[KerryS]

Below is a list of fly fishing manners borrowed from flyanglersonline.com and I believe written by Deanna Birkholm. Are there more that should be added to the list? Are there some ethics that could be added regarding the fish themselves? Such as targeting smolt or fishing when water conditions are not favorable to the fish i.e. warm temps, low water conditions etc.


1. A section of water belongs to the first person fishing it. It is inconsiderate to crowd an angler who was there first.
2. A slow moving or stationary angler has the right to remain where he/she is. If you are moving, leave the water and quietly walk around the angler in position in the water.
3. If an angler is resting the water, (Allowing the water to calm down after some form of disturbance. Generally, after a fish has been caught, the act of the fight scares the rest of the fish and makes them hesitant to hit on a fly, so you Rest the Water until it is fishable again.) or planning his/her next move, it is his/her water. Don't jump in without permission.
4. A person working upstream has the right of way over someone fishing downstream.
5. Always yield to an angler with a fish on the line.
6. Do not enter the water directly in front of someone already in the water.
7. Always recognize property rights. Leave all gates as you found them.
8. Do not litter. If you brought it in, take it out. Leave the area cleaner than you found it.
9. Try not to make tracks whenever possible.
10. Wade only when necessary. The aquatic food chain is fragile.
11. Obey all state and local fishing laws and rules.

 

[Surf_Candy]

Ethics

Nice....I'd add
12. Don't smoke downwind of anyone - ruins my day. If you are going to light up, step out and take a break on the bank.
13. Enter the water silently

 

[troutman101]

Ethics

I'd add,

14. :TSKTSK Don't drink Schmidt Ice Light

15. No farting unless you have waders on

16. No show-off casting (Distance cating 'cause someone is watching

17. No camping out at the boat launch..In other words, back in...turn the crank and lower your boat...pull the boat upstream....drop anchor...get back in your rig and park it. This of course only applies if you are at a busy boat launch like Ringer.

18. Don't talk to Evening Hatch Guides (just kidding) :TONGUE

 

[Bright Rivers]

Ethics

I would add, "Anglers fishing from a boat/raft should always give as much room as possible to wading anglers."

Also, I'm not sure I agree with rule #4. I usually work a river upstream (unless I'm fishing streamers), so I shouldn't complain, but if I were working downstream and met up with a angler working upstream, I don't think I would jump off the river for him. I guess I'd stop going down stream, but I believe I'd at least hold my ground if I were in a good hole. I guess if both anglers plan to continue their path, someone's got to give way. Maybe someone can explain why it should be the downstream guy who flinches first.

Finally, we should also add, "Gear fishermen should always stay the heck away (at least 1 mile) from fly fishermen."

db

"If I don't catch them today, I'll catch them another day." Art Flick

 

[XstreamAngler]

Ethics

If I come by other anglers on a stream, I leave the run above and below them alone, NO MATTER how fishy it looks, or how many fish are rising, can that be added? And add: NO WHITE or BRIGHT hats or shirts around other anglers, If you come by beer in the water (keeping cool) leave it, if it is still there on your way back, help yourself to 1, and only ONE! And Never smoke a joint given to you by a bait chucker, unless you want to be sick for 2 days!

SAK :CLOWN

 

[troutman101]

Ethics

Sorry but if I see beer in the river I borrow one. Unless it is in cans and labeled with animals or "ice-light"

Who you callin bait chuker????
:EEK

 

[XstreamAngler]

Ethics

Sorry! Was that you that gave me that "J" this spring on the Bighorn? It made me sick as a dog! Or.......could have been the 24 pack of Keystone I drank that day only to chase it with a beef stick! But I call anybody putting corn on a salmon egg hook a "Bait Chucker"! :COOK :AA

 

[troutman101]

Ethics

Nah, I quit fishin the stretch below E-Burg years ago.

 

[flipdownflyboy]

Ethics

17. No camping out at the boat launch..In other words, back in...turn the crank and lower your boat...pull the boat upstream....drop anchor...get back in your rig and park it. This of course only applies if you are at a busy boat launch like Ringer.

Troutman, we should bold this one. It drives me absolutely crazy to watch a group of guys rig up rods while others wait. Bighorn, Ringer and the take out at the Slab. Figure it out people it's not that tough. If these people don't realize what is around them at a launch; do you think they appreciate the beauty of the canyon?

Flip Down Fly Boy! :REALLYMAD

 

[skyriver]

Ethics

I mostly agree with Bright Rivers... #4 is a little out there. I've actually ranted about this before when someone had posted these rules. I agree that these are etiquette not ethics. Baitchuckers don't have to stay a mile away, but they should be aware of which way a fisherman (any gear) is moving before they got there and how much line is being cast.
I would also agree with the boat anglers yielding to land anglers, especially jets. If there is someone out there that almost received a 2/0 in the ear I'm very sorry, but I took major exception to you almost running over my dog (another faux paux unless it will heal and stay) and me a few years back on the upper end of Cracker Bar.
That should be another rule. No matter how stupid the infraction, flyfisherman should not retaliate. I lost it that day and it probably ruined my day more than his. Although, it did sound like he did major damage to his intake. Too bad.
Anyway, there's always more water to fish with less people if you just shake your head and move away. I'm used to this since I fish the Sky a fair amount. And yes, flyfisherman have made my "shouldn't have done that" list as well.
Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.
Stacy

 

[Dipsnort]

Ethics

I pack a long rod, and I'm not afraid to use it!

I think we should stick to behavior, rather than they type of fishing a person chooses to employ. There's nothing inherently wrong with a fisherman that is not flinging flies. :TSKTSK

 

[Chris Scoones]

(*)Bring an extra beer or three for guys you meet on the river. A little tomato juice to red it up if it's before 9AM.

 

[Scott Rethke]

For #s 1 and 2 what is the definition of "crowding"? 40 yards?

 

[XstreamAngler]

Ethics

I agree, ANY type of fishing is fishing! Chuck bait, chuck flies, it JUST so happens that this particular case involved the first! I have been called "Fur tosser" "Fly thrower" "Idiot with a goofy rod" et al et ux!I am normally so drunk by then, a witty comeback does not hit me until weeks later! Sort of like calling your buddy a dork! Ya love him, he may not be a dork, but it rolls off the tongue so well! So please, this fly chucker means no harm to those that chuck bait, or wood chucks that chuck wood for that matter! As I say in BOLD letters on my site, "Treat other Anglers as you would want to be treated"! Now, do I have any beer?

SAK
Xstream! :THUMBSUP

 

[Old Man]

What do I know---I'm just an old man

When you are with a group of guys that are gabbing at each other 10 Yards apart is too far away. Today we were all together and we all got along famously.

Jim

 

[MacRowdy]

Yeah No kidding! 10 yards was plenty. On our way off the river I came up and slipped in about 7 yards upstream of ****** 70 ft below some other guy who was there before me and ****** had a conniption fit! Told me to stop crowding the guy above me and I told him "scoot down so I don't have to crowd." Hahaha So technically I was coming upstream so all of those fellas should have made way!!!!!!!!!! hahahaha I think that is a lame rule. ****** kept on voicing his contempt so I left the river. Then when I ripped down the dirt road at a lightning fast 10 mph. "Slow down! Slow Down!" Came the plea. "This is a rally car not your grandma’s short bus!"

So when I got home ****** called me to tell me to read this thread on Fishing Manners. So I am taking serious consideration of everything written here. I must repent, mend my ways; become a new fisherman. Sorry fellas I have no manners. I will try to do better. ****** is very considerate of anyone he doesn't know.


MacRowdy :THUMBSUP

 

[Snagly]

A slightly different take

I've got a few comments based on the list at the top of this thread

2. A slow moving or stationary angler has the right to remain where he/she is. If you are moving, leave the water and quietly walk around the angler in position in the water. You get 20 feet upstream and downstream, maybe 30 feet max

4. A person working upstream has the right of way over someone fishing downstream. I don't understand this at all. It seems counter to the "cast-and-step-down" approach that enables everyone to share a particular piece of water. I've never come across this situation, but when/ if I do I don't be giving anyone automatic access just because they're wading up.

6. Do not enter the water directly in front of someone already in the water. In fact, don't enter the water AT ALL in front of someone as long as it's the same run -- that includes the tailout 50 yards downstream, too. Walk up to the angler, say (don't ask) that you are intending on fishing the water and that you propose to step in above and cast-and-step. Is that OK with him or does he prefer that you start somewhere else? (Within reason) Oh, and if one of us hooks up how do you want to handle that? Stay where you are or move to the top and cast-and-step?

10. Wade only when necessary. The aquatic food chain is fragile. I'm not certain how fragile the food chain is -- rocks tumble in streams all the time -- but don't wade through redds!

"Poor loops, but at least the fly is landing farther out than the main line these days"

 

[Scott Whited]

A slightly different take

rule #4 applies to trout fishing streams where it is always better to sneak up on fish from behind. it does not apply to steelhead fishing where you usually work downstream through a run.

 

[Bright Rivers]

A slightly different take

Then rule #4 should be on the list of rules for how to actually catch trout effectively, but that doesn't mean an angler working downstream for trout has poor etiquette. It just means he's a poor fisherman. Even in trout streams, an angler fishing streamers will usually work downstream. Does that mean streamer anglers should always yield to dry fly anglers? I don't think so. Rule #4 has gotta go.

db

"If I don't catch them today, I'll catch them another day." Art Flick

 

[Scott Whited]

A slightly different take

you sound a little angry. these are just some guidelines that somebody wrote down. it's usually pretty obvious what the right thing to do is. my biggest pet peave is when i walk an hour to fish a hole and a drift boat goes right through even though they could go around. or even worse fishes the same spot.