No participatory sport creates lifelong bonds quite like fishing. On the flip side, anglers sometimes get off on the wrong foot out on the water if personal space and productivity is threatened.
More than ever, we all need to heed a call for common courtesy. The way one angler operates on the water can certainly affect another’s enjoyment and success. If you enjoy inshore fishing, and sight fishing in shallow water especially, you really need to take this to heart. Just remember the Golden Rule, which says “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” There are other interpretations, but I suggest you put yourself in the other angler’s skiff, and consider how your actions may affect him or her.
Back in the 1950s and 1960s, there were few guides and anglers in my home waters of the Florida Keys. Nowadays, with so many anglers and guides in nearly identical skiffs it’s almost impossible to tell “who’s on first.” Angling courtesy is paramount, to say the least.
Last year I fished with Burt Scherb, an old friend and great supporter of the Bonefish Tarpon Unlimited organization, and Jeff Blake. Jeff had never caught a tarpon on fly so I decided to take him to a flat where the fish would be easy to see from a distance. Well, Jeff suffered from “buck fever” (which happens to all of us at one time or another) and pulled the fly right out of the mouth of the first fish. But after some coaching, he hooked up on a fish that spit the fly on its second jump. Nevertheless we were all delighted for Jeff. But another angler, anchored well off the tarpon travel lane, apparently saw Jeff repeatedly casting, and then hooking up, so pulled up his anchor and started his engine. Just as I feared, the guy idled over and anchored up 150 feet in front of us! We were now effectively cut off from oncoming fish.
Both of my companions wanted to declare war on the inconsiderate fisherman, but I calmly un-staked my push pole and said, “Guys, I’ve found that you can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.” I electric-motored over to the man and said in a firm but polite tone, “Excuse me sir, but cutting in front of a staked-out tarpon fisherman is a no-no. You may not realize how inconsiderate your actions are.” He belligerently replied that his guide does the same thing he just did, which in his mind, made it perfectly fine.
“Well that does not make it acceptable. Your guide was in the wrong. I’ve been fishing this area for more than 50 years. What’s his name?” I asked. “I don’t remember his name,” he snapped defiantly. “Who do you think you are anyway, Stu Apte?”
Bert and Jeff exclaimed in unison, “You bet your sweet @$$ he’s Stu Apte.” We could only chuckle at this point. Without another word this embarrassed, clueless fellow pulled up the anchor and motored away for good.
Such actions are an all-too-common breach of flats angling etiquette, and others come to mind. Chances are you’ve arrived at a favorite flat on a prime tide only to find other skiffs there. You have to decide whether you should go somewhere else, or fish that flat. If you choose to fish there, determine their direction of travel and then move in way behind the other boat, ideally up-wind and/or up-sun, of them.
When departing, if other boats are in the area be courteous and pole a good ways off of the flat before dropping your engine to idle out before jumping up and running.
While running to a new fishing spot or back to the ramp, give wide berth to anglers actively fishing. Whenever possible, motor no closer than 500 yards of a boat fishing the flats, or within 200 yards of boats fishing in a channel.
For safety considerations, don’t anchor in a narrow, navigable channel. If you must fish there, it’s far better to anchor or stake out well off to the side of the channel, clear of boat traffic. The many fishy, but narrow, mudbank-lined channels of Florida Bay are prime examples of places calling for this approach.
Depending on the bridge channel, anglers live-baiting are advised to “fall in” with the locals. And this is advisable anywhere, whether the target is tarpon in the Keys, stripers, snook or other species. In some locales, drifting with the tide is standard; at others, anchors may be employed. If anchoring, try not to anchor directly down-current of another boat, in the same current line they are fishing, and never in their chum line. Many passes or inlets call for cooperation, too. If anglers are drifting an inlet and casting artificials or slow-drifting live bait, you would not want to troll through the fleet.
When fighting a big fish near other boats, don’t motor through the fleet unless that fish is about to take all the line, or you get a go-ahead from the other boats to fire your outboard engine. I don’t have any problems using my electric motors to follow hooked fish, as I don’t believe they bother other fish close by.
Once again, put yourself in the other guy’s skiff and you will almost always make the correct decision. And other anglers will hopefully follow suit. Wouldn’t it be nice to rave about the fantastic fishing rather than rage about the other guy ruining your day?
