Helping other anglers obey the reg's [Archive]

michelle

05-19-2009, 04:49 PM

Anybody have any advice on confronting those that do not obey the reg's? It drives me NUTS!
On the long weekend I observed many infractions. When I informed one of the offenders they just said "I know" and continued to fish in a banned area. To one of the other poachers I said "I am sure you are not allowed to fish there". The reply was "Just don't get caught" as he carted three keeper Walleye to his vehicle!:mad2:Makes me crazy!
There must be a better way to get them to pay attention.:confused:

troller

05-19-2009, 04:53 PM

I give up arguing. I just call. I would have taken plate numbers of the walleye taker and a cell phone pic and called. It hurts us all...buggers :(

Report a Poacher line (1-800-642-3800)

hal53

05-19-2009, 04:57 PM

I give up arguing. I just call. I would have taken plate numbers of the walleye taker and a cell phone pic and called. It hurts us all...buggers :(

Report a Poacher line (1-800-642-3800)
X2...I would also suggest take a pic (from a safe distance) of the infraction occurring....hopefully dated and timed....but be careful!!!!!...any info is helpful

michelle

05-19-2009, 04:57 PM

Good Point. I think that is what I will do next time.:wave:

Fish Feathers Game

05-19-2009, 05:27 PM

I agree with the others, PHONE and REPORT! I've done it several times and I'll do it in the future as they are hurting the resource for everyone! Without specifics, where were you?

michelle

05-19-2009, 06:38 PM

I was at Travers Reservoir

hal53

05-19-2009, 06:55 PM

I was at Travers Reservoir
That place seems to be a problem, for whatever reason.....dunno likely popular....and some hero that figures he spent 26 bucks (or not) ...can do what he wants......we need more funding for the officers+ more enforcement....but RAP does work....hope I don't get banned, but....some of our "new citizens" are not aware or care enough of our resources as we are.....

lilsundance

05-19-2009, 08:36 PM

Hal it isn't only "new citizens" that don't respect the law but people from all walks of life.
To answer the OP call RAP. get license plate numbers if you can, boat registration numbers and take pics if you can do it safely.

hal53

05-19-2009, 08:39 PM

nicemustang

05-19-2009, 09:34 PM

People fish up the creek at Travers where you're not supposed to for good reason, big fish. Got to call to RAP, otherwise you're not doing any good.

bsnyder

05-20-2009, 08:24 AM

I-Love-Eyes

05-20-2009, 09:00 AM

I know it drives me nuts.I watched a red boat with no identification slaughter a bunch of walleye:huh:.Way over limit!at Pigeon.I called the fish police from the lake and they found them and confiscated everything.YEHHHHHHHHHH!
We tournament fish and are blamed for a lot of the overfishing.Not fair, most of us dont even keep any fish, we do it for the sport.
Dont be afraid to call the fish police whenever there is people breaking the rules, its up to us to help make sure the rules are followed otherwise there will be no fish left for our kids!!!!!!!!!! THANKS:wave:

While it's true that tournament fish are released. what about the "prefish"??
I know that some go out and keep their limit EVERY DAY for two or three days before the tournament.
Imagine the pressure if say 50 boats are out prefishing for 3 days and they keep their limit of fish. If the limit is two per angler per day, that works out to 50 boats x 2 people per boat x 4 fish x 3 days ==1200 fish taken before the tournament starts!!!

I think that this practice is why SRD has banned fish retention for the week before the tournament. (I am refering to the NAWT tournament at Moose Lake)

Now I am going to open a can of worms here, but I think that fishing in Alberta has so much angling pressure that the whole province should be deemed C&R only. I like eating fish as well as the next guy but I'd rather be able to take my future grandchildren fishing.

Okotokian

05-20-2009, 09:16 AM

I would never speak to someone I thought was breaking the rules. You just don't know what the reaction is going to be. There are some nuts out there. Let the professionals do their job. Plus, quite frankly, I could be wrong in my interpretation of the regs.

duffy4

05-20-2009, 09:42 AM

I think I have some ability to assess a situation.

1. Gather information (vehicle plate # or boat #s and description of indeviduals)

2. If i think they may be just ignorant of the regulations, I would talk to them politely and inform them.

3. If they have a bad attitude, I have the information I need to report them.

F&W enfocemant staff are spread pretty thin and could use all the help we can give them. Good hard information they can use.

If we complain about all the bad stuff we see and never gather info and report it, we may as well be wistling in the wind.

bsnyder

05-20-2009, 09:51 AM

While it's true that tournament fish are released. what about the "prefish"??
I know that some go out and keep their limit EVERY DAY for two or three days before the tournament. Imagine the pressure if say 50 boats are out prefishing for 3 days and they keep their limit of fish. If the limit is two per angler per day, that works out to 50 boats x 2 people per boat x 4 fish x 3 days ==1200 fish taken before the tournament starts!!!

I think that this practice is why SRD has banned prefishing for the week before the tournament. (I am refering to the NAWT tournament at Moose Lake)

Now I am going to open a can of worms here, but I think that fishing in Alberta has so much angling pressure that the whole province should be deemed C&R only. I like eating fish as well as the next guy but I'd rather be able to take my future grandchildren fishing.

HEY ! I agree:D, Pinhurst has that rule this year too. No fish retention for the week of the tournament and no prefish the day before. GREAT IDEA !!We dont keep any fish at all and lots of the guys ( who care ) are in agreement.I prefer most of the SASK regs as far as size, in alberta we only keep the big fish to eat , thats why there isnt any left . In Sask you throw the big breeding ones back and only eat the smaller ones. SMART I THINK:innocent:

nicemustang

05-20-2009, 10:05 AM

HEY ! I agree:D, Pinhurst has that rule this year too. No fish retention for the week of the tournament and no prefish the day before. GREAT IDEA !!We dont keep any fish at all and lots of the guys ( who care ) are in agreement.I prefer most of the SASK regs as far as size, in alberta we only keep the big fish to eat , thats why there isnt any left . In Sask you throw the big breeding ones back and only eat the smaller ones. SMART I THINK:innocent:

I agree 100%. Why would Alberta only allow to keep the big ones, never made sense to me. Instead we should be allowed to keep (if any) middle of the road.

Waxy

05-20-2009, 10:07 AM

While it's true that tournament fish are released. what about the "prefish"??
I know that some go out and keep their limit EVERY DAY for two or three days before the tournament. Imagine the pressure if say 50 boats are out prefishing for 3 days and they keep their limit of fish. If the limit is two per angler per day, that works out to 50 boats x 2 people per boat x 4 fish x 3 days ==1200 fish taken before the tournament starts!!!

I think that this practice is why SRD has banned prefishing for the week before the tournament. (I am refering to the NAWT tournament at Moose Lake)

In theory your numbers are correct, but in reality, I think they're way off, at least in my experience with tournies in SK.

I'd guess that only about 5-10% or so of tournament anglers actually keep fish, let alone a limit, especially when pre-fishing a tourney. It's actually kinda counterproductive to take fish out of the fishery on a tournament weekend.

The bigger factor though, is that most tournament anglers I know, myself included, are almost all strictly C&R fishermen, they'll keep the odd one, but the enjoyment is in the catching, not the keeping.

Waxy

bsnyder

05-20-2009, 11:04 AM

in theory your numbers are correct, but in reality, i think they're way off, at least in my experience with tournies in sk.

I'd guess that only about 5-10% or so of tournament anglers actually keep fish, let alone a limit, especially when pre-fishing a tourney. It's actually kinda counterproductive to take fish out of the fishery on a tournament weekend.

The bigger factor though, is that most tournament anglers i know, myself included, are almost all strictly c&r fishermen, they'll keep the odd one, but the enjoyment is in the catching, not the keeping.

Waxy

amen:d

elkfriend

05-20-2009, 11:20 AM

I saw a guy standing by the weir in Calgary fly fishing, right UNDER the sign that said NO FISHING !!!

There were people with kids etc enjoing the nice day in the park by the bow river and all of them saw this idiot ignoring the sign.

I truly think this is what gives fishing/hunting a bad name.

I do have the report a poacher hotline programmed in my cell and called them right away.

10 minutes later, 2 F&W cops showed up and gave the guy a ticket.

While that happened, I saw another angler on his bicycle approaching from behind, it seemed like he was planning to fish there too.

When he saw F&W, he turned around and "fled" (he would have had no reason to do so, if he was planning to fish legal, ie with licence and in the right spot).

Anyways, I do not like meaningless "whistle blowing" - but in this case I had no regrets whatsoever! The bow river is such a long body body of water, and this guy needs to fish right by the weir UNDER a no fishing sign?

Gimme a break.....

bsnyder

05-20-2009, 11:23 AM

marlin1

05-20-2009, 12:10 PM

which weir?

elkfriend

05-20-2009, 02:33 PM

the weir right by 16th on the bow, between deerfoot and the bird reserve (close to the trout hatchery)!

slingshotz

05-20-2009, 02:51 PM

While it's true that tournament fish are released. what about the "prefish"??
I know that some go out and keep their limit EVERY DAY for two or three days before the tournament. Imagine the pressure if say 50 boats are out prefishing for 3 days and they keep their limit of fish. If the limit is two per angler per day, that works out to 50 boats x 2 people per boat x 4 fish x 3 days ==1200 fish taken before the tournament starts!!!

Not to be too anal but that's technically illegal as per regulations: "The number of fish of each species you may possess at the end of a fishing trip, regardless of the number of days fished, is equal to a 1 day limit for the water body fished, including fish stored at home."

Province-wide maximum possession limits also apply which in the case of walleye is three. So unless those anglers eat three walleye every night they can't keep any the next day, if they have three walleye in the freezer at home they can't keep any the entire time!

But yeah, call RAP on people as many of those ignorant people probably don't have the capacity to read let alone understand what regulations are.

I-Love-Eyes

05-20-2009, 03:27 PM

OK I need to clarify a couple of things.
First, I said that there was a prefishing ban--that is incorrect--it is a retention ban.
Second, my 50 boats is just a theory--I said IMAGINE IF...
Third, I have seen guys do exactly what Slingshotz mentioned ----
"So unless those anglers eat three walleye every night"----prefish every day and fish fry at night

I-Love-Eyes

05-20-2009, 03:33 PM

Also, I am going to reiterate what I said in my previous post!!

Now I am going to open a can of worms here, but I think that fishing in Alberta has so much angling pressure that the whole province should be deemed C&R only. I like eating fish as well as the next guy but I'd rather be able to take my future grandchildren fishing. "

bsnyder

05-20-2009, 03:44 PM

You guys make me laugh :lol:, lets just agree that less and smaller fish retention is better for all involved.Lets try to keep all the big fish in the lake all we can.Its all about the fishing:innocent:

michelle

05-20-2009, 05:29 PM

Thanks all for the very good advice! I can see everyone is very passionate about protecting our resources. I now have the tools to report those cheaters that are taking advantage of our fishing privilege.;)

brook trout

05-20-2009, 05:44 PM

theres allways a sense of victory when you report a poacher and he gets caught. i dont feel bad for those guys at all. they deserve to be punished or fined. by the way do the people you report stare at you in a mean stare? must be scary if they do. but they get what they get.:lol::lol:

HUNTER55

05-20-2009, 11:07 PM

OMG!!! do you all read what you post?

1st, i was at Travers last weekend as well, also think i was close to the point you were fishing, East side right on the rocks right? i also did hear you tell the ( i think 4 people ) that they are not to be fishing in there, and good on you it was the right thing to do and the boat beside us called his wife and had her get the plate number, what happened from there i don't know, i hope the right thing.

2nd, i do fish the SAWT ( southern Alberta walleye trail ) we did chin lake this year with like a 84 boat turn out, i never seen one fish removed from the lake the Friday before the event started, not to say there was no fish at all removed just that i never seen one.

Now, i fish not only for fun i like to eat fish as well, and i would think SOME of the other 167 anglers that fish them ( 2 people per boat ) that weekend like to eat them as well, and as well as 90% of you who say you put them all back( cut the bs its OK to enjoy your catch with your family as long as its within the law ) , so lets do a little math the same way for your side, you put 50 boats in a tournament that runs for 2 days, at 4 tournaments a year, at 2 people per boat......ya just removed 800 very, very, very good anglers that can catch and keep fish for 4 weekends! is this a bad thing? if they weren't there isn't there more of a chance that they would be keep them?......bet they wouldn't be at home sitting around thinking they were fishing....they WOULD BE OUT THERE ALL 4 WEEKENDS CUZ THEY LOVE TO FISH!

Last thing, i have fished the southern reservoir lakes most all my life, walleye are my favorite fish to catch, there is no sign of walleye trouble in the lake that i can see, i hooked into a 67cm eye, 14 legal fish in total, put about 70 fish in the boat and the smallest one was under 20cm, sounds like a healthy fishery to me, now i don't keep all the legal fish we boat but i do keep the odd one, my kids love walleye as well as me and my wife, and its nice to see there little eyes open wide when i ask them if they want to go see if we can go catch dinner for mom, this puts them out of the house, on the lake and with dad for the day, also helps them get hooked on fishing like dad.

michelle

05-22-2009, 08:45 AM

Hunter I am sure glad that someone called. I was not sure what to do. Now I have been empowered to RAP.

We are heading out to Travers again June 12 weekend. Can't wait! Wave at me if you see me! Anyone is welcome to hang out with us if you can. It would be nice to meet people with the same addiction as my boyfriend and I.:wave:

bucktaker

05-22-2009, 09:19 AM

just drove by the weir on the bow. Some guy is down there fishing. right under the spillway by the hatchery. Feel free to go abuse him if your bored.

Walleyes

05-22-2009, 01:14 PM

Last thing, i have fished the southern reservoir lakes most all my life, walleye are my favorite fish to catch, there is no sign of walleye trouble in the lake that i can see, i hooked into a 67cm eye, 14 legal fish in total, put about 70 fish in the boat and the smallest one was under 20cm, sounds like a healthy fishery to me, now i don't keep all the legal fish we boat but i do keep the odd one, my kids love walleye as well as me and my wife, and its nice to see there little eyes open wide when i ask them if they want to go see if we can go catch dinner for mom, this puts them out of the house, on the lake and with dad for the day, also helps them get hooked on fishing like dad.

Very well stated hunter. I am in agreeance with you on the fact that I do not see where all of our lakes are in trouble. I personely do not have a problem putting a high number of fish in my boat. I know of several lakes in the north east that I have fished since a kid and this dates back to the 70's that are better walleye fisheries than they were back then.

I see it time and again people out on the water chucking big spoons out reeling them in as fast as possible or speed trolling with Raps ( cause someone at the fishing Hole told them they catch walleye), and they don't catch fish ??? Then they come into shore, the fisheries people are there doing surveys. They ask Joe public have you caught any fish ?? the awenser is,, NO.. So what do you think go's in the report and into the records ??? Lo and behold the walleye fishery is held to a minimum or kept shut down.. Mean while us local boys are out there catching walleye till our hands bleed taking fish after fish off of the line.. On one lake in particular up home that is very popular it has gotten to the pint where you are hard pressed to find bait fish because the walleye are so thick they are just about eating themselves to death !! Yet it remains held back because the spoon chuckers say the fishing is very slow ?? But some how this makes sense ???

Sorry for the rant and getting off topic but Hunters post got me to a thinkin again !!!!

packhuntr

05-22-2009, 02:45 PM

I cant speak for anyone else here, but I catch my fair share of eyes on crankbaits.... And even nearing, but just below speeds where the bait will begin to spin out. Dont beleive that it is only a warm water summer tactic, or fall tool, cause ive already landed some of my best fish of the year,, pushing towards 30 inch, right on down to the smaller age classes. They arent just a tactic for mid to late season,, you CAN catch walleye on cranks in the early season. Some of my better ones this spring have came off cotton cordells, tail dancers, husky jerks, etc etc pulled behind planer boards.

Edit, sorry for the hijack fellas. I dont have anything else I want to contribute.

OutwardBound

05-22-2009, 10:30 PM

Danni and I also seen a guy fishing inside the new wier at Travers, and have seen many people keeping every fish they catch, but our big problem is that our cell phone does not work at Travers (Rogers and Fido), or we would have reported a few people.

Were heading out to Travers tomorrow fishing. If you see 2 chessie's TIED into the boat and a white and black Legend, say Hi.

Dustin

BUD

05-23-2009, 04:13 PM

I was at Travers Reservoir

lake front cabin owners at travers keep everything , even at night , short walk to there freezer in the cabin.

michelle

05-24-2009, 02:22 AM

catnthehat

05-24-2009, 07:15 AM

While it's true that tournament fish are released. what about the "prefish"??
I know that some go out and keep their limit EVERY DAY for two or three days before the tournament. Imagine the pressure if say 50 boats are out prefishing for 3 days and they keep their limit of fish. If the limit is two per angler per day, that works out to 50 boats x 2 people per boat x 4 fish x 3 days ==1200 fish taken before the tournament starts!!!

I think that this practice is why SRD has banned prefishing for the week before the tournament. (I am refering to the NAWT tournament at Moose Lake)

Now I am going to open a can of worms here, but I think that fishing in Alberta has so much angling pressure that the whole province should be deemed C&R only. I like eating fish as well as the next guy but I'd rather be able to take my future grandchildren fishing.
This makes no sense to me.:confused:
If you are prefishing to find good areas to fish in a tournament, wouldn't you rather release what you catch so it is hopefully there on the tournament days?
I know a few tournament fishermen, and all of the rarely take a limit of fish, if ever.
Cat

BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES

05-24-2009, 02:33 PM

Now I am going to open a can of worms here, but I think that fishing in Alberta has so much angling pressure that the whole province should be deemed C&R only. I like eating fish as well as the next guy but I'd rather be able to take my future grandchildren fishing.

Agreed , Close it for 10 or 15 years . With the amount of stocking compared to the fishing pressure is insane . I forget the exact number of lakes in the mid 600's and now compare that to the number of fishing licenses that are issued . Well I think its time someone in the high government gets a slap upside the head , or we look at managing our fishery before we lose what we have .

rhuntley12

05-25-2009, 07:49 AM

If you tell them that they are breaking the law and they don't care then definately call the report a poacher.

I'm sure there are a lot of people that are fishing where they aren't supposed to and haven't realize it, but if they know they are doing wrong well thats where the law steps in.

I-Love-Eyes

05-25-2009, 09:09 AM

This makes no sense to me.:confused:
If you are prefishing to find good areas to fish in a tournament, wouldn't you rather release what you catch so it is hopefully there on the tournament days?
I know a few tournament fishermen, and all of the rarely take a limit of fish, if ever.
Cat

Yes, I agree that prefishing for a tourney is to find the fish. I also know some tournament fisherman and as I said I have seen them take fish everday on the prefish. I am not saying that all tourney fishermen do this and I am sure most don't, but it does happen. As in everything, there are people who will push the limits of the law (or in this case, the limits of the fishing regs)

I don't want to start an arguement--I am just giving MY observations.

elkfriend

05-25-2009, 12:20 PM

In Germany you need a fishing licence too and there is about 10 times as many people as in alberta on about 1/3rd of the land AND much less water to fish.

If you are getting caught fishing without a licence, its a criminal offence - basically like stealing or alike. To get a licence, you have to pass an test, making sure people know the species, seasons, limits etc.

In AB, every Joe can just go and get a licence at walmart, without any knowledge at all about fish and the regs.

I think the authorities here are way too soft on the offenders (ie no license, no tags, exceeding limit etc.)

I do not even know if criminal charges are laid in AB, if not they should.

just my 2 cents!

marlin1

05-25-2009, 01:16 PM

the weir right by 16th on the bow, between deerfoot and the bird reserve (close to the trout hatchery)!

the one across the river from the Zoo? I rode down there right to the weir and saw no sign but guys were fishing. Maybe you mean 17ave?

Donavonszoo

05-25-2009, 02:18 PM

I think most of the ideas and recomondations that have been stated here are pretty good advice but i would like to add one important thing. I was told of a local man who did exactly what he was supposed to... he stayed a distance away got a plate # and description of the poachers and vehicle from a distance with bino's, he called it in but before anyone got to the location the poachers chased him down and ran his truck off the road. when they had him stopped they threatened him severly and really scared the crap out of him. Now keep in mind the prey was a HUGE whitetail buck not a fish but in my eyes fishing is simply hunting for fish.

anyways after my big speal the one point i wanted to make was
report infractions but BE CAREFUL
people dont like getting tickets or reported.
Donavon

elkfriend

05-26-2009, 09:32 AM

The one that is (was?) right beside deerfoot and that you see when you drive on deerfoot north on the left hand side, not too far from the inglewood golf course and south of the sam livingston trout hatchery!

But that was a year or so ago and I think they wanted to demolition it - so not sure on the actual status!

the one across the river from the Zoo? I rode down there right to the weir and saw no sign but guys were fishing. Maybe you mean 17ave?

bsnyder

05-26-2009, 10:56 AM

Yes, I agree that prefishing for a tourney is to find the fish. I also know some tournament fisherman and as I said I have seen them take fish everday on the prefish. I am not saying that all tourney fishermen do this and I am sure most don't, but it does happen. As in everything, there are people who will push the limits of the law (or in this case, the limits of the fishing regs)

I don't want to start an arguement--I am just giving MY observations.

I am a tournament fisher and most of my tournament friends and I would do almost anything to keep a good fisherie.Some will keep one (legal) to eat for the week , most like myself do C/R.We luv to fish and the tournaments just add abit of compatition into our faverite sport.We get tired for being blamed for all the bad things on the lake :tongue2:when in reality we see ourselves as stuarts to promote fair and honast fishing practises.We arnt bad guys:wave:althow there is always a bad apple in the bunch who dosnt care ( and usually trys to cheat ):mad2: