In the middle of July, the South Fork of the Coquille River is small, clear and tranquil. Come January, the river widens, turns a deep jade color and is full of steelhead and the fishermen hoping to catch them — bank anglers and those in boats with or without motors.

Therein lies a growing problem.

Bank anglers and non-motorized drift boaters — those who simply float down the river fishing holes  — say they’re being run off the river by increasingly numerous and aggressive motor boaters. They go up and down the river, dominating fishing holes and riding over the tops of bank anglers’ lines. Motor boaters say they have every right to be there, and guides say they rely on the capabilities of outboard motors to better ensure their clients hook a fish.

Reports are surfacing of fishermen throwing rocks at each other, and verbal disputes on the river are becoming more common. Some worry actual violence may be next.

So last week, a group of anglers submitted a petition to the Oregon State Marine Board asking that motor boats be banned on the South Coquille from Broadbent to the Siskiyou National Forest boundary. The petition came complete with 269 signatures, 51 postcards and 19 letters of support. The board unanimously moved to begin the rulemaking process on the issue, meaning it will take public comment through the winter steelhead season but likely not revisit the issue until March 2009.

Some say that’s not soon enough.

“There’s nothing wrong with outboard motors, but they’re an inappropriate technology for a small, crowded river like the South Coquille,” said Reedsport angler Jim Thurber, one of the petitioners.

“It’s become so bad, that (the motor boaters) have really just driven us out of the good spots,” said Bandon bank angler Dave Hambly, who added he’d seen one fisherman take a swing at another after a verbal altercation. “These motors have made it such an impossibility to fish there, you just find another river.”

The problem, say non-motor boat anglers, is that boats with outboard motors have an advantage. They can repeatedly fish a hole by  powering upriver and floating back down, whereas non-motorized drift boaters only get one shot and bank anglers are essentially stationary. Common river courtesy dictates that anglers fish a hole once and move on.

“Prior to the introduction of motors, people got along,” said Thurber, who generally fishes the river via non-motorized driftboat. “The technology has led to a breakdown in river etiquette.”

Not everybody sees it that way.

“(Non-motorized) drift boaters want everything to themselves,” said Jack Duncan, a Roseburg guide of 30 years. “I just think things are getting a bit too extreme. I don’t think it needs to be exclusive.”

Others said a motor ban won’t help, and it’s unfair to those who make their living from angling.

“Honestly, I don’t think (the petition) was needed. This is more of a social issue. I’m fine without motors, but the thing that congests the river is its popularity,” said Medford fishing guide Jim Dunlevy. “And as far as the guides go, motors for us are a tool. It’d be like taking a hammer away from a carpenter.”

There’s not even agreement among guides.

“I would invite a ban on motors on this kind of river,” said Roseburg guide Rich Wolfe.

The motor-boat conflict has reached a point that it’s starting to get the attention of landowners along the South Coquille, an important group of people given that much of the access to the river is through private land.

Gordon Hayes owns 1 1/2 miles of riverfront, and by all accounts he’s been remarkably generous in allowing anglers access through his land. But he said he’s fed up with the behavior of many motor boaters.

“They run up and down the river like yo-yos. They act like they own the whole river,” said Hayes.

When asked if it’s bad enough he’s considering closing his land to public access, he replied, “I might close it to motor boats.”

But many close to the issue say it’s not really about motor boats at all — it’s really a problem of converging factors: the small size of the South Coquille, it’s growing popularity as a steelhead river and a diminishing understanding of river etiquette.

“It’s a social conflict,” said OMB Operations Policy Analyst Randy Henry.

He’s charged with conducting interviews and gathering information to make a staff recommendation to the board. “And the issue is bigger than just the South Fork of the Coquille.”

OMB has adopted motor bans on portions of the Elk and Sixes rivers, and this isn’t the first time the issue of the South Coquille has come up: A similar petition came before the board in 2002, but back then it opted not to go further. Things are different this time.

“It was a little bit of an eye-opener. You talk to local folks and find a lot of frustration,” said Henry, who recommended the board enter the rule-making process on July 8. “I’ve seen enough to think we need to take a closer look.”

Henry said he expects the public comment process to be contentious. There are those who see both sides and, while acknowledging there’s a problem, hope it doesn’t come to an outright ban.

One of those is Southwest Regional Director for Northwest Steelheaders John Ward. He said he’d like to see an educational effort prior to a ban, but failing that his organization may support a ban.

“The problem with the Coquille is it’s a small but popular area. When you have small and popular together, the people have to find a way to share with the other fishermen,” he said. “We’ve identified a problem. If we can’t solve it the easy way, we may have to solve it the hard way.”