Clashes could be resolved with courtesy

Not trying to start an argument here. But my experience here in Florida had it the other way around. I started Kayaking about 5 years ago and brought the wife and 2 young kids into it as well. We mainly paddle on the Indian and Banana Rivers. What we experienced most frequently was fisher folk hanging out by the only put-ins/take-outs and casting over our kayaks--a safety problem for us for sure. This happened over and over again. One (just one) example comes to mind. This was early on in our kayaking journey. Myself, wife, and son and daughter (all under 12 at the time) were paddling our SOT's by a sea wall to the only (only--as in only one) viable put in spot when a guy with a swedish exercise ball for a belly started yelling "No, I'm not fishing here, I'm not fishing here" and started casting at my boat with my daughter in the back. We had words. He left. We lost our natural buzz.

When out in open water we always steer clear of fishing people because they are often being unsafe anyway (drinking beer, casting sharp objects at people, and being VERY close-minded people--not at all like the author of this article). I learned to treat fisher folk as rude and potentially dangerous red necks to be avoided.

There is ignorance/intolerance on BOTH sides, my friends.

But the author is definitely onto the right idea. Other times I come to the put in (again, where people are inevitably fishing) and will give as wide a birth as possible and say something like, don't mean to disturb your fishing. That has always elicited to date a more positive response on their part.

FWIW

If you know that kayakers are intentionally trying to run you off, you should take your lines out of the water and lay back and turn on a loud radio with unappealing music. Most people trying to get intouch with nature will get away from the noise and they can kayak past you and you can begin to fish again. There is no use of getting upset. If they are that rude they will not care about your feelings.

I also am a FL paddler. Our paddlers down here have the problem of almost being run over by motorboaters. I paddle the Chassahowitzka River a LOT. I make it a point to stay well to the side of the river and away from the channel. It's just common courtesy, which 99% of the boaters lack. They see kayakers/canoers in plenty of time to slow down so as not to cause a large wake and possibly swamping our kayaks/canoes.
I was recently on Lake Rousseau in the northern part of Citrus county. I had not been on the water 20 minutes and no less than 15 bass boats came flying around a curve in the river, one right after the other. All I could do was sit there trying to keep my kayak from being swamped.
I'd like to get a cheap kayak and a blow up doll and stick it right in the channel. Then sit back and watch some of these boaters come flying around a curve and see how they react. Why would you go flying around a curve in the river not knowing what was there? What if I had been a deaf kayaker?
There's a push in FL for kayakers/canoers to register their boats and take safety courses. But they boaters don't think they need the safety course.....I beg to differ!
I've not had the same problem with people fishing. I always paddle as far around them as I can. If I can't get far enough away then I let them know that I cam coming through and "Please, don't hit me with your bait!"
I did have one instance of being in Snapper Cove on Chassahowtizka River and a boat full of fisherpeople came in and proceeded to throw their lines in. This is a small cove and not a lot of room to maneuver with a bunch of lines in the water. The boat arrived well after I had been there. There was no way I could get out without disturbing them. I didn't feel the need to apologize in that instance...THEY were the ones that had come in knowing that I was there.
There just seems to be a lack of common courtesy AND common sense these days.

I am saddened reading your article. I have never heard of such behavior. I am an avid flat to lower-class-faster-moving water kayaker who comes into conact with a lot of people fishing. My experience is that we all try to respect each other's space the best possible , smile and wave. (And this is just outside of Boston where we are famous for not acknowledging anyone as we pass by on the street!) My biggest frustration often comes in the form of folks with power boats who are fishing or skiing and unconscious of anyone else on the water with them. But that is not the norm. I don't know anyone who kayaks who would purposefully harrass fishermen/women unless they observed them doing something harmful to the environment. Most of us who enjoy the outdoors respect our environment and fellow travelers along the way. I do kayak in a fair amount in Vermont and in New York also and have never had a similar experience there either. Shame on anyone who teaches or practices anything but peaceful co-existence on our rivers. One would like to think that anyone who wanted to enjoy and preserve our special, pristine places would welcome anyone else who shared the same values.

Too many people, too little space. Rats also behave aggressively when crowded. Stop with the breeding already.

As a kayaker, I'd like to apologize for the actions of those RUDE folks that interrupted your time in nature. Never once have I been told to "paddle toward fishermen to drive them off", nor would I ever think to do such a thing.

As a fellow fly fisherman, I can understand how you could be so upset. Here in central (and southern) Kentucky, I have yet to experience such actions.

While kayaking on my local stream, Elkhorn Creek that runs through our state capitol, Frankfort, there's been numerous times that I've floated upon people wading & fishing - but it's usually a chance for me to get the fishing report for the day (if I'm not fishing myself). I've never ever heard of such actions employed by boaters, and I hope I'm never involved or observe such uncivil acts.

As the saying goes, it only takes a few to mess it up for the rest of us. I can assure you the majority of boaters (at least in my neck of the woods...) would never be such [insert language of choice].

For what it's worth, paddling is a great way to access some great fishing spots that otherwise couldn't be reached. Instead of spending those 3 anticipating hours hiking to that fishing hole, you could float the river, fishing spots that might never see an elk hair caddis or bead head prince nymph, then arrive at the wading area of your choice. Just a thought. : )

I'm sorry you had the experience that you did, but I just wanted to offer another possible explanation for the negativity towards fishermen, especially in North Carolina.

Trout Unlimited partnered up with the SELC (southern env. law center) to shut down the Upper Tellico Off Highway Vehicle area in western NC a few years ago. Through their overwhelming funding and political influence they have succeeded in shutting the off road area down temporarily, claiming that sediment runoff from the trail system was somehow harming the native brook trout more than overfishing and stocking non-natives. The whole "don't accidentally kill them before I get a chance to purposely impale them" routine. So the Forest Service can't afford to repair and maintain trails since they are so busy fighting off lawsuits from TU and their pals.

As you can imagine there is a lot of animosity and resentment towards Trout Unlimited and unfortunately regular anglers by association. Most off roaders (jeeps, toyotas etc.) are outdoorsy in many other ways, including hunting, fishing, kayaking, mt. biking and hiking. We respect the outdoors and other users. But now there is a divide between the elitists (TU) and the average outdoorsman.

There are only a few really vocal TU members pushing this agenda. They want to claim public lands for themselves only. But the rest of the membership needs to be aware of the problems their leadership is creating. Just offering this up as a possibility.