Bottom Line: It's All About R-E-S-P-E-C-T

For a while now, I've thought of fishermen as members of a fraternity, and as it turns out, there are others who share that philosophy.

I found one of those like-minded individuals, quite by accident, while reading an online blog post. The one in question centered on Mike Iaconelli's November 2016 conflict with a local angler on the Potomac River (see this link: https://scout.com/outdoors/bass-fishing/Article/Confrontation-over-Fishing-Etiquette-with-Mike-Iaconelli-on-Potomac-River-101457520). It seems a Facebook post on that topic had included a comment from a kayak fisherman, who said something along the lines of, "If you want to find the rudest guy on the water, just look for the bass fisherman."

This comment had somewhat startled the blogger, who admitted that, until recently, he would have aggressively said he "subscribed to the old-school mindset of uncommon courtesy and giving a guy plenty of distance. Today, though, I'm not sure," he said.

The blogger went on to note that, during a recent fishing trip with his son, they were fishing a road bed he had been fishing for more than 20 years when another fisherman drifted within 50 feet of them. It upset him, but as his son reminded, "This is a community hole now, Dad. You just have to deal with it."

"You might say that was an enlightening moment for me," noted the blogger, "and not in a good way. In my day, you stayed away from other anglers. I've come to learn that, in the bass-fishing world of the 21st Century, though, it's apparently OK to fish within spitting distance of someone else.

"With that said, no matter where you sit on this fence, I think we should all agree that courtesy should prevail. If you believe it's OK to share a spot with another angler, that's cool, but be courteous about it. In my mind, that means you should ask, 'Hey, how's it going? You mind if I fish here? I promise not to snag your line.' Something like that goes a long way with me. We're all brothers and sisters in a fraternity of fishing, and we should all respect each other."

As the blogger further allowed, "That's exactly why the kayak angler's earlier comment depresses me. If we continue down this road of fishing only for our own ego, we will contribute to a bad reputation for the sport that we love. I encourage every bass fisherman to behave in a way that contributes to a positive reputation for our fellow anglers. Conduct yourself in such a way that kayak anglers, other bass fishermen, pleasure boaters, and, for that matter, everyone else on the water will consider you to be one of the most courteous individuals they've ever met. At the very least, our reputation is at stake, and I think our sport fares much better when we demonstrate we're good ambassadors for this sport we all love so much."

In short, "Do unto your fraternity brothers and sisters as you would have them do unto you" is my take.