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Drift Fishing Etiquette
 by Don Allard
Recently on our rivers in the Northeast, drift fishing has become increasingly popular. This is no surprise to other drift fishers, including myself, as in Northeast we have large percentages of rivers that are well suited to drift fishing. The poor relations between the people that wade fish and those who drift fish is no surprise either. A lot of the conflicts are based on poor decisions due to a lack of understanding of how those of us who drift a river should react when coming in contact with other drift fishers, or wading anglers.
I have spent most of my fishing years wading various rivers within the state of Maine. Southern Maine is my home base to be exact; so much of my time on the water has been local Southern Maine fishing areas with the occasional trip to other points in Maine. It was just a few years ago that I began fishing out of a drift boat. Since that time I have received many comments from locals about their experiences with drift boats. (I use the term drift boats, as this is the craft I chose to fish from. However, for the purpose of this article, all watercrafts that can be used on rivers such as canoes, pontoon boats, rafts, etc. all fall into this category.) I began moderating a message board for drift fishing on a very active Fly-Fishing website that specializes in fishing in the State of Maine. Since then I have received many private e-mails and some public messages from persons that have had experiences with drift fishing. Some folks were themselves drift fishers, and others have had encounters with drift fishers. That includes some positive encounters and many negative encounters. I know that these encounters are not specific to my area or even my State, as persons that live elsewhere in the Northeast have made some similar comments about drift fishing. One of the latest most disturbing letters that I have read was in the fall 2001 issue of Fly-Fishing New England magazine. It seems quite clear to the majority of the persons who wade fish that the actions of many drift fishers put quite a burden on those who choose to wade a section of river.
Let it be known that I am a very dedicated drift fisherman. In fact just six months after my first trip in a drift boat I had purchased my own boat, and now almost exclusively fish from a drift boat. In that respect I am quite biased towards drift fishing and feel it is the most effective way to cover large areas of river and produce more fish.
The basis is that once you have decided to become a drift fisher and have chosen the piece of equipment to get you from point A to B on the river, you then need to address the issue of coming into contact with other anglers that are fishing in the river. The rules of etiquette for when a wading angler encounters another wading angler have been written down in many books, and magazines. But what about the rules of encountering others while in a drift boat?
Inevitably the encounters will happen. There is only so much water out there and we all share it. So just how should we react when the situation arrives? The goal is that the drift fisher passing through should not intimidate the wading angler.
As you read on, you will see that I go out of my way to not inconvenience the anglers that are wading when I am drifting a river. As I see it, the person on the river wading had worked hard to get to their favorite spot. They get out into the river, set up there gear and begin to enjoy their fishing experience. I too do the same with my drift boat. I have to work to get the boat in and out of the water. I have to set up my gear. And I have to row the boat to the areas I want to fish. However as a drift fisher I have many miles of river to fish within a single drift, so I can give up the relatively small area that the wading angler has chosen to fish to that person.
As a drift fisher you can spend a long time with a good track record, and one bad incident can give you a bad name in a hurry. If you use bad judgment or improper etiquette against someone wading or drift fishing while you are in a drift boat, they will remember you by your boat and that will have a lasting effect on your reputation as a person. A drift boat owner or outfitter needs to remember that even if you are not in your boat at the time that something bad happens, you are still the owner of the boat and you’ll bear the brunt of whatever incident happens. The features of the boat, not the operator, are what stay in people’s mind. Everyone who rows or fishes from a drift boat should be aware of what is proper behavior when sharing the water with people who wade fish.
My first encounter with wading anglers while I was drift fishing happened after my third trip a drift boat. Thankfully, a customer of mine who had become a good friend had been instructing me on drift boat techniques. Ed was the person who had first gotten me into his drift boat as a gesture of thanks for some repair work I had done on his fly rods. It was the middle of May 2001 and I was drift fishing with Ed and another friend, and I was at the oars. Until this day I had never encountered other anglers on the river. On that day we came to a spot that had a prime feeding lane on river left that we had always taken a few fish from. That day, three or four people were wading on that side of the river. My suggestion was to anchor just beyond their casting reach, and fish the run. As we came close to the run Ed, who was in the back of the boat, instructed me to take the boat as close to the right bank as I could and asked the caster in the front not to cast until we were by the run. Intrigued by the fact that we would miss a great spot on the river I just sort of gave a look and did what I was instructed to do. The wade fishers gave a wave from across the river and Ed blurted out something like “How are you doing today?” and then “we’ll be right by in a few seconds and won’t disturb the run.”
Now here I am at the rower’s seat thinking we missed a great run, and could have pulled right up to the far side of it and taken some fish as we always have, and then left. But then soon I began to realize that over the course of that day I had covered over seven miles of beautiful pools, runs, and riffles. In contrast, the folks that were wade fishing had worked hard to get to the spots they were in a deserved them. A very humbling experience, but one of the best learning experiences I could have gained early on in my drift boat fishing experiences. It is now something I make very clear to anglers fishing in my boat, proper etiquette has to be used all the time. I will not stake my reputation for catching a fish or two.
Let’s go over some different situations involving drift boats and wade fishers. The one I spoke of above is quite clear. If you are in a drift boat coming into a prime area that has wade fishermen, ask all the people in the boat to refrain from casting in that direction. Try and get the boat as far from the wade fishermen as possible. If the area is quite wide, run the boat past the area that the wading fishermen are casting to. In certain circumstances, people in the boat can cast to the opposite bank for fish if the river is wide enough. Be sure to acknowledge to the wade fishers that you are just passing through and of course pleasant conversation should be made. Ease the tension as much as possible. It’s bad when someone wades up to the pool you are fishing without asking, but it’s even worse when a big drift boat with two people throwing out line comes floating down!
If the area through which you need to pass is quite narrow, and the boat cannot go through without disturbing anglers that are wading then I like to use this approach. Acknowledge the wading anglers. If possible get the boat to the side of the river and put down the anchor. I prefer to get out and get the attention of the anglers that are wading. Don’t slosh up to them and begin talking, try to stay on the banks and out of the water. Usually the best approach would be to ask how the fishing has been. Of course some people are secretive, but if a fish has been working just in front of them they’ll usually tell you. If the fishing has been slow or they are just searching for fish the best thing to do is mention that you are just passing through and will get over the far side of the run to try and stay out of their way. This usually promotes a small conversation, sometimes even a future friendship, and almost always gets you past the run without any hard feelings. If they are working a fish it may be best to ask if they’d mind if you run down through on the side of the river that is least likely to spook the fish. Obviously the people in the boat should sit down and not make any movement on the bottom of the boat as the sound transmits easily into the water. The person at the oars should put as little of the oars into the water as needed to keep the sound to a minimum. Within no time the boat will be through the run with very little, if any, disturbance to the working fish, and hopefully no hard feelings from wading anglers.
This next item of etiquette is easier for the recreational drift boater than a drift boat guide to understand. I still find it a very important tool for relationships between wading and drifting anglers. There are always going to be areas of river that you’ll encounter that area a “home” for the local wading angler. If you drift the same section and see one or few anglers in particular over and over again I suggest this tip. If there is an empty seat in the boat and you are not guiding clients at the time invite the local angler to join you. If they decline, get some contact information from them and offer to take them out at their convienence. For the guide, a good relationship with local people can be better than spending money on advertising. And for the recreational drift fisher, the locals can actually save you years of trial and error with their knowledge of the river. Its gratifying to be on a first name basis with a person, and “tip your hat” as you go through the run knowing that the person isn’t upset with your presence.
At points of entry and take out for drift boats you may encounter other anglers who are wade fishing. A lot of them will come over to see the boat and even offer help with getting the boat in or out. I always try and make time to chat, no matter how rushed I am in getting in or out of the water that day. Many people know little about the boats, and have questions. Taking the time to answer them makes a large difference in their perception of you as a person. Once again, if the situation is right, offer the person to join you. If you are guiding, you can’t give away trips all the time but try and be as courteous as possible and give the person as much information as you can. Remember this is free advertising and perception of you as a guide makes a huge impact. If you are hurried and have clients waiting I would suggest giving a business card out and letting the person know that you’d look forward to having them call with any questions, or stop in at the outfitter. The intention is not to sell them a trip, as most locals will not hire a guide to fish their home rivers, but just to help out in understanding.
Remember the most important aspect in the relation between drift fishers and wade fishers is communication. Try not to pass anyone that is wading without making eye contact, acknowledging that they were there first, and making an effort to be as unintrusive as you can be. This will ease any tension and create a place on the water for that both types of anglers can enjoy.
I had mentioned earlier that I prefer to drift on sections of rivers that have few, if any wading anglers. The reason is not because I try to avoid persons that are wading, it’s just that there are many sections of river that can be drifted successfully without being intrusive on those who prefer to wade fish. This is, of course, the easiest way to totally eliminate conflict between the wading and drifting group. From a guide’s perspective, it gives the client(s) the ability to utilize the full river on both sides with no restrictions. I tend to choose long stretches of river with very limited wading access and study the fish habitat within these sections. These are the areas of river that are well suited to a drift boat anyhow, and there is a lot of water like this in the Northeast.
As drift fishing gains in popularity in the Northeast you will of course encounter other boats and drift fishers on the river. If I am drifting down the river and spot another boat that is anchored ahead of me, I try and stay back and fish the area behind that boat. Notice that I said anchored. If they are drifting and fishing it is acceptable to stay a reasonable distance back and drift behind them. If they are anchored it is usually because they are fishing a particular area with feeding fish. To go by that boat would disturb their fishing. Of course if they are held tight to one side, and the river is wide enough, it is acceptable to go by on the far side and not cast towards their boat while passing. Of course I will always acknowledge them and exchange some friendly conversation in passing. After passing the boat you should not anchor and begin to fish a run until you are a reasonable distance ahead of the boat. Use your own judgment here, but if a good run is just ahead of where I passed the boat, I will usually slow the boat down and let the anglers in my boat get a few casts as we move through. Most likely the operator of the other boat was going anchor down at the next run down from where they had just been, and if you are a few “productive” spots past that run everyone will have a better chance at catching fish.
A lack of understanding is the biggest reason for conflict on the water. We all invest a lot of time, (and money), into this sport. We all have to share the same resources, and I feel that an understanding needs to be reached between the drift crowd and the wading crowd. We are all out there for relaxation and enjoyment and there should be minimal conflicts between the two crowds. Both wade fishing and drift fishing have their own distinct advantages and disadvantages, but the one common goal of being out in nature and enjoying the experience should remain. As we move into the future, we are all responsible for our resources and should take on their challenges and pleasures as a team effort. Best wishes to all those on the river and hope for a promising future as we drift (or wade) into the new millennium!
-- by Don Allard of Allard's Custom Fly Rods.
Don can be reached at FlyFishng2@aol.com
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