Angling Etiquette: How Do You Rate?

Now that summer has arrived, with eager fly fishers descending on California’s waters, let’s remind ourselves on how we can best interact with the other anglers we’ll surely meet while fishing. Good behavior is in the obvious interests of all of us, if only for the reason that fisticuffs astream tends to put down the trout. So, to refresh your sense of courtesy, here are 10 questions highlighting common angling situations that have the potential for devolving into hot words…or worse. The content for these 10 questions is from Al Kyle’s article, “In Search of Etiquette,” which was published in our previous issue.

1. While fishing a mountain river you arrive at a favorite pool to find another angler already there. You believe there is enough room for two anglers to fish. Do you ask the other angler’s permission before casting into the pool?
2. When overtaking and passing an upstream-fishing angler on a small stream, do you note his or her rate of movement, stay back from the bank, and walk far enough around to leave an estimated half-hour of undisturbed water before fishing again?
3. When fishing your way down along a creek, you encounter an angler fishing up toward you from downstream. Do you stop fishing and move around that angler, thus honoring the tradition of yielding the right-of-way to an upstream fishing angler?
4. When you are fishing a spot where anglers must wade or float through to reach other water, do you yield the right-of-way to such access?
5. When you approach an angler on a lake or spring creek, do you stop far enough away to leave a little unfished water between your casts and his or her longest casts and drifts?
6. While float-tubing you notice a fish rising behind a nearby angler’s float tube within his or her casting range. You also notice that the angler seems preoccupied in casting to other rising fish. Do you alert that angler to the fish behind the tube and cast to it only if invited to do so?
7. As you drift down a river, your boat approaches a wading angler. Do you guide the boat’s course away from the water being fished, keep as low and quiet as possible, and avoid dropping anchor where it might disturb that person’s fishing?
8. When walking along a spring creek, do you walk well back from the banks to avoid spooking fish and even farther back around any visible angler?
9. When you encounter another angler, are you likely to acknowledge that person’s presence with a friendly gesture, smile, or greeting?
10. When approaching a river pool, you see another angler on shore who isn’t fishing. Do you consider that he or she might be resting the water and ask permission to fish there?

If you can answer yes to questions such as these, you’ve already learned that there