"Camp Water"

farofffisher

farofffisher

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
Not sure the topic but Ill try this.

I put this out on another forum I visit and thought Id ask here.

You have floated to a camp spot on a public river and set up camp.
You are resting the water to enjoy the evening fishing.
An angler wades in and begins fishing your "camp water".
What do you do? Grin and bare it? Suggest they move along? You understand that this is a "public" waterway
but hey you do think that this is "camp water"
Maybe enjoy watching the anglers success?
Is there some etiquette here to feel appropriate about?
I admit to all the scenarios as stated I have been involved in.
Just curious as to others perspectives.
Have you fished what might be perceived as someones "camp water"?
Really want to hear others experiences and vision.
 
I may be in the wrong and not know the correct etiquette but if youre not posted up on it waiting for a hatch, fair game to me. But I also ONLY fish trout. Maybe it’s different for steelhead? But also, I’ve never floated/camped.
 
Long ago I floated the lower Deschutes with my neighbor in his raft. Neither of us had floated from Mack’s Canyon to Heritage before. We talked with a group camped in Lockit about halfway through the float and they said we should fish Kloan. We dropped into a nice campsite on river left and set up. Before long, an angler walked through camp and started fishing in front of us. Another angler joined him so I walked up the hill behind camp and discovered we were camped below the parking lot at Kloan. Afterwards, I learned we were not supposed to camp on that side of the river. So, we jumped in the raft and Jeremy rowed it across the river. He went downstream and I went up. I landed 5 steelhead that evening. During steelhead on the Deschutes, camp water is yours unless you sleep in…
 
farofffisher said:
You have floated to a camp spot on a public river and set up camp.
You are resting the water to enjoy the evening fishing.
An angler wades in and begins fishing your "camp water".
What do you do? Grin and bare it? Suggest they move along? You understand that this is a "public" waterway
but hey you do think that this is "camp water"
Maybe enjoy watching the anglers success?
Is there some etiquette here to feel appropriate about?
Click to expand...
In my limited experience...

If you wade thru someone elses campwater and they are there...ask if it's ok to fish thru.

If you are the camper, and you are not currently fishing, you say yes.

IMHO, you can't "rest" water from your camp site. You have to be actively fishing or at least idling in the water.

My $0.02, WR
 
Wade Rivers said:
In my limited experience...

If you wade thru someone elses campwater and they are there...ask if it's ok to fish thru.

If you are the camper, and you are not currently fishing, you say yes.

IMHO, you can't "rest" water from your camp site. You have to be actively fishing or at least idling in the water.

My $0.02, WR
Click to expand...

This is the dance. The end result of who fishes is exactly the same as if no words were spoken, minus the bitterness.
 
a little communication goes a long ways...
 
Wade Rivers said:
In my limited experience...

If you wade thru someone elses campwater and they are there...ask if it's ok to fish thru.

If you are the camper, and you are not currently fishing, you say yes.

IMHO, you can't "rest" water from your camp site. You have to be actively fishing or at least idling in the water.

My $0.02, WR
Click to expand...
I agree with @Wade Rivers.

Camp water = steelhead fishing for this response. Assuming no one is fishing, it would be nice if the angler asked to fish through it but if the camper said "it's my water", well.......... there's a conundrum*, it's public water.

I can honestly say I've never experienced "camp water" on a steelhead river. Where does one camp on the Wenatchee, Methow and the big one up by Spences Bridge? To me, camping means the angler isn't "casting/step down" and moving through which is pretty much the case for the run formed at the confluence of the Grand Ronde and the Snake.

The original post/question is one of ethics. Steelhead fishing ethics?

*Personally, if the camper said "no", I wouldn't fish HIS camp water as any altercation from the greedy jerk would not be worth it. ;-)

My $0.00 (iPad Dulique)
 
I'm not one to make many comments on here, but I have a minute this morning, and this interests me...

On one of my trips to a not so secret spot on a not so secret river in Oregon, after a brutal 5 mile bike ride in the 90 degree weather, I arrive at "the run". There a dudes camped there. There are always dudes camped there. Everybody is cool, usually. Start at the top, don't low hole, wait your turn if necessary. So, these dudes camped see me coming. Watch me wader up and set up my gear. They are lounging in camp waiting for the sun to dip behind the canyon wall. I proceed to the top of the run. One of the dudes says, "Hey, this is our camp water."

I give him direct eye contact to acknowledge I clearly heard him. I don't say anything but proceed to the top of the run and start in.
The camp guys proceed to low hole me. Probably to teach me a lesson for not respecting their camp water. I proceed to pick their pocket twice. They don't get a fish between them. Steelhead don't typically reward dicks. It's a thing.

Camp water is BS. Get fishing or don't get fishing, Only the Angler in the run commands respect and the etiquette they deserve.
 
Some of those camps on the D are actually like 5 camps on the same long ass run. Perfectly acceptable to fish through the camps. I don't tend to do it, it would just feel awkward to be fishing right in front of somebody, but I work to avoid the big group runs and fish smaller spots that maybe only have one camp.
 
I don’t fish popular spots, even if no one’s there, I figure it gets beat to death.
We typically utilize a FS campground for a trip, others who stay there fish all the known holes. I fish a mile stretch from downstream of the campground to the top and in 5 years going, never saw another person fish it. My best fish was 16” cutthroat. Often I can pull 12” out till I get bored.
I just mumble when they ask where, how I did. And listen politely as they complain about a lack of fish. I kind of feel guilty sometimes.
 
I’m not sure this one is cut and dry. I can envision circumstances where I would definitely fish in front of a person’s camp and circumstances where I wouldn’t consider it at all. I tend to fish where people aren't as prevalent, but the fish are. If I were to approach a hole that had a camp by it in the areas, I spend my time, I'm skipping it. Those guys worked just as hard as I did to get there and it won't require much more effort to move upstream to the next good spot.

I can totally see how the circumstances would change for Steelhead. I've never done a multiday float so I'm not sure how I would feel about those kinds of interactions as I've never had one but it's an interesting conversation.
 
my only experience is with the D. generally, if no one is fishing the water - its fair game. a couple times when i have been camped on 'camp water', i had to hurry up to get the waders on, and get in the water, to avoid a guide dropping a dude in the prime spot :) .
 
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