Fishing out of season

[RACKER]

I do not seem to understand why certain people do not know or care to read regulations.Or do they not even care and hope they don't get caught.I was on my way thru the coulee on the north side of Coal Lake and noticed 2 people fishing from shore.I stopped to inform them the season is not open yet and they didn't care.So as I left I contacted F@W and let them know what was going on.I received a call a short time later by an officer who informed me he would check it out as soon as he could-he was finishing up doing some paperwork on 6 people that got charged fishing in boats on the same lake that day!Most all of the outdoorsman I know follow the laws and it just frustrates me that this seems to happen.Sorry to vent here but I just wanted to say that there is a great effort done by our officers in the field.

[bushnell]

Sadly this happens on a lot of lakes throughout the province. You can't fix stupid ,it usually fixes itself

[tight line]

Originally Posted by bushnell

Sadly this happens on a lot of lakes throughout the province. You can't fix stupid ,it usually fixes itself

See it every year on the Battle..

[Red Bullets]

The 'Fish and Wildlife Enforcement' page on facebook posts infractions of people they are catching fishing in closed waters. The CO's must be busier now than when the season is open.

The people caught fishing in a closed season should lose their licenses for the year. Think of all the fish it would save. Then there would be no fishing pressure from those people that have no regard for our fisheries laws. Management practices just might work then too.

I think they need to print the regulations in several more languages. And maybe some testing before selling a person a license. The test should be questions regarding the regulations.

[#4fisherman]

Agreed with all the points raised here.

[Outdoorfanatic]

Unfortunately no amount of legislation/testing will solve stupid. If people insist on fishing out of season or poaching in season they'll do it with or without a licence chances are the folks at Coal Lake had not yet purchased their 2016/2017 fishing lic. The illegal aspect is bold the fact that they where doing it in the wide open where anyone could witness it was the stupid part.

Not defending their actions at all but just something to consider; the fact that Alberta closes all our water bodies except trout ponds in April is also stupid. Most jurisdictions in North America make extra opportunities for spring fishing not less. Spring and fishing go hand in hand; unless your in Alberta.

Secondly domestic netting is a double standard that many anglers are fed up with. For instance Battle Lake not long ago was an awesome Walleye fishery and just a couple of years ago a choice for the draw. That is now gone. Reason domestic netting and the illegal sale of the fish. Convictions where made but that hasn't stopped the domestic netting. So will we ever get to keep a Walleye at Battle again? Not likely. Very frustrating.

Outdoorfanatic

[FisherPotch]

Fully agree. It would be nice if they pulled licences more. Should be a two strike rule. Mistakes can happen and all but I'm a total screw up and some how even I manage to follow the law. So no excuses lol

[Bergerboy]

Insane. You get a copy of regs with your licence. Everyone has a smart phone as well. No excuses.

1st offence 2 years license suspension. 2nd. Life.

Then people would take it seriously.

[Red Bullets]

Outdoorfanatic;3218698

Not defending their actions at all but just something to consider; the fact that Alberta closes all our water bodies except trout ponds in April is also stupid. Spring and fishing go hand in hand; unless your in Alberta.

Outdoorfanatic

Actually, if you look at the regs several of the streams and rivers in all 3 of the eastern slopes watershed units are open April 1.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Bergerboy

Insane. You get a copy of regs with your licence. Everyone has a smart phone as well. No excuses.

1st offence 2 years license suspension. 2nd. Life.

Then people would take it seriously.

Can't read, smart phone battery died,...big thick heavy fines.

[last minute]

taking away the license of somebody who is fishing out of season do you think they really care there fishing out of season. I do agree bigger fines could deter most people from fishing out of season

[neilsledder]

I was talking to a guy this weekend that said he might take his kids fishing to Coal lake. I said that he might want to wait a few weeks till the season is open lol. He said it has to be open because he went for a quad ride along the east side with his kids and said there was 3 boats out fishing and 2 guys on shore. That's a lot of poaching!


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[Outdoorfanatic]

At least the Coal Lake dummies are making it easy for the C.Os. Imagine how much of this is going on out in the back country. Too bad that the stupid and bold are involving their kids. As a minor defence I think their are some out there that believe season closure only applies to those that plan to keep fish, but not to those that strictly catch and release.

Irony is the reason we lost the April season on Pigeon is because the Bio was concerned that catch and release fishing of the Walleye and Pike would cause too much hooking mortality during the staging up period prior to the spawn. So the lake is now closed the end of March. Too bad because that had traditionally been the time to target Whitefish. Anyway decision for closure was based on excessive catch and release not on keeping illegal fish.

Closed means closed period.

[Outdoorfanatic]

Originally Posted by Red Bullets

Actually, if you look at the regs several of the streams and rivers in all 3 of the eastern slopes watershed units are open April 1.

Granted Ezone streams and rivers. Point still remains that most of Alberta is closed to Angling opportunities in the spring, annoyingly for no known benefit. Before someone jumps on me for not being willing to project at risk fish, lets be clear that when and where necessary closures are appropriate, but just about province wide for all species of fish I'm not buying it. If whitefish are at risk then why are we allowed 10 in March but 0 in April. Or any other fish for that matter. At risk species on a particular lake can be given protection by giving them sacutuaries and 0 catch limits.

All that said, their are many lakes that are healthy for all species; so why are they closed in April?

[idaman]

It's closed then for spawning fish....

Bc does the same thing on most flowing waters in April.

[tight line]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

Granted Ezone streams and rivers. Point still remains that most of Alberta is closed to Angling opportunities in the spring, annoyingly for no known benefit. Before someone jumps on me for not being willing to project at risk fish, lets be clear that when and where necessary closures are appropriate, but just about province wide for all species of fish I'm not buying it. If whitefish are at risk then why are we allowed 10 in March but 0 in April. Or any other fish for that matter. At risk species on a particular lake can be given protection by giving them sacutuaries and 0 catch limits.

All that said, their are many lakes that are healthy for all species; so why are they closed in April?

X2 on spawning. Thats a pretty big benefit if you ask me. Healthy lake or not, Fish should be able to spawn without fishing pressure. I have no issue finding rivers or streams to fish year round!

[ETOWNCANUCK]

It's six weeks
Big deal
If you can't wait that long between hard water and open water season, you need to get a life.




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[Outdoorfanatic]

Originally Posted by tight line

X2 on spawning. Thats a pretty big benefit if you ask me. Healthy lake or not, Fish should be able to spawn without fishing pressure. I have no issue finding rivers or streams to fish year round!

As usual the point of these posts gets lost really fast. If your best argument is the spawn should be given extra consideration then all fishing should be closed during April and first half of May. But as we know the Ezones are open. Not to mention the fact that Pigeon L was open as recently as this past April, and depending on the water body some open May 8, some May 15, some June 15; so the point remains that the spring closures are not always and everywhere necessary. So we all know that some fish are at risk and others not. So why are we not giving more opportunity where we can. More opportunity benefits all of us. If I want to target local whitefish in April then that means I'm not out in the Ezone competing for fish in your honey holes.

And what better life is there for an angler that to have more fishing opportunity. If you disagree your not really an angler.

Just for the record some senior biologists agree with me and are reviewing the season closure thing.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

As usual the point of these posts gets lost really fast. If your best argument is the spawn should be given extra consideration then all fishing should be closed during April and first half of May. But as we know the Ezones are open. Not to mention the fact that Pigeon L was open as recently as this past April, and depending on the water body some open May 8, some May 15, some June 15; so the point remains that the spring closures are not always and everywhere necessary. So we all know that some fish are at risk and others not. So why are we not giving more opportunity where we can. More opportunity benefits all of us. If I want to target local whitefish in April then that means I'm not out in the Ezone competing for fish in your honey holes.



And what better life is there for an angler that to have more fishing opportunity. If you disagree your not really an angler.



Just for the record some senior biologists agree with me and are reviewing the season closure thing.

If you can't respect the circle of life the different spawning requirements of some species and believe your selfish desires to fish during these periods is more important then renewal of an already over pressured sport in this province , then you sir are not an angler.
That's the point.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

As usual the point of these posts gets lost really fast. If your best argument is the spawn should be given extra consideration then all fishing should be closed during April and first half of May. But as we know the Ezones are open. Not to mention the fact that Pigeon L was open as recently as this past April, and depending on the water body some open May 8, some May 15, some June 15; so the point remains that the spring closures are not always and everywhere necessary. So we all know that some fish are at risk and others not. So why are we not giving more opportunity where we can. More opportunity benefits all of us. If I want to target local whitefish in April then that means I'm not out in the Ezone competing for fish in your honey holes.

And what better life is there for an angler that to have more fishing opportunity. If you disagree your not really an angler.

Just for the record some senior biologists agree with me and are reviewing the season closure thing.

I'd respectfully suggest you are totally missing the point. As many people have stated .....The closure of fishing in watersheds are in place to protect the fishery during the spawning period - this is the benefit to all of us.

Closed and protected watersheds are not there for those individuals who feel entitled to fish whenever they want wherever they want to please themselves without regard for the fishery or other anglers.

With regards to why some watersheds are open while other are closed ....not all watersheds are the same. Consider species in the watershed, density of spawning beds, population of fish on these beds, recruitment rates, predation, growth rates and biomass, etc.... etc....

On a personal note - I'd really like to know which of the "few senior Biologists" agrees with your comments ...... I'm quite curious who these individuals are. Keep in mind a few members here currently work with these individual and probably know them quite well. I was shocked to read this.

In my opinion - There is no way anyone with a degree in fisheries management wouldn't understand the susceptibility (and impact) of fishing within a spawning area during the spawn. It has been proven to have a direct and dramatic impact on subsequent recruitment rates.

Perhaps you misunderstood the intention or context of the comment?

Either way - I'm don't mean to be so disagreeable but I think you need to at least consider your position and what others are saying here. I have learned lots from members here ..... and ...... with all respect ....... I think you should give these opinions some serious consideration. I think you are 100% wrong.

[Outdoorfanatic]

You say you 100% disagree yet you also freely admit that not all watersheds are the same. You also don't have a problem with fishing the streams and rivers of the Ezone. Sounds like you are saying exactly what I'm saying but are unwilling to admit it. They are not all the same. Yet much of the regs on season closures treat the majority of the province the same. Just admit that early on before you so willingly attacked me I stated that season closures in some cases would be very appropriate and expected. But not across the board. If you want to talk closures then the argument could be made that hooking mortality, spawning times, and the overall unethical harassment of fish for no other reason than "sport" are all enough reason to eliminate fishing completely. So all I'm saying is we need to be sure we're managing the resource for greater opportunities not just for management sake. I believe their could be more opportunity for angling with native species then what we currently have. And I believe that the ability is already there. Now we just need the willingness.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by last minute

taking away the license of somebody who is fishing out of season do you think they really care there fishing out of season. I do agree bigger fines could deter most people from fishing out of season

Could also take the mode of transportation to get to the lake, the boat and all.
Auction this off and put the money back into wildlife funds etc

[dodger]

Originally Posted by 58thecat

Could also take the mode of transportation to get to the lake, the boat and all.
Auction this off and put the money back into wildlife funds etc

Throw in a heavy fine and this would deter a large portion of the poachers.

Dodger

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

You say you 100% disagree yet you also freely admit that not all watersheds are the same. You also don't have a problem with fishing the streams and rivers of the Ezone. Sounds like you are saying exactly what I'm saying but are unwilling to admit it. They are not all the same. Yet much of the regs on season closures treat the majority of the province the same. Just admit that early on before you so willingly attacked me I stated that season closures in some cases would be very appropriate and expected. But not across the board. If you want to talk closures then the argument could be made that hooking mortality, spawning times, and the overall unethical harassment of fish for no other reason than "sport" are all enough reason to eliminate fishing completely. So all I'm saying is we need to be sure we're managing the resource for greater opportunities not just for management sake. I believe their could be more opportunity for angling with native species then what we currently have. And I believe that the ability is already there. Now we just need the willingness.

Guy like you shouldn't be allowed to fish.
Seems your looking for permission to poach.
You won't find support on this forum for your ideas.
More than enough outdoorsmen and women are ok with leaving them alone for 6 weeks, you evidently are not.
Desist your line of comments in this thread and forum.

I disagree with you 100%

And wouldn't waste a moment phoning F&W on a guy like you if I saw you doing what your not supposed to.

It's poaching, plain and simple, and if you are out fishing where your not supposed and when your not supposed to, because of your beliefs I hope they nail you.

Give it up.

Try crocheting.

Still playing with line and you can do it whenever you want

[diamonddave]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

You say you 100% disagree yet you also freely admit that not all watersheds are the same. You also don't have a problem with fishing the streams and rivers of the Ezone. Sounds like you are saying exactly what I'm saying but are unwilling to admit it. They are not all the same. Yet much of the regs on season closures treat the majority of the province the same. Just admit that early on before you so willingly attacked me I stated that season closures in some cases would be very appropriate and expected. But not across the board. If you want to talk closures then the argument could be made that hooking mortality, spawning times, and the overall unethical harassment of fish for no other reason than "sport" are all enough reason to eliminate fishing completely. So all I'm saying is we need to be sure we're managing the resource for greater opportunities not just for management sake. I believe their could be more opportunity for angling with native species then what we currently have. And I believe that the ability is already there. Now we just need the willingness.

You sir are out to lunch.....
The red highlighted comment confirms it...
We don't manage to give you more opportunity to fish, we manage, or try to, to the betterment of our natural resources.

[Outdoorfanatic]

You guys realize that whitefish spawn in the fall and we're talking about spring closures.

[ETOWNCANUCK]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

You guys realize that whitefish spawn in the fall and we're talking about spring closures.

And whitefish aren't the only fish in the lake.

Give it up.

Your arguments hold no value.

http://mywildalberta.com/Fishing/Reg.../Closures.aspx

[Outdoorfanatic]

You give up your support of fishing in Ezone in the spring; you hypocrite.

[Bill L]

Glad you reported them, i used the rap line to report on someone fishing the rdr and the co phoned me back to say he caught him.
As for the comments about everyone has phones,it is not true, and if you buy online you should go somewhere that sells licenses to get a regs book.

[diamonddave]

Originally Posted by Outdoorfanatic

You give up your support of fishing in Ezone in the spring; you hypocrite.

Brown trout spawn in the fall, no reason not to fish for them in April....