I found this poster on The Quiet Pool blog(thanks Shane) and think it is timely and important to put out here as well.This is a problem I see all to often on the North Umpqua at this time of year. Some friends and I have thought about trying to get a proposal together that would close the river to fishing above the confluence of Steamboat Creek to the dam. It would be good to see this area closed around the middle of to end of March to protect the upriver fish. I think it would be a good idea.
If you see anyone above Steamboat fishing shallow gravel and paired up/staging fish the next couple weeks please ask them nicely to stop. Use the time to educate them as to why what they are doing is harmful to fish. Those fish need to be left alone to get it done.
This of course would also apply to any obvious gravel and spawning areas in the lower river as well. Use your heads out there and be aware where you are and where you walk.
The next generation of wild steelhead depend on it.
I would agree that fishing over redds is not in the best interest of fish. But organizing a posse to harass anglers while fishing is not your job. I have had this happen to me; I was fishing deeper water well above a tailout in early April and a guide, who quickly identified himself as such as if he owned the river stormed at me in an aggressive manner as if I was his 10 year old kid caught smoking or something. This was not "educational", in fact he was out of line and completely wrong in his assumptions, let alone a complete asshole. So, don't approach me with that kind of bullshit in a threatening way or someone may end up in the river.
No one is organizing a posse.Sorry you had a bad experience with someone who came on too strong. I said do it nicely and try to educate them if they are ignorant to the facts.Believe it or not some people are. If this doesn't apply to you and you know everything already then great.
But don't go off threatening me publicly saying I will end up in the river and then hide behind an anonymous name. How childish, everyone talks tough on the internet.
Frankly it's wound up attitudes like yours that can make the river an unfriendly place. Don't project your one bad experience on all guides and everyone out there. There are plenty of people that can( and do) have a perfectly fine and civil conversation about this on the river without getting bent out of shape. I have had this conversation many times on the river with no incidents whatsoever. It's all in the approach.
If I see you in April,fishing gravel,spawning areas or to paired up fish,I will have no problem telling you so. I will do it in as nice of a way as I possibly can.
But in the end,the fish mean more to me than having a good relationship with some jack-wagon who's sole interest is trying to hook a spawned out boot off the beds.
I can handle myself just fine out there, never had a problem, and you are definitely not a problem to me. So take your idle, anonymous,childish,schoolyard threats somewhere else. They don't belong here.
I am a guide on the NU and I kick people off the reds on a regular basis. I try to be polite but it gets frustrating when half the people you talk to about fishing on reds are the same offenders you have talked to in the past. These people are scumbags that don't care about the next generation of fish. If they can't control themselves the upper river should be closed during spawning season. As far as anonymous goes if I tried to kick you out of some water you deserved it. Not naming yourself just shows your character.
Tony Wratney