What Would You Do?

[Tcw]

Driving home, crossing the new Highwood Bridge outside of High River tonight, I notice a car parked in plain sight, and then saw a fellow standing on a gravel bar fishing.
Highwood is closed.
I did not stop to tell em.
I did not call F&W, and now thinking I should have.
But would this be too minor for them or would they be intrested in the new fishing spot to come, just to give them one more spot to check on.
Would you have stoped, or called it in?

[ishootbambi]

reminds me of the guy a news photographer took pics of a posted on the front page of the local paper a few years back in the middle of april. i wonder to this day if that photog was just playing coy?

[Mariko's Rod]

ABSOLUTLY CALL. let F&W decide if he is clueless, Playing dumb, or a habitual poacher. I bet a guy would be suprised how many people play dumb but know exactly what they are doing.

[uplander]

I would of called there's usually a chance that if he's fishing out of season he doesn't care for the regs that are in place or he's just misinformed. At worst he gets a fine and learns the rules and at best you just stopped a poacher who may have been taking fish home.

[gl2]

well not to be harsh but you needed advise on reporting this?. i would have stopped and if i couldn't i would have at least called it in. f&w are busy but there are a couple of officers in high river and they would have come. doesn't matter if he was just misinformed or not. the rules are printed and free, if you are too stupid to read them then you deserve every penny of the fine you get.

[fishermansfriend]

I wouldnt have called anyone nor will i ever call to ruin someones day, If you concerned enough to make a post why not go down and remind them of the rules and regs.

I know im gonna be hated for this but...

Lets do our best to keep alberta rat free... If he gets caught and fined its on him.

[Pikecrazed]

I personally would have stoped and kindly inform him that this body of water is closed at this time of if he had told me p$s off then would cal f&w

[gl2]

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

I wouldnt have called anyone nor will i ever call to ruin someones day, If you concerned enough to make a post why not go down and remind them of the rules and regs.

I know im gonna be hated for this but...

Lets do our best to keep alberta rat free... If he gets caught and fined its on him.

ruin someones day? lmao. why do i need to read the rules and remind every stupid sob out there that cant read, what the rules are? and rat free? spoken like a true criminal. the resource is all of ours and fragile so why not protect it for all of us.

[fishermansfriend]

So im a criminal for having an oppinion. Go police the river...

[ReconWilly]

That is a scenario that i wound not hesitate to report, its my position to worry about the fishery itself and not guilty offenders regardless if ignorance is a factor, responsibility always lies on the user.period.

[Mariko's Rod]

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

I wouldnt have called anyone nor will i ever call to ruin someones day, If you concerned enough to make a post why not go down and remind them of the rules and regs.

I know im gonna be hated for this but...

Lets do our best to keep alberta rat free... If he gets caught and fined its on him.

perhaps POACHERSFRIEND would suit you better?

[Guitarplayingfish]

I'm with Pikecrazed, I would tell him in person and if he disregarded me and kept fishing than I would be calling F&W...

[fishermansfriend]

Originally Posted by Pikecrazed

I personally would have stoped and kindly inform him that this body of water is closed at this time of if he had told me p$s off then would cal f&w

Perhaps that'd be the best route.. alot of people are just mis-informed.

[tacklerunner]

Originally Posted by Pikecrazed

I personally would have stoped and kindly inform him that this body of water is closed at this time of if he had told me p$s off then would cal f&w

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

Perhaps that'd be the best route.. alot of people are just mis-informed.

No excuse. If he has a fishing license, he should have read the regs. If he has no license, he should be fined accordingly. Black and white.

It's the law!

[mosbos]

I would have called it in. A couple of years ago I fished Rock Lake and there were 3 guys from Ontario fishing with bait. They would also cast out their rods with bait and then head back to their campsite and come back to periodically check on their rods. They were breaking a few rules. I was a little out numbered and there was no cell reception up there. I took down their license plate and took photos of their bait rigs. When I got back to Hinton I called the rap line and the F & G officer met up with them the next morning. He wasn't able to charge them as he met up with them on the way out but they got the regs explained to them and I'm sure they figured out that they were reported by me. The officer phoned me back and thanked me for reporting it in. The way I look at it is they probably checked the regs a heck of a lot better for the balance of their trip and I may have prevented some future poaching/rule breaking by making the call. There is no way the rule breakers will be educated or caught unless other fisherman help out with the RAP lines. F & G is way too under staffed. They may not catch the guy you report at the time but they may increase their patrols to the area and catch him at a later date.

[gl2]

Highwood River
from headwaters downstream to Kananaskis Country Boundary & tributaries (except Storm Creek)
June 16 to Aug. 31 – Brook Trout limit 2; Other Trout limit 0; Mountain Whitefish limit 5 over 30 cm; Bait Ban.
Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 – Brook Trout limit 2; Other Trout limit 0; Mountain Whitefish limit 0; Bait Ban.
Nov. 1 to June 15 – CLOSED
from Kananaskis Country Boundary downstream to 500 m above the mouth & tributaries (except Sheep River).
June 16 to Oct. 31 – Trout limit 0; Mountain Whitefish limit 5 over 30 cm; Maggots are the only bait allowed and only in the river from Aug. 16 to Oct. 31.
Nov. 1 to June 15 – CLOSED
within 500 m of the mouth (See Bow River – the portion from the Western Headworks Diversion [W.H.D.] Weir downstream to Carseland Weir.)


dont know how this is misleading or how you could interpret it any differently.

[gl2]

Originally Posted by Mariko's Rod

perhaps POACHERSFRIEND would suit you better?

bawhahahaha. just spit pop all over my computer. thanks for the laugh.

[Mariko's Rod]

Originally Posted by mosbos

I would have called it in. A couple of years ago I fished Rock Lake and there were 3 guys from Ontario fishing with bait. They would also cast out their rods with bait and then head back to their campsite and come back to periodically check on their rods. They were breaking a few rules. I was a little out numbered and there was no cell reception up there. I took down their license plate and took photos of their bait rigs. When I got back to Hinton I called the rap line and the F & G officer met up with them the next morning. He wasn't able to charge them as he met up with them on the way out but they got the regs explained to them and I'm sure they figured out that they were reported by me. The officer phoned me back and thanked me for reporting it in. The way I look at it is they probably checked the regs a heck of a lot better for the balance of their trip and I may have prevented some future poaching/rule breaking by making the call. There is no way the rule breakers will be educated or caught unless other fisherman help out with the RAP lines. F & G is way too under staffed. They may not catch the guy you report at the time but they may increase their patrols to the area and catch him at a later date.

Nailed it! too bad he couldnt lay any charges there but probably scared them straight. who knows how many illegaly cought fish they would have squirled away on their trip if you wouldnt have said anything.

[Lefty-Canuck]

Originally Posted by Pikecrazed

I personally would have stoped and kindly inform him that this body of water is closed at this time of if he had told me p$s off then would cal f&w

I did the very same thing last year @ Coal Lake....I was driving by to go gopher shooting and a lady and two kids were casting off the boat launch. I pulled in and went to say hi...

I kindly told them the lake was closed for another 10 days....she said wow thanks for letting us know and I gave her a copy of the regs. They quit fishing immediately and packed up. If I got told to stuff it.....I would have made a phone call.

Some people are all about trying to fish but not all about learning the rules.

LC

[BeeGuy]

Some people just want to wet a line. This includes people who haven't fished ever or for decades, tourists, single mom's with kids etc.

As we've seen on this forum with some of our most veteran members, reg's are often mis-interpreted, mis-read, missed, or ignored.

Be a good citizen, not a militant *****. Sometimes F&W do need a call. Use your judgement.

[fishermansfriend]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I did the very same thing last year @ Coal Lake....I was driving by to go gopher shooting and a lady and two kids were casting off the boat launch. I pulled in and went to say hi...

I kindly told them the lake was closed for another 10 days....she said wow thanks for letting us know and I gave her a copy of the regs. They quit fishing immediately and packed up. If I got told to stuff it.....I would have made a phone call.

Some people are all about trying to fish but not all about learning the rules.

LC

Again i agree this is the best option, Sorry if i offended anyone.. I for one do follow regs as well as do my very best to stay informed since im new to the calgary area... But to say i am a criminal because i wouldnt call the cops or fish and wildlife. Gotta love some of the members on here.

[Rodger]

What if it was a homeless person would you still call?

[fish gunner]

Originally Posted by Pikecrazed

I personally would have stoped and kindly inform him that this body of water is closed at this time of if he had told me p$s off then would cal f&w

×2 I feel it is our responsibility to do as much as possible to educate fellow anglers. if they choose to ignore a friendly, buck up. the let the F&W have em. a call never hurts.

[fishermansfriend]

Originally Posted by Rodger

What if it was a homeless person would you still call?

I am sure a few people in here would. They're the kind of people who get jollies from doing that kinda of stuff.

If you really care about the resource why not go and talk to them yourself. Then again the people who would rather pass quick judgment are also more than likely socially awkward.

[gl2]

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

Again i agree this is the best option, Sorry if i offended anyone.. I for one do follow regs as well as do my very best to stay informed since im new to the calgary area... But to say i am a criminal because i wouldnt call the cops or fish and wildlife. Gotta love some of the members on here.

calling someone a rat because they follow the rules is the very worst attitude you can have in my opinion. you want to think like then fine, i could care less but don't teach that junk to others. i wondered why the op might be hesitant to call f&w (the right decision) and things like that are exactly the reason why people don't. its not about being a rat its about following the rules and that guy choose not too so why should i care if he gets a ticket. I will agree that i have confronted people and i have called it in, both decisions get made on the spot. i hold no authority and am not looking to get into confrontations on the water so the rap line is a very good tool for us outdoorsmen and we should use it.

[Mariko's Rod]

Originally Posted by Rodger

What if it was a homeless person would you still call?

If he were homeless I doubt he would be driving his CAR down to the river to get a line wet. and yes I would call and get my jollies from reporting a POACHER!

[gl2]

Originally Posted by Rodger

What if it was a homeless person would you still call?

i would call it in if a homeless person parked his car in plain view and was fishing closed waters. i would also wonder how much provincial/federal support he gets.

gas from calgary- 20 bucks
rod/reel combo(cheap)- 20 bucks
fishing license- 30 bucks


why didn't he fish the bow??????....lol

[jts1]

Originally Posted by fishermansfriend

I wouldnt have called anyone nor will i ever call to ruin someones day, If you concerned enough to make a post why not go down and remind them of the rules and regs.

I know im gonna be hated for this but...

Lets do our best to keep alberta rat free... If he gets caught and fined its on him.

[BeeGuy]

Is that avatar pic from this spring? get down south?

[Tcw]

I really did think about going back to inform the younger fellow of his wrong doings, but the way my day had been, I just plain did not feel like a possible yelling match. I do feel I should have called. My bad.
I guess both of us are in the wrong.I should have stopped or called; and he should either known better or have been charged.