Rudeness on the McKenzie River

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Drpsych
I am a 5th generation local resident and fisherman on the McKenzie River. I spent much of my childhood drifting the river or wading out to my chest and fishing for hours on end with my father. I can remember when the salmon would stack up at Leaburg dam, and even recall an experience when one jumped in our boat when we were anchored just below the dam. Looking back, spending time on the river and fishing with my family are some of my fondest childhood memories, and I still spent at least a couple hours every day with my pole in the water. Sadley though, I have 5-children that are just as eager to spend time on the river, but this year we have had so many bad experiences with rude fisherman that it is becoming more of a hassle than an enjoyment. I have had my son's spot stole below the dam when he turned his back for a couple minutes, have had a fly fisherman walk into the river where we were fishing and almost hit my daughter with his fly during a cast, have had people act like vulture where are family was fishing, and most recently I was fishing for steelhead off the shore near Greenwood and had a guy in a sled who started doing cookies in the water in front of us and then jetted down the river. I can't count how many times we have had a driftboat move right in front of us and drop anchor, acting as if we weren't even there. I can remember the day when someone would act like that and find a group of guys waiting for them to land at the boat landing to "address the problem." I'm not promoting this, but have to express my sadness for the simple lack of respect that many people have these days for their fellow fisherman, not to mention their greed to steal fishing a spot from a young child. I would just ask that all those fisherman out there that still have some respect for this beautiful river, and the local tradition of treating others with respect on the river, do their best to treat others with respect and pass that on to their children. Happy fishing!
 
Raincatcher
Raincatcher
Welcome to the family...

Welcome to the family...

First,welcome to a very family friendly forum! You will find you are not alone in your attitude. 99% of the members here,I am proud to say,are adamant about fishing etiquette. Respecting other fisher folk as well as private property owner's rights and the environment in general are simple principles we expect of one another. I have heard there are "ways" of dealing with rude,obnoxious,hole stealing,misguided guides and other less than desirable jackasses on and around the waterways. I'm fairly sure other members will chime in with their favorite methods,I will hold OFF from promoting any...for now. For some reason,family and older folks seem to be the preferred targets for these idiots. Let's just say some of them have been very surprised by a grey haired grandma around these parts...;)
Again,welcome to the forum!
 
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Rascal
yeah that sucks man. stuff like that happens to me too one time i go and rebait and a dude just walked right in front of me and start casting out and then when i came back he told me i was in his way!!! REALLY!

hope the mckenzie improves
 
L
Left Bank
Hey Drpsych, Welcome to the family!!! I've experienced the same problems when fishing for salmon, steelies and such to the point where I employ two options: 1) I stick to trout some years like this one, or 2) If I do seek out the biggies on the rivers I tend to find spots where it's not crowded at all. I may catch less but I find it less stressful than dealing with the occasional idiot yet other times I may catch more because there's less pressure in that spot.
 
H
Hawk
Welcome to the Family BRo...:)

I agree with you , it's a sad situation :(

I prefer to explore the BLM lands & find some creeks, small rivers, ponds, lakes where there aren't many folks around.

Good Luck on happier fishin days fer you & your beloved Family.
:D
 
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Thuggin4Life
I would have to agree with you and it sucks. I wouldn't have been so nice in some of these situations.
 
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Drpsych
Thanks for the replies! Its nice to see other people feel the same way. I agree that there are plenty of fish in the river, not just at Greenwood and Leaburg, and many great spots away from the crowds. My best experience this year: I had been fishing at Leaburg with no luck after 2-hours, so we stopped by Hendricks Park, walked to a secluded spot, and on the 2nd cast I landed a 30" Steelie on a Thomas. What a day! Reminded me of the good old days.
 
O
Outdoor_Myers
use tear gas like on whale wars if they are allowed to do it why can't we lol :D
 
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halibuthitman
I think the answer lays within your post, "there was a time when a guy would meet you at the ramp if you did that" that guy would be me... its time to teach our sons not to be afraid of lawsuites or jail.. when principles are on the line.. little boys need to see their dads kick ass, or get their asses kicked, either way a boy will learn river cadence very quickly, I fear it is time to start passing out "good ole fashion passionate ass woopins" again... some men you just can't reach..
 
A
adambomb
Jed Davis said it best, he is also a long time fan of the McKenzie From Jed Davis's book: "Spinner fishing for steelhead, salmon and trout.

"My most prized streams are delicate little gems that could not stand the stampede of callous individuals- those little men with big egos and greedy hands who are indulged in the salvation of their fragile masculinities. These pathetic souls would see a delicate little steam, just as they see everything else in the outdoors, as being present for their exclusive enjoyment and exploitation. They would rake the river, taking anything and everything. And if the fishing starts to go down hill, they would be quick to put the blame on some institution or minority group, never realizing, never considering that it was THEY who might have had something to do with the streams demise. This is precisely why I don't tell people where I fish. Better to let these hungry rats crawl over each other at some roadside armpit where the Department of Fish and Wildlife feeds them yearly rations of brood trout."
 
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troutdude
troutdude
My Oregon roots go back to 1847; so I totally understand your feelings and agree with you wholeheartedly. Those jackasses are too chicken S**T to go "mano y mano"; so they tend to pick on peeps that they view as more vulnerable.

Sorry that has happened to you. Anyone who would step into a pocket being fished by someone else (especially a little girl), should be sent for a swim...or met by a "manners committee".
 
O
Outdoor_Myers
some lead in the head would change their approach
 
R
rippin fish lips
troutdude said:
. Anyone who would step into a pocket being fished by someone else (especially a little girl), should be sent for a swim...or met by a "manners committee".

i agree! i have encountered a lot of rude people on the rivers this year! its stupid and pathetic, why can't u just be nice and move on tho the next hole? there is plenty of river(s) and water(s) around oregon and plenty of fish to be caught by everyone
 
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Damon79
You all sure you are talking about the Mckenzie? Sounds to me like the Siuslaw in the winter time.. I have not fished the Mac much, but have ran into this same problem a lot on the Siuslaw.. My father in law had the right idea (or so it seemed) one year at the mouth of Whitaker. We were on the bank and these three guys dropped their plugs right into our hole in front of us. He was furious, and all jacked up on Prednizone from a kidney transplant, and I could see the rage. He reaches down in the brush and picks up a stick about 8-10 foot long and pitched it out in the river over their lines.. Well as you can imagine, the guys were PISSED! They started screamin at us about their 'magnum hand gun in the boat', but went on down river chasing their plugs and a big stick. We ended up moving to another spot where we were a long ways from the rig. I started fishing right away and looked back only to find my father in law jabbing a large stick in the ground on each side of him. I asked what the heck he was doing and he says " if them a*%holes come down here to try and whip my ass, they are gonna get more than they bargained for!!" I could not help but laugh, and thankfully they didn't show up to be beat up with a stick.. Some people are rude and want every fish for themselves, won't give up any information about how or where they catch a fish. I feel that those fish are planted in the river every year for the sole purpose of being caught, and I don't get that many of them, so some one should. These days, too many people are just waiting to find some one to sue and get rich on. Thus making it hard to show up at a boat ramp for a good ol' ass whippin', but there is a lot of people that need just that. Repeatedly!!! Hope every one gets to get out and catch some fish, including myself. Tight lines to all......
 
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halibuthitman
yeah... they can sue me, everything I have now.. I wasn't born with, nor did I inherit it, so I will rise again.. jail? as a threat.. living in fear of incarceration for having principles... well thats a prison in itself... the Hard thing, and the Right thing, are usally the the Same thing.
 
N
natro
Yeah that's too bad things end up getting that way at spots on the river. Personally I can't stand fishing practically shoulder to shoulder with people and don't understand how they can just walk right up next to you and completely don't mind doing it when there is plenty of river to fish on. I find myself getting extremely irritated when that happens and most of the time will end up just leaving.
 
H
Hooked on fishin'
Yeah, I can't stand it either, me and my wife were there yesterday, and had some idiot come down to our spot and get right between us and start fishing. I was re rigging my spinning rod, so I picked up my fly pole and started fly casting , with no regard for him I might add. He soon left then reappeared above the no fishing line, where are the cops when you need them? I would have called the hotline, if there was any service out there! Then later a drift boat stopped right in front of us and started fishing, we just kept casting to the same spots we had been, which was where they were trying to fish, they soon moved on. I don't get how utterly unconcerned some of these people are with other people. Unfortunately its not worth it to me to go to jail and lose my job over some idiot, and i will generally just leave if it gets like that. After all I have three little girls to take care of. Sometimes I almost wish I was still single though...and could give those guys what they deserve, although I would not trade my family for anything and I am smart enough to realize what a horrible position I would be putting them in if I gave in to my anger. There is plenty of water and plenty of holes, its ridiculous that these people are those inconsiderate. Anyway, Kati caught and released about ten trout, I saw a huge steelie which was uninterested in anything I had, and saw some salmon jump right near where we were, no bites none caught. Oh well, someday I will get to put some ink on my tag lol.
 
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Outdoor_Myers
Hey I'm poor, I could be "hired" to be a bodyguard lol and can fish at the same time! let them sue me so they would get rest of my mt dew and smokes that I would have on me. jail pish posh I'm sure if they are bigger than me I would just tell the cop self defense these sobs had a sidearm and came charging at me I dont know who they are or what they where going to do, besides I'm sure whoever i be fishing with would help bail me out ;)
 
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halibuthitman
could work, after all your avatar does look like your pulling back and about to smack someone with a bass.... or should I say, knock them on their Bass??
 
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Outdoor_Myers
oh and if they told me they had a gun and i had a kid with me it would be over for them. I would chuck logs at them and huge rocks or swim out to them and drag their Bass in the water lol. I can't control my rage but smile while im doing it :D
 

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