When the Lyons Press published my friend Rhea Topping’s book, “Rod Rage,” I found that volume highlighted one of the more recent yet significant behavior issues confronting fly fishers. Rhea’s book contained chapters by such noted anglers as Joan and Lee Wulff, Ernest Schwiebert, Joe Brooks, Nick Lyons and several others, emphasizing the lack of etiquette that some anglers demonstrate when it comes to streamside manners.

Then came the release of Robert Redford’s “A River Runs Through It,” and we saw a dramatic increase in fly fishing pressure on America’s trout rivers. Over time, that pressure, combined with a finite amount of fisheries resources, saw conflict over river use begin in earnest. 

I personally have not had to deal with competition from other anglers, mainly because if I find a person in a pool where I plan to fish, I go somewhere else. Unfortunately, some anglers are new to the sport, and without the knowledge of stream etiquette, and being competitive by nature, just wade in within a short distance of another fisherman. 

Ironically, a lot of the folks already fishing do not seem to mind that intrusion, likely because they obviously do not know better or care. Not only do they not know or care that it is inappropriate to fish that close to another person, but that too many anglers in a pool impacts the fishing by spooking trout. 

Competition for fishing space has risen to such a degree that it is not uncommon to find up to 10 anglers fishing Carins Pool and 12 fishing Hendrickson’s Pool on the Beaverkill River during peak insect hatches. That’s a lot! And guide boat activity on the West Branch of the Delaware River has been known to cause issues with wading anglers. 

Further, guide boat pressure on the Madison River in Montana has been so high that there are now restrictions on their use in some sections.

Sadly, overuse of trout rivers by wading anglers and guide boats is not the only problem confronting fishermen who seek peace and solitude when they fly fish for trout. More recently, I observed a new spectacle that might be creating issues for those of us who seek only the sounds of nature when fishing. I know it will for me. 

It first occurred while I was fishing the Madison River, near West Yellowstone, MT, where I was exposed to another new—or perhaps not-so-new—phenomenon, instituted by anglers. That’s where I saw two folks using walkie-talkies to communicate while fishing. I’m guessing they were likely using those devices because there was limited cell phone service in the area. They were distant enough so I could hear them, but not well enough to listen to their conversation. Those folks fished a few more minutes before leaving the river, obviously heading to another location where they thought the fishing would be better. 

That was just the beginning, as I soon learned upon returning to the Catskills.

There is a popular pool, easily accessible from the back road along the upper East Branch of the Delaware River. My friends and I have been fishing that pool for years. When I stopped there on one late May evening, there was a car parked next to the access path. As soon as I got out, I could hear them. When I walked down the path to the river, I could see them. Three anglers, standing across the head of the pool, exactly where they should be fishing, chatting away on their cell phones! Since noise travels along rivers, their voices could be heard for quite a distance up- and downstream. I left and went to a different location, shaking my head with frustration. 

On another day, on the same river, I went to another spot where I have permission to park, and where access from the main road and downstream areas is not easy. And even there, on this hard-to-reach section, I could hear him before I could see him. When I was in sight distance, there he was in mid-stream, phone in hand, chatting away. 

There has been an evolution in all aspects of trout fly fishing in the last 20 years, some of it good, some not so good. Better equipment is certainly one of the positives. But what about overfishing, competition for space and now the use of electronic devices to communicate while standing mid-river, smartphone in hand? Are anglers taking this technology to the rivers, to close business deals, trying to determine if there is a better hatch and rising trout on another river? Whatever the reason, it’s a sad commentary about what is happening in our sport. It suggests that little is sacred in the world, even the quiet and solitude of a trout stream. Too many people and too much technology have taken over everyday life, including trout fishing, and I don’t think that is good! 

To top it off, I just learned from a friend that there was an article in the Wall Street Journal describing how drone technology is now being used in some fishing and hunting situations. I wonder how the state fish and wildlife agencies and the federal government will deal with that. More to follow on that dilemma.