Fishing Etiquette and Manners

[bunkerjoe4]

OK folks, this has been discussed over and over on every outdoors website. Nothing new under the sun, then why bother ranting and raving about it?

--Waste of time.
--Waste of bandwidth.
--Waste of effort.

I agree with all the above, there doesn't seem to be a point in preaching to the choir. Just like the guys who get involved and go to all the meetings, join the clubs, and do the cleanups feel. They/you folks are not part of the problem because they have a vested interest in continuing to fish at their fishing sites.

However, we are losing access all over. Every year more sites are closed or restricted so that it no longer becomes fun to try to fish there.

It's frequently convenient to point the finger at immigrant groups and those who can't speak English.

Sometimes, these specific groups have contributed to the problem, yes.

In the overall scheme of things, we all bear responsibility how we are perceived as sportsmen.

We didn't cause the problem, but we are all lumped together by the general public when issues come up.

To this end, I thought I would create (for the 1,000th time) a fishing etiquette thread.

I don't expect this will really change the way things are out there. However, more and more people are discovering salt water fishing each year. I thought as a website owner, I could sit passively by, agree that it is not my problem, and let things continue to deteriorate, with more access lost.

Or I could at least try to do something about it, with the help of you folks out there.

Some of you seasoned anglers have reached the point in your fishing careers that you can tell the difference between someone who could use a little extra help, and someone who has no use for any helpful advice. I'm sure many of you already go out of your way to help newbie anglers who are respectful, considerate, and ask the right questions at the right time.

All I'm suggesting is that we continue to do that, without causing any confrontations or putting ourselves at risk. Again, some out there just don't care who they are inconveniencing, and are generally selfish people. There's no point in trying to reach someone like that.

But if we can reach some of the others, and maybe teach someone else the beauty of the outdoors, I think it's worth a shot.

[bunkerjoe4]

I'll start. These are all common sense, basic ideas, folks. Nothing we haven't heard or seen before.

--When fishing an area, you should always bring home any trash with you.

--Don't clean your fish where you caught them unless there is a fish cleaning station there. Do NOT throw fish parts or carcasses away where you were fishing unless permitted.

--When you get to an area and there are many people fishing, try not to crowd other people. Ask them if they mind if you fish next to them if there is no room to fish somewhere else.

[DarkSkies]

--When you get to an area and there are many people fishing, try not to crowd other people. Ask them if they mind if you fish next to them if there is no room to fish somewhere else.

When someone does this to me without a word, I look over and say, Hey what's up, you might say hi the next time you come close enough to eff me. Get a lot of wierd looks from people that way, but they move over a few feet and give me some space. And a few have apologized, it's usually ok after that.

[voyager35]

If there is a line of people casting when you get somewhere, they were there first. Do not try to cast over peoples heads if you can't manage to fit in.

[clamchucker]

Appreciate what you're trying to do here Joe. I think one of the worst problems in society today is lack of respect. Younger people seem to have lost that sense of respect for others. Maybe their parents were too busy to teach them proper manners.

I try to help the new guys whenever I can, it's nice to see the few who do appreciate the advice.

[stormchaser]

Do NOT attempt to fish any sets of rocks if you're not wearing korkers. It puts those around you at risk if you fall in.