Fishermen & waterfowl hunters

**87th PVI** · January 13th, 2010, 12:56 AM

I was talking to someone tonight who was going to take me out for ducks this week.
Unfortunately, his buddy who had the spot & the blind is having medical issues so we can't go there anyway, but...

He told me that his buddy was disgusted lately with the fact that when the river gets low, the fishermen have no regard for the waterfowl hunters or their own safety for that matter & they wade right into the middle of his decoys to fish!
WTF!
Isn't it first come first right to the spot?
Even if there isn't any rule about the above, isn't it just common courtesy?
Isn't it just plain stupid & unsafe to walk into an area where there are guys laying there with shotguns ready to pop up & shoot at birds aka movement? (yes the guys with the shotguns need to be sure of their target, but my point is why walk in front of a gun/into a shooting lane if you don't have to?)

He just gets disgusted & leaves which is the right thing to do... not worth reducing yourself to their level & arguing, but why would this even happen in the first place?

All the hunters & clay shooters I've met have been a great bunch of people... So what's up with the fishermen in this instance? They are sportsmen too! I expect the same caliber of people from their ranks.

**riverpirate** · January 13th, 2010, 01:11 AM

who the hell is wading in january ! lol

**mrnyman** · January 13th, 2010, 01:12 AM

I believe it has something to do with some state law that goes back into the mid to late 1700's wherein all the rivers and streams, and creeks in Pennsylvania are owned by the local fishing clubs EVEN IF ITS ON YOUR LAND, if stream passes through your land you have no rights to fish it , the local fishing clubs do even though its your land.

THe Fishing guys were just exercising thier rights to the spot.

I am shopping for a piece of land to hunt Fish and ride my ATV but i will not buy in Pennsylvania, upstate new york here i come.

Some of the other members will chime in soon about this old law.

This is a state where no one says thank you when you hold a door open for them , you think they are going to excercise any form of courtesy in the hunting/fishing field?

**Pa. Patriot** · January 13th, 2010, 01:22 AM

Wading out into a bunch of decoys to drop a line is the same as tossing a bunch of decoys in front of someone fishing.

It's an asshole POS thing to do.

**mrnyman** · January 13th, 2010, 03:15 AM

Yep , its a selfish and stupid thing to do , but they own the rights to the waterways in Pa.

**huntr70** · January 13th, 2010, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by mrnyman

but they own the rights to the waterways in Pa.

OK, so I hold a fishing license and a hunting license. I guess I have as much right to the waterway as any other "fisherman", so I choose to hunt that particular day.....

The waterways are not owned by any "clubs"......they are owned by the State, which is why they can be fished through private property. People who hold fishing license have no more rights to that waterway than anyone else.

It is just plain rudeness by them to come into a decoy spread. If they would be that stupid in front of me, I would be sure to let them know about it......

**soup** · January 13th, 2010, 09:06 AM

When I'm hunting I try and stay away from others who are doing the same. When I'm fishing I also try to stay away from others who are doing the same.

I've never come across anyone hunting while I was fishing or fishing while I was hunting but I imagine I'd also stay away. I consider it first come first serve. If you got to a spot first then I should look elsewhere.

**Bravo Whiskey** · January 13th, 2010, 09:34 AM

As a person who likes to fish I will state that many fishermen give us a bad name. I fish from both land & boat and my experiance has been the bad out number the good. I have had guys run right up into my trolling spread and snag my line, working birds and we are casting around the edges for fish under the bait and folks will come blasting right in and knock down the bait, bank fishing for trout w/ my son before he was old enough to wade and we are casting into a pool from the bank and a JO wades right in front of us stops and starts working the hole we were. I could go on & on. The bad encounters always out # the good encounters. I do not know what kind of idiot JO would wade out into a decoy spread. It would have been tempting to make them duck

As far as water rights go I do know that in PA where a stream runs thru PP the owners have no right to stop you from wading/paddling thru. In up state NY I have canoe packed thru the Upper Saranake area and there are a few portages because folks can denie you passage thru the water way. There is this one great trip but requires a half mile portage around PP and the 2 times I went there an old lady was sitting in her lawn chair @ waters edge making sure NO one went thru.