If you’re going to poach.....

[Talking moose]

Ok, I lied. Carry on. Interesting thread.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Poachers drive beige sienna vans...it’s the first clue, second clue is if they have fishing rods...poachers.

LC

[Talking moose]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Poachers drive beige sienna vans...it’s the first clue, second clue is if they have fishing rods...poachers.

LC

[Pikeonafly]

Originally Posted by Zuludog

Guessed you missed my points about being anti poacher? Seems out of my whole post you picked out the line about no net too😀. Yes proper fish handling is very important and in a perfect world it would be that way but we all know that is not the case. I have seen hundreds of experienced fisherman mishandle fish. I am sure if we googled fishing pictures there would be thousands of pictures of people handling from fish wrong.

I am not sure why you are getting so defensivel though? I never said that they were all innocent, did I? Others have posted about not being able to judge a fish length from far away and it shows that it is "possible" that you could be wrong. You just don't seem to be able to entertain the thought that you might even be wrong, that's the scary part. Have fun with your side business though. I mean who cares if you are right or wrong just report everyone and let the chips fall where they may? Not your responsibility though🙄

I'm answering all of the questions you threw out of the left field. You picked out one line and went on a crusade about how people are innocent because they don't have nets.

Lots of people don't like to or are afraid to pick up a flopping pike, especially inexperienced ones.

So who's fault is that? do you go fishing expecting to catch nothing? Why even bother go fishing if you're not going to learn how to handle fish? There is zero excuse not to bring a net if you have no idea what you're doing. Now you're trying to explain fish handling to me... like really?

I just hope that in your eagerness to do good that innocent people aren't getting fined or worse.

Sure hope you're kidding because that sure doesn't sound like you understand how it works. It is the responsibility of a fisherman to understand where they can fish, what they can use and what they can keep. If the Fish&Wildlife officer follows up on a report and find that the fish is LEGALLY taken then nothing will ever happen to them. Innocent people don't get fine or worse for not doing anything wrong if reported. I shouldn't even have to explain this to you at all.

Again, There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with reporting someone if you suspect things might not be right. They(fish&widlife) encourage it otherwise there is no point in having fish&wildlife officers. You worry about being wrong makes it sounds like you're too scared to do anything when someone is poaching. I don't lose sleep reporting people if i see it happening nor do I lose sleep if I'm right or wrong.

Your entire statement is just a Hail Mary attempt to discredit people for reporting out of fear of being wrong. Sounds to me like you're too much of a chicken**** to report people for illegal fishing.


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Story time: I had one large family fishing out here a few weeks ago and the first thing one of them did when they landed a fish was to ask a family member to grab a Coleman cooler. without even attempting measuring, not even netting, straight up drag to shore, unhook and drop into cooler. Does that sound innocent to you? You can bet your ass f&w arrived 30mins later and cleared the area real quick.

[AndrewM]

Try not to get defensive. Some people argue just because they enjoy firing people up. Good on your for reporting poachers!

[pikeman06]

Originally Posted by Talking moose

When I pull up to my fishing hole and someone’s in my spot, I’ll phone the fish cops and report them poaching.
Fish cops come and if they are poaching, they go home, I get my spot back, and get a cheque in the mail to fund my next trip.
If they aren’t poaching, I go to the next spot and pretend it wasn’t me that called.

What an excellent tactic.

[Zuludog]

Originally Posted by Pikeonafly

I'm answering all of the questions you threw out of the left field. You picked out one line and went on a crusade about how people are innocent because they don't have nets.



So who's fault is that? do you go fishing expecting to catch nothing? Why even bother go fishing if you're not going to learn how to handle fish? There is zero excuse not to bring a net if you have no idea what you're doing. Now you're trying to explain fish handling to me... like really?



Sure hope you're kidding because that sure doesn't sound like you understand how it works. It is the responsibility of a fisherman to understand where they can fish, what they can use and what they can keep. If the Fish&Wildlife officer follows up on a report and find that the fish is LEGALLY taken then nothing will ever happen to them. Innocent people don't get fine or worse for not doing anything wrong if reported. I shouldn't even have to explain this to you at all.

Again, There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with reporting someone if you suspect things might not be right. They(fish&widlife) encourage it otherwise there is no point in having fish&wildlife officers. You worry about being wrong makes it sounds like you're too scared to do anything when someone is poaching. I don't lose sleep reporting people if i see it happening nor do I lose sleep if I'm right or wrong.

Your entire statement is just a Hail Mary attempt to discredit people for reporting out of fear of being wrong. Sounds to me like you're too much of a chicken**** to report people for illegal fishing.


---

Story time: I had one large family fishing out here a few weeks ago and the first thing one of them did when they landed a fish was to ask a family member to grab a Coleman cooler. without even attempting measuring, not even netting, straight up drag to shore, unhook and drop into cooler. Does that sound innocent to you? You can bet your ass f&w arrived 30mins later and cleared the area real quick.

Lol. Your over reading skills are lacking or maybe it's your poor articulation. I never said that people were innocent because they don't have nets. You on the other hand pretty much said that they were poachers because they didn't. Can you discern the difference between those two statements?

Try reading my post again it might help with your understanding. Lol I am not trying to tell you how to handle fish dude. I am saying that just because someone else doesn't that doesn't make them a poacher. In fact I bet that lots of people with nets don't know how to handle fish and lots without do and vise versa. Having or not having a net doesn't necessarily make you a bad or.good fisherman or a poacher. Here's a BIG HINT poaching makes you a poacher. Period.

I have reported suspected poachers but I don't try and supplement my income from it. If you think that makes me scared...lol..okay🙄🙄🤣🤣🤣 I just don't call on everyone and waste F&W time hoping to get a cheque, just because I didn't like the way someone landed a fish.

Your story is missing some crucial details. I couldn't tell from your story if it sounds like poachers or not. I don't know the lake, limits there etc. They could have easily caught a fish of legal size dragged it on the rocks and put it in a cooler and it could be fine or not. You seem to be focused on the dragging part and not if the fish itself is legal. I know many people who can tell if a fish is legal without measuring. I also know that those same people will measure a fish if it's close.

[Vapor]

Mods please lock this thread. This is getting pointless and doesn't promote anything constructive at this point. SMH