$75.00 Keeper

[wet-net-32]

Well its about time. I have wanted to take my father out on the river for some sturgeon fun for quite some time. I called him friday night to see if he had plans for Sunday 1-5-03. Wow! he was up for it. We head up to the Fisherys and put in. Nice wheather by the way.
I explained to him that I usually C&R about 10-25 shakers before hooking a keeper, so be patient. Well as fate would have it, I bait my dads rod w/ smelt and cast it out. I start on my rod........... and guess what....... dads rod starts pumping, like I like it. Dad is now doing battle with his first gator. I'm thinking, hmmm tha looks like a nice fish. we get it in the boat, measure it. 43"!!!! FIRST FISH!!!! FIVE MINUTES!!! I could not believe it.

So in all of the excitement I completely forgot to tell my dad to tag his fish. Just re-baited and proceded to catch about 25-30 additional shakers, a couple more in the 36-38" variety too. what fun!!!

Untill... A boat pulls up along side. uh ohhh! Staters!!! in an unmarked boat. Was anyone else checked on Sunday? They took our fish and measured it on there boat & Gave it back. No problem with that. Heres the bummer part. My Pop was rewarded a $75.00 citation for "Failing to tag a sturgeon" I am soo about this. I knew better. They just smiled and said "try too keep warm" and off they went to the next boat.

What is up with this guys & gals? why didn't they just give us a break?

[I am pretty sure they were state cops, they were pack'n heat]

Just had to share my day with you all.

wet-net.

[ 01-07-2003, 09:55 PM: Message edited by: wet-net-32 ]

[Jettin' Fool]

Just doing there job :depressed:

It sucks for you but I bet you wont make that mistake again.......

Fool

[skrimmy]

You got off easy. $75 is the minimum fine for that! It could have been a bunch more. They aren't too lenient on that stuff....sorry it happened to you!

[brshooter]

What a bummer! Kinda puts a damper on an otherwise very exciting day. Congrats to your dad on his first gator trip.

We saw the OSP boat out there. They launched right after we did. About 9am. Saw them cruising around and checking some boats. When they weren't checking boats, they were glassing the area looking for their next subjects. I just figured that with the new year, they were looking for expired tags on boats and maybe checking boats with younger occupants for boater education cards.

I guess we didn't give them any reason to check us. No rope dangling out the back of our boat with a fish on it. I wish I could have given them reason to check us. :grin: Just wasn't our day for keepers.

[Jet Drifter]

Ooohh Wet Net,
What a sad story. I can totally understand the excitement of it all in just five minutes! I feel your pain. Sorry

[wet-net-32]

No it wont happen again. Dad asked me today if I would appear in court with him next month. Perhaps the judge will give us a break. You know, 1st. offense and all.

REMINDER TO SELF.... Tag fish before placing hook back in water. :smile:

[ 01-07-2003, 10:15 PM: Message edited by: wet-net-32 ]

[MasterCaster]

sorry you got hit with the fine but look at it this way. Im sure they hear all kinds of stories from guys that do it all the time and dont get caught, so how can they be sure they can tell these guys from the legit mistake guys like you? I think I would do the same thing if i was in his shoes. Thats the way I see it anyway.

Jon :smile: :grin: :smile:

[Point-of-Sale Clerk]

From Regulations

“Adult salmon or steelhead, legal size sturgeon and Pacific halibut must be recorded immediately upon removal from the water and fish must be recorded on the appropriate Angling or Harvest Tag”

So if I tie it up and do not take the fish out of the water do I have till I get to the boat ramp before I have to tag the fish? Hmmmmm…
:grin:

[wet-net-32]

Suck it up and drive (fish) on!!! I'll bet if I had an "ifish" sticker they would have just passed us by. I'd better order a pair.


ifish

-wet-net.

[ 01-07-2003, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: wet-net-32 ]

[Fishplay]

I know of a guy who was ticketed for the same thing. All he wanted to do was wash the blood off the boat before it gelled. They interupted his cleaning and proceeded to issue a ticket. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]
I say give a person ample oppertunity to comply then confront them. If the bookwork isn't done within five minutes of the catch....write em up!!!

[jeremysgonefishing]

You and your dad should appear in court and explain the situation good chance they let you off.

[Lo-Pro16]

Wet-Net-32

If you decide to go to court with your Dad, talk to the prosecutor before you see the Judge. Explain your side of the story, do this very nicely, as the prosecutor has the authority to make a decision on the outcome of the ticket. He/She can either throw it out, lower the fine, or let it stand as is. The best part about this is you and your dad are not bound by the prosecutors decision, the Judge is. If you don't like what the prosecutor tells you, then you have the right to see the Judge, and let the Judge make the ruling. Either way, good luck.

Good job on the keeper, Great job for being out there fishing with your Dad.

[skrimmy]

I got popped for the same thing with a chinook on T-Bay in early October. It had rained hard all that day and I was concerned that if I tagged my fish in the pouring rain my tag would have become smeared, risking a ticket for an altered tag. So I wanted to wait till either the rain stopped or when we got back to the dock where I could find a dry spot. I shoulda known better, they always meet you at the dock when you get back! The young cadet agreed that she didn't think I was trying to dodge the system, (as I fumbled through layers of rain gear, coats, etc to get to my license) and she could see that I had tagged one the day before, showing too that I try to play by the rules. She wrote me up anyways for the lowest amount ($75). The funny thing was, that she had to go up to her truck to find a dry place to write the citation....Gee, was that fair? She should have had to write the dang thing in the rain as she was suggesting I did!!! I wrote a nice letter to the judge, explained the whole story, and even though they were sympathetic, it didn't change the outcome. The rule is the rule, and when you're found guilty, they'll explain that they can't reduce the fine any more as a new court ruling last year requires that they can't reduce fines any more than the minimum. In this case, as in yours, the minimum is $75. So, good luck in your battle. I hope you're not having to miss work to go fight the ticket, as you will likely lose the case and the amount of money your time is worth. Just my .02 from been there, done that.

PS, She observed me tagging the fish too, just before she wrote me up.....

[ 01-08-2003, 08:30 AM: Message edited by: skrimmy ]

[CATCH AND EAT]

Been there done that 7 years ago. In Tillamook it cost me $300.00. $75.00 is a much cheaper leason. Now go sit in the corner and pout.

[Blue Water 23]

I was at the fishery that same day. They went right by me which was a good thing. I am only 23 and my boaters card was still in the mail. I got it last night though. It took almost a month to get it. Didn't have any keepers at that time so he skipped us. He did check a boat next to us with keepers.

[bassfishingnw]

What is the rules on having a Boating Card?

I just moved down from Washington to Oregon. I'm 29 years old...do I need a Boaters Card??

Thanks... :whazzup:

[Miss B Haven]

bassfishingnw - I stole this off a previous post (courtesy of fishing is life- thanks James). Here's the rules, so YES you need a card now. :shocked:

Quote:
i took the liberty of looking up some info from the boating regs guide for OR.

when do i need a boaters card?:

yr: your age:
2003 30 and younger
2004 40 and younger
2005 45 and younger
2006 50 and younger
2007 60 and younger
2008 70 and younger
2009 all boaters

applies to all boats greater than 10 hp.

this is a good thing cause there are alot new of boaters out there that dont truly know the rules for boating.

[bassfishingnw]

Thanks Miss B Haven!!!

Where would a guy get one of these cards????

Thanks!!

[Got Fish?]

Ok heres one. I live in Washington but constantly borrow my friends boat who lives in Oregon and is Oregon registered, do I need a boaters certificate? :whazzup: I've been checked by the Coast Guard and sheriffs department before the new year and they didn't mention it? :whazzup:

[wet-net-32]

I had my dad read this thread this afternoon, and by the looks of things here in Oregon, it would be best to just pay the fine rather than miss work, just to have the judge explain that theres nothing he can do.

My father said "At least you learned a lesson at someone elses expense!"

Thank's for all the feedback, it was very insightful and entertaining.

wet-net-32

[invader]

try 285.00 for a stupid barbed hook!!............. went to court and got it down to 125..... but still too high ,,,,,,,,,, and they said after giving me the ticket( have a nice day!)...... i wont repete on this board what i said to them!!.... and they heard me too

[Lo-Pro16]

wet-net-32

FYI - A buddie of mine and I were starting vacation and decided to get in on the hot salmon fishing on the N. Lewis a few years back. We knew it got light at 6:30am and figured we could start fishing at 5:30am. We actually started at 5:42am (I know this from the time the game warden wrote on the ticket). We were fishing when a guy walks up to us and says "what time is it" I tell him its fishing time, WRONG. He tells us we're under arrest. The game warden asks us when's sunrise? I tell him its light out by 6:30am and we subtracted an hour and thought we were good to go. As he is writing a $133 ticket, he explains we better check the official sunrise/sunset tables. 17 minutes too early! Maybe I'm from the old school but I thought that when it was light out it was sunrise. I guess you can learn something new everyday. When it first turns light out, its daybreak.

We both work swing shift so we went to court in the morning, hoping to get the ticket reduced with our explanation.. Here's what the Judge told us our options were:
1) plead guilty - which he is bound by law to render his decision.
2) plead guilty with an explanation - in which case he will listen to your argument, consider it, and render his decision. But your're still guilty.
3) plead innocent - He will schedule you a trial later.
4) Goe talk to the prosecutor - he advised all of us in the courtroom to take this option. The Judge explained if the prosecutor decides in your favor, he is bound by their decision. If you don't like the deal the prosecutor is offering you, you don't have to take it. Come back to him and you can choose one of the first three options. You have nothing to lose.

In our case, we took his advice and went outside the courtroom and sat down and talked to the prosecutor. Seems she also got up at 6:30am to get ready for work, and noticed it was light out. She tossed out the tickets. I'm not saying we didn't make a mistake by fishing too early, we did. It was an honest mistake just like wet-net-32 and skrimmy's and ifisher need to know they have another option if they incline to choose it.

[skrimmy]

Interesting replies about the talking to the prosecutor option, both from Washington. Are things different up there? I was only given the first 4 as options. Nothing was said about talking to the prosecutor.