Strolling into Frosty’s one fine summer evening, lines were drawn at the little pizza and suds joint on the Put-In-Bay strip.

The powerboat bunch had their elbows on the bar. The sailboaters were sitting around tables. Unwittingly, I was in the middle of a skirmish between rag boaters and smoke boaters.

The owner of a powerboat, I love to fish smallmouth bass and walleye around the Bass islands. I also enjoy the peace and quiet of a sailboat, and the kick of big winds. Pulling off a 180-degree turn, it was preferable to drop anchor at the Roundhouse.

That’s the same feeling I’m getting in the steelhead wars being waged on the northeastern streams between bait fishermen and fly-fishers. It gets ugly at times, even more so than the Lake Erie division between trolling and drift-fishing anglers.

The streamside trash talk is embarrassing.

Fly-fishermen step out of an Orvis catalog, look down their noses at bait fishermen and take up too much of a good pool as they flail away with their long rods. Elitist anglers, they fight steelhead to death to take their picture and sneer at lowlife spin-casters.

Bait fishermen litter the banks with worm cartons, smell like week-old spawn bags and wantonly stomp through the best pools as they snicker at wimpy fly-fishers. They snag fish and haul limits of trout back to their rusty pickup trucks to show off. They strip the eggs to create more spawn bags and gleefully throw away the fish.

Is everyone offended yet?

There are problem fishermen on the streams, and the method of fishing doesn’t matter. The inconsiderate slobs have little idea how the game is played and can foul the waters and scare trout in the blink of an eye. They cause stream rage, the on-water version of havoc on the highways, and most often don’t know they’re being disgusting.

Tony Good of Cleveland, who finished second in last weekend’s steelhead trout tournament, was flabbergasted on the Rocky River. While fishing off the beaten path, another angler arrived to crudely complain he’d had that pool all to himself for years, and now Good had invaded his private space.

Laslo Zala of Chester Township, a switch hitter when it comes to steelheading techniques, believes most fishermen, "Whether whipping a fly or casting bait, just don’t know better when they violate another anglers’ space."

Here are some river rules to steelhead by: Use common sense. If you don’t know the local protocol, learn it. Ask before you make a fool of yourself. Watch the good fishermen and how they fish a pool without scaring every fish in sight. When wading, deeper is not better. Spend the time to walk the rivers and learn the pools. There are lots of them, and one or two that are harder to reach will be open or have enough room for another fisherman. Don’t walk from the parking lot to the nearest pool and elbow your way in to make a cast. If a fisherman has a hot spot, don’t keep shuffling toward it until you’re sharing a pair of waders. Watch how it is being fished, where the trout hold and put it in your memory bank. If a fisherman is casting a nice stretch of water, don’t crowd him. Ask if he or she would mind if you make a few casts. Never wade through the heart of a run to see if there were some trout hiding there. Other people want to fish there and won’t know you’ve ruined it. Never litter. Pick up litter. Trout are a fragile prize. Don’t play a fish until it is totally exhausted and can’t recover. Release it quickly and gently. If a trout is snagged, break off the hook or fly unless it can be landed quickly. A snagged fish must be released. Never try to snag a trout. It is not a crime to keep a fish, or two, if they are going to be eaten. Never kill a trout for its eggs. Never take a couple of trout back to the vehicle and go catch another limit. Help new fishermen. Show them how to properly fish a pool or cast in a crowd. Make friends, not enemies. If a fisherman hooks a trout and heads downstream, don’t take over his spot. It is his, and he’ll soon be back. Quit complaining about the crowds. There is no such thing as a secret hole. The trout are stocked to bring out fishermen. If anglers don’t show up, the stockings will end. Appreciate that you have the finest steelhead trout fishing the country. Be proud and willing to share.

E-mail: degan@plaind.com

Phone: (216) 999-6136