I think I know why some people shout first and ask questions later. They met a couple of the people who drifted past me on a recent trip. I was at the head of small hole, my buddy was 60' below me in the meat of the pool and a drift boat comes past. As the boat goes between me and the run, two anglers flip out jigs under floats. I say as politely as I can "Guys, we're fishing this hole so give us some room please." The fellow on the oars looks over at me so I know at least he heard me. Now the boat is about even with buddy Slick (who is retying at our anchored up boat) and the guy on the oars feathers them while his two passengers throw their jigs out again. I couldn't hear what Slick said but the next thing I see is the oarsman leaning into the oars and the fishermen reeling up. Later I asked Slick what he'd said and he replied "I told them to get the f#*k out of the hole and then I got really rude." I could only shake my head and wonder what goes through some people's minds. I know that this isn't a justification to be rude to everyone, but if I was on the river a lot and this sort of thing was happening frequently I can begin to see why people start going postal on the Oly Pen.

One thing that no one mentions in these threads is how passing boats can help you catch fish, or at least spot them. If I'm anchored up and out of the boat pounding a spot, and a boat comes through I'll often ask the occupants to stand up and tell me if they can see anything 'Over there by the downed log -- the one with three Corkies wrapped around that little limb.' Sometimes they'll offer some very useful advice like 'There are 4-5 fish but they've dropped down below the log now.' I know that the boat may spook the fish, but the fish seem to have a memory of about three minutes. As long as no one bangs the side of the driftboat as they pass over I'd rather have the boat go over the meat of the hole and have someone look straight down than go behind me and learn nothing. (I guess the viz isn't as good in most other rivers but even jet boats have a role to play in waking up otherwise lethargic fish -- but only on request, please!)

[This message has been edited by Snagly (edited 05-20-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Snagly (edited 05-20-2000).]