Poacher on Crowsnest River at Lundbreck Falls BUSTED

[rem338win]

Originally Posted by parfleche

good of you to help save a human life , and also good to stop an illegal catch of a beautiful fish ! BUT Your problem was you assumed it was YOUR water ,Your pool and you assumed the person knew he was in the wrong, Lets be honest here NOT EVERYONE is up to snuff on rules , Although they should be ! But a more controlled approach at the time , like running up to the top and explaining he was poaching may have worked just as well BEFORE he caught a fish , and also you have no way of knowing that the fish YOU catch and release all survive !
But I,m sure the person got the message when he was charged !
So other than losing it you did do well!

He didn't lose it.

And I can't help but despise your world view of accepting ignorance. Sorry about your family, I didn't read the regs and didn't realize the stop sign meant stop. Sorry about your dog, I thought it was a coyote and didn't read the regs and had no idea this was private property.

Maybe when you decide you want to do something you should read the regs involved. Maybe if you decide to participate in the use of shared resources you should do the diligence to use it properly.

It's not everyone else's job to educate you; it's your responsibility.

And just because things aren't written in law doesn't make it not right. If someone is fishing a pool on a small river it's always been the courtesy to have a chat before you share it or move along. I've always made an effort to learn local customs and laws when I go somewhere new because it's the right thing to do. It would be nice if we don't excuse we people selfishness and use them as examples to the rest of society.

The idea that you think this guy wasn't aware he was poaching is funny. Everything about his body language says he knows he's wrong.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by ghostguy6

The links never gave me the option to enter a password the first time, seems to be working now.
Still from what the videos show, could be very hard to make a case stick in court. Hopefully it does but still leave the confrontation to CO's

Videos are currently set to private so I cant watch them. Good for calling RAP but leave the confrontation to the officer. You mentioned he was rigging his line again but your story reads like he took off after you "tore a strip off him". If the officer caught him while he was fishing its possible more charges could have been laid. Also if you lost the suspect the officer could have lost the ability to press any charges at all. The suspect could have also become violent if your attitude at the time reads the way this story does.

And without the videos it would have been purely hearsay evidence. What's your point?

Like I mentioned in my post, 'beyond a reasonable doubt' is a very high standard of proof. Seems like you understand that, but you either didn't read the post carefully or are failing to understand the nature of the scenario that took place and the rationale for why I did what I did.

Even after I confronted the poacher he kept right on rigging a fresh hook, and it wasn't until I had already walked away and he saw me talking on my phone (and probably figured out pretty quickly who I was talking to) that he actually started walking, casually, away. Again, this guy didn't "take off", he was even asking me if I got any pictures of the fish he could have after the whole exchange! Does that sound like someone who was scared off by my raised voice? This was as non-violent a confrontation one could ever imagine.

The F&W officer was very happy with what I did during the incident. So are most of the people on this thread. So if you're not, I honestly could care less, but its important that other people reading this thread understand the need for these actions in certain scenarios. Don't just call in it in and wait and hope the poacher is still in the act possibly hours later when the officer actually arrives on scene. Chances are likely they won't be. Try to get any evidence you can, and yes if you can avoid confrontation with the poacher while doing so, then even better.

But if you're at the bottom of a canyon and the only way you can get a view of the poacher's face is to run up, walk out onto the viewing deck he's casting from, where you literally need to getting within several feet of him (literally into his personal space), then make the call if you're comfortable with the potential risk involved in doing so and act. And yes ghostguy6, you're absolutely right that this kind of confrontation can turn violent. I've been in (fortunately very few) situations where I was trying to help/stop something bad from happening that turned highly violent. Each of those were ended with reasonable force in self defense, and I was fully prepared to fight that day too if I had to. There were other bystanders by this point as well who were aware of what was underway which contributed to my overall safety. I am not promoting confrontation or violence, I'm simply making it known that not every scenario involving a poacher can be adequately addressed with a simple call-and-wait approach. Nor can it always be addressed by doing what I did. Use your judgement based on the particular factors you're facing and do as much as you can as safely as you can. But don't assume that there is a "catch-all" approach you can take that applies to all cases.

[bessiedog]

Never understand poachers like this......

Bulls don’t even taste good...

Just jokin.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by D5boone

Good on you for acting on this and having the wherewithal to video his and your actions. I didn't find your interaction with him to be "losing it" at all. There are always options on how to deal with a situation but the main thing is you did something. Good on ya.

Thanks D5boone! Appreciate your words- doing something is definitely the important thing 100%. I don’t protest to have done it perfectly (despite the good banter I’ve got going with a few other commenters on here at the moment(!) but am glad that he was caught and, hopefully, won’t try doing it ever again. He’s on the watch list now too so it’ll definitely be hard to do anything without getting checked by officers now

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by bessiedog

Never understand poachers like this......

Bulls don’t even taste good...

Just jokin.

Lollll thx for commenting bessiedog

[Wolftrapper]

Good job OP catching and reporting a poacher.
Ignore all the armchair quarterbacks. You will notice the type on just about every thread.
Most are jealous, just ignorant, no life, etc etc.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by rem338win

He didn't lose it.

And I can't help but despise your world view of accepting ignorance. Sorry about your family, I didn't read the regs and didn't realize the stop sign meant stop. Sorry about your dog, I thought it was a coyote and didn't read the regs and had no idea this was private property.

Maybe when you decide you want to do something you should read the regs involved. Maybe if you decide to participate in the use of shared resources you should do the diligence to use it properly.

It's not everyone else's job to educate you; it's your responsibility.

And just because things aren't written in law doesn't make it not right. If someone is fishing a pool on a small river it's always been the courtesy to have a chat before you share it or move along. I've always made an effort to learn local customs and laws when I go somewhere new because it's the right thing to do. It would be nice if we don't excuse we people selfishness and use them as examples to the rest of society.

The idea that you think this guy wasn't aware he was poaching is funny. Everything about his body language says he knows he's wrong.

Thank you for the well-informed and valuable comment rem338win, our province is lucky to have outdoorsmen like yourself. I replied to that same comment but I think your words put that one to bed hands down.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by Wolftrapper

Good job OP catching and reporting a poacher.
Ignore all the armchair quarterbacks. You will notice the type on just about every thread.
Most are jealous, just ignorant, no life, etc etc.

Thanks Wolftrapper! Appreciate the heads-up on these characters, look forward to reading more posts from people like you and pushing the mute button on those other ones

[Darren N]

I get annoyed when I have to stop fishing when confronting poachers who always seem to run as soon as you question. Good for you to track him down.

[geocacher]

Good for you, and glad to see Fish and Wildlife respond quickly. I'm surprised that there are people who would condemn you or question your actions. I wonder if you got a quick response because of the long weekend and that their were more enforcement out there?

[parfleche]

Feel free to vent your spleen by being rude , I just told you what i felt you could have done different ! Let he with no sin cast the first stone!
Thats what i like about A O your free to express your opinion as long as it agrees with the poster !Have a nice day !

[rem338win]

Originally Posted by parfleche

Feel free to vent your spleen by being rude , I just told you what i felt you could have done different ! Let he with no sin cast the first stone!
Thats what i like about A O your free to express your opinion as long as it agrees with the poster !Have a nice day !

Yes, coddling and cuddling people too selfish to be courteous, informed and legal is the answer. It seems to be working and preventing a decline.

Christ said that phrase to a group of religious zealots that were being hypocritical in their pursuit of murdering a woman that was found in adultery. Christ said what he did because the man involved was not being stoned and the common practice of these men was to treat women sub human and ignore the sin of the men involved in the same act. The hypocrites purpose was so they themselves couldn't be stoned but still have the horrible selfrighteous pillar to stand on while they stoned the woman.

Are you likening this scenario to that barbaric idea? And that it's perfectly ok to poach, ignore common courtesy and abuse protected wildlife if it isn't pointed out to you politely that it's not ok?

Words matter. They form your world view.

No, I'm not perfect, and when I do step out of line I'm not expectant that we have a hug around and some lighthearted conversation when it comes to being confronted.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by parfleche

Feel free to vent your spleen by being rude , I just told you what i felt you could have done different ! Let he with no sin cast the first stone!
Thats what i like about A O your free to express your opinion as long as it agrees with the poster !Have a nice day !

parfleche I appreciate you sharing you opinion on this, I just completely disagree with it! Your comments are still more than welcome on the thread, thx again

[the local angler]

good on ya man, i keep getting this video is private when i click on your link.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by geocacher

Good for you, and glad to see Fish and Wildlife respond quickly. I'm surprised that there are people who would condemn you or question your actions. I wonder if you got a quick response because of the long weekend and that their were more enforcement out there?

Thanks geocacher, I welcome different perspectives and invite people to challenge me on my decisions/logic freely. If they don't offer any sort of valid reason for disagreeing, or at least try to broaden the topic in some way, then I'm with you, what's the point in trying to condemn someone for posting about a topic that plenty of people feel is important!

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by the local angler

good on ya man, i keep getting this video is private when i click on your link.

Thanks for checking out the post! If you enter the password; protect our waters (no spaces) it should work for both videos

[the local angler]

cool thanks

[kevinhits]

Originally Posted by parfleche

Feel free to vent your spleen by being rude , I just told you what i felt you could have done different ! Let he with no sin cast the first stone!
Thats what i like about A O your free to express your opinion as long as it agrees with the poster !Have a nice day !

Yeah, everyone pulls a protected species up 50 feet on top of a cliff...Ridiculous.....

I would of been ****ed seeing this....Give your head a shake

I don't get ****ed off often and reply, but your comments are insane...

[Ken07AOVette]

Good on you reporting the loser.

Dragging a fish like that illegally is inexcusable.

I don't care if he didn't know, it is his responsibility to look into understand and abide by the regulations.

I hope he was charged, hard.

[parfleche]

bmbilon , hey I was just expressing my opinion on this , could not see the vid so had to visualize , regardless I still think the person was not a murdering scumbag , he was an ignorant idiot who likely didn't care how he did stuff, So IMO a poacher is a person who has no concerns for rules concerning the taking of wildlife in an ethical manner , a person who skulks about in the dark or unseen corners stealing wildlife , THAT is a poacher , a poacher would never do this in broad daylight , THAT is my criticism of this post , so at any rate thank you BMBILON appreciate , NOW for 338 and kevin , you assume a lot about someone who you have no knowledge of , INSANE ??
Both of you should look in the mirror and ask yourselves why you feel good berating and bullying people knowing there are no consequences ? Is that the picture of a brave man ?

[kevinhits]

Originally Posted by parfleche

bmbilon , hey I was just expressing my opinion on this , could not see the vid so had to visualize , regardless I still think the person was not a murdering scumbag , he was an ignorant idiot who likely didn't care how he did stuff, So IMO a poacher is a person who has no concerns for rules concerning the taking of wildlife in an ethical manner , a person who skulks about in the dark or unseen corners stealing wildlife , THAT is a poacher , a poacher would never do this in broad daylight , THAT is my criticism of this post , so at any rate thank you BMBILON appreciate , NOW for 338 and kevin , you assume a lot about someone who you have no knowledge of , INSANE ??
Both of you should look in the mirror and ask yourselves why you feel good berating and bullying people knowing there are no consequences ? Is that the picture of a brave man ?

Maybe you should of watched the VIDEO....password is "protectourwaters" NO spaces and then you would see where the outrage is.....

I have fished that pool and where the idiot was fishing was a viewpoint for tourists and I can tell you it is more than 50 feet above....

[Weedy1]

Originally Posted by parfleche

a poacher would never do this in broad daylight

Go out to any pond or lake, any day of the week, and have a good look around. You'll find poachers, which are simply defined as someone who kills or takes wild animals (such as game or fish) illegally.

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by parfleche

bmbilon , hey I was just expressing my opinion on this , could not see the vid so had to visualize , regardless I still think the person was not a murdering scumbag , he was an ignorant idiot who likely didn't care how he did stuff, So IMO a poacher is a person who has no concerns for rules concerning the taking of wildlife in an ethical manner , a person who skulks about in the dark or unseen corners stealing wildlife , THAT is a poacher , a poacher would never do this in broad daylight , THAT is my criticism of this post , so at any rate thank you BMBILON appreciate , NOW for 338 and kevin , you assume a lot about someone who you have no knowledge of , INSANE ??
Both of you should look in the mirror and ask yourselves why you feel good berating and bullying people knowing there are no consequences ? Is that the picture of a brave man ?

Give it a rest you armchair hero and move on.

[SNAPFisher]

bmbilon, my thanks and hats off to you. You took time out of your fishing day to do something about a bad situation and make a difference. I'm sure you have rather had a day of just fishing and no issues but you did good nonetheless

[parfleche]

Hows going there !

[Dewey Cox]

How close to the falls are you allowed to fish?
I always wanted to fish there but I always thought it wasn’t kosher.
I’ll have to drop a line in next time. (Not from the upper deck!)

[rem338win]

Originally Posted by parfleche

bmbilon , hey I was just expressing my opinion on this , could not see the vid so had to visualize , regardless I still think the person was not a murdering scumbag , he was an ignorant idiot who likely didn't care how he did stuff, So IMO a poacher is a person who has no concerns for rules concerning the taking of wildlife in an ethical manner , a person who skulks about in the dark or unseen corners stealing wildlife , THAT is a poacher , a poacher would never do this in broad daylight , THAT is my criticism of this post , so at any rate thank you BMBILON appreciate , NOW for 338 and kevin , you assume a lot about someone who you have no knowledge of , INSANE ??
Both of you should look in the mirror and ask yourselves why you feel good berating and bullying people knowing there are no consequences ? Is that the picture of a brave man ?

I watched the video. He's a poacher. And no one asked for you to create a definition for poacher; we have one and it works.

From the dictionary: "a person who hunts or catches game or fish illegally."

I expressed my opinion the same as you. If that's bullying, again I don't like your world view. Simple as that.

What consequence should their be? And what has bravery to do with it? I'd gladly say all the same in person if you'd like?

Bizarre.....

[ShortsideK]

Originally Posted by parfleche

Feel free to vent your spleen by being rude , I just told you what i felt you could have done different ! Let he with no sin cast the first stone!
Thats what i like about A O your free to express your opinion as long as it agrees with the poster !Have a nice day !

I couldn't agree more.
Go against the grain and you're gone.
Fishing forums at least allow you to state your opinions. Say anything negative in the hunting or trapping forums and expulsion is forthcoming. Very sensitive groups.

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by Dewey Cox

How close to the falls are you allowed to fish?
I always wanted to fish there but I always thought it wasn’t kosher.
I’ll have to drop a line in next time. (Not from the upper deck!)

There is no regulation on where you can fish here, just don’t cast from the canyon rim above unless you want to get harassed by conventional shore-fishing/wading people like me!

[bmbilon]

Originally Posted by SNAPFisher

bmbilon, my thanks and hats off to you. You took time out of your fishing day to do something about a bad situation and make a difference. I'm sure you have rather had a day of just fishing and no issues but you did good nonetheless

Thanks for your comment- I was actually having a productive morning on the water until the unfortunate incident occurred, but it needed to be dealt with- the river wil still be there, hopefully the poaching tactics (at least from the one who got busted) won’t be!