What is generally accepted fishing etiquette in Britain when fishing rivers and stillwaters?

One example - what are you meant to do when fishing a river upstream, and you come across someone else fishing it?

Another - on a stillwater bank or boat, what is the minimum distance considered acceptable to encroach on another angler?

I'm sure most are considerate of others but this may not be possible when completely ignorant of the accepted norms, and perhaps this thread will help newcomers and experienced fly fisherman alike.

"One example - what are you meant to do when fishing a river upstream, and you come across someone else fishing it?"


Justin , I would keep distance and get of river and walk upstream , keeping away from the rivers edge so you do not spook the fish in front of that person fishing , I would say hello, any good ,ect.... and walk a fair way upstream not to upset the river in front of that person to fish , most time thou the person fishing will stop and have a chat and look at flies and swap, I often give flies and been given flies in return,


Cheers
Spencer

A bit Victorian i know but ,works for me .
Do as you would be done by.
With so many varients of our sport ,wee rivers through to huge lakes via small fisheries and even the sea its hard to set any real lines ,do try to avoid spoiling someone elses enjoyment .

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Andy Wren
Winter grayling taking a year off !
Claret not just a great dubbing colour!

Fishing one of the beats on the scottish dee some years ago, the rules were very clear
"we expect all anglers to fish in a sportsmanlike manner" its as easy as that.

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The word 'politics' is derived from the word 'poly', meaning 'many', and the word 'ticks', meaning 'blood sucking parasites'

50 Yards is the minimum distance in a boat.But the norm is 100Yards.I have to say that Some anglers find it difficult to judge 100yards
And if you have finished your drift.it is better to row away from the shore or leave the drift with small throttle openings of the engine.so as not to spoil it for other boats on the same drift

Jim

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The Fishermans Friend is the Flirty Fly,Fickle Food for Fleeting Fish.

That'll do for me, well said Andy.
Bear that in mind and you wont go wrong in any fishing situation.

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i was walking far from home, where the names are not burned along the wall, saw a building, high as heaven, but the door was so small

Agree with Jim and the 100yds rule, though you will find some anglers are ignorant and won't afford you the same courtesy, and seem hell bent on taking as many fish as they can, (certainly not pleasure fishing in my book), however they are a minority and i find most anglers are courteous.

On still waters, if i see a fellow angler casting 20 yards, i will give him an extra 10 yards distance for a total of 30yard gap between us minimum, albeit that's sometimes hard on small stillwaters.

Rivers, as already stated, or take a break, have a cig until the angler moves on.

Best regards
Jim

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Tanta Stultitia Mortalium Est

As a newb to rivers last season, it wasn't that I had no consideration for other fishers, quite the opposite, but that I didn't know what I should do to show that consideration. So while we can all agree that we should be considerate, fish in a sportsmanlike manner, etc etc, that's going to need some fleshing out for the folks who don't know what it means in practice.

Personally, on my local stillwater, I absolutely hate the blighter who follows me round the banks casting 10 yards further than I can and driving all the fish out of my casting range!

I found this thread from 2007 which is very helpful.

river fishing etiquette

?! Bemused! Thanks TroutTickler - I wasn't after more info - I gott that from the forum last year. Afraid my post was just in support of your request - I was gently suggesting to other forumites that there were more helpful responses than "behave well"... but it looks like you've found your answer in another post anyway rendering this one a bit redundant!