46 replies to this topic

[BillyBrookTrout]

You ever run into someone while fishing that just "burned you up?


My encounter was in Glacier National Park about 1982 or 3. I had hiked 5+ miles into a remote lake. It was packed with crusing rainbows that would rush a hard bodied black ant the moment it touch the surface. In the gin clear water you could see the 'bows make their dash like bonefish. It was a perfect day.

Then.

From the outlet stream below I heard the darndest ruckuss in the brush. I knew it was human. In a bit, this guy popped out sporting a spinning outfit that could land a marlin and dragging a chain stringer of cutthroats and rainbows. Without fanfare or introduction he stomps up and starts jabbering away. I'm from....some big west coast city..... "Frisco..L.A..I forget ( I thought no Sh--, Sherlock). I been fishing all up this creek. Already caught my limit. Why don't you take 'em so I can catch another? You ain't kept any. Must not be biting for you. On and on an unbroken stream of Grade A total. B.S. After what seemed an eternity...just at the point I was thinkings about to giving him a Tony Soprano treatment...he informed me he was leaving.. going to camp for a week in the wilderness. He pointed up the trail to a high ridge and told me he figured to camp up there.

Great I said. You'll probaly find some welded metal cages along the trail in camping spots. You know those are to store your food in. ....just cook your fish...put your food in one of those and sleep near by.

Good Luck.

After all these years that encounter still sticks in my mind..and not to mention in my craw.

[Horseshoes]

Of all the years last year was the first time I encountered anyone abrasive while fishing. I was thigh deep in the middle of my honey hole and the day was perfect. You could say I was in the zone. Wanting nothing... Yes.. the snap, crackle and thud of the bush. Surprise, it was a flyfisher.. oh no..I know this one. He was a blow hard when we were young and I was about to find out he wasn't any different now.

He yelled out in greeting. I turned to watch the birds take flight.
He splashed upstream. I turned to watch the 3 endangered painted turtles put their head underwater and the 5 sitting beautifully in a row on the log, one by one plop into the stream.
He yelled to inquire what they were biting for. I looked down to the small perch and bass that had been darting around a log all morning. Yup, you guessed it, they were not there.
He gave a yell as he took a sinker in his rush. I noticed the beavers were nowhere to be found.

I took a deep breath and tried to salvage what zone I had left and listened to his incessant blah blah about the big ones he let go and the huge ones he lost for close to a hour. He yells out "what do you usually use the most?" I turn and finally respond. " A lick and a prayer."

I turned back to the river and brought in my line. I changed up to my goto buzzer, river skipper, it is brilliant in this river. Now this may sound a little spiteful but.... With a lick of my line and a prayer not to fail me now, I tied her on and casted to the log just across the current mid stream. I knew he really wouldn't see my catch if I turned to the left a bit. With the distance and my body doing a bit of blocking and yes you say that was a bit cruel but..... I let my flie drift down and played her in front of the log and BANG got one. I let my line draw my rod in a bow and faked some footing. I slowly reeled it in with a slight left shift of the body and took my 8" perch off the line and let him splash it's way home again.

I did this for 4 - 6" trout, 6 more perch and a few 8" bass. The show was perfect. My rod and a bit of acting did the trick. I thought he was going to drown, he had a hard time staying put. I casted so he would not be able to draw near. He finally got fed up and left silently. As I put my dun back on my line I couldn't help smiling , you see, that log is where the babies hide out and feed. Always did and always will. My childhood acquaintance? He still to this day remains with an intense jealousy towards me just like when we were growing up. I still get to shake my head as he walks away.

[Flyfisher13]

Those are the kind of people you don't ever want to find your special fishing holes and that shouldn't be allowed to own fishing gear or be allowed to fish. The should be some kind of law against that kind of fisherman. If you can't respect nature and the ones around you, you shouldn't be allowed to be on the water or anywhere around it. Please respect those that treasure the art.

[boynabubble]

I've been fortunate enough not to run into too many jerks while fishing but every once in a while you just find someone that rubs you the wrong way and who you would swear is just going around seeing how big of a jerk he can really be.

It was one of my first trips of the year to the C&R stretch of Rapid Creek. There were a few other people in the parking lot when I pulled up. My girlfriend was along with me to watch me fish. She's never fly fished before and I wanted it to be an educational and enjoyable experience for her. Several guys were standing around talking, 3 young guys and an older man. The three young guys gave the standard 'How's it goin?' and I gave the usual 'Good. Have any luck?' They seemed like nice guys. The older man however gave now greeting and promptly asked if I was from Montana State. I told him no and he said 'Well these MSU people have been taking over my stream.' (referring to the 3 younger guys) I was a little surprised by the comment, but tried to be polite and set out for my favorite pool.

Now there is something you need to know about this section of Rapid Creek. It's a slow crystal clear section, and since it is C&R, the fish are not that spooky and you can catch them whether you are stealthy or not. I catch them all the time while standing in plain view....they're just used to the sight of humans.

Anyway, I was casting at the tail of the pool while my girlfriend was at the head, having a good time watching the fish swim about. Pretty soon I heard her speaking to the old man, but I couldn't really make out what they were saying. Not long after I had on a very nice brown. I called for her to come and see, but she didn't come so I released the brown.

Puzzled at where she would be, I went to see what she was up to, only to find her sitting in the parking lot. When I asked her what was wrong, she said that the man had asked her:

'Which direction are you headed?
-'Up I guess.'
'Well I just want to make sure and go the opposite of whatever way you're going since you're scaring all the fish. If you had worn any other color shirt than white you would have been fine, but now this stretch is worthless.'

I can tell you I was fighting mad. The guy had already been a jerk about people fishing on "his" creek and now he was trying to tell my girlfriend that the fishing was ruined because of her. I wanted to give him a piece of my mind, tell him she had as much right to be there as he did. But my girlfriend said it was no big deal. Then I saw his shoes that he had left sitting on a rock and if it weren't for the better judgment of my girlfriend, that guy would have spent the rest of the evening fishing for his shoes.

The funny part is, I had a great day on the "worthless" stretch of stream that she supposedly ruined by wearing a white t-shirt. I would have loved to smack that guy upside the head with that 20" brown.

I guess the moral of this story is that as fisherman, we need to be aware of what kind of impression we make on others, especially new fisherman. I mean, do we really want to come off as snooty self righteous jerks who would rather criticize a person than help them? To me that kind of behavior is uncalled for and I'm sure it has accounted for more than one would be fly fisherman walking away from the sport.


I'll get off my soapbox now.

-Cody

[Horseshoes]

Sorry to hear that happened. Those situations can really test your patience and self control. I honestly don't know if I would have been so congenial. I hope it has not ruined her desire to accompany you fishing.

[BillyBrookTrout]

Hey..this thread brought out some great emoticons....

[BigDaddyHub]

There's a very close, very cherished stretch of a local river. Up to the highwater mark is owned by a utility company who graciously allows public access to the right of way to the river. To get to the river, one must park on the shoulder of a county road and walk to an ancient wire gate. the gate is at the very end of the county road which is coincidentally , the driveway to a ex'con ruffian who thinks the government has "done him wrong" by allowing people to walk down a public road, to what is essentially private property opened to the public, and will not hesitate to turn his pitbull loose once you have cleared the gate to the river. I witnessed him threaten a guy when the man very politely asked him to restrain the beast. The man was terrified and was still well within the bounds of public land. The man finally mustered enough nerve to make a dash down the road when the dog circled back to his own yard. Being an officer, I stood by and just watched. I don't make a lot of friends because of my chosen profession so I never leave the house without a weapon. My favorite weapon is a concealable 40 cal. Part of me feels ashamed for feeling the need to wear a sidearm off duty, part of me may be a bit paranoid, but with assholes like this in the world, why take the chance...especially if I'm fishing with my young son and his friends. At home, i practice the same creed as I do at work..."Today, I am going home. In one piece. Without harm. The consequeces be damned." It ain't the same world it was just 15 years ago. People are self-centered, unapologetic for thier own actions, and concerned with only "the moment." I has been my experience that true outdoorsmen are a different breed. We appreciate the moment, but can see the future. We respect each other and the wilderness that is ours. We are different beings in a world that would rather leave us behind. If we could ouster these people back to thier big cities and big ideas of themselves, being left behind may not be so bad.

[Worstcaster]

I haven't run into an obnoxious angler yet, but assume its only a matter of time. I did read a good story about it though in Pocket Water: Confessions of a Restless Angler by William G. Tapply. It was really interesting to me because it happen in the township I live in. The poor guy missed a huge trout on the last day on a fishing trip. He dreamed about catching the fish for a year, imaging the cast, drift, take, and fight. He got up early to beat the rush (the Willowemoc is a very public heavily pressured river). He got there before any other anglers. He sat watching smaller rising trout, but did not make a cast until HIS trout started rising. He made one or two casts and then another angler showed up, wading into the same pool just a few feet away (no one else on the river yet, plenty of open water), and began casting. He sarcastically asked "Am I visable? Can you see me?, and the man did not get it and said "Yup, clear as day." The author then told the intruding angler "Look, I've been casting to a big one right over there." The intruder then got excited and made a clumsy cast at the author's fish and put it down.

[day5]

Today the river was over its banks and the carp were in the grass in force! Suckin worms and bugs off of the lawn. I started casting to them and a local kid walked over to see who the idiot was who was fishing on the lawn. He then noticed the carp and ran to his buddy they put on there waders and spent the next 20 min chasing carp on the flooded lawn that I was fishing. I managed one take but no fish to hand. rednecks ya got to love them!

[BigDaddyHub]

Surrounded by them here, and I've booked, peppersprayed, or arrested most of them....An extra chromosome and cheap beer is a deadly combination

[purolohi kalastaja]

I believe it was last year, opening day of Michigan's trout season....

I'm standing just below the riffle at a fairly well-known access point on a local trout stream. I'm casting to the pool just below the riffle, where I've been watching a trout rise. I see a guy in a kayak just above the riffle casting his spinning gear as he drifts downstream. I pause my casting to wait the fish out and get his timing. Then, he does it. The idiot in the kayak comes barrelling through the riffle and PARKS right in the hole he's seen me casting into.

So, I put a cast right over the bow of his kayak and rip the hook across him. (well, ok, in my mind I did....)

Actually, I pull out my cell and call a buddy of mine down below me and VERY LOUDLY warn him about the jack-@$$ in the kayak and how inconsiderate a jerk he is, and suggest that he dump him if he gets too close. The guy in the kayak continued downstream without stopping after that....



THEN, later the same day, this other guy comes downstream with another buddy, and starts trying to fish in a different hole I'm in at the sametime as me. Then he climbs out of the water and starts rooting through the bed of my truck and eats some of my food! Well, to be fair, Day5 did cook it before he ate it, and he did share it with the rest of us....

[day5]

I believe it was last year, opening day of Michigan's trout season....

I'm standing just below the riffle at a fairly well-known access point on a local trout stream. I'm casting to the pool just below the riffle, where I've been watching a trout rise. I see a guy in a kayak just above the riffle casting his spinning gear as he drifts downstream. I pause my casting to wait the fish out and get his timing. Then, he does it. The idiot in the kayak comes barrelling through the riffle and PARKS right in the hole he's seen me casting into.

So, I put a cast right over the bow of his kayak and rip the hook across him. (well, ok, in my mind I did....)

Actually, I pull out my cell and call a buddy of mine down below me and VERY LOUDLY warn him about the jack-@$$ in the kayak and how inconsiderate a jerk he is, and suggest that he dump him if he gets too close. The guy in the kayak continued downstream without stopping after that....



THEN, later the same day, this other guy comes downstream with another buddy, and starts trying to fish in a different hole I'm in at the sametime as me. Then he climbs out of the water and starts rooting through the bed of my truck and eats some of my food! Well, to be fair, Day5 did cook it before he ate it, and he did share it with the rest of us....

I still cant believe that ridderbos forgot the beer!

[deeky]

I was fishing warmwater on a public fishing pier - one of those "T" shaped jobs. Just a nice long lunch break. Had the pier to myself and yet was careful to put my casting arm over the side of the pier to allow the most room for other fishermen that may join me. Before long, a husband, wife, and adult son came walking down the pier. They set up their chairs, cooler and gear on the other arm of the pier before the father and son headed my way with their spinning rods. The father parked right behind me on the side and began casting over my shoulder while the son stood closer to the center of the pier and began casting across the front of me. Being passive aggressive and not wanting to waste a fly on either's face, I pulled in one more to their blanks and packed it up.

Ran into them again on another trip and someone must have laid into them because they were very gracious and stated time and again that 'everyone has the right to be there and have room to fish'.

Yeah, whatever. Sometimes I worry too much about my public image.

Deeky

[BigDaddyHub]

Deeky,

I have discovered here in the Mid-South that fishing with a side arm tends to make people a bit more gracious. It's worth a shot! (no pun intended)

[oatka]

'Well I just want to make sure and go the opposite of whatever way you're going since you're scaring all the fish. If you had worn any other color shirt than white you would have been fine, but now this stretch is worthless.'

Yesterday I was fishing a similar style creek. Calm, clear, and tons of trout. The difference is they are picky and don't eat anything with a hook in it. Well, just like your story, a woman on the stream was wearing a pink shirt! The nerve of some of these women! Worse thing about it though, was she was catching more fish than me (in a red shirt)!!! I would have said something about her choice of colors and catching all MY fish.....but, I'm married to that fish catching woman in pink.....and I'm fine with it!!! (it being the shirt color....not it being her catching more fish than me. a few sessions on the therapists couch should get me past being out-fished by a chick in pink!)