I've been fishing most of the time since my last post so am just catching up on the b.s. I find one remark in particular about my "rant" being childish pretty funny when many of the "rants" in response were far more childish than me simply honestly calling it like I've seen it.
First and foremost, I don't think in any of my post did I single out novices as second-class fishermen. I said "Real fishermen would identify overcrowding and respect the peace, quiet and space another angler should have while fishing." I think I was 10 when I first starting fishing frequently. I didn't know jack about catching anything or how to cast, but I knew it wasn't cool to fish close to somebody or crowd them out of a spot.
NJFred, the VAST majority of people fishing the upper D. system are newcomers to it. I don't care if they're new to the river(s). I care that they bring their small stream, overcrowded expectations along with them. As was said somewhere above in a response, "I'm from NJ, I'm used to crowded streams." Yeah? That's great. I drive Rt. 78 sometimes so I'm used to tailgaters on my ###. That doesn't mean they drive correctly or that I should aspire to be like them on every road I travel.
The fishing crowd on the upper D. IS increasingly less respectful of those around them. Maybe you in particular are not one of them -- maybe you give a guy enough room to really work and not get squeezed out. But the growing majority fishing the system do not anymore.
I never painted anyone as lazy nor say that I was the only one who walked the river. The contrary, I noted that one can't even do THAT anymore to get away from the crowds -- although the trespassers and those driving the tracks with vehicles I'll gladly label as lazy (amongst other things).
I've never said it wasn't right to float the river. That was CDun. I frankly don't care if you float the river, as long as you give me enough space to fish and don't impose on me by dropping anchor right above me, right below me or right on top of me. Regarding floating, I honestly can't see how anyone's really even enjoying it these days (at least on the WB). It must be a real ##### to have to constantly navigate the gauntlet of wade fishermen flailing away at the water.
Future Fanatic: "if it's so crowded, stay home, because you are part of the problem." Indeed... and sometimes, especially the very crowded times, I do or I hunt out small nooks of water that aren't crowded or I fish elsewhere... However, even when I AM part of the problem, I'm not one crowding out someone else. This weekend, I went elsewhere. The upper D. isn't the only game in town for big wild browns. It's just the trendy one.
EB Wader/NJ Fred -- Without making the river "private," I seriously doubt one could limit the number of people allowed to access it. However, I think a very viable concept would be to create a rotation of sections of water that are open/closed to wade fishermen, float fishermen, etc. at scheduled times and as someone else pointed out, closing sections entirely when necessary to rest the fish. It would make the most sense to base the schedule on flows, and it would probably require PA and NY putting in more access points and more boat launches. I'm sure wade fishermen would support having sections float-free and I'm sure floaters would support having sections wade-free. BUT, I doubt any of those approaches will fly, especially in reading this board and hearing the continued rhetoric about the "rights" so many people claim to have.
MACFLY -- "You dont own the river. You never have and you never will. You could have fished it for 60 years and it would not matter. Others have the right to fish it and will do so." I dare point out again that I DO NOT have the RIGHT to fish the river. I have the priviledge to fish the river and I do not take that for granted. As such, I do my part to behave along the river in a way in good spirit with that priviledge. I don't claim the river as mine and I behave in such a way that my actions don't wrongly impose on someone else's priviledge and opportunity to fish the river. The only place the word "right" should even come into play is when someone is in the water fishing. It's at that point that the angler has the "right" to do so in peace and without being crowded and pinched into a corner.
MACFLY -- "The river will continue to get more crowded with people..."
And that's the truth. But unless you want the fishing experience on the upper D. to feel like fishing Pulaski in October, you best all learn how to give a guy enough space to fish and respect that the space around him at that point in time IS "his space."
Incidentally, I don't live right on the water and I'm not an (immediately) local resident. I think CDun might, but I don't even know him so don't really know. I do think that comment was kind of interesting. It implies that those complaining are locals seeing their home waters invaded. That being the case, cynically, I'm wondering if this is mostly a NJ fishermen's issue. For years, PA residents have complained of the influx of NJ fishermen. Maybe it's just a lot of the NJ fishermen who just don't get it.
