River fishing and dogs: Good mix or bad?

[Hendog]

I've suggested to my wife that we take up river fishing. Part of the reason for this is so that we have a common outdoor activity to enjoy and one which will get the dogs out as well. We have two Black Labs. These dogs need daily exercise. Not that we'd be fishing every day but on those days we do fish we could take them with us. Now my question is does this activity mix well with the dogs? I'm concerned that the dogs may hamper the fishing for us and others that may be fishing that stream/river if they jump in. Will they pester the other fishermen around. What are your experiences with dogs while fishing? TIA

[Mike Bonkalski]

I took our retriever fishing with me once and every time I sent out a cast he would try and jump out of the boat to retrieve the lure.

So for me, fishing and dogs did not mix.

[911boost]

Do you mean fly fhishing, or boat fishing?

If it is fly fishing, I have had good luck with dogs. Mine is a German Sheppard, and my firneds that used to go was an Akita mix.

Both woudl sit on the shore, and follow us up / down the river / stream.

With that being said, they aren't black labs that love the water....

Watch out for bears and mountain lions though...

Bill

[Eric 951]

In my experience water loving/active dogs and river fishing don't mix. If you can keep them on the banks, away from the water, they should be fine, but they may have a tendency to either
1. want to jump in the water, spooking fish
2. want to run up and down the bank, which could also spook fish
3. bark at the bird/marmot/rabbitt/groundhog,etc..which inevitably will be in the brush or along the bank--could be distracting/annoying to other anglers who are out for the peace and quiet

[Hendog]

Originally posted by BSiple
Do you mean fly fhishing, or boat fishing?

If it is fly fishing, I have had good luck with dogs. Mine is a German Sheppard, and my firneds that used to go was an Akita mix.

Both woudl sit on the shore, and follow us up / down the river / stream.

With that being said, they aren't black labs that love the water....

Watch out for bears and mountain lions though...

Bill

I mean fishing from the shore; not from a boat but not really fly fishing per se either. Thanks for your replies. I kind of figured it would not be the best thing to do; just wanted to get some perspective.

[jyl]

"Fishing" and "exercise" don't really go together.

If dog won't sit quietly while you fish, and stay out of the water, and not come running up as you're trying to land the fish, its a bad idea.

I took my Shepherd-Doberman on a backcountry fishing trip, it worked fine, but there were no other fishermen around and he was content to hang out. He did step on my flyrod and snap it in half, though.

[vash]

when we took "bishop" shore fishing onlong the river, he picked up a friggen frustrating bad habit. he was so obsessed with fetching that he took to wading around and dunking his head under to find suitable rocks. he would search and search for some stone that met some mysterious criteria in his head and bring them back to us for a game of fetching.

on a bass boat he was excellent.

[charleskieffner]

one word.......................SNAKES!

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by charleskieffner
one word.......................SNAKES!

Probably not as big a problem in Canada as it is in Arizona.

[craigster59]

It works out great for my Wife and I. She takes the dogs for a hike while I fish.

[charleskieffner]

Originally posted by Kurt V
Probably not as big a problem in Canada as it is in Arizona.

crotalus ouch-us (rattlesnakes) known to inhabit up to 10,000 feet altitude in rocky mountains. but yeah your probably correct. here only way to run dogs in dez or forest is to snake train. very simple...............1) buy fake snake or defang real snake(not me). 2) take snake, place on ground 3) place SHOCK COLLAR on augie-doggie or doggie daddy. 4) turn shock collar to position 3(aka enough energy to send dog into low lunar orbit-and trust me it will ! 5) allow dog to approach snake on ground(curious) 6) at this point snake will coil ready to strike. 7) dog has smell for snake, senses rattles(if they do), visualizes long and coiled snake. 8) hit shock collar RED BUTTON!

and watch dog launch into space! if it takes more than 2 times for dog to get the picture that snakes are bad voodoo, your dog is SEVERLY RETARDED!

it is too simple to do this and cheap. comparison shopping..............vet bill.............$1000.00 + for anti-venom!

watching young dumb ass PITA teenaged wolf/weimereiner mix launch into orbit.........................PRECIOUS! dog sees snake turns around on dime and barks his head off now!

[teenerted1]

if your dogs like the water, not a good idea. if your dog barks at you from the shore, wondering when you are going to start play with him, instead of that funny stick with the string coming off of it, not a good idea

if your dogs like to roll in dead salmon/steelhead carcase on the shore. REALLY REALLY REALLY BAD IDEA.

don't ask me how i know, ask the back of my Subaru the month it took to get that stink out.

[pwd72s]

On the other hand, dogs and envrionmentalists both make great bait for Gator trolling....

[scottmandue]

Originally posted by jyl
"Fishing" and "exercise" don't really go together.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day...

Teach a man to fish....

And he will sit on a boat drinking beer all day.


Sorry for the repost.

[scottmandue]

I don't know if they do this in Canada (I think they would) or if you would be interested but they have dog agility contests I have seen on TV for all types of dogs. Give you a chance to get out and do something together with your wife, exercise the dogs, meet people with common interest. Looks like fun.

[Hendog]

Originally posted by scottmandue
I don't know if they do this in Canada (I think they would) or if you would be interested but they have dog agility contests I have seen on TV for all types of dogs. Give you a chance to get out and do something together with your wife, exercise the dogs, meet people with common interest. Looks like fun.

Yep, agility is something we do here in Canada. This is Indy going through the tire.



I doubt Sable and Indy would do well at fishing however. Indy would chase the lure into the river. Sable would bark on the shore and run around looking into other peoples' bags for food. I think if I take it up I'll talk my brother into it as something he and I can do. I guess the dogs are out. For the time being we'll just carry on with chuckin' the orange ball on land and in the water. They love that! Fishing was just a thought.

[CRH911S]

I have a yellow lab that loves the water and can not/will not avoid it under any circumstances. However, I'm sure most labs can be trained to not be a nusiance while the pack leader is fishing. I understand your plight even though some here don't. Poodles aren't real dogs and the reason gators don't eat em is because their masters don't let them out of the house.