Lake Fishing Etiquette or Lack Thereof

[krusty]

Be super friendly, chat them up non-stop, talk about every twitch and grab, the moon phases, how your red rib is better than a copper rib, talk about your boats chines, the shape of your anchor, how you had to change out the brushes on your trolling motor, the color of the underside of the bill of your cap, etc. etc. they'll either get as far away from the crazy guy as they can or go bat shit crazy.

Good advice! Basically replicate the very same conversations about flyfishing minutia that fills this forum. Brilliant!

 

[skyriver]

I had a couple teenagers throwing spoons in kayaks...in the wind surround me the other day. One kid got upwind of me and kept drifting into me. His buddy kept warning him, but he had a tangle and was a bit ADD.

I was fishing a bobber and 2 jig flies. I went to cast and heard tungsten hitting plastic behind me. Sure enough, I had whacked his kayak with one of my flies and luckily hadn't hooked or hit him. He's like "Whoa! Sorry man."

I asked if he was ok (he was) and he finally caught a clue and paddled over to the lee shore to untangle his mess.
Of course, as if they we're a choreographed act, his seemingly wiser buddy casted his spoon 5' from my bobber. I gave a "dude, really?"
He said sorry and then went and joined his buddy.

I know this lake very well and I was in a very good spot for stockers. They pretty much funnel and/or turn around in this somewhat narrow spot.
I think these kids had probably been there the day before and done well so wanted to push me off the spot. I had only been anchored up for 15 minutes so didn't feel bad staying there. After 30 more minutes and a few trout I pulled anchor to go hit the shore for bass.
The boys went right to the spot. The "smarter" one hooked up right away. The other one tangled up again.

 

[Wadin' Boot]

That’s like way wrong, with squares I had each angler needing 10,000 sq ft, you got 7854 sq ft per angler. 43k is sq ft per acre so 5 anglers instead of 6 per acre. But, if we all have circles around us, we can’t use all available square footage on the water without overlapping. So please don’t follow Mossback for more math tips. But I do fear your powerful emojis.

Circle area = π × r² = π × 2,500 ft² ≈ 7,854 ft²

Casting from a fixed point 50' in all directions yields a circle, not a square...So instead of 43k, we have 7.8k..allowing for a 5 plus fold increase in anglers, and the associated potential for conflict.

Indicator guys could fish the diamonds between the circles.



Now things could get a little touch and go with winds picking up, drifts, trollers etc.

Of course we are only talking say surface area, when in reality we have a 3-d space



So let's say a dry fly guy gets a circle of surface water. Damn straight I am going to argue if he cuts into my Conical Frustum.

Boot: Mossback you have indeed traversed my Conical Frustum
Mossback: Boot, if you don't MOVE, you will suffer an inverted tetrahedron of pain
Wayne Kohan: Might I propose a someone radical notion for you "one times zero" ingrates, what is known as the RADICAL VENN?
Boot and Mossback (in unison): Shut up Wayne

 

[Mossback]

I own both the airspace and underwater space within my God given 7854 sq ft area, and woe be to those who infringe upon it...
It's in the Constitution...

 

[Billy]

What if you corner cross from one area to the next? Legal or nah?

 

[Tom Butler]

Where the hell is Travers to tell us the law and how this deal works? I won't buy off on any of this nonsense until I hear it from the real AUTHORITY.

 

[Wayne Kohan]

Note that all the fish stay out of these geometric shapes, so none of this makes any difference anyway.

 

[Reel fun]

I try to avoid anger when I'm fishing. As annoying as it can be I figure I can either move on or stay and strike up a conversation or just keep fishing.

Either choice I try to keep my good vibes going.

I agree. The worst I've seen was a few years ago on Henry's Lake. I was in my pontoon boat and had three instances of encroachment/ poor behavior. That lake deservedly gets a lot of pressure, but that was probably my last trip there.

 

[up2nogood]

I agree. The worst I've seen was a few years ago on Henry's Lake. I was in my pontoon boat and had three instances of encroachment/ poor behavior. That lake deservedly gets a lot of pressure, but that was probably my last trip there.

Have fished Henry's in a float tube ,and pontoon for years ,have never had a problem with anyone there . There will be a group of boats at Staley's , or some of the other popular areas , but what I have observed is they keep their distance ,and most are anchored up ,and staying put . But when moving they stay out of everyone's way . It's a tough lake to troll with the weed beds ,so most do anchor up ,and fish , not a lot of trolling . Looking forward to fishing it again this year .

 

[JimTravers¤£a!!Travers]

I just wait for him to get one then I run over there AGGRESSIVELY and steal the fish from him!!!! Then I say "I'm above you on the FOOD CHAIN!!"

 

[RCF]

Back casts are your friend. Cast away and if you put a hole in their inflatable or snag their hat... success!

All kidding aside, I agree with @Northern fish where there is less potential for conflicts. That is why I fish in MT. where there are fewer places to see others in less popular places but have lots of fish to catch.

There are places, like where I live, there are few or any others on the lake. Fishing is great, species are varied, and fun/success is to be had for all trying...

Many of you know what stream I like to fish and have fished for a long time. I fish the first 8 to 10 miles of it. Almost all people fish above me. Microburst area or above. Yes, there are fish, lots of them, but they are smaller and fished for a lot. They have been educated on our techniques. DUH! Almost all fisher people drive right past the best fishing area. Thank goodness! Some days I have caught 15 -20 trout in an hour or so. I have caught 5 - 7 pound browns too. Fishing a mouse at dusk is heaven!

If you chase fishing reports where there is great fishing, you probably will end up disappointed. Henry's, Lenice, Lenore, Chopaka, Banks, Blue, etc. will fall into that category. Find your own special places to fish. @Dave Westburg definitely does that. @Divad has also shown us that. @Buzzy shows us that on a weekly basis. Why fish a salmon fly hatch that has everyone fishing it? Fish well above it or below it. Fish are still hungry - just not many fishing there. After all the are 2,000 fish per mile and they are not chasing the hatch. Why should we?

It is all about choices ---> make the right choice...

Fishing is all about releasing stress and enjoying life.

 

[Tom Butler]

Fishing is all about releasing stress and enjoying life.

Yes indeed!

I guess I'm just the guy that gets DOMINATED. The Snake can just be a zoo. Guys ESTABLISH THEIR TERITORY by dropping anchor and splaying out until THEIR ON TOP OF YOUR BOBBER. Even a few shots off the windshield will not deter the truly AGRESSIVE!
I'll just go elsewhere. Where you just might find fish per hour instead of per day. Too bad they couldn't see the bent rods one particular day, but that's the way Karma seems to work.

 

[_WW_]

I'm tagging along with Travers.

 

[Northern]

So, if my math is somewhat correct, if you can anchor and cast 50 feet in each direction, then you need 100 feet times 100 feet or 10,000 square feet around you. (I'm not doing circle calculations in my head.) There is 43,560 sq ft in an acre, so it takes an acre of lake size for just 4 fisherman to anchor and fish. Not sure we are all going to fit on most of the popular lakes. Especially if it is true that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water.

Soooo... by this logic we should be able to fit ~400 fishermen on 95 acre Pass Lake?
Or even 40 for the 10% theory?
Good god!

 

[_WW_]

Soooo... by this logic we should be able to fit ~400 fishermen on 95 acre Pass Lake?
Or even 40 for the 10% theory?
Good god!

Four level parking garage on its way!

 

[Bambooflyguy]

I’ve deliberately dropped a few back casts really close to clowns that get too close….then I hear, “behind you fella” and I respond with “I know!”

 

[Dustin Chromers]

I own both the airspace and underwater space within my God given 7854 sq ft area, and woe be to those who infringe upon it...
It's in the Constitution...

There's mentally challenged salmon and steelhead guides that literally open carry around here. While it's mostly for visual intimidation in case someone disrespects them, I witnessed one that thought it necessary to discharge a full clip onto the clay bank to show his displeasure at another equally mentally challenged guide for low holing him and "his peoples". I was floating but by the shit show and told him to do the world and gene pool a favor and look down the barrel on the next clip.

In short nobody on lakes for trout is even touching the levels the select top grade Humtulips King guides go to. The bar was already low but gunplay is an all new low. An IQ test should be required to get a guide permit.

 

[Mossback]

The Hump during Salmon season...

I have seen fights, screaming matches, wrestling in the mud over a fish, boat launch incidents, open carry, verbal threats, and toothless meth heads ransacking vehicles.

...and have only fished it like 10 times total...

 

[Dustin Chromers]

The Hump during Salmon season...

I have seen fights, screaming matches, wrestling in the mud over a fish, boat launch incidents, open carry, verbal threats, and toothless meth heads ransacking vehicles.

...and have only fished it like 10 times total...

Seems like you got the full experience. I refuse to go there. I was only there to row a buddies boat so he could fish and tend to his young son and get him into fish. Pretty sad display for a young kid to see adults behaving like savages.

 

[Mossback]

I forgot to mention the snaggers...