derbirbboy
Whitebait
Go Ugly Early[Mo0:0]
Posts: 17
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Post by derbirbboy on Apr 29, 2010 22:38:56 GMT -5
Being on SSP I've witnessed many undersize grouper put in coolers. I know these guys know they're illegal because of the shady way they put them in the coolers. When you say something to them they either shrug or pretend they don't understand english. The size and bag limits I impose on myself are far more stringent than the legal ones set, but I know the fillets I can get off the small ends aren't worth it, so send 'em back to grow up. The way I see it, these poachers are the guys that are the reason the limits are in place, punishing the rest of us that follow the laws. Any thoughts on how to approach these situations?
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Post by goindeep on Apr 29, 2010 22:53:40 GMT -5
Call FWC on them....the number i have in my phone is 800-404-3922...not sure if that number works anymore...
Or if you see an FWC officer patrolling the pier, you can flag them down and tell them...
Ive called a time or two...one time I saw these guys who were obviously form another country sneak 4 short gags in a row to their cooler within 20 minutes...they wrapped the fish in towels to carry them across the roadway to put in thier cooler in their truck, so I KNEW they knew they were illegal fish...Welp, FWC showed up about 20 minutes later and issued one of them 4 tickets for short gags...he was gonna write them all up unless one of them took the rap...and one of them did....
Sorry guys, but Ive looked the other way if I see what appears to be a family taking a short fish once in a while...for all I know, theyre just trying to feed their family...who am I to judge...but to see these guys in an expensive truck, obviously on vacation...well, lets just say I knew they werent going hungry...
Alot of people would rather not confront poachers...and I get that...but sometimes if you threaten to call FWC they will stop...the problem is you never know what type of person youre dealing with, and to me its not worth the possibility of going to jail or worse because of some illegal fish...so if you are comfortable with calling, by all means do.
Youre right though, poachers are part of the reason we have the restrictions we have...
Im sure someone else will chime in, but thats my opinion on it...
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Post by arrantzale on Apr 29, 2010 23:40:14 GMT -5
Ive never confronted anyone that Ive seen do it. I do however sometimes walk over if the person is near me to see what they caught and I play the "Wow thats a nice catch, just too short to keep" card to see what they do. Its sometimes hard to judge if you see they have out of state tags maybe they really dont know. It does suck sometimes though to throw back 3 like I did today and know that other people are keeping shorties.
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Post by goindeep on Apr 30, 2010 0:31:53 GMT -5
But its the anglers responsibility to know the laws where theyre fishing...No excuse for not...I wouldnt go up to alaska and fish without knowing the regulations...
Just sayin...
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Post by jlamberg33 on Apr 30, 2010 6:51:28 GMT -5
It really puts you in a tough spot. I have said things before but you are right, you don't know who you are dealing with. Don't need a knife or something on me because of a fish. I told the bird girls out there one time and they found an officer who came over 20 minutes later and started writing tickets. I hate when they play the "I don't speak english" game with you!
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Post by gerard1031 on Apr 30, 2010 9:34:31 GMT -5
My favorite approach is to pull out the fish stick, the folding ruler with the sizes and limits on it, walk over to them and say..."man, too bad it's not big enough to keep" or if it applies, "que lastima que es corto!"
I've had plenty of the spanish speakers try the "no hablo" thing...fortunately...yo hablo.
Now it falls back to charades with some of the asians out there....wonder how you say "throw that back" in Mandarin?
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Post by havetofish on Apr 30, 2010 9:38:18 GMT -5
Steve, I see what you mean about the search function..I am pretty sure this topic was discussed before, but can't find it.
Anyway,
This subject really pisses me off and is my #1 thing to bitch about. I guess number #2 is rude boaters.
I'll probably regret it one day, but I can't keep my mouth shut when it comes to these guys keeping shorts. Afterall, that 20" short will be a keeper in 2 months. First, I'll yell out "short" to them and if they start the "don't understand" routine, I usually waive my law stick. You don't have to speak english to understand that. Many times they don't have a way to measure them and they actiually may think they are 22". Fishing with others makes it easier. Strength in numbers.
I have called FWC before, but you can't expect them to just come running to actually stop them.
I have always thought that they should paint the reg's on the bathrooms and baithouse I mean big, so you could read them from a long distance. Or hand them out at the gate. But with money tight, none of this will happen. At one time, there were law stick decals on many lightpoles, but people just tear them off.
Bottom line, do what you think is right, but don't put yourself at risk.
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Post by havetofish on Apr 30, 2010 10:00:12 GMT -5
Thanks Gerard...even I can remember "que lastima que es corto!" and maybe even "no veintidos"
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Post by lostmans1 on Apr 30, 2010 17:36:09 GMT -5
im callin FWC everytime...and if i have to, to say whatever i have to get them out there. These are our fish. who are you to take fishing away from me? im srry but im never folding on this one.
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Post by montylfl on May 1, 2010 19:37:19 GMT -5
. Now it falls back to charades with some of the asians out there....wonder how you say "throw that back" in Mandarin? I can not say it but I can write it. 尼斯赶上。倒退是太小，无法保持 ( Nice catch. It is too small so throw it back) |
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