Gregarious flyfishermen

[LongLineRelease]

Something that has perplexed me for awhile is the tendency of fly fishermen on some streams to fish as a group in close proximity to each other. I’m talking about two, three, or even four people all fishing within a rod length or two and often right at each other’s elbow. I see this most often on Spring Creek, and much less often on other streams. Quite often I’ll see one fisherman with a nonfishing partner. I’m not sure what’s up with the non fishing partner except maybe instruction. Is Spring Creek really that popular a place to learn from a partner? This all just seems foreign to me. I do 95+% of my fishing alone and when I do fish with a partner we are usually some distance apart and often out off sight of one another. Does anybody have any observations on the gregarious tendencies of fly fishermen?

 

[RLeep2]

It's sort of like the ham & cheese w/mayo vs. ham & cheese w/mustard divide.. Some fly (actually it applies to devotees of all methods..) anglers seem to need a strong socialization component to their experience, other (like you, and me for that matter..) are pretty much the opposite.

As regards Spring Creek in specific, while I haven't been there in quite a while (in part due to what you have observed), I think high quality neon sign destination streams like this tend to draw a higher percentage of more casual, lightly experienced anglers who, if they fish long enough may eventually develop into full bore misanthropes like me...

Or they may choose to always keep the fellowship aspect of the thing as a high priority. it's hard to say. Everybody's different and not everybody prefers their ham & cheese with hot pepper relish like me...

 

[troutbert]

Some of this sounds like a guide with a client.

That is pretty common on Spring Creek.

 

[LongLineRelease]

I guess I hadn’t really considered people using guides on Spring Creek. I didn’t think they were all that prevalent in the Northeast. I mean PA isn’t exactly Patagonia or Kamchatka.

 

[Vaughn]

Some like to fish alone, and some like shared experiences with like minded friends. I happen to enjoy both.

You are right that Patagonia or Kamchatka are not PA. PA's fisheries are far more accessible to many more people.

 

[afishinado]

LongLineRelease wrote:
I guess I hadn’t really considered people using guides on Spring Creek. I didn’t think they were all that prevalent in the Northeast. I mean PA isn’t exactly Patagonia or Kamchatka.

Spring Creek is far from an exotoic destination for fishing, but what better place to learn to fly-fish? Spring has a lot of fish that are often not that hard to fool, quite a few bugs and is easy to access and wade. Guides teaching folks how to fly-fish on Spring Creek is very common.

 

[poopdeck]

Fishing is a family event and trout fishing seems to have a traditional aspect to family fishing trips. At times we would be elbow to elbow and at other times we would be spread out a bit but always close enough to see and usually talk to each other.

Or perhaps they are local "river rats" just getting together for a few hours fishing and camaraderie.

 

[kobalt335]

I've taken several people to spring Creek to learn to fly fish. Sometimes I fished right beside them, other times I set them up in a prime spot and just watched. If I want to be alone, I definitely don't go to spring.

 

[Swattie87]

If there's a good hatch going on Spring, say the Sulphurs, there can be more fish rising in front of you within casting distance at one time than you could possibly catch. I think in that scenario it's fun to have a buddy next to you, though we generally separate by at least one full cast length so you're not over the exact same fish. On Spring, that's about 40-50 feet probably...Definitely close enough to have a conversation and enjoy each other's company though. In that scenario, having someone that close doesn't negatively affect the fishing experience at all.

 

[JeffK]

I like a little of both. Spent many years at the Heritage Stretch of the Little Lehigh which was a very social spot. One advantage was that there were many people to learn from at a time when most fly fishermen were very close lipped. For example, the late Al Miller was generous enough to share information on the finer points of midge fishing on days when he saw me struggling to hook up. Learned tons about the small stuff from the regulars on that stream. BTW, it was a great place to learn with plenty of visibly feeding fish. I took many newbies there and saw guides and their clients as well.

Then again, some days I just want peace and quiet where I can think. Plus I don't mind going to a lesser known spot where the fish aren't smartened up too much.

Gary Lafontaine wrote a piece years ago about "Fishing Disneylands" which got plenty of criticism from the peace crowd. But his response is that Disneyland is fun place we need now and again, but not on an everyday basis.

 

[wbranch]

Often when I go to Steelhead Alley I will go with a buddy from NJ and we will meet another friend from Albany. We get up early and try to be on a stream by first light. Call it hoarding but at least for the first few hours all three of us will likely be fishing in a particular pocket pool or run where we have had success before and want to keep it to ourselves for a while until we either catch them all or get the itch to move.

 

[SmoothOperator]

Only person I fish with is my brother ( 7 yrs. Younger than me) ...... When we hit the stream we go our separate ways. .... I taught him to Fly Fish and he was 11 when I went out west the first-time in 1982..........My dad said he could go with me and the only instructions I got were " Dont come home without your brother "......... Unheard of doing in these times......... We fished together all summer out on the Madison this year and plan on it for the foreseeable future......Other than that , my wife has made a few trips (earlier in life) .....that had to be side by side......Other than that I'm the type of guy who " likes to be alone along the stream. ......"

 

[rrt]

I know some guys like to fish side-by-side. I can't imagine how they catch trout, esp when there is a line of them.

I kind of like what SmoothO said. I think that has helped make me into what RLeep2 said of himself: a misanthrope along the stream.

(Or, maybe I'm a misanthrope just because I'm old.)

 

[tomgamber]

10 lbs of crap in a 5 lb bag. Lots of fishermen. Little water.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Lots of fishermen unwilling to break tendencies . [d]Little[/d] tons of water.

Fixed it. Sorry PA is not lacking places to fish, it's lacking willing fisherman to seek them out.

 

[poopdeck]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:

Lots of fishermen unwilling to break tendencies . [d]Little[/d] tons of water.

Fixed it. Sorry PA is not lacking places to fish, it's lacking willing fisherman to seek them out.

Perhaps you meant Pa lacks fishermen that want to fish for finger size trout. I'm pretty sure there are no unknown waters left that hold an abundant trophy population.

 

[jifigz]

My fishing is probably split between being alone or with a fishing partner. When fishing with another person it is again split between going off some distances from each other or hanging in there more tightly together. It just depends on the mood, the water, etc.

And guiding is very popular on both Spring and Penns.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Perhaps you meant Pa lacks fishermen that want to fish for finger size trout. I'm pretty sure there are no unknown waters left that hold an abundant trophy population.

You would be wrong. I can name a few but wont.
I can think of 5 with amazing browns and 2 with big brook trout.
Of those 5 aren't on any list
Pa watersheds are not static, new and improved populations pop up yearly.

I'm also curious to when and how spring creek became a trophy fishery over numbers:lol:

 

[salmonoid]

poopdeck wrote:

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:

Lots of fishermen unwilling to break tendencies . [d]Little[/d] tons of water.

Fixed it. Sorry PA is not lacking places to fish, it's lacking willing fisherman to seek them out.

Perhaps you meant Pa lacks fishermen that want to fish for finger size trout. I'm pretty sure there are no unknown waters left that hold an abundant trophy population.

I doubt there are any unknown waters left in the state; however, there are plenty of little known and underfished waters that hold good fish populations. "Trophy" is a relative term. A 21" wild brown in a small freestone stream is a trophy in my book, but might be fair to middlin' in a system like the Delaware.

 

[poopdeck]

Yes I am sure you are right but there aren't many and those that do exist are probably not as unknown as thought. I hope that makes sense. I faithfully and religiously never fish on the weekends or holidays so Everywhere I fish, even the hardest hit places, seem to be unknown by others.

A trophy is a trophy and where caught is not a factor. A 21" brown caught anywhere would certainly be a highlight for me. Maybe not a trophy in the strictest sense of the word but it would be memorable.