[andre]

Juro,

those Kayak skirts hold a hook real well. I will confess that the fight is a bit dogged and generally like a spawned out salmon. However, unlike a fish when they reach the bank it is OK and prefered to "BOOT" them back in the water!

Seriously I usually place a cast in advance to demonstrate the water I'm covering (think I can cover) althought this cast is usually at a 90 deg angle and not for the purpose of catching fish. However, I get the water I can work. Anything outside of that may move a fish to me.

andre
For those who know, people are still asking about my stupid smile.

 

[October Caddis]

Was it Teddy Roosevelt that said, "Cast softly and carry a big hook"!
OC

 

[roballen]

Ohh i Hate kayakers especially on the Klick.. They just don't seem to understand that they scare fish!!!

On the other hand you will not find more courteous drift boating gear pullers in the state. They always either wait for you to finish or float behind you and try to stay out of the water your fishing. At least thats been my experience..

 

[NrthFrk16]

Did you ever see that promotional poster for Scott that had the dude at the bow of the flats boat hooking a jetskier?? Its awesome, they got the jetskier flying off his jetskit and the guy up on the platform is holding the pole in one hand and pumping his fist in another.

I'd love to have that poster...

Anyways, I personally believe that any activity that uses the water other then for fishing purposes should be banned!!! }> j.k ofcourse

 

[roballen]

Hey Ryan I have a copy of that poster!!!! want it?

I'll bring it when we meet on the Hoh this winter...

 

[NrthFrk16]

That'd be rad!!!...I'll give you a couple indicators and heavily weighted flies for it... }>

 

[andre]

Rob,

I truly believe the fish get over it real fast and we make more of it than we need too. On medium size rivers like the Klick where you can cast a fishable line bank to bank in many areas I don't believe there are any alternatives (other than the kayakers waitng for us to fish through). I fish a SW WA river that has incredible sled traffic. I have literally catch fish in their wake. Juro, DS, and I have fish a run that is best at first light, when the sun hits the water the fish move to a slot until the aluminum hatch hits. Then they come back to the flat.

Lets face it we get pissy when everything doesn't work out exactly how we think it should. Steelhead are elusive enough and we can always use something or one to blame.

 

[Jeff]

I can't stand Kayakers and Rafts. On my favorite and we will call home river the North Umpqua the flipping rafters and kayakers have basically shut down water after 10. They don't care what they do to the fisherman. Hell they even go through closed rafting water and you can't get anyone to do anything about it.

Couple of excuses you get from them.
"Boats don't scare fish" Oh yah have you watched what happens to a spotted fish when a raft or a kayak comes down through. Bye By.

"The River is for Everyone" Yes and as soon as you (the rafters and kayakers) come down through the river is now only for you because it is no good for fishing.

A couple of years ago sitting around thinking after a rafter had cut us off like three times thoughout the day we came up with a couple of solutions. Duct tape knives to the end of our rods and if we could touch them then use it. Or my favorite string Barbed wire about 6 inches under the water in a couple of stategic places. End of raft.

I am sorry I just hate them down there. That is a fly fishing river and should remain that way. Call me an snobish pig I don't car but they are rude, in considerate, and ruin a perfectly good river.

Of course this isn't the only place I have problems with them. The Sno is just as bad. And one of my favorites from this year on the upper sky was the 9 canoes that just as I was getting to the tail out of a run came through and ignored my waving them to the my side of the river rather then right down through the water I was fishing and just looked at me like what when I shook my head at them.

OK done ranting.

JJ

 

[andre]

JJ,

Something I have done under different situations but may work on the NFU. A substantial Rock placed on or near the vehicle of the offending rafter. I've done this to guys with sleds that have messed with me and many other on the Clack. The rock was place near the door of the offenders very nice truck.

a

I haven't really experienced this as much of an issue.

 

[KerryS]

Try fishing the upper Skagit during eagle watching season. I cast in front of a raft full of eagle watchers trying to show them where I was fishing. Didn't do any good. They floated right over my water. At least two of them thought it would be a neat picture of the fly fisherman. I was giving them the one figure salute when I saw the cameras come out.

I also remember fishing the run above the car body hole when a bunch of eagle watchers showed up. They notice the blue heron across the river that I had been watching for awhile. Facsinating bird. Much more so than an eagle in my opinion. He was doing much better at his fishing than I was at mine. I wonder how they can stand so still for so long? Anyway, the raptor watchers finally noticed it was not an eagle. They then said "Oh, its just a swan or something." and left. I was glad to see them go. Idiots.

 

[juro]

This is kind of like the fly vs. gear discussion in that the more people who learn to love a river, the more reason there is to keep it free and wild. It's healthy and I didn't mean to imply that others can't do their thing on the river, they have every right. I would never take any retaliatory action beyond verbal exchange, if even that far. So many rivers, so little time. More importantly when people go over the edge and give in to aggression it takes away from the concept of being human. Our ability to seek resolution to conflict by reasoning keeps us hung on the high notches in the ladder of life. We fall off sometimes, but for the most part...

Fellow humans enjoying the river is a good thing in the grand scheme of things, I withdraw anything I might have implied to the contrary. My comment was just directed at the fact that a reasonable being would figure out that it's downright rude to stay in a pool and do rollovers where someone is fishing. It's like singing karoake at a recital or a boombox at the beach - meant only for the enjoyment of the one at the cost of enjoyment by the many.

And let's not even get started about jetskiers... }>

Hope everyone hooks up this weekend!

 

[KerryS]

Let me explain my bitterness here. In recent years there has been a large increase in the number of people that use the Skagit River to view eagles. I have nothing against these people per say. Most of the problem that I have is with the guides. These are people that are charging money to take people on float trips for the purpose of eagle viewing. That's fine. When these so called guides show a lack of respect for the other users of the river is when I get pissed off. The incidents I explained above where both guided eagle watching float trips. These so called guides should have more respect for the other users of the river. They should have more knowledge of the river and the creatures that inhabit the river. I think they have a unique opportunity to educate their clients about the river, the habitat, the creatures, the problems and issues facing the river. Perhaps most do and I, unfortunately have met the ones that don't.