Poach a fish?

[Pete]

Have you ever kept a fish you shouldn't have? Maybe a salmon or steelhead that was bleeding so bad you knew it was going to die? Or a trout in closed water while backpacking just for dinner? Or a sturgeon that was long enough hanging, but not long enough lying down? This is anonymous ... fess up!

[Lund]

anyone who insists they have not done it is either lying or they don't fish.

[Jennie@ifish]

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[Jennie@ifish]

By the way, I didn't lie, and I do fish... often.
graemlins/berry.gif
Jen

[Hoosier Daddy]

...or they obey the law........

[Phish_on]

anonymous, right...

as in "IP: logged"

I kept a snagged trout that was badly damaged.

I kept a spawned-out steelhead cause I didn't know it was. It was the 2nd steelhead I ever caught.

I usually go by the letter of the law when it comes to fish

I thought this was one of those "recipe" threads! Rockfish is good poached in white wine.

[ 04-04-2002, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Phish_on ]

[Bryan]

You're question was a good one. I see that a lot of people answered the question but not a lot of feed back here in the posting area. I for one answer the question with a NO. However upon reflection I would have to qualify that answer... I was thinking that your question was really asking if you have ever kept a wild salmon or steelhead or over size sturgeon. I have never kept anything that was wild or over size. Where I must amend my answer is with the foul hooking of hatchery fish. If the hook is set above the first fin.... I have never intended to foul hook a fish but if you fish a lot it’s going to happen, especially during coho season. I would never keep a wild fish though… Never have never will, no questions!

[Corkie Monster]

I have fished in out of season trout lakes and streams, have ran a few cast of spinners in Fly water, Have fished without liscens or tags. But this was all when I was young and dumb and had the teen age I don't give a rip attitude. As far as Salmon and Steelhead go, I have never and will never take or poach these guy's. And now that I'm older and wiser I fish by the rules now.

Before: graemlins/stupid.gif After: graemlins/hearton.gif

[Ex-military]

I think we've all done dumb things as kids...we just need not repeat them as adults...
Here's an ethics question tho...specifically trout
but could be applied to whatever...you've just caught a fish...for whatever reason it's not legal (under/over, nate, etc) but you've deep hooked it and the fish is bleeding profusely..what do you do? Keep it even tho Mr ODFW won't take a shine to it., try to revive and hope it makes it, toss it in and say it'll keep the life cycle and crawfish going?

[Bait O' Eggs]

I think we have all done some things inadvertantenly. graemlins/stupid.gif I forget to take my license once in a while. I think we may break the rules and not even know it sometimes. Some of us have even felt the long arm of the law (not me though :grin: )

When I was a young man I had little regard for fishing regs:
~ I could floss chinook with the best of them.
~ I use to look forward to sneaking into creeks that are closed to trout fishing
~ "Limits" was a term reserved for people who wanted to take time from fishing to count.
~ etc.... :depressed:

The thought that you could outsmart the law was a challenge that was very appealing. Lets see,... there are 3 game wardens in Tillamook, if they each work 8 hours a day, their is probably only one on duty at a time. If you want to "bend" the rules on the Nestucca, make an anominous tip that you saw something illegal on the Nehalem, and you wont have to worry about big blue stepping out of the bushes on the Nestucca for at least 4 or 5 hours. :wink: (The preceeding is just an example of the logic a young man might use :rolleyes: )

It has been a long time since I had that attitude. I guess we all grow up some time, or at least most of us do. I guess we do what seems correct to us at the time. The more people that get involved and actually call in a poacher, the less poachers their will be.

Times have changed, people look at things differently. We use to own slaves (slightly before my time), we use to take what we wanted from the rivers without regard for the consequences. Officers dont look the other way on issues they dont personally agree with. I think our society is far more aware of their consequences. The more people their are in an area (for better or worse), the more the rules need enforced.

[Corkie Monster]

Ex-Military
there is usually a good supply of Osprey or other fish eating critters around and I would'nt feel to bad about releasing a certain to be doomed trout back into the water or bank. As far as keeping it, I don't think the gammeies care wether or not the fish would of survived, They will always find somthing you did wrong and nail you on it. To me, it's not worth the risk to keep an injured fish that could benefeit other creatures. For Example. My Uncle was boe hunting one year, Drew back and shot his Bull and the arrow past straight threw and also killed a cow. Beeing a good samaritan my uncle reported this accident. Well, he lost all his equipment, His liscens, got a fine, and had served a few days in jail for it. He was treated like a poacher when he was'nt. Somtimes acting like a mistake never happened is the best way.

[Ex-military]

Corkie...I agree with ya, it's better to let the wildlife have it if we can't...speakin of Osprey's..was down at Walter Wirth with my Dad
last weekend, saw 4 osprey workin the pond...awesome sight...they were divin within 30 yds of the fisherman...and doing much better too !!

[Jennie@ifish]

The polls are not logged by IP.
(that I am aware of!)
That would ruin the whole thing!
posts are logged by IP, but that isn't always easy to trace.
As if I'd go to the trouble to find out if you had kept a fish illegally.
Come on!
Yip, we are doing this so we can turn ya in!!
:wink:
:smile:
Jen

[Jennie@ifish]

Ya know, thinking about this, I guess they are, cuz they won't allow you to vote twice. Duh!
But I have no clue, nor interest in finding out who voted what. I don't even think it tracks who/what... Just that you voted.
I really do think these are not logged anywhere where I can access them without a great deal of trouble and expense.
J

[boater]

i`m a game warden and your all under arrest :rolleyes:

[Snapshot]

Great question, Looks like about 70% of us can tell the truth and 30% contiue to lie. Think about it, not one trout to many? Not one fish undersize limit? not one foul hooked fish? EVER.
One of my weak moments came on the Trask about 25 years ago when I hooked a 25lb chinook in the gill plate. Tore him up good and blood everywhere. Not a a game warden anywhere. so lwhat would you have done? Watch him die without fullfilling his destiny. I was lucky and made it home with him. Would I do that now? I'm not so sure as the consequnce is much greater if you get caught. Now, I fish for pleasure and fun and don't have to take every fish home. :smile:

*Fish only bite wet hooks*

[AngleThis]

Many times, with many species, in many states, for many reasons.

The way I see it, the laws are just generalized rules designed to protect the furthering of our fisheries. If I catch something in a particualar set of circumstances, the keeping of which will not degrade or detract from a particular fishery, especially if the fish is doomed before spawning or has already spawned, screw the letter of the law; observe only the intent.

We have politicians that get semi boned up and then make the laws they think we want them to make, aside of course. from corporate and other lobiest influences. Then they try to make up for their lack of insight or untarnished motivations, by spending our tax dollars on hatcheries that in the long run only doom a fishery because of lack of genetic diversity....let the next official deal with the ramificatons.

Dedicated fish loving individuals are more adept and better qualified to judge the issues that derive our legal restrictions than anyone else, in an unusual set of circumstances. Our intent, written by our 'sort of' elected officials, for the good of the fisheries, is not always perfectly drafted for 'the books'. Let every respecting sports angler be given the latitude of common sense, and the intent of the law we all choose to adopt and adhere to.

[myco-mike]

I agree with Sanps. Adding one to his list, I know that most likely every razor clammer has either taken one over, put one back, tossed a mutilated broken and/or probably dug one to help a friend or family member "get their last one".

By the count of all the kids under 6 getting their limit last weekend, you would think they are teaching them how to dig in pre-school now.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Nice attitude Angle This. Let's see, it's illegal to steal from a store, but if its something I REALLY want and it's not selling well anyway, I can go ahead and take it. We have fish and game regulations for a reason. Break them, and you are stealing from me and everyone else that DOES obey the law. And that ****** me off.

Hmmm, murder not OK, killing someone because they really deserved it, fine.
Not paying your taxes, not OK, taking deductions for your dog because she is "like" family, fine.
Robbing a bank, not OK, "borrowing" from the bank because they stiffed you on an overdraft, fine.
Shooting deer out of season, not OK, popping the monster bucks over your uncles fence year round, fine. They're his deer after all.
Shall I go on.........

And I don't think our fish and game laws are by and large developed by politicians. They are based on recommendations from professional biologists, (with a few exceptions like hound hunting, etc.), they may be written into LAW by politicians.

As far as adhering to the "spirit" of a law, I think that's a bunch of bull too. Adhering to the "spirit" to me means NOT keeping a fish that it might be legal to keep, not KEEPING one that is illegal to keep because, heck, its only one fish. I'm an expert, I know best, so I'm keeping it....********.
As far as I'm concerned, if I ever see you "adhering to the spirit of the law", I'll be turning your ass in.

Sorry for being so beligerent here, but damn it this ****** me off. Poaching is stealing from law abiding sportsmen, regardless of how "good" you think your reasons are. graemlins/berry.gif :mad: :mad: :mad:

Oh, and obviously people ARE NOT capable of regulating themselves or we wouldn't NEED or HAVE regulations to begin with.....
We have salmon and sturgeon because of restrictions in harvest, take that away and we wouldn't have either of them, guaranteed.

[ 04-05-2002, 10:34 AM: Message edited by: chnookie ]