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Question 1: How close to a fish can one get before it is 'scared' away from its' feeding cycle?
Question 2: How long does it take for a fish to settle down after it has been 'spooked'?
Question 3: How many rafters/kayakers/canoeists are there on this river today?
Question 4: Is there any use in remaining here, or should we just fold up our rods and move on?
Unfortunately, these are some of the questions that I receive from a lot of my clients while we fish in/on our Maine waters. I tell them that movement of unnatural river craft/persons can actually spark interest in some fish, and I have caught plenty of fish just after an eight-raft trip floated by, complimented by swimmers and back-flippers dive-bombing the pools! I have conditioned myself to shrug off the proximity issue as the price we pay for sharing the resource. I know because of my experiences with other fishing guides and fisherman, and the interaction between professional and recreational river travelers and professional and recreational anglers is a source of tremendous frustration. I have a few real-life experiences to document when etiquette is overlooked:
Scenario 1: A person has driven an hour to the river to get in a short evening of fishing after working too hard at a job he can't stand. He struggles into his waders, strings his rod, makes his way through the woods to the river's edge. After a few minutes of turning over rocks and observing the insects hatching he notices a nice rising fish on the eddy line straight out from where he is standing on shore. Careful to move out far enough to cast, but not too close to spook the fish, he observes the fish rise again, but this time a little closer than he had originally thought. Preparing to make his cast, he senses that the fly he has selected is too big, so he quickly and nervously ties on one size smaller, treats the fly with floatant, and begins to extend his cast above the rising fish. Just then, two canoes appear from around the corner in the river, and paddle right into the water where the fisherman is standing. One boat comes within a rods reach of the man, the other paddles over the water where the fish was!
Perceptions: These people just ruined my chances of catching that fish, Man I would never do that to anyone. I can't believe that woman had the guts to ask me 'are they biting?'
Facts: The fish is still there. The angler is still there. He has the right fly. The canoes are leaving. The sun is shining on him.
*never ask an angler 'are they biting?' It is like being asked if you know the Eskimo roll, or if the water is wet.
Scenario 2: A kayaker snaps on her shirt and slips her lime-green Super Endo 7000 into the water to drift down to her favorite play hole. She paddles anxiously to the bend where she can see the horizon-line above the most recently discovered play hole in the east: 'The G-spot'. What does she see? What is the hell is that? Could this be possible? There is a goddamn fisherman standing on the ledge next to the hole, swinging streamer flies through the pool below 'her' hole! She decides to paddle ashore above the hole and watch for a few minutes to see if he is going to relinquish his spot. After a few minutes of teeth grinding and mosquito slapping, she says 'hey man, do you mind if I play in the hold there?' He looks at her as if she was not heard, turns his head, and decides that she is going to have to move on to the next place, because he is the same guy who got screwed by the canoeists the night before.
She peels out and quietly floats past him on the opposite shore wondering how or why he chose to be such a river pig!
Perception: Fishermen suck! Fish feel pain only half as much as I would like to make him feel pain! I wonder if he knows how to change a slashed tire on his F-150 parked on the Golden Road?
Facts: G-spot will be there tomorrow, her Super Endo 7000 will probably get her a date with that cute new video boater who just moved into Big Eddy. The sun shines on her every day!
I hope that these real life stories describe the differences between fact and perception. I do not want to use this article to tell anyone how to behave, please understand that we all affect each other on the river, and we all need each other to survive and remain access free to the river. Hopefully, the next time you are out fishing, you will consider your role to be a river steward, and share your spot with anyone who comes close, i.e. boater, angler etc... It is my hope that after sharing these stories with you, that when you enter another person's fishing/play hole you will consider it sacred, and imagine that you could not do enough to be quiet and considerate. I like to practice what I call 'The nod', which indicates that we are 'all good' with each other, and free to pass through. An ounce of good river etiquette can grow a bumper crop of positive shared interaction!
Drift Boat Jones is a professional river guide who utilizes modern techniques and drift boats to enjoy the resources we all share!
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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