costly brain fart

[dirtyman]

well i did it...was fishing at blood indian yesterday when the warden pulled up..no problem ..he asked to check all the hooks and that was fine..he pulled up the last one of 4 (2 guys) and said there is a barb on this hook , i laughed and said ya right turns out there was a barb on that hook....10 min before the warden showed up i got broke off by a nice one and while all hyped up and in a hurry to get that line in the water again , got the other guy to get me a new hook and put another piece of shrimp of while the warden was driving towards us...i never thought twice.....forgot to pinch the barb...so the warden askrd me what he i think he should do..i was a little mad (at myself) and said that you are the boss and mistake or not i was in the wrong..so he wrote me a ticket for $200...i know the rules and i play by the rules..i have never had a warning before (nope i did...didn't have my fishing lisence on my person one day..in the truck walking the creek) and have been checked many times in the last year where when the "home town" warden pulls up i ask him if he wants me to pull up the lines and he says " i know you are good" .....the 200 dollars doesn't bother me that much but now i will have that on my record and it really bothers me...i don't at this time know if this going to hurt me in any way yet..further fishing and hunting...

i know i have done it before..get on the hot walleye hole and toss on a new jig then when you pull it up to re-bait or got one on and say ooooooooo sh#$%t i forgot to pinch that barb , then i pinch it...i would like to do a pole to see how many guys have changed hooks and relised after that they forgot to pinch the hook...i know before it goes in the tackle box for me it is gunna be pinched now..


signed :

now law breaker dirtyman:o:o:o:o

[pdfish]

Accidents happen, same thing happened to a buddy of mine on the Skeena one year. He got busted off, grabbed a rig he had ready, tied it on and flung it out. The fuzz pulled up 2 minutes later, he only got a warning though. All of the other rigs he and his friend had were legit.

[Smokey]

****e happens. When I went fishing for one of the first times in Alberta, I caught a really nice pike. Where I came from it was keeper size. When the CO came and measured it, it was 59 cm. He informed me it was to small and that a ticket would be issued. Stupid thing was is I had the regs, and did not read them in this case. Never had to read regs in Saskatchewan, as laws were fairly basic to most bodies of water. My point is many of us have made mistakes. It won't effect you down the road. Pay your bill, and learn and move on.

[Walleyes]

Don't let it bother you,, mistakes happen. Its not like you accidentally had a dozen to many fish on the ice. A simple mistake just to bad the C.O never had the common courtesy to accept any human error a big hero He is,, just single handedly saved all those stocked fish in Blood Indian..
I know I have caught myself more than once doing the same thing I have just been lucky and was able to correct it without being checked..

[slingshotz]

What I generally do now is buy packs of barbless hooks and remove all factory hooks from lures and attach the barbless ones at home. Then I leave all the barbed hooks at home so I won't accidentally use them (a lot of factory hooks are poor quality anyways). I've found that a few times before doing this I'd pinch down a barb and then discover that it's not really pinched far enough when I snag it on a branch or cloth. Before I started replacing the hooks I had a few times where a F&W checked my hooks and noted that some were not pinched down good enough but let me off. Now there's no question when you look at the hook.

The only thing is doesnt work on is obviously flies unless you tie your own with barbless hooks from the start. At the start of the season I check all my flies to make sure they are all pinched down.

And yes I've been guilty of forgetting to pinch the barbs on new lures, it's the shiny colors that put me in a daze :lol:

[JohninAB]

Walleyes, what an assinine thing to say. Hero CO, saved the fishery and too bad no common sense. Law was broken, consequences happened. Oh was it a CO or a fish and wildlife officer?

[Bear Ballz]

Walleyes, what an assinine thing to say. Hero CO, saved the fishery and too bad no common sense. Law was broken, consequences happened. Oh was it a CO or a fish and wildlife officer?

As with most things that come out of his mouth.

[Alliman]

Bye the way,how was the fishin ?

[savagewsm]

Rules are rules I guess but what really p**ses me off is that a fellow makes an honest mistake and gets nailed for having a stupid barb on a hook while others who need not be mentioned get to hunt and fish at will and any way they like. Maybe they should have a wattage limit imposed while they jacklight game or would that be interfering with their rights.

[Kingfisher]

I went ice fishing last weekend and the night before I spent about 2 hours grinding off the barbs on my jigs with my dremel tool.

I'm sure you won't have this happen again. It's an easy mistake to make. Good on you for admitting it and moving on.

[JohninAB]

savagewsm, aboriginals cannot fish any way they like. They must follow the exact same rules as us except there is no need for them to purchase a license.

[Cal]

The other day I was using an old hook I have not used in years, since I used to pich my barbs down anyways befor it was manditory I thought nothing of it untill I caught a fish and had a heck of a time getting it out... whoops. I gotta say, giving out a ticket for having a barb on your hook when all the other hooks in you takle box and all your other rigs are leagal does seem pretty harsh. If my unhoned decifering skills can tell it was an accident than you'd think a profesional such as a Fish cop could tell.

[honda450]

I fly fish with some pretty small flys. Dang its hard to see if they are pinched or not sometimes. Got checked out last year while fly fishing and he checked out my little fly. Dang I couldn't see it, well it was pinched.

Got a magnifying glass now. hehehe:lol:

[Walleyes]

Walleyes, what an assinine thing to say. Hero CO, saved the fishery and too bad no common sense. Law was broken, consequences happened. Oh was it a CO or a fish and wildlife officer?


Without turning this into a big sh1t show stuff like this really burns me. A little common sense on behalf of the CO would of served justice. Its not like the man was targeting a non retention species. If he was on the South Sask River targeting Sturgen or out on say Newell targeting Walleye then yah O.K I could handle it. Because these are stricly release only fish and can be harmed while fishing with a barb. But the guy was out on a southern A.B. slough hole targeting a planted fish I mean come on.. And it would of just taken 2 min to check his tackle box and find out that the majority of his tackle is proper but no,, drop a $200.00 bomb on buddy.. Again what a hero..

[pdfish]

Without turning this into a big sh1t show stuff like this really burns me. A little common sense on behalf of the CO would of served justice. Its not like the man was targeting a non retention species. If he was on the South Sask River targeting Sturgen or out on say Newell targeting Walleye then yah O.K I could handle it. Because these are stricly release only fish and can be harmed while fishing with a barb. But the guy was out on a southern A.B. slough hole targeting a planted fish I mean come on.. And it would of just taken 2 min to check his tackle box and find out that the majority of his tackle is proper but no,, drop a $200.00 bomb on buddy.. Again what a hero..

I gotta agree with Walleyes, everything else was legit, seems that a warning would have been the reasonable way to go.

[merk1]

I agree with Walleyes, especially with the rest of the tackle done, mark it down as an oops. I sometimes have the same problem with my 6yr old daughter, she like to change her own hooks and does not yet understand everything so now when I get new tackle the dremel come out before the tackle box. Don't want to run into one like dirty man did. $200= a lot of tackle.

[DoUCWhatIC]

I would expect that every time a game warden finds someone using a barbed hook it was an accident or mistake. I doubt he or she ever hears "Yeah, I knew it was barbed but I didn't think I'd get checked today". Perhaps all the "bad" guys should have "liar" tattooed on their foreheads so the wardens can instantly identify the bad guys!!!

[bobalong]

Although fishing with a barb nowdays is usually an accident, I think the 200.00 fine serves as a good deterent, as I know if I was dinged 200.00 for having a single barbed hook you can be sure it would never happen again. Every time I bought or touched a hook (remember the 200.00) the first thing I would be doing is checking to make sure the barb was removed. As merk1 mentioned I too remove all barbs before they go into the tackle box, just in case in a hot bite I forget to check.
Regarding a couple of comments stating a warning would have be adequate in this case, that may very well be true. However I don't think having anglers decide what rules (not guidlines) they should follow and what ones can be bent is probably not a good precedent, as we all know where that could lead.

[dirtyman]

the fishing was good...took to long to find the drop off..40 holes later..got 2 2.5 lbs and lost a few more in that range..total of 5 on the ice with 2 guys..i like to keep the the 13 to 15 inchers perfect for the smoker..the bigger ones hit the pan...and they were good..

if your going out the bigger one we caught and seen in the camera were in 3 to 6 feet of water ...really lite bites camera really helps

[jts1]

savage, aboriginals cannot fish any way they like. They must follow the exact same rules as us except there is no need for them to purchase a license.

Savage , aboriginals ?? I have heard some stupid comments on here and the norm is for me to keep my mouth shut, But I just happen to be a lil of that savage that you speak of. I dont agree with it myself I pay for all my tags and fallow regs. Something that happened 500 years ago has nothing to do with me. Cept when derogatory comments like that are made... How many guys do see in a loin cloth with a big ass head dress out there slinging a rod ?? Savage... Grow up

[Bear]

Savage , aboriginals ?? I have heard some stupid comments on here and the norm is for me to keep my mouth shut, But I just happen to be a lil of that savage that you speak of. I dont agree with it myself I pay for all my tags and fallow regs. Something that happened 500 years ago has nothing to do with me. Cept when derogatory comments like that are made... How many guys do see in a loin cloth with a big ass head dress out there slinging a rod ?? Savage... Grow up

Dude calm down. He was responding to the user "Savagewsm" not calling natives savage.

[Walleyes]

Savage , aboriginals ?? I have heard some stupid comments on here and the norm is for me to keep my mouth shut, But I just happen to be a lil of that savage that you speak of. I dont agree with it myself I pay for all my tags and fallow regs. Something that happened 500 years ago has nothing to do with me. Cept when derogatory comments like that are made... How many guys do see in a loin cloth with a big ass head dress out there slinging a rod ?? Savage... Grow up


:lol: :lol: :lol: Easy there big fella, I think you have mis read what John meant.. I beleive he was refering to the poster that calls himself savagewsm and not aboriginals as savage..

[jts1]

You are 100% correct I did read it wrong and owe that gentlemen a public apology. I tend to get a lil jump on the subject of natives having fishing and hunting rights I dont agree with it , and try to distance myself them even being one myself. I apologize Hope this dont make me the bad guy.

[Copidosoma]

Savage , aboriginals ?? I have heard some stupid comments on here and the norm is for me to keep my mouth shut, But I just happen to be a lil of that savage that you speak of. I dont agree with it myself I pay for all my tags and fallow regs. Something that happened 500 years ago has nothing to do with me. Cept when derogatory comments like that are made... How many guys do see in a loin cloth with a big ass head dress out there slinging a rod ?? Savage... Grow up
.

[Walleyes]

You are 100% correct I did read it wrong and owe that gentlemen a public apology. I tend to get a lil jump on the subject of natives having fishing and hunting rights I dont agree with it , and try to distance myself them even being one myself. I apologize Hope this dont make me the bad guy.


No sweat jts,, I found it quite humorus myslef and I figured you would be a bit humbled once you saw the error of your ways. I can definetly see where you are coming from we do start jumping on our native freinds on here quite a bit so you have a reason to be a bit defensive.

Life go's on man don't sweat it..

[JohninAB]

jts1, no problem. I did not word my response very well!

[savagencounter]

As with most things that come out of his mouth.

X2 anything ive seen him write is all negitive

[kinwahkly]

Is it okay to pinch the barbs flat or do you have to remove them completely?
AL

[Alliman]

Right on Dirtyman, we always have our best luck in shallow water 2-4ft Did you happen to notice anything particular in their guts beetles or what not ? They really hit hard there on Hot pink teeny tube jigg !!

[Fishin' Fool]

I've gotten in the habit of removing the trebles from my lures and replacing them with weedless hooks or circle hooks. Since I do this at home, it's easy to just pinch all the barbs at once. Not to say the odd barb hasn't slipped by, but it's always an accident. I pinch them as soon as I notice while out on the water.

I much prefer pinched or barbless hooks anyway. Not only are releases easier, but when a hook catches on my jacket, in the carpet in my car, or like last week, gets buried in my finger, it's a lot easier to remove.

The only exception are the hooks in my survival kit. They are barbed. I hope to never use them, but in a survival situation, I'll take any advantage I can get.

FF

[albertadave]

X2 anything ive seen him write is all negitive

Come on guys, take it easy on old Walleyes. I know he does get right to the point when he has something on his mind, done it to me on occasion LOL, but he's one of the good guys on here.

Dirtyman, tough break, sounds like a warning and a little "talking to" would have been sufficient. At least you got got some fish that day.

[WalleyeDeitz]

Thought this was a good topic to share my story on. Last summer while floating a section of the Bow River west of Calgary, I was fishing with a hopper – dropper set up (nymph below dry fly). Hooked a nice fish only to loose the bottom nymph, which was very small. As we were floating by some amazing deep cut banks, I threw on a new nymph quickly and got my flies back out against the bank. Rounded the corner in the river where we noticed a fish & wildlife officer standing under the bridge. We pulled the drift boat in and had a really good chat with the fella. Then I said, “well I suppose you want to see our license and our hooks” and handed him my license and then the end of my fly line. He rubbed his finger on the bottom nymph, held it up in the sun, got out his glasses to take a closer look and then turned to me and said, “looks like you missed pinching this one”. Well I nearly crapped myself as inside I felt like I just murdered someone and got caught....I have always tried to follow all the rules though just like what happened in your situation, I threw a new hook on in the heat of the moment and forgot to pinch the barb. I am not afraid to admit that I still have this happen every once in awhile....I also speed sometimes. This officer looked in our drift boat and seen about 20 very old beer cans in a couple of big buckets that we happened to pick up off an island I landed a nice brown trout on. After releasing the fish, we noticed all the garbage and decided to clean it up rather than to just complain about it. Well I have to assume this officer cut me a little slack as a gratitude for our clean up job but either way, I was very appreciative of him letting me off the hook. I really don’t think him fining me $200 would prevent me from possibly making the same error in the future, though I would have understood if he did fine me as I was technically in the wrong and it is technically his job to enforce the laws.....just thought I would tell this story as not all F&W officers are jerks......we had a very pleasurable experience with this fella while he was out doing his job....enforcing the much required regulations.

[Biggsy16]

Just getting back into fishing this spring and recently bought a whole bunch of lures and gear.I also have some old stuff passed onto me from family,but I did not know about the Barb stuff until this thread.I do not understand why they did not tell me at Wholesale sports when I was buying all this stuff.Anyways got out the plyers and magnifying glass and went to work.I am grateful that you posted this and I had not yet been fishing.

[Walleyes]

Come on guys, take it easy on old Walleyes. I know he does get right to the point when he has something on his mind, done it to me on occasion LOL, but he's one of the good guys on here.

Dirtyman, tough break, sounds like a warning and a little "talking to" would have been sufficient. At least you got got some fish that day.


:innocent: :innocent: Ahhh thx delburne lololo,, you got to have thick skin if you are going to be brutally honest with people... But hey make no mistake about boys I know that I am my own worst enemy..

And walleyedeitz I don't think that any of us are saying that all CO's are bad I am sure that most are very reasonable and believe me you would never catch me doing their job its got to be a thankless occupation. But I think that in this case a little common sense and good judgement would of went further than the fine..

[Cal]

His post was only negative if you sided with the CO:wave: And on this thread I think YOU have been the most negitive savage :rolleyes:

[Okotokian]

Rules are rules I guess but what really p**ses me off is that a fellow makes an honest mistake and gets nailed for having a stupid barb on a hook while others who need not be mentioned get to hunt and fish at will and any way they like. Maybe they should have a wattage limit imposed while they jacklight game or would that be interfering with their rights.

I wonder if we are jumping to conclusions here without all the facts. Do we know that the single $200 ticket was the MAXIMUM the officer could have tagged him with? If it isn't then the officer DID do him a favour.

[Red Dog]

Where do you fellows lke to do your fishing at Blood. I have always went to the west side. Fish in 6 to 8 feet of water. Some of the larger fish have had minnows in them. We have caught a few with minnows. Worms, corn and cheeze are the usual bait. Biggest caught this winter was 18" about 3 lbs

[Red Dog]

I was wondering where do you guys like to fish at Blood Indian. I have always gone over to the West side. See lots of shacks on the east side in the bay. Have never tried it there. We fish in 6 to 8' of water using different bait and some on jiggs. Last time out was 2 weeks ago and caught our limit by noon.

[hockeyfish]

the $200 doesn't bug you...:confused:

that would probably bug me the most:ashamed:

[goober]

Great topic here guy's!! The one thing I find funny is that we are normally complaining about the fact that F&W does not to enough to put a damper on these things. Now that one of our forum members got a ticket even though it was an honest mistake, we complain that they gave out a ticket.:huh:

I know it was a mistake but I like the fact that a ticket was issued. Maybe that is a sign that they are going to start coming down more on people that were in the wrong. This time just sucks because it was a mistake. I have read quite a few articles lately that show punishments are getting much harsher.

I am sure we have all made this same mistake at one time or another, but how many years have we had now to remember to make our hooks barbless?:evilgrin:

[Okotokian]

You are 100% correct I did read it wrong and owe that gentlemen a public apology. I tend to get a lil jump on the subject of natives having fishing and hunting rights I dont agree with it , and try to distance myself them even being one myself. I apologize Hope this dont make me the bad guy.

You're not a bad guy. Your mistake was actually the funniest post in the lot. :lol: Made me laugh. Thanks!

[Deano]

Great topic here guy's!! The one thing I find funny is that we are normally complaining about the fact that F&W does not to enough to put a damper on these things. Now that one of our forum members got a ticket even though it was an honest mistake, we complain that they gave out a ticket.:huh:

I know it was a mistake but I like the fact that a ticket was issued. Maybe that is a sign that they are going to start coming down more on people that were in the wrong. This time just sucks because it was a mistake. I have read quite a few articles lately that show punishments are getting much harsher.

I am sure we have all made this same mistake at one time or another, but how many years have we had now to remember to make our hooks barbless?:evilgrin:

I agree with you goober. I think the majority of people who get caught with barbed hooks would say " I just changed the hook and forgot to pinch the barb". I for one do net get checked enough by C.O.'s and find when I do get checked they should be more thorough (sp?) when they do check. The last couple of guys I have run into seem to be students doing surveys. When I ask if they want to see licences and equipment they tell me they can not check people. Atleast there seems to be more on the way.

Deano

[270WIN]

dirtyman I've been the victim of exactly the same brain fart that caused your problem. Luckily, for me, I discovered my error before it was too late and pinched down the barb.
Regarding the treatment you received from the officer, I thought I'd share an experience I had quite a few years ago. A friend and I were returning from the Peace River Country after a week long goose hunting trip. We had two full possession limits of Canadas with us- all nicely plucked, gutted and frozen in freezer bags WITH BOTH WINGS CUT OFF. We had cleaned them ourselves and had overlooked the requirement to leave one wing attached until the birds have been transported to the hunters' permanent residences. I think this was the result of another brain fart possibly brought on by having consumed one or two too many beers during the cleaning process.:):).
We got checked by a wildlife officer who informed us that we had violated the regulations and that we were subject to being charged with an offence. He stated that his real concern was that we could not prove that some of the birds were were not whitefronts (speckle bellies) and therefore we could be over our possession limit. I pointed out to him that our birds had enough black leg skin stiil on them to identify them as something other than speckle bellies which have orange leg skin.
He must have been somewhat impressed by this because he gave us written warnings instead of charging us. I've always appreciated the common sense approach the officer took with us in dealing with the matter. I do think we were very lucky, however, and I wouldn't count on the next guy being so lenient.
Just thought you might be interested in hearing what happened to me.

[savagewsm]

If I offended anyone from Alberta that was certainly not my intention and apologize if I have. In my neck of the woods I have personally seen people put in nets rather than fish with hooks. That is not the same rules in my book.

Another beef is some of the rule they put on law abiding sportsmen that are a bit silly. Here for instance you must have a square inch of skin on fish fillets to transport. If you can't tell a Jack from a walleye from a perch and don't know that each fish produces two fillets I wonder what place you have being a CO
( Not offending CO's here just making a point )

I have known a couple of people fined for having one fillet without skin. Really, how does that protect the species. It just seems like a government pencil pusher trying to look like he knows what he is doing. Game laws a crucial and must be followed and enforced no question. However, some of them are just darn stupid and need to be changed.


example: Saskatchewan has Sunday hunting now. Yeee Haaaaa

[GMac]

Trust me guys. They are on patrol and have to show results for their efforts.
they will nail you for little infractions to fill their monthly Quotas.

[dirtyman]

2 days before i get 200 ticket i got laid offf..2 days after my post i got a
4115 ticket for no seatbelt,which i addmittrd to.....so loose my job and rack up 3115 in tickets...not a good start.....a am at the end of my wits; if i had any i am afraid to go fishing now....i am afraiad to go out.i wish i could say when it rains i pooorrs but it is f ing snowing


signed lower then low dirtyman




























in snowing

[Tweedsider]

Hey Dirtyman, they say things happen in three's, so you should be in the clear now!:)

[JohnnyCustom]

I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I can proudly say that everytime I throw a hook on, I always drag my finger on it before it goes in the water. Only been checked on once with no hassels. Feels good to be sure that I'm always legal.
Now if the fish would just bite the lures.......

[jeprli]

I'm not perfect by any stretch, but I can proudly say that everytime I throw a hook on, I always drag my finger on it before it goes in the water. Only been checked on once with no hassels. Feels good to be sure that I'm always legal.
Now if the fish would just bite the lures.......


I agree with JohnnyCustom. I use mostly artificial lures, we all know they come with crappy hooks, so Gamakatsu Barbless Treble comes in place of the old one. It's barbless, way stronger then any soft bronze treble or black nickel, and sharp beyond belief. There is also nothing wrong with pinching the barbed hooks, but black nickel ones tend to break at the tip, almost like glass.

BTW No barb regulation has been out for a while now, I don't think there should be any questions when issuing tickets. If you're going out on the water then go prepared. No one here can say they forgot to pinch the barb when we all know it has to be done, EVERY TIME you put on a new hook.

Good thing some of you got away with it, and I understand the "rush of the moment" while fishing, but we're all adults, and hopefully we're responsible ones at that.

[DoUCWhatIC]

Trust me guys. They are on patrol and have to show results for their efforts.
they will nail you for little infractions to fill their monthly Quotas.

What a load of crap!

[dirtyman]

buddy.i already said i was in the wrong....and i am taking responsibility for it... i am just saying it was an honest mistake....be prepared,that might take planing and when i got a few hours no notice to fish i go. i tie alot of my jigs i use (pinch before tie) don't use bait much and got some #6 hooks still in package..when the rule first changeed i paid attention more now it is "common sence" .... thats why i said costly brain fart....ever forget to put your seatbelt on??????....an other costly brain fart...i might be wrong but i think you might be the first "perfect person" on this site....keep up the good work, careful your fly is down ....oooooops never done that before either

[jeprli]

I wish I was perfect, or maybe I don't. Like you said, common sense, does it happen to you to drink alcohol while driving??? Do you ever forget to wipe yourself??? These are all common sense, but for you it can happen... I hope not :)

And yes I always put my seat belt on before I turn on ignition :) It sucks, I know! And no my fly is never open in public, i don't use pants with zippers, buttons only, zippers can be hurtful(see I made a mistake once upon a time) :)

Cheer up "buddy", and use common sense! :wave:

[GMac]

DoucWhatIC

You better back up that statement. Been there got the t shirt.

[dirtyman]

i got drunk one night driving home from fishing whith barbrbs and poooped in my pants..to teach my self a lesson i didn't wipe for three days ( and i am harry)..could you imagine .. i was so concerned with not pooping my pannts next time i forgot to de-barb my hook the next time i went fishing...but i put my seatbelt on...not bad 2 for 3...


????? ever lost/missplaced your keys captan perfect...hmmmmmmmmmmm

[dirtyman]

i made a mistake and told my story so others would not do the same...thats all...just a reminder..not all of us are as good as you, though we all try

[QIsley]

GMac, Fish and Wildlife Officers do NOT have a ticket quota, and neither do CO's that work for Parks. An officers job is to document every violation that is encountered in the field by issuing an enforcement action (prosecution, warning, time to produce......). I am not going to comment on the course of action taken by another officer, weather it was a CO from Parks or a Fish and Wildlife Officer for SRD. We try to asses the best action to take based on the circumstances and the enforcement plan for the district.

Nobody likes to get a ticket but it happens. Good for Dirtyman for taking it with a positive attitude, learning from the experience and sharing with others as a reminder to check their hooks before using them!

The fine is $200.00, it is a set specified penalty however a person could be sent to court in the public interest if he/she is a repeat offender, the Judge then sets the fine..

We get paid to enforce the regulations, but the number of tickets I write has no bearing on anything at the end of the month or year for that matter.

I wear the T-shirt every day :lol:

[Walleyes]

gmac, fish and wildlife officers do not have a ticket quota, and neither do co's that work for parks. An officers job is to document every violation that is encountered in the field by issuing an enforcement action (prosecution, warning, time to produce......). I am not going to comment on the course of action taken by another officer, weather it was a co from parks or a fish and wildlife officer for srd. We try to asses the best action to take based on the circumstances and the enforcement plan for the district.

Nobody likes to get a ticket but it happens. Good for dirtyman for taking it with a positive attitude, learning from the experience and sharing with others as a reminder to check their hooks before using them!

The fine is $200.00, it is a set specified penalty however a person could be sent to court in the public interest if he/she is a repeat offender, the judge then sets the fine..

We get paid to enforce the regulations, but the number of tickets i write has no bearing on anything at the end of the month or year for that matter.

I wear the t-shirt every day :lol:

yes sir...

[PlayDoh]

$200 is BS, but what fine amount isn't really? I got a seat belt ticket in a dump-truck once, and the ticket was more then I made working the entire day. Because I forgot to put a seat belt on, once out of the hundred times I got in and out of the truck that day, I should loose my entire earnings of over 8 hours? Ridiculous.

Unfortunately its all a part of the show, and our mistakes are the 'Grease' that keeps the machine running, and if they didn't write BS tickets they couldn't keep in business. This week its you, next week its someone else. Police spending hours witting violations when there's gangs and drugs all over is evidence of that, gotta raise the money somehow.

[jeprli]

Dude you're taking this too serious.

Put yourself in Fish cops position, who knows how many stories he already heard from other people, probably so many that anything you, me or anyone else says sound like a cliche to him. So of course he gives out a ticket, just like a traffic cop. It's their duty.

I got fined in Saskatchewan for having no licence(i was fishing for carp)$120, they took my rod, but gave it back once i paid the fine, oh yeah and I get to keep the fish :)

I've also had my drivers lic. taken for demerits. Never got a ticket since then, not even a parking ticket.

And I do make mistakes, I'm not PERFECT, so don't call me mister perfect, unless you like it :)

Cheer up, I don't hate you or have anything against you, **** happens live with it!

[DoUCWhatIC]

DoucWhatIC

You better back up that statement. Been there got the t shirt.

What does that mean? You were a fish cop and had a quota? Or you received a ticket and attributed it to a quota?

How about backing up your statement that fish cops have a quota of violations to write up? Talk to any game warden in this province. There is no quota.

A cute story: I watched a game warden write a ticket to a guy for exceeding the limit years ago. The guy was giving the warden a hard time about meeting his quota. The guy was being very difficult. After professionally dealing with this guys abuse about a qouta the game warden said "We don't have quotas anymore, we can write as many as we want!" Even the guy laughed a little. A potentially bad situation was diffused!

[PlayDoh]

I don't see how the officer, especially since he even asked the guy "What do you think I should do", and got the reply he did, is at any fault.

However a $200 for not pinching one of the many barbs, is not proportional to the offense IMO. I would go to court and explain my feeling to the judge, although I wouldn't expect any sympathy at the same time.

[dirtyman]

i will just pay it and be done...this is just a reminder to all...i was in the wrong...done

[BigBuck$]

Just a question, what defines a "Barbless" Hook? You can pinch the things off the best you can with pliers but there is always a little bump left there from the barb. Should a guy be filing them right off or is the pliers good enough?

[splake0]

I think the Warden should have given a warning in this circumstance. Now Dirtyman will not be favorable towards wardens. Although most are reasonable but some think they own the resource.
I fish border waters. Half in SK and half in AB. I have two contains for my jigs, one barb less and one Barbed. In Alta I use the barb less and in Sask I use barbed most of the time. Sometimes I use a special jig that is barb less in SK but it doesn't matter in SK.

[BUD]

Soon we wont be allowed to use a hook at all or maybe rubber ones that bend easy , so the fish cant stay on, or the worm.
Bout the only thing we can do legally now is buy a bludy license , after that if you catch something you,d better not get caught , or its off to jail you go.

[Brandon5555]

.

[bushnell]

so why bring up a thread from 2009

[WayneChristie]

hope the OP got his refund :bad_boys_20:

[huntsfurfish]

hope the OP got his refund :bad_boys_20:

yup, agree

[fishingallday]

I thought barbs weren't illegal now? I still pinch mine because I always catch and release. But I thought the law changed a few years ago?

[Brandon5555]

I thought barbs weren't illegal now? I still pinch mine because I always catch and release. But I thought the law changed a few years ago?
Thread was from 2009, but still wondering if they are in fact still illegal. I heard someone say they forgot to include in the 2015 regs but they are still illegal

[fishingallday]

Thread was from 2009, but still wondering if they are in fact still illegal. I heard someone say they forgot to include in the 2015 regs but they are still illegal

Oh my bad didn't realize that. I'm not sure I'll keep pinching just to be safe

[Brandon5555]

Oh my bad didn't realize that. I'm not sure I'll keep pinching just to be safe
Yeah for sure. Better for the fish anyways

[huntsfurfish]

Thread was from 2009, but still wondering if they are in fact still illegal. I heard someone say they forgot to include in the 2015 regs but they are still illegal

No they are not illegal!:)

[Scottmisfits]

It wasn't in the regs a few years ago. 2012 or 2013 I think. But they never made it back in.

I don't get out as much as I want to but I have ALWAYS crimped my barbs. Not because I'm better or more ethical but only because I am strictly catch and release. If I don't have to handle the fish, the better off they will be.

[davvoe]

Barbless Hooks
Fishing
The Government of Alberta is asking Alberta’s anglers to keep barbed hooks out of our waters.

Last fall, an inadvertent federal amendment to the Alberta Fishery Regulations removed the barbed hook ban. The omission was not immediately noted and has affected about 600 Albertans who were ticketed for using barbed hooks.

Officials from Alberta Environment and Parks and Justice and Solicitor General are working to rectify the problem by withdrawing charges and reversing wrongful convictions and fines for those individuals affected since September 2011.

We’re working with the Government of Canada to determine the appropriate next steps as we consider the current lack of a barbed hook ban.

In the meantime, we encourage Alberta’s anglers to continue to use barbless hooks and remember that we are promoting proper handling techniques for all fish to best ensure their survival once released.

Updated: Jul 21, 2015

[Brandon5555]

Barbless Hooks
Fishing
The Government of Alberta is asking Alberta’s anglers to keep barbed hooks out of our waters.

Last fall, an inadvertent federal amendment to the Alberta Fishery Regulations removed the barbed hook ban. The omission was not immediately noted and has affected about 600 Albertans who were ticketed for using barbed hooks.

Officials from Alberta Environment and Parks and Justice and Solicitor General are working to rectify the problem by withdrawing charges and reversing wrongful convictions and fines for those individuals affected since September 2011.

We’re working with the Government of Canada to determine the appropriate next steps as we consider the current lack of a barbed hook ban.

In the meantime, we encourage Alberta’s anglers to continue to use barbless hooks and remember that we are promoting proper handling techniques for all fish to best ensure their survival once released.

Updated: Jul 21, 2015
Damn, there it is in black and white.

[58thecat]

When they come for you, bad boy!

Poop happens, live and learn, we all broke the law by having a brain fart or two!