Deny Boaters On The West Branch Of The Deleware

[spectorfly]

is it navigable? I find the timing of this kind of ironic.

Tom,

Reguardless of your opinions about me and how you feel about my "being schooled in the art of discussion" at college I know right where you're going with this without having to read any of the other posts below yours................and I agree 100%.

Let's all say it together "Little J".

 

[tomgamber]

JackM wrote:
Tim, I would have thought the complaint from waders was that boat moving by "put down" the fish. I didn't know that the weak ethics of the guides "jonesing" in on fishing spots was the problem. Couldn't the guides still do this on foot? Or is the issue that, being in a boat, it is too easy for them to get away if a wader becomes irate enough to physically confront them? :lol:

Just from my experiences on western rivers where drift boating is more common, its not the putting down of fish or the anchoring in your spot thats the problem. Out west at least, they are pretty courteous and don't do the latter. But the problem is that boaters have the rigth of way over wading fishermen. Like it or not thats the rule. And since i've never been on the Delaware, so I can't be sure, but I assume the problem is that you wade out to a spot, finally get some footing and you must wade back to allow a boat to come thru. I guess if you allow the boats for access, your not flip-flopping (if you were a supporter of opening the Little J). But if they have to get out to fish, you might very well end up with guys dropping anchor wherrever they please so they can get out and fish.

Either way, its indicative of the differences between out west and back here. I never saw a conflict on any water out there. I see guys here always bitching at one another. If they passed anything they would have to make strict policy on how and where you can pull over and not depend on people being ethical or courteous. Jefferson wrote, over 200 years ago, "Man is, by nature, nasty." I guess he knew what he was talking about.

 

[Chaz]

I would think that at the prices the guides are getting for a day on the river that the anglers would want to get away from the crowds, I know I would. One of the reason I don't go to the wes branch is the crowds, even if I catch fewer fish I'd rather fish the mainstem where there are fewer anglers. Why pay to fish where everyone else is fishing? How dumb is that?

 

[afishinado]

The problem at the WB of the Delaware is the drift boats (both guides and recreation boaters) sometimes anchor nearby and fish over you when the river is crowded. Most boats drifting through will try to float behind you, or row to the far bank to get around you. It gets so crowded on the West Branch that it’s almost impossible to do either at times, and conflict starts.

Tom, I have never heard that drift boats have the right of way over waders. In other words, if a boat is drifting towards me while I’m wading, it’s my responsibility to move out of the way? Given the mobility of a boat versus a wading angler, I don’t believe that’s practical or even possible to yield to a boat.

I believe restrictions on drifting will solve one problem, while creating other problems, like more wading anglers trying to park and gain access to the West Branch, and other parts of the river becoming over crowded with boats. When it gets too crowded – just don’t fish there, and if you do, expect lots of company.

 

[tomgamber]

http://www.madisonrivercasting.com/article_riveretiquette.htm

I stand corrected...not sure where I got that...in looking, I saw something about ROW over fishing from boat launches, but since I never do that who knows where it came from.

I do know this...a nice pointy drift boat WILL leave a mark if it hits you.

 

[Ivan]

I have fished the WB and main Delaware for 10+ years, mostly with guides from drift boats. I can count on the fingers of one hand the numbers of guides I have seen (never the one I was with) cause any kind of problem for either a wading angler or another boat. More frequently I see guides going out of their way to try to NOT cause a problem for a wading angler or another boat. Every guide I have been with has been extremely courteous to all other anglers. The majority of problems I HAVE witnessed have come from people in rental or private boats that don't seem to have a clue as to proper boating/stream etiquette. When I was up last May fishing the stretch that seems to be the center of the controversy, it was quite crowded. I was unable to fish many fine stretches of the river because their were fishermen (mostly wading anglers) already there. My guide was not even thinking about trying to "horn in" on someone and I wouldn't have wanted that either. Instead, we were challenged to find other areas to fish. Other guides out that day in the same stretch looked to be trying to do the same thing we were - find water that fifteen guys hadn't already beat to a froth. It worked out fine for everyone.

Of course there are certainly some jerks out there, but punishing the professionals who are trying to make something of a living from guiding is not the answer. Besides, about half the time I have been on the either the WB or the main Delaware, the river levels have been such the wade fishing has been marginal and the only way the truly get to the majority of the fish is from a boat.

The blanket ban proposed on boat fishing is excessive and will not solve the problem of crowds on a popular river system. There are many different dynamics involved in this situation and while a simplistic solution would be nice, there are more complicated and difficult issues involved than just fishing from a boat.