River Etiquette

    There's been discussion already, on our blog as well as on other sites and forums, about river etiquette and courtesy.

Unfortunately, it's worth mentioning again! In the past, the trend has been to look at new drift boat owners as needing to learn proper courtesy and there are still instances where inexperience causes issues.
I would hope that with days on the river, the large number of individuals who have recently purchased drift boats will learn to enjoy the river and not adversely affect anyone elses day.

Confusing to me, is that the worst offenders, as time goes by, are some of the "Professional Guides" on the Bow. I have never seen so many instances of cut-offs, impolite proximity, you name it. Most committed by guides!

Let me clarify a little with a couple of examples (not all, just the big ones):

When rowing a drift boat and fishing a bank, DO NOT pull across the river in front of another drift boat. If you absolutely want the other bank, then hold up, let the boat on the other bank go by, and pull in behind. And not right on their tail either, give them some room! It starts with checking behind you before you pull across.

When passing anglers on the bank, pull away a reasonable distance upstream, stay out until below the angler, and then pull back to the bank.

If you wish to fish an outside line, then do so without affecting other anglers. Don't float right on the bank and fish out to an outside line. If you want to fish an outside line, pull out and fish in to it. Some, who fish techniques not requiring indicators, spend some time fishing the banks and a boat running 5 feet off does not help. THIS APPLIES TO PONTOON BOATS AS WELL!

When pulling in to have a break, fish from foot, etc., it would be nice if some thought was put into where fish actually live. Parking on some of the best holding water in a stretch doesn't help you or those coming later.

When someone in another drift boat says something to you about being cut off or something else, maybe try taking a second and thinking about what just happened. Maybe you did slip, maybe an apology is in order, maybe you might learn something. Or you could just quickly tell them to
F%$$ OFF!, that always helps.

   These are just a few of the inconsiderate actions that have become commonplace of late. And I stress again, some of the guides are the worst. Not only newer guys, I have seen some boldly inconsiderate actions from more experienced individuals, even outfitters/owners.

Coming in a later installment, Guiding Out Of Jet Boats Above Carseland, I think everyone will find that one interesting!