Rotational Angling: would it work?

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rick james

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Sep 19, 2014
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I visited one of my favourite streams Monday because the hydrometric data maps suggested conditions would be ideal for a run of fish. Many fellow anglers felt the same as the river was jam-packed with anglers with space on the river at a premium (unfortunately not many fish got the memo).

Working my way downstream I found myself in a tricky predicament as is becoming all the more common with increasing fishing pressure on our streams.

There were two fellow anglers, very experienced and well known I might add, making their way downstream as I was. I bypassed them first and fished the next hole downstream. As they moved down I engaged in small talk and invited them to fish the hole with me (they slotted themselves in slightly downstream).

However, it became tricky moving to the next hole…do I go first or let them go first? Do we fish together? Should I say something? What if the top-end of the pool was hot, should I give them a turn there?

Eventually I said I would be going to the next hole and they remained upstream briefly. One of them bypassed me on the way down while the other fished slightly upstream of me before moving on to the next hole. By the time I got to the next hole downstream they had disappeared.

How would you handle this situation? I found an interesting article today from BC regarding 'rotational angling' whereby anglers take turns fishing a pool (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/ethics/). You start at the top and move down; after an angler catches a fish they 'line-up' again at the top-end of the pool or move downstream. Do you think this would work on some our streams?

Regards,

Rick
 
you are asking people to be polite and courteous in this and day and age.

you are asking people to treat every other angler on the water to be an equal, regardless if they have a Kingpin reel and a Simms uniform.

in this day and age, most people have no idea what etiquette is; because it is all about me, me, me.
 
Its a great idea for some tribs. for sure. share the experience for all. It may be a little difficult to enforce it in tribs surrounding the GTA having a population of 6 million+ (not all anglers, but proportional populations) people of a variety of wonderful personalities.
 
Ther was a similar discussion last year.
Apparently out east they rotate. Start at top, make a cast/drift then take a step downstream and cast again.
Im all for it but all it takes is 1 dink to ruin it.
 
I think most people wonder the same things... It can be difficult when anglers are all fishing with different methods as well. If a few anglers are using the same method (floating for example) you often see several fishing the same water simultaneously. Sometimes I'm glad when a good angler doesn't move because you can watch them and try to figure out why they're where they are and how they're having success.

A common unwritten system would be great if all or most used it, for sure.
 
I don't move much I fish the same run all day long. No fish ,well maybe they will be there next time. If other anglers crowd me out I sit down and watch them hoping to learn something and when they move then I start fishing again.
 
The system works great on popular pools on salmon rivers in eastern Canada. Typically you start at the head of a pool, cast, drift, take a step downstream and keep going. Once you are about 5-10metres downstream, the next angler appears above you. There is often a bench at the end of the run where 2 or 3 anglers sit and chat while waiting their turn. It's relaxing and everyone follows protocol. Almost everyone fly fishes and, Atlantic salmon being notoriously difficult to hook, not really expecting to get a rise. It's much more about enjoying the day and the company than it is about numbers. If you don't like the crowd you just walk the river until you find water that is unoccupied.
The challenge here on our tribs is all the different styles of fishing, as well as the urgency (desperation?) to get into fish. And, as Artimus stated, it's all about me, me, me.
 
It is interesting to read some of the comments particularly those about selfish anglers and the desperation to catch fish here versus out East where it seems to be more about enjoying the day.

As I was chatting to one of these 'legendary' anglers who passed me by, he was recounting stories of 'triple digit' days on most major Ontario tributaries dating back in the 1980's when fishing pressure was much lighter. In his own words he has been so spoilt that the 15 fish he had hooked that day seemed like an underachievement, he called it a curse (I would've been jumping over the moon to have hooked 15 fish that day but that's another story). He was definitely on a mission having started at first light at a mid-way point of about 4 km stretch of public water, walking to the mouth, driving back up to the 4 km point and again walking back to the mouth, fishing one particular pool no longer than 10 minutes at a time, all in one day!

This got me thinking about what is fishing all about for this guy and steelheaders in general? Is it a competition? Is it about personal challenge and mastery? The adrenaline rush of doing battle with the almighty steel? Or perhaps is it about enjoying the day, peacefully immersing oneself in nature? Perhaps it is all of these things, some motives weighted more heavily than others? I think all these ring true for me to a greater or lesser extent, especially just being outdoors.

What is it all about for you?
 
For me I'm in it for the pure adrenaline rush of hooking into a fresh aggressive fish. I've only been fishing for a little over 3 yrs now for steelhead, but I enjoy every time I go out, skunked or not. Seeing other people catch is exciting and a learning experience. I have to admit, I don't adhere to the "river rules" like I probably should. I often drive several hours to fish and don't want to wait around at a good pool. I'll be polite and take my turn drifting through a pool, but not afraid to stand next to someone, while asking questions and learning how they have their setup etc. I have learned a ton from the Internet and asking questions of other anglers while on the river. Some happy to chat, some not, some too good for themselves. Either way, we all share a common passion for fighting these amazing fish. I'm hooked for life. :)
 
rick james said:
However, it became tricky moving to the next hole…do I go first or let them go first? Do we fish together? Should I say something? What if the top-end of the pool was hot, should I give them a turn there?
Click to expand...

darn I wish there were more fisherman like you around, this sounds like a dream. Honestly, rotational angling would eliminate this sort of issue however I find it a bit unfair for the people who put in the extra work to get to a spot. Its selfish but if a pool is hot and I get the better drift first because I woke up an hour ( for example ) early to get first dibs why can Joe Blow come in and wait in line for 15 minutes to get that same drift? Thats a little unfair for the guys who put in the extra effort - we don't have much space around to fish here at the north shore of Lake Ontario so prime spots are few and far in between - they are typically stacked with more people than fish. I suspect there would be a lot of resistance to such a movement.


rick james said:
This got me thinking about what is fishing all about for this guy and steelheaders in general?
Click to expand...
We would all get along a lot better if we were out there enjoying the outdoors and the beauty of mother nature. Being worried about our score, why/how buddy next to us is catching more fish, our fishing reel hero shots, photographing every fish, worrying if the fish is female so we can rape her of her eggs, worrying about not catching more than you, etc. are all taking away from the big picture. We are so spoiled that we are able to think of these things and it can ruin a days fishing for a lot of people. Just being able to get out and wet a line is enough for me - some people want to and can't. When I first started steelheading I fished with individuals that had minds of little children where it was all about take, take, take. It was very competitive, rush to get to the spot before the next one does, make sure you leave a hole first so you get the better drift at the next, fish were numbered, etc. all to say I have a bigger _____ than you. God forbid you called them while they were slaying and you were not there, the phone wouldn't be answered because they didn't want to share the gold while they were all ears when they couldn't locate numerous fish. This wasn't going out and enjoying, this was a constant rush and fight. Don't take me the wrong way, I love banking fish and taking pictures with awesome fish but its gotta be done with an attitude which takes the fishes well being into consideration.

Ughhhh - these days I think more and more about how much I appreciate nature and all its beauty yet I go, stab a fish in the face with a hook and play around with it until I bring it to shore only to release it... I think... I'm becoming... a hippy. Gotta keep telling myself fish are stupid and will forget a few moments later. I remember reading a book where the author described a man he knew that would fish dry flies for trout but the hook part of the fly was cut off. He would go out and just watch the fish take his fly. To me, this is reaching fishing Nirvana, he is the ultimate fisherman, not Dave Mercer or KVD or whoever else who slay fish with the newest Rapala Shadow Sunshine Half Moon Twitchy Switchy Counting DownSyndrome Fishing Minnow #weslayfish #theslayerofsteelhead #bowdowntomesteelhead #FishingArmy #thisisgettingridiculous #givemealikesoilikeyouback #imjusttypingthisoneoutbecauseitsgettingreallylongandmostlikelyhardtoread.ijusttriedtoreaditandhadtosquint.itsreallyannoying.dopeopleusuallyputperiodsinhashtagsorisitjustanewhashtag.improbablydoingthisthewrongway.ohwell

Anyways, cool topic - hope to cross paths with you guys and gals on the river - peace.
 
Yikes, thats a lot of writing... oh yeah forgot to add - hi schnippy!
 
troutddicted said:
darn I wish there were more fisherman like you around, this sounds like a dream. Honestly, rotational angling would eliminate this sort of issue however I find it a bit unfair for the people who put in the extra work to get to a spot. Its selfish but if a pool is hot and I get the better drift first because I woke up an hour ( for example ) early to get first dibs why can Joe Blow come in and wait in line for 15 minutes to get that same drift? Thats a little unfair for the guys who put in the extra effort - we don't have much space around to fish here at the north shore of Lake Ontario so prime spots are few and far in between - they are typically stacked with more people than fish. I suspect there would be a lot of resistance to such a movement.




We would all get along a lot better if we were out there enjoying the outdoors and the beauty of mother nature. Being worried about our score, why/how buddy next to us is catching more fish, our fishing reel hero shots, photographing every fish, worrying if the fish is female so we can rape her of her eggs, worrying about not catching more than you, etc. are all taking away from the big picture. We are so spoiled that we are able to think of these things and it can ruin a days fishing for a lot of people. Just being able to get out and wet a line is enough for me - some people want to and can't. When I first started steelheading I fished with individuals that had minds of little children where it was all about take, take, take. It was very competitive, rush to get to the spot before the next one does, make sure you leave a hole first so you get the better drift at the next, fish were numbered, etc. all to say I have a bigger _____ than you. God forbid you called them while they were slaying and you were not there, the phone wouldn't be answered because they didn't want to share the gold while they were all ears when they couldn't locate numerous fish. This wasn't going out and enjoying, this was a constant rush and fight. Don't take me the wrong way, I love banking fish and taking pictures with awesome fish but its gotta be done with an attitude which takes the fishes well being into consideration.

Ughhhh - these days I think more and more about how much I appreciate nature and all its beauty yet I go, stab a fish in the face with a hook and play around with it until I bring it to shore only to release it... I think... I'm becoming... a hippy. Gotta keep telling myself fish are stupid and will forget a few moments later. I remember reading a book where the author described a man he knew that would fish dry flies for trout but the hook part of the fly was cut off. He would go out and just watch the fish take his fly. To me, this is reaching fishing Nirvana, he is the ultimate fisherman, not Dave Mercer or KVD or whoever else who slay fish with the newest Rapala Shadow Sunshine Half Moon Twitchy Switchy Counting DownSyndrome Fishing Minnow #weslayfish #theslayerofsteelhead #bowdowntomesteelhead #FishingArmy #thisisgettingridiculous #givemealikesoilikeyouback #imjusttypingthisoneoutbecauseitsgettingreallylongandmostlikelyhardtoread.ijusttriedtoreaditandhadtosquint.itsreallyannoying.dopeopleusuallyputperiodsinhashtagsorisitjustanewhashtag.improbablydoingthisthewrongway.ohwell

Anyways, cool topic - hope to cross paths with you guys and gals on the river - peace.
Click to expand...
And THIS is why you are one of the coolest kats I know. Next level cool.
 
RiverRuns said:
The system works great on popular pools on salmon rivers in eastern Canada.
Click to expand...

Not a very useful comparison. I have salmon fished in Nfld and you'd never get away with a fraction of the crap that happens on Ont rivers. Those fisheremen(...err fisherpeople) are very protective of a scarce resource.
 

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