Fishing Etiquette for Erie.

Never seen a fight.

Squaretail- once posted that a guide yelled something like""I have the bail money" to someguy that was fishing nearby where he wanted his clients to fish. Sure it was'nt too funny then- but I laugh at that one. Think that was the Salmon River in NY.

Had a guy walk right in the top of a run I fishing at Benner for tricos- I would like to think he did'nt see me since I was in the shade and the sun was in his face. Still did'nt move off though.

The world is a funny place.
 
I used to live not far north of Pittsburgh. I've made the 2-3 hour drive to Erie many times. A couple times I never wet a line. Several others, I probably only threw a few casts all day, maybe at a lonely fish in some tailout. Park, walk and look for a hole where nobody is at. Don't find it, keep walking till you hit posted signs. Turn around and go back to car, drive to new access point. Repeat. All day, never even unstringing the rod. I won't fish a hole if there's another fisherman anywhere on the hole, to me thats moving in. If the fish are in the fast water, usually I can find a little pocket in the middle of a long riffle or something. But if they're not in the fast water, it seems like every hole has a guy.

And I am willing to walk, the problem is that every place I try to walk very far, you hit posted ground. Where are you guys going that you can walk so far without crossing posted ground?

I live in SE PA now, so I don't get up much. I will be up there during the first week of buck season. Hunting Monday and Tuesday, but plan on being on the tribs Wed, Thurs, Friday, and Saturday. Hoping the weekday mixed with deer season keeps the crowds down a bit. Anyone interested in joining?
 
pc, to fish the Erie Tribs, you have to get used to "moving in" to some extent. It always involves a judgment call, but the rules are not the same as they would be on a stream less densely populated with anglers. I enjoy my solitude and look for a relative bit more at Erie, but have become resigned to the fact that I will not get it often and no one else expects or, nor should they.
 
The other thing to remember is that access or easements (not sure which term is correct) are being purchased all the time. Not sure how long ago you were last there but there may be more access than you are used to. I fish like you most of the time. I don;t like to fish the same hole for too long especially with strange company. (most of the time not even with friends) You live far enough now that maybe its not worth the drive but if you find yourself withing an easy drive at the right time, I'd get a hold of one of us out this was and give it a go. I've only been twice. I cringe at first site of other anglers and I find it very easy to enjoy myself.
 
Oh, don't get me wrong, I have had enjoyable experiences. Weekdays, when the water was right and the fish were spread out, if I found unmelested fish everyone else bypassed I've had some good days. Several of my favorite access points did get me away from people, but many either got posted or the access to them did, and the rest of the places got more crowded. Studied maps, and crossed out all posted sections I knew of, there just wasn't much left away from access points. I've fished all the west side streams, but never ventured over to the east side because it seemed it was hard to get very far away from the lake.

Used to go 3 times a year or so, maybe twice in the fall and once in the spring. With the new location, didn't go last year or at all yet this year.

JayL, If you're interested, send a PM or e-mail. I have a camp about an hour out that I planned on utilizing for lodging. We'll be there for deer season. Most guys leaving on Tuesday evening, I'm staying till Sunday. You'd be welcome, but you'd have to join me there or streamside unless you wanted to hang out all week. Sunday won't be a fishing day most likely, just a driving day.
 
Fugazi - nice . One of the greatest bands of all time.
 
Fugazi :-D thats awesome 🙂
 
I have never fished the Erie tribs, but I have fished many times in Upstate NY. It is the same way there as well. It is worse during the Salmon run and not usually as bad when the steelies arrive.

The only place that I have found were you can avoid all of the clowns is in the Fly Fishing Only sections or to hike well away from the parking areas. I am not sure if Erie has any special regs sections like that, but if not they should. It is true that fly fisherman are much more courteous and respectful of other anglers.

Maybe PA should require some sort of a training class in order to purchase a fishing license. I know for a hunting license it is required although a saftey class is much more important for hunters. Maybe some sort of basic knowledge about rules and regs, conservation and stream etiquette would suffice.
 
Fished Erie this week with Acristickid. We went to Walnut which was really nice. There were probably eight guys in the Stop Sign Hole....I agree with others about things being different up there. We fished a smaller hole downstream from that. I don't bash others for fishing hip to hip it's just not for me. Although I don't mind it with my friends.
 
quick story

back in the day, up during the salmon river hayday, (there is more stories than paper) i seen a guy fight a fish and lost it. he lost it by other fisherman crowding him and casting over his fish. he went down stream a little and fish got off. he came back and his spot was gone. he managed to get back in but was PI$$ED off at everyone. he then fowl hooked a fish and then didnt say a word. just opened up his bail and let the fish run. now this pool was about a 100 yards long and 2 deep with fisherman. i was lucky enough to see what was going on and i got my line out of the water. lets just say there were lines tangled everywhere. im assuming he had 30 or 40 lb test. he cut his line and then left. it was funny because i had about 10 mins of good fishing while everyone tied new snagging gear.
 
Take 2 rods! One 14' Crappie Rod with a Huge treble hook on it with lead weights and your fly rod. You know what to do!

I am probably the worst and I really try no to be rude when it comes to etiquette. Maybe not on the Erie but I yell and hoop when I hook up on even the smallest trout.

I apologize in advance.
 
How's This? Is this giving other anglers enough room?
 
When we hit the Erie tribs we normally find spots with fish and no one else on that section. If we do have to fish a spot with others due to weather conditions then we normally again find where the fish are and if we happen to be close to thers and find ourselves working a fish, we always expect that spot right back. I dont try and move anyone and I dont expect anyone to try and move me. We sight fish when hitting the steel head so more times than not there may not be any fish where the crowds are, or the fish are so hunkered down into snags that even the best guide couldnt touch them.
 
i love it when you hook up fight and land a fish and in the mean time someone else moves into your spot and then gives you the eye and look of death. some people just have no clue. we had this happen this past week
 
I agree with a few posts here, that for the most part we normally hit spots on the Erie tribs that require hiking in, so as to stay away from the crowds.

Somethings though, due to weather conditions and timing, not to mention fishing coming in we may just hit a spot right at the Lake, therefore some others are there, although a bit upstream.

It's funny to watch as we pull in fish, folks tend to move closer and closer, with some coming right up to try and nosey in. what we do in that case is simply fish and move right back into the spot after we net and release each steelhead. Then after we simply wear out the spot, we will walk away and watch the gaggle fight to get the spot. The best part is normally we have worn out the spot, so those moving in have as much luck as they did upstream.

It's not mean sprited, because we do not push folks out of their spots, we simply move to where we can see fish and back to catching we go.
 
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