Respect and Awareness Reduce Angler Conflicts

By Larry Barrett The secret is out - north central Idaho is a steelhead angler's paradise. The combination of 650 river miles of the Snake, Salmon, and Clearwater rivers, large numbers of fish, long spring and fall seasons, and an incredibly diverse array of fishing opportunities make our area an increasingly popular angling destination. As you would expect, because of the quality of the fishery, we have seen an increase in the number of anglers in recent years, and more importantly, a change in how many of them fish for the hard-fighting fish. Some anglers who have fished here for years grumble about their piece of the pie getting smaller as more and more anglers try their luck. At the same time, others who are used to much more crowded rivers may wonder where all the other anglers are. These differences in experiences and expectations inevitably create conflicts between groups of anglers using different fishing methods. As the Clearwater Regional steelhead harvest monitoring program leader for the last 16 years, I have dealt with many of these conflicts and have observed a few common traits among them. One common trait is that some anglers believe their fishing methods are the best way to fish. Conflicts occur because different fishing methods have different impacts on other anglers. Anglers power drifting from a jet sled, for example, where the boat repeatedly powers to the top of a hole and drifts down, generally leave a larger "footprint" than someone backtrolling from a driftboat, where the boat quietly and methodically works downstream. The anglers in the jet sled may not feel a conflict at all as they repeatedly jet past the driftboat, but folks in the drift boat might feel very differently. Bth sides in this example commonly feel that their method is the "best" way to fish. The jet sled anglers are just trying to enjoy a day on the river, while the driftboat folks are probably thinking how they would never subject another angler to such an intrusion into their peaceful fishing trip. If we can remember that we all have different perspectives on how our fishing impacts others, we could diffuse a lot of these types of conflicts. Another common trait is that we all have different perceptions of ethical behavior. I have seen this over and over as both sides of a particular conflict report to me about how rude the other party was. What I usually see is that both parties feel they are behaving ethically, but their perceptions are different. However, I think the most common trait of angler conflicts is the expectation we bring with us about how our fishing trip is going to go. We have numerous places in the region where both bank and boat anglers gather in tight spaces and most folks thoroughly enjoy the experience. These people wake up in the morning expecting to be among a lot of other anglers and don't feel that their trip is ruined if someone causes them some inconvenience. This attitude can serve us all well, even for those who work hard to try to avoid the crowds. Our steelhead fishery is a wonderful public resource we all share. We should remember that we're all out there essentially enjoying the same thing - being outdoors with friends and loved ones, while pursuing a great sport fish. By trying to empathize with other anglers and having reasonable expectations for our fishing day, we can all enjoy the experience a little more. I try to remind myself of this every time I hook my boat to go fishing. When not fishing, Larry Barrett is a Sr. Fisheries Technician based in Lewiston. He has worked for IDFG for over 18 years.