Bow River Etiquette

[CanuckCamper]

Here is how I see things.

 

If I discuss it with the guy and he is unwilling to comprimise or what not I just get up in move cause people like that no matter what you say it will not change their opion. Better for me to move then ruin my day. Does it make it right, hell no, but will I let it ruin my day, no way....

 

People are people and they are going to do what they want to regardless to what is proper or not...

 

If this is was infact you the spot you were in I have come to realize is a problem spot with disrespectful people, so instead of setting myself up with something that could turn a fun day into a *hit show I just choose to not to go to those spots, but that is me, and no one should be forced out of a spot that they were at,,,

 

This is good advice. Right or wrong, no sense in ruining your day.

[Simpson]

That's bull *hit. I get mad if one of my GOOD fishing buddies gets half that close. It's one thing if you don't know, but the fact that you said something and he still didn't see a problem is ridiculous. You should of 'educated' him with a Sage mustache.

 

I see, that's way you keep giving me dirty looks when we head out!

 

 

 

 

I see two perspectives....it is my understanding at least on busy salmon rivers you should cast,retrieve and take two steps down stream. Once you have fished the run you are pull out and start at the top again so all have a chance to fish the run.

 

However...with a river as large as the bow and nothing like the pressure salmon receive..can people just not find another hole...??

 

So keeping these two things in mind I find easier just to move...no sense getting my blood pressure up!

 

I did have a guy get so close once above me I hooked him on the end of his drift...gave the line a big tug in frustration and almost pulled the rod out of his hands!!

 

There will ALWAYS be people who do inappropriate things...up to you whether they reck your day or not.

 

[BBBrownie]

I see, that's way you keep giving me dirty looks when we head out!

 

 

 

 

I see two perspectives....it is my understanding at least on busy salmon rivers you should cast,retrieve and take two steps down stream. Once you have fished the run you are pull out and start at the top again so all have a chance to fish the run.

 

However...with a river as large as the bow and nothing like the pressure salmon receive..can people just not find another hole...??

 

So keeping these two things in mind I find easier just to move...no sense getting my blood pressure up!

 

I did have a guy get so close once above me I hooked him on the end of his drift...gave the line a big tug in frustration and almost pulled the rod out of his hands!!

 

There will ALWAYS be people who do inappropriate things...up to you whether they reck your day or not.

 

We were working the runs cast/step style, the guys in question just came down along the bank, often walking with their drift toward you. One problem with the center pin guys is they will often hold their drift until it is 100 yards down stream. This can be a problem because in my mind they are not following etiquette on a BUSY river. Also, if there is a particularily productive hole (lower vedder canal for example) many guys set up chairs and beers and hold the spot, casting at you if you attempt to fish down towards their spot. My biggest peeve was sleeping in my truck over night at a hole on the upper river (there is like 20 km of acessible upper river water) just so I could get first casts on it, I would wake up at the first sign of light, get rigged up without even warming up a coffee so I could be down, see vehicles slowly passing, waving then keep on going down the road. I would start walking down to the hole (early morning, -5C still), only to see the guy that waved had parked down the road and sprinted through the bushes to beat me to the hole. I would get there, try to start above and co-exist with said angler, they would cast right at my feet. No respect, or etiquette. Now, I am bother proof on the bow. Someone fishes too close, I just move. It could be worse.

 

[reevesr1]

I sometimes wonder if I am totally oblivious to all this. You would be hard pressed to find someone who is not a guide who spends more time on the Bow than I do. I am totally addicted to it. I would bet that I average 2-3 trips per week, probably more. Now many of them are short, and quite often I go pretty early in the morning, or late in the evening. I don't fish much in the middle of the day, particularly on the weekends due to family stuff. But I go LOTS. So lets say, conservatively, 400 trips in the last two years. In that time, I've had one confrontation (probably my own fault) that I can remember. Quite often there will be people fishing where I want to fish and I either ask them which way they are headed, if they mind if I drop in behind them, or I just go somewhere else. There is so much good water here it is ridiculous.

 

I really haven't had many people (1 trip in 20, maybe) drop in on me without asking. If they do, so what? If they do drop in it usually means they don't have the slightest idea what they are doing anyway and really are not much of a threat. Want to get back at them? Catch a few fish while they are standing there. Better yet, explain to them how you are catching fish. While doing that you can discuss stealth and etiquette. If people dropping in on you really bothers you, as others said, then leave. Remember that typically they do not know what they are doing, you do. And the smart money is on the fact that you know lots of runs to catch fish, they don't.

 

If you fish the city, expect people who do not know what they are doing. It is a fact of life. If bad etiquette makes you mad, prepare to be mad. You want solitude? All you have to do is drive and walk a bit. Mission accomplished. Hell, you don't really even have to drive much. Just walk a bit.

[alhuger]

Haha. USUALLY you can find water on a salmon river. I had some interesting experiences on the Chilliwack/Vedder during winter steelhead season this year. I would be fishing a run or a hole and occasionally have a center pin guy come walking down the bank toward me. They would slowly let it drift closer and closer until their gear was hanging right in front of me near my cast. I actually had one guy walk up with his gear driftin past me and ask if I could duck so he could pass with his line over me as he wanted to get a good long drift in. WTF?!? What gall I thought. What do you do with this. Although most of those guys were great nad fished with etiquette, we are sooo lucky that the Bow isn't over run by drift fishing as it can be difficult to coexist.

 

I have heard that about the Vedder, how was the fishing?

 

[BBBrownie]

haha. Slow would be an understatement. The center pin guys with pink worms or roe sacks were doing alright as much of the upper river is fast and clear during the winter, it is tought to effectively present a fly. You can pick fish up on the upper, but I believe in 14 days fishing I ran into 3 fly fishermen on the upper river. The canal is much better for the fly, unfortunatley it is full of drift fishermen, nothing against them as a group, but they really don't accomodate fly fishing in the prime holds as there were 100s of people on the river at a time. On days when a fish was caught, everyone was on their cell phones getting everyone they know down to the river, suddenly there wasn't a good piece of water you could drop onto. The winter run this year was very spotty over there, although we did have some good days. I was there in february, early march, which was a mistake as fly fishing really doesnt get productive until the water comes up a bit from late march, through until about now. So, if I went there again it would be in mid april, although I would probably skip the area and head to kitimat instead due to the crowds. The fish are gorgeous though, completely chrome. The discouraging thing for me was that 2/3 of the fish I saw were hatchery fish, every hatchery fish I saw caught got bonked. If you aren't in the canal in the winter, you won't see many as most are intercepted and end up on the plate. As a bit of a steelhead fanatic it is tough to watch, even if they are stocked. I'll try and stick to wild steel when possible.

[vhawk12]

It's hard not to get hot under the collar when people are just too oblivious or to much of an a$$hole to care about other people on the river. However, I am often reluctant to seek out new water, I like the spots where I've done well. Arriving at spots that I want to fish only to find 5+ people already there gives me no excuse but to seek out new runs. I find that often I'll discover a little micro run or something that holds at least a couple of fish, often it's places that other people would just walk right by. The last time I was out, I wanted to fish a certain spot, found a lot of people there, so I hiked downstream only to discover that another run I was thinking about fishing was wide open. It usually takes a bit of walking, and who here couldn't use a bit of hike? I know I could!

[bigbrooktrout]

I think I might of been across river and saw what had happened and honestly I think if it was infact you it was close to my liking.

 

Here is how I see things.

 

If I discuss it with the guy and he is unwilling to comprimise or what not I just get up in move cause people like that no matter what you say it will not change their opion. Better for me to move then ruin my day. Does it make it right, hell no, but will I let it ruin my day, no way....

 

People are people and they are going to do what they want to regardless to what is proper or not...

 

If this is was infact you the spot you were in I have come to realize is a problem spot with disrespectful people, so instead of setting myself up with something that could turn a fun day into a *hit show I just choose to not to go to those spots, but that is me, and no one should be forced out of a spot that they were at,,,

 

Just my two cents.

 

Check this out, and yes this does apply to those of you floating through.Please show alittle respect or look forward to my response be it never so kind has these guys on here.

http://parks.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/183E...ngEtiquette.pdf

[AndyW]

People with no/poor etiquette are like guys with a limp handshake, it happens because no one has pointed it out to them so they don't know better.

[Quillyrabbit]

Was that you yelling across the river asking me about etiquette?

Yep, that was me...

[daxlarsen]

Me thinks the bow river guys are gonna hafta start learnin' west coast salmon/steelhead rules on the more popular holes.

 

HAHAHA omg that's awesome, it's almost as bad as policemans on a saturday hahahaha

[pokerfish]

Yesterday at FC, I was at a hole, and a guy started watching from behind. Turns out he was from Edmonton, and had never fished the Bow. I gave him a couple of pointers, and a couple of flies ( cuz all he had were some big dries). Said it was OK if he wanted to fish the hole ( he didn't have waders) and directed him to a spot about 100 ft down at the end of the hole. I was at the top.

 

Up comes a fisherman, and it was obvious we were in his spot. Without a word, he started throwing BETWEEN us.

No other fisheren in sight - 3/4 mile of good holes, but by jingy this was his spot.

 

Not being confrontational, I just kept casting.

 

I caught, he didn't - the gods are kind.

 

Assholes exist.

 

 

[robert]

Interesting read...

 

 

How can someone claim over 300 feet of prime river and call it etiquette? Then feel like they can intimidate another fisherman into leaving the hole with a fly across their bow or a sage mustache?

 

 

I started fly fishing at 10 years old - and I have never had a bad encounter in my life - and I hope I never do. Anyone i've ever come across has always been very friendly, willing to chat and more than willing to have a fishing friend to share knowledge and experiences with, just makes the experience better. I've given knowledge and learned alot from others I meet. It's what fishing is all about - fun. I've come across people that didn't know how to fly fish, and end up spending a couple of hours of MY day teaching them, gone so far as rerigging their gear properly - I have no problem with that what so ever, I enjoy it. I'm not master at fly fishing but I wasn't born with that knowledge and ability for sure. We all learned to do it.

 

 

I've personally fished side by side in many rivers with a friend that was 10 feet away from me, able to chat and have a laugh all the while - one or the other of us will adjust our cast to accommodate the other... Funny how we'll do that for a friend but some won't do it for strangers.

 

I won't put myself in a situation where i'm casting over someone else - or put someone else in danger... But that said, if someone puts me in danger (with a sage mustache or a fly across my bow) cause they feel i'm breaching their 300 foot "etiquette", then we're gonna dance, you'd better know how to swim.

[birchy]

Interesting read...

 

 

How can someone claim over 300 feet of prime river and call it etiquette? Then feel like they can intimidate another fisherman into leaving the hole with a fly across their bow or a sage mustache?

 

 

I started fly fishing at 10 years old - and I have never had a bad encounter in my life - and I hope I never do. Anyone i've ever come across has always been very friendly, willing to chat and more than willing to have a fishing friend to share knowledge and experiences with, just makes the experience better. I've given knowledge and learned alot from others I meet. It's what fishing is all about - fun. I've come across people that didn't know how to fly fish, and end up spending a couple of hours of MY day teaching them, gone so far as rerigging their gear properly - I have no problem with that what so ever, I enjoy it. I'm not master at fly fishing but I wasn't born with that knowledge and ability for sure. We all learned to do it.

 

 

I've personally fished side by side in many rivers with a friend that was 10 feet away from me, able to chat and have a laugh all the while - one or the other of us will adjust our cast to accommodate the other... Funny how we'll do that for a friend but some won't do it for strangers.

 

I won't put myself in a situation where i'm casting over someone else - or put someone else in danger... But that said, if someone puts me in danger (with a sage mustache or a fly across my bow) cause they feel i'm breaching their 300 foot "etiquette", then we're gonna dance, you'd better know how to swim.

 

What if they end up being tougher than you? Just curious..

[Taco]

What if they end up being tougher than you? Just curious..

 

Carry an equalizer Birchy, never let youth and stamina outcompete old age and deviousness

 

[Quillyrabbit]

I made this post about a year ago and I suspect that I have done some maturing as a Bow River Angler in that time. This was demonstrated in my response to a Dorkwad yesterday.

 

Let me begin by stating that I was fishing a Honey Hole. Yes, I know it is a Honey Hole. Anyone who fishes in this area knows of it and wants to fish it. I got up disgustingly early (for a day off) so that I could fish it. I had a few people come by during the course of a couple hours. They said "hi", asked to fish a portion of the stretch, I said, "no problem", they fished for a bit and moved on.

 

I had just landed a 19" brown who was beind difficult by showing me his face and dorsal fin, but not taking dries. I caught him by skittering an emerger pattern accross his nose and was feeling very proud of myself. Then this gentleman shows up. He did not initially say, "hi" and just sort of slid himself into the water below me, close enough to make me feel a little uncomfortable. He then started to ask me questions about my day. I was aware that as we were talking he would take a step closer to me and keep casting. He came to rest at the spot that I suspect he wanted to fish as he was so close that he was casting over my skittering line. I decided to stop casting for a moment. Then things got really entertaining.

 

He caught and landed two in front of me (I am hoping that Karma will be kicking in later). In that time he managed to inform me that he did not believe that I caught a brown on a dry, in the shallow riffles. His expert opinion was that browns are holed up this time of the year. I had just caught one in that little stretch and yes, it was at the time a little spooked. I new they would turn on again. Then as he landed his second fish he made a crack about how lucky I was that I he was giving me this clinic on how to fish (classy).

 

I stopped talking to him at that point, but that did not stop him from talking to me. He managed to tell me about his aversion to Asian fisherman. "WTF"??? He chatted about etiquette and how people had come up to spots he was fishing and just started fishing. Obviously etiquette does not apply to him.

 

Then the browns resumed their action in the riffles, right in front of where I was standing. This guy moved to the other side of me, assuring me of course that he was just taking a look and would not cast at them. He then began to re-rig as I was re-rigging to dries. I will hand it to the guy, he can tie on a dry in a remarkably short period of time. Of course he began casting in front of me as I was tying my double dry rig on and of course he caught a nice looking brown. Then he left without a word. No "thanks", "later", or "bye. I felt so used (joke).

 

Of course there are several things that I had wished I had done or said to let him know that I thought his actions were not appropriate. I treated him the same way I treat an encounter with a skunk. Put your head down, don't make any sudden actions and hope that it leaves before it gets its stench all over you. I am sure that if this had happened last year, my actions would have been differnt, far less PC. I like to think that I have matured.

 

I am also sharing this with the hopes that the person I am writing about will read this and possibly adjust his actions in the future. Good story huh? You can't make this kind of stuff up!

[reevesr1]

I wonder if this kind of stuff just happens more often at easy to get to places? I don't fish many places that don't involve a bit of a walk, a hill, or some other "barrier" to the occasional angler. I don't do that to avoid them, I just find the fishing better if you have to work for it a bit. I fish a lot of days, and I can think of exactly one instance of some unruly behavior, and the unruly behavior was probably mine.

 

Not saying the instances sited don't happen, they do. But if you find it happening to you over and over again, maybe you need to rethink where you fish, or be willing to accept the behavior.

 

 

[alan2]

I wouldn't have been nearly as polite if the guy stepped into the immediate territory where I was already fishing. I would have said that maybe he didn't see a problem with 3 fishing in that spot, but I see a problem and I am already here. There are 15km or more of water now piss off---what are you clueless? Do you not know the meaning of the word etiquette?

 

I have used a similar line once before when this kinda thing happened and the guy seemed a bit flabbergasted and left. So he thinks I'm a jerk; big deal so is he. I don't go fishing to meet people--- I could go to the mall to do that.

 

I generally make a point of not going where I see others fishing, or getting ready to fish and I often end up walking a long ways. Maybe I don't catch fish then, but I would rather be by myself not catching fish than be too close to other fisherman and actually catch fish. You can see where my priorities lie. It's not about the fish. And it's not about getting too cozy with someone else showing up to fish by me either, but then I'm more anti-social than most people anyway. My wife always reminds me of that if I forget.

[ÜberFly]

I was fishing on Friday near an area I like to fish on a regular basis (as the regular run I like, already had a couple of anglers in it)... Across the river was a older gentlemen and we were chatting back and forth (as both of us landed fish regularly). He was on the west side and it's normally quite busy (he was there before I even arrived). Through out the course of the next several (3) hours... About 12 other people (both gear and fly) anglers would just step in either above him or below him - but all really close (interesting that none of them landed anything). He just quietly fished either above them or below them and did not say anything ... Towards the end of the day (late afternoon) I finally had to bring it up as I was quite shocked... "interesting that not one person asked if you would mind if they fished near you" I yelled across to him... He just said yeah, shook his head and left it at that... I guess it didn't bother him too much... I'm glad no one else was on my side of the river, but then again, that's why I fish the places I do (similar to what Rick had mentioned)... Though it still bothered me to be witness to this!!

 

P

 

 

I wonder if this kind of stuff just happens more often at easy to get to places? I don't fish many places that don't involve a bit of a walk, a hill, or some other "barrier" to the occasional angler. I don't do that to avoid them, I just find the fishing better if you have to work for it a bit. I fish a lot of days, and I can think of exactly one instance of some unruly behavior, and the unruly behavior was probably mine.

 

Not saying the instances sited don't happen, they do. But if you find it happening to you over and over again, maybe you need to rethink where you fish, or be willing to accept the behavior.

 

[robert]

Carry an equalizer Birchy, never let youth and stamina outcompete old age and deviousness

 

Yeppers, I can see the headlines now, "TFO - not just for fishing anymore"...

 

The point has been made that if what you consider bad etiquette is happening to you all the time - just move on... Makes me wonder if it's not everyone else with the problem - and maybe it's your own attitude... Some people just like to push buttons when others are pissed off... Yeah, i've had people drop in unannouced and if I let it get to me then i'd never enjoy flyfishing - if I carried an attitude that this is mine, and you can go somewhere else then i'd probably be in a bad mood all the time. Use it to your own advantage and have fun with fishing - don't be afraid to make some adjustments to benefit someone else - and don't expect others to bend to your will all the time. Present yourself with a smile on your face and a good attitude and people will treat you better - if you're scowling at other fishermen then yeah, chances are they won't be friendly. Don't you teach your kids to share???

 

If you believe that you have a right to fish a hole solo when there's a whole city around you? Then you're in a class of your own, get your ass out in the middle of nowhere and nobody will find you. After all, etiquette boils down to your own personal belief - either learned through your own mind or taught to you by someone else - throw that away and put some common sense toward it.

 

Some people carry the etiquette that they can keep everything they catch and think barbed hooks are great - but what does common sense dictate??

[Quillyrabbit]

I wonder if this kind of stuff just happens more often at easy to get to places? I don't fish many places that don't involve a bit of a walk, a hill, or some other "barrier" to the occasional angler. I don't do that to avoid them, I just find the fishing better if you have to work for it a bit. I fish a lot of days, and I can think of exactly one instance of some unruly behavior, and the unruly behavior was probably mine.

 

Not saying the instances sited don't happen, they do. But if you find it happening to you over and over again, maybe you need to rethink where you fish, or be willing to accept the behavior.

 

You could be right. This area is hit hard all the time. That being said I am averaging one of these stories per year and I have met a whole buch of nice, courteous anglers who I am more than happy to share the water I am fishing with. In some cases I have taken turns pulling fish in from the same water. These are people I have just met. Someone has to hold the camera! Manners go a long way.

[reevesr1]

When I am walking between spots and run into someone fishing, you can tell right away what type of person they are, the one I want to be around and the one I don't. The one I don't doesn't turn around and does everything he can to avoid making eye contact (and I think it is hysterical when I see these guys in popular water). They are in their spot and expect you to move away. So I do, what is the point of making them mad (and then them talking about it on an internet site). The others turn around, say hello, you say hello, converse on how it's going and usually have a conversation about which way each of you are heading. Usually the person will say something along the lines of "fish here anywhere." I usually don't, or if I do I'll fish behind him. Those are the people I'd rather be around. They often become fishing buddies. The others? Not so much. Let them have their own little world.

 

And this may stir up some feathers, but I believe that the person who "closes up" is displaying just as bad etiquette as the guy who just drops in on me without asking.

[robert]

doesn't turn around and does everything he can to avoid making eye contact (and I think it is hysterical when I see these guys in popular water). They are in their spot and expect you to move away. So I do, what is the point of making them mad

 

 

 

I believe that the person who "closes up" is displaying just as bad etiquette as the guy who just drops in on me without asking.

 

 

Give that man a cigar

 

 

 

[Teck71]

When I am walking between spots and run into someone fishing, you can tell right away what type of person they are, the one I want to be around and the one I don't. The one I don't doesn't turn around and does everything he can to avoid making eye contact (and I think it is hysterical when I see these guys in popular water). They are in their spot and expect you to move away. So I do, what is the point of making them mad (and then them talking about it on an internet site). The others turn around, say hello, you say hello, converse on how it's going and usually have a conversation about which way each of you are heading. Usually the person will say something along the lines of "fish here anywhere." I usually don't, or if I do I'll fish behind him. Those are the people I'd rather be around. They often become fishing buddies. The others? Not so much. Let them have their own little world.

 

And this may stir up some feathers, but I believe that the person who "closes up" is displaying just as bad etiquette as the guy who just drops in on me without asking.

 

honestly Rick If some one came up behind me I probably would not notice them, I tend to hyper focus sometimes that way. some times it is just an intent person. now on the flip side once my intention is caught I will wade back to shore and shoot the sh*t. light a smoke and offer the flask if I happen to be carrying it.

 

I find worrying about the bad manners of others ruins my day more than the bad manners. so i figure as long as some one is not in my cast range, who cares. If they are I just move on, light a smoke sip the flask and all is good till I find the next "must hold a fish spot"

 

 

 

 

[canadensis]

When I am walking between spots and run into someone fishing, you can tell right away what type of person they are, the one I want to be around and the one I don't. The one I don't doesn't turn around and does everything he can to avoid making eye contact (and I think it is hysterical when I see these guys in popular water). They are in their spot and expect you to move away. So I do, what is the point of making them mad (and then them talking about it on an internet site). The others turn around, say hello, you say hello, converse on how it's going and usually have a conversation about which way each of you are heading. Usually the person will say something along the lines of "fish here anywhere." I usually don't, or if I do I'll fish behind him. Those are the people I'd rather be around. They often become fishing buddies. The others? Not so much. Let them have their own little world.

 

And this may stir up some feathers, but I believe that the person who "closes up" is displaying just as bad etiquette as the guy who just drops in on me without asking.

 

 

Good job judging a person because they are intent on fishing and not starting a conversation when you walk past, with someone they likely do not even see..

 

I don't want to be around someone who comes up behind me and does not say "hello" while I am fishing, especially if I do not notice them until they are past me. They are usually the guys who are talking about bad "etiquette" and such on internet sites. (sounds crazy talk, eh?)

 

It definately goes both ways. Why put the responsibility of the ice breaker on the shoulders of the guy not facing you concentrating on the water?

 

 

Oh- and for the record I always say "hello" when I notice a person walking by, or if I am actually fishing. If I am fishing by myself it is because I choose to, I don't go to the river for some solitude looking for "fishing buddies" or a streamside conversation.