stands on it. this year she has been really good, not going too far and very quite, likes to try to 'kiss' the fish, so you have to be fast with the release. we use her as a bear sniffer. she alerted him to 2 this year before they could sneak up on him.

 

 

i have another friend whos dog is only a year old. we floated the bow and had pulled over and she saw something and bolted in to the bushes. it took him 15 min to find her and bring her back to the boat. but another day we hit the livingstone, vicary and racehorse and she was fine on the bank. found a rotted deer head and was trying to munch on that. ick

 

i guess it depends on where you are and the nature of the dog you have. i agree, i wouldnt take one on private land unless you know the landowners really well and they know the dog. it is all in the training, time and effort

[bigalcal]

I was fishing the Oldman River/Racehorse a few weeks ago, actually the day before they closed the forest and I ran in to a group of women out for a flyfishing lesson. I went down to the river and saw another woman with a cockapoo something dog and a neon pink canvas "kennel". She explained that she was concerned that her backcast might hook the dog and because it was so hot she wanted some shelter for the dog and wanted to have this shelter for the dog. I agreed that it was a great idea and snickered off to fish. I can just picture the woman crossing a river with her rod in one hand and this neon dog kennel in the other. I saw the group later in the day and she had put the dog and "kennel" back in her vehicle. I wish I had taken a photo!!

[Gary]

Been fishing with dogs for over 30 years and have had fun with all 3 of them. Each dog was different to fish with but all of them made the day more enjoyable. My first dog, a springer, hated cows and I had to watch her when we were around them but she was well behaved and didn't chase. Ran into a bear with her on the Tay river (told that story on the old alberta forum) and once she flushed a mature Golden Eagle into me. My Brittany was content to sit and watch me fish and was always pleasant to be with. My current dog (chocolate lab) was nuts when he was young but now is lots of fun to have around when I am alone. When others are with me he tends to bark wanting to play fetch. He believes all humans were put on earth to throw things for him to retrieve. I really can't imagine going out without my dog. They definately add to the day...not to mention it breaks their hearts if they know you are going fishing and you leave them.

[HenHackle]

Lots of great stories here! I guess the takeaway is that it is seldom easy at first but worth the effort if you can train your dog and the animal has the right temperament. Gary, I missed the bear story on the old board. How did your dog react to the bear? How did the bear react to the dog?!

[monger]

My GSP can sit still for about 1.5 seconds, then she is off to look for birds. Tonight the fishing was so good she got real interested in retrieving big rainbows. It was a challenge to keep her out of the water and looking for fish. By the end of the night she had learned I didn't need any help. It was pretty fun watching her though.

[RonEh]

Well I have ben fishing with 2 of my dogs, a border collie/american water spanial cross name Checkers, and a yellow lab named Cleo, they were both fine on the water except for the odd stick that needed throwing and the odd time I am satnding deep in the water and feel the tap tap on my back of dog feet, they both explored and returned when called found some grouse and never saw a beer are moose, maybe they were so good they scared them away, also they geve me a very good excuse to blame the bad smell that always follwed a goose call,,,lol. I now have a golden retrevier but she is to young to go fishing this year and with us fishing up on the little smoky and some bear issues now I can't wait till she is old and big enough.

 

Fishing with dogs is excellent and should be done if the dog is average trained and enjoys the outdoors, most dogs don't care about livestock are other animals, as long as you have some treats and a stick to throw,,,

[troutlover]

Ya when your in Mongers favorite spots he sends his dog into the water "accidently" .

[Grizz]

I used to fish with my dog - Either that or worms...

 

Then I switched to fly fishing and now I don't use bait.

[lonefisher]

never mind link didn`t work

[Weedy1]

never mind link didn`t work

 

Aw come on, I was looking so forward to it!

[lonefisher]

You woulda been let down it was just a photoshop job of a cats head and paws on a man holding a fish..... kinda funny. You could just google images cat fishing

[shredneck]

I have been bringing my dog fishing since day one. She has taken to it very well. She knows the diffrence between fishing and "dog walk" so she stays out the water unless we're crossing.(which is impressive because shes a Lab)

No encounters with wildlife so far.

She usually sits right at my left side, out of the way of my cast.

If I can't find anyone to fish with, she is always ready to go.

[bigalcal]

Upper Elk River BC

 

My fishing dog's owner delayed her trip so I was able to fish a few more weekends with her, For the first time this year someone joined us and was able to take pix of us both.

 

This is what it is all about!

[Pescador]

My lifeguard, she was an awesome fishing partner.

[Gary]

Lots of great stories here! I guess the takeaway is that it is seldom easy at first but worth the effort if you can train your dog and the animal has the right temperament. Gary, I missed the bear story on the old board. How did your dog react to the bear? How did the bear react to the dog?!

 

The most interesting, and scary, happened on my first excursion to explore those storied, magnificent, bountiful trout streams in the scenic, surroundings of West Central Alberta. After testing the Raven (where I camped) and of course Stauffer, my young springer and I took off in search of the type of stream I was more familiar with. The Clearwater had to fit the bill. So off we went late in the afternoon full of hope and the promise of exciting new places to fish. Way up on the Clearwater we went, back into some of the most beautiful wild country I had ever fished in. The fishing was exactly what I expected with lots of nice brookies and small bulls eager to take most flies offered. In the thrill of fishing I had ignored my year old springer, then realized she was gone. I called. No dog. I called again. No dog. Now I started searching up the river calling as I went. No dog. Soon I heard her howling and whining in a horrible fashion. The hair on the back of my neck was rigid and I was sick to my stomach with fear for her and myself. The beautiful mountains that looked so friendly and inviting just a short time ago now intimidated me with their forbidding and menacing stature. The tall pines were now dark and threatening. The howling and whimpering continued to fill me with fear. What do I do? I am torn between helping my dog, who is obviously stressed and in pain, or hightailing it back to the truck. I am really regretting coming this far by myself. Like all those stupid people in horror movies I act against my best interests and continue to search for my dog. Calling, calling. I can hear her still howling and whining. The sound of her anguish and pain constantly changing in volume and direction. I call again and again. Finally! She comes running to me her tongue hanging out and her stubby tail wagging a hundred miles an hour as happy as can be. Petting her I notice there is not a scratch on her let alone the bite marks from a cat or grizzly I was expecting. Well I have had enough for one day and we head back to the truck bypassing all those deep blue holes and fishy looking runs to head back to the campground, the friendlier Raven River and its hungry browns.

 

Next morning while having breakfast I grab my bible (Alberta Fishing Guide) and search for somewhere else to go. Obviously the upper Clearwater is out of the question. There it is it jumps out at me the Tay River. Drove over it going up to the Clearwater the day before. There is a little campground or day use area beside the bridge and downstream aways the magazine says it dumps into a lake which should also be good fishing. Sounds like a winner. So off we go.

 

Armed with my brand new seven and half foot browning 5 weight (can’t fish storied waters with anything cruder than that) I picked up at Russels downtown Calgary on my way up to the Raven, Checkers and I head down the creek. For those that don’t know the Tay it is far from being a river. What a jungle it is. The creek is choked with willows. The stream is full of trees that have fallen or blown over. It is all but impossible to navigate the banks and harder to fish with a fly rod. So I decide we will just fight our way down to the lake. It was a struggle fighting the brush. In one of the thinner pieces of brush Checkers flushes a rabbit. Off she goes howling and whining like a banshee. So that all that’s was happening on the Clearwater she was chasing rabbits. She had a blast the area was full of them hares and I could hear her chasing rabbits this way and that but never did see her much. She would check in with me once in awhile just to ensure I was still in the neighborhood.

 

If it is possible we got into some even thicker bush and now Checkers is at my feet and I am constantly tripping on her. She won’t leave me. Course now I am wondering what the hell I am doing here, the willows are getting thicker the dog is being a real nuisance underfoot. This is not fun. In all this struggling we are probably 20 to 30 minutes from the truck when I get almost stuck in the willows. Struggling and wiggling with my dog wrapped around my legs I stick my head through an opening in the willows. Turn my head and my nose touches something very warm and my eyes are locked in the gaze of some very big brown eyes! I am nose to nose, eyeball to eyeball with a big brown bear! I still do not know to this day what that bear did but somehow I ended up back in my truck in half the time it took me to get down to that bears home. Funny thing I haven’t tried to fish the Tay since.

[HenHackle]

 

Great couple of stories, Gary. So a bear's nose is warm is it?! What is your guess about what happened to the dog on the upper Clearwater?

[Gary]

Great couple of stories, Gary. So a bear's nose is warm is it?! What is your guess about what happened to the dog on the upper Clearwater?

The dog was obviously chasing rabbits. Whined and yelped all her life when she was chasing rabbits.

With out a doubt the air coming out of that nose was warm!

[Fisherwoman]

In another thread Lynn mentioned that she goes fishing with her labrador. I'm interested in knowing who here fishes with their dog.

 

Where do you take the dog fishing?

 

Have you found it difficult to control/train the animal to behave properly?

 

It sounds like a great way to get the dog out of doors but is it generally practical?

 

Hi, I've taken my little dog fishing with me, he loved it, me well besides him getting tangled up in my line, hook, ect, than both of us were not enjoying ourselves, grr. I'll stick with us going out running than fishing.