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Lake etiquette - Your thoughts

1K views 17 replies 16 participants last post by  Shawn Seeger 
#1 ·
With the increasing pressure on fly only lakes and the upcoming opener's, I thought it would be a good time to open a discussion about lake fishing etiquette. Proximity to other's, noise, and moving in on someone's spot are topics I would enjoy reading input on. Already having to refrain from putting my size 6 on someone's hat this year, I thought maybe someone will learn something and we can all benefit with less stress on the water.
 
#2 ·
Bob's law (ridiculous as usual): no two fly fishermen fishing in proximity should be able to hook one another with his longest cast. I would prefer that it read as follows: No two fishermen casting directly at one another should be able to hook their lines together because the distance would be too great.
No radios, ear plugs only. I mean, who wants to hear your shit? Get real here.
Permission should be sought before moving in on someone else's spot. First one there owns the spot.
Bob, the Just A Little Common Sense Is All It Takes.:beer1
 
#7 ·
I just can't believe you people on getting your own space. I have always believed that if it is crowded just go somewhere else where it isn't crowded. First it is rivers on getting low holed and now it is lakes. And you can bet on opening day they will be crowded. With all of the water in this state to fish you can bet I will find someplace that is not crowded on opening day. Most of the Year around lakes are that way. They have fish in them but nobody wants to waste time on fish that don't bite to often.

Jim
 
#8 ·
>How does work when the fishermen are all stacked up in
>one area like say, Lenore?

Here is how it works.
It could hadly be more simple.
It's called selective fishing.

You drive up to the lake.
You get out of your car and look things over, maybe have a smoke or something.
It looks like more people than you want to be on the lake with.
You say the heck with this nonsense.
You get back in your car.
You find somewere else to fish.

TC
 
#10 ·
Great question, some great answers (although the pirate left out the rum), and some disengenous answers - sometimes finding somewhere else is not feasible.

What about when two people who are working the shore meet, going the opposite direction? I tend to begrudingly yield while silently casting as many jinxes and curses as I can come up with at the opposing angler.
 
#13 ·
I think Bob summed it up very well. I would add that It bugs me when people go between the shore and where I am fishing. THis normally happens when I am not quite close enough to the shore to cast to it, but when I am fishing the dropoff. I dont think they want to go around to the back of me. I have read that it is polite to go around the back of someone fishing.
 
#14 ·
New River Mike

"I have read that it is polite to go around the back of someone fishing."

Except for Roper. I don't think I'd try to quietly ease behind him - he looks a little "twitchy" to me! ;)

I've been working on a "Lake Etiquette Enforcement System" myself. I haven't been able to test it out yet because by the time I get it into the float tube with me, I'm floating at armpit level. I don't think I'll be able to fish with it, but I'll definitely feel safe..:7

I'm still not getting behind Roper, though...

:rofl
 
#16 ·
Here's an example of lake etiquette that would make even Emily Post blanch, if she only fly fished:

My family and several others spend a weekend ever year camping at Sun Lakes after school lets out in late June. After getting unpacked and set up, the guys disappear to Dry Falls for an evening of fishing. Our first night on the water, a thunderstorm had just passed through and we had the whole lake to ourselves.

So we thought.

About 15 minutes after we put in, a truck drove up and with much loud music, noise and commotion, a solitary guy in a yellow Sevylor raft finally paddled out onto the lake, along with ahis boom box playing some insipid music at an ear-splitting volume. To top it off, he was spin fishing a Dick Night spoon and hooked up on perhaps his third cast.

After a few minutes, one of my usually-mild-mannered friends first shouted, then waved and finally screamed, whistled and waved to get the guy's attention, ordering him to "Shut that f*****g thing off!"

Surprisingly, the guy did just that, mumbling something inaudible. Apparently offended by us music-haters, he paddled past us to the far side of the lake under the observation deck and over then next hour or so proceeded to outfish all of us combined. On the way back in the gathering darkness, he held up a beautiful 20+ inch fish and yelled someting about how good it was gonna taste.

When we finally pulled out, I found his boom box lying in the road where it'd fallen out of his truck as he pulled away to leave. You wouldn't think that falling such a short distance would have caused so much damage.
 
#17 ·
I don't think this is very complicated. BOB summed it up pretty well. I'm getting a little long in the tooth, but I assume most mothers still mention something about the golden rule to their children at some point.

How would you like it to work out for you? Go ahead and figure everybody else has the right to expect the same. Of course the tough part about the golden rule is keeping it when others aren't. I guess it depends on how dear you hold your complaining rights.

I agree about crowds. If you find yourself at crowded water, you can certainly stay if you want, but you can't stay and complain about it (even if you got there first). That's a little like a flea complaining that everybody else is making the dog scratch.
 
#18 ·
Well… I will assume that Bob means “no two fly fishermen fishing in proximity” that don’t know each other and that two or so buddies can fish close to each other… I know common sense…

Jokingly … so when I get to my spot first… I own it… does that mean that when I have to go to shore to take a 1or 2 that I can invoke the kids rule of “Tap Tap I get my spot back”? Or perhaps that after I have fished my owned spot for 3 or 4 hours and then want to give the water a break that nobody else can slide into my spot… so that when I get done trolling around that when I come back to my spot anyone that came after me has to yield my ownership?

Now I agree with the “… who wants to hear your shit?” I guess that would apply to the Federation of Women Flyfishers … shut the hell up about you man or woman problems… that is why most men leave the women kind at home… to get away from all the yapping…

How about the 2 sets of aluminum row boats and the Jackasses that row them, that show up at Dry Falls every year (at least the last 4) the 3rd weekend of May… that row around drinking more beer than their body can hold…using spinning gear, setting hooks like they are gear fishing salmon in a river… that just keep rowing and rowing in and around guys that stationary… that must use the lake as a giant toilet, that think we all want to see them try and stand (while their buddy keeps row) and find their dick pull it out and pee right into the lake…

Sorry about the rant… It seems that Common Sense is dying in America

My $0.02
:thumb
 
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