etiquette question

[afishinado]

Just an observation > admittedly (by them) neither Poop nor Jack fish for trout very often and even more seldom fish small trout streams. (maybe a break for all of us )

The guys that do seem to appreciate small stream trout fishing and fish quite often seem to have a high regard for and practice good stream etiquette.

The golden rule > "do unto others....." has a lot of meaning when it's results are experienced all the time and it's put into practice quite often.

Those that do it all the time seem to "get it"

Good karma to all.....

 

[JackM]

I'm offended. There were times in my past life that I fished small streams. Ask Alby.

 

[troutbert]

The OP asks about etiquette for fishing small remote streams.

So, getting back to that topic, there is a generally understood, widely accepted etiquette for fishing these streams.

Simply stated:

Do not jump in ahead of someone fishing up a brookie stream.

That is the accepted etiquette in brook trout country. I try not to break that etiquette, and I recommend that you do not.

But when you see a fisherman's vehicle, it's sometimes hard to know where he went.

I think the only answer is to evaluate the situation as best you can, then use your judgement.

When a car is parked near the lower end of a brookie stream, it's pretty safe to assume that he headed up the stream.

But if he's parked near the middle, its hard to know if he headed upstream, or if he walked down a ways then is fishing back up to his vehicle.

And if the stream splits into branches, you don't know which branch he will fish up.

It's tricky. Just make your best effort to avoid jumping in ahead of someone.

 

[JohnPowers]

I’m with jack m on this. We are not in Montana. Nobody is entitled to a mile of mud run or the Delaware. Just isn’t reality. Once had a guy on the Monacacy tell me he was fishing upstream. I thought then and I think now he was from way out of town. Be polite and considerate. A lot of what I’m reading is for the Yellowstone or the Test. One mans opinion.

 

[Swattie87]

No one’s implying or attempting to apply this logic to Mud Run or the D. Neither of them fit the parameters of a stream where this type of cooperation behavior often exists between anglers who enjoy that type of fishing...Think more like Hawk Run, as opposed to Mud Run.

 

[wbranch]

But, I think if you give a guy a mile of stream before you start to fish,

A mile!, are you serious? Where in PA on any stream of any significance can you go 100 yards without seeing another angler especially if it is on the weekend. I'm all for courtesy on the stream and enjoying the pastoral pleasures of quietude and serenity. If I see another angler I will get no closer than 200' above, or below, him or her. On the waters I typically fish (NY/PA tailwaters) In a 200 foot beat there is a strong likelihood there will be well over a couple dozen nice sized trout so one would be quite happy to have this much undisturbed water. If I see someone encroaching on me from below and they get within 150 feet of me I will typically first give them the evil eye. If that doesn't give them the idea they are getting too close I will ask them where they think they are going? Seriously we all want a modicum of privacy on our trips but to expect to give a mile berth is totally unrealistic. In some situations like big hatches where guys lose there normal manners I would still expect someone fishing down towards me to get out of the water when they are within 100' of me and no one to come up closer than 100' from below just for the sake of not messing with some long drift casts and spooking fish.

 

[Swattie87]

Some of you guys must have scored low in your reading comprehension comparative tests. 4th down. I’m punting. I’m sure I won’t run into any of you on the type of stream we’re actually talking about in this thread anyway.

 

[JohnPowers]

I comprehend. Small streams. How hard are you fishing that small stream to cover a MILE. five casts and move....five casts and move...five casts......sounds like solitude and speed. A MILE??

 

[Swattie87]

Yeah, 5 casts to a likely spot is probably about normal in small stream, wild Trout angling. These fish aren’t picky. You either catch one, or you’ve likely spooked the pool. Move on.

On a full day small stream outing I can easily cover 4 or 5 stream miles. Keep in mind, it’s sometimes more hiking than fishing. On some streams, it may be 50 yards or more between likely fish holding spots. Hence the need for more space between anglers. I typically cover a mile in about 2 hours on the average small, wild Trout stream. The better the stream, with better habitat and more fishy spots, the pace gets slower.

 

[wbranch]

Swattie87 wrote;

Some of you guys must have scored low in your reading comprehension comparative tests.

I never did well in Inglish and get bored having to read all the posts after the OP. So I kind of wing it and go off on a tangent sometimes. 50% of the time I hit a homer and the other 50% I strike out.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Swattie is on point.
I agree with the sentiments expressed. However on small wooded freestones, it is unlikely you can give another angler a one mile berth. Because like the OP expressed, it's hard to tell which way they went.

But yeah on small streams if you camp at a hole, you are likely wasting your time.
On a full day, I can cover many miles.

 

[troutbert]

Swattie87 wrote:
Yeah, 5 casts to a likely spot is probably about normal in small stream, wild Trout angling. These fish aren’t picky. You either catch one, or you’ve likely spooked the pool. Move on.

On a full day small stream outing I can easily cover 4 or 5 stream miles. Keep in mind, it’s sometimes more hiking than fishing. On some streams, it may be 50 yards or more between likely fish holding spots. Hence the need for more space between anglers. I typically cover a mile in about 2 hours on the average small, wild Trout stream. The better the stream, with better habitat and more fishy spots, the pace gets slower.

That is a good description of this type of fishing.

 

[RLeep2]

>>4th down. I’m punting. I’m sure I won’t run into any of you on the type of stream we’re actually talking about in this thread anyway. >>

Exactly... A few of the more recent responses seem to be suffering from an imbalance between strong opinion and possession of actual relevant information, understanding and knowledge.

Things never go well once this starts to happen...

There are a lot of streams of "significance" (significance being in the eye of the beholder..) where a mile of space is about right, proper and courteous.

 

[redietz]

Why the assumption that it's a small stream? The OP didn't say so -- only that the parking was remote. In fact, since was considering fishing a feeder a mile upstream, it's just as likely that it was at least a mid-size stream.

 

[FarmerDave]

As pcray said, as soon as I saw the other car, I'd likely go to my next choice. I rarely leave the house without backup plans. If that makes me an elitist in anyone's mind, I'm OK with that. It's good to know that others are the same way.

More often than not, this might not be the only access point, so there will still be a chance of bumping into another angler. In these casesI might not turn around and leave.

poopdeck wrote:
First off I'm not stirring any pots, I'm simply Saying what I believe.

For the record... Saying what one believes and stirring the pot are hot mutually exclusive. ;-)

Anybody is more then welcome to come fish right next to me. It wouldn't bother me in the least. How someone could be bothered by someone within a 1/2 mile of them is insane to me. Even more insane is that my position of getting along and sharing with other anglers, or kayakers, is considered poor etiquette.

I am a firm believe in the golden rule, and what you wrote there is consistent with that. You don't have a problem with someone doing this to you, so apparently you don't have a problem with doing it to someone else.

But IMHO golden rule is only half of the equation. One should also have the ability to empathize. You don't have to understand why someone else might want that 1/2 mile in certain situations. More often than not, elitism has nothing to do with it. You only have to know that some people desire that and would probably do the same for you. So if it isn't too inconvenient, why not?

I will not jump right in next to someone on a small uncrowded stream and just start fishing. Hell, I won't even do that on a larger stream without having a brief conversation with the other angler, first. Steelhead fishing is sometimes an exception. That was a difficult adjustment for me.

One thing I never have a problem with is another angler walking up and talking to me. If it is a decent conversation there is even a good chance that I will invite you to fish the next "hole," or even the same hole.

If I am fishing a small stream, and I see another angler who also sees me, I will probably approach that other angler from land (not from the stream) to exchange greetings and let him know my intentions. That I plan to head upstream quite a ways and ask if he is OK with that. In the case of the OP, it might be a feeder which the other guy didn't intend to fish anyway.

The reason we are both there in the first place is to find enjoyment. I don't have to catch every fish to achieve that, and neither of us are there to make the other feel uncomfortable of encroached on. But I don't and you shouldn't just jump in the next hole and start fishing without having that discussion. That's rude no matter how you slice it.

Sometimes part of that enjoyment might be for the solitude, so if you walk up around the next bend to a point where I can't see or hear you, I'm OK with that. But if you were there first, I personally would walk even farther unless you invited me to fish closer.

 

[FarmerDave]

wbranch wrote:

But, I think if you give a guy a mile of stream before you start to fish,

A mile!, are you serious? Where in PA on any stream of any significance can you go 100 yards without seeing another angler especially if it is on the weekend.

Define significance.

There are many streams in PA where I can fish 5 mile and not come across another angler, or road.

In fact, the OP reminded me of one of them. Small by most peoples standards (I'd say medium), and has a couple of decent but very small feeders. And the first feeder is about a mile from the parking area.

It depends on the stream and time of year.

But don't expect me to name them. Besides, you probably wouldn't be interested in such insignificant streams.;-)

 

[tomitrout]

I fished this little stream in VA on Saturday for a few hours. Not remote, but also didn't see anybody else on the water nor at the parking spot.

I caught three from this hole and stung a couple others from the tailout to the head on a sulphur. Not sure how trashed I left it for the next random following angler. Maybe I should've only caught one and then moved on to save the others for somebody else just in case?

Also too....I stumbled and almost fell in at a different spot, made quite the racket as I caught myself. Strangely after reading this thread, I wasn't so much concerned about getting soaking wet as I was about spooking the water for that next random person who may or may not follow after me...next time I'll be even more careful I guess.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

If I go to a small stream and see another vehicle, I go to another small stream. Chances are, if there is one, there's another near by.

 

[rrt]

Post #54: You are right. The OP did not say small stream; that is what I read into the post. Things can be much different on larger streams. I believe what I said about a mile on small streams is good etiquette, but you might not be able to do that on larger waters, esp places like the often-crowded Little Juniata River.

I guess it is my reading comprehension that is in question, and I was a teacher. My excuse: I've been retired 12 years. It looks like we sort of had 2 conversations going here, much of which was my fault. Sorry I screwed it up.

Anyhow, when this topic morphed into a small-stream conversation, I think guys who fish small waters regularly think pretty much the same way about having room to fish, how to fish the small streams, and how much room to give another fisherman.

(When I get my truck back from the garage, it cools off a little later this week, and I work up some energy, I hope to hit a couple of small streams for a couple hours each.)

 

[tomitrout]

I think your reading comprehension is just fine. Where on the LJ, the Breeches, Penn's, Spring, Kettle, the D, etc, etc will you find the scenario originally described:

You arrive at a remote stream parking/access area....

When I read that opening, I immediately think smaller brookie water off the beaten path...someplace that's, you know, remote.