American Report for 1-12-13

[Fish Head]

Fished mid to lower Rossmor from noon to 4:30 and didn't get any love from the steelhead. Saw some fish on redds and a random splash d/s of the pipe. Had one small tug in the lower run while working the inside edge. Wading is doable in most fishy location and likely marginal to unsafe if you're under 6' tall. Was swinging heavy mid length tips and switched to the dredger for the second half of the afternoon. As usual, another nice day casting on the American. IMO, conditions are good right now with about 2-3' of visibility. I think the warming trend this coming week will help.

A note on fishing etiquette - if you hike a mile to fish a spot and find someone already working the run, it's fair to ask if he/she minds if you fish the same water. It's not not if you ask to fish the same water and drop in immediately downstream, within easy casting distance, and commence fishing ( aka low-holing). I'll refrain from elaborating and keep my hostile bitterness internalized.

Be safe on the river and be respectful of other anglers fishing experiences.

[DAVID95670]

These two f........g morons with stupid grins floated by me this am smiled said hi anchored maybe 50 ft delle me and pulled a large chrome bullet on their second pass .......I am going to start hitting them with my casts .....I carry a 11inch cricket in case they retaliate

[Rherrjr]

A couple of days ago I had a similar experience at Sunrise. A guide started back rowing his clients directly into the EXACT same slot I was swinging, literally 30 ft infront of me. I stared at them in utter disbelief, the guide laughed and muttered something, and then one of his clients smiled and said "well fuck him!" They drifted their indicators several more times then proceeded down river. A river is not analogous to a store, just because you pay someone to take you out does not mean you are the river's customer, or employee....I understand that they had every right to be disrespectful and I am not attempting to claim I owned that small stretch of river, but that doesn't mean it didn't leave me wanting to cast a 4/0 treble at their faces. If you want to fish the same water as me im ok with individuals in a drift boat making one / maybe two drifts in the slot and then continuing down river, but dont backrow for 5 minutes in it and then tell me to fuck off lol I recognized the guide and I know the shop that guide operates out of, and they just cant seem to stop pushing my buttons....especially after all that bull they were/are pulling on Putah, on top of racist comments in front of customers in shop...

[the_gnarwhale]

Clemens sure is building a reputation for himself, wow.

[Hogan Brown]

Clemens sure is building a reputation for himself, wow.

He made some friends on the feather this fall as well with his shinning etiquette.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I would say 'Howdee' and get in above the other angler with some distance between you.

It's the Lower American River, not the remote Dean River in BC.

[Jed Peters]

I've floated twice on the american this year with local guide, Keith Kaneko and we have been high hole'ed and low hole'ed both trips in the boat--even when we've been sitting in the water waiting for the legal time to fish for over an hour in the dark.

Additionally, I'd like to point out that every time this was from "fly" fisherman, NOT spinning anglers. Seems fly guys have more of a "chip" on their shoulder and think that they're better than others.

Finally, a word about Spey anglers. I'm noticing a general trend on the river of people that think they are "uber" better than everyone else, i.e. top of the food chain, cool kids club, etc. since they 2hand fish.

Really unreal that people think if they swing flies they are that much better than anyone else. The "own the river" mentality is really quite amazing.

Look--if you are first in a run (I don't care how you get there, either on foot or in a boat) than other anglers should give one a reasonable berth/fishing area. Not the entire run (it's not really possible on the upper A) but anglers should respect other anglers.

General respect should pervade on the river (and in life). Unfortunately there are just some rude a-holes out there!

[Jed Peters]

I would say 'Howdee' and get in above the other angler with some distance between you.

It's the Lower American River, not the remote Dean River in BC.

Oh yeah, I always (no matter what the stream) make sure to say hello as well--and talk to the other angler about where they are fishing (moving up or down, etc).

[Mike O]

Time to start taking good pics of A-holes and posting them on social media. Like the shop's page, then tag them in the photo.

The guy from the shop in question asked me if I was interested in a trip at the ISE. Told him I don't like his guide's ethics, told him why (redds in Putah) and said I would never be coming into his shop again...he looked shocked.

[rippinstreamers]

it must finally be this time of year again where the hatred for all other than oneself has begun. I think the best way to deal with it is to stay away from sunrise and above if this is the kind of thing that ruffles your feathers, it is just going to happen. The American river is perhaps the most urban steelhead stream in the west, you honestly think this kind of shenanigans wouldn't happen this time of year on a weekend? You go to any stream with this kind of crowd and it is going to happen, try one of the great lake tribs sometime. It is definitely a big no no for guides to circle jerk other peoples run that they can cast to, something that should never be taught to a paying customer, I completely agree. To be high holed though seems a little harsh of a statement, which direction were you fishing out of the boat? These were fly fisherman? I managed to fish almost every day last week and only saw other fisherman when I went to go check out the circus up river, again it is inevitable. Most folks dont even know that they are doing wrong, go up to the hatchery and they gang up on the fish shoulder to shoulder hoping to assist their buddies catch. As far as the uber cool spey dorks go, I am a spey fisherman and that seems a little harsh too. What happens on your encounters with these cool kids, do they give you a hipster look and tell you that they are better than you? I enjoy swinging flies on the american because a lot of the water is perfect for it, not because I think I'm cool. Folks do it to follow tradition on their quest to hook these special fish too, not to try to be better than anyone else because the results are typically the opposite. with all that I will end in this.
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/7620...uy-v-swing-guy