Steelhead fishing

[TaylerW]

id turn him in in a heartbeat.

[Darrin.Deel]

saw this on the trinity, except instead of the head it was the tail...

then at the bend bridge on the sac after they planted all the half pounders... some dude was tearing up the hole with a big mepps spinner and bonked 5 of the little guys then totally disregarded that i told him to stop

tell the guy he's a goon and caltip him. then watch DFG do nothing...

[Bob Laskodi]

I would not confront the guy. Since he's a poacher, he might also be dangerous. Try and get the license plate number of his car and call CalTip. Yeah, I know that likely nothings going to happen with CalTip, but if they know his license plate number, eventually they will get nailed.

[STEELIES/26c3]

Sink a 1/0 hook through the outside of the guy's mouth with a big, clouser minnow and a 10 WT... play with him a while and then release him.

As you turn him loose (in the river of course...)

Tell him, "THAT'S how it's supposed to end for a foul-hooked fish, sucker!"

or after he lands the fish and BEFORE he removes the hook, pull out your camera and ask him to hold it up for a photo. Tell the guy you'll send him a copy if he gives you his address...

Discretely, call your buddy at CDFG and give him a report (Cal-Tip) with photos.

Publicly shame the bastard and ask him if he puts his underwear on inside-out.

If he says no then tell him fish don't bite outside in either, call him a poacher, take his photo and tell him he'll be famous tomorrow. Post his hero shot all over town, on the web, in your blog, at the river, local tackle/fly shops.

AND... DON'T let him see you getting in your vehicle if you plan to return soon.

Kick his ass, take his fish, release it and place him under citizen's arrest though that's a bit overboard...

I see this kind of crap a lot and unfortunately, DFG is underhanded and currently more consumed with sturgeon poachers in the bay and delta sloughs to respond to foul-hooked steelie calls though rumor has it that a warden did indeed respond to a call yesterday on the AR.

If wishes were fishes and fishes galore... I'm not so sure they'd come true anymore. If ethical standards were everyone's mission, the jerks would work harder and we'd do more fishin'

http://kiene.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=15&pictureid=51

OR NOT~
Shave the humans
Save the fish
It's up to you man
To more than wish
M

[shawn kempkes]

carl

it depends on where it was hooked and what gear they were useing. Alot of times fishing plugs the fish bites the back hook but gets hooked on the outside of the head by the belly hook. The rear hook comes dislodged alot of the time during the fight. If they are delberately trying to snag fish i have the local game wardens cell number and I call him.

[norcal tom]

Shoot. Shovel. Shut up . Haha

[huntindog]

i can tell you with out any uncertainty that a game warden would not be able to write the ticket without seeing the person land the foul hooked fish. the warden could maybe make life miserable for the guy for a few minutes and hope there is something else wrong, with any luck the guy has a felony warrant so they can really get him, after that, if everything else is legal, license, etc. and the fish would be otherwise legal...it is a tough case to prove. sucks but that is the way it is

[Big Al]

Get the license plate number of his car and a picture of him if you can and call Cal-Tip. I would not confront the guy!

[RiparianRambo]

It depends if it was wild or hatchery if it were wild I'd call the local warden. If the fish was of a hatchery origin I'd pat him on the back and recommend dinamite

[Charlie Gonzales]

Interesting first post Rambo.Welcome to the board.

[mr. 3 wt.]

Turn him in if my cell reception is working and it looks like he should know better. . I did have a heart to heart with a newbie last year who was walking around a gravel bar on the Eel with a dead wild steelhead on a stringer. I told him the law and the ethics side of releasing wild steelhead. He felt bad and said it wouldn't happen again and I told him that was his one chance cause next time he would be reported.

[speyfool]

Hard to know what I'd do. There are a lot of variables that would alter my decisions. I've seen newbies poaching that didn't know they were poaching. In those cases, I'd say something in a friendly manner. If they looked like they were doing it on purpose, I'd try to judge if they were dangerous or not. If not, I'd probably say something. If so, I'd walk away and report them.

Someone who hooks a fish on the outside of the mouth may not know that they were doing something wrong.

BTW, isn't there some company now promoting a rig that purposefully hooks trout on the outside of the mouth? The flies aren't on hooks, but rather on flexible material, and the hook is a few inches down the line. The idea is for the fish to go after the fly, but get hooked (flossed?) by the bare hook.

[stevie steelhead]

I talked with my local DFG officer.
If you feel safe, he recommended writing down his license # etc.
When I asked him about a "citizens arrest", he said that I could do that, but do not touch or do anything else, but ask for their fishing license and tell them that you are doing a citizens arrest.
I am waiting to try this on the Trinity where there are poachers, snaggers, and many un-licensed folks.

[mikel]

What I've done on the lower kings C&R section is get a picture and license plate and call caltip. No idea of the outcome...

Speyfool, yes I saw a video of that no hook fly deal. It's like putting a bead 6" above a circle hook. You hook the outside of the jaw (or the cheek or the eye)...not my style. I have hooked steelies in the cheek with my bottom fly while nymphing. I think it's like that...they hit the top fly and you end up flossing them.-Mike