Breck
The Whisk(e)y Dick
I have in the past offered open seats when I didn't want to fish alone in my boat. It would seem that 90% of the time it turned out to be a bad decision. A couple of examples:
A few years ago when I lived in NW Montana, there was a lake near my house that held huge populations of burly cutthroat and grayling. When the ice came off, fishing for both species was lights out. I planned to go on my first trip there in the season and none of my regular fishing buddies could make it that day. I posted on a local FB fly fishing page that I had an open seat. I closed the post with a humorous "No weirdos", but meant it. Before long I had a guy message me saying that he'd like to join me. We chatted back & forth a bit about how we would be fishing and I asked him if he knew how to fly fish. He replied that he did. We agreed to meet at the boat launch the following morning. He shows up late, of course. Not a huge deal, but annoying. We launch my drift boat and I noticed that he didn't bring any gear whatsoever. Again, not a huge deal as I brought a couple extra rods & reels just in case. It's a pretty good row across the lake from the launch to the inlet where we would be fishing. We get there, I drop anchor and get the rods set up (indicator with a balanced leech and a chiro below that). I hand him his rod, told him to cast out and wait for the indicator to twitch. It was soon apparent that he had never held, much less casted a fly rod before. I gave him a few pointers, he was a quick learner, and before long, we were both hooking fish. A few minutes later a game warden pulls up in a john boat. He was polite and friendly and asked to see our licenses. I gave him mine and the other guy did as well. He hands mine back and then tells other dude that his had expired the previous year. He kinda stammered out that he thought they were good for two years. The officer gave him a "I wasn't born yesterday" look. He then turns to me and asked to see my guide license. I replied that I wasn't guiding and that I had just offered this guy an open seat. He seemed satisfied with that and didn't press it any further. He then turns to the other guy and asks for his ID. "I left it in my truck." he said. The officer's patience was wearing thin at this point. He asked him his name and the dude wouldn't tell him! He finally gets it out of him and before long discovers that this guy has a warrant. I had to pull anchor and row his dumb ass all the way back to the launch so that the officer could take him into custody. That was the last time I ever offered an open seat to a stranger.
Another time, I took a guy down the NF Lewis for chinook & coho. Things went pretty well at first because he had brought along some great cigars, whisky, and beer. He starts to get a little loaded pretty quickly, however. He empties a beer can and tosses it into the river. I immediately caught up with the can as it was still afloat and grabbed it with the net. I told him under no circumstances was that to happen again, and if it did, he would be walking to the takeout. Well, guess what? He does it again. I pulled over to the bank after retrieving the can and told him to get out of the boat. He looked me like he thought I was joking. "Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now!!" "There's the road. See you in a few hours if you're still there." It was still pretty early in the float and I intended to keep fishing. One of my good buddies was with us too and he wanted to keep fishing as well. When we got to the takeout after a few hours of some great fishing, he was nowhere to be seen.
There have been cases in the past where I have taken offers of open seats with people I didn't know. But I always pick up and dispose of my trash, offer to bring lunch, beverages, and snacks, pay out for gas and other expenses, and mind my damn manners. It seems, at least in my experience, that more often than not, other folks don't seem to understand this.
A few years ago when I lived in NW Montana, there was a lake near my house that held huge populations of burly cutthroat and grayling. When the ice came off, fishing for both species was lights out. I planned to go on my first trip there in the season and none of my regular fishing buddies could make it that day. I posted on a local FB fly fishing page that I had an open seat. I closed the post with a humorous "No weirdos", but meant it. Before long I had a guy message me saying that he'd like to join me. We chatted back & forth a bit about how we would be fishing and I asked him if he knew how to fly fish. He replied that he did. We agreed to meet at the boat launch the following morning. He shows up late, of course. Not a huge deal, but annoying. We launch my drift boat and I noticed that he didn't bring any gear whatsoever. Again, not a huge deal as I brought a couple extra rods & reels just in case. It's a pretty good row across the lake from the launch to the inlet where we would be fishing. We get there, I drop anchor and get the rods set up (indicator with a balanced leech and a chiro below that). I hand him his rod, told him to cast out and wait for the indicator to twitch. It was soon apparent that he had never held, much less casted a fly rod before. I gave him a few pointers, he was a quick learner, and before long, we were both hooking fish. A few minutes later a game warden pulls up in a john boat. He was polite and friendly and asked to see our licenses. I gave him mine and the other guy did as well. He hands mine back and then tells other dude that his had expired the previous year. He kinda stammered out that he thought they were good for two years. The officer gave him a "I wasn't born yesterday" look. He then turns to me and asked to see my guide license. I replied that I wasn't guiding and that I had just offered this guy an open seat. He seemed satisfied with that and didn't press it any further. He then turns to the other guy and asks for his ID. "I left it in my truck." he said. The officer's patience was wearing thin at this point. He asked him his name and the dude wouldn't tell him! He finally gets it out of him and before long discovers that this guy has a warrant. I had to pull anchor and row his dumb ass all the way back to the launch so that the officer could take him into custody. That was the last time I ever offered an open seat to a stranger.
Another time, I took a guy down the NF Lewis for chinook & coho. Things went pretty well at first because he had brought along some great cigars, whisky, and beer. He starts to get a little loaded pretty quickly, however. He empties a beer can and tosses it into the river. I immediately caught up with the can as it was still afloat and grabbed it with the net. I told him under no circumstances was that to happen again, and if it did, he would be walking to the takeout. Well, guess what? He does it again. I pulled over to the bank after retrieving the can and told him to get out of the boat. He looked me like he thought I was joking. "Get. The. Fuck. Out. Now!!" "There's the road. See you in a few hours if you're still there." It was still pretty early in the float and I intended to keep fishing. One of my good buddies was with us too and he wanted to keep fishing as well. When we got to the takeout after a few hours of some great fishing, he was nowhere to be seen.
There have been cases in the past where I have taken offers of open seats with people I didn't know. But I always pick up and dispose of my trash, offer to bring lunch, beverages, and snacks, pay out for gas and other expenses, and mind my damn manners. It seems, at least in my experience, that more often than not, other folks don't seem to understand this.
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