Fishing Etiquette- Where Has It Gone

I Could Not Have Said It Any Better

Fishing etiquette, sometimes I have to wonder if anyone’s ever heard of such a thing. The word etiquette is defined as: The forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society.

So why is it that as soon as I get on a river, I invariably end up fishing near someone who has never heard the above definition? It seems as if as soon as people get into a fishing situation, all rules of society are thrown out the window and it becomes a free for all. I mean it says, right in the definition, ‘ceremonial codes of polite society’. When it comes to fishing, especially on a river, one of those ‘ceremonial codes of polite society’ is to allow other anglers there personal space just as you would afford them in any other social situation. I mean, for God’s sake, just because were out on the river fishing it doesn’t mean that we have to become complete inconsiderate idiots, does it?

I’m of course referring to a situation that I got caught up in, not too long ago, on one of my local rivers. I had been fishing along a very nice stretch of water for about twenty minutes, when a couple of other fishermen came walking along the river. They kept there distance as we exchanged friendly glances, and they began fishing about fifty yards from where I was.

This is how things are supposed to work when two anglers meet on a river. But then I caught a fish. Then another one and this second fish was quite nice. A nice eighteen to twenty inch Rainbow. I released the fish and went on about my business, continuing to fish this nice stretch of river, which incidentally was no bigger, the average driveway.

The next thing I knew, the other fishermen were in my freakin’ back pocket! I mean these guys surrounded me like I was trying to do something horrible to one of their children. Then the interrogation started. What are you using? How big was that fish? Do you always catch fish here? This is what I’m talking about when I speak of fishing etiquette. When I’m out on the river, and I’m sure most people would agree, I want to relax, enjoy nature, and if I can manage it, catch a few fish. I don’t need to give a fishing lesson to anyone. And, as far as I’m concerned, no one needs to give one to me. If I see you on the river and you catch a nice fish, good for you. I might give you a thumb’s up or something, but that’s all the information we need to exchange.

I’ve never understood why people think that if a fish is caught out of a spot, that’s the only place on a given stretch of water that contains fish. And the spot or area that they’re fishing doesn’t! That’s the only explanation as to why these two guys muscled up on me like a bully on the smaller kids in the schoolyard. They had to think that they had a better chance of catching a fish where I had just caught a fish than where they were originally fishing. And just to clear the air, this is not the case. It’s a fallacy, and this kind of behavior needs to stop.

Give other anglers the space they need to fish when you’re out on the river. Using a little fishing etiquette out on the water will make our sport better for all of us. As I eluded to earlier, just afford people the same courtesy you would on a busy elevator. Just because were standing in a river, it doesn’t mean we can’t practice basic etiquette.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and now specializes in ultralight trout fishing.